50's girl 😊

Climbing Champion!

Lily was invited to the birthday party of her classmate Alice and it took place at Stronghold Climbing Gym. I didn't know she was such a climber!!!

Sinterklaas!

Sinterklaas... Dit jaar gingen we niet naar het jaarlijkse feest dat georganiseerd wordt door de Nederlandse School (te druk en te weinig tijd), maar toch kwam de Sint langs, hoor, en de pieten ook! De kinderen vinden het nog steeds super om hun schoentjes te zetten (ze kennen echt wel die gewoonte sinds we vorig jaar eind november - in volle sinterklaasperiode - in België waren en we Sinterklaas als het ware overal tegenkwamen) en vooral Lily schrijft graag brieven aan de Sint. Ze werden beloond met lekkere Belgische chocolade (dank u wel, oma 😉). Dan op 6 december lagen er zelfs een paar extra's bij: een boek "De Spiekpietjes", een strip van de smurfen, en een nieuwe pennenzak en pennen voor allebei (niet dat Ennio daar al te enthousiast over was, haha... maar hij moest toegeven dat het boek toch een leuk voorleesboek was!). Hier geen grote cadeaus en tonnen speelgoed zoals in België, want die zijn in Amerika voorbehouden voor Santa Claus... wat vooral dit jaar een beetje tot paniek leidt bij Lily en Ennio want we zullen niet thuis zijn, maar in Duitsland bij Oma Eva... Hoe dan ook, ik ben benieuwd hoe lang we de Sinterklaastraditie nog zullen volhouden. We zullen zien!

De buit van 6 december:

 

California Missions Project

For her Social Studies class, Lily had to study the California Missions and make a report and a presentation on the topic. One of the options to do her project was to visit the mission of her choice, take photographs and make a collage for the presentation. We researched what missions were not too far away and on Saturday, December 2nd, drove to the Mission San Fernando, Rey de España, in Mission Hills. I am a bit of a history buff, so I actually liked this little excursion a lot. Lily enjoyed being the photographer and Ennio liked running around the grounds. The end result is at the end of this blog! 

Captions under the photos courtesy of Lily!

This is me taking a selfie. I am standing in the East Garden by the fountain. The San Fernando Mission buildings are behind me.

Ennio in front of the Mission Entrance and Gift Shop

2019 Calendar with all the California Missions

The East Garden features a flower shaped fountain copied from an original in Cordova. It has a rich assortment of rare trees, cacti and seasonal flowers.

This is one of the bells that we find in each one of California's 21 Missions. All of the Missions were co-founded by Father Junipero Serra. They were spaced one day journey apart by horse.

This is in the Bob Hope Memorial Garden. My mom is in the background near the statue.

This is my brother Ennio, and he is trying to read the facts on the board. The facts on the board are about Fray Fermin Francisco De Lasuen.

This is the statue of Fray Fermin Francesco De Lasuen who is also known as the "forgotten friar". He co-founded this 17th Mission on September 8, 1797.

This is a room in the museum with a lot of info on the history of the California Missions. There are a lot of interesting artefacts on display, for example ancient robes, photos, crucifixes, etc.

This is a picture of the Bishop's Bedroom. It was home to California's first bishop, Francesco Garcia Diego y Moreno. He lived at the San Fernando Convento from 1820 until 1835.

She also wrote a report. I am just going to quote the last paragraph: I learned a lot, but still have a lot of questions. Why did the Spanish want everything to be their way? Did the Spanish people do any work at all or did they just boss everyone around? Why did they not respect the Native American culture? I want to learn more about the earthquake and how it affected the mission.

Last GS meeting of the year!

The girls earned their Helping Animals badge (they made dog toys to donate to local shelters and help the animals affected by the fires) and had their Court of Awards. We also welcomed Kristiana into the troop.

Girl Scouts Fall Product Pick-Up Party!

Hi everyone!

This is a message from your local Girl Scout Lily! 
Thank you sooo much for supporting my troop and buying nuts or chocolates this Fall!
I have received the products and would like to invite you to come pick them up at my house on Saturday afternoon, November 24 (the Saturday after Thanksgiving).
We will have coffee and pie available, and would love to hang out a bit!
If the date doesn't work out for you, or if you would like your chocolates sooner 😉, please let me know, and I will happily deliver to your door!

Thank you again very much,
and hope to see you soon!

Love,
Lily

Happy Thanksgiving & Official School Photos!

Last year, we were in Belgium and Switzerland this time of year, and hung out at the Christmas markets, but today, we spent Thanksgiving at home in L.A. We went to see a movie in the theater (Wreck-It Ralph 2 or Ralph Breaks the Internet) - an annual tradition for the kids - and enjoyed a great Thanksgiving dinner at Glance Restaurant (nearby the movie theater). We had the Thanksgiving menu and the portions were outrageous (or maybe the food was just so heavy, that we had plenty of leftovers). We took the food home and will be able to eat at least 2 more meals!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I am especially grateful for these two:

Lily's 10 yr old check-up!

Lily als Galadriel met Halloween!

Vandaag bracht Marcus de kinderen naar de dokter voor Lily's jaarlijkse check-up en voor hun griepprikken. 

Hier zijn Lily's meet- en weegresultaten voor de jaarlijkse statistieken :-) Ze is weer goed gegroeid, maar niet veel bijgekomen in vergelijking met vorig jaar (ze eet zeer weinig):

Lengte: 148,5 cm (95e percentiel) (6,5 cm gegroeid)
Gewicht: 30,75 kg (30e percentiel) (ongeveer 1 kg bijgekomen)

IN ENGLISH:

Length: 58 1/2 inches (95th percentile) (she grew 2.5 inches)
Weight: 67.8 pounds (30th percentile) (she gained 3 lbs)
Blood pressure:  100/56 (normal)
Vaccines: geen vaccinaties, enkel een Flu Shot.

Happy 10th Birthday, Lily!

To be completed!

Time lapse to 2 years later (and Ennio's 10th birthday fast approaching, ha!) and here I am completing this blog post!

Well, November 9, 2018, fell on a Friday = school day. We got up early and Lily got her presents which were mailed to her by the grandparents. 

From us, she got a digital watch. She had written us a note: "Dear Mommy and Daddy, for my birthday all I would like would be a digital watch. One that can count your footsteps, and one that can keep you on track with the time. If you can grant that wish, then I would be truly grateful." How could we say no to that? 

She got a delicious cupcake, a cute kitty birthday card, and a VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch!

She had her Birthday Movie Night over the weekend with a big group of friends and we agreed that 4 of them could stay for a sleepover. They watched "Wonder" in the basement and we had pancakes for breakfast. I think she enjoys being a double-digit girl now!!!

 

Birthday invitation

Pancakes for breakfast (the Belgian way!)

Cami, Pearl, Lily, Nova and Milie