1749 Norwood

We are in the middle of a very intense week. Yesterday Naomi had a family reunion where we all said goodbye to her extended family. Lots of emotions there. It was a good afternoon, though. Even stayed for a pancake dinner! 

We found a house we are interested in buying. The inspection is scheduled for Monday and then we can put in an offer - due by Wednesday. Tired of these bidding wars. Was hoping things would have calmed down by now, but they haven't. 

On Tuesday we go to Amsterdam for Naomi's interview at the consulate. If all goes well, this will be the last step in a very long process. She is making the final preparations now. The stack of paper she is bringing with is at least an inch and a half thick. 

Amélie got a concussion on Wednesday, so she hasn't been able to go to school. Feeling better now. Got the flood mess all cleaned up and back to normal. Hopefully we get some good news in the next few days!

Rainbow!

The very thick folder. 

The Flood

We got a little reminder of our house in Rotterdam last weekend. We were sitting on the couch watching some TV, and it was a shower day, so we thought Abigail was in the shower. Her shower was going on for a long time, so I yelled upstairs to tell her to quit wasting water. She said she wasn't, she was reading a book. Uh oh. 

The drain for the washing machine on our top floor got plugged, so all the water got redirected to our main bathroom, and the bathroom in the hall below it. What a mess. Got everything opened up, aired out, and today we should be able to close things back up again. Humidity levels seem okay, so hopefully we won't have any mold issues. 

Last weekend we had snow and this weekend the frogs are doing their thing in the ponds. Very quick change from winter to spring! Yesterday we went up north to visit Naomi's friend and her new baby. Interesting how they speak a different language up there. They are renovating this old farmhouse using mostly reclaimed materials. Quite the project!

Melting snowman.

School project.

Fun at Elin's birthday party.

Books are better than Saturday morning cartoons!

Snowball Fight

If we are lucky, once or twice per winter we get enough snow for a snowball fight. The girls, Abigail especially, always look forward to this. Thought it wouldn't happen at all this year, but on Friday the snow came! Had it been a couple degrees cooler we would have gotten a foot, but it ended up being about an inch. So we had a good snowball fight, and the neighbor kids even joined in. Monday it will be in the 60s. 

At school, test results have been surprisingly low. Student motivation has never been lower. Glad I am leaving. This is a school/societal issue that needs to be addressed, and nobody is doing anything about it. The government gave some extra money, but the schools get to decide how to use it. Mine just paid the teachers a bit more to do the same work they have always done. Nobody's responsibility when everyone is to blame, right?

Naomi managed to get back into work this week. She even had her medical exam for the green card. All went well. The bus drivers went on strike, so I had to pick her up from work. Seems like we are turning into France with all the strikes and protests lately. Just without the good food.

The girls have slept in the same bed a few times this week. 

Snowball fight!

Strange walk in the woods - blue sky and rain (the snow melting from the trees). 

Switzerland

We finally got to do some skiing in Switzerland! It was a really fun trip. Naomi is still recovering from her surgery, so she didn't ski, but that was okay as the slopes were quite challenging. Very narrow in places and ungroomed. They also had to make a lot of snow, so the quality wasn't great and it got quite sugary toward the bottom. Amazing that you can go for 20 minutes straight (with the girls it took over an hour to get all the way down) and there are all sorts of intermediate runs. I have never been to such a huge hill! No way to explore the whole thing in one day, even without eight year olds. 

The girls really enjoyed some time in the hot tub too, and they had a lot of fun with Whisky. We will see Claire and Matt again at the end of the month. They will be coming up for Easter. We also booked a trip to Rome (and the French Alps and Tuscany) for the May holiday, so we will see them again not too long after Easter. Great to be able to spend so much time together. Hopefully our car can handle one last big roadtrip. 

Naomi will go back to work tomorrow for the first time in a month. She only has 6-7 weeks of teaching left, and then she is completely done. Strange to think about! Last month we were busy with selling the house, this month is all about the green card. She has her medical exam on Thursday and the big interview at the end of the month. Lots to prepare. 

Shopping for new ski gear in Solothurn.

Fun in the hot tub!

Above the clouds. New gondola.

A bit scary, but also fun!

Top of the ski hill.

Partway down.

Lunch stop. We were surprised it was almost 3pm!

Nearly down. Where is all the snow?!

Birthday brunch.

Found a nice burger stop in Bonn on our way home.