Hungary

 Dear Jules,

If you look back on this blog, you'll see our earlier trip to Hungary. So much has changed: people have grown up (like my Godson Balázs), others have died, and you are almost a teenager, but it has been so good for you to see and be embraced by family.  

More than anything, I'm so glad you've had this time to spend with Nagyi.  I'm so glad you have a good relationship with all of your grandparents, even with the one who lives so far away.  

This picture is from the Frog Pond, which used to be just a frog pond until they made it into an amazing park.  We spent lots of time at Nagyi's house, we walked around Debrecen, and we even went with her, and with my wonderful Godfather (Oreg) to the Lake Tisza Ecocenter.  

There were tons of people and lots of walking, but it was really nice to just spend time together with her. 

In addition, we got to do some other social things.  One of the first things we did was go to a concert.  I was going to go by myself with Jutka, my cousin, and her husband, but you demanded to come along.  So we sat down at a bar, got drinks for us and lemonade for you, and listened to the music.  You even danced a bit!

You demanded you wear a cute dress and have "cute" hair, and you were definitely the best dressed person there.

We also spent some time, just you and me, at the water park in Debrecen, which is really impressive.  As always, you loved it (I didn't get too many pictures because I was with you, but I hope you will remember the crazy slides and the fact that you jumped of a 1 meter ledge, with people cheering for you).

Next, we planned an outing to the zoo in Nyiregyháza, about an your away.  We went with Jutka and Robbi and also Gergö (Balu's brother), his girlfriend Moncsi, and our relative Éva, who brought her two grandchildren from England, Harmony and Cornel.  It was a lovely time.

Shortly thereafter, we went to Sarúd, on the river Tisza, where they have a wonderful entertainment center (and Robi has his boat!).  This was also one of your favorite experiences, and you especially enjoyed the new experience of relaxing in a jacuzzi after.

Oh, and you got to drive the boat!

In between these bigger outings, we had lunches and dinners with family members, one big one being at my Godparents' home:

And we explored Debrecen's many fountains and statues, and the beautiful flowers everywhere.

We ended our trip with a train visit to Budapest, where we got to spend some time with my godson Balu and his girlfriend Patti.  We went to an awesome Mexican restaurant (Patti's family is in Mexico) and then to Margaret Island:

I'm so happy with how our summer vacation turned out, Jules.  Before we left, you'd had a really scary medical thing happen, and you were so anxious, about everything.  The smile I saw on your face every day was so healing to me and, I hope, to you.  I leave you with this video of you running through the Debrecen fountain, hoping you will always have such peace and joy and love of life.  I love you so much, my girl.