Icicles...

We’ve had cold winters before, but this was likely our coldest with several weeks in January when it never got above freezing. This was the first time we’d ever lived anywhere where icicles grew in the windows.

This icicle was especially interesting as it dripped onto the icy banister and looked like it might eventually join up. It was actually quite nerve-wrecking when the icicles went crashing down after the temperatures finally warmed up.

First Snow of 2013...

It started to snow on January 14. When we woke up the next morning, we found 5 inches on the ground. While Ashlynn was hoping that school would be cancelled, Veronica actually didn’t want to miss her mocks (practice exams). Granted, school should have been cancelled because the roads were a mess, but the girls could easily walk.

Now they’ll be able to tell their kids that they trudged one mile to school through the snow. 

 Love the view from my desk.

Here’s the view from the end of our street (our house is the one with the tree on the right).

First Race of 2013...

The first race of the New Year was on January 6th in Leiden through the woods on the border of Oostgest. It was unseasonably warm and Ashlynn ran in shorts without any problems. (Three weeks later, the next circuit race was cancelled due to ice.)

Andrew was speedy, missing breaking 20:00 by just 2 seconds.

Ashlynn was exactly one minute behind him with a time of 21:02 (6:46/mile). We stuck around after the race to wait for Jimmy, who was running the 10K, then went out for a late all-you-can-eat sushi lunch as a celebration of Veronica’s hard work on her upcoming mock GCSEs (practice of year-end exams) and to wish Ashlynn luck for her upcoming racing season.

Breaking in our Bathtub...

We are spoiled by having a large master bathroom (although it is a bit weird that it doesn’t have a toilet). After Hannah got muddy on a walk, the girls decided that she should be the first to use our bathtub. We all enjoyed having her spend the entire holiday break with us.

Love this shot of Hannah shaking herself dry.

Happy New Year!

Despite some rain showers, James and Jon helped the four kids shoot off a lot of fireworks at midnight, while Helen and I enjoyed the view from inside. Only Ashlynn and Lucy managed to get in any of the photos.

 Veronica enjoyed taking sparkler photos.

New Year’s Eve...

We started the evening by having Lucy’s family over for dinner. Then we walked over to their house for bubbly and dessert.

Lucy made apple tart and Ashlynn made ice cream.

The girls enjoyed the late night sugar rush.

Fancy Cupcakes...

Ashlynn and Lucy were classmates several years ago. They were happy to discover that they now live just around the corner from each other. They were also happy to discover that they both like to bake. We all enjoyed getting to eat their rainbow cupcakes.

The rainbow wasn’t just on the outside.