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!