Sharon's Visit and Halloween!

It's been a crazy few months full of yoga, studying and work travel for Kirk.
Spending most of September on the road, Kirk made trips to London, Moscow, San Francisco, Seattle and Istanbul. On top of logging a bunch of meetings and KLM miles, Kirk was able to meet his nephew Peyton for the first time; play golf at Alderra with Brock, Dave & Kai; and see the UW vs Stanford game.
Kirk also had a new commercial come out which you can see here:

Meanwhile I spent the majority of that time practicing, assisting, observing and teaching in preparation for my yoga final. The past few months flew by and the day had finally arrived.  Luckily all the studying and hard work paid off and I passed my final and officially received my 200 hour Teacher Training Certificate with Yoga Moves. Since graduating I now teach at Hot Flow Yoga Amsterdam and hope to set up a few other classes. The whole experience was incredibly humbling and empowering. I met life-long friends and learned a ton and am really excited for what the future holds with my practice and teaching. Thanks Yoga Moves - especially Hilary and Marlene!

in October Sharon came out for 3 weeks - perfect timing because I needed all the help I could get in order to get all my hours done and studying. I know Sharon didn't mine the least bit - Teia and she had a lot of fun playing, laughing and cuddling on the couch. Our friend Leslie took these lovely shots of our little family - it's pretty obvious that little miss Teia is a Johnsen!

One Saturday during Sharon's trip we managed to get away for a day trip to The Hague. It rained on and off throughout the day so we made the most of the little breaks of sunshine, ate a nice lunch, and walked around the city.

The following weekend was Kirk's 35th birthday. We stayed in for the night and had a nice visit from Will Larter who was in town for work. The next night we went out to dinner with Ben and Erica at Aan de Amstel and followed up with drinks at Van Puffelen.

The following week, one of my dearest friends, Mari-Frances, from high school came out to Amsterdam for work.  We managed to go out for dinner and drinks and she met Teia. Always a good time - I even attempted my first biking Dutch with Mari on back. She is a natural and would make her Dutch husband proud!

For Sharon's last weekend in Europe, her and Kirk went to Paris. Over the course of two days they managed to fit in most of the major site seeing - the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, La Basilique du Sacre Coeur, etc - as well as some nice lunches and generally soaking up the city. By all accounts they had a great time.

While Kirk and Sharon explored Paris I took Teia to Vondel Park for the Spooky Buggy Halloween Parade. Teia was an owl (again) and we met up with friends Courtney, Michael and Juliana!

For actual Halloween my friend Melissa had us over for cookie decorating and trick-or-treating with her little boys Reid and Blaine (plus a little mimosa here and there). That evening we attended a pumpkin carving and bites at W+K followed by an adult gathering - opening up their W+K bar, and after hours at Wheels Cafe.  I took at stab at being a scarecrow.

The next day we attended Maya's birthday at Mazzo. Happy 2nd Birthday, Maya, and thanks Vicky for the lovely lunch. Teia had a blast playing and celebrating Maya's special day! And yes, Teia insisted on wearing Minnie Mouse ears (that were a gift to Maya). Thanks for sharing!

And here's a sweet little video of our favorite little gal - it's hard to believe how fast she is growing up. I wish everyday that I could hit pause but then we would miss so many wonderful moments like this!

Namaste

Straight after our amazing trip to Provence, Kirk went to Barcelona and Rome for a shoot for a new Nike Kevin Durant commercial. He said there wasn't a whole lot to report: tapas, pasta, and the shoot went well. Here's the final product:

Once Kirk got back, the day I'd been waiting for finally came - it was time for my 200 Hour Intensive  Yoga Alliance Teacher training course in Utrecht. It wasn't easy. Chelsea and I drove to there everyday for 3 straight weeks. Our 10-12 hour days were filled with vinyasa flow sequences, posture labs, philosophy, anatomy, ayurveda and spending time with wonderful and inspiring individuals.

It was a crazy three weeks and I don't think I could have managed without the support of Kirk, my friend Melissa for taking Teia for a few days, Nazanin our babysitter, and the kind words and encouragement from our family and friends. Feeling loved to say the least! And obviously I couldn't have done it without Chelsea, Nancy and Anna - they kept me grounded throughout the process; picked me up when I needed it; helped me work through my transition and made me laugh, laugh and laugh. Can't thank you ladies enough!

Plus our great teachers - I really enjoyed working with them and hopefully we will make them proud. Now for the time being I will be working on teaching, going to classes, working on my reports, and returning for more training in mid-September.  Our final is in mid-October and graduation in early November - wish me luck!

During my training, Kirk made a quick trip to Cologne for the annual Gamecom video gaming conference that he always goes to. Again he didn't have a lot to report, but did say that he had a delicious dinner at Le Moissonnier.

The following weekend a group of us ladies flew into Bordeaux for some wine tasting, good eats, enjoying the countryside, and celebrating our beautiful friend Amy who is getting married in October.  I can't imagine a better way to celebrate a bachelorette than yummy wine and bubbly!

We stayed in the picturesque St. Emilion about an hour outside of Bordeaux. This little village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - covered in narrow cobble-stoned streets, shops, cafes and Romanesque churches. The town was named after the monk Emilion and this area is one of the principal red wine areas of Bordeaux. The primary grape used are the Merlot and Cabernet Franc with some Cabernet Sauvignon. Our apartment was stationed in the middle of the town making it easy to pop in and out to the wineries and restaurants.

Our first day we enjoyed tours at Chateau Gaudent and then Les Cordeliers (Cloister and underground cellars). For dinner we dined at Restaurant Le Tertre. Saturday we were up bright and early for another round of tastings, starting at Chateau du Tailhas in Pomerol vineyard, a lunch at La Terrasse Rouge of Chateau La Dominique, then off to Chateau Fombrauge and final stop at Chateau des Laudes. Our last feast was at L'Huitrier and then wine, games, Leslie's playlist and a cozy night in!

On Sunday we cruised around town, drinking cappuccinos, and eating croissants and quiches before flying back to Amsterdam.  It was an absolute blast - love these girls!

The following weekend our little family made a trip out to Warsaw to visit Eric and Becky. We immediately got our hands on some Perogi's (Polish dumplings) and then hit the town starting off with a walk down the Chimelna and Nowy Swiat. We stopped for Paczki (Polish donuts) - which were super tasty - then off to the Tomb of the unknown solider at Saski Park. That evening we got a sitter and had dinner at Mielzynski Wine Bar followed up with drinks at Pies I Suka (translation dog and bitch)!

On Saturday we went to the Breakfast Market and snacked on humbow, tacos, churros and jalepeno poppers.....it was a great feast to say the least. Then we took a stroll in the park Pub Lolek in Pole Mokotowski. Another evening out we had yummy bites at Dwie Trzecie (2/3).

For our final day we had breakfast at SAM - discovered that the Polish do not have maple syrup for their French Toast and it is a bit unheard of to order a side of bacon with your french toast. Their reaction was priceless! We managed to get a few more burritos at Gringo Bar before flying home.  Thanks again for the wonderful weekend - love seeing the Nelly's!

Another year another birthday - we can't believe Teia is turning 2!!! She is growing up way too fast!  Our friends Cynthia, Will and Dylan made it out for the occasion. Friday we did a nice afternoon stroll around the park and then made dinner reservations at Cafe de Klepel - the food was fantastic with drinks to follow at Wheels! On Saturday we hit up Museumplein and Albert Cuyp Market!

On Sunday we celebrated Teia's special day (a little early) and had some friends over for brunch.  So fortunate to have a lot of lovely friends to celebrate! Teia was incredibly spoiled and had a lot of fun!  I would like to say the cake was a highlight - Despicable Me minions - but she could care less.  Overall a great day with our little family!