Lord of the Realm

YES! I'm alive and well. I'm still on Planet Earth. And as of a few hours ago, I am now back in Amsterdam in our apartment (while Donica is in Hannover on business before flying back to A'dam tonight)!

The last week is a bit of a whirl, after our trip to Michigan. But instead of starting there, I want to start with what we did for Nicholas' 7th birthday on Sunday evening, after arriving back from our all-night drive that morning...and before we left for Europe the next day (yesterday).

When we were in Brugge, Belgium, for my birthday back in June, we bought a medieval knight's outfit for Nicholas. And once back in Atlanta, we reserved seats for the Medieval Times show held at the mall near his home. While we stood in line to get in, he wore his helmet.

Once inside and at the appropriate time, he was knighted by the King himself.

It actually was a big deal and nearly brought tears to my eyes because he took the whole thing so seriously. Well, so did they, which helped!

Once inside the arena where we ate a feast, the show began. Because we were in the green section, our own "personal" knight was this Green Knight, standing in front of us to welcome the festivities.

Our table happened to be in the very front row, so when this horse and rider approached our section, we could have reached out to touch them. I think the horse knew I had a camera!

At the end of the evening, the King's right-hand man read off all the important celebrations of the evening, among which was Lord Nicholas' 7th birthday!

During the entire show, for almost 2 hours, Nicholas was totally transfixed. I don't think he ate more than a few bites. This is one of those experiences you only do once, but you remember it forever, as I'm quite sure he will.

And as you all know by now, that little fella is definitely Lord of Our Realm! We are so privileged to have him in our lives. Privileged and thankful.

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Throughout this week I plan to work on my Michigan photos. But if you'd like a head start, PLEASE visit my sister Ruth's post with all HER pics! As I told her, I hardly need to do a thing. She did it for me!

Now I need to go visit YOUR blogs...after I take a nap, I think. It was a very nice flight but never enough sleep!

My Glad!

How many of you use the term "My Bad" whenever you make a mistake or mess up?! Well, this is a take-off on that.

Here's a Glad (gladiolus) from our rock garden out front, blooming as we speak. It represents My Glad as we prepare for an overnight with Nicholas tonight (giving Dennis and Amy some alone time after he flies in from LA this afternoon) and then our annual drive to the Hart Family Cottage in Michigan tomorrow evening.

Since we will be in Amsterdam on Nicholas' 7th birthday (July 12), we will celebrate with him tonight and then again at the cottage. Once we get back next Sunday, we'll take him to Medieval Times for dinner and the show. He has been begging us to go there for ever, so finally we will go! He will really be birthday-ed!

The very next day, on Monday the 9th, Donica flies to Hannover and I fly to Amsterdam. So let's just say a lot is happening all at once.

Because of a terrible Internet connection at the cottage and wanting to give all my energy to family, this will be my last post before we return on Sunday. Tomorrow will be my last post on Shutterchance as well, with a variation on today's theme.

And I am very GLAD! We love this annual trip to the cottage each summer!

Have a great July 4th holiday, you who celebrate it. Traveling mercies to us all!