The Grounds of Palace Het Loo...

It was a lovely day, so we took a nice walk around the grounds.

In addition to a variety of carriages, the garage held a few unusual items like this pair of anti-gas wagons from 1940 for Princesses Beatrix and Irene...

...and this snazzy speedster from 1969 for Princes Willem-Alexander (now King), Friso and Constantijn.

The beautiful horses usually kept at the Royal Stables in The Hague were on site for some special events of the Royal Family.

Across from the Apeldoorn train station, we found this great bike.

Palace Het Loo...

I was happy when an AWC member put together a trip to Palace Het Loo (The Woods Palace) in Apeldoorn to see a Grace Kelly special exhibit. It was a fascinating look at a beautiful woman and included many of her gowns from her days in Hollywood and as a princess in Monaco (unfortunately, photography was prohibited).

Afterwards, we wandered through the palace itself. Built in 1686, it was a residence of the House of Orange until the death of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962.

It became a museum in 1984 showcasing the original furniture and artwork.

Queen Wilhelmina’s playroom was especially charming.

Celebrating The Hague Hash’s1800th...

After Ashlynn’s race, Jimmy and I caught a train to Bodegraven for a special hash event. The weather was perfect and the scenery lovely as we ran through the middle of the market in the center of town before heading to the fields full of sheep...

....and cows (and cow patties).

The fields were separated by canals, which we crossed via a series of unusual bridges such as this one shaped like a ladder.

Eventually, we looped back into town, ran along the main canal and ended in a parking lot for down-downs.

Then we walked down the street to the Brouwerij de Molen, which is a brewery inside a windmill.

We had a lecture about the old-fashioned brewing process and tasted several beers. Then we crossed the road to see the modern facilities where the hand-crafted beers are now brewed. Lastly, we went back to the windmill for dinner, which was in a lovely setting, but the food was disappointing.

First Cross Country Race...

The BSN was invited to compete against the American School (ASH) and several schools from Belgium and Germany in a friendly 5K cross country meet in the Wassenaar dunes. We rented a Greenwheels car to get Ashlynn there in time for the early morning race.

She’d never done a cross country race before and was a little nervous that she’d miss a turn.

There was no need to worry as she finished strong in 2nd place!

As you can see, Ashlynn was the only high school student representing the BSN. Unfortunately, this was the last race she participated in during 2014. Between a lack of commitment and an injury, she stopped racing. She has a natural gift for running and I’m still hopeful that she’ll make a comeback in the spring.

Agency Summer BBQ...

Later that week, Jimmy helped to organize the agency’s Summer BBQ. As you can see, there was a mechanical bull.

Jimmy’s good friend Davinder enjoyed trying to throw Jimmy off the bull.

As usual, Jimmy’s rather unconventional and managed to hold on tight, at least long enough for me to take this photo.

First Day of School...

For the 2nd year in a row, the girls looked quite different on their first day of school on September 8. As Veronica headed off to start her senior year (Year 13), she wore the traditional Nepalese outfit that she bought during her trip and crossed her fingers that the other girls would be wearing theirs. 

As Ashlynn is now a high school freshman (Year 10), her uniform is now black.

It was hard to believe that it was the last time I would be photographing the girls together for their first day of school.

Michelle and Kelly didn’t let Veronica down and all three looked adorable on their first day of being the big kids on campus.

Good Start for Racing Season...

The day after we returned from Paris, Ashlynn ran in the Vlietloop 5K in Voorschoten and came in 2nd girl under 15 and 3rd woman overall with a time of 19:38.

While it’s always exciting to see her on the podium, this race left a bitter taste in my mouth. Turns out that the Top 3 Women each got cash prizes. However, the Under 15s were not eligible thus the 4th and 5th place women were rewarded instead. Usually, having a separate younger category is to give the younger runners a chance against the more experienced runners, not the other way around.

Anyways, Ashlynn did great and Kati was proud of her, too.