A Mellow Christmas...

Ever since getting Kati, we can no longer spend all of Christmas in our PJs, but we still stay comfy for breakfast and opening presents.

Although I think Jim’s actually just resting his eyes at this point, he did take a snooze later in the day.

Jimmy really loved this special gift from Ashlynn: a traditional British Christmas cake that she made at school.

Louwman Museum...

We were thrilled that Jimmy’s dad came out to spend Christmas with us. On Christmas Eve, we took him by train and bus to the Louwman Museum, home to the world’s oldest private automobile collection dating back to 1934. Although I could care less about cars, Jim likes them so I thought it would be a good way to spend the afternoon. I was thoroughly surprised by how much I loved the place! The first room to enter is the Great Hall; this photo doesn’t do justice to its size.

It was exciting to see the venue for Veronica’s high school Graduation Ball, but seeing this fancy car (a 2008 custom Lincoln that holds a Harley Davidson Sportster in the trunk) made me nervous that alcohol, teenagers and cars might not mix even when no driving is involved.

We had lunch in the café and were impressed with the area where the dancing will occur.

The collection consists of over 250 antique and classic cars and was an awesome walk through history. Jim thought this 1922 American Hook and Ladder was pretty cool, so was the perfect spot for a few photos.

My favorite car was the Swan Car built for a wealthy Scotman in India in 1910 and later owned by a Maharaja. In 2012, the car was brought to Pebble Beach in California for a car show. Check out this video of Jay Leno, the former Tonight Show host, discussing the features of the car including the ability to squirt hot water from the front and make white droppings in the back like a real swan.

A Non-Traditional Hanukkah Dinner...

On the sixth night of Hanukkah, we hosted Sally, John and the boys for dinner.

Jimmy was excited to christen his new grill. It was great to see David for the first time since he left in September for Cambridge.

In addition to making salmon and hot cider, he cooked dessert outside: apples with cinnamon and bananas with chocolate.

I surprised Sally and the kids with notebooks with covers made from recycled train station schedules which was apropos since we met at a train station.

A Winter Photo Shoot...

A few days later, Veronica and Ashlynn headed to the snow-dotted field for another photo shoot. We’d hoped for some real snow, but sadly this was about all we got this winter.

Kati Can Model, Too!

There’s no doubt who is the star of this photo.

Veronica and Jimmy had fun converting the photo into an ad. I don’t anticipate that we’ll be seeing this type of shampoo on the shelves anytime soon.

Another Photo Shoot with Veronica...

Since the backdrop was set up for her Christmas party, Veronica took the opportunity to take a few photos of Ashlynn.

Jimmy was in charge of creating some wind in our living room.

Christmas Market in The Hague...

The market was set up along the Hofvijver. It was small, but nice.

It started to pour while we were there, so we retreated to the largest tent which housed the bar and was toasty warm; of course, the gluhwein helped to warm us up.

Fortunately it didn’t rain for long. Jimmy decided not only to buy some gluhwein from this booth, but also to buy himself a Christmas present: a tripod to go over our fire pit and a giant cast iron pot.

The Plein looked lovely with all the lights.