Kirk's Birthday and Amsterdam News

Our little family blog is not just a way to share stories, updates on trips, Teia, and our general well being, but it also a way to document all the interesting bits of history occurring at this time. Starting with the good old USA federal government shutting down from October 1st to 16th all because Congress failed to enact legislation. The last time this happened was during the Clinton years. Awesome.

Also, Amsterdam just had its worst storm in 23 years killing one young tourist who was hit by a fallen tree. Another individual was rushed to the hospital when a tree fell on top of his car. Both incidents happened relatively close to where we live. It was crazy to walk around the canals and see the aftermath - massive trees collapsed onto the roads, bridges and canals. Flights, trains and trams all were canceled during the worst of it - winds were clocked at 94mph. Teia and I stayed home for the day/evening and luckily Kirk made it home safely.

And last, the Netherlands has been warned by the United Nations that its "Zwarte Piet" otherwise known as "Black Pete" tradition "could" be racist. I am not going to lie - every year we are here the Zwarte Piet still shocks the hell out of us - because the traditional costume for Zwarte Piet involves black make-up, red lipstick, and an afro wig. Some stories claim the black paint is "soot" and others state that he is Sinterklass' demonic servant, or Spanish servant. Either way there has been an ongoing debate for years on whether it is a silly and harmless tradition or a symbol of racism. The UN has now written a letter to the Dutch Government saying that some traditional practices could infringe on human rights. Now there are some plans in action to update and change the tradition - by making Zwarte Piet many different colors - even talk about getting rid of the big red lips and afro. This is definitely an interesting time to be here during all the outrage. Final result - the Zwarte Piets accompanying Sinterklaas this year will not wear their signature 'gold earrings'. The move comes after protests to the city council.

In more personal news, we have friends moving to this side of the pond - Eric and Becky and Will and Cynthia! Eric and Becky to Warsaw, Poland and Will and Cynthia to Barcelona, Spain. We are really excited to visit them in their new towns, host them in Amsterdam, and hopefully explore Europe together. Can't wait.

For Kirk's 34th birthday we had a low-key evening at home - not much celebrating when your child goes to bed by 7pm. However, our friend Matt made it out once again for a short weekend visit and golfed with Kirk during the day. Then we enjoyed a lovely dinner (with friends) at Zaza's - the highlight of the meal was easily the dessert - brioche bread and butter pudding (with dates and boozy toffee sauce). We ordered dessert, then coffee, then a round of whiskey, and then ordered dessert again - it was just that good!  It was great having you again for the weekend, Matt!

Jake, another dear friend of ours made it out to Amsterdam on his way back from a work trip in Abu Dhabi.  He managed to stretch out his layover for the weekend. It was a wonderful time sharing this city with him and we are looking forward to sharing it again, next time with his beautiful wife, Annie-Rose. Can June come any faster??!!

Thanks to some friends in the industry, we've been able to attend some fun concert experiences at the Heineken Music Hall in the past couple months. It started with Kirk going to see and hang out with Wiz Khalifa with his friends Matt and Ryan thanks to our good friend David that works with Wiz. Thanks, David!

We also went to see the Lumineers with our friends Matt & Mandy. Thanks to Matt's cousin that works with the band, we were able to stand on the stage...literally on the stage. Pretty amazing. Thank you Matt & Mandy!

Another friend, Mikey, set us up with tickets to see Bonobo at the Paradiso.  Erica and I attended and really enjoyed the night - love the venue, love Bonobo, love free tix, and love Mikey!

A work trip took Kirk to San Francisco and Vancouver and he was able to swing through Seattle on the way back to see family and friends, and catch a Husky game. Lucky guy.

We also had some bittersweet times with a wonderful family, and our great friends, leaving.  Kirk's coworker, Mike, his wife Megan, and their son Finley moved back to Cape Town. Megan and I became fast mommy friends with our kiddos being close in age. As much as we are sad to see them go we are really excited about their next adventure especially if it involves showing us around their new home town!

For Halloween this year Teia was a sweet little owl. She wore her costume to Bouncy Bunch (music class) with her friend Sebastiaan (who was Clark Kent in transition to Superman). Teia also wore her costume again at her friend Maya's 1st birthday.  Happy Birthday Maya!

Teia is doing really well - her hair is finally coming in, she crawls around and scales the room constantly, is a big chatter box, loves to laugh, joke around, gives kisses and is really close to standing/walking on her own.  She just started to climb up onto the couch - and loves to stand on top of things that she really shouldn't. We are constantly amazed by her and are enjoying every second of her discovering new things about herself and the world around her!

On November 17th we celebrated Sinterklaas' arrival with some friends. One tradition that we do adore during this time - leaving your shoes by the fireplace with a little drawing/picture for Sinterklaas and a carrot for his horse. Our nanny surprised us and filled our shoes with cookies, candies and chocolate and gifts. So sweet! Eric already made a visit out from Warsaw and got to experience some Zwarte Piet ridiculousness.

Our family member (Kirk's step dad's nephew) Donovan is in Venice for the semester studying abroad.  He and his friend Nicole came out for a long weekend.  It was nice having them around especially for Teia - she loved all the attention!

Our dear friend Ali is finally saying goodbye to sweet Amsterdam and moving to London. She's been my sidekick, a sweet companion, and someone I will really miss. At least London is a quick hop over the pond - I already went to check out her new place this September so I am looking forward to many trips!  She had a proper send off which involved a big boat, open bar, good music and lots of people.

We had one other guest this month for the Thanksgiving weekend - Aaron - Kirk's friend from high school, our friend from college. Aaron is currently living in Paris and made it over for our many Thanksgiving festivities this year. We had three lovely gatherings - all of which produced massive amounts of tasty food, laughs and food comas. So much to be thankful for - missing family on this day and grateful for the many friends who provide us with love and support.

Lastly, Kirk had a couple new ads come out in the past month. Check 'em out.

Birthday Girl!

With limited days of the summer left, a big group of us got together for one last boating adventure before the rainy season kicks in gear - oh Fall, I feel you right around the corner!  We lucked out with the weather  and enjoyed some good eats, food and peeps!

Kirk had a little more work travel since our last post. He did a west coast swing through LA and San Francisco which allowed him to see his family in Lake Chelan in between. He hadn't been to Chelan in years so that was a real treat. He also made his first trip to Poland, spending a few days in Warsaw and also spent some time in Cologne.

All of this work and travel have actually led to a couple new commercials of his coming out recently as 

well. Have a look!

Finally after talking about this museum for 3 years we drove out to the Kroller-Muller. Kroller-Muller Museum is an art museum and sculpture garden located in the heart of the Hoge Veluwe National Park.  We biked around the whole park making pit stops for a picnic and ice-cream!

Kirk flew out to Lake Koronis Minnesota for our dear friends Jake and Annie-Rose's wedding! It was a wonderful affair filled with great people, food, swimming and golf. We're so excited for the newly married couple and can't wait to see them in Amsterdam next summer.

It's hard to believe that our Teia Beatrix is officially one year old. We celebrated the occasion with many friends and family - Grandma Di Di even made the trip over to help out and to spend time with her sweet pea grandchild!

A big thanks to our friends: Erica for all the yummy food, Courtney for the cupcakes, and Amy and Chelsea for the decor and outfit! I had such a blast bouncing around ideas and discovering a crafty side that I truly didn't know existed. Teia's birthday would not have turned out the way it did if I didn't have your help and support. Also another special thanks to Leslie for taking beautiful beautiful pictures of Teia - amazing job. Teia is one heck of a lucky lady - what an amazing way to spend your first of many birthdays.

The following week I made a trip out to London to visit my friend Ali who used to live in Amsterdam. We had a really lovely weekend dining/drinking/dancing at hot spots Yuatcha, Bob Bob Ricard, and Bodo's Schloss.  For Saturday and Sunday morning we strolled around the Borough and Columbia Road Flower Market and even made it out to see the show The Book of Mormon.  I had such a splendid time - thanks for your hospitality and sharing your London city with me!

Just this past week Kirk spent an evening in Brussels for the EACA Euro Effies - an advertising industry awards ceremony. Kirk and his team won awards in two different categories and did a little celebrating afterward! [yes, the cravats were a joke]

Lastly, we're saying a sad farewell to a couple of Kirk's coworkers and dear friends this month. Mikey (and his wife, Naoko) and Pierre (and his fiancé, Neeza) are off to Tokyo and LA, respectively. We'll miss you greatly, but hopefully we'll come visit you sooner than later.