June and July

The kids ended school with a couple of fun events:

V and his class walked about a mile and a half to a local lake and had a half a day filled with sport and swimming (BRRRRR)... He has come such a long way. He really likes the school, as do we, and I hope is looking forward to starting again in the fall. He is our creature of habit and having moved SO many times, we worry that he hasn't"found" himself or his identity yet. He really is very secure within himself and could absolutely care less about what other people think or about trying to fit in. But, he hasn't found a friend that he totally identifies with yet. Maybe he just doesn't need one. He has started a workout routine at home which he loves and hates at the same time ;-)

S ended the school year with a great trip to Ayers Rock - an outdoor survival course here. The kids had an amazing lunch provided by the parents. I was a little nervous about S knowing how scared of heights he is. He started out fine for the first 2 minutes and then...

Tears and "I can't do this, how am I supposed to do this?".

To his credit and my amazement - he finished the whole thing. He freaked a little again when he hit the (freezing) cold water. But he did it and has proudly proclaimed:

"I NEVER want to come here again in my whole entire life!!!"

S also "stepped up" to the middle school. They had a wonderful step-up day where the 4th graders crossed the bridge over to the middle school. They received their certificates and a special lanyard to hold their new ID badges that they get at the beginning of the year. It was really special - I was more emotional than I thought. It was a tough 5 months since we had moved and I was so proud of this kid for coming into a new school (again) and jumping in head first.

Then the BIG one - we made a trip back to Houston. Wow - the kids had an AMAZING time. It was wonderful to see friends and family. I ran around like a crazy woman the whole time, but I was happy that the kids were happy. Totally enjoyed the heat - I am a southern girl. The time went by so quickly, I didn't get everything done that I had hoped.

We have some friends coming into town at the end of July and then we are off to London the first week of August. As soon as we get back - orientation starts for school!

If the weather would improve - it'd be close to a perfect summer!

C's Visit!!!

June started out with the BFF coming out to visit :-)

It was AMAZING to have her here as I have missed her terribly!

We were able to tootle around The Hague. I took her to the open market and no surprise... She loved it as much as I do. We feasted on falafels, herring, sandwiches, Indonesian, fresh fruits and veggies and good ole homemade Indian.

We went to Kinderdijk and saw the windmills. The windmills are susceptible to the weather and fires, so very few of them are standing compared to before. We were able to go inside one to see how people actually lived in them. There are actually a few that people still live in. Pretty cool :-)

Next stop - Amsterdam. We took the train up and spent most of the day walking around the city. We visited the market there, stopped by the Anne Frank house, ate dim sum, poffertjes, pannenkoeken, the most amazing blackberries, and sampled some wonderful gouda. It rained for most of the time that we were there, but we made it!

Wish we could do it all over again - Miss you C!!!

Medieval Day

Mid-May started like a shotgun - fast and furious...

It started the beginning of end of year school activities including a fun-filled day called "Medieval Day". The kids drew "jobs" out of a hat which included jobs such as king, barons, baronesses, knights and squires, and peasants. S drew the "Knight". I think he was pretty happy about that. The knights competed in a jousting competition where S made it into the semi-finals. The peasants were broken up into various jobs including merry makers, carpenters, cooks and woodworkers. At any time, one of the teachers could grab you and make you a leper. S's best little buddy got pulled out.

The kids were given money to "buy" their snacks - and quickly realized how unfair the system was back then. The peasants could barely afford the snacks that they actually wanted. The kings had too much to spend. S's friend made out like a bandit because S gave him most of his coins since he was allergic to half the food on the table.

During recess, if the peasants stepped out of line - the knights and squires could take them to be put in the stocks which the carpenters actually put together.

The cooks made a lovely homemade vegetable soup for lunch. The peasants were allowed to have this plus bread slices and cut vegetables. The knights and squires dined on that as well as fresh homemade bread. The kings, barons and baronesses were able to feast on pizza for lunch. You can imagine to "No fair"'s that were muttered throughout the meal ;-)

It was a really really long day for the kids and some said they never, ever wanted to do that again. Even S being a knight said that he didn't want to do it again. He felt really bad for his friends and hated that he couldn't eat his own lunch!

17 years!

Yesterday, B and I celebrated our 17th anniversary... 17 years, seems almost like yesterday that I was 24 and getting married.

In 17 years, we have done so much that a lot of it is blurry. Most amazingly - we have 2 boys. I think that's the best part to come out of our marriage - being parents. B is a good dad, gets down on the ground and in the dirt with them. It's my favorite part of the weekend, watching the 3 of them act like boys playing football, basketball or video games.

We have moved 8 times, lived in 3 different countries and 3 different states. We have gotten to travel more than I ever imagined. I have been able to be a witness to B's career skyrocket. I have a partner that I actually talk to... about anything. We laugh over silly things and still get a kick out of small things.

We have survived job changes, moves, health scares, family issues and our children ;-)

Happy Anniversary honey! I love you.

Day by Day

So sorry for not posting for a while... I have been in a "place".

Not necessarily a bad place, more of a complacent place. I think the move has finally caught up with me. I have cut down exercising to about 4 days a week only for about an hour a day - crazy, I know. Funny thing is, although I jiggle a little more in certain places, my body is much happier for it.

We took an amazing trip to Paris and fit almost everything you could think of in 4 days. I think my favorite part of the whole trip was the Louvre. I was awed. To think that I was in the same room as the paintings that were actually touched and created by names such as David, Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, De la Croix, the list goes on and on. I was most excited to see the pyramid in the entrance, the Mona Lisa and the Coronation of Napoleon. I could have stared at David's Coronation for hours.

The Louvre in itself was amazing. The building, the history.

The kids soaked it all in. Wasn't really sure how a 13 and 10 year old were going to handle an all day excursion at the museum. To my delight, they were as interested as B and I were.

S fell at school and suffered a mild concussion - with his allergies, skin and other issues, we feel like he has become a bit of a full time project :-( Poor kid.

We are now in the throes of end of the year school preparations, including a surprise fun filled day in S's class this Wednesday. I won't spoil the fun... will post with pictures later.

The best part of the next few weeks is a visit by C - I cannot wait!!! We have a few excursions planned... but mostly, I am thrilled to see my friend. To have a little piece of home right here with me.

Much love!!!

My Heart

I want to tell you about someone that I admire... My oldest child.

From the minute this child was born, he was a fighter. Born at only 4lbs 3oz., he fought his way through prematurity like a champ. He was a smart baby and toddler. Learning his alphabet before he was 2 and learning to read at the age of 4. I can't say that I take any credit... He is just smart like that. Observant to say the least. He remembers the most minute details. Even as a small child, he was and still is a perfectionist about certain things.

As he has gotten older and as more of his personality is revealed, I have discovered this caring, knowledge hungry child that couldn't hurt a fly. Ask anyone - they immediately love him once they meet him. He is kind and helpful. He loves current events. He loves to read - a trait that I am immensely proud of. He does not give up - he has the strongest sense of loyalty and commitment. He will never let you down. He is always ready for a hug or a snuggle, but only if asked. He is creative - and very good with his hands. He likes to take things apart to see "how they work". He loves technology and is really great at grasping the latest and greatest technological advances. He is a best friend.

He is my heart.

MC Escher

Yesterday, the family went on an outing in Den Haag. We walked out to the Escher in Het Paleis museum. For those of you art and mathematics fanatics, V and I are huge Escher fans. We were so excited to see his original drawings, wood cuttings, etc... The museum is housed in one of the Netherlands Queens winter homes. So as well as being able to soak in Escher, we were able to get some history about the building as well.

We were able to see Waterfalls, Metamorphosis, Relativity, and Drawing Hands, to name a few. He was a genius before his time. He is Dutch by birth. What I didn't know was that as a young adult, he travelled through Italy, hence the inspiration for most of his landscape lithographs.

As we were about to leave the museum, we decided to peruse the gift shop and a book in particular caught my eye. It was a book about homes and architecture in Den Haag. I flipped through and looked at the index... AND...

Our house was in it! We were all so surprised! Pretty incredible - just made me feel all the more special about where we live...

Have a great day!