Luxembourg

When David and Judy (aka Gigi and Dandy) were visiting we took a trip to Luxembourg.  David, John David and I had never been so it seemed like the perfect opportunity.  Luxembourg is about 2 hours and 15 minutes by car from our home is Brussels.  It is a beautiful drive through rolling farmland and the Ardennes mountains.  Luxembourg a beautiful little country (about 1000 square miles in total territory) and one of the riches in the world.








We had a great lunch in the main square of the old town of Luxembourg City.



There was a beautiful overlook, nicknamed the "most beautiful balcony in Europe" where we took the picture below. 

Cook-in-Training

I really love cooking and look forward to sharing that love with John David. So, on Friday John David and I made cupcakes for our friends Maren, Nick and Julia. This was our first time stepping into the kitchen together (usually John isn't allowed to even step foot in the kitchen) and he really loved it. As you can see he had a big time mixing the batter and actually kept most of the batter in the bowl!

Science Center

Well the weather in Brussels has been particularly awful lately, even for Belgium standards.  So the rain and cold sent us to Technopolis, a science center in a Flemish town about 20 minutes outside of Brussels.  The kids had a big time and as they get older they are only going to enjoy it more. 

This is a super fun area devoted to plants, insects and animals that the kids loved!


There was a huge section dedicated to water play and as you can see from the pictures this was a huge hit!

Family 4th of July Pic

Here is a family picture from the 4th of July celebrations.  It is so rare that we actually get one with all three of us I thought it deserved a post. Now if only we could get John David to actually look at the camera.

Crafts

Seeing as I am the daughter of Nancy Isenhour, I knew that my crafty gene was bound to come out at some point.  Here are a few crafts I have put together over the past few months.

Burp Cloths I made for my friend Jen and cousin Katie & their new babies
How cute are these prints?

"WC" Sign (i.e. water closet, bathroom, powder room) 
So people would know where our bathroom is located
Made with a frame from IKEA, spray paint, hot glue, ribbon and vinyl letters cut with my Cricut



Menu Board
Perfect accent for our kitchen wall and easy way to meal plan for the week
Made with an old frame, spray paint, fabric scrap and vinyl cut with my Cricut

**This photo was taken with my iPhone and isn't the best sorry


Wooden Cart Redo
This is an old wooden cart from IKEA that David has had since before we were married. It was unfinished and starting to look a little rough especially on top.


After sanding down the stains on the top I purchased stain (used clear stain on the top) at IKEA for 4 euros and it looks so much better

**When I took some of these pictures I failed to realize the mess in my kitchen

Sunday at the Beach

John David was sick for most of last week and all day Saturday.  Luckily he slept great on Saturday night and woke up feeling much better.  We thought that this turn of events earned us an outing and decided to try the beach again.  This time we headed to De Haan, Belgium, which we loved.  So cute with lots of charm and character.  We will definitely be going back.  This summer, the weather in Belgium has been less than ideal, Sunday included, with highs in the 60s most days.  This is not swimming weather for the Mark family so we dressed for the beach in regular clothes with the intention of playing in the sand and enjoying the scenery.   However, as you will see in the pictures, John David had a different idea altogether.





He literally raced into the waves, absolutely without fear.  Of course, before we knew it, he was completely soaked and covered head to toe in sand.  He went from fully clothed to down to his diaper pretty quickly.  Luckily Dad got him to play in the dry sand with the soccer ball so he could dry off enough for us to get him cleaned up and into a dry set of clothes.







Poor attempt at a family picture (you can see how excited John David is for this photo-op)

Happy 4th of July!!!!

So, the Army garrison here in Brussels put on a few 4th of July festivities on Saturday July 2nd.  First off was a 5K run/walk in the morning, which we participated in with our friends Nick, Maren and John David's BFF, Julia.  We walked because David/Dad didn't want to run, which worked out just fine, because we got to spend a nice leisurely walk chatting with our friends.  Afterwards, Nick, Maren and Julia came over to our house for brunch.  That evening, we went to the American School, where the garrison held a little carnival, with food and activities for the kids.  There were also fireworks, but unfortunately, we missed those, in order to make it back for bedtime.  It doesn't even get dark here until after 10:30 pm; that would make for one over tired toddler.  Maybe next year!      


Notice we are in long sleeves and coats.  It was in the low 60s all day and downright chilly in the shade.  Ridiculous for the first week in July!

Summertime....

It has been a while since I have posted and instead of doing a bunch of posts on each of our adventures I thought I would just do one big post.



We have been trying to get a little crafty with crayons and finger paint. You can see from the pictures that the finger paint was not a hit, however, we are getting pretty good with the crayons. We will try again in a few weeks.





Last weekend we took a day trip to Namur, Belgium. We had a fabulous lunch (they even had a highchair...a rarity here). We also explored the town's castle, unexpectedly stumbling upon a renaissance fair. David thought it was great, of course, but I found the whole thing a little strange to be honest.  



On the 4th of July we took John David to a nearby park where he got to play in the sand and swing.  As you know it is just another day over here.  




I have some pictures of the 4th of July festivities that the Army held here in Brussels on Saturday too that I will try to get posted soon!