Happy 13th Birthday Allie Girl!….Plus a little more of June

How is is possible that our girl is thirteen?!  We are definitely not old enough to have a teenager in the house. Ha!  Just kidding.  

What a joy she is.  She blesses us with beautiful music, funny stories, and an incredible amount of love.  We are so very lucky!

She got a Longchamp. Oh was she excited!

Dinner at Wok Dynasty.  She loves that place!

Belgium does fire on birthdays and everyone claps.  It's sweet.

Thomas posted this on Instagram for Allison's birthday.  I love their relationship.  Yes, they are normal bickering siblings, but they love each other too.

Saturday night, we went into Brussels to have a night out with friends.  Our friend Melonee had never gone out in Brussels…what?!  So, we all helped her out by joining in on a night on the town.

The sunset that night was gorgeous!

AC/DC…some interesting beers at the Delirium.  You alright back there Mike?

La Guillotine

Pink Killer (the beer not Kristina)

My beautiful friends!  The guys were with us too, but they didn't smile for their picture, so they didn't get it posted. :)

Me and Lu

Allison is the queen of fun.  She is our resident Brussels expert.  She was moving us along to the next location.

We had to part a little earlier than 3am since I had an 8am photo shoot.  Shayna and I had to stop in the Grand Place for a pic.  She is so tiny!

It was obviously the place to be.

And, here it is the next morning at the 8am photo shoot.  It's always a beautiful sight.

Sunday afternoon, we celebrated Allison's birthday with her friends.  We had lunch and cupcakes at our house, and then we were off to Walibi (an amusement park in Belgium.)

Love this group of girls.  Allison is really lucky to have found so many great friends.

A pic with one of the creepy characters.

Thomas brought his friend Jack.  He needed a buddy with all those girls around.

Belgium played Russia that night.  It was such a big day that Thomas just couldn't stay awake.  He slept through the whole game.  

Even Manneken Pis was in the Red Devils spirit.
(image courtesy of Facebook)

Stopped to grab a pic of this house while driving.  I love their dedication.  I thought I was doing well with the flag hanging from our window and covers on the side mirrors of our car.

The new national heros!

My favorite image on FB after Belgium vs. Russia.  Hilarious!

The following week was the last week of school.  I was able to attend Thomas's field day.

The students could throw whipped cream in their teacher's face for charity.

She is a terrific sport! 

This is what life would be like with six kids.  That would be interesting...

The Keown kids came home with us that night.  We were making the most of our last days with them.

This is how we get ready for the last day of school.  Allison's male teachers received Westvleteren (#1 beer in the world) as an end of the year gift.  I'm pretty sure the female teachers would have been happy with it too.  Sorry ladies.

Next up….the Knepps arrive!!!  Can't wait to share our fun.

Until next time,
Wendy

Moving Right Along Through June

June 11th was Allison's final orchestra concert for 7th grade.  I had posted the image below on Facebook.  It is amazing to see how much she has changed since her first year at ISB.  Wow!

That looks says, "It's embarrassing when you point that camera at me during warm up time!  Quit it lady!"

I just love that sweet face...

A little photo shoot with these sweet friends.  We had to say goodbye to them at the end of the school year, but we'll get to that later.

Preslee and Allison

Allison and Maddie

Jack and Thomas

Taking pictures of this cutie, and she got photo bombed!

You know how much I adore her. :)

He is such a sweetie, and I love those eyes!

Fierce

Always on a mission….

The kids were thrilled to find out we would be heading home for three weeks this summer. 

We have several ISB families who live in our town.  The moms enjoy meeting every month to enjoy good conversation and wine.  Our June meeting was a farewell for Heather.  She is the best neighbor, and we hate to see her go.  More on her departure later.

Saturday, June 14th, Allison was off to the Ardennes (the southern part of Belgium) for a camping trip. ISB offers so many terrific opportunities for the students. She had a blast!

 June 14th was also the International Community's Relay for Life at St. John's International School!  Our family was excited to be a part of it again this year. 

Nikki, our fearless team leader, did a fantastic job!

I walked during the day, but I returned to do the midnight to 2am shift.  It was very appropriate to start my walk at that time as it was officially Father's Day.  It was nice to be out there for my dad and father-in-law.  Oh how I wish we could celebrate with them.  They are missed beyond words.

That evening Pete and Jen returned to us from their Italian travels.  It was so nice to have them back.  We thought it would be fun to add one more country to their travels, so Sunday morning we were off to Monschau, Germany.  Just about 90 minutes from our house, it is the perfect stop when adding Germany to your list.

Enjoying some German beers!  Pete and Chris are really the perfect couple.  LOL!

Beautiful Monschau

And the gorgeous Smidts!

We climbed up the path around the town for a great view.

Happy Father's Day to these two!  Pete will be a daddy this fall.  So exciting!!!

Spending Father's Day with Dad!

Just relaxing.  Jen, Thomas, and I enjoyed ice cream while the guys enjoyed more beer.

Is that not the most perfect platz for this absolutely adorable momma with the cutest little baby belly!

That evening, it was so nice to have Allison back.  We went into Brussels for dinner.

Pete was in my second class at Lincoln School.  He's now a great husband, a dentist, and going to be a daddy.  He has always been one of the best.  At the risk of sounding cheesy, I am just so proud of him! :)

Thank you Pete and Jen for making our house your home base during your trip.  We loved having you!!

The June fun continues with Thomas's fifth grade band concert.  He is loving the baritone!

And, he's really pretty good at it.  Even after begging, neither one of the kids would play the cello, but I'm thrilled they found instruments they love.

They played "Born to be Wild"…what a cool dude!

There is now a Starbucks on the Grand Place.  Yes, that is blog worthy.  Funny thing is…I never drank Starbucks before moving here.  Now I can't get enough of it!  It's the little things.

 There is no better time to live in Europe than during the World Cup.  Thomas was ready for Belgium's first game.  We love the Red Devils!

Next up on the blog…we had a very special birthday on June 19th.  Stay tuned!

Until next time,

Wendy