For Sint Maarten this year we connected with some of Teia's schoolmates and walked briefly in the VondelPark parade before continuing on in the pouring rain, walking door to door in the Oud Zuid neighborhood. The second the girls said they were done we jetted home as fast as we could - it was a bit of a beautiful disaster in regards to the weather but overall the girls loved walking around with their handmade lanterns and singing and collecting treats!
Coco had her first voorschool field trip to the zoo. It was great for me to meet her little friends and their parents while we spent the whole morning roaming around the zoo. The kids checked off their animal list as they spotted them, and we made a couple pit stops for koekjes en koffie (cookies and coffee). Coco had a blast! Teia also had a field trip the same week to Nemo kids science center. Volunteering for these gigs is certainly eye opening - 1st graders are crazy!
My sweet friend Liane came out for a quick weekend visit. She recently relocated her family from Amsterdam to Boston and was just missing Amsterdam enough to come out for some time with her friends. We had a ladies night out for drinks, a yummy dinner at Japanner, and some quality time back at our home (since she stayed with us for the weekend). The kids miss her so much, and I wish she would just move back - maybe someday!
On that Sunday, Sinterklaas arrived in Amsterdam. We met up with the Nellys on the Rokin to see the parade. True to form, this ritual was incredibly awkward. White people still continue to run around in black face (dressed as Zwarte piet).
Later I went to see the Russian ballet Anna Karenina with my friend Katie-Rose. It was beautifully done and the highlight was seeing our friends' boy star as Anna's son. He did an excellent job!
Thanksgiving aka Friendsgiving was amazing as usual! Our first gathering was with our friends, the Bernath and Quennoy's + 70 other people. The drinks were flowing, food never ending, and the night ended with many laughs. A couple days later we hosted a lower scale (30 persons), but still quite large gathering for Friendsgiving round 2. The kids ran around like crazy and we enjoyed the home-cooked potluck style dishes!
In December Kirk had a couple trips to Portland for meetings. While there he manage to squeeze in some good food and good times with clients and co-workers, in between the meetings. They even made their way to a Blazers game! And on one of the night's Waarvick came down from Seattle to hang out with Kirk. They did dinner and hung out at the throwback arcade.
The school had their end of the year party where the kids get dressed up and have a Winter Dinner. It's a really sweet affair. The kids bring in food to share and the parents enjoy some homemade gluhwein and chocolate milk. The girls also attended a Christmas Mini Disco with a Santa appearance and a sleepover with Matilda. Kirk went to see Oedipus at the Opera House with Geoffrey. And this year I attended Kirk's work party. It was located at Het Sieraad, and had a crazy circus-type theme with Transgender Bingo and more. We had a blast.
For Christmas Eve we did our annual feast at the Keyrouse's. The kids played a voetbal match, then watched some carollers, and a little of Home Alone.
For Christmas day we spent it with the Williams and Keyrouses. Melissa and Grant graciously hosted a fun and tasty gathering. I was so impressed they would host considering they had just arrived - Melissa was here in December scoping out schools and apartments and now they have officially moved. The kids played like crazy, and we sat around the table laughing and drinking the night away!
After Christmas went to the Winter Paradijs at the RAI. This event covered everything from inner tubing, ice-skating, ferris wheel, carousel, snowball fight and gin and tonics. The following day a group of us headed north to the Oedipus brewery for pizza and beers. The kids played games while we enjoyed some tasty brews! I had a soccer game the next day with my Dutch team. It was freezing but we managed!
New Years is always a crazy occasion in Amsterdam with all day fireworks which is just a build-up for the show at midnight. We went to Fran and Colin's for a dinner and the girls partied the night away. Somehow we managed to convince the girls it was time to head home and got them in bed. Then the real show started at the stroke of midnight. Our neighbors love their fireworks and we were fortunate enough to have our own little show. Teia and Colette shockingly slept soundly missing the whole thing.
The kids wanted to experience the beautiful Amsterdam Light Festival. The light festival is a 2 month long exhibition consisting of 29 art instalments on the canals. We took Paap's boat around with our friends Christian and Tiina (their kids) and Melissa.
The girls started up school after a lovely holiday and Teia picked up a new activity - violin! And Coco is officially in her big girl bed - it's taken some time to get used to it but she's pretty stoked! Coco is still loving voorschool and picking up the Dutch language. She is also now joined by her friend Preston at voorschool. They are having a lot of fun.
In mid-January Kirk headed out to New York for work. It was a pretty quick trip, but he always good to see the big apple.
My cousin Jake came out for a quick visit! It was wonderful having family here. He tagged along on school runs and we managed to get in a couple good meals, drinks, going away parties and a ladies night. Always a blast having my sweet cousin out! Then, another one of my dear friends came out to visit from London - Amsterdam alum, Ali!!!
It is all too common that you meet some really special people out here and then they leave on to their next adventure. Teia's best friend Matilda and her family are off to New Zealand. We are so excited for their big experience but we will miss seeing them everyday at school, mini discos and their sleepovers. Best of luck Petra and Matilda - hope to visit someday! And Teia's other dear friend Betsey is off to Seoul. We met Betsey and her mom Louise back when Betsey was 2.5 years old. The girls went to different schools but loved to get in their playdates when they could. I will miss you Lou so much - have the best time and hopefully we get ourselves out to South Korea to visit!
Teia officially completed her swim diploma series with RA- Sports. After 3 years of really hard work Teia got her Diploma C! We are so proud of our little lady - way to go Teia!
For this year's winter break we flew to Barcelona to visit our friends Will and Cynthia Larter (and their boys, Dylan and Ryan). It's been a couple years since we've been out to visit and this time we got to see their new apartment and explore a different part of the city. We spent the days at local parks, the Cosmo Caixa Science Museum, walks around the city, devouring gelato and lounging around with the Larter's in the evening.
One of the days we went to Barceloneta beach so the girls could prance around the Mediterranean, and we also sat at one of our favorite beach-front restaurants, Salamanca for epic paella! Later we managed to go for dinner at Paco Meralgo with Will that evening (a local favorite spot for the Larters).
The following night at Disfrutar (2 Michelin Star restaurant and probably the fanciest meal I have ever had - not to mention the best Rose). Our 20 course meal was absolutely beautiful, delicious and so creative. Highlights from the Gran Classic menu for me were smoked instant apple cider, gazpacho sandwich with vinegar garnish, macaroni carbonara, and the multi spherical tatin of corn and foie with pibil squab and a foie gras bonbon. Yum!!!
The next morning we got up early and made our way to the Larter's apartment for the winter in Andorra. Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe and the official language is Catalan. It sits between Spain and France. I had never heard of Andorra before so it was a really sweet experience to spend a couple days and enjoy its beautiful mountainous landscape in Canillo. We stayed in the Grandvalira. We skied in the El Tarter village. Teia spent her days in ski lessons while Colette "enjoyed" the daycare center. Ryan and Dylan went off with the ski club, and us adults hit the slopes! It was hot, but beautiful! We had such a special and wonderful time. It was really hard saying goodbye to the Larters - that week gave the kids plenty of time to bond and develop hopefully everlasting friendships. Thanks again for hosting us in both of your beautiful homes!
And finally to wrap up this lengthy post we had a sweet quick visit from Ashley and Ken (friends from college). We had them over for a drink and visit at our place before heading to Jappaner for dinner. Afterwards we finished the night back at their hotel (Hoxton) and met up with some friends there (Fran and Colin). I also squeezed in another breakfast with Ashley and Ken before they jetted back to the States. So fun seeing you, and please come back soon!!! And it's official - we finally got an electric bakfiets. This is a major milestone and such a game changer. Biking around this city with my kiddos and sometimes their friends will only be easier! Gotta love that Dutch bike lifestyle!
And also a non-related but cute video of Coco! Cheers!
