Spring 2010

Soccer, March

GOA-OA-OA-OA-OA-OAL!!!

This spring I started a Li'l Kickers soccer class once a week after school. There are many more boys than girls, but I don't care, and Coach Trevor is nice. It's really fun to run around the field and get my wiggles out. I even scored a goal [left]!

Easter, March

I had Easter away from home this year because Papa and I left for Holland on March 30^th, the Tuesday before Easter. The Dutch celebrate Easter differently than at home. Most importantly, the Easter Bunny doesn’t stop in Holland. But on the other hand, they celebrate for two days instead of one!

On our first Easter day, Papa took me to Tante Monique’s house for an Easter egg hunt in their garden. I found lots of little chocolate eggs in the grass and trees. We had Easter dinner there, too. That night, we called Mommy on Skype (we did that every night while we were away), and she was just beginning her Easter morning. Mommy and Cameron said they missed me very much. Mommy showed me the basket full of goodies the Easter Bunny had left on my bed for me over night. But I couldn’t have it until I got back home.

The second Easter day (Monday), everyone in Holland had a holiday from work, and Oma hosted a big feast with all the family. Oma and Papa prepared a cold buffet with lots of fish dishes and salads. I didn't like anything but the apple pie. I do like it when the whole family is around. All my cousins play with me, even though Jasper, the youngest, is ten years older than I, and it is very gezellig.

When Papa and I got back home from Holland, I immediately remembered my Easter basket. There it was, waiting for me on my bed just where the Easter Bunny had left it [right]! It had a pink chocolate bunny and some chocolate carrots, but lots of other fun things, too. Like some My Little Pet Shop animals, a can of Flarp (it makes a bad noise!), a blue rubber snake, some Little Kitty nail polish, a bead craft kit, and an oinking pig that spits out jelly beans. I was so happy—it was like having a third Easter day!

Netherlands, April

This spring Papa and I spent three weeks in the Netherlands. We were only supposed to be there for a little over two—but Mother Nature decided we should stay longer.

We left on March 30th. Papa and I spent our first day with Tante Lianne in the east. The rest of that first, short week I spent recovering from jet lag at Oma’s house in Vlissingen, visiting with my many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Our first weekend we celebrated Easter (see above). The next week I went to Dutch kindergarten. In the mornings I went to the school where Tante Annemiek works, the Christelijke Basisschool De Rank in 's Gravenpolder. My teacher was Juffrouw Danielle. A couple afternoons I also went to a school I’ve attended before in Vlissingen, Franciscusschool. I did a pretty good job fitting in, and I made new friends.

The second weekend I went with Papa, Oma, and Tante Monique’s family to a tropical swimming (indoor) resort near Valkenswaard called De Kempervennen. The swimming complex was huge, with fun slides, a wild water track, and even a snorkel pool with tropical fish! There were also lots of kids’ activities, including a petting farm and a playground. At the Indian village, I dressed like an Indian, shot arrows, and warmed my hands at a campfire. At another play area I dressed like a princess [right], went on a scavenger hunt, watched a puppet show, and won a prize! The family ate dinner together in our villa or in the tropical marketplace. I wish Mommy had been with us because she would have had a very good time.

The next week I attended Kindergarten a few days and also spent time in some local parks and at the beach [above]. I fed ducks and floated on a real raft. The Klokuus children's activities park had climbing structures inside and a park outside. There were pedal cars, inflatable slides, and I went "bungee jumping" on a trampoline.

We were scheduled to return home April 17^th. But on the 15^th, a volcano in Iceland called Eyjafjallajokull erupted. The ash drifted over most of northern Europe, and all the airports started closing so that planes wouldn’t crash if they flew through the ash. Also on that Thursday, Papa’s Om Leo died. He had been quite sick, and it was very sad. The family quickly decided to have his funeral the following Tuesday, so after many long phone calls, Papa arranged for us to return home on Wednesday, April 21^st. This turned our vacation into a “volcation,” with four more days than we had planned. So I spent more time with my family, and Papa helped with funeral arrangements and worried about ever getting home. We went to the funeral on Tuesday; I held Oma’s and Tante Corriene’s hands and met many more family members I'd never seen before. And then the next morning we traveled to Amsterdam … and got on our plane! In fact, our Delta flight was the first one out of Amsterdam to Seattle since the volcanic disruption.

It was a long flight, and I was so happy to finally be home again! I was even excited to return to school!

Chicken house, May

In May we drove to Portland to stay with the Williamson's for a weekend. My favorite part of our visit was going out to Jeanne's chicken house. She has four kinds of chickens, eight in all, and they lay eggs every day. The eggs are different colors: blue, pink, and darker red. I went out to check on them first thing in the morning, last thing at night to tuck them into bed, and as many times during the day as Jeanne would allow me. I even got to pull some eggs out of the nest boxes! Then we ate them the next morning!

Drama classes, June

My weekly drama classes at Studio East continued through the spring. In February and March, Mandy was my teacher. On our last class we showed our parents some of our exercises, such as pretending to be a growing flower or acting out pairs of things with a partner, like a fork and spoon or table and chair. We performed a skit from a storybook called "The Bean Stirrer," and then we performed one we wrote ourselves titled "The Pirates in the Hall".

In April through June my teacher was Casey. Most of the time we played pretending games and practiced a play about Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in Rabbit's house after eating too much honey. I learned all my lines by heart. At the last class, we performed our play for all the parents. I was the narrator and also Roo [right]. Mom took lots of pictures, Papa videotaped it, and someone brought flowers for all the players.

I loved being up there in front of everybody! I can't wait to do more!

Kindergarten graduation, June

Even though we still had three days of class left, my school held its Kindergarten Moving Up ceremony on Friday, June 11th. Both Mommy and Papa came to see it. When the parents arrived, all the kindergarteners were sitting in a row of chairs at the front of the room, while the other kids were sitting on the floor. As we watched, Miss Jody and Miss Debbie—they've been my teachers for three years—lit three candles: one for all the knowledge and friends we've gained in kindergarten, one for all the knowledge and friends we will gain in elementary school, and one for the courage to grow and to always be the best we can be. Miss Jody said they wished us happiness and success, and I think she was almost crying.

Then classroom helpers passed around Rice Krispy bars; Mommy had made some to share along with some of the other mothers. After we finished eating, all the parents formed a "rainbow" with their hands, and we walked out to the playground through their tunnel while we heard "Over the Rainbow" sung by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Outside on the ground were sprinkled sparkle confetti and feathers for us to find. I filled a small plastic bag with them. Mommy took lots of photos, including one of me and Miss Jody [left].

Later that night, Mommy, Papa, and I went to the Woodinville Montessori end-of-year picnic at Marymoor Park. Every family brought something to eat, so there were lots of great dishes. Mommy brought more Rice Krispy treats to share. There was also a really nice play area. I ran around, played on the playground, climbed trees, walked someone else's dog on a leash, and ate too many cookies.

Cameron's graduation, June

Cameron is 18, and in June he graduated from high school. That means he's going to be going to college. He did lots of special things the last few weeks of school. Mommy took me to his last band concert (usually she leaves me at home because I don't sit very well for two hours, but she said I should be there). I liked the jazz band music, but the rest was sort of boring.

Then I went with Mommy and Papa to take pictures of Cameron and his friends on their Senior Prom night. We had a picnic dinner at Kerry Park before they arrived in their bus. The girls were dressed up so fancy! Papa let me run around on the children's playground while the parents took lots of photos.

Next, the family had a special graduation dinner for Cameron at Anthony's Homeport in Edmonds. Mommy dressed me up, and then Cameron, Scott, Suzy, and Brennan arrived in a long, black limousine! Mommy, Papa and I got in, and next we picked up Cameron's grandma Joyce. In the car were a mirror on the ceiling and a refrigerator filled with water bottles. Suzy served the grownups champagne and sparkling apple juice to me and Brennan. Grandpa Paul and Bonnie joined us at the restaurant, and Papa let me have cherry chip ice cream for dessert. It was very fun!

The next night was Cameron's graduation. Papa brought a DVD player for me because it was going to be a long wait. We sat with Scott, Suzy and Brennan and waited for all the kids to file into the Field House. Cameron wore a long blue gown and a funny square hat with a tassel. Then people gave lots of speeches (that's when I watched my movie). Eventually someone called Cameron's name, he walked up onto the stage, a man shook his hand, a lady gave him a flower, and he walked back down again. We all yelled and cheered. Afterward, Mommy took lots of photos outside [right]. I'm very proud that he's my brother.

Graduation party, June

On Wednesday, June 16th, I finished kindergarten. At school we played games, and at lunch the teachers had a special hotdog barbecue (inside because it rained all morning). Papa came, too! After that, I said goodbye to my teachers and my friends and gathered up my belongings from my tub for the very last time.

When I got home, Mommy had organized a special party for all the kindergarteners in the neighborhood—seven of us! We had chalk to draw with, a bubble machine and bubble wands to play with, and snacks to eat. Miss Trudy made special cupcakes with those little square hats on top, and they said "2010". We had a great time running around together in our park.

Then Mommy lined us all up for a ceremony, and Miss Lynnette put medals around our necks (Mommy made them). They said "Kindergarten Graduate 2010" on one side and "Class of 2022" on the other. That's a long time away!

[ Home ] [ Our Travels ] [ Family Features ]