We went to the Dutch Embassy tonight for a party.

It was a fun evening and we all had a good time. Met several new people.

The main feature on the menu is Dutch herring and eel. I'm not a big fish eater but Sasha likes the herring and Nora and I like the speculaas.

Adriaantje hasn't slept well the last few nights and we suspected an ear infection. I took him to the pediatrician this morning and sure enough -- an infection on both sides.

Afterwards we went to CVS for his medication. During the day he is happy; his ears only bother him in at night.

It's only 0.4 miles but it's the beginning of something beautiful: a real protected bike lane in Arlington. Today the County finished repaving Wilson Blvd between North Oak and North Quinn, and added flex-posts to separate the bicycle lane from cars.

When the kids went to bed I bicycled to Rosslyn to check it out, and it felt great. Wilson is not a great street to bike on, with the two high speed lanes of traffic, and the protection made a huge difference. It also helps that it's less likely now to bump into opening car doors.

According to TheWashCycle the bike lane will later be extended to Court House Rd, and there are even studies into extending it all the way to Fairfax Drive. That later part is where I bike with the kids pretty often, a protected bike lane there would be amazing.

We went to the Lynnbrook party this afternoon, which was a lot of fun. It was great to catch up after the summer and chat with new and old neighbors.

We discussed a little about the potential redevelopment plans for the YMCA, which is starting with a Special Land Use Study.

The kids enjoyed themselves. Nora was getting a little tired at one point but when I told her Eli would join later she was happy to stay. Leo and Adrian loved running around and we were chasing them down all the time.