The Y11 Dance...

The kids were lucky that the weather was good so they could hang out outside, since the venue on the top floor of a café in Leiden was a bit small for their large year group. Veronica took over 300 photos including class photos. Luckily, she was able to jump in the photo of her own class.

She was also in the photo of her GCSE Drama Class,

and at least one with her friends. She had a great time.

Travelling to the Dance in Style...

The kids chartered a boat to take them to the venue, which was on the water in Leiden. It was awesome that the boat captain managed to maneuver into the canal in front of our house. Here Jimmy is directing the other parents to take their photos first so as not to interfere when he took his.

He captured this photo by laying on top of Hugo’s car (unfortunately I forgot to catch a photo of him).

Jimmy and I followed the boat around the corner until it was well on its way down the Vliet. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time.

Year 11 Photo Shoot...

The gang (minus one) came over along with a group of boys. We invited the parents to come watch, so we had a house full. Jimmy managed to capture a lot of great shots in the limited time he had.

I just love this photo of Hugo, who happens to be Ellie’s dad as well as a chemistry teacher at the school, with two of his students.

Our Beautiful Daughter...

Veronica was very excited about having Jimmy take squish pics at the Year 11 Ball, but the venue wasn’t conducive. Instead he turned our living room into a photo studio and Veronica invited her friends over before the dance.

As you can see, Veronica looked stunning. We failed to take a photo of her and Jimmy, but at least he got one of us (although I should have put on shoes since I look rather short).

Superhero Party...

For the first time, Veronica attended a co-ed sleepover when her friend Adelina (in the center) hosted a very belated 16th birthday party with a superhero theme.

There were some very creative costumes.

This is definitely the coolest photo that Veronica took at the party.

Check out those muscles!

Celebrating the Last Day of School...

Veronica hosted her first co-ed party immediately following her final exam. She was very happy that she was able to convince most of the group to jump in the canal. I was happy that I was home to capture this cool series of photos...

I’m also happy that Veronica has such a great group of friends.

No More Uniform....

Here was our big girl on her first day of wearing a uniform back in November 2005 in Year 4 (3rd grade).

And here she was on June 19, when she took her final Year 11 (10th grade) exam. Not only was it her last day of school, but it was also her last day of wearing a school uniform. When she returns to school in the fall, she’ll be in the 6th Form and will be allowed to wear what she wants (within reason, of course). She’s actually liked not having to worry about fashion all these years. Looks like we have some shopping to do.