The Reception...

The BBQ buffet was quite good and the cake, made by a pastry chef who is one of their friends, was yummy. 

It had sprinkled for just a brief moment right after the ceremony, but the weather was perfect for the rest of the evening. 

Celine’s nephew Pierre was very entertaining on the dance floor.

No big surprise that he couldn’t swing Jimmy around like his little cousin. 

Had a great time dancing and singing along with some of the songs.

Everyone had a great time!
 

Group Portraits...

After the ceremony, Jimmy worked his way through the list of groups of friends and family to photograph. 

Richard’s family was a bit more challenging since his mother was in a hospital bed (helped throughout the day by two lovely volunteers), but Jimmy managed to pull it off...

…and Dylan cooperated, making the photos even more special.

Hashers were very happy to climb around the playground for our group shot...

…and someone took control of the camera so Jimmy could jump in. 

It was nice spending time with some hashers that we don’t see often: Suzanne and Rob from Heiloo and Melanie and her sweet dog Lemon from Hannover.

This photo reminds me that Jimmy is a clown and that there were very few masks worn that day. Despite knowing that not all 60 guests were vaccinated, this was our first big event since March 2020 and we let our guard down and let loose. Thankfully it didn’t turn into a superspreader event and no one caught coronavirus.

Dylan was happy and full of smiles. 

I was skeptical about there being a photo booth, but it was surprisingly fun. 

 

Celine + Richard Get Married...

On July 24, we headed to Hillegom so I could take photos of Celine getting ready for her wedding, which had been postponed twice due to the pandemic. I took over 800 photos that day, but will spare you and only share a few.

Celine and Richard hadn’t planned on seeing each other before the ceremony, but I convinced them that they could still have some special moments together and that it would allow Jimmy plenty of unrushed time to take their wedding portraits. 

The venue was actually an apple orchard with lots of fun spots for photos. I especially loved this one! 

Jimmy had met most of Richard’s friends at the stag party, so they didn’t hesitate to clown around with each other. 

Celine’s niece and nephew got ready at the hotel with her, so were there early with us. 

When we realized that this golf cart would be visible in the photos, Richard and Jimmy moved it themselves after not being able to find an employee to help them. 

The one-hour service was held primarily in Dutch with summaries given in French for Celine’s family. Either way, I couldn’t understand much, so took lots more photos.

One day shy of his first birthday, little Dylan was helped down the aisle by two of his Dutch cousins. 

It was astonishing to learn that in order for their dear friend Mariska to conduct the service, under the watchful eyes of a government official in attendance, she had to complete a two-day course to allow her to perform just that single wedding. 
 

Boating in July...

We only went boating twice in July. The first time was on a beautiful Friday evening with Bob, while Lisa was out of town helping ensure the integrity of elections in Eastern Europe.

I never grow tired of the beauty of Leiden. 

The second time was with Carlin and Ashlynn.

Technically Ashlynn was still in quarantine from her return from Namibia, where she was COVID tested twice before getting on the airplane. Since Carlin had recently moved in with us while waiting for her UK visa to be approved, we really were a family bubble.

We enjoyed showing Ashlynn some of the smaller canals that we had discovered while she was away.

Jimmy had finally perfected his system to keep the beanbag chairs from getting damp.

A few days later, Ashlynn took another official COVID test to release early from quarantine, which came back negative. So she and Jimmy went back to Leiden to go stand up paddleboarding, which they really enjoyed.

 

Hashing in July...

After an unortunate fall-out with some hashers in Amsterdam, we decided to take a break from that kennel and try out the Hague H3 once again. This run starting in Voorburg and heading to Rijswijk was great, although technically the trail went along the outside of the pond instead of across this cool walkway...

...so we took a shortcut. Much to our delight, there was a BBQ at the end of trail, which had veggie burgers and was great fun. 

Two weeks later, it was time for a FILTH Hash in Leiden. Hard to tell from these photos, but it was nighttime—it just takes a long time to get dark in July. Tasty led us on a nice trail from Lemmy’s (a specialty beer bar) in the city center past this cool old building... 

…and the American Pilgrim Museum, in one of the oldest buildings in Leiden.

If you look closely you’ll see the arrows that Opee put on each of these stairs nearly two months earlier for our first physical FILTH Hash in 2021.

Our beer stop was truly unique: Park Matilo located on the remains of a Roman fortress, that had just been declared an UNESCO World Heritage Site earlier that week. 

We then ran across a boardwalk with several breaks to cross creeks by hopping over stones. Eventually we made our way back into the center of Leiden, where we eventually had a fun circle in the dark at the foot of the De Put Windmill.