In Volendam

We're in Holland for a vacation. It's the first time in 10 years I am spending Christmas and the new year's celebrations in the Netherlands. This picture is evidence that I am really experiencing Holland like a tourist this time. For the first time, actually.

After having spent Christmas with my mother, we drove to Volendam to experience an overdose of Dutch iconic symbols like wooden shoes, tulips, cheese, and paling pop music. We loved it.

Math champ

Gregory is the new 4th grade math champ at Hembree Springs Elementary. For the past several weeks the students have been dueling each other in solving math problems. After Greg became his own class' champion, he squared off against the champions of other classes. He even beat some 5th graders. Gregory correctly solved 99 of 100 math problems in the final test. And that last one? He simply overlooked it.

Timmins, Ontario

I am on board SAS flight 946 from Chicago to Stockholm. To be precise, I am 37,000 feet above Timmins, Ontario. It does not seem like much from above. Maybe I will remember this city as the first city I blog about from an airplane. And it may be the last one too. The onboard internet service provided by Connexion By Boeing will be discontinued from January 1st, much to my chagrin.

So what's going on in Timmins? From surfing the web, I learned that Shania Twain lived here for a while. There's a center celebrating her time in Timmins with memorabilia and souvenirs. Too bad, I could not stop by.

Sinterklaas in Roswell

Sinterklaas was nice enough to spend one day of his busy schedule with the Dutch children of Atlanta. During this week, Greg and Sammy had been practicing some Sinterklaas songs. They were excited to meet Sinterklaas today.

Sint and five Piets arrived at the Roswell River Landing after a long journey upstream the Chattahoochee river. They brought lots of pepernoten, banket, and chocolate initials. But every kid's favorite were the presents Sint brought for everyone. Find some more pictures on Flickr.