This morning we went to Clarendon Day, where we had a a great time.

Nora received two balloons, but the highlight was meeting a parrot character -- the mascot of a local bank. This enormous "papagaai" made a deep impression Nora but she was brave enough to give him a high five -- which she kept referring to the rest of the day.

She also saw her first puppet show. She got very excited about all the animals, and when Spot (Dribbel in Dutch) made his appearance she said: "hondje!" and took him off the hand of the puppeteer and hugged him.

Puppets!

Playing with blocks.

Looking at mamma...

...and then trying the hula hoop.

Yesterday we had a social event at work and we played broomball. This is a simplified version of ice hockey: you wear normal shoes, not skates, and the ice is prepared to provide more traction than usual.

We played in the Kettler Capitals Iceplex, an ice rink on top of the parking mall in Ballston, very close to our office. It's the place where the Washington Capitals do their training.

We played two 20 minute games; we won the first but lost the second.

Queen Máxima is in New York City today for the formal opening of the renovated Delegates' Lounge at the United Nations.

The room was recently remodeled by a Dutch design team, lead by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius. A website by the Dutch consulate in New York has more information about the redesign, which is part of an overall update to the 60-year old United Nations building.

Yesterday Queen Máxima presented a report on micro-financing to the secretary-general of the UN, Ban Ki-moon. She serves as the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.

We celebrated Julian's birthday this weekend. The trip to Secaucus on Friday afternoon took longer than usual, and Nora was getting a little annoyed in the car, but once arrived we all had an excellent time.

On Saturday Julian and Ilana went to see Spiderman on Broadway, a great experience for them. Nora had a blast with her cousins. She was sometimes a little scared of all the energy and noise and jumping... but she kept saying "Julian! Ilana!".

On the way back Nora slept the entire trip, she woke up 20 minutes before we were home.

Nora woke up at 6.50 am this morning and after a few minutes she made sure we were awake as well. Nora and I went to get bagels. It was a nice outing -- Nora really enjoys these small trips.

G: Nora, ga je mee?
N: Auto rijen?
G: We gaan naar de bakker!
N: Brood kopen?

After we came back:

G: Nora, waar waren we?
N: Auto!
G: En waar gingen we heen?
N: Bakker!
G: En wat hebben we daar gekocht?
N: Brood! Kaas!

The Dutch consulate in Chicago might close. The Dutch government is considering a package of austerity measures that includes closing five consulate world-wide, including the mission in Chicago.

The Michigan House and Senate approved resolutions urging the Kingdom of the Netherlands to reconsider the proposed closing of the Dutch Consulate General Office in Chicago and to retain a strong diplomatic presence in the Midwest region of the United States.

The Netherlands Club of Chicago also disagrees with the proposed closing. They point out that aside from providing consular services to Dutch services, the consulate is also important to maintain strong economic ties:

Closing the Chicago office would close doors politically for Dutch businesses that have settled in the Midwest, along with Dutch businesses that are looking for new opportunities in the region. Consider the economic importance of the Midwest: 25% of America's GNP is generated in the 14 states that it covers. Three of the states in the Midwest (Ohio, Michigan and Illinois) alone are responsible for 27% of all Dutch exports to the US and the region is a rapidly growing area overall. Thus, it is of strategic importance to maintain strong ties between our two countries geopolitically.

The Netherlands Club of Chicago has started a campaign to protest the planned closures. A decision by the Dutch government is expected soon. It is likely that the government will announce their austerity plans on Prinsjesdag, September 17.

Yesterday we celebrated our 15 year anniversary, remembering the summer that we met each other. In 1998 we were in an exchange program for college students, and we both worked in a resort in upstate New York.

The second week of September is a week of milestones -- 13 years ago Sasha arrived in the Netherlands to start her Dutch language study, and 10 years ago today she went to the United States on an assignment in Washington, DC.

We went out for dinner last night in a Grand Cru, a restaurant in Ballston that we hadn't been to before. We sat outside in a big courtyard with a fountain, and Nora was pushing her own stroller back and forth. It's amazing to see where life has taken us.

The house with the big flag that we always pass during our runs will be demolished.

It's about time -- the house is in very bad state and it really looks ugly.

But Nora will be disappointed! It's one of the highlights of our run -- from far she'll start saying: "vlag! sterren!".

Today Nora saw her first cow. We visited the Frying Pan Farm in Herndon, about 30 minutes away.

Nora woke up 6.45 am, early for her, so she was a little tired but she greatly enjoyed seeing all the animals. We arrived at the farm a little after 9.00 am and the first thing we saw from the parking lot were a cow and a bull, grazing in a pasture. Nora first thought was "paard" (horse), since those she had seen before.

Frying Pan Farm is a beautiful farm and great fun for kids and adults. We saw lots of animals: cows, sheep, horses, pigs, goats, turkeys, peacocks, chickens... Nora was impressed. The animals dutifully made all sorts of noises. We heard the roosters crow, and the cows were mooing. The goats were a little scary.

I also pointed out some of the farm machines, including the plow (ploeg) and when we gave Nora a sandwich later and asked: "wat zagen we op de boerderij?" (what did we see on the farm?), she answered: "ploeg!".