Ashlynn and Jimmy...

Ashlynn's lucky because I don't have to cajole her big sister into allowing her to attend any party at our house. She also got into the act of having her photo taken alone and with her daddy.

Another Christmas Party...

For the third year, Veronica hosted a Christmas party for her friends. And for the second time, Jimmy converted our living room into a photo studio to take photos. Once again, the girls enjoyed a SquishPic session and a Chinese Gift Exchange.

Christmas Market in Munster...

For the first time, I finally went on an AWC day trip to a German Christmas Market. This year’s trip was to Munster, which was just a three-hour journey from The Hague. My friend Jane came along and we spent the day exploring together.

The Germans aren’t shy about their love of gluhwein, so it shouldn’t be surprising that Jane and I tried some at a variety of booths around town.

The Christmas market wasn’t hugely impressive, but the historic center of the city itself was lovely.

The highlight of the Munster Cathedral, dating from the 13th century, was the astronomical clock, which is divided into 24 hours.

Since it gets dark so early during the winter, we got to enjoy the market lit up.

Sophie Visits from Down Under...

In August 2008, Ashlynn became friends with Zoe while we were staying in Switzerland. Amazingly, our families became friends and visited each other several times between our house in Holland and theirs in Brussels. We last saw them in late 2009 just before they moved back to Canberra, Australia. I was thrilled when Zoe’s older sister Sophie said she’d be passing through Holland while on a three-month tour of Europe during her gap year before university.

Sophie spent a few nights with us. We went to see the girls in the panto and I showed her around The Hague, Leiden and Utrecht. We visited a special fashion exhibit at Centraal Museum in Utrecht. As these photos show, it was a rather unusual exhibition; many would have made great costumes, but I don’t think that was the intent.

As strange as this bunny outfit is, it seemed rather normal compared to the one behind it featuring a full-size swan.

We also visited the Speelklok Museum, which specializes in self-playing musical instruments. This is one of its most famous calliopes: the Arab. It was built in Italy around 1875 and was eventually rebuilt in the Netherlands in 1948. Had a great time showing Sophie around and wish her the best of luck at university.

The Dress Rehearsal...

As I’ve done in previous years, I photographed the dress rehearsal. This show wasn’t as funny as past pantos since it didn’t have the typical double entendres, but the dance scenes were very entertaining. Ashlynn was in the front row for Time Warp, so she was easy to spot.

I haven’t included photos from Ashlynn’s other dances since she wasn’t in the front, but Ghostbusters was her favorite while Party Rock had the most complicated choreography.

I especially loved Veronica and Saskia’s tap dance.

One of the great things about the panto is that everyone is welcome to join in, so the cast is quite large. Once again, the girls had a great time. And I enjoyed going back another evening to watch the show without seeing it through a view finder.

Frankenstein, the Pantomine...

Once again, Jimmy and the girls were involved in the annual panto. This year, Jimmy was in charge of sound. He took his job very seriously, spending many hours online searching for the perfect sound effects to incorporate into the show. He enjoyed having two helpers.

Technically, Veronica was in the adult chorus, which both sang and danced. In the opening scene, Master of the House from Les Mis, she was a German waitress.

However, she also danced with the teen choir because she really wanted to be in the Time Warp from Rocky Horror Picture Show (apparently we have warped her by exposing her to the movie at a tender young age). She and another girl learned to tap dance for a short duet; we found her this dress in Amsterdam.

Ashlynn was part of the teen chorus, which is a strange name since they don’t sing.

Ashlynn has become good friends with Georgia and Liv, who live in our neighborhood. The three girls shopped together for their costumes.

More Celebrations for Terri’s 50th...

Five months after her amazing 50th birthday party in the South of France, Terri finally turned 50. We were lucky enough to be invited to a dinner party to celebrate her actual birthday.

Three local couples plus Terri’s best friend Habe, who came from London, joined Terri and Chris for drinks at their house and then dinner at Calla’s, a Michelin starred restaurant.

We sat at the chef’s table next to the kitchen on the ground floor. The food was fantastic and the service was surprisingly unpretentious. I was thrilled it was real food instead of foam. Everyone had a great time!