Leuven & Kessel-Lo

We've been in Brussels for over 3.5 years and in all that time, Ryan (and Kevin) has never actually been down to the heart of Leuven so we decided to go.  The kids loved the guy that rings the bell by hitting it with his stick.  We didn't do much there aside from wander and pick up some delicious cherries from the market.  Then we headed off to Kessel-Lo to play on one of the best, largest playgrounds we've found in the area.  Really it was a pretty sweet day to be a kid.

Friends on the Move

The Lusvardi's came for one last visit before their move to Singapore.  I'm so happy we got to see them again.  They are the kind of family that I would love to live next door to.  Ryan L. was unbelievably kind and did all the cooking.  Here she is making a delicious zucchini lasagna...I've actually bought all the ingredients to make it again it was that good.  Plus, when they left, our fridge was full of good leftovers.  It's amazing how much better leftovers taste when the meal was so delicious to begin with.  We have already gotten rid of our kitchen table (we'll buy a new one in Dallas) so for the next 3 months we just have the kids table.

I love how well the kids play together.  Sure they fight too, but those don't last super long.

Ryan was able to take work off and join us for our outing one of the days.  We took the bus (big hit with the kids) downtown.  We got off a couple stops early so we could wander through the Royal Palace Park.  I didn't think their was a playground in there, but I guess I never look in the correct location.  It's down near the fountain.  Since we stopped at the park, we just kept walking down, through the grand place and to our true destination.

Waffles!  Chocolate filled waffles at that.  You know the waffle place (vitalgaufre) that we've tried to go to and have just missed it's open hours and had to settle for frites.  It was OPEN.  They take a liege waffle and stuff sticks of chocolate inside it.  If you wait a minute it eat it, the chocolate is all melted.  Delicious!  Way better than chocolate covered waffles which are insanely messy.  We also tried the apple cinnamon which I thought was a little dense for my taste.  Ryan and Stephan said their vanilla waffle was amazing too...but think it could have been even better with sticks of chocolate stuffed down it.  After our waffles we walked to the corner and were able to jump on the bus to go home.  Pretty perfect outing.

It was sad to see them go.  Before they moved to Fontainebleau, France I hadn't really talked to them much since College (Ryan L. and I were roommates).  I love that we are still able to pick right up and have a great time.  I also love that both our husbands are the kind of people that get along with anyone so it's not forcing people to like each other.   I've found that friendships that come easy are hard to find especially as you get older and add kids to the mix. And then even if you do find them, there is always the 'hopefully our husbands get along so we can hangout as a family together' issue.  I'm hoping to visit them in Singapore...how awesome would that be!

Rain, rain, come and play

After a couple straight days of hot weather (let's clarify a little...there is no A/C anywhere so hot is hot inside and out...not fun), we got a little rain.  That means painting time.  The kids opted for finger painting.  I keep thinking that painting will last more than 10 minutes but apparently not quite yet.  Later, Kherington asked if she could go jump around in the rain which I was all for.  Here she playing the puddles.

Fresh produce from the farm

On Saturday we met up with some friends at a farm to picks some fresh produce.  We originally tried to go to a berry farm (hopefully we can go later), but couldn't find it so we ended up at this place.  We picked strawberries, raspberries, zucchini, onion, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes.  In addition we got to show the kids how cucumber, lettuce, celery, herbs and lots more vegetables are grown. Fun times with good friends :).

Belgian Sun

Our trip home was not the best.  Over 24 hours of travel, 2 plane changes, 3 extra hours sitting on the runway (1 pre-flight and 2 post-flight), a 5 hour delayed flight and 0 pieces of checked luggage made it with us.  The two bright things were that our kids are amazing travelers and didn't whine at all and our missing luggage all got delivered to our doorstep the next day.

Anyways, we were welcomed home with days of beautiful sunshine.  I finally blew up the inflatable pool that I didn't have a chance to use last year.  Kherington loved splashing around...Kevin on the other hand just kept saying 'me don't go in water.'  Silly kid.  It was also nice to have daddy again. Kevin loves waking up, pulling on his favorite yellow and orange skirt and cuddling with his daddy in the morning.

After we'd been back a couple days, we met up with some friends at a lake in Mechelen (just 20 minutes away, you can get in free with a Technopolis annual pass).  I forgot to take any pictures until we were leaving.  The kids area is pretty shallow all the way around.  Kherington could touch even in the center of the lake. After we swam for awhile we stopped off at the playground to play and finish drying off.