Beer Boat Canal Trip...

This year, the ladies in charge of activities for the American Women’s Club are trying to plan more outings for couples. We had a great time on the first even this club year--a canal boat tour with beer tasting. We started at the De Pas Bierspeciaal Café in The Hague. Jimmy was thrilled to find out that they sold Westvleteren 12, a 10.2% Trappist beer which is often ranked as the top beer in the world. At a whopping € 11 per bottle, we shared one, which is just as well since we had plenty of chances to try some good beers aboard the boat, including the infamous Delirium Tremens. We took a 1.5 hour cruise through the canals of The Hague, ducking to pass under quite a few low bridges. We were all smiles despite the rain.

Eurohash Planning Weekend...

We had no idea that when we agreed to help with the planning of Eurohash in Holland for May 2011 that we would get a free weekend away. Neptunus picked up the four of us and drove us to stay at Kasteel De Berckt in Baarlo (near Venlo in the south). The girls stayed behind exploring the castle and the grounds while we drove around looking for potential areas for Saturday’s trails for the over 500 hashers expected. Our favorite was the Drielandenpunt (Three-Country Point) where the borders of the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium meet. Here you see us in three countries at once and at the highest point in the Netherlands at 1,059 feet. We love the idea of having beer stops in three countries on one run. Jimmy’s volunteered to live hare the Sunday run which will likely be in Valkenburg.

Hello Four-Eyes...

Just four weeks after getting her braces off, Ashlynn picked up her new glasses. She’d been complaining about headaches, so we took her to have her eyes checked, which had to be at the hospital because of her age. Turns out she’s mildly far-sighted (as opposed to near-sighted like me before I had Lasik in 1999). So she’s the first person in our house to need reading glasses. Here you see both pairs we bought: the brown for home and the blue for school to match her uniform. Hopefully she’ll outgrow the need, but in the meantime we’re happy that her headaches have stopped.

Good-bye Nanny McPhee...

On September 8th, Ashlynn was thrilled to have her braces removed after wearing them for 10 months. I’m happy that the orthodontist suggested she keep them on over the summer rather than hassling with a retainer. Check out that lovely smile! It’s amazing how brackets on just four teeth could make such a huge difference. He glued a wire behind the teeth to stay in place for at least five months. Here’s hoping they stay straight!

1st Day of School...

The girls were happy that the sunflowers were still in bloom when they returned from California. Veronica was excited, but a little nervous about her new class for Year 9 (8th Grade); she and her best friend are together, but separated from their five good friends from the last two years. Of course, it wouldn’t be long before Veronica made a lot of new friends. This year she’s taking piano lessons twice a week and playing Ultimate Frisbee after school. Ashlynn was excited about being the big kids on campus for once as she started Year 6 (5th grade), her last year at primary school. She’s taking drama skills, fencing and Ultimate Frisbee after school.

Flea Market Finds...

We don’t have a weekly flea market like we had in Raleigh. However, periodically there are a few large flea markets near-by, such as one the weekend after the girls returned from California. We had fun shopping for costumes for the Zulu Warrior Party at Eurohash in May. The girls found a bean bag chair, and we said they could buy it as long as they could figure out how to get it home. As you can see, Veronica has mastered the Dutch art of cramming things onto her bike.
The cover was dirty, so the girls emptied out the pellets so it could be thrown into the washing machine. They made a mess, but they now have a clean over-sized bean bag chair in their room.

Reflections on our 5th Year - Part 2

At the beginning of this year, Jimmy declared that we were going to cut back on our travel. As you can see from this list, he didn’t get his way as travel once again dominates our list of our highs:

• Travel: Austria - Sound of Music sites in Salzburg and seeing Vienna with Betsy; Belgium - Ghent for a romantic weekend, Trappist breweries with Jim, Veronica’s day trip to Ypres; England - acting lessons at National Theatre, meeting up with Sally and John on New Year’s Eve in London, New Year’s Hash in Kent with Camilla and Tristram, back to London with my oldest friend Holly; France - Grimaud with Terri and Chris, Brittany for Curt and Veronique’s wedding with Dan and Nancy, Epernay for cycling and Champagne tasting; Germany - exploring Munich, skiing/hiking in Garmisch, Veronica’s week-long class trip to Arhweiler; Gibraltar - seeing monkeys while hiking with Sally and John; Greece - relaxing and visiting ruins with Vivynne and Tony in Skiathos, Nafplio and Athens; India - Chandigarh for Davinder and Roohi’s wedding extravaganza, Agra to visit the Taj Mahal, Old Delhi to see the market; Morocco - riding camels and visiting Tangier with Sally and; John; Spain - exploring Costa del Sol with Sally and John, rock climbing; The Netherlands - amusement park Efteling, Dutch Nash Hash in Lage Vuursche, planning weekend for Eurohash in Baarlo; US - girls 2.5 weeks in California with my parents, unscheduled trips allowed us some bonus time with our Raleigh friends, my family and Darlene
• Jimmy returning safe and sound from two short visits to Sandland
• Visitors: Marc joined us for Dutch Nash Hash, showed Holly around during her first trip to Europe, Vivynne & Tony partied with us at the AWC’s 80th Anniversary, Jason & Lauren plus two midgets spent a night, and Darlene & Mike also spent a night
• Thriller performance at the school’s international festival
• Jimmy: World Cup frenzy, watching games from the pool, successfully getting hashers to swim across a canal
• Melissa: cycling trip with Jimmy, Going Dutch going full-color
• Veronica: Grey Lions placing 2nd at Jr. National Frisbee Tournament, first triathlon, Outstanding Achievement award, being a Zwarte Piet at company Sinterklaas party, Center for Young Musicians
• Ashlynn: captain of youngest team at Jr National Ultimate Frisbee Championships, straight teeth, fencing lessons, starting a dogsitting business, Ultimate Frisbee school award