The Holiday

We felt very lucky. Great weather. Stunning view from the balcony. Time to swim and relax, as well as see the beauty of the area.
We only took one picture of all of us...
Buski and I were on the hillside overlooking Monaco and we found this HUGE dandylion that had turned to seed. I had to stretch out my arm as far as it would go to take the picture. Taft would blow it and laugh. It was so much fun.
And the one of Tom and Seth and the boat salesman in the boat. Well, that was Tom's highlight of the trip, I'm sure. We got to go aboard a Sunseeker 48 and take a tour. We found out that it would take about a million dollars to make it happen, so it seems it will always be a dream. See the look on Dad's face....'ummm, that is about twice what I thought it would cost!"
Seth sat down on the sofa and said, "I have 48 hours left...when do we have waffles? Can you babysit so we can go to Kinepolis one more time? Sadly, this really is the last time we will get to come to Brussels while this is still 'home'." Jake said basically the same thing. Dan/Lara decided to make the plunge and bring their gang to Brussels as well(in July)! Is everyone giving us the message? Are we short timers here???

Buski, Pop, and motorcycles

Mosel Bike Trip

I did go, but I was the photographer! We were lucky with the weather. Buski wasn't that fond of his ride b/c he had to ride in the backpack. He wants his own bike. He spent lots of time in the car seat....not so fun, but he was a trooper.
The Mosel is quaint and more quiet than the Rhine. We loved it.

St Mere Eglise....to Aramanche

We did a full day tour of the Normandy battle sights. At St Mere Eglise, you can see the paratrooper who got stuck on the cathedral tower. He spent hours there watching the battle until someone cut him down.
At Utah beach they didn't see much action. Taft loved the beach however! I loved the US and French flags flying side-by-side.
Of course Omaha beach memorial is the most moving. The first movie always makes me cry. I look around to see if anyone else is that affected. Guess who else was crying? Heidi! At the end of the movie they say, "the freedom of the world, the ENTIRE world, lay on their shoulders, their very young shoulders." You certainly leave that place more grateful for your freedom and the sacrifices of others to make sure we have that freedom.
PS. Notice that Taft has a skinned nose. He took a mighty tumble. Cute though, don't you think?

Normandy...the manoir

We loved Normandy of course, but our lodgings were exquisite. Got Seth talking about starting a B&B. You can imagine the discussion all about tax deductions and how to get the most out of your B&B....having a really nice place and all your repairs and costs are tax deductible. They had a lovely backyard as well where we had our picnic dinner one night. Breakfast was included and it was quite fancy. Oh, we loved pretending we were rich!

Mont St. Michel

We had great weather our whole trip except the walk into Mont St Michel. Luckily we had umbrellas but it was a gusher. The tide was a LOW tide so the people were walking out across the bottom of the sea. (bottom picture) It was very tempting to join them but we opted out finally. The one of Taft with his head on my shoulder is rare, rare, rare. Not a snuggler. But it does happen occasionally and this one was recorded!
The next picture is a 'finding Elmo' type shot. It was really crowded. More than normal I think because it was a holiday. Can you find Heidi? She has an empty backpack on!
All of us in front of the Mont. We asked a guy to take our picture. He takes one with the camera side-to-side. We ask him to please turn the camera so he can get the Mont in it. He thinks we want another picture. So he takes another. No good. Finally he realizes we want the Mont in the picture. Pays to keep trying!
Lastly, this is a shot of Taft getting the 'one, two , three!' and then swing him into the air. This was his first time doing it!

Etretat....2nd go around

We are getting really good at our touring circuit. Here are some of the shots with Seth/Heidi and Taft....they will look really similar to the ones with Jake/Mel and kids! It's a peaceful little village, EXCEPT during holiday periods. They had several carnivals going on while we were there, and parades, but nothing that detracted all that much. Some of the lessons we did learn from having been there already was not to eat there! (worst food I have ever eaten in Europe was at a restaurant there) This time we stayed right in the village. Nice stay.

Mother's day and Missionary calls

I am one who loves Mother's Day. Love to hear from all my kids. But it is especially sweet when you get to talk to your full time missionary. This time it was extra nice because we had a mini-reunion with everyone joining in on a conference call.
Thanks to Noel/Natalie for setting that up! Then I got a second call from everyone again...just to talk to ME! Well, I feel loved. And grateful. I have the most stunning kids. Not bragging, just stating facts.
Oh, and the extension was signed today. Tom is brave to put up with a micro-manager for a boss. So it's Dec 2011. So everybody come again!

Stroop Waffels in Den Haag

Went with Tom to Den Haag. He had to work. So of course I entertained myself in town! Found a great shopping street. The BIG find however was the stroop waffels. Now you say, "I know all about stroop waffels".
Let me explain: When you go to Carrefour and buy the Belgian waffels, they are so, so. Then you go downtown and buy the fresh, warm, gooey and fantastic waffels, right? Do they compare? Barely.
So on this shopping street, there was a waffle vendor selling FRESH stroop waffels, hot off the grill, smothered with fresh honey in between. Completely different experience. They barely compare. Imagine your stroop waffel being warm and handed to you in that slip of paper b/c they are hot off the grill. Oh, but not before you see the man slap on fresh warm honey and then put the waffels together and then handed to you.
Are you drooling and salivating? Good. You should be!

Seriously???

While Jake was visiting, he was looking at the dirty ponds and said, "Those ponds earned me a lot of money!" It's true. One year we decided to dump all the dirty water out and replace with clean fresh water. Then we were stuck doing it at least once every year. It was truly a nasty job.
So who does it now? Rhetorical question of course. Well, we hired a guy from the ward to do some yardwork and I thought I would get him to help me. He said, "I think you can rent a machine that will suck out the water." Went to Brico. Indeed. For 13 euros, I hooked up this machine and all the water was electrically sucked out of the pond, and by way of a hose was dumped into the garden. Viola!
Didn't think to take a picture. Nonetheless, for all my kids that made a bundle because the ponds were dirty and I couldn't stand it.... it's now only worth 13 euros. He didn't have any ideas for an easier way to weed. That is still done by back-breaking work, on your knees, fighting prickly weeds, and loading it all in the car and making a run to the container park. I have blisters and aching bones to prove it, and so does he!
Oh, our landlords have no appreciation for their great renters.