Lots of good things to share!

We have had lots of good things happening as of late and I am so happy to share them.

1st Connor finished his first week at the International School and it was GREAT! Better than great if you ask me. After just one week he is like a little celebrity there . . . seriously tons of kids are saying hi to him in the halls and asking him for high fives and saying how nice he is. They are a very welcoming group of students.  Connor even tried out for the school play! I'm proud of him and excited for him. It is a complete 180 from his other school. His class has only 8 kids so it will be easy to make friends and his teacher is young and fresh and seems very patient. 

It's also a hugely positive change for me because OMG I can read all the news letters and parent emails! There are monthly playdates set up for the class and coffee dates for the parents. Yes please! I'm so excited I think I will even join the PTA! Yay for International School. 

We celebrated Chris' 38th birthday and it just so happened that we did so with our good friend Holley! She was visiting from Santa Barbara for a few days. It was short but we made the most of our time together. We showed her around town, went ice skating  and bike riding, we took a boat tour of Amsterdam at night to see all the city lights, ate great dinners, checked out the local market and even did a bit of dancing. Holley we miss you already! Thank you for making the trip all the way over here to see us. We love you. XOXOX

Holley came at a very festive and magical time of year in Holland. 

Ice skating is fun, fun super fun!!!!!!

Jess watching the skating action from the safety of the sideline.

 The ladies hanging at the ice rink. 

Connor and Holley getting cozy by the fire.

Fire pit at the ice rink . . . which was rockin at night!

 Holley and I cutting the rug in Amsterdam (not picture Chris cutting the rug as well).

Holiday lights in the city with 2 of my favorite peeps = Happy

We had a lovely bike ride around Blaricum. Behind Holley is the pasture we ride past to Connor's Dutch school.



I so enjoy riding bikes in the brisk weather (but not so much in the rain like the real Dutch folks).

Some great shots Holley took on the canal cruise in Amsterdam.

  Seeing the city lit up at night from the water is very special and I highly recommend it if you are out this way.

Celebrating Chris' 38th birthday. So happy Holley was here to celebrate with us!

Pure Cuteness!

One more shot of the cutest baby in the world and her daddy.
Happy happy holidays y'all.

And ta daaahhhh.

My car is finally here! After bleeding money on a rental car for months and months I finally have my car from California. My Lexus affectionately known as Lexi is not fancy or new but it's a little piece of home driving around Europe with me and she is an automatic (phew). Old Lexi will be driving us to Paris in a few weeks to see the holiday lights and do some Christmas shopping. Seriously seeing Christmas in Paris is an absolute dream on the top top top of my bucket list.

My next post will be from Aachen, Germany. We head there this weekend for the Christmas Markets.

So stay tuned ;)