18 June 2014

Holland's Lion

Fons in the glasses!

So……I wound up staying up until 1am reading my book.  I couldn’t put it down.  I didn’t quite figure out the mystery, but I did get parts of it right.  I slept in until 9:30, which was nice.  I had put in a load of laundry last night so I would have something to wear.  I thought I’d packed two pairs of jeans, but alas, I had not.  Not like I’ll need them in Milan, but having more than one pair would have been smart.  But, I’m not going to have John bring a pair over, it’ll be too late by then!  I keep thinking about the wealthy young women of 100 years ago who brought over crates and trunks of clothing and how lovely that would be, haha!  Well, not that I have crates worth of clothing…that would be nice too!

Ellen in the glasses. 
She loved them even
though she's not
smiling!

A very leisurely morning and now Fons is making meatballs for the party this afternoon and we are going to leave here in about an hour or so.  We are bringing orange things to wear for the game tonight!  It is Victoria’s birthday tomorrow, but Karin and Edith both have today off so it’s a good day to celebrate!

Birthday girl
dressed up in her
finest fan gear!

We drove to Amsterdam, which is about a 2 hour drive.  There wasn’t too much traffic, which was nice, so we were able to get to Karin and Michele’s apartment easily.  It was chaos there, but in a good way!  Karin has four children.  Victoria (whose 8^th birthday we were celebrating), Willem, who is almost 6 and Max and Phillipa who just turned 4 in March.  Victoria got those rubber band thingys to make bracelets.  She was thrilled!  I bought her a book that had some patterns to make different things.  I hope she’ll find it useful.  There was a design to make either an iPod cover or a phone cover and she seemed excited about that.

Phillipa, dad & mom

Willem is all boy.  He’s solid and he loves to play football (soccer). A bundle of energy, haha!  I haven’t seen him since he was 10 months old.  Quite a difference now!  Max is a little quieter.  He was watching Netflix and was content to hang out by himself.  Phillipa was excited to see her Oma and Opa (as they all were) and was very excited to show them her sparkly dress with sequins and netting.  They said she is in her princess phase.  They are all terrific kids and well-behaved!!

Bundle of energy!

Edith brought her three too.  Peter and Floor (pronounce Fleur) are 10 and 8 respectively.  Floor and Victoria get along quite well and hung out together.  Peter and Willem love playing video games and played them most of the afternoon.  The youngest, Hein, is a complete bundle of non-stop energy and utterly adorable!  He is full of personality!  Stubborn, determined, solid as a rock…he reminds me a lot of Eric when he was two.  He was like the Energizer Bunny….kept going and going and going!!

Floor, Victoria, & Oma (Ellen)

Karin’s mother-in-law and her boyfriend were there too.  We had cake and a lot of different kinds of appetizers.  Just a fun, munching afternoon.  The weather was gorgeous so we had white wine and fizzy water.  Yum!  Fons’ meatballs were excellent!  Karin’s family had gone to a picnic this past weekend and there was ¼ of a wheel of cheese to eat.  Delish Dutch cheese…heavenly!!

Opa & Oma watching the game
while 3 grandsons play video

Then it was time for the soccer match between Holland and Australia.  Michele went to the pub with his friend.  He is very serious about soccer in the same way we are all very serious about the Steelers.  Said his hellos and good-byes and then we all settled in.  As you now know (if you follow soccer at all), Holland won!  It was nerve-wracking for a few minutes on and off, but there were a couple of beautiful goals scored. This means they go on to the next round.  

Edith & Karin

Holland is naturally thrilled with all of this.  They have decorated their houses with orange pennant flags, balloons, Holland banners, etc.  In some neighborhoods, it looks like orange threw up everywhere, hhaha! At first the kids weren’t really into the game, but as time went on, they became a little more interested.  Even Hein sat for a few minutes on and off to watch.

Then Ellen drove home and we had a night cap on their back porch.  They have a beautiful home.  One part is from the 20s, another from right after the war and the final addition from 1974.  They have a huge back yard.....more than we can imagine, especially in Northern VA!  Hardly any bugs, although they said that they do get mosquitoes, especially in August when it gets warmer.  Then, I went to bed so I could get some sleep….a long day, but a very fun day!