The Knepps are Coming!!! The Knepps are Coming!!!

We could hardly wait for June 26th to arrive!!  Not only was it the last full day of school, but the KNEPP FAMILY was ARRIVING that morning for a TWO WEEK STAY!!!  The kids were off to school a little early that morning, so I could be off to the airport to pick up our guests.  Their plane was a couple hours late (which I would have known had I put in the correct date online,) so Allison continuously texted me wondering where they were.  The plan was I would pick them up, and we would take Leksi directly to ISB to spend the rest of the morning with Allison.  Due to the late arrival, we let her stay for the rest of the day.  More than anything, Allison has wanted Leksi to come to Belgium, so she could see what life is like here for her.  Today was finally the day!

They were just a little excited to see each other!

Priceless…worth every penny…right Andrea and Andy? ;)

We had to take the traditional end of school year pic…even though Thomas still had a 1/2 day left.  We now have a an eighth grader and sixth grader.  Gah!  How is that possible?!

Love this photo bomb.  Thanks for the laugh, Heather.  Thomas's face cracks me up!   He's thinking, Oh that Miss Heather is crazy, but that is why I love her!

That evening, Allison had to play violin for the ninth grade graduation (ninth grade is part of the middle school here.)  We were off to dinner after!

Thomas, Allison, Aleksi, and Ilyse

The parents :)

Our friend Melonee had invited some families for an end of the school year dinner.  Melonee and her family would be leaving Brussels the following week and wanted to give the kids a chance to say their goodbyes away from school.  Going to school and joining us for dinner gave Leksi a chance to get to know Allison's friends before they left Belgium.  Allison was so excited they could all finally meet in person.

Thomas and the boys

Jack and Thomas…such good buds!

Allison and Maddie
We were incredibly lucky to find a family with kids exactly the ages of our own.  We will miss their family so much!

And, the worst part was the tearful goodbyes.

This would be the part of expat life I will never get used to.  This picture just breaks my heart…..

Smooches from my favorite little Miss E.

Another tear jerker….

We collected quite a bit of Red Devils apparel.  This was supposed to be my cover photo on Facebook until we found out the US would play Belgium.  That was worst case scenario for me.  What's a girl to do??  I love them both!

The last 1/2 day of school!

These boys were in 4th and 5th grade together.  I hate to see them separated for 6th grade.  Hopefully, we'll have at least one in class.

I had to say goodbye to Shayna on that day.  She is one of my favorites and off on a new adventure in Jordan.  We plan to visit in the fall of 2015.  I cannot wait to see her and her beautiful family again!  Thank God for FB.  We still get to "chat" all the time.

After school, we were off to explore Brussels with the Knepps.  First stop was the Grand Place…of course!

Exploring the Marolles area of Brussels.

Manneken Pis was all dressed up for Canada Day.

The Petit Sablon

The Sablon Church

We made a stop at the Royal Palace.  The main facade is actually larger than Buckingham Palace.  Take THAT England! ;)

We had to eat frites!

And waffles!  Don't try to diet while visiting Brussels.

That night, our friends Catherine (a Mortonite) and Cedric (her Belgian husband) came over for dinner.  We had our favorite Thai chef over to cook for all of us. 

The gentlemen enjoying a Westvleteren.

Even the chocolate was in the World Cup spirit!  Go Red Devils!

We had such a great night!  Andy, Andrea, and Catherine went to Morton High School, and Andrea and Catherine played soccer together.  Andrea suggested I "friend" Catherine on FB before we moved to Belgium.  We met shortly after moving here, and Catherine and Chris work together at CAT (she is not an expat).  It is a very small world!

A little limoncello to close out the night.

And that is just the beginning.  Stay tuned for a trip to Germany!

Until next time,

Wendy