Off to the Netherlands and a well earned rest with family!!! The kids are looking forward to relaxing a little and taking time off from museums and churches. They can't wait to meet their relatives, and Margaret is excited to re-establish ties with her cousins, many of whom she has met before, either in the Netherlands or in Canada. We had some quick changes between trains, but luck was with us and we arrived, to be greeted by Margaret's cousin Marja, her husband Roshdy, and their two sons. Unlike Canada, it is common to have whole families living in the same town, and this is the case with Marja. Her parents live very close, and tomorrow her whole family will get together for a birthday party for Marja and her brother (born on the same day, one year apart). Our day was spent walking down to the beach near Marja's house, and charging up the Nintendo DS consoles. Their converter didn't work, so the kids have been without their games - nothing we missed that much. However, it gives the cousins something in common. Roshdy is from Egypt, so we spoke at length about customs and what to expect when we travel there. Barry has been there before, but Roshdy says it has changed a lot, so we are very glad we could visit and ask him many questions.

At the beach, we noticed that language is never a problem if kids have sand, water, and a soccer ball. The kids found ways to communicate, and Kerym and Connor started learning from each other immediately. After awhile, we left them behind and headed for Tante Dinie and Oom Jan's to have a visit and some Appelsap or apple juice (Appels van Dekker zijn extra lekker!). The apple juice was excellent and we enjoyed the visit. After awhile, the kids made their way back, and Margaret looked in the backyard which backs onto a canal. They also have a lovely mural which their son, Sjaak, had painted. Marja told Margaret she would see many other paintings by him. That evening, we had a wonderful meal - Egyptian style - which even Tessa enjoyed. The rest of the night was spent simply visiting. It was good to be with family, again.

July 22nd

Happy Birthday, Marja!!! We'd practiced saying it in Dutch, and then we forgot to say it! But she forgave us and fed us a nice breakfast, anyway. Margaret went to church with Dinie and Jan, and she had a nice surprise. Her uncle Dirk did the Mass and the sermon, which she found very enjoyable. She had a few difficult seconds when she realized her uncle's sermon was about people who go on vacation and forget about God, but she decided she was the exception, since there she was - in church! After church, Margaret met some of Tante Dinie's friends over a coffee and had a great time. That afternoon, all of Marja's brothers and sisters came to a birthday party at Simon's farm (originally owned by Marja's parents). We had cake and drinks, but the activities were what made it a great visit. First of all, Connor was greeted by 12 cousins! There is only 1 girl on that side of the family. Within minutes, Ron (Simon's son) got Connor set up with a wooden gun and they had a huge game of war "Pow, Pow!" If you got shot, you had to stand up for 20 seconds until you were back in the game. Tessa chose not to participate, and stayed in the house with us where we all visited while watching the Tour De France. Later, when the boys came in, we went for a tour of the farm with Simon. It included the orchards (apples, pears, cherries, plums) and a stop at his modern windmill which generates electricity. We enjoyed seeing how it works since, of course, we have them in Canada, too. Margaret enjoyed learning about the trees and fruit; Barry enjoyed the computer/business aspect; Connor enjoyed climbing up into the windmill; and Tessa, like all of us, enjoyed eating fresh apples from off of the trees. Absolutely brilliant! When we returned to the farmhouse, we visited some more. When the sun came out, the children said that we had to have a family soccer game, "old" people against the young people. It was a close game, and Connor and Tessa held their own, scoring and assisting in some goals, and even Margaret managed a goal or two. The grass was very wet so our clothes got very dirty, but it was worth it! Supper that night was back at Marja's house, but this time it was (Egyptian) lasagne (another family favourite). After supper, we visited with Marja's brother, Sjon, who has an interesting job creating specialized equipment for tanker trucks, including those vehicles to fuel airplanes. He grows honeydew melon and other vegetables, and enjoys biking during the week, including a 96 km tour every Sunday morning with friends. We also enjoyed looking at Marja's sister, Lida's, yard (she works for a seed company). Again, that night, we had a great sleep, after a fun day in Zeewolde.

July 23rd

The day dawned cloudy and a little windy, so after a nice breakfast of bread and cheese, the "dads" decided to go swimming with the kids. We went over to Oom Dirk's house first, and enjoyed a lovely cake and some Dutch coffee. Marja and Margaret decided to walk around Zeewolde, while the guys and kids went to the pool. When we reunited a few hours later, it was time to get ready for Cora (another cousin of Margaret's) to pick us up.

We decided to go out for supper as a "thank you" to everyone. We went to "Asian Paradise", a really cool restaurant that is a cross between Buffet World and Mongolian Food Experience. When we went in there, we could all eat as much as we wanted. We could choose from a buffet of prepared dishes such as rice, sweet and sour spareribs, deep fried bananas, beef satay, etc. There was another section where we could pick any number of fresh vegetables and meat (beef, chicken, shrimp, or even octopus), put the combinations on a plate, go to the chef and have him cook it up with our choice of sauce. It was hot and delicious!! We could also choose to take a large piece of steak, pork, chicken, or fish and have them grill it with garlic, onion, soya sauce, etc. Dessert went on and on, with the kids returning multiple times for cream puffs and fresh fruit. When we tried to pay for everyone, our attempt at being the great host fell short because they could not recognize any of our cards (Visa, Mastercard, debit). So Cora was kind enough to pay, and afterwards we paid her back. We were very sad to say goodbye to Marja, but happy to have someone else to visit and an adventure closer to Amsterdam.