TV fame in Miami

We have been to Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis and finally Miami!
I had no idea the weather would be so beautiful, the people so nice and the shopping so diverse. Our hotel was superb and our rooms had more square footage than our first home! We went to the pool and the beach where we actually saw swimwear and clothing choices more like those we would see in Europe. (Use your imagination.)
I hadn't planned anything in regards to daily activities. Bob and the girls had something else in mind......

In Belgium, there are very few television shows in English but every evening, on a cable channel, the girls and Bob can watch some reality shows that are normally on TLC in the US (I think). One of the shows is Miami Ink. Please don't think we are tattoo enthusiasts but the four of them really enjoy watching other people permanently paint their bodies. Think what you want, but entertainment in English is coveted in our house and now they are somewhat hooked on the characters and their stories. The show is actually filmed in a tattoo parlor in Miami and before I knew what was ahead of me, the entire family was on their way to Miami Ink. Yes, Bob and I took our kids to a tattoo parlor. We bought t-shirts and convinced one of the highlighted artists, Darren Brass, on the show to pose for a picture with us. He even signed Jennifer's cast!

I am taking all four of them to the symphony for a concert as soon as possible. They need some culture!

12 reasons why Miami was so great

1. We swam every day.

2. We saw 200 year old trees.

3. We saw exotic animals.

4. The speedboat ride was fast!

5. The sunrise was beautiful.

6. The sunset was just as wonderful as the sunrise.

7. We shopped every day!

8. Jennifer got her cast signed by a TV celebrity. (More on that in another post.)

9. We walked on the beach and swam in the ocean.

10. The weather was 90 degrees with no rain.

11. We saw artwork made from point shoes. (It is a dancer.)

12. Everyone had a great time!

Greetings from Miami, FL!

We are off on a very busy trip

Fall Break begins today. We are grounded until after the dreaded ACT test Maria has to take but then we are off. Maria will travel with Bob to northern Illinois and Wisconsin to check out colleges. I think I know where she will end up but I am keeping my mouth shut until Maria actually makes her choice.

The twins and I will make a quick stop in Chicago then we are off to St. Louis and Indiana. We will all meet up at the end of the week for a long weekend in Miami.

Jerseyville Friends

Mom and Dad and their friends from Jerseyville, Illinois, took a cruise to the Greek Isles. They were cruising for 2 weeks and then made a stop in Brussels. They brought along lots of souvenirs and 3 of their good friends too! I hadn't seen Jerry, Georgia or Shirley in over 20 years but it didn't take long to catch up and get reacquainted. They were great house guests and were game for just about anything we planned. We saw the Overijse market, ISB, the forest and Grande Place. We also saw Mannekin Pis but we all know that statue is a little overrated.
The picture above is of our entire group at our favorite restaurant in Jezus Eik. The guy with the handlebar mustache is our gregarious waiter. Maria is missing. She was with her friends at a Halloween party.
Below is the picture of Dad, Mom, Jerry, Shirley and Georgia in front of the Eiffel Tower. On Friday we took the Thalys train to Paris. They saw everything; Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Champs E'lyse, Arc de Triomphe, Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and Sacre Coeur. They ate Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame in Trocadero Square and crepes on the street in Montmartre. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you will see how cold everyone looks! They braved the nasty weather, rode the Metro, hopped on and off the tour bus and never complained once. We had a great time! Our entire family enjoyed their visit. Jerseyville friends can come back anytime!

Happy Birthday to Jennifer and Leah

On Thursday, October 15, Jennifer and Leah will turn 12. First of all, I can't believe they are that old. It seems like they were just born! They were the best babies; slept when you needed them to sleep, ate whatever you put in front of them and entertained us nonstop. I guess things haven't changed too much. They still go to bed without a whimper or whine and get up in the morning at the very first nudge. They still eat anything and have tried beef tongue, four cheese polenta and grilled "mystery" meat just in the past year. And finally, they still entertain us nonstop. Fueled with the energy and the competitiveness only twins can possess, they excel at volleyball, joke telling and their string instruments.

The girls hosted a birthday sleepover on Saturday night. It happened to be Bob's birthday too so the seven 6th graders sang to Bob too. Maria volunteered to be the party planner and really took the job seriously. She researched games and crafts that only preteens would enjoy. Personally, I think the party was a huge success. As you can see from the picture below, everyone had fun!

Halloween at Disneyland Paris

Volleyball with Leah and Jennifer

Leah! Jennifer!

Jennifer!

Leah!

Leah? Jennifer?

Uncle Jim and Aunt Cindy Arrived on Sept. 11!

Bob's brother, Jim, and his wife, Cindy, were visiting in September. We took them to all the normal Central Europe sites, but they went to Paris and Rome on their own. Here are a few of the things we saw with them.

Cindy and Jim with Manneken Pis and the fall foliage.

Castle near Frankfurt, Germany. We visited this after the twins' volleyball game at the Frankfurt International School. The twins spent the night with the team and the grownups stayed in a nice little hotel near the school. We had a great time eating German food, drinking apple wine (kind of bland) and taking in a wine festival.

Jim and Cindy at Grande Place.

Bob and Jim drinking good Belgian beer!

I know I know...I need to update my blog. Get ready for lots of pictures!!! I promise to put on tons of information by the end of the weekend!

My only excuse for avoiding blogging is that I have been very very busy. That is me in the picture underneath the extra large double decker donut. I have just been so busy. You have no idea. The weight of our everyday life is really getting me down!

(It is really a picture of a window display in a department store in Paris!)