Transformation in Haarlem...

When I arrived back at 4 p.m., Ashlynn had orange hair and was getting some wild make-up. Carmen’s goal was to create some eye-catching images.

She made the felt herself.

Her seven-year-old daughter was also transformed for the shoot.

A Test Shoot in Haarlem...

Ashlynn was requested for an artsy shoot for make-up artist Carmen Gonzalez from Argentina.

The shoot took place in the home studio of Swiss photographer Violaine Chapallaz. Before getting to the artsy part, Carmen did some basic make-up so Violaine could do a test shoot with Ashlynn. Once they were ready to start shooting, I left to visit some museums.

I was a little skeptical about Ashlynn wearing Violaine’s son’s shirt, but love the edgy result.

Celebrating the Gold Award...

Adelina and Veronica

Veronica and Lisanne with Prince Edward

Veronica was the lead on making a poster to explain Project Nepal.

After the ceremony, we went out for a delicious Nepalese dinner with Lisanne and her family.

Gold Award Ceremony...

We were quite thrilled that not only would Veronica be receiving her International Gold Award at a special ceremony at the Press Club in The Hague on May 21, but that she and Michelle would be introducing Veronica’s Nepal video to a packed audience.

Due to the large number of BSN students receiving their Gold Awards, special arrangements were made to bring Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son, to present the awards.

BSN Gold Award Recipients

Project Nepal Gold Recipients

Last Day of High School...

Veronica’s last IB exam was on May 19. Here she is just before leaving for the BSN for the last time surrounded by the many colorful posters she made as study aids.

Two months later we found out that she’d earned straight A’s with an impressive 40 points in the IB Diploma Program. Shortly thereafter she received a confirmed offer from the University of East Anglia, where she was also offered a scholarship resulting in a 50% discount in tuition. So proud!

Another Award-Winning Photo...

Veronica entered a photo contest by Motorola for backdrops for their cellphones. This photo depicting the color orange made it through the first round and earned her a prize of $125.

Ashlynn’s First Cover...

Ashlynn might not be old enough to drive a car, but that didn’t stop the Japanese from having her pose with a Porsche. Don’t let the name scare you: Goo World is a monthly car magazine. Since Ashlynn went to the shoot with another model, she thought that only one of them would be chosen to grace the cover; as the other girl has a more commercial look, Ashlynn assumed the Russian model would be chosen. I was disappointed when I found the November issue featuring the other girl, but looked up the December issue anyways, which hit the stands in Japan today. Imagine my surprise when I found my beautiful daughter on the cover!