Amsterdam

On Thursday we went to the consulate in Amsterdam to get new passports for the girls. It was an expensive day. The school would let me take the time off, so it was unpaid. Parking was 40 euro. The passports were quite expensive and we had a nice lunch at one of the best museums in the world. It was really good food. Susan was even able to meet us. Fun to see her again! She likes living in Amsterdam.

I also had a bit more conflict at work this week with that manager that I have been having trouble with. I submitted a report to the management about what is needed to build the program that they want, and how she isn't in any way providing those things. We will see how it all plays out this coming week. Stresses me out.

The girls had a really nice time together yesterday. They played really well. Usually they are fighting a lot, so this was a nice change. We got a chance to visit Naomi's 99 year old grandma for her belated birthday. Somehow, she seems to be doing pretty well after breaking her hip a few weeks ago.

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Visiting Naomi's Grandma.

Birthday Week

We had a lot of fun this week. Naomi was really busy in the kitchen making my birthday present - a yummy salmon dinner with cheesecake for dessert. Her best cheesecake yet. Then on Saturday we went bowling. There is a forest hotel nearby with four lanes. Turns out you can bowl there for an hour and get two beers and some deep fried snacks for less than ten euro. Quite the deal! The pins are still reset with strings. We will have to go back some time.

On Tuesday we made a hedgehog house in the workshop. The girls had fun helping. Abigail would rather play and draw, but still likes being in the workshop. Amélie really likes to use the tools. Took about an hour and a half. Hopefully today we can find a place for it in the yard.

School continues to be a bit of a struggle. Thursday was meetings for me from 8:30 to 4:30. I had a five minute break, and some of the meetings overlapped so I was late. I did get a big compliment from some teachers trying to put together a project. I came to give them some advice on their progress, was there for 20 minutes, and afterward they said that they felt more hopeful after my advice than they had in the past year and a half of working this! Nice to hear. Too bad the school, one person in particular who is supposedly in charge, seems to fight against every bit of advice I give!

Making the hedgehog house.

Abigail had a friend over on Friday, and Amélie went to play at a friends house.

Birthday food!

Fun at the zoo last weekend.

Amélie has started doing Abigail's hair in the morning.

First time bowling fun.

Sinterklaas came to the Netherlands by steam train for the first time (he usually takes the steam boat) yesterday so that he could arrive in Apeldoorn. Afterward, he came to our village to stay at the castle (this happens every year) and there was a big welcome parade for him. The girls had fun!

Erasers

This was a week of erasers. We can't seem to find a good one to buy for the whiteboard, so the girls and I picked up some refill pads and velcro on Tuesday and made one in the workshop. Then, at school on Friday, the eraser was missing from my classroom. Turns out most of the rooms in the new building don't have one, so next week I will bring some over from the main building.

It was nice to get back into the workshop to make a little something. Haven't had the energy for that in a while. Still feeling pretty wiped out much of the time. Not sure when the energy will return. My contacts have also really been bothering me for the last month. Really blurry from time to time, especially after I take a little nap. Haven't had that problem before.

Today I am writing this and heading to the gym so that we can go to the zoo tomorrow morning. Should be cold and sunny. Hopefully there won't be too many other people. That way we can make it back home for lunch.

Making a new eraser.

Confused Crocus

Definitely didn't have the energy to get back into school mode after an intense holiday. I think I just need to keep reminding myself that I can enjoy some rest time now. The girls don't need quite as much attention now that they are five, my business is slow at the moment, the website and land deal have been wrapped up, and school is intense enough. Taking some time to rest and slow down seems to be the way forward for a while.

We had some beautiful fall weather this week, and it even froze a few times at night. One of the classes I teach was in London this week, so I was able to take it a bit easy at work. Still more than enough to do though.

On Tuesday we noticed in the newspaper that they were busy with digging up some skeletons around the church here in town. Seemed like a perfect activity for Halloween, so the girls and I rode our bikes there to see if we could watch the archeologists (tough word for the girls) and the construction workers in action. We were a bit late, but could see the plastic covering up the skeletons. I saw them working the day after. They are redoing the water systems downtown, and the church has been burying people there for 1000 years, from the 800s to the 1800s, so they had archaeologists on site to recover and relocate the bones.

Yesterday Amélie practiced some more roller blading - this time with Naomi. Found a nice quiet bike lane to use. Naomi is trying to get the girls ready for some ice skating this winter!

Is it spring or fall? Our flowers are confused.

We carved some pumpkins with friends. I ended up having to cheat with power tools...

The local archeological dig.