Jenn and Leah take ballet in Brussels.
We have been through MANY teachers at our dance school but our newest one is truly our favorite. Her name is Joanna and she is just fantastic. She welcomes the girls with big hugs, encourages them to work hard and pushes them to be better. In the video Leah is the first one on the right and Jenn is the 4th person behind her.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Tonight was the 6-12th grade Orchestra Concert at ISB. Bob and I enjoyed the music but since the girls play with the High School, we had to sit through a lot of songs before we got to hear our own kids play!
If you want to watch it follow the steps below. Feel free to jump ahead in the video so you don't have to watch the entire show. You will hear a duet by Leah and Aiden at minute 28:28. They have been playing together for 4 years and we have watched the two of them get taller and taller. Since they are a boy and a girl they barely speak to each other, but they still communicate well. After their duet you can jump ahead to the Advanced Middle School and High School combined group at minute 56:43. Jenn is hard to find but is in the 2nd row somewhat in the the middle. She sits in between the other two middle school violas, both boys, and puts her leadership skills to good use. In other words, she claims they are hopeless and rely on her for their every move. Enjoy the show!
1. go to this link http://www.isb.be/page.cfm?p=2624
2. click on the words "Go to ISB live streaming page
3. type in this password 1170bxl
4. look for the small picture showing Dec. 8 concert and click on it.
5. Enjoy!
On Monday I wrote that I live a regular normal life and only get to eat cake with friends on special days...I lied or misrepresented a little :)
My life is spectacular in Europe!!!
Ok now that I have admitted it, I feel a little guilty. I do all the stuff I should like trying to find matches to lost socks and sorting my recycling for the picky Belgian garbage collectors but I also go out to lunch (a lot) and plan outings with my friends. Today we took a cooking class at the home of a very talented Italian cook. This old dog (ME) learned some new tricks! That is me in the picture below working on my creme brulee.
On our flight from Belgium to the US at Thanksgiving, we had this can of Sprite served to us. No English, French, Flemish or any other language we are familiar with could be found on that can. What language is it??
Monday, December 5, 2011
Some days are normal - laundry, dry cleaner, grocery store, post office, pick up kids, take kids places, gym. (Yes, I am actually a regular now at the gym in Overijse. Surprisingly, I love it. I am not sure if it is the fact that I go with great people or the fact that I am actually shaping up, but it is lots of fun.) Anyway, some days are just regular, not boring at all, just regular.
Then there are the days where I get to have coffee and a treat with friends.
This is my friend's cappuccino and chocolate cake.
And this is my cherry tart and coffee.
Belgium may not have a Starbucks on every corner or a Target in every town, but they do know how to stop and enjoy life!
Today we went to Grande Place. We had to go to the Dance store to pick up point shoes for the twins. The store just happens to be down the street from this beautiful and historic place. I love Grande Place especially when its crowded and ready for the holidays!
We bought Speculos cookies which are like a spice cookie. The one on the right is the size of a 1st grader! We didn't buy that one! We also bought nuts and the girls had a hot chocolate. Lots of small stands are set up for the Plaisers d'Hiver or WinterWonders. Many European cities celebrate Christmas with Markets selling gifts, hot wine, cheese, etc. It's fun to go to the markets and see the items for sale and eat the delicious food.
I also bought some lace. I am not sure why the stuffed turkey is part of this window display. Belgians don't celebrate Thanksgiving but they do like to hunt so maybe the turkey is paying respect to the hunters of the season??
I really enjoy working on this blog. I usually don't spend too much time with it but I post when I want and try to keep the family updated. I have noticed that all I ever write about or post pictures of are the kids so I have vowed to spice things up a little. Christmas in Europe is magical (if you know where to go!) so I will have some great opportunities to share new things on the blog.
This new Christmas layout was so much work! I started out at 10pm thinking I would just get rid of the turkeys and put on some santas. Easy and usually a 5 minute task. I always use The Cutest Blog on the Block for my blog backgrounds and for some reason I just couldn't get rid of the turkey background and put up a new one. I tried and tried and wasted way too much time. Finally I realized there were probably other sources for backgrounds and I switched to another and another and another. Then I called my brother, not for help with my blog but just for a distraction. He doesn't read my blog anyway so asking him would not have helped. Sometime in there I also called my mother, did a load of laundry, made a cup of decaf, forced the girls to go to bed, sent an email to the tax guy and eventually changed the background. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was now 12:30am and I could have been sleeping!!!
The new Christmas look is very cute but it has many flaws. Did you notice them? My pictures on the side are not on the right anymore and they are in reverse order. I could fix the order problem but it would take up too much time. Our name appears at the top of the blog twice. I really worked hard on removing the extra label and it was impossible. The type is hard to read now but I am stuck with that until I change the background again and that won't happen until after Christmas. We are just stuck with mistakes and will enjoy the holly and candy canes until after the holidays.
Happy December 1!
We were lucky enough to take a quick trip to the USA for Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time and got to spend it all with Maria. Here are just a few of our activities...
Wed. - arrive and eat Mexican food
Thurs. - 9am watch Macy's parade
12pm eat Thanksgiving meal at Weber Grill restaurant. (Look in the background of the picture above and you can see that our kitchen in the US in under major construction and we have NO appliances!)
2pm Realize that although our meal was good, nothing beats Thanksgiving dinner at your own house. We vowed to eat at home next year!
3pm Read the paper and all the sale adds and planned our attack for Black Friday shopping
5pm Realize that Old Navy and Meijer are already open with big sales and rush to start shopping
Friday - 1am Wake up and START SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5am Rest
1pm The girls went shopping again and Bob and I finalized our kitchen cabinets.
Not much else happened except a lot more shopping and quite a bit of house clean up and work. We had a blast!!!
I am from homemade blankets
From lost Barbie shoes clogging up the vacuum cleaner
And secret agent spies.
I am from the worn souls of ballet shoes
And “MOM! COME KILL THIS BUG!”
I am from running through the sprinklers,
Bare foot in the muddy grass
From bikes and chalk littered on the driveway
The stump of an old tree
And bee hives
I am from streets lined with trees
Dancing cornfields
And friendly neighbors
I am from cicadas singing in the fall
The auburn hue of leaf piles
And the sound of shovels scraping ice off of sidewalks
I am from Primo and Don
“When I was a kid”
“WE’RE GONNA BE LATE”
And Chinese food on Christmas
I am from putting ‘secret’ sauce on every vegetable
Stains from Homemade ravioli permanently etched into clothes
And the glorious scents of Beef Strogonoff
I am from shoe boxes filled with old photos
forgotten on shelves, covered in dust
From my very own ‘Memento’ box
Piled high with artwork and prized possessions
I am from these moments
Which have shaped who I am
And taught me to appreciate life
I’m From by Jennifer I’m from swaying cornfields And our friendly neighborhood, That frightening forest in our backyard And all those small hostas that had grown into monstrous plants.
I’m from “Love your sisters” the twin speech, and the “Let’s Go” song.
I’m from homegrown wild strawberries And rollie pollies crawling in my hands, Those pesky bunnies eating petunias And our wasp infested swing set.
I’m from sharing a room with my twin And looking up to my older sister. I’m from Zelda, Mario, and SALLY, From Life, Clue, and Careers.
I’m from a camper with a porta-potty And marshmallows on a stick. I’m from those Smokey Mountains And miniature golf.
I’m from rhinestones and black stretchy leotards, Tap shoes, and pink tights. I’m from playing with Barbies in the cold basement And Polly Pocket shoes lost around the house.
I’m from all these memories that have shaped my life to where it is now.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
I just had to add this picture too because it was so much better than the other one I posted before. I should say that Bob was with us in Paris too but he was the one taking the photos. After the games Beccy and Stu went tree shopping and we went on a hunt to find a Kentucky Fried Chicken. Beccy and Stu found 2 trees for their front yard and we found the KFC with wonderful greasy chicken. Paris has everything.
This weekend Leah and Jenn played in their last volleyball tournament with their ISB team. The games took place at the American School of Paris. We were lucky enough to have my cousin Beccy and her husband Stu stop by to watch some of the exciting matches. Beccy and Stu have lived in Paris for 23 years!!!! Stu was great at cheering and Beccy and I got to catch up on family happenings. Beccy has always been that cool cousin who traveled around the world and lived in a foreign country. She is still cool and now we both live in foreign countries! (Note about the title of this post...We didn't tell our moms that we were meeting so the picture of us all together in Paris might be a little surprising!)
Belgians do not celebrate Thanksgiving, obviously. It is always hard to find the items we need to cook our feast for the special holiday. I found this lonesome box of Yams/Sweet Potatoes hidden at the grocery store on a bottom shelf. There were only 6 of them left which means all of us Americans have bought them all! While I was taking a picture of the box a lady told me, in French, that I was crazy. I don't speak French but I do know when someone is telling me I am crazy for taking a picture. The box says the potatoes were imported from Oak Grove, LA.
The Zurich Zoo is famous for their animal parades. On nice days they just take the tamest animals out for a walk. We got to touch the llamas. On very cold days the penguins go out for a walk!
Friday, November 11, 2011
I thought I had nothing to write about today, but I changed my mind. Today is November 11 and here in Belgium that means it is Armistice Day or in the US, Veteren's Day. I am very thankful for my father in law who faught in WWII. Because of him and many other US and European veterens, we have the freedom we enjoy everyday.
And because I am so thankful, I have declared that today is Thanksgiving. On the real Thanksgiving we will be back in the US. This means that we will enjoy great TV with my favorite parades and Bob's favorite football. Unfortunately, we have no kitchen at our house in the US to cook our Thanksgiving dinner. It is in the process of being remodeled so I have a crock pot, an outdoor grill and a microwave. Some of you crafty people might say you could whip up a fabulous Thanksgiving feast with less appliances that those, but I am not that confident in my creative cooking abilities. So, the kids don't have school and Bob doesn't have to work because of Armistice Day. We will feast on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cauliflower, fresh bread and pumpkin spice muffins. Sounds like Thanksgiving to me!
Today we learned that Leah and Jenn have been accepted into the Junior Honor Orchestra which will take place in Berlin, Germany, in February 2012!! We are so proud of them both! They started practicing last May and finally auditioned at the end of October. The honor orchestra is made of kids from international schools all over Europe and brings them together to rehearse and perform with a guest conductor. The honor goes even further because Leah is ranked as the #1 bass and Jenn is ranked as the #1 viola. Wow!!! I am a very proud mom right now.
Below are pictures from last year's honor orchestra trip which took place in Vienna, Austria.
Jennifer practicing with the Junior Honor Orchestra
Leah practicing with the Junior Honor Orchestra
The kids from ISB traveled together by plane to Vienna. Their chaperone was Mrs. DuToi, one of their orchestra teachers. She is sweet and very easy going. These kids are generally very well behaved and don't need too much direction.
Not only do the participants play and perfrom, they also get to take a few excursions to see the city. In this photo they all wore their JHO t-shirts and went out to learn more about Mozart.
I understand this sign. It means the store is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Right? Isn't that what 24/7 means?
If I am right about 24/7, then this sign is confusing to me. Does it mean that this store is open 7 hours a day 7 days a week? That's what it should mean right? In English the sign says "Open 7/7 days without appointment". The actual posted hours are on the other door and it states that they are open 10-20 which is really 10am to 8pm. That is clearly more than 7 hours a day. This isn't the only place that has a sign saying Open 7/7. The DeliTraitor, our version of a convenience store, also has a sign that says "Open 7/7 from 7:30 to 22:00". Maybe it means they are only open on July 7. I hope everyone writes in to explain this to me. Maybe it is as clear as can be and I just don't understand!
Monday, November 7, 2011
Last week the girls had the week off of school. We have always gone back to the US for Fall Break but this year we stayed in Europe because we are going back for Thanksgiving and for Christmas. We took a trip to Zurich but also had a little time to lounge around the house and do fun activities. Leah (above) learned how to use the bread machine. She made ricotta bread and french bread. Jennifer (below) didn't want to have her picture taken but she was really multitasking. She was making friendship bracelets for all her friends, chatting on Facebook and playing the piano on her iPad.
Instead of writing an entire post about the Zurich Zoo, I thought I would just put up a few of Leah's great photos on days when there isn't much else to write. She is a very good photographer!
What is Christmas without The Nutcracker? While in Zurich, I really wanted to see the ballet but online it said that the show was completely sold out. The Nutcracker in Zurich is performed at the Opera House, a beautiful building situated right on the lakefront. It is quite a clever place with their costuming and design department placed right on the side of the building near a walking path so everyone can see what the designers are working on. When we first arrived in town we accidentally got off on the wrong train and ended up in front of the Opera House! We went right to the ticket office and inquired about seats for the following night. The ticket agent said there would be no chance for seats but we could stop by 90 minutes before the show to see if anything opened up. Rejection. :( The next day the girls and I stopped by early in the afternoon to check out the seating status. The same guy was working the ticket booth and recognized us from the day before. He said we should come back in an hour and he might have something for us...below are the seats we got! Jennifer is sitting in the best seat in the house. Our seats were in the center of the floor section with a perfect view of the stage. I sat with Jenn and Leah sat in the row in front of us. At intermission Leah joined us since the seat next to me ended up being empty.
We also could have had seats in one of these very cool boxes but our view of the stage would have been obstructed.
This was my favorite scene from the show. The soldiers swung Claira like a swing and threw her into the air. They did it twice and it was unforgetable.
The show was beautiful with a wonderful orchestra and tallented ballerinas. The one thing that really surprised me was that there wasn't anything to buy like Nutcracker trinkets, posters or dolls. In the US, I could have bought everything from a wooden nutcracker to signed point shoes. I wanted to spend money, I really did, but I just didn't get the chance! After the show we had a hot chocolate from Starbucks and a pretzel from the train station!!
We just got back from Zurich and had so much fun. We have been there many times so we had to really search for new things to do. We went to the zoo (excellent) and The Nutcracker (even more excellent). I will post about both of those activities later but first I have to write about the pretzels. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE IN ZURICH! The picture above is from one of the many pretzel stands at the train station. At first the lady was excited to have her picture taken but then she just got annoyed with me and waved me off. Fresh pretzels are sold from sun up until sun down with a conveyer type pretzel oven in every stand. Most places serve them plain and then sliced throught the middle like a roll and filled with meat. Jennifer and I are drawn toward the one with butter spread between the two slices and Leah prefers the one with salami in between. They even make a hero type sandwich out of pretzel dough. One day the girls had a fried chicken patty in between the pretzel and said it was delicious. At some point during our trip we had pretzels for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Lucky us!
I have this continuing problem with missing socks. Maybe I am not the only person who suffers from this problem. Where do the socks go? I really don't think the washer or the dryer eats them and I don't think our laundry lady (me) is slacking in her job and losing them when she folds the wash. After laying out all our single socks on the counter in the laundry room, I made a horrific discovery...
None of the missing socks belong to me. They belong to people in my family who are older than 49 and younger than 47. Interesting.
I have never thought I was addicted to caffeine. Oh I know everyone else says it is highly addictive but I just never bought into the idea. Bob? Oh yes, he is addicted to caffeine. He MUST have coffee to get up and go. If he doesn't get enough caffeine, he knows to take two Excedrin because that will equal the caffeine amount he needs. Me? You can guess where I am going with this essay. I can drink coffee all day and sleep most of the night. (My sleep habits aren't normal at all anyway.) I never really thought caffeine mattered. I was immune! I do have one or two other addictions-
Polish Pottery
eBay
shoes
scarves
anything Coach
bargain hunting
spending money
Starbucks
my family
travel
My list is quite long but looks really indulgent and enjoyable, nothing like being addicted to Caffeine.
Anyway, I have been sick for the past 4 days with food poisoning. This was horrible and I am blaming it on a BLT (minus the L and the T) that I ate on Tuesday at 11am. By 5pm I was dizzy and aching all over. I thought I was getting a cold. I fed the girls their dinner but didn't eat. At about 8pm I decided I just had to go to bed but first, I ate another BLT (minus the L and the T) because I thought I was hungry. BIG MISTAKE!!! By 11pm it was clear that I was ill. I didn't get really bad until Wednesday around 11am and then I just couldn't do anything at all.
I am sure this is more than you need to know but I am getting back around to the caffeine addiction topic. Bob came home from a week in Prague on Friday morning. He made me some soup and left me alone. My head was killing me along with everything else. It was the worst headache I have ever had...ok I am exaggerating because if you know me, you understand that I actually had the worst headache in 2007 and I wrote all about that in June of 2008 on this blog. You can read about it if you want but that is an old story. Finally this morning after lots of complaining on my part, Bob told me to get up and drink 2 cups of coffee, take a shower and eat some toast. He claimed I hadn't had coffee in 4 days and needed to feed my caffeine addiction. I said I was not addicted to caffeine but followed his directions. Within 10 minutes I felt better, not great, but definitely better.
OK I will admit it. I get to add "addicted to caffeine" to my list of addictions. When you look at that list it should go right in between Starbucks and my family because those are the three things on the list I think I enjoy the most!
Last weekend Leah and Jenn went to Disneyland Paris to play with the ISB orchestra. They took the same trip last year. This time around Bob and I went along to chaperone. We got to stay in a very unique 2-star hotel. Please remember Bob stays at 5-star hotels all week long and even gets upgraded more times than not. We had the job of making sure kids went to sleep at a decent hour and got up in time to travel to the park to play in their concerts. We were there for 2 nights. Below is a picture of the hotel...actually it would be classified as a motel since the doors of each room open directly to the outside. At least it was clean but it was very tiny and Bob and I had twin beds..We were each in charge of groups of kids while we were at the park and had to check in with them frequently. Bob had all girls to look after which means I think his job was easy. I had mostly boys to keep up with. One time during the first day my group of 4 7th grade boys called to say they lost their money and couldn't eat. Here is that phone conversation...
7th grader: Hi Mrs. B
Me: Hi
7th grader: We lost all our money and now we can't eat.
Me: Were you robbed?
7th grader: No
Me: Did you drop your wallet somewhere?
7th grader: No
Me: Then where did your money go?
7th grader: Into the video arcade.
Me: You spent all your money in the arcade? All of it?
7th grader: Well we still have 3 euros.
Me: You have a problem.
Needless to say I gave them money to eat and a huge lecture. Then I made them swear that they wouldn't set foot in the arcade again. Their problems were not over though. The next day one of those squirrelly kids lost his ticket and couldn't get back in the park when they went from Disney Studios to the Magic Kingdom. One of the girls in Bob's group lost her ticket too. He had to sprint to the front gate from the back of the park to give her another ticket so she could make it in time to perform.
We have seen Disneyland Paris many many times. In fact, this visit was our 12th! But traveling with performers meant that we entered the park from the back. We saw the Christmas decorations ready to put out in a few weeks and the old Halloween decorations rotting in a holding area. We were told by our guide, Isabelle, that we were not allowed to take pictures or the magic would be ruined. She had a good point because now that I have seen the backside of all the hoopla, I am not as excited as I was before. We didn't see anything horrible like Mickey without his head but we did see Darth Vador readying himself to go out into the crowd. Yes it was a lot of work topped off with a bus ride that took double the time it would take in a car, but we had fun and would probably chaperone again.
Our tiny hotel room circa 1971.It was very clean so I guess it could have been a lot worse!
I am not sure how many people actually watched the live streaming of the volleyball game, but I understand the video actually stays on the website for quite some time and you can view it over and over and over and over... My dad watched and yelled at he screen and coached the girls through cyberspace!
The first half of the video is actually our U12 team. They are in blue. The coach is dynamite and was Leah and Jenn's 5th grade teacher. He came to ISB that same year so we were new together. Bob and I have watched his progress as a well respected and totally effective educator since then. He empowered our girls to make their own decisions and grow as international citizens. He really had a very positive effect on them. International citizen seems like such a lofty phrase that only a politician or a salesman might use but really the girls have become exactly what that label describes. They live in Belgium but they go to school with kids from all over the world. Their first assignment in that 5th grade class was to study cultures and religions all over the world. Back home in Indiana they would have been memorizing the capitals of the 50 United States. Granted they still don't know the capitals but hey, they can learn that anytime!
Anyway, the first game on the video is U12 and they are in blue uniforms. The 2nd half of the video is the U14 team. Leah and Jenn did not play in the first game. You can see them in the 2nd and 4th games playing next to eachother, numbers 6 and 10, with their hair in a ponytail. Honestly it is pretty hard to see who is who. They both had some great sets at the net and equally good serves. At the very end of the entire video, Jenn and then Leah are the last servers.
This weekend the team plays at Luxemburg on Friday and Saturday. Bob and I will make the short drive on Saturday morning to catch their game.
That's right all you volleyball fans...If you really want to see 14 year old girls play volleyball you will have your chance today at 5:15 my time. Just follow the direction below. Our team will be wearing white shirts. Leah is number 10 and Jenn is number 6.
1. Go to this website http://www.isb.be/page.cfm?p=2624
2. Click on the words Go to ISB Live Streaming Page
3. Enter the password 1170bxl
4. There will be choices for older videos but you will be able to watch the volleyball game sometime around 5:15 our time which is 11:15 in Indiana and 10:15 in Chicago/St. Louis.
Enjoy!!! (Just let me know if it doesn't work. You will still be able to see the game for the next week or so.)
That's right, Bob is 50 years old. I think his exact words were, "It's just another day." He got to celebrate with Maria on Saturday and his parents on Sunday. Then he flew home Monday morning (his actual birthday) to Belgium and celebrated with Leah, Jenn and me. And then he flew that same evening to Zurich and celebrated all over again with his team and coworkers on Tuesday. The cake just never ended for him! He got a very nice watch, some beautiful clothes, promises of future fun from the kids and a chance to drive in a race car. Nice. I will secretly take a few pictures of him this weekend so we can see what a 50 year old really looks like. But truthfully, I think Bob has never been better. He is a great dad and a great husband which are quite wonderful accomplishments for someone of any age!
Dear Bob and Maria,
Thank you so much for shopping for birthday presents for the twins. I am only the slightest bit jealous that the two of you got to be together in the US yet again just a month after we were there in Sept. And the items you picked out were so cute. I am sure Leah and Jenn would love them, if only they fit. You both lovingly picked out size adult extra small. Maybe in your memory Leah and Jenn are still young and short. But alas, they are 14 years old and tall!!! Leah is 5'7" and Jenn if 5'6". They wear adult size medium! At least the watches you bought fit them ok.
Love,
Julie/Mom
Parents Weekend at Purdue was a blast! We got the see Maria do her thing on the football field as a trainer for the Purdue Big Ten Football Team. She was great! None of the players got hurt so she didn't have to administer CPR or carry that big stretcher out onto the field.
It was a quick trip for Bob and me but it was so nice to be there. I am sure it is hard for Maria having her parents so far away. We can't just stop by for the weekend without it being a major event with international flights and tons of planning.
Bob and I actually flew from different locations. He traveled from Zurich and I came from Brussels. Bob's travel was flawless, mine was not. My flight took a detour to Canada so I ended up landing in Montreal, Toronto and finally Indianapolis. My luggage was lost somewhere between Brussels and Montreal so every time I went through customs I was questioned because I had traveled across an ocean without anything but a purse...very suspicious. While in Canada trying to arrange to find a way to Indy, I made a few phone calls on my US phone not knowing that I racked up $900 in roaming charges! AT&T thought my phone was stolen and alerted me. When we figured out what had happened, AT&T charged me $30 for the error and wiped out the $900 fee. I can't say enough about their kindness.
And in a blink, our weekend was over. Bob and I traveled back to Brussels together and landed all in one piece. The twins had a great weekend too being "babysat" by their old teacher, Mr. A. He took them to volleyball games, taught them how to make Carbonara and introduced them to a TV channel called MTV. :) Now they can cook and listen to music at the same time. (To clarify, I think it is actually a video channel and not MTV because it is just music and not reality TV.) I think they had just as much fun as we did!
I can honestly say this has been the very best summer in a long time. Somehow the fact that I totaled my car doesn't make a difference in how the events of the summer really went. I got to spend 7 weeks in the United States visiting every single family member. Both sets of parents went with us to Las Vegas and then they all came to Greenwood too. Bob started the kitchen remodel project which is really going to be beautiful. He has unbelievable building skills. I flew to Denver to see my brother and his family and Bob's brother came to us to be our electrical contractor. Maria was at Purdue all summer studying Anatomy and had exellent results. We saw her just about every week. Leah and Jenn had success at volleyball and orchestra camps and were completely addicted to the iPhone app, Craftgawker. I shopped til I dropped taking only 3 suitcases to the US but returning with 7.
Come to think of it, last summer was pretty great too. It looks like I am on a roll. I wonder what exciting things we will do in the summer of 2012!
While Bob was in Greece, Maria was at Purdue and the Leah and Jenn were at Nana and Papa's, I flew to Denver to see my brother and sister-in-law and their cute kids.
Kirstian, and unbelievable mom, with Valerie, Tom and Joe
Joe
Tom
Valerie
These kids are so much fun!
This picture describes my entire stay with my niece and nephews; action packed and loads of fun! Our plans were up in the air but we had the best time!!!
Jennifer and Leah are in their dresses from Las Vegas. They bought them from a street vendor. You can wear them in many many different ways. Jennifer is wearing the bracelet she made from directions she found on the iPhone app, Craftgawker. The two of them were so addicted to to that site all summer. They made so many crafty things out of string and duct tape. They look so grown up!
The family at the Balagio in Las Vegas. Mary and Primo are at the front with their cake.
We toasted everyone especially Primo and Mary on 60 years of wedded bliss!
Mary toasting 60 years of marriage and many more!
The cake was yummy!
In mid July we went to Vegas with both sets of grandparents. Before I write about the celebration, I have to say Bob and I are so lucky to be able to spend time with our parents and our girls are so lucky to be able to enjoy 2 sets of grandparents!
We all went to Vegas to celebrate the 60th wedding anniversary of Bob's parents. 60 YEARS!!!! That is a very long time. Mary and Primo toasted their years together at the Balagio during a lovely dinner right in front of the fountains. We ate wedding cake and drank lots of celebratory wine and champagne. After the celebration we enjoyed a nice week of gambling and swimming. We shopped a little, ate a lot and generally just relaxed. My parents, Bob's parents and the 4 of us (Maria was at Purdue) all stayed at different hotels. This might seem inconvenient but really just enabled us to eat at different places and swim at different pools. My parents were celebrating 49 years of marriage which is pretty impressive too. Next summer will be their year to really live it up!
