Daytrip

Dinant is a small town in Belgium's Ardennes, about an hour and a half from Antwerp. It's two noteworthy tourist attractions are it's cathedral and the fortress, or citadel, that is perched on the cliff overlooking the town (both seen in the picture to the right). Mackenzie read the map on the drive and made some (pretend) cell phone calls to Amy..."Hi mom, yeah...OK, love you, bye-bye." It was nice to see hills, something not present in the flatlands of northern Belgium. Dinant is split by the river Meuse and seems to be squished up to the river by cliffs on one side and hills on the other. It's most famous denizen, Adolphe Sax, invented the saxophone. After all the statues of people I've seen in Europe, it was humorous to see a statue of a musical instrument in Dinant. My day trip with Mackenzie became more of a scouting mission after getting there only to discover that the Citadel was closed...poor planning by the tour director. The cathedral was impressive but Mackenzie wasn't in a quiet mood so it was a short visit. We skipped out of town and had lunch in Ciney--famous for one of Belgium's best beers--in my book at least. I hope to return to Dinant to see the Citadel...it would be a perfect tie in with some of the other great destinations in the Ardennes. Hopefully next summer.

Face Painting

Amy has made the comment that Belgians take their face painting seriously...here's proof (especially "Spiderman"). We'll be in the states in a week!

Dublin

A gracious invitation from the Polaskys brought us to Dublin recently. Amy and Doug know the city and thus they became our competent tour guides and unofficial hosts. Dylan, Mackenzie, and I flew out a day earlier than Amy and Taylor. Our flight attendant knew Dylan by name, in part, because of his extended decision making process when choosing drink and treat. This new friend was one of the first on the scene when he fell and injured his foot at the bottom of an airport escalator. I regret encouraging Dylan to go ahead of me as I gathered up Kenzie and the stroller. Another moment in life I wish I could change. Dylan limped through the weekend, riding in the stroller much of the time...an honor usually reserved for Mackenzie, and coveted by Dylan, even with two good feet. For a day and a half Dylan enjoyed that he was the oldest, and he acted accordingly, never complaining about his foot. Looking back, I must say that Dylan and the Irish are a pretty good fit; both are passionate and humorous. Dylan is the only person I can think of that says "darn it" with a tone usually put to stronger language, and he's absolutely certain that he tells more jokes than me (by this I think he means he's rarely serious). If I were to ask Dylan if he knew where my car keys were, he'd most likely say, "on your head!"

We met Amy, Doug and Joey, booted through St. Stephens Green (Dublin's "Central Park' as Amy P. would say), and walked to Trinity College, only to discover that we couldn't get in the library to see the famous Book of Kells. We ended up on Grafton St. as we would a few more times during the weekend. This is a "European-ish" pedestrian street, like the Meer in Antwerp, except with a few more drunks. A good Irish lunch, a rare thing according to Amy and Doug, and it was naptime. While I dozed, Dylan and Mackenzie watched TV...although it was supposed to be the other way around. Soon it was time for dinner...the Polaskys began our 3 1/2 day tour of how to avoid Irish food while in Ireland...that night we ate at TGI Fridays. Back in their hotel room we caught up. Joey, Dylan and Mackenzie became reacquainted, and mostly entertained themselves (they watched a lot of movies over the weekend, too). Joey, the good guy that he is, was nice enough to share his stroller with Dylan, which meant Doug had to carry Joey quite a bit. If you know Doug then you know that Joey probably had the best view in all of Dublin. Just before we left for our room that night, Mackenzie became sick...casualty number two. She went through a few sets of clothes and bedsheets but was finished by 1 am...plenty of time for some good sleep.

The next morning we continued at my vacation pace, which is the same as Amy's vacation pace if she were seven months pregnant. I know this from experience and, no, Amy is not pregnant. After sleeping in, watching cartoons, and grabbing a late bagel breakfast, we met up with our friends (jet lag had them sleeping odd hours). Bagels, not even near the top of my food list, were exciting since they don't exist in Belgium. We snacked at Subway before visiting the Jameson Whiskey distillery. The tour was informative and followed with a free shot of Jameson 7 year. Doug didn't like his much and I don't think Amy tried it, but they noticed that I finished mine. Thus, those nice, sneaky people, bought me (and some of their friends back home) a personalized bottle of 12 year Jameson. A very nice gift. A visit to Google taught me that whiskey doesn't continue to age once it's been bottled, so I opened it (in Belgium). The 12 year is worth the wait! OK--it was time for another nap and soon Amy and Tay would arrive. To emphasize Amy and Doug's aversion to Irish food, we ordered Dominoes for dinner. By this time Joey had locked on to the fact that he and Dylan had the same pair of Target shoes. He decided that he was only going to wear those shoes for the weekend because of his friend, Dylan. The girls arrived and the crew was complete! Vomiting and foot injuries considered, I still had the better end of the deal that weekend. Amy wasn't able to watch cartoons until noon, or have a shot of whiskey! Worse yet, she had to work (not that parenting a 2 and 5 year old isn't work). Dylan returned to middle child status but was still "the man," to Joey.

The breakfast buffet the next morning had me wanting another bagel. The unusual smell didn't keep Mackenzie and Taylor from finishing their eggs...and mine. For once I wasn't snacking on their leftovers. Maybe the Irish developed their famous sense of humor to cope with their cuisine. We hopped the city tour bus which would drop us at the Guinness brewery. First though, the tour brought us past Temple Bar, which is Dublin's cultural quarter, and Christ Church Cathedral, which was founded in 1038. This contains the tomb of "Strongbow, the Norman adventurer who conquered Dublin" (quoted straight from the tour bus guide). We left the bus at the Guinness Brewery and skipped to the front of the line because we had young children (not a bad perk). Mackenzie and I, slightly behind the group, were unfortunate enough to see a man in the same condition as she was two nights before--although for a different reason, I'm sure! If the Irish aren't famous for their food, at least they have a beer that drinks like a meal. We had, a self guided tour, a good lunch near the top (Irish food was good this time), and a great view of Dublin at the top, as we enjoyed the "freshest Guinness" we'd ever have. I guess that means the brewing process had ended a moment or two before my beer was poured. By the way, this may sound like a party weekend...Jameson, Guinness, and so on...but the truth was more subdued. We stayed up late talking, only because midnight in Dublin was dinnertime in Wisconsin for the Polaskys...it was a pretty mellow weekend. Actually, I can't believe I went to Ireland and didn't go to a pub. Back on the bus, past Molly Malone, the fictional "tart with the cart," and the spire of Dublin...with a number of lewd nicknames. Then... sandwiches, movies for the kids, and bed.

Next day...last day in Ireland, for now. We walked to a viking ship that wasn't where it was supposed to be...maybe it was off to pillage elsewhere. Since the vikings established Dublin, conquered much of the English isles, and consistently defeated enemies in the coastal villages of Europe, you'd think they'd be able to put together a good football team. Not this year. We strolled through Temple Bar, with it's colorful pubs and restaurants, ate at another American style restaurant, and returned to the hotel to catch a taxi to the airport. As always, it was great to see Amy, Doug and Joey. Who knows where next year's Polasky/Browne reunion will be. Dublin will be hard to top.

Sint Niklaas and Zwarte Piet

Are you familiar with the holiday that we call St. Nick's in the states? When I was a kid, we celebrated this holiday the eve of December 5th by putting a sock on the fireplace, so that St. Nick could visit and fill our stockings with candies while we slept. The bigger the sock, the more you got (at least that's what it seemed like at the time). Well, we celebrated our first St. Nick's in Belgium and learned the differences in the tradition. The holiday of St. Nick comes from the patron saint "Sint Niklaas". As tradition goes, when St. Nick was traveling in Spain he freed a number of slaves and brought them back to the Netherlands to work for him. These helpers are called Zwarte Piet (or Black Pete translated). As the kids learned in school, Zwarte Piet is funny, playful and sneaky. St. Niklaas (also known as SINTERKLAAS) sails each year to Belgium with Zwarte Piet so that he can deliver presents to the Belgian and Dutch children that have been good. He keeps a book that tells if the kids are good or bad (aka naughty or nice). Kids can visit St. Niklaas or write him letters to tell him gift ideas. If the kids are good, on the eve of December 5th, he goes to their house on his white horse with zwarte piet. Zwarte piet goes down the chimney to deliver the presents. Kids here wake up to a "Christmas like" display of presents delivered by St. Niklaas.

Is this sounding familiar?

So after many discussions with the locals, we decided to celebrate a Belgian version of St. Nicks combined with a McMonagle/Scray tradition. The kids put out their shoes (as all kids do here, no socks please!), Taylor inserted her note to Sinterklaas, Dylan put out his painted shoe (just like the one he made in his class), we put out carrots for the horse, cookies for Sinterklaas and a beer for Zwarte Piet (this is purely a Belgian twist to the tradition). St. Nick brought the kids some Belgian chocolate along with some small gifts to enjoy.

We explained clearly to our kids, Sinterklaas only brings small things to kids-that-live-in-Beligum -that-are-from-the-states, because Santa Claus brings presents for Christmas for-kids-that-live-in-Belgium -that-are-celebrating-Christmas-in -the-states. Needless to say, this was all a bit confusing for our 5 year old son, who still looked for presents under the tree the next morning. If you are confused after reading this note, imagine how confusing it was for the kids.

We are looking forward to a traditional Christmas in Green Bay with the McMonagle family!

Murphy

Murphy is enjoying the extra attention from being the only "hond," and has taken over Reggie's alpha role. Reggie would stalk the dinner table while Murphy would stay away. Now Murphy is prowling. She eats rawhides, something she hasn't done for years, because Reggie would bully them from her. She's twelve years old and the role she's had for her entire life has completely changed. While she has Addison's disease, it doesn't seem as though she's suffering. She's still neurotic, but she's letting us sleep in more these days. She has leg problems, which often prevent her from getting up from a laying position. Murphy enjoys being vacuumed...which is unusual (if not comical), considering how skittish she is. She loves the woman who watches her while we're traveling because of the undivided attention and, probably, the peace and quiet.

Roadtrip

Recently, we took a roadtrip while the kids were on fall break. First stop--Fussen, Germany, and the castle of the "mad" King Ludwig II: Neuschwanstein. We explained to Taylor and Dylan that "mad," in this case, means crazy. Little things such as this are misconstrued from time to time in our family, only to come out later, causing a "where the hell did that come from" moment. I envisioned Taylor saying, "you can get arrested for that," the next time I became angry about something. Anyway, this castle inspired the castle at Disneyworld as well as being part of the Disney logo. If Walt Disney had been alive in the 1880's, King Ludwig may have been considered a genious. Instead he drowned (along with his doctor) under mysterious conditions, within a few days of being taken prisoner for his insanity. Were these the "good old days" some people talk about? The tour was a family friendly 30 minutes with an hour wait between ticket purchase and the start of the tour. While the average tourist would have preferred a longer tour and a shorter wait...that's not us. A short tour for 2 year old patience levels and an hour to get 5 of us organized and up the hill...perfect! The horse buggy ride to the castle may have been the best part of Dylan and Taylor's day...and for once we were early! The castle itself provides amazing views of the surrounding lakes and mountains. Since it's less than 150 years old, it is well preserved, something one doesn't find in ancient midieval castles...time and wars, those pesky things, take their toll on castles. Built after the American Civil War, the castle was impractical...just an expensive home. Back down the hill, the kids waved "bye-bye" to the horses, and we were off.

We drove through the Alps to Innsbruck, Austria, home of the '64 and '76 winter Olympics. Our hotel, in the "old town" area, was in existence prior to Columbus' arrival in the "new world" and boasts it's most famous guest as Mozart. Dylan's metal Magnetix balls were bouncing and rolling all over the hotel room (so noisy we put them away). Taylor and Dylan enjoyed boiling their own eggs at breakfast and asked if they were done just moments after putting them in the water. Whoever rode in the tiny elevator with Mackenzie (to/from fourth level) found themselves in a race with Taylor and Dylan who ran the ancient stairs. Other than entering a fantastic church near our hotel, we viewed most of the old town from the outside. Taylor and Dylan caught snow on their tongues as we walked about, and Dylan lugged around his lego creations (click the picture). The first night Amy crashed early and I went to a pub, had a few beers, and talked politics with the guy next to me. Eventually, the owner/cook was involved and was pleased enough with our political views that he felt it necessary to buy us shots. We agreed, and he poured three shots of something that was strong and apparently made from pears. Luckily, I had eaten a few of the guy's homemade pretzel sticks for added base (fresh baked pretzels were quite common on this trip). Soon thereafter, I made my way to the hotel room, kissed Amy good morning, and went to sleep. The next day, or later that same day, depending on how one looks at it, we walked from our hotel to the Alpenzoo...the walk and the zoo itself can be described as "hilly," to say the least. We lunched at the zoo, it was sausage again for most of us, as it seemed to be every other meal, for this trip. After lunch, Dylan had his favorite ice cream bar and, as he always does, he immediately licked the entire outside chocolate coating so anyone watching would be disgusted...his way of protecting his territory. Ice cream is pretty much his favorite part of any trip. We took the bus back to the hotel and fizzled out a bit until we decided to do a touristy stroll and look for a place to eat dinner. The reality of being a tourist is that you walk a bit, eat a bit, walk a bit, eat a bit...Anyway we went to a good restaurant with a memorable waiter who was genuinely friendly, liked the children, and was clever enough to recommend something fast and easy so we wouldn't do too much damage. The result was a large tray of meat that went well with the Dunkel beer. As was true of most of this trip, I ate all of my sauerkraut. Hopefully, someday I'll understand that it's not wise to do this. We had a few beers chilling on our window ledge, but this last night in Innsbruck ended early, and those beers would have to tag along to the next stop. On the way out of town, the next morning, we visited the Olympic ski jump stadium. People who do that are crazy! We put our next destination into the GPS and...

We arrived at the Holiday Inn Heidelberg (built well after Columbus sailed) in time for a swim and room service. The swim was short but eventful. After a half an hour, or so, the cold water drove us to the hot showers, by the sauna, where a woman walked out...nude! Soon she was followed by her boyfriend/husband in the same state. Things can be quite different in Europe, even at a Holiday Inn. Amy mentioned that the people were naked, as if I hadn't noticed, but the children didn't say anything, although they peeked. Room service was the perfect thing after three days of going out and our startling visit to the pool. The beer that had traveled with us from Innsbruck to Heidelberg would now make the trip to Belgium because, once again, we were tired. We saw the naked couple...with their clothes on, the next morning, at breakfast. Then, the last tourist stop of the trip, the famous castle in Heidelberg. The French destroyed much of the castle a few centuries back but it was still impressive. It also contains the world's largest wine cask, NOT the one you see in the picture with Amy and Mackenzie. The largest holds about 54,000 gallons of wine and takes up it's own room, thus blocking out much of the light, making it hard to photograph. The barrel that Amy and Kenzie are in front of is about half the size of the bigger one. No surprise as to how the French were able to destroy their castle. My favorite moment of the entire trip happened near the wine cask. More than once our children have become part of the tourist attraction. Every time I've noticed this it has been Asian people taking pictures of my kids...I have no idea why, but it's hilarious. As we were walking into the castle a man focused and clicked a picture of Dylan. The best moment came later, however, when Amy was taking the picture to the right (with the children pushing on the wheel). Amy was inadvertently in the way of a woman taking a picture of her boyfriend. I happened to be standing directly behind this woman, and as she was waiting for Amy to move, I noticed her boyfriend pointing at Taylor, Dylan, and Mackenzie, telling her to photograph them. I watched from behind as this woman turned her camera to my children, I saw them on her camera view screen as she focused, and took a similar picture of them as Amy took. The best picture of the trip, if it could have happened, would have been of this woman, from where I was standing, taking a picture of Taylor, Dylan, and Kenzie. Heidelberg is halfway to Antwerp from Innsbruck so we were were home after just a four hour drive.

In a few days we'll be spending the weekend in Dublin with Amy, Doug, and Joey. More to talk about soon...as well as an eventual update on this past summer's visit of Rosie, Gary, Gail, Nolan...I've got catching up to do.

Nana

The distance from home seems greater now since mom had her recent heart attack. Although no surgery was required, a stent was necessary. She was in the hospital for more than a week. My sister, Deb, was there for most of the hospital stay and, according to mom, was quite an advocate for her...spending many hours in the hospital each day. Chris spent this past week helping nana at home, getting her to doctor's appointments, and playing Scrabble with her (as well as some bridge). Mom has been "sorting papers" which she dislikes, but has done quite often as long as I can recall. Lisa will be with her for the next week and then they'll both fly to Colorado where mom will spend another week (through Thanksgiving) with Lisa, Deb, and Bernie. I'm grateful to have such great sisters and lucky to have a wonderful mother. Those of us in Belgium love and miss mom...the holidays can't come fast enough.

Why a blog?

I'm sure that many of our children's noteworthy moments and stages have been forgotten...lost in a torrent of memories. The reason for this blog is to hold on to these moments and to record the story of our life and travels in Europe. Just as important, it's a way for loved ones to keep up on our goings on. Often, when I'm on the phone, I can't think of any of the stories I want to tell...this blog should fix that. Plus, now you won't get one of my long e-mails ever again (until Christmas)! If you're interested, you check it out, if not, you don't.

Little Mac

Stages come and go quickly with Mackenzie...if I don't post this now I may have to change it within a few days. She thinks that if she can't see you, then you can't see her. When Kenzie doesn't want to be found she simply covers her eyes...Presto! She's gone. Hiding behind her hands gives her the urge to play peek-a-boo, and thus her magic trick ends. Immune to language barriers, since she's just learning language, she makes friends often. Most people who stop and talk to Mackenzie leave the "conversation" without knowing that we have no clue what was said. However, through some of these interactions I have become acquainted with the phrase "mooie krullentjes." More than once heard from elderly women it means, "beautiful little curls." She loves dogs, and points out any she sees with a pretty good "Jersey" accent..."dahggy ryyy dayaa." Her own dog is cause for wariness, however, since Mackenzie doesn't like to share food. "I anna," for some reason, means she would like something to drink, and "toot" has evolved into her "catch-all" toilet phrase: "I go toot-toot try." A monkey is an "ooh-ooh, aah-aah" and all stuffed animals are "babies." She's mostly potty trained now because of her love of M&M's and big girl underwear. "Me got it," she says when she helps me carry something (while I'm carrying her). She slows the pace down, especially when we're late, by untying, and sometimes unlacing her shoes. She often cheers when we pull into "sports school"--she knows she'll spend the better part of an hour climbing, jumping, climbing...She surprises us from time to time with a good sentence...her English is coming along. Sometimes she interchanges English and Dutch in her growing vocabulary. At the store yesterday--thank you in Dutch and good-bye in English: Dank u...bye-bye. She's a busy, happy child, which makes her parents happy (and busy).

Our Jedi Knight

Recently, after dropping Amy off at the airport, Dylan asked what time mom's plane "blasted off." Yes Dylan, mom's going to mars...she'll be back Wednesday. He's beginning to speak the same language as his ancestors and has decided that he's going to (slowly) let others know this. According to some, he'll be the "native" in both languages (no accent) since Taylor learned more "Engels" before her Dutch and Mackenzie will probably be back in the "states" before she's absorbed enough "Nederlands." While he claims he doesn't like school, he never joined the early school year rotation of children that cried "voor momma." We think it's just an age thing. His smile and laugh are contagious. He's starting to draw, color, and do mazes. Chocolate sandwiches are no longer a favorite for Dylan...a blessing, since he's not enthusiastic about brushing his teeth. He still loves machines...his current favorite is the fighter jet(s) that occasionally flies over the house low, and fast. Unfortunately, unlike his previous favorite, the garbage truck, the F-16 is usually gone by the time he drops his legos and gets outside (they are actually F-16's). He's also a Jedi knight who uses his "light saver (sabre)" to kill "Dark (Darth) Vader." I'm usually "Vader" in this exchange--appropriate since the Dutch word for father is "vader." Hopefully this doesn't portend future events. When Dylan hasn't been seen for a bit it's a safe assumption that he's somewhere playing with his legos or his magnetix. Otherwise, we can find him by following the sound of gunfire, explosions, and rockets blasting off. While this makes him sound like a "boy's boy," it was 5/2 (girls/boys) at his birthday party. Amy's calling him a "chick magnet"...possibly the first time I've heard her use this phrase. A school friend, Eline, draws Dylan pictures almost daily, tries to hold his hand, and has their initials together on her wall. Her birthday gift to Dylan was a picture of the two of them. Dylan was recently seen holding hands with a girl he had just met. Another girl from school told her mother that Dylan is teaching her English. Since five year old boys usually have other things on their minds, he's mostly oblivious to his recent good fortune with females. Hopefully his luck hangs on until prom! Dylan has to know he can do something right, in his mind, before he'll step out and do it. He's on the verge of many breakthroughs, some small (like riding a bike without training wheels), some large (like learning two languages). He is just beginning to step away from his "second born" shadow and into the light.

Taylor B

Taylor's first view of the Eiffel Tower will be a lifelong memory for me. Until recently she believed it to be the largest man made structure on the planet. Her Dutch is best in our house (Dylan is a quiet second). Outgoing as ever, she deals with the inevitable pressure of her situation with graceful fortitude. Because of her math skills she was moved up a class, thus creating a more urgent need to learn Dutch, as well as adding twenty something new faces to her life. A few times she's needed some coaxing to go to school. Her teachers have a good understanding of her situation and say that she's doing well (especially with math). The school has dealt with the multilingual situation before, so she's in good hands. Taylor misses family and friends from home but, while she's homesick, she makes the best of her situation. She keeps busy with "sports camp" two days a week and Brownies every other week. Pointed questions and skeptical looks have proven to Amy and me that she has serious doubts about the mystical things in childhood. If she's figured it out already she's in for a lot of years of keeping secrets...not her strong suit! That said...the tooth fairy visited her recently to make payment on the gap previously occupied by her two front teeth! So far her sense of humor comes more from our Dutch ancestry than our Irish roots, but it's coming along. Horses are her favorite animal and, like most 6 year old girls, she wishes she had her own pony. While Dylan can play alone for hours, Taylor is a social creature and always wants to play with someone. She's a fan of a Belgian "girl band" called K3. Since Belgium is so small, this "girl band" is big...and everywhere (movies, CD's, TV, billboards). I always hoped my children wouldn't hop the bandwagon of the pointless "Marketing Department-made" bands but I suppose it was bound to happen. She still likes my music too, and is just as likely to sing along with the Ramones as she is her girl band...OK for now. Taylor follows the rules to the extreme, like she always has, which makes for easy parenting. I suppose someday we'll get the opposite extreme. No use worrying about it now. Taylor is a great kid...she's growing up too fast.

Some things the same...some different

Halloween in Belgium - ok, it doesn't really exist. Only in the last 5 years has it really even been recognized. So we got hooked into the international school celebration of our lovely holiday. We got the kids dressed up, had a route of 20 houses to go to and celebrated with all the other non-Belgian's. The kids enjoyed it (although they missed the walking to the houses rather than driving). As you can see, we were able to pull together some costumes. Dylan of course, being the Stars Wars fanatic that he is, had to be Luke Skywalker. There weren't any other options. But not the Luke from the New Hope episode but the one where he wears black. Thank goodness my black raincoat doubles as a Jedi Night outfit. Taylor was Super Girl again (and she lives this role every day) and Mackenzie fit right into the pretty fairy (all innocent on the outside but with a little trickery on the inside). Ted and I did not dress up, however, we are attending a Halloween party on Halloween where "Party Dress" is requested. We may have to be the Incredibles once again.

Reggie

Last week, Reggie passed away. She was 12 1/2 years old. She died quickly and didn't experience too much pain. For that we are glad. She was a great dog and is missed by us all. There are so many memories of her - Ted and I picked her up from the Humane Society after we had been married for 2 months. She had seen a lot of changes since joining our family. She was a loving family dog. Now she is hanging out with Grandpa Bob and Pops in heaven (hopefully dad has gotten over his fear of dogs).

mijn belgisch echtgenood

My American husband in Belgium. A lot of the men here wear their hair spiked and messy. I suggested to Ted that he should get a new look and spike his hair. Check it out! Ted also has taken to the Belgian way of travel - via bike. He and Kenzie do their shopping and go out for "broodjes" (Belgian sandwiches) while Taylor and Dylan are in school. Edit posts

"school vertreken"

"School Starts" again. We get back into the daily routine. No more trips to castles, stolls down Champs Elysses, visiting the sea. Ted and I return to our illiterate status - as we haven't picked up Flemish as quick as the kids.

Cathy and Tom visit

We had a great visit with Cathy and Tom in August. They were here for a week, so we made the most of it. We started out with an adult only trip to Amsterdam - now don't get any wild ideas about that, adult only means Ted stayed home with the kids. It rained quite a bit so we ended up hanging out in a coffee shop/bar talking and watching people maneuver through the rain. For the history buffs in the group (you know who they are) we made a stop at Bastogne, Belgium where the Battle of the Bulge was fought (see the picture of Ted, Taylor and Tom on top of the memorial). Then we moved on to Germany and discovered the wine and castle region of Germany. It was beautiful. We drove along the Mosel and Rhine river, spent the night in a castle ruin, and saw the armor of a 7 foot knight. As Dylan said, " that is bigger than Ty (one of Ted's friends from high school).
After a five days in Europe, they were ready to venture out on their own so they took a day trip to Brugge and explored the old city. After a full day of exploring, we ended the day with a great dinner in the center of Antwerpen. Although the weather wasn't always the best, we had a great time hanging out and exploring new things.

The Queen and her court (aka "The Team")

The Queen and her court visited us over the summer. Yes, Rosie, Gary, Gail, Nolan, Matt joined the party at the end of July for a 10 day visit. We discovered Paris, Germany,Belgium and Netherlands. We had a lot of laughs (as you can imagine). We discovered the natural abilities of navigation and officially named one Compass and the other GPS 2 (to protect the innocent, identities cannot be formally announced).

Summer in Europe

After our trip to Reno, we were fortunate enough to have our godson, Reed, return with us and stay for 3 1/2 weeks. It was great having a young adult in the house who turned 17 while he was here.
Since I have not yet begun to wear black socks with shorts, and since I have fond memories of my teenage years, I should be able to relate to a seventeen year old...right? As it turns out...not really...but that's OK, as I am middle age and all. When we returned to Belgium from the states our nephew, Reed, joined us and visited for about three weeks. Even though the sleep schedules of teenagers and toddlers hardly overlap we still managed some interesting and quick day trips. Reed overlooked the battlefield where Napolean met his match (Waterloo)...and built lego projects for Dylan. He saw where the allies landed on D-Day (and probably where Uncle Joe and other Scray(s) came ashore in the battle for Europe)...and he let Taylor beat him in soccer in the back yard. He walked through an oversized atom built for the 1958 Worlds Fair (the Atomium in Brussels) and witnessed an undersized, overrated replica of a statue urinating (the Mannequin Pis)...and got a laugh when his cousin, Mackenzie, became part of the tourist attraction. We visited ancient ruins of an abandoned abbey (Villers la Ville) and a crumbling castle (Beersel)...and learned that when a store in Belgium closes at 6 pm they mean 6 pm (and 5 minutes early if there are no customers). We witnessed numerous statues which Reed saw as creative photo opportunities...and he learned that "Bicky Burgers" disgust him. He visited the awesome Mont St. Michel and St. Malo (ancient "walled-in" cities in France)...and managed to read the better part of two Harry Potter books. He loved the Audi A6 and hated my Fiat Multipla, even though he could fall asleep in either. I doubt there are many seniors in Green Bay who have been "emo" in Paris, winked at chicks in Antwerp, or embarrassed themselves in front of an attractive babysitter who speaks four languages. Hopefully Reed learned from me that getting lost in Europe is not only to be expected it's part of the adventure. Rosie and "the crew" found this out all by themselves immediately upon their arrival! I, in turn, learned that Reed has a fantastic sense of direction (best of all of our summer visitors) that goes askew once you put a map in his hands! We have a lot of fun memories from Reed's visit. He's a great kid. The last ten days of his visit we were joined by Rosie, Gary, Gail, Nolan, Matt and Gabby (M&G were only with us for a few days)...more adventures...for the next posting.

The "mini" wedding party

Summer vacation is only eight weeks in Belgium...so, in typical fashion, we crammed as much as possible in. It was a whirlwind...Reno for the wedding of Paige (my niece) and Carlos. The possibility of being a great uncle...hmmmm. Carlos and family put on a great groom's event...all present felt like relatives. The dinner that evening set the stage for my 3 kilo increase on the scale over the next month and a half. Wedding day...Dylan, "co"ring bearer, waved as he passed...Taylor, "co"flower girl, completely focused. The reception...Amy danced fantastically, as she always does. My sister Chris, as usual, made it seem as though entertaining 200 to 300 people was as easy as slapping together a few balogna sandwiches for the kids. Deb took more photos than I have in my lifetime (I don't think I'm exaggerating here)! It was an emotional reception with memories of Jim, Paige and Matt's father. We met Monica, Matt's girlfriend--she mentioned a thing or two about Matt that I didn't know. Paige and Carlos have been married only a few months but it seems a lifetime ago considering all that's happened since (for them too, I'm sure).

Schools out for summer

June 30th. The kids finished the school year today. Taylor had her kindergarten graduation last night - fortunately for us we showed up even though we didn't know what we were going to. Even after Ted translated, we didn't know what the event was exactly about. As in the usual Beligum style, the school event supplied the "ouders" with wine while the kids had juice.