Surprises, Shoots and Sunshine

This March I surprised Alyssa in San Francisco for her Bachelorette party (in Napa) since I am unable to attend her wedding in June. This was a special occasion not only because we are celebrating Alyssa's union, but also it was the first time that many of us were in the same place in a long time. We had a wonderful turnout of friends from back home. Alyssa pulled a similar stunt when I had my bachelorette party so it only made sense to the same.

To kick off the weekend I stayed with Julie and met her loving husband Peter. We then surprised Alyssa at Peter's restaurant, Park Tavern. She was super shocked to say the least! Luckily her fiancé John happened to meet up for dinner so I was able to meet him in person too. So happy that I was able to meet these lucky lads!

Once in Napa our group did a tasting at the Iron Horse and then off to the Dry Creek Valley where we had a tasting at Unti. After that we finished up the day at Quiver Wineries and had some tasty beers off the creek at Stumptown Brewery.

It was a long two flights, but worth the memories and time spent with my best friends - miss you ladies! My flight home had a bit of scare though - during take off, the pilot shut off the plane and aborted take off. I looked out the window and noticed another plane landing. The pilot admitted that he aborted take off because the towers gave him the "ok" but during take off they noticed another plan landing.

So - that was sort of not awesome. But I made it home, got on a bus which was then rerouted because Obama just landed and was taking over Museumplien. For weeks the area was being prepped - letters were sent to local homes in the area telling them that no one was allowed on their terraces while the president was on location. Crazy. Obama spent time at the Rijks Museum for a meeting  before jetting off to The Hague to visit the Nuclear Security Summit. This is the first occasion that Obama visited Amsterdam as the President; they talked politics - including historical and economic ties between the Netherlands and the US.

A new find in Amsterdam - the Japanese Garden. Tucked behind the Bos (forrest) we were invited by friends Fran and Colin to join them for a picnic under with cherry blossoms. The Japanese Gardens were incredible and worth the 40 minute bike ride. Teia explored the field and quickly made friends with little kiddos in the area - especially the ones that repeatedly gave her Doritos!

In April last year Kirk went to Barcelona for a week to do a shoot. Teia and I tagged along and had a blast. So once again, when Kirk headed out to Barcelona for a shoot this April, we joined for some fun in the Barcelona sun! We left on the weekend so we could spend some time with our friends Will, Cynthia, and their sweet boy Dylan. They moved there from the states in the end of December. Such an amazing feeling being able to explore and enjoy the city through their eyes. Our first day we managed to get out for a FC Barcelona vs. Real Betis football match. Final score 3-1 Barca! I really enjoyed watching Messi play - yes, we were in nose-bleed seats but the view was outstanding!

After the game we ate a super meal at La Bodega. The staff had an amazing routine of physically presenting all the dishes offered on their menu. We settled with pulpo, mussels, clams, potatoes, etc. To end the night we sipped on orujo and devoured peach cheesecake and triple chocolate cake!  Yum!

The next day we took the kiddos to a local park and also managed to attend a nice bbq at Will & Cynthia's friends' house - with a great view of the Sagrada Familia!

We really enjoyed our weekend with the Larter's, but then Kirk had to get to work, so we checked into the Majestic hotel for the rest of the week. It was really lovely being able to meet Cynthia everyday for little playdates for Teia and Dylan at various city parks and cafes. We sure do live the spoiled life - after a simple 2 hour flight, spending time with friends, enjoying the Spanish culture and strolling around this fantastic city - I can't help but feel absolute bliss!

Kirk's shoot went well. Work took up most of his time, but he managed to sneak in some tasty meals - Cinc Sentits, ABaC, Gelonch and Tapas 24 (a Barcelona staple). Always love hitting the good food spots in this city.

We were fortunate enough to use Will and Cynthia's babysitter (Sammie) for a couple nights so I went out a bit as well - tapas at Bar Pla; Sushi at Mercat de Santa; seafood at Botafumeiro; and the requisite African Attitude cocktail at Boca Chica.

For Easter we gathered at the Lamberton's home. The day was filled with amazing eats, drinks, video games, Teia and Sebastiaan attempting to find their eggs, and a lot of laughs!  Thank you Lambertons for hosting a wonderful gathering and letting us enjoy Easter with your family!

After years of trying to find a soccer team I finally found a nice group of players to kick around with.  For the fall/winter we played indoor every Sunday at various venues around the city. For the spring/summer we meet at Museumplein. I am having such a blast and meeting some really nice people!

My mom arrived on the Friday night before King's Day. She's here for 2.5 weeks and what a special way to start her trip! For King's eve we went on a Goodbye! boat tour hosted by our friends Katie and Ryan. They are off to their new home in Basel, Switzerland. We will miss our dear friends - we met them originally through our friend Sav when Katie also happened to be pregnant. Our friendship grew stronger through our concurrent pregnancies and especially through motherhood. Teia will miss her little buddy Sebastiaan but luckily we will see you them a few months in Provence!

Last year on Queen's Day, Prince Willem-Alexander succeeded his mother Beatrix and became the King of Netherlands. From this point on Queen's Day has now become King's Day (Koningsdag).  The new date of celebration is on April 27th - except this year since it fell on a Sunday so we all celebrated the occasion on April 26th. King's Day is now the new national holiday. Just like Queen's Day, the day was full of markets, festivities and a lot of orange pride.

We spent our morning at Vondel Park - the park on this day is more for children and families. But it still gets out of control like the rest of the city - the park was packed and to get around you found yourself going at a snail's pace. The Haley's and Williams saved us a seat at the Milk House Cafe - we stopped for a drink and hot dog as well as a little playing and exploring for Teia!

After Teia's nap we made our way to the Snyder's down in the Jordaan. Their house is centrally located in a popular area. The crowds were crazy, the music loud, but I was able to get a 5 minute massage for 1 euro - so I'm not complaining! Thanks for having us over - the food, fun and company were wonderful!