Back to Port Grimaud...

After our separate vacations earlier in the summer, it was time to take a family trip. To keep things simple, we asked Terri if there was any chance that we could stay again at her lovely house in Port Grimaud and were thrilled that she said, “yes.”

No surprise that we took a ridiculous number of photos of Ashlynn at this perfect location.

The corner of the rooftop terrace was Ashlynn’s favorite spot to enjoy some Sangria...

...and the boat dock was Veronica’s favorite spot to read.

Haring The Hague Hash...

It had been a long time since we’d last hared for The Hague Hash. One Wednesday night in August, Opee recruited the girls to help him lay the trail and then ferry folks across the Vliet in the canoe.

It was a great trail through Voorschoten and Vlietland, finally finishing with a beer break on the other side of the water.

I was the first to be ferried back as I needed to get home to start cooking dinner.

The turnout was quite good and everyone had a great time.

As the rainclouds moved in, the girls worked hard to get folks across the water.

Fun with Legos...

The T-Rex was definitely a highlight of the exhibition. Twenty-feet long, it was constructed from over 80,000 Legos.

No idea why this Lego girl appears to be smoking, but guessing it has to do with this goofy guy.

The final room was filled with Legos. Based on the silly designs we came up with, Nathan Sawaya has no worries that any of us will be competing for his job anytime soon.

Art from Legos...

This cute Delft Blue couple were in the entrance hall.

The first section was reproductions of famous paintings and sculptures. While it was amazing to see Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring made out of Legos, my favorite was this interpretation of Edvard Munch’s The Scream.

Thought this was cool since we’ve visited Lascaux in France to see the original reproductions of the ancient cave paintings.

Of course, had to take a photo of the two Davids.

The second section was original artwork, which was very cool. This one is called Think.

This was quite powerful.

The Art of the Brick...

Whoever would have imagined that there could be such a thing as a full-time Lego artist? American Nathan Sawaya quit his job as a lawyer and became a dedicated maker of sculptures from Lego bricks. Over 70 of his large-scale sculptures made from more than one million Legos came to Amsterdam for an exhibition. Rather than just take the kids, Sally and I decided to visit on a Saturday so John and Jimmy could come along. We all had a great time!

Photos in Amsterdam...

Between visiting vintage clothing shops (Amsterdam has quite a good assortment), Veronica took some photos of Ashlynn.

August Birthdays...

After having Happy Hour at Carlin & Kent’s, I enjoyed sangria and a dinner made by the girls for my 51st birthday.

Four days later, we celebrated Veronica’s 17th birthday with a day of shopping in Amsterdam. We found the perfect dessert place for some yummy cake.

As this was the first time Veronica had been home for her birthday in years, she wanted to have a party. She invited a few friends around for dinner and a sleepover. Ashlynn and Jimmy baked her a cake.

The evening before, Veronica had a date and got her first bouquet of flowers. Our house smelled great as I also got flowers from Carlin.