Hunt For The Ellusive Creature...

It was raining this morning, so KB's Camp Adventure took the kids to Molenheid to burn off some energy. We Mom's tagged along for the fun. I just have one word for this place...amazing! It doesn't look that big from the front, but it just goes on and on forever. (This is a trait that most Belgian businesses seem to have.) They have several indoor pools, tons of indoor playground equipment, a putt putt golf course, a little go cart track, and even an outdoor playground.

They also had a great cafe area with seating that overlooked the main room of the play area, so we could hang out and chat while the kids ran around and had fun. But Jess and I weren't there to chat. We were on a mission. We were hunting for the elusive creature called...The Boy.

Wait a minute? Is that him on that parachute ride?

I think that's him, shooting the enemy with the air powered ball cannon up in the obstacle course area.

Or maybe that's him, sliding down from the wooden tree house. It's hard to be sure. He's just so fast.

Shhhhhhhhh! I think we have him cornered on the rope bridge. Now if I can just get a little closer...

"Seriously, Mom. You have GOT to stop following me around with that camera. It's embarassing. The guys are starting to talk."

Blauwe Bessen (Blueberries)

It's yet another fantastically beautiful day in Belgium, so Jess and I decided to spend the morning picking blueberries with friends. We went to the Blauwe Bessenplantage in Gruitrode, and had a great time. You can't miss it. Just look for the huge inflated blueberries waving you in! (That's how you know it's picking time.) This place is really big. There are row after row of blueberry bushes, just waiting to be picked.Don't they look amazing? They taste even better! We were out there about an hour and got a ton of them. Well, maybe not a ton, but we did pick a heck of a lot of berries! As we picked, we categorized them. We started out with enough for muffins, then worked our way up to a small pie. By the end, we had enough to make a large cobbler, a pie, and a few dozen muffins. I think we're set! My lovely assistant, Jess, braved the wilderness (spiders) and helped me out by picking the majority of them. She might have a new career going for her... It was a relaxing way to spend the morning. We paid for our blueberries in the little shop, and picked up a few other goodies as well. They have a great selection of blueberry products. They sell blueberry everything, in fact! You can try it in wine, champagne, jelly, beer, syrup, a blueberry/chocolate candy bar...the list goes on and on. For those who are not quite as adventurous and energetic as we are, you can purchase blueberries that are already picked (but they cost a lot more, as you are paying for that labor.) We waved a final good-bye to the giant berry and headed back to base. It was a berry good day. (Oh, come on. You knew that was coming. It was too good to resist.)

Magical Maastricht!

I've been trying to get over to Maastricht for a long time, and today was finally my day! It was definitely worth the wait! Maastricht is beautiful! We parked over near the train station and took off to explore the city.There is always something going on in Maastricht. They have a different market just about every day of the week. One of the reasons I wanted to go today is because on Saturday...they have a flea market! They had lots of interesting things to see, and I am not one to turn down a bargain. When we were done checking out the flea market, we headed toward the main part of the city. We passed this lovely statute on the way to the bridge. This is the St. Servaasbrug. It's a beautiful stone bridge, and there is a platform on the side of it so you can stand there and watch the tour boats and swans go by. This is D.L. Vrouwe-basiliek (D.L. Church Lady). Quite frankly, I thought this one looked more like a stronghold than a church. I love the name, though. It makes me think of those old Saturday Night Live skits. There are lots of narrow, winding streets all over the city. Each street is full of great little shops, where you can find just about anything you can imagine. You can get everything from a fancy tea pot shaped like a wedding cake, to a dressy hat to wear to a garden party. They also had lots and lots of clothing stores. It's a shoppers dream!After wondering down the narrow streets, we came out at the market area and the Stadhuis. The Stadhuis is the Town Hall, and it is a very impressive building that dates back to the mid 1600's. All that exploring was making us pretty hungry, so we stopped for something to eat at the shops beside the Stadhuis. No, we didn't eat at McDonald's. (Although Brandon conned his Dad into buying him a milk shake after lunch.) We had delicious pizza and spaghetti bolognese at Pizzaria Napoli, a couple of doors down on the left. If you're in the area, I'd recommend this place for lunch! Not only was the food fantastic, but the staff was really friendly and they were a lot of fun to watch. After eating WAY too much, we were off exploring once again. There are interesting statutes and fountains all over the city. This church really caught my eye. Actually, it's two churches. The dark gray building on the left with the red tower is St. Janskerk. The golden one on the right is St. Servaas-Basiliek. St. Servatius Basilica was built on the grave of St. Servatius, a distant relative of Christ and John the Baptist. The original stone church was built there in 550. Throughout the years, it was destroyed by war, rebuilt, and expanded into the beautiful building that it is today. St. Jaanskerk is St. John's Church. It was named after John the Baptist, and the main part of the building was built around 1200. If you are wondering about the red color, The church was originally painted to protect the porous stones from weather damage. The Chapter Lords of St. Servatius, the builders of the church, used red paint for all of their belongings. It was sort of their trade mark. The paint got it's color from the iron ore it was made from. Although it is now painted with modern paint, they kept it's red color for historical reasons. When you enter the church, there is a little brown door on your right. (It's on the left of the main doors in this picture.) For a mere 1,50 euros, you can climb up to the top of the church tower. What they don't mention to you, is the fact that it is a tiny spiral stone staircase, and there are over 300 steps to reach the top. I should have suspected something when the man said, "Can you go to the top? You are young! Of course you can!" The view is worth the climb! It's amazing! As a bonus, the church bells on the Basilica chimed for us while we were admiring the sites. All of Maastricht was at our feet. Too soon, it was time to go back down. If you think a tiny spiral staircase is intimidating to climb up, just wait until you have to go back down it. We had a fantastic day exploring Maastricht. It's an amazing and magical city. I hope to return to it some day and see what other treats it has to offer. (And get some more pizza.)

Home Again, Home Again...

The past two weeks flew by in a whirlwind of activity. We ate, visited, shopped, swam, ate and visited some more, and pretty much ran around like crazy people during the entire trip. As you can see in this picture, the cats were thrilled to have us back in their lives, even if it was for a short time. Tink could barely contain her enthusiasm. Ashley informed me that she has been following our adventures on my blog, but wanted to know why there weren't more pictures of her and Tink on there. (I believe her exact words were "Churches, corn, amusements parks, blah blah blah...I want to hear more about me!") We had a wonderful time being spoiled rotten by all of the Grandparents. They took us to all of our favorite restaurants and stores that we had been missing so badly. We also reconnected with family members that we haven't seen in at least 5 years (pre-Alaska). While talking to family and friends, I realized what a nomadic lifestyle we've been living for the last 20 years. Being part of the military family, I've come to recognize that there are 3 categories of people: those who will always feel the place that they grew up in is the best, those whose "last base" is so much better than any place they've lived in (including their current location), and those who feel that wherever they are living is the best place in the world to be. We happen to belong to the last group. Each location we've lived in has been the most fantastic place to be. Granted, we've been very fortunate in where the military sends us, but still...home is where you make it. Before our trip to the states, I was missing the familiar. I missed being able to read everything, to understand every word spoken around me, to drive on wide roads and find all of the things I needed in one central location. I missed the ease that comes with being in a place where I actually know what's going on. And I missed family. Our two weeks back in the states, as hectic as it ended up being, was medicinal. It was a welcome break for a tired soul. But, that said, flying back into Belgium filled me with a feeling of coming home. Although I still miss my family, my home is now here, surrounded by all of the things that make this country so special. Yes, I might have to work a little harder for things here, but it's worth it. Of course, if someone wanted to put in a Walmart and Sonic in the neighborhood, that would be nice, too. I'm just saying.

I'm Ready To Be Smart Again

We're getting ready for a little jaunt back to the good old US of A soon. I must admit, I'm more than a little excited about it. Russ has been back there several times, but the kids and I haven't been back to the lower 48 in 5 years. (I know that Alaska is part of the US, but some times, it just doesn't feel like it. Maybe it has something to do with Canada standing between it and the rest of the gang.) Our trip has me thinking about what I love about both Belgium and the US. Here are a few of them...

What I love about Belgium:

1. Living in a small town in the country. I love opening the windows and listening to the chickens clucking and the horses neighing. I love the huge fields of corn, swaying in the wind. It's a simpler way of life, and I find that I prefer it.
2. Architecture. Beautiful buildings are all around you here. Churches, government houses. There is so much history here. Where else can you walk down cobbled stone streets and pass a church that has been there for hundreds of years.
3. Bike paths. People are so much healthier here, because there are bike paths just about everywhere. They run their errands on bikes instead of cars. It's better for the environment, and better for you, as well. As an added bonus, a lot of these paths are along the canals. It doesn't get much better than that.
4. Fresh food. There are open air markets in most towns here, and you can buy fresh fruits and veggies, as well as meat. The restaurants use only the freshest foods as well. Everything just tastes better here.
5. Round-abouts. I know what you're thinking. Is this the same person who was whining about round-abouts just one short year ago? Yes, it is. I have since embraced them, and (don't tell anyone) they are tons of fun to fly around. The round-about has released my inner Mario Andretti. I am speed. I am invincible. Give me a round-about over a stop sign or red light any day.
6. Safety and security. You can leave your bike outside of a store, shop for a while, and the bike is still there when you come out. Go figure.
7. Chocolate. No explanation necessary.

What I love about the USA:

1. I'm smarter. I actually understand what people are saying to me. I can read signs and menus with no problem. I don't have to think so much. It's nice. I like being smart. I can't wait to step off of the plane in the states, and have my intelligence level instantly leap upwards.
2. Streets that go North, South, East and West. Streets here head out in all directions from the center of each town, like spokes on a bicycle. If you take the wrong one, it might be a long while before you get back to where you want to be. In the US, they run parallel, so if you take a left turn and go over one block, and you can get back on the right road.
3. Drive thrus and delivery. They don't really have either of those here. The only drive thrus I've found here are Burger King and McDonald's. There aren't many of those, and they aren't close to us at all. Belgians believe that eating is a social occasion. It's something that should be done out with friends, and takes hours to finish. You can't rush food here. There are days when I would practically kill to have a Domino's pizza delivered to my door.
4. Clothes shopping. Apparently Belgian women don't have butts. Or hips. I can't wait to hit the malls in the states. I'm prepared to do some serious retail damage. This is Russ' only warning. (So don't tell him.)
5. Sonic. Applebee's. Podnuh's BBQ. Sometimes a gal needs a few preservatives in her diet.
6. Family. And that includes Tink and Ashley.
7. Air conditioning. It's been in the high 90's lately. I REALLY miss air conditioning.
8. Big discount stores like Walmart and Target. You can get everything on your shopping list in one swoop. You don't have to drive from store to store to find what you want. If someone opened one of these stores in Belgium, they would make millions in the first month.

Hey, Mom...

"Hey, Mom. I'm pretty tired, and it's been a long day. So, if it's OK with you, I'm just going to skip my shower tonight. I'll do it in the morning." "Um, no."

Movie Park, Germany

Today, we went to Movie Park, Germany. It was a blast! We had SO much fun! Some friends of ours met us there, and we rode just about everything in the park. Movie Park is Germany's version of Universal Studios. This roller coaster wasn't the biggest, but it sure was fun. We all rode it. It's Jimmy Neutron's Atomic Flyer. Two thumbs up!Jess was one happy camper today. She wanted to ride everything. We haven't been to an amusement park since Bobbejaanland last year, so it was about time for one!It was crazy to see all of the Nickelodeon characters in the park. This was Dora the Explorer's Big River Adventure. They had SpongeBob, Patrick, Shrek, and all kinds of friendly characters from home. In my opinion, this was the scariest ride in the whole park. So, of course, the boys just had to go on it. A clamp picks you up and hauls you to the top of the structure. When you reach the top, the seats tilt outward, so you are staring straight down. Way, way, way down. Then it just lets you go, and you drop. Terrifying. The guys talked us girls into doing it. That was my first, and last, time on this ride. I'm just saying. This one was more my style. It's the MP Xpress Roller Coaster. It was tons of fun to ride. I'll take this over the other one any day!I didn't ride this, but the others did. It's called Crazy Surfer, but we called it The Wave. You sit on a little seat, facing out from the circle, then it spins you while it goes over a wave shaped roller coaster track. Crazy, but the others loved it. The park was a lot of fun. We all had a blast. Each section of the park had a theme, and they were all American themes, so it was a little like going back to the states for the day. We ate lunch here, in the Hollywood street section. Can you believe that they had a Subway restaurant there? Delish!

All too soon, it was time to head home again. Thanks, Germany. We had a super visit! We'll be back to see you soon.