In these last couple of months we have had to say "Good-bye!" to some of our good friends that we have made since living in the Netherlands. Kim and her family have become dear friends and we are missing them terribly. 
Here is Arden and Ian with their buddies, Dalton and Brooke. I hope to reunite these four sooner than later. 
We have been celebrating Dutch holidays and attempting to "fake" patriotism to the Netherlands all the while staying true to the "red, white, and blue"! Ha, ha. Here is Arden with her school celebrating, Koninginnedag (Queen's Day). Ian and I got to participate in the orange festivities and the decorating of the bicycles that were soon to parade down the streets. Fun.
We have also been playing with our friends, digging in sand, and eating way too many isjes!!! When 1 euro comes in coin form it seems like nothing, but those suckers start to add up.
We have been taking mini-breaks to rest, relax and just be with family. Here we are in Zandvoort, a near by beach community in Holland. We came for a long weekend to celebrate the 40th wedding anniversary of Stefan's parents.
Here are the Booy men, minus one: Arnoud. Ferdinand is the newly initiated member of the Booy family; he stands next to Stefan! Welcome Ferdinand to the first officially Booy gathering outside of your marriage to sister Liliana. I think he will make a great addition.
Nicolas and Claudia, children from Hans Peter. Adorably serious!
Arden was so stoked to be in the water and at the beach, nevermind the fact that it was frigid. I think there was maybe a handful of people actually in the water!! Oh, and the wind made the air temperature fairly chilly! I had a long-sleeve shirt on most of the time ;)
Warming my heart!
This is a good one to end on!!
Can I just be brutally honest and tell you that these images don't even begin to scratch the surface of our lives! Life is a beautifully complex thing and we are in the thick of it. Though we may all be facing, "high quality problems," -- quoted from a gentlemen at a party from the other night who quoted it from Tony Robbins, we are all truly loved and truly blessed by a loving Father! How I long for time to just sit down and chat about our lives, face to face! I think that is one reason I have been purposefully putting off the blogging thing, email thing, facebook thing, etc. In the mean time, I will be looking forward to our next encounters whether that is via skype, facebook, blogging, or face to face!!!
