June 2022

June 2022: 5 birthday parties, 3 going away parties, 2 boat rides, 2 concerts, countless school events, and end-of-year activities. Throw in car maintenance, finalizing taxes, fiber optic internet installation, a lot of work, and prep for our first summer road trip. It's been a (mostly) beautiful marathon. And it's only June 16th! 

Calm to start the month on a walk with Dakota

Andrea's birthday party

Gabriel and Efe's birthday party

Bos field trip with the 2nd Grade

Directly to the Kindergarten Art Show

💗💗💗

Christine's going away boat ride

Kostverlorenhof's newest band

Holy Moly pizza truck came and made fresh pizzas for our dinner party at Fred and Sophie's

ISA Family fun run

Luisa's Going Away Party

We got an electric kit and battery for our bakfiets. Should have done it years ago! Now Pete can easily take the kids to school and take me out on the town! 

Picture perfect day for Leone's 30th Birthday party boat ride

I learned you can spot a South African by their bucket hat! We made 10 new friends cruising up and down the Amstel. 

Everyone was out on the water on this beautiful Saturday. 

Dinner at Cafe Ysbreker with Nathan, Scott, and Julius before the Analogs concert at Carre 

A sick Dutch Beatles' cover band. The first 1/2 was performing the entire Abbey Road album start to finish and then they played more hits after intermission. 

All-day baseball event for Jude

Mathis' birthday party for Maeve

Second-cousin Sam got us 6 comp tickets for Beth's concert at Ziggo Dome. She opened for Alanis Morsette in front of a packed house. 

We've got one hand in our pocket.... 

Jude with his teacher, James, at the 2nd Grade Picnic

We won the best class lottery with the Seahorse class this year. Going to miss this crew all being together! 

With Alina Begina

With Andrea

I have been on autopilot this month, trying to accomplish everything by the end of the school year. I haven't had time to process the goodbyes, two of which were really unexpected. I'm glad we'll have some more time together this summer, and new places in the world to visit! 

And now, summer. We are staying in Europe this year after last summer's epic USA reunion tour. We leave Friday morning for the first of our two road trips: 18-days in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway!

Ascension Day Holidays Camping on the Island of Texel

The Thursday and Friday before Memorial day were national and school holidays, so we enjoyed our own long weekend. Attempts at planning a group camping trip fell through, so we set out on our own to the island of Texel. I knew the weather would be iffy and wanted a place that had indoor entertainment in case we got poured on. I found one of the last campsites at Vakantiepark de Krim, a vacation park we had visited 5 years ago with friends (where does the time go!?). We stayed the first two nights there and then moved to an affiliated campsite in another town that had more availability for the remainder of our stay. Setting up and taking down camp 2 times in 4 nights was not ideal, but we did enjoy the change of scenery and different amenities each one offered. The Wadden islands are always windy, but it was WINDY!! Like tent might fly away in the night wind. We survived and made a lot of great family memories.

Cool vacation rentals on the island with green roofs/solar panels

Night one was spent traveling to the island (90-minute drive, 30-minute ferry wait, 20-minute ferry, 20-minute drive), setting up camp, and going to bed! In the morning, we enjoy the sunshine and then the many amenities of the vacation park: 

Outdoor play areas, craft time

Indoor play area (completely renovated from the last time we were there), complete with robots delivering drinks to your table. 

Picnic lunch outside followed by all afternoon at the waterpark. There were two long, enclosed water slides, a "lazy river" (aka wild river) and this slide. The kids were thoroughly entertained and thoroughly worn out after a few hours! 

Icecream pick me up and drive out to the lighthouse. 

The boys climbed to the top, while the girls went down to the beach to fly the kite. 

Windblown! 

Driving through de Cocksdorp

Back in time for the evening entertainment, which did not impress our kids.

Sunset around 9:50pm. Thank goodness for the blackout tent! 

The next morning we had to take down camp and get the car packed up. The kids ran off to the play areas, which gave us time to get it done. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the park before heading to our next campground. 

Bowling. 

Minigolf for the boys, crafting for the girls, another picnic lunch, the afternoon spent at the waterpark, and then a little entertainment (??) before heading out. 

We brought our bikes and hadn't used them yet so I opted to bike the 10km to our next campsite. I was looking forward to the views but was not anticipating the extreme wind. It was a grueling ride and I had to walk my bike up the last hill from de Koog to the campsite in the dunes. 

So many sheep! 

Our second site was in the dunes along the beach in de Koog. We had a small hill to climb, which gave us an isolated feeling with views (as opposed to being sandwiched between two camper vans at the first place). 

After dinner and bedtime, Pete and I climbed the dunes to see the 9:52pm sunset. 

Little beachfront cabanas people rent/own to keep their things in. 

The wind was intense on the beach, with big waves and washed-up sea foam blowing across the sand. 

The second campsite had one amenity for kids- this indoor play area and crafting tables manned by staff. We stayed as long as it took to charge our phones (no electricity at that campground)! This place was clutch the following day when we needed to pack up. We deposited the kids here and collected them on our drive out. 

We biked into town and cruised the strip. 

There were no fewer than 15 restaurants in a small downtown, but we choose the American-themed diner for burgers, steak fries, and shakes. 

From town, we enjoyed a pretty bike road to a small forested area where there was a hike for kids. Loved being in the pine needle forest. 

Then a windy afternoon at the beach. 

Jude took to frolicking in the sea foam.

Maeve stuck to snuggling. 

This serene photo belies the reality of a rough night with wind flapping the tent around!

It was already a remarkable sight from the top of the dunes with the sun setting behind the clouds ... 

... and then the horses came galloping down the beach! 

Picking up lunch to go while we wait for the ferry home.