July 2024

It was a busy July with Leslie's visit, sleepaway camp for the kids, and heading to France for the Olympics, but we managed to see some lovely faces in between!

One of my managers was in Amsterdam for the ESHRE conference so we finally met face-to-face after working together remotely for over 5 years! We had lunch and walked around the Jordaan amidst a code yellow wind storm!

 

Gosh this city is pretty!

The kids went to a new sleepaway camp with their friends. It was only 4 nights instead of the 6 from last year. There was some drama at the beginning. Jude wasn't feeling well the morning we were meant to drive them to the camp outside Utrecht. We worried he had caught the stomach bug going around during Leslie and Peyton's visit so we kept him home and dropped Maeve off with the friends. By dinner time, Jude was feeling fine so we drove him to camp after dinner, feeling super relieved that he would get to go and we would get the 4 nights of parenting freedom we had counted on. Unfortunately, Maeve saw us when we dropped him off (they hadn't yet left for the night hike they were supposed to be on) and she immediately ran to us and started crying that she wanted to go home (bored, raining at the outdoor camp, usual 1st-night jitters). It took a lot of convincing for her to eventually walk off with Jude and a counselor to join the others on the night hike. That was not a fun drive home, feeling terrible for leaving her there crying, trying to trust that she would eventually have fun and be glad she stayed. Thankfully, the kids called the following afternoon and confirmed that everything was fine. A huge relief! 

Happy to see some evidence of them having fun on the insta account of the camp.

Took advantage of kid free time and had a delicious lunch at de Kas 

And dinner with Sara and Nathan at Bam Boa before seeing Brendan Hunt at the Carré.

He performed his "5 Years in Amsterdam" show. Rather bizarre. I would have preferred to see him do stand up. 

Ran into some friends at the show and went back to Bam Boa for drinks after. 

A quick hike and stop at a forest cafe with Sara before picking the kids up from camp. 

A chance to say goodbye to Thais and Jake. We'll miss them over in London! 

Pete's former coworker, Eric, came over with his partner. They were some of the thousands of people affected by the tech crash that grounded flights that month. We had planned to take them on a boat tour, but had to reschedule for a day I was working. At least we got to enjoy drinks one evening. 

Maeve's old bestie, Luisa, and her sweet family came back to visit! We loved having them over for dinner and going for ice cream one evening. 

Beating a heatwave

A chance to say goodbye to Riya, Mana, and Krupal before their move back to California. 

End of Leslie and Peyton's Visit

We had Friday earmarked for a beach day, but in typical Dutch fashion, it was raining so we pivoted and went to NEMO Science museum instead. Poor Maeve wasn't quite over her bug, but we still spent a while checking out all of the exhibits. 

On Saturday, we went to the Pancake house in the bos and later in the afternoon, biked to KEK brewery in Oudekerk aan de Amstel so Leslie and Peyton could see the polders and another cute village. 

That evening, Pete served his beer at Ray and Bobbie's open house at the DC Rainmaker cave. They have been so supportive of his beer and Pete had fun meeting people and talking about his beer club. 

Meanwhile the kids and moms had a sushi night and chill evening at home. 

On Sunday, Leslie wasn't feeling well so we brought Peyton with us to Jude's baseball game (his last!- not the sport for him). 

Peyton loved all of the bike riding (and independent trips to the ice cream shop and local playgrounds with her cousins sans parents). So we biked to Amstelpark for the afternoon. 

And then it was back to the airport to say goodbye. So special having them to ourselves for a week and getting to show them the places we love in the Netherlands!

Van Gogh Museum and Boat Ride

Another city day. Pete rode all three kiddos into the city in the bakfiets while Leslie and I took the tram. First stop, the corner bakery for outrageous milkshakes and a quick goodbye to friend Katie. 

Next stop: Van Gogh Museum. There was a new Mattew Wong exhibit that was really colorful and beautiful. 

We made our way to the art room where we were able to practice our skills. All good until Maeve got sick into the recycling bin! We had a boat booked for the late afternoon and decided to go for it, knowing Maeve could lay down and rest (and get sick as needed overboard!). 

It was a beautiful afternoon and we cruised the canals, stopping for pizza along the way. 

Captain Peyton!

We caught them taking our picture, so we took theirs! 

Some boat drama! This one was stuck in the small tunnel! Another boat needed help being towed from one side of the canal to the other!