Veronica’s Silver Expedition...

The day after Ashlynn left, it was Veronica’s turn to head to the Ardennes in Belgium to go on her Silver Expedition for the International Award. To get in the mood for hiking 48K (30 miles) over three days, she walked the mile to school rather than catching the bus.

Veronica was happy to be with so many of her good friends. Their group of six had one extra girl assigned to join them. Unfortunately, this caused some difficulties because she had back problems and the other girls ended up having to carry her pack for several kilometers per day where it was then put in a truck and brought to the next campsite. Luckily, the girls had good attitudes about the extra burden.

Off to Germany...

The first Sunday in July, Ashlynn left for the Year 8 (7th grade) school trip to Ahrweiler, Germany, outside of Cologne. Luckily Ashlynn wasn’t too embarrassed to have me take photos of her before she got on the bus.

Ashlynn shared a room with Emma, Sophie and Uma. Of course, they all thought they were rather cool.

There were a few bits with educational value on the trip including visiting this ancient Roman villa, a World War II bunker, a chocolate museum and a Formula One museum.

Ashlynn especially enjoyed the free time to bum around with her friends.

Cool Night Shots...

Jimmy had a lot of fun playing professional photographer. We both loved how the glass on this ostrich sculpture sparkled in the moonlight.

The moon was nearly full, the sky was nice and clear, and it wasn’t too windy--the perfect night to party outside until nearly 4 a.m.

Jimmy loved the light set-up that the band brought along. What an awesome setting for a fantastic night!

We Partied for Hours...

Chris and Lauren

About 10 p.m., the band got started. As we walked up the steps from the pool, Jimmy asked if we were hearing Coldplay. Of course, he was wrong, but Niels Geusebroek, the lead singer of the Dutch band Silkstone, did have an awesome voice.

Terri and Max

A Group Sing-Along

Between sets, we went up to the house for dinner. The kitchen was fun of a team of chefs; I especially loved the sautéd scallops and asparagus and the dessert buffet was amazing. There was another champagne bar set up on the deck and a vodka bar that was very busy with Chris’ Russian colleagues. Terri got very good at pretending to drink shots of vodka, but actually downing water.

Appetizers by the Pool...

We spent the first two hours of the evening by the pool. There was a sashimi bar, an oyster bar and a champagne bar. I’m not a fan of raw oysters, but Jimmy said they were the best that he’d ever had. Lauren was talked into trying one for the first time.

Her reaction was priceless.

Let the Party Begin...

It was a bit like herding cats, but Jimmy managed to get a group posed at the end of the pool just before the sun dipped down.

It was difficult for Terri to hold the 50 open roses that one of Chris’ colleagues gave her.

Chris gave a great speech honoring Terri, which was the perfect mix of tenderness and humor.

Jimmy was determined to take at least one photo of the full group of 100 and the stairs up to the house was the best setting.

Terri’s 50th Party...

Saturday evening, vans took us from the hotel to Pironi. Terri looked beautiful and the house looked amazing.

Of course, we couldn’t resist getting a few photos of ourselves in this lovely setting.