Oh, What a December

For this year's Christmas Market season we returned to Cologne, Germany with many friend in tow, including Eric Nelson who just moved to Warsaw. A short drive, amazing eats, tasty drinks and absolutely beautiful back drop of the Kolner Dom Cathedral easily makes this Christmas Market a big favorite. Teia was a super trooper even in the wake of developing pink eye. We still managed to have a blast despite our little hospital intermission.

Christmas parties always seem to keep us busy during this time of year - definitely not complaining just concerned about the insane amount of guzzling and gluttony! Our friends Leslie and Nate hosted a nice gathering with our Amsterdam family!

Kirk's work also threw a huge party themed Goth Glam - feel free to imagine what that means but in case you need help here is a picture of Kirk's interpretation!

The Friday before we left for the US, W+K put on their own version of a Christmas Market - raising funds for Philippines disaster relief. This market included food, drinks, games, plenty of art, jewelry and my favorite - massages!  We managed to get a great pic together as a family as well - thanks Dario and Malia.

Recently Kirk participated in a roundtable discussion about advertising put on by Campaign Magazine. You can read the write-up here, and see a little video interview of Kirk here.

Teia behaved herself for her second 11 hour flight to the US. It was easy breezy thanks to the iPad and her attention to movies! When we landed my mom picked us up at the airport and took us to Ryan's place up north. There we were greeted by Ryan, Nicole, Sharon and Brad. We spent a few days in Lynnwood celebrating our own version of early Christmas before driving east to Thorp, WA to Kirk's family farm! Most times when we are at the farm the grounds are covered in snow but this year was a bit warmer giving us a chance to really enjoy the clear blue skies, crisp cool air, and shimmering gold land.

Our first night was spent getting in some good Grandma/Great Grandparents quality time. Kirk and I stepped out for a joy ride in the Polaris and sped across the farm to his Aunt's home. We played a bit with their miniature donkeys - so in love!

That evening we had a lovely dinner at Susan and Jeff's - always a blast at the Slothowers!

Midweek we made our way back to Seattle and stayed with Emily and Kai. Emily hosted a girl gathering so that I could see old friends from college and introduce them to Teia and also meet their little ones for the first time! It was such a blast and feels like not one thing has changed - besides the obvious, having children. Emily and Kai also hosted another Christmas party so we could continue to spend more time with friends! Thanks, Em & Kai, for taking us in once again and for planning so many great parties! The next day we met up with some friends who recently moved back to Washington from Amsterdam (Scott & Jo) - it was awesome to catch up! Later that evening we spent some time at the Buri's gathering with TKE alum and their families.

We spent the remainder of our trip at my family's cabin.  So much good food, rounds of Cards Against Humanity, walks around the island, time on the beach, opening Christmas gifts, visits from friends & family, and catching up on movies and shows. A really relaxing week and a good way to end our holiday travel!

Kirk got out for day of golfing and we received some visits from my Aunt and cousin, Uncle Daryl, Karey and Lisa, Scott and Johanna, Lisa and River, and Eric and Becky made a trip out. We always are so appreciative of friends/family taking the time to visit us.

Our flight home was actually a breeze. We were a bit nervous about the flight since Teia had been battling the flu/teething/and new found independence, but she actually sat quietly on our laps, watched movies and even took advantage of the baby bassinet (I didn't think she could use that again).

New Year's Eve was celebrated with the Haley's, enchiladas and candy cane cheese cake! We had a lovely low key evening adjusting to the jet lag, returning after 2 weeks and catching up with friends we missed! Thanks for celebrating with us!

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.