Sunday, September 21, 2025

Last Day of School! + School Trip & Soccer :)

On July 11th, we wrapped up the last day of school! It was such a good year for the boys—we really loved their teachers and have had a great experience with the Dutch school system (minus those super strict attendance rules).

Clay had Juf Manon and finished up Group 1, while Luke had Juf Wessel and Juf Danielle finishing Group 4. Both boys had a great last day and a fun final week to close things out.

I added in some pictures from the week—highlights included going on a school trip with Luke (such a blast!) and wrapping up our soccer/football season. Now it’s officially time to celebrate: hello, summer! 🎉







Sushi Dinner last day of School!




We roasted bread on a stick over fire and put hotdogs inside. 






Soccer mom and cheerleader 



4th of July Camping & Fun

This year for the 4th of July, we celebrated with some American friends here in Amsterdam. We packed up food, had a picnic, and even camped overnight in the Amsterdam Forest. The weather was sunny and perfect, which made the whole weekend so much fun.

There were quite a few Americans to celebrate with, and it gave the day that extra festive feeling. The kids ran wild through the campground, playing late into the night—it felt like they never stopped. Since the sun sets so late in the summer, we all got to enjoy the long evening together, soaking up those extra hours of light with good company.



















Sunday, August 24, 2025

June 2025

June was such a good month!! So much sunshine and happy memories. We really made an effort to get outside and take advantage of the sunshine and rainless days. In the Netherlands, summer can be unpredictable and very chilly at times so we went out to make the most of the unusually hot days, but they never really stopped. We had them day after day and went on so many little adventures after school. It was a really happy month. 


Traditional canal plunge after a tennis sesh- best combo ever. 

Got Luke's new bike which turned out to be quite the ordeal of waiting to pick it up at the store for hours and not getting home until 10pm. Great memories of playing with every ball, mitt and stick in the store while waiting it out with some ice cream in between. In typical fashion, Clay was in heaven and could have stayed for hours more, Luke was a very good sport and had fun but was getting more and more stressed every minute past bedtime. 





On rare occasions (thankfully) a child finds their way to our bed. I woke up with them like this and had to take a photo.
















Quick hospital trip for Clay. This time not his asthma but a respiratory infection. 

He requested pancakes after his hospital stay, made this batch extra fun for this champ.






I took a morning kayak with some friends, I feel super blessed to have a handful of really amazing girls in my life that help feel the void of not having sisters close by. 





Our favorite swim spot. 






keeping this one for the wedding slideshow ;)









bumpin it!




I went to a fun concert in Utrecht and saw the irish artist James Vincent McMorrow 




Luke got his A swim diploma!! He's always loved the water, so fun to see him get better and better at swimming.