On our first weekday of the vacation we were still a little groggy because of the time difference. Nora had a cold and didn't sleep very well.

Sasha and I went to see Hoorn, an old city nearby. I used to take the train from there all the time but it had been years since I visited the historic city. It is a very pretty and well preserved town. The weather wasn't great but no major rain either.

We caught the last hour of the Kermis, the fair, and most shops and restaurants were closed because of it.

We found a great place for dinner in an Indonesian toko and I loved sampling all the different dishes. They also had spekkoek.

On Sunday Ettie, Gerben and the kids came to Middenmeer. It was so special to see them! Jasper and Evelien met their aunt Sasha and it was great to be able to hug them. Not seeing them often enough is the hardest part about living far away.

My last visit to the Netherlands was in 2010 -- when Jasper was just born. For Sasha it had been a full decade. She left to Washington, DC in September 2004.

Our flight was at 5:15 pm from Dulles Airport on Friday August 15. We packed our belongings the night before, and then worked hard in the morning to get everything ready on time. Our neighbors Ginny, Judy, and Yong Hee helped with looking after the house and our plants while we were gone, much appreciated.

Nora was excited about the trip. Somehow she is more impressed by the taxi part than the flight, she kept talking about how we would take a taxi to the airport. In our hand luggage we brought a blanket, Meneer Prascho, her giraffe and her pillow. Sasha and I didn't sleep much on the flight to Copenhagen, but we created a little tent for Nora using a blanket and she slept an hour or two. From Copenhagen we took a connecting flight and then we were at Schiphol!

Opa and Oma were waiting for us and we saw them from behind the glass. Nora was a little shy but then waved. Our luggage arrived quickly.

When we arrived in Holland, Nora immediately learned that people in the Netherlands speak Dutch.

Nora likes to describe the things that she sees around her, especially people. When we arrived at the luggage claim she said -- "die meneer maakt de trap schoon" and I concurred "ja, die meneer maakt de trap schoon". Then he actually answered her! "Yes, I am. Do you want to give me a hand?" Nora was quite surprised that someone understood her.

It was great to see my parents, and it was very special to see them and Nora reunited. Nora wasn't shy at all, and kept talking on the way to Middenmeer.

Once there we slept two hours -- just enough to take the edge off from the skipped night -- and before dinner we made a nice walk. There was the Havenfeest, an annual event, and we had a good time. Nora got a slice of cheese, amazingly delicious, from a kaasboer and later a balloon. We bought some diapers and drop from the drugstore. I saw Vincent, an schoolmate from my elementary school. We were very tempted by beautiful tulip bulbs but bringing them home might be impossible.

Today Dyado and Baba left. It was sad saying goodbye -- we've had a great time together.