The Noosa

I have admired these bracelets for quite a while and never even realized they were Dutch until I moved to The Netherlands.  The Noosa company was founded by two women who traveled all over the world and wanted to make a type of jewelry that would reflect one's travels and personality, and the Noosa was born. You can read more about the Noosa- Amsterdam company here.

My two very dear friends here got this bracelet for me to always remind me of Holland.  

I love it!:)

And, you may be wondering why I may need something to remind me of my time here in The Netherlands?  I am saddened to say that our time here is just about up.  The kids and I are moving back to the U.S. , and Guy will follow in the coming months.  We have so enjoyed our time here and have made friends who are more like family to us.  When you become an expat, you definitely have a spirit for adventure, but you also long for the feeling of home.  The international community is so welcoming to each other.  We all try to make a feeling of home wherever we are, and that is why we became friends so fast.  It is always sad to say good bye to our dear friends, but we are so happy that we have had the opportunity to meet them, and now we know we can always find a place to visit in Europe!  It is always better to take the path of adventure than never to take it at all and always wonder what may have been.  Our path took us to The Netherlands and we made some lifelong friends!:)

July 4th

I am late posting about the Fourth of July holiday...exactly a week late to be exact!  It has been a busy time here...we are still going strong with school activities here: field days, bake sales and power point presentations.:)  On June 27th, Jeremy did a presentation on the United States for his class.  Since he is the only one in his class from the US, his class was really interested.:)  I was too busy listening to his presentation, and only managed to snap this one picture while he was talking.  You know you can't talk about the US without talking about American football!:)

Jeremy giving his presentation on the United States:)

 And then, on July 4th, Elizabeth and two of her American friends in her class gave a presentation to her class on the history of the Fourth of July.  She put the entire presentation together by herself!:)

 This year is the 30th anniversary of the international department at their school.  It is so great to see all the nationalities represented at their school.  It has been such a wonderful experience for both Jeremy and Elizabeth to be able to get a global perspective on the world and how we, as Americans, are part of it.:)  They have both learned tolerance and acceptance of people from all over the world, and that is something I hope they take with them from our time as expats here.:)

One more pic of Elizabeth's presentation:)

 And, although the fourth of July wasn't a holiday here in The Netherlands, we took our American, Dutch and Polish friends out for ice cream to celebrate!:)

Happy Independence Day!!!
Doei!:)

Grab 'Em by the Pony!

I have to say that living in Holland is a different experience on many levels, but one in particular is the length of the school year.  The kids actually go to school here until the middle of JULY!!! Yes, you heard that correctly...we will actually be at school on July 4th!!

I think I have almost fully recovered from jet lag having landed back in Holland on Tuesday from Annapolis, Maryland.  Which is a good thing because on Friday, I was able to chaperone Elizabeth's class to Slagharen. If that name sounds vaguely familiar to you, you may have heard about it in this VIDEO that went viral.:)  But, I have to say that as the video suggests you can go to Slagharen and "grab'em by the pony".... you actually can't...because there are no ponies...but there are lots and lots and lots of rides that you can follow 20 nine year olds around to!!!:)

Elizabeth's class:)

My group to chaperone:)

riding the rides!:)

My friend, Judith, and me with our group:)

That is me in the poncho after the log ride!:)

Elizabeth and a few of her friends:)

yes...you know which one is me...

It was a fun day filled with lots of laughs, giggles, rides, and changes of clothes...but absolutely ...no...ponies!!!:)
tot ziens!:)

Wedding Bells!!!

 Elizabeth and I were up at the "crack of dawn" and heading up to the Bridal suite for our hair and make up.:)

Grandma and Grand daughter:)

Beautiful Hima getting even more beautiful:)

Mom and me:)

Elizabeth and Kaitlyn:)

Mom, Hima's 85 year old grandmother who traveled from india, an Hima's sweet mom:)

The beautiful bride on the trolley to the church:)

I didn't bring my camera with me for the wedding since I was a bridesmaid and I thought it would probably look really weird if I was taking pictures throughout the ceremony..but trust me when I say that the ceremony was beautiful and my nephew and Jeremy and Elizabeth did wonderful job during the wedding, and Guy did AMAZING reading the prayer!!!:)

The Arch of Swords ceremony after the wedding was beautiful!:)  For a bit more info on this tradition, you can click here.

A few pictures after the wedding...

The four grandchildren:)

The three siblings on the trolley:)

And then, the reception in Pasadena, Maryland:)

Mom, me and a few cousins:)

wouldn't be a party without Corn Hole:)

It was a gorgeous reception venue:)

My little cousin, Andrea and her daughter, Anna:)

Hima's grandmother led an Indian blessing ceremony...

You put flower petals and rice on the new couples heads and wish them well...

I followed my dad's lead and wished them to have many babies!!:)

My cousin, Carrie, and me:)

Aunt Mary and Nora:)

Beautiful reception...

Great live band!!:)

Toast from the Best Man, Greg:)

And one of the most precious moments from the evening...the Mother/Son dance.:)

And I was a bit late getting pictures of the cake cutting with the sword..but managed to get a few pictures of the happy couple having their cake:)

And then, it was time to boogie:)

Grandpa and grand daughter:)

And it was a perfect evening celebrating the new beginning of such a wonderful couple.  I wish you all the best that life has to offer, Andrew and Hima!!  I can't wait to see where this next chapter of your lives takes you!!! Love you both!!!:)