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.