Christmas dinner

 

 

Friends

On Christmas Eve we joined our neighbors (and friends) in their church for the children's Christmas service. After: a pic with the girls, so nice!

 

Christmas selfie

A quick selfie after we had finished decorating the tree (Thijs was in the snow in Calgary) a few weeks ago.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Color run

Last month Famke's school organized a fundraiser color run around the lake just behind our house. Famke did not feel comfortable running through the colored powder but Floortje was in for it so we signed up! Her some before and after (selfie) pics!

 

 

Letters to Sinterklaas

Just had to share Floortje's letters to Sinterklaas with you - not a shred of doubt yet! So sweet!

 

Special encounter

Like last year, I have made the girls an advent calendar but we have also put up our kindness calendar again. On it we can make a little note of what 'acts of kindness' we performed that day. We do not have the calendar with the purpose of patting ourselves on the back for good deeds done but more to not let us forget to be kind to others.

This morning Famke and I put together two bags with some items to give to homeless people. It contained a fleece blanket, some toiletries, a few treats and a christmas card.

We put the two bags in the car as we headed to Houston with Poezeoma to go the Houston Ballet performance of the Nutcracker.

After the beautiful show we decided to have some dinner nearby. As I stepped out of the car a man passed us and greeted me. I greeted him back and the conversation that followed left a big impression on me. I will try to reconstruct below although it is probably not literal.

Man: M'am, you just spoke to me like I am a person

Me: But you are!

Man: Yes, I know, I am a person but not everyone talks to me like that

The conversation went back and forward for a while

Me: Can I give you something

Man (sounding scared): Did I say something wrong?

Me: No! I just have something I would like to give you.

I took one of the bags from the car and gave it to him. His face lit up and he made a little dance.

Man: I can't believe it, thank you! I could have turned right but I walked straight and I ran into you! God is great!

Not sure God was involved in this encounter but it was special and humbling. Looking back I think about what more I should have added to the bag but above all it was just nice to see him so happy. The other bag is still in the car. We'll make sure that we find someone else to give it to soon.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a huge holiday here in the US but as we did not grow up with it the meaning for us is a bit different than for the average American. So for the last few years we have celebrated thanksgiving with two other Dutch/Scottish families. This year we decided to make the most of the extended weekend and rented a house in the hill country for a few days.

We had incredible weather and really enjoyed ourselves relaxing, being outside, playing thether ball, geocaching, biking, walking, reading, roasting marshmallows. Of course some eating and drinking was involved too :)

Thankful for good friends!

 

Famke's first Texans game

On November 2nd, the Texans had a home game against the Phildelphia Eagles. Thijs had tickets and Famke was going with him! Famke is a huge Texans fan so she was over the moon. JJ Watt is her favorite player and seeing him live in action made her day. Unfortunately the Texans were not able to win but a great afternoon anyway!

 

 

Hot air balloon

While biking home from school one morning this hot air balloon just glided over me. Very pretty and peaceful.

 

 

Daily drive (3)

As the number in the title indicates, I have written about my daily drive before. I really thought I'd seen it all in Texas now, with regards to 'vehicles' on the road, but a few weeks ago we came across this trailing along behind a pickup truck!

 

Nocturnal Run

A few months ago Jeanine came up with the brilliant plan to enter ourselves for a electric dance 5k run at night! Lights, music and exercise!

Brilliant plan as I said, were it not for the fact that the arctic blast had just come through and the temperatures were somewhat below average for the time of year. Combine this with some wind and rain and you could say that the circumstances were not ideal.... But as good dutchies, the weather was not going to spoil our fun and about 15 of us ran the race. Donned in several layers of clothes, combined with glow in the dark necklaces and bracelets we partied along with several thousand people. Been there, done that!

 

 

Cold weather

Unseasonally cold weather has taken the US in its grip. An artic blast is causing temperatures to be far below normal.

As you can see Texas is not being spared and T's might go down to -1 degC for a few hours tonight! Oh my :) Even though we have lived in warmer climates for the last 9 year now and we are not so keen on the cold weather anymore, these temperatures are no immediate reason for concern.

The school district, however, does not share this opinion and thought it necessary to give us some (well meant) advice of the approaching weather....

 

 

 

Book character parade

Schools are not allowed to celebrate Halloween. However, every year in the week of Halloween the school organises a book character parade so the kids have a chance to dress up. A few rules: no scary characters and you have to bring the book.

As I mentioned in my previous post, we are really into Harry Potter at the moment so Floortje decided that she would be Hermione.

We ordered the tie and cloak and made the spell book and wand (the socks were borrowed from Thijs!)

Expelliarmus!

(A disarming charm for those not familiar with Harry Potter)

 

 

'Dummie de Mummie' pumpkin

Every year around Halloween the kids at Stanley elementary are invited to decorate a pumpkin as a character from a book. (No carving allowed as this 'makes for one smelly library').

We are into two book series at the moment. We're spending hours listening to all the Harry Potter audiobooks and before bed I am reading about the adventures of 'Dummie de Mummie'. We can't get enough of either.

So when we had to come up with a book character, Dummie was the one!

 

Scary bottles

It is impossible to forget that in a few days it will be Halloween. Yards are decorated, shops are full of candy and the girls can't stop talking about their costumes!

We have some decorations outside and a little inside too. A small project I started last year was to make some potions and other scary bottles. Last year I made a few with some bottles I had at the time. However over the last year I have kept a box in the garage in which I would put any empty bottle that had some potion potential. The labels are easily found on the internet and then printed on sticker paper. Next some creativity is required to make the labels look old: wet tea bags, ashes from Thijs' green egg, a light touch of fire, some food coloring and plastic bugs from the dollar store. Fun!

The result:

Some close ups

 

Thijs' famous ribs

I don't know how many times I have tried to 'document' the different steps of Thijs making his ribs. Every time I either forgot to take a picture of one of the steps or just didn't get around to posting about it.

However, today, Thijs will get the recognition he deserves for his famous ribs (although he has received this many times over at the dinner table)!

1. Baby back ribs from Wholefoods

2. Special mix of dried herbs and spices. Rub the ribs, wrap in cling film and let it marinate overnight.

3. 4-5 hours on the Big Green Egg at low temperature.

4. Enjoy! You only need to suck the meat of the bone!

 

Confederate Rose

Last year my friend Monique showed me a beautiful flowering tree she had in het back yard. After blooming season, she saved me some cuttings which lived in a spaghetti sauce jar in the corner of my kitchen all winter. Slowly but surely roots and leaves started growing. It took a while but finally (with the help of Google) we figured out that the tree was called 'confederate rose'. It is not actually a rose but a hibiscus (hibiscus mutabilis for those who are really interested). The nickname comes from the fact that it does so well in the southern United States.

So after the worst of the Texas winter cold (yes, it had been a pretty cold winter by Texas standards) had passed, I planted the twigs in the yard. The first two months not much happened but they didn't die either. Wait and see....

Imagine my surprise when we came back from our summer holidays and it had really started growing. Now we needed to wait for the flowers.

This week we were rewarded. The amazing thing about this tree is that the flowers change color. When they first come out of their buds the flowers are white and then they slowly (over the course of about a day) change to dark pink. Beautiful!

Here is what it looks like when one flower opens a bit earlier than the next.

Really pleased and amazed!

 

Mushrooms

Fall in is the air! Even though it is still over 30 degC every day, we are noticing the changes. The mornings are slightly cooler and the evenings are just wonderful. So nice! But the biggest sign of fall must be all the beautiful mushrooms that are everywhere at the moment! So many and so many different ones too, I really enjoy seeing them.

Yesterday morning Floortje and I were out for a run around the lake and afterwards we took some pictures so you can enjoy them too :)

 

Junior High School

The second week of school is over. Famke is doing great!

Lots of new things this year: an 8 period schedule, more homework, changing for PE, tardy sweeps, free seating at lunch, car rider line and a locker! Exciting stuff!

 

Football season has (finally) started!

The Texans are off to a good start of the season by beating the Washington Redskins today.

Go Texans!

 

Floortje's 2nd grade work

With school started it was time to sort through last years stuff to make room for new work.

While going through Floortje's stuff I came across these two things I wanted to share with you. The first one is a true story (made a bit more dramatic by the author for story purposes) and the second one is a self portrait.

 

First day of school

After three months of summer, lots of travelling, fun, family and friends the time has come to go back to school!

Big changes for Famke as she is no longer an elementary school student but starting sixth grade at Seven Lakes Junior High school. This means lots of new responsibilities. Changing classes for every subject, a locker, more freedom (read phones, gum, etc) and saxophone lessons!

Floortje is returning to Stanley Elementary in third grade. She will now also have to change classes as one teacher will give her English and social studies lessons, while the other one will teach science and math.

Have a great year girls!

 

Top Golf

On our last weekend before school started we took the girls to Top Golf. This is a golf/entertainment place here in Houston where golf and having a bit of fun come together.

It is a three floor setting with bays on each level. Each bay can accommodate about six people. You can order food and drinks and hit some balls at the same time. All the balls are microchipped and you choose a game on the screens. You then take turns hitting some balls at the different targets located on the 'fairway' in front of you. Depending on your distance to the set targets you can earn points. Lots of fun!

Thijs took his time teaching his girls, sweet!

 

Friends

After a great summer in Holland and Italy it is always nice to come home. Especially when meeting up with good friends for dinner!

 

Girls selfie

Our last night in Holland we were invited by Marc and Diana for dinner. It was so nice that the girls were able to spend so much time with Norah and Pep this summer. And always so hard to say goodbye! Please come and visit us soon!

 

World Cup - more impressions

And hopefully not the last ones.... A quick post before the semi final game against Argentina.

HUP HOLLAND HUP!!!!!

 

Watertoren Aalsmeer

A few weekends a year the water tower in Aalsmeer is open to the public. As it is no longer in use, it is now a monument and beautiful landmark in the village.

215 steps take you right to the top and yesterday we were rewarded with beautiful views as it was a clear day.

Hard to see in the picture but you can see Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Arena, the hoogovens in IJmuiden and amazing looking down on the Westeinder.

 

Fun selfie!

 

 

World Cup - 1st round impression

 

 

On our way!

On our way to Holland! First an american style lunch and then the first taste of Holland when boarding the KLM.

A bit of delay because of thunderstorms over Houston.

A selfie at the airport before boarding.

Girls all settled on the plane. Happy travels!

 

Summer fun list

Just like last year we made a list of fun things we want to do this summer. Got started on a few already.