I cannot believe the twins are 13. I can vividly remember the day we found out we were having twins. Bob told his mom that she had prayed too hard and there were two babies. My own mom immediately felt attached because she too is a twin. After Leah and Jennifer were born my grandmother and I now had an even stronger bond because we were both the mothers of twins. We shared stories that were sometimes completely the same and other times worlds (and years) apart. I am so thankful that she was able to visit with the girls as babies and as toddlers before she passed away.
Above is Maria sitting right at the table with us and below are all of us around the dining room table.
Nana and Papa sent cards (filled with good old US dollars!) and Aunt Kirstian, Uncle Brad, Valerie, Joe and Tom sent cards written in French! They are very cool.
In order to include Maria, we did all of this partying at 10:30 at night. Bob had just got off a flight from Zurich and Maria had just returned from a class at Purdue.
The week before all this, Bob had been in the US. I sent him on some errands to buy birthday gifts. He was to buy converse tennis shoes, Hollister t-shirts and jeans from American Eagle. Does it look like any of those things were in the packages you saw above??? You guessed right I am sure. He brought back fruit roll-ups, Oreo cookies and 2 very special gifts. Watch the pictures below to see what our two wonderful 13 year olds got for their birthday. 
They got iPads!!!!!!!!
Mary, Primo and I took a little trip to the Atomium in Brussels. Originally built in 1958 for the Worlds Fair, this icon of Brussels can be seen as you fly into the city from the air and as you drive around by car. It isn't located in the City Centre like Grande Place but it is still a somewhat popular destination. We go there often because it is all lit up and pretty at night plus it is located near a very large movie theater. But we had never been inside. Inside each ball is a mini museum dedicated to Belgian artists, the Worlds Fair, two restaurants and a Kid Zone. We were told at the entrance that the balls were accessible by escalator. Yeah! Bob's dad doesn't do too well with stairs. We entered and were ready to learn. 
View from inside the Atomium on our way up. The scenery was great! Once we arrived inside the ball, we realized we could only go UP again, not down. And the only way to go up was by a huge set of stairs!!!
This is the staircase we didn't take. It looked daunting. Our only other option was the staircase below. Primo and Mary were really great making the climb.
When we got to the top, it was time for a break in the snack bar. Below is Primo resting. He was great! For an 84 year old he can really climb stairs well. I think we will buy him a StairMaster for Christmas.
(I am just kidding about the StairMaster. What he really deserves is a big medal of honor for putting up with me and my silly ideas about site seeing!)
Oct. 10, 2010, was Bob's 49th birthday. Leah and Jennifer made his favorite cake. They made a yellow cake with chocolate icing. (see my note about icing at the bottom of this post) Bob started his birthday with church and a nice lunch with Maria in the USA. He ended his celebration with a steak dinner with the rest of the family in Belgium the next day. It was extra special because his parents are visiting us and they chimed in to sing "Happy Birthday" too. So Happy 49th Birthday Bob!!
When I made the icing for the cake, I used a recipe as old as my marriage. The card is torn and tattered and called "Ruth's Icing". I originally got the recipe from my mom. I have an Aunt Ruth, who reads this blog regularly, so I am guessing this recipe was originally hers. It is always perfect and tastes even better when I use that full fat Belgian butter. So . . .Thanks Aunt Ruth. Your recipe is our family favorite!
Today we went to Beersel Castle in Beersel, Belgium. It is just 30 minutes from our house EXCEPT that the Brussels Marathon was happening and our short drive turned into a very long one. You can see how majestic the castle is in the picture above. We had to cross a drawbridge to get into the inner portion and saw the interior of this palace from the 13th century. It was originally used as a fortress to guard Brussels from attacks by Flanders. We even saw where they would pour hot oil on the intruders.
We also ate lunch at a famous restaurant and brewery in Beersel. They produce beer under the label of Beersel. It was really good. Our lunch was tasty and very Flemish/European. The menu was not in English so we did our best to figure things out.
I thought I ordered stew cooked in cherry beer, but instead I got some kind of bird with a cherry sauce. I asked if it was chicken and the lady said, "No but like chicken". Scary! After a few questions we found out I was eating Guinea Hen. It tasted good but I wouldn't order it again! 
This is what a real guinea hen looks like. See those legs? One of them was hanging off the side of my plate.
Primo ordered a hamburger just to be safe. This is what he got!!! It mustn't have been too bad because he ate every bite.
Bob's mom and dad are here visiting us! They stayed with the girls while we went to the Ryder Cup and got them to volleyball, school and all their activities. In the picture they have just completed the "hardest puzzle they ever put together". It was a painting by Van Gogh and we even saw the real one in Amsterdam. Thanks Mary and Primo for coming to visit.
The Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in Wales was a wonderful experience. We had planned the trip for at least a year and everything went perfectly. We couldn't control the weather and ended up enduring days of rain. If you watched the matches on TV, you saw beautiful and pristine fairways and putting greens. What you didn't see were walking paths covered in flowing water, grassy areas with no grass but all mud and grandstands with four inch deap mud at their entrance. No cameras or phones were allowed on the course so I had to take these pictures from Google.
These are not our feet but our shoes were twice as muddy. I left my boots in the hotel room and didn't even bring them back home with me!
My umbrella is black. Can you see me?
We are already looking forward to the next Ryder Cup at Medina Country Club in Chicago. Hopefully it won't rain and the United States team will win!
Having our twins at the same college was just perfect. Bob and I were able to enjoy Leah and Jenn and their college journey together. The...
