We were there early -- right at 12.30 pm -- and the kids all knew what to expect so they enjoyed things more. They played with the Pieten in the beginning, had some pepernoten and looked around with curious eyes. The organization is excellent each year, this year was very smooth also and it was clear that the crew was having a lot of fun too.

Adrian had a long conversation with one of the Pieten. I overheard him say that he didn't like her feather (it was yellow) but that it needed to be black, haha. He has strong opinions, our dear Adrian.

Adrian had big plans to talk with Sinterklaas -- "ik zal hem vragen hoe hij op het dak komt en het paard" and he was going to sing a song. But once he was invited to come over, he was quiet and subdued, the sweet heart. Leo was shy also and when he was done the whole room cheered him on, so nice.

Nora had made a drawing for Sinterklaas, a mijter and they had a short conversation. She is never shy.

In the evening, Adrian told us something funny. He has told Sinterklaas that he is "boef lastig" and that Sinterklaas' mouth fell open in surprise, haha.

Adrian telling a Piet he doesn't like the feather in her cap, haha.

The last time we saw B.T.R. in concert was 21 years ago at NDK in Sofia, Bulgaria. Their big hit Спасение was just released and that winter in 1998 we heard it for the first time. Later, back in Amsterdam, I downloaded their MP3; the very first MP3 I ever heard.

Miriam took take of the kids tonight and Sasha and I had a lovely night together. The concern was in Takoma, MD, about 45 minutes from us.

They played very well -- Nasko's voice is still terrific after all that time. They mixed new songs with old hits, it was a great show. We sang and we danced.

After the show we saw two of the band members off-stage.

The road I bicycle to work on, Quincy, was re-striped last week. The new striping pattern is an improvement over what it was before, in particular where parking was taken away. Slow but steady progress.

The other day I met up with Mark, who was in town visiting from Raleigh. It was really nice to see him again. We had coffee and talked for a long time.

We went for a walk in the area around the White House. The fence at the White House is being repaired so we walked to the other side for a better view.

We went to the Arlington County Fair today, our second visit. Last year we took the bakfiets but that's still at the repair shop. We took the shuttle service from Virginia Square metro and that was awesome: it was a true yellow school bus. The boys were super excited.

The first ride Leo and Adrian did, a merry-go-round with small jeeps, was serious business for Leo. It took him several rounds before he dared give us a big smile.

The second ride was one with various cars. The dudes chose the fire truck, of course, and they enjoyed being in front and steering.

When Adrian saw the fire brigade where kids were getting dressed up his was adamant to do that. The boys were dressed in a beautiful fire brigade costume and really liked it.

When we were leaving, the bus back to Virginia Square had just arrived, so I went in quickly. Then, crying behind me, Adrian. He had lost his balloon -- it was flying in the sky. Oma offered to get him a new one and so they went back inside, and we took a later bus.

I found a new game for the Veilig Leren Lezen reading course for the boys. It's one of the assignments kids can do when the teacher is busy helping others, with a fun way to self-assess the result.

We played the game today after lunch, while Jaap and Mieke went for a walk in DC.

The boys woke up full with energy and were downstairs at 7 am, so we had an early breakfast. Afterwards, we did a Veilig Leren Lezen session. Adrian wrote his first word today, with the ringboekje -- he stamped VIS without having to look up the spelling. Very cool.

Leo is making nice progress in the second kern. To slow him down I make him do zonnetje exercises as well, which he enjoys.

The kids and I went to Elephant & Castle in DC to watch the women's World Cup final, a game between USA and the Netherlands. Our loyalties are divided, obviously, but we dressed up in orange and joined the Dutch crowd cheering for Holland.

It was the first game that the boys saw. They were overwhelmed at times by the noise and the tension but they had a good time. The kids had a lemonade and corn-on-the-cob.

The first half was dominated by team USA but the Dutch kept it at 0-0. In the second half, a penalty kick and a beautiful goal decided the game, 2-0. We clapped for the American goals, and when Nora was in doubt and a little sad, we cheered "USA", "USA" -- an advantage of dual loyalties! The American team was clearly the better one, but it's still sad "we" lost the final.

When we left we saw hello to a Dutch couple that had brought two Nijntje dolls. The kids hugged them and then they received a small stroopwafel for dessert.

We had a nice block party last night. It's always stressful getting things ready, with preparing the kids, ourselves and food to bring, but the party itself was great and we had a really nice time.

The boys are now big guys, compared to some of the other kids. Baby Olivia is kind of walking now. Leo liked playing with Kurt, who is only 3 but his Dutch grandparent's genes make him quite tall.

Ilana chatted with two other teenagers in the neighborhood, and Nora walked hand-in-hand with Cara's kids across the street.

Ginny showed us the renovations in her house upstairs; very nice.

Five minutes after we put Leo in bed, he was deep asleep, and he didn't wake up until 7.20 am this morning.