{Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Netherlands} Flashback: Part 1

This is our last travelling adventure we took in Europe this past summer. This trip was another week long trip starting on June 2, (our 6th wedding anniversary)!

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Wow. We are drained. This past week was a long one. A good one nevertheless, but sure long. We hit 4 different countries in this past trip! So here we go...

Paris is only 2 hours and 20 minutes by train from London. We thought that was cool. Belgium is only 1 hour and 45 minutes by train. Cooler!
We took the Eurostar to Brussels, Belgium in the evening where we stayed only one night. This ended up being a good thing because Tim and I both agree that Brussels is probably the worst city we have ever been to. It was a good thing we have been warned ahead of time and we were told to only see the main plaza and that was it. So we did just that. We saw the plaza, found dinner near the plaza, and went straight to our hotel for sleep after that. We didn't get a picture of the very ornate plaza, it was actually really neat to see, because pregnant lady was crazy hungry and crazy tired and in no mood for taking pictures. Sorry.
Oh wait, I almost forgot, dinner did make me feel a little better afterwards so I did manage to pull the strength to appease Tim to find the Manneken Pis (a famous small statue of a boy holding his wee-wee and peeing) and indulge in Belgium waffles.
Who knew that a little penis and waffles encompasses a traditional Belgium experience!

The next morning we picked up our rental car and drove straight to Luxembourg. (Don't worry, we will be visiting Belgium again near the end of our week trip.)
We headed straight for the city centre to take a look around. We were surprised how incredibly clean and affluent looking the centre was. Everything, per usual, was closed as it was a bank holiday but it was still calming to walk around and get a feel of the city. These were some random statues right outside of the car park that the girls could not get enough of.

This is the Cercle Municipal at the Place d'Armes where we later sat on the steps and enjoyed our ice cream.

Another thing the girls cannot get enough of is splashing in big puddles. Wellies should be a staple in every child's childhood. We spent a good amount of time letting the girls splash around the Gelle Fra monument...

while we looked out at the Vallee de la Petrusse.

We ended up venturing down many steps into the highly wooded park just to take a peek a around.

After getting some wiggles out we ventured around some and found ourselves in a very posh area. You will not believe how many fancy cars were zooming around. I couldn't even recognize some of them they were so out of my league. But fancy and fast looking nevertheless. This also happened to be where a lot of the governmental offices and buildings were located.

Grand Ducal Palace

One of our top places to get gelato so far in Europe happened to be right here in Luxembourg. Tim and I are in major agreement that is was gOOd. The best.

(And Tim captured what you will usually see me doing on trips. Always behind the camera.)

Besides obviously checking off one more country from our list, we went to Luxembourg mainly to see the World War II sites, specifically the Battle of the Bulge sites, as Tim's grandfather fought and was wounded in that battle. The next day we visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery.

Immediately upon walking through the gates I started to cry. I could not stop crying. All American cemeteries are just stunningly beautiful and rightly majestic. The grounds are well-kept and well groomed, and reverence and stillness demands attention right at the gate. This memorial is the first thing to greet you upon entering and it is just so pretty.

After walking around the front area a bit Tim and I took turns walking into the chapel room set right in the middle. It was a very solemn moment to reflect upon what this American Cemetery actually means to us individually. I feel as though I have made an interesting full circle at that point. We started our European adventures in Normandy last year, visited Auschwitz a few weeks back, and now at the Battle of the Bulge sites which ultimately led to the freedom of all of Europe. Words could not experience my increased deepest gratitude after all these special and spiritual learning experiences from those who fought and suffered in World War II.

Tim cannot contain himself when it comes to travelling. The fact that we were only a few miles from the border of Germany made him very unsettled. Unsettled to the point that even though it was NOT in our agenda to go to Germany, he convinced me at the spur of the moment to take a short detour into Germany so we can cross off one more country off our list. Good thing I love that man so. The nearest city was called Trier, the oldest city in Germany and the birthplace of Karl Marx.

Right next to our car park was the Porta Nigra. Here Tim hoisted the girls up there for a quick picture.

We walked through the little town which was cute and not much different than other little cities we have visited in Europe. We saw the Cathedral of Saint Peter which is a World Heritage Site. It is the oldest Cathedral in the country. 

Now it was time to make our way back to Brugge, Belgium and do some sightseeing there. But Tim wanted to make one more stop along the way to see the memorial that the local people made to honor the Americans that helped free them in WWII. It was not as stunning by any means as the American made memorials but it was still nice to take a break from driving and enjoy the appreciation from the locals.

(I'll be posting in a few days Part II of our trip!)

High School Reunion

I am such a dork at heart. But I'm going to go ahead and just say it...

My 4 years of high school were some of the best years of my life.

There, I said it!

But it is so true. I have such fond memories of those years. I truly enjoyed every year and lived each teenage moment. I also had some of the best group of girlfriends and friends any girl could ask for. Even to this day I stay connected to them and will forever love my friends.

Today is our 10 year high school reunion. I even looked forward to this moment as a senior in high school! So I'm actually incredibly sad I am unable to attend for obvious reasons out of my control. Ce la vie!


I don't have old HS photos that I could scan and entertain you all with, as those photos are back in CA, nor do I have 10 year after shots of me and my friends at this reunion. But I do have some funny awesome videos to show you so you can catch a glimpse of my high school life in the South where football, cheerleading, rednecks, ATL rappers, and "yes ma'ams" roam the countryside.

To give you some insight and explanation I will start with saying that football is the living air and water of the souls of the Southerners. Yes, during my senior year, one scholar cheerleader and one scholar fooball player from each school attended a county scholar athlete celebration and it felt like I was seated at a baptist church listening to a sermon on the greatness of football. I remember looking around thinking, "Is this for real?" It was for real.

Anyway, this past football season was our 10th year and Grayson High School won the state championship title and received national recognition. We the 2002 Alumni were definitely so proud. The students of exactly 10 years later from us made a short video taunting a rival school for a big game in which the this said rival school cleverly replied back. I was quite impressed with both videos and the clean language and friendly rivalry they showed. And I loved that it encompassed everything I loved about HS.
There are a lot of inside jokes and such that you may not get but the videos are so funny and entertaining. (For me at least.) Enjoy!

Oh yeah, I'm proud to say that Grayson High School won the game, obviously. Go Rams!

First day of school!

I have failed to mention earlier that school has started around here. It has been such a crazy whirlwind starting nursery for the first time for Natalie, having to adjust our schedules to being somewhere every single morning, planning at least a month's worth of homeschool education for Marisa whilst waiting for a reply from the admissions office to start public school somewhere, finally getting an acceptance letter from admissions, school shopping, and readjusting to another new schedule now that we have both girls in different schools. Phew!

Tim and I have fully recognized that we have entered a new stage in our lives. Gone are the carefree, unplanned days and holidays at any time. Our travel plans will have to be constrained to only summer? Bummer. We have definitely enjoyed our years of freedom and the baby years of parenting, but we look very much forward to this new chapter. How quickly our children grow!

While pregnant with Marisa I envisioned her first day of kindergarten with excitement and eagerness. A few years after having Marisa I would just cry at the even thought of her leaving me and going to kindergarten! Now that we are living this moment, with all the difficulties in trying to get Marisa into school, I didn't think I was going to cry at all because I am just so glad that she is even IN school! "Go play, go have fun, go make friends, go learn, off you go!" is all I could think of the moment I hung up with her school on the phone telling me she was accepted. I instantly cried at that moment and fell on my knees in gratitude that the school situation has finally been resolved but I didn't cry today on her official first day of school. That is major for me!

Marisa had a fantastic first day of school. She jumped right in, made friends, and didn't skip a beat regardless that school has already been going on for 3 weeks now for her peers. It was nice to hear from her teacher that, "Marisa is very confident."
While walking to our bus stop home Marisa enthusiastically told me the events of her day while skipping and with a big grin on her face. I was just so elated watching her.  Apparently, Marisa read the little note I left in her lunch box to her friends and I scored some major mom points on that one. I know that won't last long so I'm going to relish in it for now. Marisa said she can't wait to read my note the next day. :)

My biggest anchor to this new way of life began with Tim giving the girls and me a back to school blessing. There is nothing more comforting than knowing that the Lord is watching over us as a family and as individuals, ready to provide peace and support in this new journey. Feeling very blessed right now.