Following our family bowlathon we headed to Brussels. The boys did great and the ride was relatively uneventful. Well until just before we arrived. Twenty minutes from Brussels as the boys began to be really antsy and STARVING a car to the left of us hit a guard rail and began flipping in front of us. The car was completely crushed but the girl was pulled from the car and able to “walk” away from it. We were all very shaken up and obviously very thankful to be alive. It all went in slow motion.  And I highly recommend saying all of those meaningful things to family when you are not in the middle of a traumatic situation because you really are kind of focused on staying alive.

Back to Brussels… Our friends the Burke’s lent us their house complete with a black lab (and their Colombian maid that stayed to care for the dog). We didn’t use the maid but the boys loved pretending that they had a dog for the week. We stayed in Brussels the entire time and took day trips throughout the area. It was so nice to have a cozy home to come home to a cook normal meals in the evenings. After our day in Brussels Owen was obsessed with “fwench fwies” and waffles. He was disappointed to have eat normal food in the evenings.

We spent a very chilly, rainy day exploring the city in Brussels. Here are a few pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

super super long baguettes

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the waffles…

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the chocolates…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

some like to savor chocolates….some just go for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

tintin reminds me of my brothers…they used to read them when we were in boarding school. I hope our boys like the books too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“it’s right there, can’t you see it?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this statue was much smaller in real life than we imagines. Jackson thought it was pretty silly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

he was puzzled by the giant chocolate version

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

time outs occur even in Europe despite all of the recent media about European parenting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I will try to hop on and share our day in Brugg. It was probably our favorite city so far!

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Hi folks,  Hope you all had a great Easter.  We made it back safely after our whirlwind trip. It was great that Seth only had to take 2 days off work when paired with local holidays but I think we may have been a bit too eager to take advantage of his days off.  We drove over 1300 miles, went through 6 countries, filled, spilled and refilled a zillion snack cups, had the privilege of seeing both of our kids throughout each night,  and made lots of memories.

So as not to overwhelm you all in one day I thought I would share pictures from each stop. First stop was Ramstein Air Force base. It allowed us to have a stopping point to break up the drive and we were able to get groceries to make easy dinners on our trip. We also enjoyed the boys first trip to a bowling alley. They both acted like they had bowled a million times before.  We stopped in at the Chili’s before hitting the road to Brussels. It’s funny because so often I think we could say that we are fine without American restaurants but it sure was fun to order in English and have a big glass of ice water.  I have to say just being in a place where they brought the kids crayons and paper and the kids had options on their own cheaper menu was a treat! And while I shopped in the store I heard an announcement IN English that the Lady Bears had won!!! It’s the little things!

 

 

 

 

 

 

this pic is a shout out to Bo and Leigh!  We were so sad to not swing by and pick you up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On Saturday we spent the morning with other Embassy families on the Ambassador’s lawn participating in a “Spring fling”.  The boys had fun hunting for eggs, doing a bunny hop sack race, racing with spoons on eggs and all kinds of fun games. Our Community Liaison office did a great job.  Here are some pictures (excuse the huge sun spots, we roasted hot dogs over a fire by the river the night before and I forgot to clean my lens. Oh well.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson with our neighbor Dominic

 

 

 

 

 

 

Owen proudly craddled his egg and spoon the whole way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

bunny hop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In other news, we closed on our house last night! here is it for those who haven’t seen it on facebook yet!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We popped a bottle of bubbly and had some chocolates to celebrate! Looking forward to seeing it for the first time in our jetlag fog on July 2nd!!

We are all packed and heading out after Seth gets off work today to take a family road trip. We have some foreign service friends that live in Brussels and they are away in London for the week and have offered their home! So, free lodging and some time away!    We are going to drive tonight as far as the base and spend the night their. We are hoping to take the boys bowling and for lunch on the base before driving on the Belgium. We are not super spontaneous so planning this a few weeks ago is kind of pushing my spontaneity level. These family road trips tend to be quite refining but I think a little family time might be just what the boys need. We have been packing our schedule way too tight with playdates and have had little time just the 4 of us! So, here’s hoping for the best…6 hours each way!

We hope that you all have a blessed Easter!

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For 6 months now Owen and I pack up on Wednesday morning and head to a mommy and me swim class with some friends. I wanted to do something with Owen on our morning together while Jackson was at school and I wanted it to be out of the house and away from my other distractions. I wanted him to feel like I was really focusing on him for a bit.

Our swim mornings started out with 2 little boys enjoying milk and bread together, along with their bedhead. While the mommies chat away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We reluctantly broke up the fun 2nd breakfast time and headed out to Heimburg about 20 minutes from us. They have a nice indoor pool and a wonderful baby class. The teacher is so creative. Miss Lisa (pronounced more like Liesel from the Sound of Music only without the “l” at the end. follow me?)  was super sweet and patient with the kids and tolerated lots of mom chatting.  Owen’s favorite activity what when she would give each child a plastic watering pail and one child would hold a clear umbrella over their head while the others showered him. Each week she had something new to show them. I don’t know if Owen learned a bit but he sure had fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

forgive the foggy lens…the pool was so warm my lens wouldn’t clear…some people add these special effects! these are our steamy shots in the pool!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

after swim class the boys would hop in and out of the lockers while we gathered our things.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we would round them up, walk coral them out to the car, and hope the whole way home that we could successfully keep them awake so that they wouldn’t spoil their naps. Owen was very successful in thwarting my no sleep plans. he typically crashed within minutes of his snack.

Now I realize this all sounds so fun and innocent, so what could be the drama around going to swim class….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

this just about sums to up! Swim class in Switzerland has been quite the cultural experience with nudity. Luckily Owen and I have found a little dressing room so I can be confident about my lack of confidence. Sheesh. My friend Nina and I giggle our way through the locker room as people very slowly shower and dress and lather lotion and dry their hair without a teeny tiny glimmer of feeling immodest. Now I am not talking about the typical American locker room experience where you turn your back, change your clothes quickly but make every effort to almost stay clothes while you maneuver the switch. You know where everyone is completely aware of everyone changing but no one looking and chatting. I am talking about people chatting and talking and taking their time….no one’s back turned!  I oscillate between feeling like it’s totally crazy and really kind of refreshing that people appear to have healthy self images and don’t feel like they have to be perfect to be seen. The refreshing part has yet to infuse confidence into me but I can see how it might be a good thing. for them! As I slipped my shoes off most weeks Owen stood wide eyed and mouth open as these women young and old got dressed. He had never seen such a sight. I decided that no matter how much Jackson would love a swim class as well it just was not worth it here. Not worth the risk of being sent out of Switzerland because my 4 year old could just not filter such an experience!!

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