Bruxelles 20k

Today was the day!  The race Chris didn't train for.  Yikes!  He was nervous for sure, but we knew he would do a great job.  Apparently working at least 16 hours a day, running once a week (if he was lucky), and carbo loading with Belgian beers is the key to successful training.  He ran the 20k in 1 hr 46 min.  Way to go Chris!

It was the most beautiful day.  I can easily get used to this weather, but I know it isn't here to stay.

Tops my list of favorite pictures from the day.  I should have waited 20 seconds more for the guy in the white shirt to get up there to potty.  Note the tree in the bottom right.  That's not water on the bottom of that tree.  Allison was appalled by all of this public urination!

This will always be one of my favorite places in town.  It's just so beautiful!

The sun was just so bright that he couldn't see the screen of his iPod Touch.  Ridiculous!

Piggy toes in the fountain!

I used Allison's little Nikon today instead of lugging my big camera with me.  This little thing takes some great pictures!

Here's the finish line...prior to any finishers.

Nice work Daddy!  Thomas always wears his Dad's medals at the end of the race.  And, Allison is sporting the fancy Spa Water hat we received for free! :)

After a mad dash to get this house cleaned before my mom arrives tomorrow, we had a very enjoyable dinner with some of our friends here in Waterloo.  This is the "kid" table.  Allison couldn't pause long enough on her ribs to even look at the camera.

And my dear friends.  I didn't want to interrupt all of the interesting conversations.  We are feeling so blessed to have so many new and loving friends in our life here in Belgium.

My mom will be here in eight hours!  We have a big day planned tomorrow.  I sure hope she and Mike can stay awake for all the fun.

Until next time,
Wendy

ISB Spring Fling Pictures

This was the first school dance for the kids.  The parents were also invited, so it was a great family event. And, Chris was super excited to hear they would be serving beer. :)

 Thomas wanted to wear a nice shirt, but he kept it simple with jeans.  He didn't want to look like he was "dressed up".  Allison, of course, wanted to look fancy.  She really didn't want to wear her glasses, but halfway through the dance she went out to the car to get them.  Poor thing can't see a thing.  I can't believe how much they have grown up since we arrived in December.

The elementary school cafeteria was all decked out for the dance.  As you saw from the video posted yesterday, it didn't take long for that dance floor to fill up.  The kids had a ball!

Allison and her friend Adriana at the dance.  We are very sad she will be moving back to the States next month.

This is the deck outside the cafeteria where the parents hung out all night.

Happy Dad!

Love these girls!  Feeling very blessed  that we have met so many great people in such a short time.

Chris was loving on Baby Emerson.  He was even hinting at having another one...what?!?  Where were you five years ago when I really, really wanted a third?  Too late now!  I've got traveling to do, and the big 4-0 is knocking on the door! :)

Impressive turnout!

More fantastic ISB moms!

The beautiful chateau!  I've never seen it at night.  It was almost 9:30, but still light out.

Big weekend here!  The kids are both attending birthday parties today, the Brussels 20K for Chris is tomorrow, and Mom and Mike arrive on Monday morning!  So much to look forward to.

Until next time,
Wendy

ISB Spring Fling

Tonight was the Spring Fling dance at school for the 3rd-6th graders in the elementary school.  It was such a great evening.  My favorite part was watching the kids dance all evening.  The dance floor was packed the whole time.  Here's a snip of the fun.  More pictures to come tomorrow.

Until next time,

Wendy

In Short....

I had two very excited kids today!  It was finally warm enough to wear shorts to school.  It's almost 6:00 P.M. and still 81 degrees Fahrenheit!  It's heavenly!

Until next time,
Wendy

Adventure Day #2

Here's my co-pilot today.  If dogs could talk, he would be saying, "What the heck is with all this traffic?"  One hour and seventeen minutes after departure, the kids arrived at their school this morning....which is only 5 km away!!!  Not sure what happened somewhere over in Brussels, but it trickled over to my neck of the woods.  The kids were late, and so were the dozens of other kids on the buses behind us.  

I found this adorable keychain at the American Women's Club today.  Just perfect for my friend Banu.  She just bought one of these to cruise around Morton.  Sounds like they are all the rage these days. 

Now on to Adventure Day #2.  Polish pottery is very popular here.  I first discovered it at the Poland booth at the International Festival at ISB.  I immediately fell in love with the different patterns and picked up a small tray I have used quite often.  Gretchen suggested we visit the seller's open house today.  These open houses are held only three times per year, so we just had to go. ;)  I found out this pottery is microwave, dishwasher, and oven safe.  I've decided this is what I am collecting while I'm here....well okay, I seem to be collecting a lot of things, but this is my priority.  I have my heart set on a vase that I am hoping she will be able to get for me.  I'll keep you posted.  I know you're dying to hear!  Ha!

I mean, really!  How does one decide what to buy?  I purchased a round platter with those great handles (you can see in the top picture) and a two part dish that will be perfect for olives and cheese.

On to lunch (always an important part of the day.)  We decided on Thai food.  It was a first for me, and it was delicious!  I'll definitely be going back.  This restaurant is in Rhode St. Genese, and this just happens to be where all of my lovely Adventure Club friends live.  In the top left picture, I am holding the awesome coffee mug Ericka gave me.  It is a camera lens mug complete with the cap.  It is the "replacement lens" for the one that was stolen.  I laughed until I almost cried.  So thoughtful!  Love these girls!

Next, was a stop at an outlet furniture/decor shop just down the street from the restaurant.  It's not much to look at on the outside...not on the inside either...but thanks to the low overhead, there are awesome prices.  This place had the coolest furniture and decor.  I think I'll have to check in each week to see what they have.  We'll just call this my TJ Maxx in Belgium...only a little dustier.  Clearly, we are going to have to either sell a ton of stuff we brought with us or have two containers to take us home.  Or, maybe I need to go back to work to end the shopping.....

I'm continuing to make this house a home.  I picked up some flowers to brighten up the gate area.  I'll eventually get them in some nice pots, but the containers they came in will do for now.

And finally, we bought an extra fridge.  Due to my decorating in the kitchen with the cart and wall hanging, this will have to go in the basement (not a happy husband.)  But hey, it's basically a beer fridge, so Chris can get the exercise walking up and down the steps for refills.

And that is quite a day.  Getting ready for my mom and Mike to arrive on Monday.  I better get cleaning...right after I catch up on The Bachelorette!

Until next time,
Wendy

Scenes from a Sunny Sunday

Here is our day in iPhone pictures...with some commentary of course. :)

The kids were acolytes at church for the first time.  They did a great job and didn't have to wear the beautiful royal blue robe with the white thing over your shoulders like I had to wear when I was an acolyte!  Lucky ducks!

Our drive to and from church is through the forest, and it is a gorgeous drive.  It is really amazing now that everything is in bloom.  I happened to look in the side mirror, and this is what I saw.  Thankful my phone was in my lap, so I could snap this sweet shot.

The best part of the day was the sunshine and 74 degree temperature.  Most of our day was spent in the backyard.  I must say, it was so nice to be home just relaxing.

The American Girl dolls were even soaking up the sun.

Little Miss Allison has a book report due next Tuesday and a long way to go on that book.  She needs to get moving because Grandma and Mike arrive on Monday, and I am quite sure there will be no working on the book report once they arrive.

Allison and her darling friend spent a lot of time on the trampoline when they weren't playing their violin/viola and playing American Girl dolls (so happy Allison has someone to play these with.)  And, I frequently heard this while they jumped.  "Hey Mom!  Take our picture.  Wasn't that jump awesome!  Take another.  No that wasn't good.  Take another one......" I often regret the number of times I made my mom give me a score off the diving board or watch every cartwheel I did across the yard.  I'll bet I was annoying! :)

Well, this one had to get in on the competition too.  Limber is NOT his middle name.  Such a boy!  If I may go on a tangent...we were jumping on the trampoline yesterday too.  I was showing Thomas how to do the twist while we jumped. He then wanted to show me how to do "the screw".  Do you see where I'm going with this?.... He starts jumping and twirling and repeatedly chanting, "I'm screwing...I'm going to screw with you Mommy....Mommy, let's screw!"  And, for those of you who know Thomas, you know that he is LOUD!  Only one volume with this boy, and that is MAX!  Unfortunately, most of our neighbors speak English.  Oh my dear Lord.....all I could do was laugh.

Whoa!  Look at those skills.  Now, if we can just get that to happen on the ground.

Not to be outdone by my children.  I had to prove that I could still do it.  Chris just kept shaking his head.  This was like take #10.  And, not because I couldn't do it well, but his photography skills were not up to par. ;)  LOL!

And, like most days in Belgium, the beautiful day ended with a major thunderstorm.  We actually had lightening and thunder and even lost power 3+ times.  Unfortunately, the chicken wasn't quite finished, so this is how the remainder of the grilling went for Chris.

And, that my friends, is our Sunday at home.

Until next time,
Wendy  

Market in Mechelen

I will sheepishly admit that today was my first visit to a market while living in Belgium. I know...I know...how have I made it this long without going to the market?  Well, I just go to the grocery store, and I just haven't felt like I "needed" to go to the market and spend the money (I've heard the produce and cheese is a bit more expensive...but probably better I'm sure.)  My friend Lisa recommended we visit the market in Mechelen which is held each Saturday morning, and I must say, I loved it!  It was HUGE...down several streets!  You could find anything you were looking for...clothing, food, pet supplies, flowers, toys, scarves, etc.  It was quite a selection.  I didn't purchase much (only a scarf and bracelet...and boots, but those were from a store), but I'm sure there will be more market shopping in my future.

Look at these olives!  Wish I liked them...blah!

Fresh fish!

Mechelen is such a beautiful city and now ranks very high on my list of favorite cities in Belgium!  You'll see why! 

Lovely architecture!

We found fairy books in Dutch.  Allison has quite the collection of these in English.

You can't leave a Belgian market without a new Justin Bieber bracelet...this comment was dripping in sarcasm if you couldn't tell! 

Group shot in front of the canal. 

And, a mom shot along the canal.

Strolling down the canal.  What a great way to walk around the city!

I will own one of these in the very near future.  I can ride my bike to my own market on Friday mornings and take all my goods home in my adorable saddlebag.  But of course, there is that little problem with the hills in Hoeilaart.  I can easily get down to the market, but getting back up is another story.

Lisa and her little ducklings

More beautiful buildings

We are determined to try the ice cream in every city we visit.  I lovingly refer to Allison's face as "The Squint".  I have to remind her to not make that face for pictures...I obviously forgot. :)

Josh tried out the waffle with chocolate.  I believe he may have been enjoying it.

When there are blue skies in Belgium, everyone eats outside.  It can be 50 degrees, and if the sun is out, the people are eating outside.  That might be a tad too cold for me, but today was lovely at nearly 70 degrees! 

St. Rumbold's Tower....the most famous landmark in Mechelen.

With the help of our friend Scott, Chris got our "new to us" grill set up today.  It was one of those  awesome afternoons/evenings at home with time to play in the yard and... 

grill our first steaks in Belgium.  We are dog sitting Chad and Amy's dog, Trixie, and I'm pretty sure he (yes Trixie is a HE) was hoping Chris would drop him a fresh piece of meat.  
Allison is having a friend spend the night, and Thomas is spending the night at a friend's house (change of plans, he was "homesick and hot", so now he is home.)  All is well here.  Hope your Saturday is just as nice.

Until next time,
Wendy