Swimming family fun

A few pics of a wonderful afternoon with Pieter's family.
How many kids can you fit in a 3 meter inflatable pool? More than you'd think!

After swim BBQ dinner; note the abundance of fruit and veggies on the kids table!

Acting silly seems to run in the family; presenting Pieter's four children

Third place!

Emma competed today in the Club Championships of her gymnastics club Voorwaarts. In a very hot gymnastics hall (almost 30°C), she did four routines on vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. She did very well and reached the third position in her age category. Well done Emma!
Gymnastics Club Voorwaarts has excellent facilities; it's a real joy for the kids to be able to train there

Gymnastics competitions involve a lot of waiting ...
Utmost concentration during her routine on the balance beam

Some relaxed posing when the competition is over

Third place: Emma Dekker!

Father's Day 2010

Breakfast in bed and handmade gifts from the kids; that's mostly what Father's Day is about. Some lucky dads get to choose what or where to eat, but Pieter baked pancakes as usual on Sunday night. Some dads get a leisurely Sunday, but Pieter missed that as well, because I had to leave at 9.30 to take Boelie to dog training. Let's say that we prefer to spread our appreciation of and love for dad over many, many days, rather than show it all in one day :-)
Theme of the gifts was ... soccer!

Railcatering

When I went to Amsterdam today, I encountered something in the train I hadn't seen before. (Admittedly, I don't travel by train very often ... ). Instead of the expected catering trolley, a man with a catering backpack came by! He was actually carrying all catering items in a backpack and a snack tray in front of him. Very innovative, or at least that's what I thought.
Railcatering in action

Fun and Games Day

On Tuesday, groups 1 to 3 had Fun and Games Day. As usual, lots of help from parents was needed and as usual, I was there to assist. It was all very well organized, with a great variety of activities for both the younger and the older kids. The weather cooperated nicely, so all games could be played outdoors. Janne and her friends had a wonderful and tiring day!

One of the privileges of not having a regular job really is that I can join all activities at school (although I sometimes have to choose between Emma's and Janne's group). It is so wonderful to see these kids play, learn and interact in the school environment. I get to know a side of my children and their friends, which I otherwise would not be able to see so easily. Once I go back to work (which will hopefully happen sometime in the near future), that's one of the things I will most definitely miss.
Singing and dancing to 'Handjes draaien' by K3

NED-DEN 2-0

Today at 1.30 pm, the Netherlands played against Denmark. Initially, the teachers at Emma and Janne's school were not allowed to let the children watch the game. In the end, as this would be the only game played by the Dutch team during school hours, they could watch the last 20 minutes of the game. Some teachers decided to continue classes, others let their students watch the game. Party time! Fortunately, the Dutch team won 2-0. Janne's classroom packed with excited Kindergarten kids!

Others watched the game in the gym

Beesies

The Netherlands are a soccer nation. Where Americans have baseball and basket ball, we have soccer (and ice skating). Today, the World Championships started in South Africa and Holland has turned orange once more, because 'our' boys are competing. According to Dutch newspapers, the Netherlands are the only country that goes crazy like this before the results of the team are known, even before one game is played.

The marketing machines of all major companies have worked overtime in last months, to come up with the big idea to make money off the Championships. Most try to do that in the form of giveaways. Super market chain Albert Hein (with a superb marketing department) has again hit the mark with their giveaway. Last time, they had the Welpies, now one receives a Beesie (South African for little beast) for every 5 euro's spent on groceries. And of course, one can buy additional items to complete ones collection ... Beesies are a hit. They are so cute that even adults want to have them! You can find them on Flickr, YouTube and probably every other social network. Some parents are even forced to do photo shoots with the Beessies. Can you imagine?! Cuddly big Beesie scarfs

Love at first sight

Your have to watch them; those little Beesies are very adventurous

AMV diploma

After one year of music class, Emma received her AMV1 (general musical education) diploma. A proud moment for all of us, even more so because she had all 'excellent' scores. Most important is that she really enjoyed the class and she immediately answered 'yes!' to the question if she wanted to continue next year. In December she'll be able to choose an instrument to play and at the moment she says she wants to play the flute. We'll see.
Before the presentation of the diploma's, the kids played several songs on their xylophones.

You'd think she's happy, wouldn't you?

Sunny weather

For three days, summer was here. So, fun in the sun with water for the girls. We only had a few warm days so far, but we enjoyed them very much! Hope we'll have more of those this summer. We went to a nearby little lake ('t Witven) on Friday and Sunday, and Emma and Janne had fun in our back yard on Saturday.
Sprinklers are a wonderful toy

Making pretty jumps

Upper front teeth are starting to show again

Posing, as always