We slept in late at Jess and Walter’s in Zoetermeer and after a nice breakfast we headed for Moordrecht which is a small town where my cousin Nancy and her husband Hugo live. They had champagne and all kinds of great food laid out (they said it was for Easter but I like to believe it was just for the Canadians visiting). Also there were my cousin Harriėt and her husband Wim, my Aunt (Tante) Joop and Uncle (Oom) Rob. And most importantly all of the kids. There are a lot of the “Davilar” clan so here is each ‘group’ as a family portrait and we’ll let you know who everyone is:
Jessica and Walter
Nancy and Hugo and Max and Jip (they are twins, Max is on the left, Jip on the right)
Harriėt and Wim with Tim and Daan 
And last but not least the patriarch and matriarch of the clan my Tante Joop and Oom Rob
This is almost the whole clan; missing are Cynthia and Louis who live in Switzerland. There will be a quiz in tomorrow’s update so please take some time now to memorize everyone.
Hugo took Wim, Ali and I on a tour around the polder. A polder is an area of land recovered from the sea and is surrounded by dykes which are dams made of earth. The traditional Dutch windmills were used as pumps to pump the water from the polder side of the dyke to the sea side of the dyke allowing the land to be used. We went to the lowest place in the Netherlands, which is 6.74 meters below sea level. 
The top of that blue post is sea level. I think this picture of Wim, me and Hugo gives a great perspective on how ‘low’ the country is and what an extraordinary feat of imagination and engineering it was and is to have carved a prosperous country out of the ‘sea’.
In the theme of engineering we held the first World Jenga Tower championships in the Moordrecht Dome. Entrants from Canada, the Netherlands and Belgium competed to build the highest tower without dropping more than two blocks in the construction processes. 
The winning team of Max and Jip were hung by the feet as a result of their victory
Here is the peaceful view from Nancy and Hugo’s back deck.
From Moordrecht we went to Gouda (the place that the cheese is named for) though the Dutch (who should know) say “howdaa” not “Gooda” like we would. It’s one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands. The cathedral like building you see below is actually the town hall.
As we were leaving Gouda we spotted a Poffertjes house. Poffertjes are little round pancakes served with lots of butter and covered in icing sugar. They are as good as they sound. I ate 33 of them and could have eaten at least 33 more.
Then it was back to Jessica and Walter’s where George had been partying with Boudewyjn, meaning ‘loyal friend’.
Cheers,
Mark & Ali
P.S. For those of you who want to study Dutch pronunciation here’s the quick guide http://www.stanford.edu/~sipma/prexlp.html
P.P.S. I think this one speaks for it’s self.
Hey guys,
Sure looks like you were not lonely during Easter! It is awesome that Mark has so much family over there!
A huge congrats to Max and Jip for winning the first World Jenga Tower Championships! The pictures look like they had a great time winning.
Glad to see that George has found a loyal friend to party with too!
Are you guys planning to go to Holland? If you do, please get a nice clear shot of a/some tulips. I LOVE tulilps!
Ach!! (as the Dutch would say)… you beat me to it with your poffertjes tent visit. I figured you’d be in there as soon as you saw one!
I’m sure Joop and Rob would not have liked to hang upside down; they would have made sure to lose the Jenga competition!
Hey Trina…. Just so you know… they’re already in Holland.
Another history lesson here. The proper name for the country is The Netherlands. The name Holland comes from 2 provinces (North & South Holland) which were very influential in the 1500′s. The old name stuck especially for foreigners. It is easier to refer to Holland rather than The Netherlands. The word “Dutch” really comes from the old German word of “Diets”. And YES, we do have lots of tulips!!
Hi Ali and Mark
Two postings to read today. And all great stuff. Very interesting. I spoke today with a man in Washington state. He’s just moved from the Netherlands ( I would have said Holland, except for Betsie’s post). Has been in the US for 3 weeks. It was a long, internet setup, (I don’t think he is very young) but a very nice man. He had tulips on his desktop, so that’s what started all the conversation. He wanted me to wish you guys the best of luck, on the vacation, and in your future life together.
I was wondering about the Eleventh commandment. Now I know. Laughed out loud at the picture of the chunnel.
Thank you for the history info, Betsie, and it’s wonderful to see so many of your family.
Looking forward to the tulip pictures as well.
Big Love
Mom
Hi Ali and Mark.
Again, another great entry – informative and lots of great pictures. I am glad to hear you had a Happy Easter. Like you, we spent Easter with the relatives. Mark, I hope you family is doing well – it must be nice to spend time with them and introduce them to “the wife”. Hi Ali. We went to a movie (Robots) today – last day of March break. Back to school and the old rountine tomorrow. It was a spring like day today and our bulbs are starting to pop out of the ground. Enjoy the relatives, the tulips, and most of all the chocolate. Look forward to your next entry. Take care and talk to you soon. Love, Sara
Hi Ali and Mark.
Ali, just wanted to let you know that Amanda’s card arrived in the mail today.
Thanks and have a great day.
Sara
Hi, All.
Hope you are all doing well. As you can tell from Mark’s entries, we are having a very enjoyable time.
We have been reading all of your entries – enjoying each and every one of them!
London was great – oh to be there at the age of 23…33 is pretty great as well. We took in a lot of sites, but we still had a lot of time to relax at a local cafe or pub. Sara, you had mentioned fashion/shopping – I think the same things are back in from when you and Patricia were here. Get your cowboy boots out, tuck your jeans into your boots, and pretty much anything goes. (Note: I did refrain from shopping – perhaps when we return for our flight)
We are also very much enjoying our visit in the Netherlands, visiting with family and enjoying Betsie’s roots (see our next posting). Our host/hostesses are the best ever – we can’t thank them enough! But we will try! We expect to stay in Holland until the beginning of next week and then off to Paris (better brush up on my French).
Take Care. Miss you all.
Ali
xo
Great to hear from you Ali. I am glad you are having fun. It’s quite a memorable place at any age. I sent some pictures of the gang – I hope you got them. Did you circle July 22, 2006? That should be fun. You guys are still planning a trip home in the summer? Look forward to that. Say hi to Mark and keep George in his place. Don’t forget to check out the Red Light District – it’s a hoot! Lots to see in Paris, you will love it – Enjoy. Au revoir. Sara