The Big Birthday Celebration

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday, which is a big thing here. I told Dennis and Alyna that I really didn't want the whole Dutch thing, with the dummy in front of the house and signs and banners all across the front. Of course they didn't listen to me and went ahead and planned a nice party. When a person celebrates a 50th birthday here, they say that they have "seen Abraham" or "seen Sarah". Something about being old and wise.The "dummy" that is put in front of the house is suppose to indicate the person's talents or interests. I guess Alyna and Dennis worked on my dummy a week before and did a good job of keeping it hidden until the day of.

I spent the morning at the market in Arnhem while Dennis was at work and Alyna was at youth conference. It is always an interesting adventure to go to the market and so I had fun. The textile stalls are really interesting - lots of different kinds of fabrics and expecially a lot of elaborate silk type fabrics for the plethera of Middle Eastern women in the area. I bought some quilt fabric and batting and a bag to carry it all home in.

That evening we had a bunch of neighbors and ward members come by. We had lots of food and drinks and it was nice to sit and visit with people for a while. I had never met some of the neighbors so it was fun to finally get a name and a face put together. After we cleaned up from the party, Dennis brought the "dummy" in and put her on the couch. We laughed and laughed because she looked so wiped out - much more like me than the version of her sitting out in the chair.

A Busy Month

This past month has been full of so many fun and interesting experiences. I'll briefly highlight them and then if time permits, I will add some more thoughts and details.

Ralph and Lola visit us in Holland. It was wonderful to have them here!!


Alyna's 16th birthday.

It's not very exciting with just Mom and Dad to celebrate with.
It's hard to stay sad when you get some fun shoes and cute clothes.

Fun with missionaries.

Elder Delpais, Elder Wells and Elder Bell - we got to take them to dinner!We spent the day with Elder Van der Stek and Elder Black and Lydia as we traveled to the volleyball tournament and spent the day in Gronningen.

The Church All-Nederlands volleyball tournament.
All the wards in Holland as well as some from Belgium and Germany came for the day. Our youth took second place. Alyna was not happy to be there but it was an interesting day.

Diane Siegfried and sister Kay came to visit.
We visited Keukenhof and Amsterdam and had such a fun time. It was sad to see them leave.

Fly home
On our international leg of the trip, Dennis got "bumped" to first class and let me have his seat.
He/It was so sweet!

Junior Prom

The shoes were a little tricky to get into around all that dress.

Brandon Netzly and Alyna all ready to go. So cute.

Lisa's Bridal shower
Carol, Peggy and Michelle were sweet enough to host a shower for Lisa at a time I could be home to attend. What great friends!
Emily, Michelle, Kimberly and Nedra at the shower.
It was a lot of fun to see a lot of Lisa's good friends and catch up on what they are doing.
They are all so darling.

Mindy and Jeran, Kara and Lori arrive in Providence.
A happy reunion.

Peggy, Trish, and Cheryl brought us lunch before the Providence reception.
It was a nice moment to sit and visit before all the fun of the next few days.

Lisa and Cameron get married (along with all the related festivities.)
Lisa and Cameron at the Manti Temple.
The happy couple with the proud parents.
Both families.

Dennis, Alyna and I fly to Madrid.
Dennis and Alyna enjoyed playing a game on the subway where you can't hold onto anything and you can't move your feet. Dennis eventually won.

Our first view of the temple as we arrived.
The city of Toledo - made me want to sing songs from Man of La Mancha the whole time.

It was so nice to visit with our friends, Garry and Lanell Moore. They are currently serving as temple president and matron of the Madrid temple. They were wonderful hosts.
Alyna in front of the Royal Palace. We were not able to go in because the King was greeting the International Olympic Committee as Madrid is bidding for the 2016 Olympics. There was lots of police activity going on around the palace and even sniper guys up on the roof. All very interesting.

After seeing this, I wasn't sad that we didn't get to see any bull fights.
In the park, there were all these interesting statues. This was the one I though best represented Alyna. She is a good learner and has a big heart. She has a very orange personality - at least if you believe facebook which says she is yellow or red, depending on the test. At least she is always lively and ready for fun. She loved being in a big city park at night with all the night life.

One of many monuments in the park.

Flamenco dancing. Very Spanish!

Being "home"
We had a wonderful couple of weeks but it was so nice to get back to our peaceful home.