April 2022

I was not expecting April to start like this... 

Our only snow of the whole winter season and on April Fool's day no less!

Green roofs??

The kids Irish "cousins" were in Amsterdam while I was away in CO. I couldn't believe how much they'd grown since our last visit almost 5 years ago! 

Becca's last book club. Basically, every book club is "someone's last book club." Expat life 😓

Maeve has mastered the weekend french toast prep at the age of 5. She slices the brioche, mixes the eggs, milk, and vanilla, and then comes to wake us to tell us it is ready to be made. I can't wait until the day when she is using the stovetop on her own and we will be waking to breakfast! 

Game on! Jude rocking his new Judo suit.

From winter to summer in a matter of days. 

After I got back from CO, it was Pete's turn for a quick trip to the US: To Houston, TX for the National Science Teaching Association conference, where he ate a lot of BBQ and learned a little, too. The kids and I got in the spring spirit with Easter decoration and prep. I ordered 200 tulips again from BOLT, like I did during Spring 2020 when the tulip fields were in need. We walked the neighborhood, delivering flowers again.

And then it was winter again.

After we got back from Mallorca, Pete drove with our friend Nathan to Poland, near the border with Ukraine. Nathan did the Peace Corps in Ukraine and was on a mission to pick up ±300 Pysanky eggs from a family that he was close with during his time there. Since the Russian invasion, the daughters (now grown-ups) have lost their livelihoods and also could not travel to France where they usually bring the eggs for sale. Nathan started a fundraiser for locals to buy the eggs, with the money going to the family and an aid organization in Ukraine. We waited until the day before the journey to give the final "okay" for the trip, following the news to ensure that it was still safe to be in that region. I still spent the weekend on edge and in a funk solo parenting. I do not know how military partners live like this. I am so grateful for their sacrifice 🙏

At least the sun was shining that weekend

And ISA had their spring PTA BBQ, which was a lot of fun.

The dads and the eggs arrived safely home Sunday evening. There are still some eggs left for anyone around Amsterdam who is interested to buy one! 

I love this plant that was in our garden when we bought the house. I especially love watching people stop to admire it when they walk by the house.

Never too early to learn

Lower school music concerts resumed after 3 years off due to COVID. Maeve's class was the very first one and the music teacher (and I) got emotional about their return. 

Maeve dressed herself in leopard print! 

And then it was King's Day! We'd found small ways to celebrate the past two years (2020, 2021), but were so happy that the country was able to have its normal celebrations. The kids have been waiting all of these years to be able to take part and sell things. Jude and Julian decided to sell cards from their shared Pokemon collection. They diligently made "mystery packs" of 10 cards wrapped in foil and did really well selling them (2 euros a pack, discounted to 1 euro). By the end of the day, they had made 45 euros! Of course, Jude has already spent part of his earnings on.... new Pokemon cards. 

Lien and Tareq hosted an open house and made their front yard available for us to sell. Friends came and went, a lot of sparking wine was drunk, it didn't rain, and the mood was really festive. A great return for the holiday! 

The following evening, I took a long walk around our neighborhood, up to the Amstel river, and through Amstelpark, capturing some of the beauty of this Dutch landscape. 

Then, the next night, I went into the city to see the new Downton Abbey movie. We had a babysitter as Pete was in the city bowling with his department. So when the movie got out, I took my time walking through the city at sunset. I hadn't been in to see the canals in a while and I was missing them. We are in the long days season where it is not truly dark until 11pm and I love it!