Nana and Grandpa Arrive!

After we got back from Texas, Nana and Grandpa arrived for an exciting visit. We had a lot of fun, all the photos are on http://wegomaine.shutterfly.com. Grandpa likes to take pictures and was impressed with iphoto's upload capabilities!

Nana and Grandpa arrived Saturday morning, almost before we were out of bed, jetlagged from arriving the evening before. But soon Elena discovered that there were grandparents in the house and was out of bed. She was amazed when she walked into the front room to see Nana and Grandpa standing there! We headed out to rent bikes for Nana and Grandpa (required Utrecht transportation) and visit the market. Nana was amazed at the assortment of goodies and had a good time picking out some cheese. Sunday we had grand plans to bike to a new part of Utrecht, but it was rainy and we were still jetlagged. So instead, we visited the Train Museum (it had Grandpa's vote all along). It was pretty impressive. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Elena went to Ukkie and Mom and Dad went to work. On Monday, Grandpa and Nana headed off to a part of Utrecht we had never even been to and discovered windmills and castles. Nana discovered the Red Light District, but Grandpa didn't notice! Tuesday they went to one of our favorite towns, Leiden and Wednesday they went to Amsterdam on a great musuem circuit. Friday we all too the train to Enkhuizen. We have since learned it is called 'the Venice of Holland.' It was a lovely little town on the Ijsselmeer Sea. The port is filled with restored wooden boats, with their rudders on the sides like wings. We watched boats for a long time. Next to Enhuizen is the ZuiderZee Outdoor Museum. This was an amazing place where we basically spent all of our time. It was filled with interesting buildings and recreated villages to show life along the sea in The Netherlands. Elena was a trooper in the cool rain with minimal naps. We took the train back on Saturday. Unfortunately, Richard and I had to catch early morning flights back to the US.

Some of our favorite parts of the visit with Nana and Grandpa:
- Exploring the port city of Enhuizen with restored wooden boats
- Lunches on the train with Fristi and Chocomel!
- Waiting for Nana's mythical tequila sunrise to arrive
- Roomijs! (Ice cream!)
- Going to the train museum in Utrecht (Grandpa's favorite)
- Dinner among the model boats
- Elena waking up Nana and Grandpa in the morning (begging at the shut doors to be let in)
- Introducing them to our 'cheese lady' at the market
- Chocolate sprinkles on toast