They're saying this was our final trip to Belgium, I'm choosing to live in denial about that. I feel so grateful we've been able to travel so much in the 10 years we've been married. Sure it's getting a little harder the more kids we have, but it's also been so cool being able to take our kids to places they might not get to see again- Israel! Morocco! Egypt! Turkey!
It's also been a rare and treasured experience being able to have extended visits with Grammie and Pop. With all the effort it takes to get there, it's so nice to be able to stay for a while, get settled, and really enjoy our visit without dealing with jet lag for too long. The boys adore Grammie and Pop and it's so fun to see them interact together.
 |
| The first night after we had slept most of the day away. A trip to the Grand Place with a stop at Pita Row for dinner. |
 |
| At this time of the night the best waffle place was closed so we settled for another joint. Taft had really been looking forward to eating waffles again. Sadly this one made him sick and he didn't eat another waffle the rest of the time!! |
 |
| Grammie and I took the boys to meet Seth and his residents for lunch in Leuven at the Herway famous Domus pub. |
 |
| We spent a lot of time at the playgrounds. It was cold but we bundled up and the boys had a great time. |
 |
| At the grocery store this little nugget managed to unwrap and start eating a KinderEgg before anyone noticed. Stinker. |
 |
| Grammie and Pop rented an extra apartment for the whole spring and summer while they have an influx of visitors. The apartment was perfect! It did, however, not have a dryer. I definitely will no longer take my huge, electric dryer for granted ever again. |
 |
| Add drying tends to make clothes a little stiff. As I was ironing boys undies to make them a little softer, I was reminded of when I lived in Russia for a semester. My host mom would wash my clothes for me and also gave me back my underwear pressed. I felt so bad that she was not only washing my delicates, but was ironing them too. Ha! |
 |
| Had to document the incredibly tight squeeze in the apartment elevator! |
 |
| Royal Palace. Flag up means the King is home. |
 |
| Stopped at the Lunch Garden at the Carrefour for Moules. We made it just in time before the end of Moule season. |
 |
| While we were there, we were in the final hours of making a major life decision. Seth had been offered a job with the University of Utah and we COULD NOT decide what to do. We decided to put the pressure on our 6 year old and have him make the decision. Not really, we did ask his opinion and he said it was too hard to decide. Exactly. After a lot, A LOT, and even more discussion we decided not to take the Utah job. |
 |
| Yoga with Grammie |
 |
| Wrestling with/sitting on/beating up on poor Pop. Always. |
 |
| Taft got to celebrate his 7th birthday in Belgium! He requested a Chocolate Bomb as his birthday dessert. He has excellent taste. |
 |
| How nice is Grammie to hand cut all those letters for Taft's birthday banner! |
 |
| Hofsted Park- the greatest park there is anywhere! |
 |
| It was quite cold again, but we spent a good chunk of Taft's day at Hofsted park. It's such a fun place. |
 |
| Not sure about it. |
 |
| Swingin with Gram |
 |
| Thickest Hot Chocolate from Paul's. Delicious but soooo rich. |
 |
| Chocolate Overload |
 |
| We have to give major props to Jonah who was actually a pretty dang good traveler- especially for a very busy almost 2 year old. This little magnet thing saved us many times. |
 |
| The last (say it ain't so!!) visit to the Grand Place |
 |
| The Brussels Terror attacks happened while we were in Egypt. Shortly after we were back we walked downtown to see the memorial that had been set up. |
 |
| Jonah LOVED riding the city bus and metro. When we were in Paris with the boys, Grammie went on a few bus rides with Jonah just because that's what he wanted to do! |
 |
| Can you feel the love?! |
 |
| Celebrated Easter Sunday. The grocery store carried these super cute bunny crepes. |
 |
| Due to the terror attacks- church was canceled on Easter. We visited Beersel Castle instead. |
 |
| Beautiful sky with the red roofs- taken from the guest apartment. |
 |
| in Bouillon get ready to load the cannon |
 |
| It was rainy and chilly but Bouillon was really really cool. And we had super yummy frites right before we went in. |
 |
| Gaasbeek Castle |
 |
| The boys have a friend names Leonidas so we had to take a picture in front to send it to him. |
 |
| Military trucks in the background- Heightened security everywhere after the attacks. |
 |
| Since the airport was still closed by the time we had to leave, we took a train to London. Here's the only evidence the boys stepped foot in London. A fake phone booth in the train station. |
 |
| And one last photo of our transportation loving baby- he was over the moon to get to ride in a choo-choo. |
