It’s kind of like stopping to smell the roses, but today I had to stop and notice the goose across from my car before driving off to volunteer at the bookfair. I still find it surprising to see him out of the water and sitting so close to the edge of the sidewalk. I just like to stand and watch him and smile. When a dog walks by, he stands up and stretches his wings to make him really tall and squawks loudly, alarming the dog and his walker. The next dog walker walked by in the street as to not alarm him.
This is a picture of the school book fair, that I thought Brenda and Val would especially enjoy. It was so chaotic and kids were everywhere. It was quite exciting to see everyone so excited about English books. Another small world story… my PEO sister owns the bookstore in Amsterdam that put on the book fair today. So of course I had to volunteer and have fun during the process, chatting with friends and meeting new people. I think that’s one of the joys that comes from volunteering!
Juliana is standing in front of the boxes that included books on hold. The children came through with their classes during the school day and picked the books they wanted. They then filled out a small paper form with their name and their room number and attached the paper to the book with a rubber band. They were then staged here and waiting for them when their parents arrived with their money or PIN (everyone PINS…aka using a debit card to pay; usually credit cards aren’t accepted, so instead of asking if someone takes credit cards, they ask if they can PIN. Did you learn something new??) This process was quite crazy as the little pieces of papers would fall out of the books as eager students looked for their treasures. But there were several happy faces and most of the boxes were empty by the end of the day.
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Did I tell you that tomorrow my parents leave Sunny California to fly and come stay with us for 2 months?!?!?!
I AM very excited!! Isn’t it strange to think they leave on a Tuesday afternoon and arrive on a Wednesday morning? Only 2 more sleeps…just hope I can sleep! xo
here i am 
your blog is looking quite fancy! It was funny initially to me to see that there would be a bookfair there…but I guess while things are really different, they are also really the same, huh?
Do you like the new layout? I like that it shows more pictures and I liked the Dutch orange colors! Life is very similar here in many ways. When I first arrived, I noticed more of the differences and now I see a lot more similarities. All is good… Hows the new dog?
I did enjoy seeing the bookfair in the Netherlands! Glad that you are volunteering. I can’t imagine managing all of the children’s wishlists at Ponderosa! Brenda and I have a hard enough time managing the teachers and staff wishlist bags!
On another note, I am enjoying attending PEO meetings and also went to my first tea as a PEO at Elizabeth’s house in Sunnyvale yesterday. Thank you again so much for making that all happen! Know that you are missed at each and every event both at Ponderosa and at PEO! Having your blog to read each day is a real highlight that I like to share with the boys that keeps us all connected and it doesn’t feel so much like you are all gone, but just on an extended vacation!
Enjoy your time with your mom and dad. I know that it will be such a special time with all of the upcoming holidays! XOXOX
Val and the boys
Val – so nice to hear from you! I miss you and think of you often, especially at the book fair this week! hope the tea was fun!! I’m sure it was. xo