Cami | here i am

I am going to remember this saying when it gets cloudy and gray again this week.

But today, the sun came out to play almost all day and night. Life is so much better with sunshine. People are just happier all around.

When we woke up this morning, we waited for the rain to pass and then headed out for a bike ride with Patti Beth and her family.

This is an old fashioned tram that runs through Amstelveen on the weekends.

This is the Jonge Dikkert – a fancy restaurant in Amstelveen.

We wanted to see the cherry blossom trees in bloom, but because of all the rain and cold weather lately, the blooms are delayed. We did get to enjoy a few blossoms, but not the field of color we expected.

The cherry blossom orchard is a memorial to all those who lost their lives in the tsunami in Japan in 2011.

We rode our bikes through the forest and to the pancake house. So many people were outside, enjoying the nice weather today. If you live in Amsterdam or nearby, this is a great place to visit with your family. Boerderij Meerzicht they have a playground, outdoor seating, coffee, dessert, and really delicious Dutch pancakes served a hundred different ways!

And if the day couldn’t get any better, we met up with friends for a rooftop BBQ. Sitting in the sunshine, listening to music, and having having a couple drinks felt so good! Thanks Cami and Rich for inviting us over!

“Happy is the new fancy.”

Girlfriends – you make life so sweet! xoxo

Today Juliana invited Jeff and I to come watch her drama performance. The good news is that she invited us. The communication process at her school is less than stellar! Only about 5 parents came to see the performance, out of 40 kids between the music and drama classes. How sad because I know other parents would have liked to have been part of the celebration had they known about it!!

The kids had to write their own scripts, work as a team, memorize their lines and perform in front of an audience. Each skit carried a meaningful message. After the shows, the teacher had them think about their work and performed an after action review, identifying best practices and lessons learned. She made them think about the significance of their work and why it was important. I loved this process! And I loved their responses.

What I learned is that music and the arts are an important part of a child’s learning. I know sometimes they want to cut these programs from school budgets and its a tragedy. The kids were learning to practice, rehearse, be part of an ensemble, perform, and to feel a sense of accomplishment and a sense of pride! They worked on team building skills and learned how important it is for every member to show up and do their best. I loved being a part of the audience and a part of her learning process.

After watching her perform, I headed up to the city for the day. This guy got on the tram next to me smelling like pot and holding a joint in his hand! I think this is legal here!!

Wednesday is now my Wanderlust Day. Every Wednesday I plan to go into Amsterdam and walk around and explore and get lost. I want to figure out how to navigate around the neighborhoods and know how to find my way around. I’m not so good with a map and there is so much to see and learn about in this magnificent city! I met up with my friend Cami and we wandered round Leidseplein and ended up at Blue. This is a great place to see a 360 degree view of the city. I love the wide open feel from high above and there aren’t many places like this. I highly recommend you check it out!