B Diddy & The Princess

Yes, that would be a great title for a movie, but for now, it's just the kids. Thanks to Tim, Brandon's new nickname is "B Diddy", and along with a new nickname, comes a new pose. The UFC pose is out for now and the B Diddy pose is in. Times, they are a changing. Today was Brandon's first day of school, and he headed out pretty early this morning. Jess gets to relax until Monday, and then it's her turn. Jess is a little harder to get pictures of lately, because she's been doing her own thing with friends in the area. (How quickly they dump you for younger and cooler people to hang out with.) We've been continuing our bike rides along the canal, taking advantage of the nice summer weather while we can. It won't be long now til fall. We are still settling into the area, and learning more each day. The kids and I took a nice LONG drive yesterday. It entertains us to try to pronounce the names of the towns that we travel to. We've found it's easier to give them nick names, so Bocholt is now "the Bah", Opglabbeek is "the Op", Gruitrode is "the Grrr",... well, you get the idea. You can't imagine the stories we made up about the town of As.

I will share a little tidbit I recently learned about Leonidas chocolate. (They are the BEST, by the way! We got addicted to them when we were living in Peer.) Did you know that they didn't originate in Belgium? In 1910, a Greek fellow names Leonidas Kestekides got a Bronze Medal for his chocolates at the Brussels Universal Exhibition, and the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition in Ghent in 1913. This (and the fact that he fell in love with a young lady from Belgium) made him decide to settle permanently in Belgium and open a few tearooms. It was very successful, and has been a family run operation ever since. So when you dig into a box of those famous Belgium chocolates, give a nod to the Greeks as well. It was a team effort!