My last blog was two weeks before our trip ended. During those two weeks we were taken in by multiple parts of Tim's family. Jan and Mirjam welcomed us in Zeeland where we enjoyed a boat trip. Highlights were the kids swimming with non-stinging jelly fish (never knew they existed) and later catching crabs in traps off the pier. We spent the night at Jan and Mirjam's house which brought back a lot of memories. In 1997 we stayed with them for a few nights, and it was also there that we first heard about Princess Diana had being killed in a car crash. We visited Groningen where Elout's good friend Felix offered to be our tour guide. Both Felix and his wife Adrienne gave us a warm reception. They prepared a beautiful breakfast for us, and then Felix enthusiastically took us around Groningen. We climbed the Martini Tower admiring the giant old bells up close, and then the view of the city while the rain came down in sheets. We took a canal tour and ate a buffet supper that we will never forget. Tim's aunt Madaleine, who didn't live far from where we were staying, had a bbq for us. Over the following days Marieke, Jetta and their families made us feel at home. They both hosted a dinner for us. We stayed over night once in Amsterdam. Brennin stayed with Jetta and Caspar - getting to drive their bakfiets from Marieke's place to Jetta's, with Jente and Wiebe in the bucket. The rest of us stayed at Marieke's. One of our favorite touristy sites was Maduradam, a miniature land where two of Tim's relatives' (Eise Eisinga and Pieter Starreveld) works are included, and where Belia experienced her first loose tooth! We visited the Anne Frank House, Madame Tusads, the Van Gogh Museum, the Apenheul Primate Park (a huge favorite!), Corpus a Museum of the Human Body, and Amsterdam Zoo. On our last day we took in Rotterdam, going up the Euromast, taking a Spido harbour trip, and visiting peculiar cube houses. On our way back from Rotterdam we stopped at a park to see a war memorial statue that Tim's grandfather made.

Almost two years have passed since we left for Europe in 2013. Not many days go by without us thinking of some part of our adventure. Instead of feeling homesick I sometimes feel "Europe Sick". I'm not sure what I miss the most - the food, the sights, not being pulled in multiple directions, or being able to spend day after day with all of my kids and hubby.