Escape to Holland

Early this month, I had the chance to go to The Netherlands with Richard. He had business there. I just had a vacation. I spent a week tooling around, visiting sites in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Gouda and enjoying the super organised public transportation system. The Ann Frank House in Amsterdam was very moving. I also enjoyed the Van Gogh museum and the canal tours. Richard and I checked out the Red Light District on our last night. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was really intriguing in a car wreck kind of way. I did not take photos. We had hoped to bicycle around Amsterdam, but the day we chose turned out to be the day before the big Gay Pride Canal Parade and the city was bursting at the seams. We didn't dare try to maneuver bikes around so we just walked and gawked. Kim (one of our hosts) took me on the "best of" tour of Rotterdam one day. The tour included some of the quirkiest sites in the city as well as some of the culinary treats of the country. Can't wait until I get a chance to show Kim around my home. I'll have to come up with some pretty weird stuff to impress her, however.

Amsterdam really IS full of bicycles.

Me sitting on Santa's lap in Rotterdam. What Santa is holding in his hand is wide open to interpretation.

Who knew that Kip meant "chicken"? I guess the Dutch did.

Kassmarkt (cheese market) in Gouda (pronounced as though you are coughing up phlegm then "owda")

Courtyard in Gouda

Random tourists at Kinderdijk

Willem and Kim (our Dutch hosts)

Richard with Willem and Alan (his business partners).

View from our hotel in Amsterdam

Richard on a canal boat in Amsterdam

Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam

Paddle Board in Winter

We had a great morning at Tawharanui yesterday. It was cold, but sunny (mostly) and we had two demo stand-up paddle boards to try. The boys all had a great time. Kip took one out by himself; Reid and Quinn got rides with Richard. I loved it and wish that someone had a video camera on me as the waves swiped the board out from under me on more than one occasion. Luckily, I only have bruised shins to show for my efforts. There were a number of rays gliding around, which was cool but a bit disconcerting. Can't help but think of Steve Irwin. Better than sharks I guess! We had a blast.

Last Day at the Lake

We had a wonderful week up at Huntington Lake. Although we spent a lot of time relaxing, the time just flew. Kip said, "This is a great place to be bored". The last picture shows Day Sailers at the end of a spinnaker run and about to round a mark. This is the kind of boat that my family has been sailing for years and that Richard and I used to race together. Huntington Lake has always been our favorite place to sail.

Gone Ridin'

Gone Hikin'

Gone Fishin'

Kip got up super early yesterday morning to go fishing with the Viponds. He caught a Rainbow Trout.

Hiking to Rancheria Falls with the Vipond Family

Kip and Thompson with Rancheria Falls in the background.
Kip, Reid and Quinn
The Vipond Family
John, being John.

Tatum, Reid, Quinn, Kip and Thompson at Rancheria Falls

Huntington Lake

Toasting marshmallows for S'mores.
Toasting more marshmallows.
S'mores. Yummy.

We love it here!
Fishing with a stick and a pine cone lure.
Swimming at Huntington Lake
Oops, I fell in the lake.

Uncle Kevin (my brother)

4th of July Carnival

Yesterday was the 4th of July and we celebrated by going to the local fair and carnival. The boys wanted to ride the rides. The suckered me into joining them on the two rides shown. Quinn and Kip had two go 'rounds on the flying ride after which Quinn promptly puked. Nice. Had to fill the empty stomach so we had ice cream and watched the battle of the bands. Stanford University, who are notorious for their outrageous behaviour, and the University of California at Davis, were competing. The boys were enthralled by the music, the dancing tree, the crazy antics and the general atmosphere. Afterwards, Reid said, "That was the best parade EVER!".

8th Birthday, Again!

We had a small birthday celebration for Reid and Quinn. Before Reid opened his presents, he said, "I know I'm just going to love this". As it turned out, he did.

Flying to America

We had a reasonably good flight to America. Here are Reid and Quinn relaxing in the Koru Club at Auckland International before the flight.



The AIRPLANE! Their little excited voices carried throughout the loading area!

No pictures of Kip because he, sadly, spent his flight with an airsick bag attached to his face. Not a good night for my oldest.