Today was Shadow Day at
Kleine Brogel Air Base. I just have three words for you: Best. Day. Ever. If you've never heard of Shadow Day, it's normally when the child gets out of school to follow their parent around at work. It helps the kids understand what their folks do, just a little better. The concept it great, but sometimes it can be a little slow paced. Instead of just the normal Shadow Day, KB did something a little different. They decided to get EVERYONE involved in it. Even the Belgians participated! Another Mom and I got to go along and take pictures of all the fun that the kids were having, and we were thrilled to do it. It was a blast! We started out the day by going into the Lion's Den for our official briefing. It would seem that our children enlisted in the Air Force for the day. The kids even had a set of orders. It was all very impressive. Then we got to go outside and check out our awesome ride for the day...it's called a
Unimog. Did you know that this fine vehicle is made by Mercedes-Benz? We were styling!
It also provided an awesome view as we traveled all over base on our adventure. At first, the fellas were putting up a ladder for us to use to climb in and out, but that didn't last too long. The kids explained that in real combat, we wouldn't have time to pull out a ladder, so we would just have to rough it, and climb in and out the way that they would in war. It's hard to argue with that logic.
Our first stop was at the Falconry. This gentlemen has several falcons, and they are used to keep wild birds off of the flight line. Birds can be sucked into the jet engines and destroy them, so it's very important to keep them away from flight line. He also has a pet owl named Johnny, that he let the kids hold and touch.
Our next stop was at the Fire Department. What could be more cool than getting to shoot water out of the fireman's hose?
How about getting to ride in the Fire Truck?
This wasn't a boring, "lets just drive in a little circle" kind of ride, either. They sped off, with sirens blaring and water shooting everywhere. The kids were thrilled!
The adventure didn't end there. We loaded back into the
Unimog and went to learn how to work on jet engines. They were in the process of working on several of them, and took a lot of time to explain to the kids how the engines run and what repairs were being made.
Next stop? How about seeing the jets themselves! The kids were now getting a better understanding of how the jets are put together, and how they run.
They even got to climb up and check out the cockpits. There wasn't much room inside there, but the controls were really cool.
Now that they know about the jets, it was time to learn about what makes them "more than just an airline". That's right...weapons! Even MORE cool! They learned about different kinds of bombs and guns that the jets carry, and what kind of damage they do to the enemy.
Sorry, I loved this old sign, so I just had to throw it in here. Antique! :0)
It was time for lunch, so we headed over to the Base Community Center for the kind of lunch you'd have if you were at war...
MRE's. (That's Meals Ready to Eat for you civilians.) It's what the troops eat when they are in combat and aren't near a chow hall. They have lots of different varieties of meals, everything from Chicken a la King to
chili. The kids loved them!
Brandon ended up with
Chili Mac, and ate the whole thing! Combat builds up a big appetite!
After lunch, we went somewhere that the kids were REALLY excited about...The Cop Shop. That's the military police building. Why were they so excited? Because they got to see and hold REAL GUNS! Yes, they were unloaded, and they were supervised the entire time, but how cool is that? Have you ever seen a bigger smile on a boys face?
We went outside to check out an armored vehicle, and the kids got to climb inside.
The police put on a canine demonstration for us. Have you ever seen a sweeter puppy? Just look at that face. That's a lover, not a fighter!
Then again...maybe not. You might want to think about trying to enter base without permission around here! That dog pulled him down on the ground in just a couple of seconds, and held him there with no problem whatsoever. Um...step away from the dog, kids.
The day is drawing to an end, but we had one more surprise in store... The police set up a combat mission for the kids. They had to enter this darkened building, fight the bad guys, and bring their
comrade, who had been taken prisoner, back to safety. Are these kids up to the challenge? The building looked pretty scary. Could they do it?
You bet they could! They learned a lot throughout the day, and they were now up to any challenge. Does this look like a face that would leave a fellow Airman behind? Absolutely not!
The mission was a success. The enemy was defeated, and the hostage was freed. America is safe. You can go to bed tonight, secure in the knowledge that these young Airmen have made the world a safer place. Don't worry. They've got your back. (A HUGE THANK YOU to Roger and everyone who organized and helped with Shadow Day. This is something that none of these kids will ever forget. We truly have the best group of people EVER, here at KB. They are amazing, and we are blessed to be a part of this fantastic Base!)
Now he's all grown up. Well, maybe not completely. (He's still my baby.) In case you're wondering, he had a super Birthday and got lots of great gifts. The festivities are flowing over into tomorrow, and fun will be had by all. Happy Birthday, Brandon. You rock!
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...
"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."
The day is drawing to an end, but we had one more surprise in store... The police set up a combat mission for the kids. They had to enter this darkened building, fight the bad guys, and bring their comrade, who had been taken prisoner, back to safety. Are these kids up to the challenge? The building looked pretty scary. Could they do it?
I know I promised lots of lovely adventures for the New Year, but these things take time. We're taking it nice and easy this January. It probably has something to do with the weather. It's cold. And it's been snowing a lot. Maybe that's just my imagination, because I'm told it rarely snows in Belgium, and if it does, it melts almost immediately. Apparently, I have a very vivid imagination. This is what my canal looks like today. (Yes, it's my canal. I called dibs.) There wasn't much going on there today. It was just me and a couple of frozen ducks. They have a very vivid imagination, too. Remember the Ice Age 3 Ice Sculptures exhibit in Brugge that we went to? It seems that they didn't anticipate all of this snow, either. Heavy snow built up on the roof of the massive tent that housed the ice sculptures, and caused it to collapse. The exhibit met an untimely end. Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident, but they came away with interesting stories to share with their friends and families. At least we were fortunate enough to see it before it all came crashing down. It was a very impressive exhibit. In all, we've had a pretty great New Year to date. I'm trying to stick to my resolutions. It's only been 4 days, so it's going well so far. You might want to check back with me next week. Still, I managed to actually enter the gym and.... (drum roll, please).... worked out! I'll give you a minute to recover from the shock. I also came up with another resolution to add to my list. No one in the family is allowed to adopt a snake. This one never occurred to me until the New Years Eve party at a friend's house. We were all having a good time until Brandon came up to me and said, "Hey, Mom...check this out!" (Nothing good ever starts with this phrase, by the way.) Yes, it's real. 
Then, to make matters worse, he passed it off to Jessica. They took turns carrying the thing around for hours. In it's defense, it was very tolerant of their attention. It tried to make the occasional run for it (or slither), but for the most part, it just let them do what they wanted. I let them have their space. I am not a fan of snakes. This is one resolution that I feel confident will make it through to the year 2011 intact. 
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.