More Rotterdam!

To do my time in Rotterdam justice I decided to do a second post. Above you see the beautiful Merlijn. This is Henk and Jantien's (Katinka's aunt) ship that they converted from a barge to a wonderful passenger ship to conduct bike tours in Holland and Germany. It was such a treat to stay on such a lovely ship.

Here is the only working windmill in Rotterdam. Fortunately, I was visiting the area on a day that it was open. Since both workers were busy they just let me look around on my own. It was so cool! I climbed four different ladders to get to the top where the actual grinding was taking place. It was interesting to go each level and see how it fit into the whole process. I was able to go out on the deck and have a great view of the harbor. One of the workers explained about the windmill and mentioned that it was a great day because the wind was blowing well.

This is Delfshaven, which is an area in Rotterdam that is historically known for a couple of reasons. But most interesting to me was that this was where the Pilgrims left from before going to England and boarding the Mayflower. (Yes, the Pilgrims were originally from England, but they first went to Holland before America.) It was a nice area along a canal, with the windmill at the opening of the canal.

Jantien took me up to The Hague one day and she showed me around the city that she used to live in. Pictured is where the International Criminal Court is held. I found this particularly interesting because I have read about it in my studies. While we were in The Hague we also went to the Dutch Parliament and actually sat in for part of a session. My favorite part of The Hague, though, was the Panorama Mesdag. It is a beautiful painting of the beach there. You should definitely google it.

Jantien and Henk were so generous to have me on their wonderful Merlijn. I had a great time with them and cannot thank them enough for their hospitality.

What Is All This White Stuff?

We finally had a sunny day (and "warm" at 10 degrees!) so I bundled Ellie up to go out and explore all the snow we've been getting.

She was not impressed.

Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

January Activities

Since Alana is over in Brussels right now, I thought she would appreciate seeing some of the things that have happened since she left. We celebrated Susan's birthday before Katinka left to go back to Holland. Then Meg, Margaret and Gavin went up to Salt Lake for Jessica Reeves' wedding (sealing) to Reid Anderson. We stayed with Merril and Sharon Warnick (Gavin's other grandparents) and had a great time seeing old friends. Finally, neighbor and pool builder extraordinaire, Larry unveiled his new river and waterfall in his backyard. Gavin and Brielle can hardly wait to race sailboats down it. Nice job, Larry!!

Family Time

I've been meaning to post for a very long time, and am finally getting around to it. So, sorry about multiple posts in one day. These are pictures from the Wild Animal Park. Brielle was pretty excited to see all the animals (and to be with her Daddy after being away from him while we were in Florida), so we actually were able to capture some rare smiles.

Cousin Time

Brielle and Gavin seemed to enjoy being together. I'm pretty sure they just thought they were each a great big toy to play with, but at least they kept each other entertained. Here are just a few pictures to represent the 2 weeks together.

Christmas Morning-after opening presents.

It is tough to get two cute babies to both smile at the same time. Here we have Ellie with almost a smile.

And here is Gavin with a great smile!

Watching the Horses at the Santa Anita Race Track.

Animal Time

We had a great time at Aunt Eileens Ranch. Brielle loved the dog, but seemed a little bit nervous about the cows.

We went to see the Floats for the Parade of Roses. This is the FTD float before any of the flowers or seeds were put on.

Same float only one week later...it is amazing how much last minute work there is to make such beautiful floats.

Time with Great Grandparents

Brielle was lucky enough to be with 5 of her 6 great grandparents during Christmas. We just didn't get a chance to see "Grandmother" Christensen, but hopefully will see her soon.

With Great Grandpa Baker and Cousin Liam

At the Wild Animal Park in San Diego with Great Grandparents Vov and Yogi.

The whole Finlay Family!

Rotterdam

I am in Europe! But since my boss is in Strasbourg this week I am spending time with Katinka's family in Holland. I spent my first couple of days in Oostkapelle, but then headed up to Rotterdam to stay with Aunt Jantien and Hank on their beautiful barge, The Merlijn. Be sure to check back for great pictures of Oostkapelle and Katinka's family. The first picture is taken from the Euromast (seen in the second picture). It was great to have such a view of the city and have Jantien point out important sites. To the left of the picture you can see the New York Hotel beneath two tall towers. This is only one section of the city/harbor - it is huge.














This picture shows the Euromast from across the Maas River.



















This is the New York Hotel, which was used by passengers of the Holland American Line before they departed for the US. There is a restaurant on the main level and a hotel occupies the upper floors. Jantien and I had lunch there, which was a ton of fun because of its location and historical aspects. It has been a lot of fun to explore the city. I have loved staying on the Merlijn. A big thanks to Jantien and Henk for their wonderful hospitality.

Northern California Trip

We took a trip to San Francisco with our Dutch "daughter", Katinka, and had a wonderful time. The first picture is of all of us from the Point Bonita lighthouse, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Next, we showed Katinka Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world, supposedly. The picture shows San Francisco Bay with Alcatraz in the middle. We also went snowshoeing at Donner Lake and finally had a sweet tour at the Jelly Belly jelly bean factory in Fairfield.

Christmas in California

Here are some of the pictures from Christmas at the Finlay house. It was a full house this year which we loved. Brooke was with us just prior to Christmas, Brad's parents came from Ohio, Katinka came from Holland to stay with us for a month, the Crumps came down from Roseville and Ilenia from Italy (who stayed with us 8 years ago),and her new husband, Igor, spent part of their honeymoon with us - it's sure to be a very long marriage now.

The first picture is Christmas Eve and as is the usual tradition, the kids all slept out in the living room waiting for Santa, after we read the Christmas story. The second picture is of some of the kids at Christmas dinner. In the third picture, Ilenia had just cut the Pandoro and was getting ready to serve it. . .she said that Christmas dinner in Italy wasn't complete without it. The next picture is of all of us at Santa Anita, watching the horses work out in the morning. Finally, Erin and Evan worked on the Palmdale float for the Rose Parade. They must have done a good job as the float won an award.

Ellie enjoyed visiting her 9th state, and playing in the beach once again. She was so spoiled staying at the Ritz Carleton on Key Biscayne for Ian's conference, she says she is never going to allow cheap hotels again. She loved the swimming pools, but wasn't as big of a fan of the ocean.

Right outside the Ritz


Playing with Cousin Brooke on the beach

Buried in the sand!

Having fun in the pool!

A Funny Take

Well my finals are done!  I can't believe Christmas break is already here.  I am very excited.  

One of the issues that comes up VERY often in vet med is Animal Rights.  There is massive confusion about this topic in the media and quite frankly it would be really bad for the profession.  I found this comical view of the matter on The Onion (a pseudo-news source) which really pokes some pretty good fun at the whole issue.  I thought I would put it on the blog for a good chuckle.  I am just so giddy to be done with finals...

Should Animals Be Doing More For The Animal Rights Movement?

The White Coat Ceremony

Here are James, Ster and Rooter right after James received his White Coat in veterinary school. Now it's no more classes and onto the clinic work for a year and a half.



The Christensens, Finlays from Akron and Margaret and Ian all came to help celebrate with James at the White Coat Ceremony.



We took a short trip up to Frankenmuth to see the World's Largest Christmas store and to visit the Silent Night Chapel.



Rooter with her Mom, two Grandmas and even a Great Grandma.

Southern California Mormon Choir

Last Saturday night we had the opportunity to hear the Southern California Mormon Choir perform their Christmas concert. The performance was amazing. Brad just recently auditioned for the group and made it in. He has a great voice and really looks like he enjoys performing. This was the first of many performances and travel opportunities Brad will have with the choir.

Ohio Thanksgiving

We enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Gram and Gramp's place in Ohio. We were sad that they couldn't be there, but it was nice to have a spot were the Eastern Finlays could get together. We ate way too much but that was nice for left overs the next day.



While traveling to Amish Country we stopped by the Smuckers factory. They now own Pilsbury so Roots had her picture taken with the ultimate dough boy.



In Amish Country we put Roots in a little kettle to keep her out of trouble. She had a great time as did we!



Just before the BYU vs. Utah game started we visited Kirtland Ohio. This is the city of much of the history of the LDS Church. We had a great time there, although it was pretty chilly.