Long Break / Days in the Life

I'm (many) months overdue - not very good from my end. We've had quite a lot going on, but maybe that's a bad excuse since the blog's purpose is to keep the small circle informed with our goings-on.

The last check-in was in early May 2016, just after our Easter weekend trip around the Loire Valley (I'm already nostalgic - what a great trip!). It honestly seems like that was many years ago instead of only 1, and that we have lived in Amsterdam for a decade. We are settled, adjusted, living as normal of a life as we can manage given the unusual circumstances.

Many things are the same here: we go to school; to work; to the grocery; to soccer games; to the mall... But many things are different. We see our family twice a year; we build new friendships while the old ones sometimes feel imperiled. We seem to rent our lives instead of owning them. Our "real lives" are paused while we're living this wonderful, but temporary adventure.

The girls are better at this than Holli and I. Their closest friends are now here and at home. Transient means less when the adventure accounts for 20 to 35% of your life. The last day of school, however, will have them all in tears again and me not always succeeding in holding them back.

I'm going to try and post several entries over the next few days/ weeks to try and catch up. I may look for another guest-author as I anticipate that my usual banter will be lacking (perhaps it always is). But time is slipping away and I'm already having trouble remembering what we did and when. Creating this blog has helped me to set my memories in, maybe hard oak. Certainly not stone - I have forgotten more good times than I deserve to have had. Which makes me miss the people with whom I enjoyed them all the more as they have a way of sparking those memories for me.

We will see how it goes, but for now here are some pictures from our everyday adventures. This is a year's worth of non-vacation pictures, so I fully expect you to give up well before reaching the end. But there are some nice shots mixed in here and there.

Lilli appreciating the amazing sunset. This was in September, but it seemed like the best "cover photo."

Same night. You can pretend I Photoshopped the chimneys out if it makes you feel better, but this one is raw.

WWII Memorial I stumbled upon whilst riding one day. An Allied bomber crashed on a farm killing 6 family members and 7 crew members on January 30, 1944. This prop was found amid the wreckage.

Atop the highest "mountain" within an hour's bike ride from Amsterdam.
The building on the left is Snow Planet, the indoor ski slope. We have not yet been. I'm betting it's no Paoli Peaks.

Stocked up for King's Day 2016 party. I ended up giving the 5-6 remaining Heineys
away on the street so they would not clog up my beer fridge for the next 12 months. 

The girls set up shop early. People sell all sorts of things on King's Day.
As I recall, they were mostly peddling some crafty things they made.

The deck was decked out for the party - electric heaters installed on the wall to the left plus the visually impressive propane heater. Fortunately we didn't need them until later in the evening.

A silent disco. I don't know if that is a thing anywhere else, but we've seen at least 2 on boats and one other at the Vondeltuin bar/ restaurant in the park. Pretty funny to watch them without hearing the music.

Another fantastic boat. Astroturf rules. Sol long as there is not shredded tire granules mixed in,

Ritu stopped in for a visit during her European tour!
We had to prove it by creating a picture with her and Westerkerk!

There will now be pictures from the first of two trips to Keukenhof - separated by ~10-11 months.
Enjoy the flowers :)

Lucy's good buddy Juliette joined us last year

Alpacas and sharks?

Post-Keukenhof bike ride from last year. We had such a great time that we really wanted to do it again this year.

Deer nestled in the shade along the route

Never did see it.

This one sometimes has trouble keeping up.

Derby 2016! Not quite the same here; Daisy was completely ambivalent.

Master griller.

Dinner on the "terrace"

I see the moon.

I see these black swans every once in awhile. This one lives on the (bike)route to the gymnastics gym.

Sweet car! No idea what it was.

Some cats never learn.

Eliza has been riding more. She's got it pretty-well figured out.

#ThisIsHolland

Lucy finally got a new bike for her birthday. I've had to raise the seat since this was taken!

Dinner outside at the nearby Peruvian place. The table is not quite level.

School field trip to the Amsterdamse Bos (forest) via bike. Holli chaperoned and had a great time.

That's our place - the shortest one in the center.

It was a sad day when I had to strip down the $150 North Carolina special.
After blowing out 4-5 spokes, its previous problems were too much to merit fixing.
Not a bad performance overall though - over 2 years of hard use. I won't miss "her."

This is why. This frame is called the Omafiets (Grandma bike). I am secure.

So many caption ideas...

Bike Selphie.

There were teeth lost this year.

Happy and sad day here. Walibi World (NOT Wally World, Clark) was a last get-together for Lucy's best friend Ella (second-from-the-left). They had a great time, and she is sorely missed after moving back to Sweden over the summer. 

View from a hotel-top bar on the north side of the city called Sky Lounge. Sint-Nicolaas Kerk (Church) is the closest, with the Westerkerk (Western Church) tower in the background directly behind it. Westerkerk is the one that is closest to our home and is featured in so many pictures on this blog. The Oude Kerk (Old Church) is below the tower just left of center.

Holli rolling in from work

Lilli and her best friend Aspen (with the aforementioned Westerkerk in the background)

Concert on the canal. What's the name of that church again?

This is from a restaurant in Vondelpark - imagine ordering a beer at Cherokee Park, right next to a playground.
Some things are much better in Europe.

Teenager.

First day of school. I am looking forward to compiling these in a few years.

After dinner drinks with some good friends at the Beer Temple near Dam Square.

Reading session - not quite warm enough to be up there...

Club soccer hooligan.

Some things amaze me. But the fact that people either can't park or are a-holes does not.

Aspen's father was nice enough to invite us to his fantastic birthday party.

Betcha can't name this one. I'll give you a hint: There's a hint.

She really likes it outside. At least the wisteria keeps her from falling off.

Some early morning games, but at least it was warm-ish.

Here's that cooked table again. 

Mad-Max-esque angler fish - another oddity spotted during a bike ride.

Lucy's 11th. The cakes are getting too hot to approach.

This is how they roll. E-bike delivery.

When the sun comes out, the Dutch take advantage. I would guesstimate the temperature at around 55-60, but people stopped what they were doing to catch some rays while they could.

Tailgating for U of L - FSU. We got a projector and threw the game on the wall.

And there it is. #L1C4

Tina and Paul joined Joe and Gina for their first trip - you really can't take them anywhere without some trouble ensuing. You'll notice the roadie sitting on the table in addition to Gina bringing the chalkboard menu over for the old eyes.
Not pictured, Nancy (a.k.a. Dave) and Bonnie, who were also part of the European tour.

We made them take a canal tour. :)

Eliza entertaining Joe. New BFF's!

As soon as Gina was out of town, this guy showed up with Katie and her sparkly new jewelry. God help her!

Lilli seems unimpressed with Clayton's headgear.

Those Dam Boat Guys came highly recommended and he was a good tour.
American, but a history major as I recall. Eliza enjoyed herself.

We were sorry to see Katie leave...

Our long-lost friends the Wandering Wickens stopped in for a quick visit. Too short and too far between!

For Halloween this year the festivities were moved to the school parking lot, which was surprisingly even better than when it was in the neighborhood! We dressed up the Audi, and the wives!

Eliza hit the big 0-8!

The Rijksmuseum in the distance - an early morning shot taken while we waited for the US embassy to open.
Some careless dolt lost Lilli's passport at Heathrow and we had to make a trip.

Great kid here.

The ride home from school is sometimes just too tiring.
That or staying up too late catches up with them.

During one of Lucy's soccer practices just before the holidays, I look up and Eliza has gone over to help wrap gifts!

The next few pictures are from the Amsterdam Light Festival - always some amazing artwork.

Rainbows were popular.

Homework station #2

Another cool church that I had never checked out despite it being right next to Vondelpark.

Lucy took her first shot at basketball (see what I did there?) last fall.
Despite never playing before, she made the team as a 5th grader and really enjoyed herself. 

Lucy and her friend Tatum at the skating rink behind the Rijksmuseum

The Dutch LOVE to skate.

At the NECIS tournament - ISA took 3rd place overall. Same performance as Lilli's team 2 years earlier.

Lilli moved up to the U14 team and played really well during the year. Unfortunately, many of her teammates from 2 years ago have moved on and they had to settle for 4th place at NECIS.

Brown Forman held a family event at the Efteling amusement park.
Eliza rode rode the Flying Dutchman about 300 times in a row!

A giant sequoia that someone planted in the Hague. If this survives it it could reach a height of well over 200 ft.
My friend Jon Mansfield and I fell in love with these trees on a trip to San Francisco 25 years ago so we keep an eye out.

Holli added a long weekend to a work trip to Mexico so she and Kristen could catch up.

Agave. Important to tequila.

Pre-concert snack

Post-concert giggles. Maren Morris - it was a hit!

Construction continues on the parking garage that they are building under the canal near the Rijksmuseum. The water level at either end (where the water is still standing) is a few feet above the pipes where the sides turn from whitish to solid rust.

Rowing is big here. Some groups out on the Amstel for a workout.

Cherry blossom grove in the Amsterdamse Bos. Lovely!

I found that sock that the dryer ate!
The real story involves trying to determine why the squirrel cage destroyed itself. Samsung quality not what I expected.

This is the Moses bridge, which we saw in a picture while touring the London Bridge. I found it on the way home from a work trip to Antwerp a few months ago and was quite disappointed.

I decided to check back on it several weeks later after another work trip.
I left much happier this time.

This year we made Gina and Joe join us. They were up for anything...

Holli and Eliza made a crown from some fresh flowers

The 4th Dutch Princess?

These are large bunnies. Not giants, but big.

Remember how great the ride was last year? We had to do it again!

Mid-way through, we stopped for a "snack"

Almost back...

Joe - and his gimpy shoulder/ sore bottom - was ready to dismount!

Still amazing.

I think hanging out on the deck with a little sun was their favorite thing.
Well, maybe one of them. ;)

We also dragged (drug?) them to Zaanse Schaans but didn't make them pose with us.
Fun fact: when the wind is not blowing, the windmills are not in operation! Who knew?

This is another ski slope between Leiden and The Hague on my way to work.
It took me the longest time to figure out what it was as it is not really close to the highway.

Eliza was determined to start taking violin lessons, but there were no spots available. Her music teacher asked her to consider the cello, and after watching many Youtube videos of contemporary songs played on it, she decided to give it a go.

Lucy started playing for the ISA team a few weeks ago and made the U12 team as a 5th grader!

Lilli is playing for ISA's U15 team and had a fantastic game Saturday, scoring 3 goals in 3 games.
She and Lucy have both played defense until recently, so this was an unusual thrill for her!

Hands down - coolest car I've seen in Europe. Can't beat a mid-60's Vette!

On the way to the Derby party. Oddly, it was warmer and dryer here than back home!

That's all for now~