Home for the holidays

This year we got to come home for the holidays. The kids loved the snow but best of all for them (and us) was being around family. While Santa explained in his letter that he left his gifts under the tree in Brussels, the kids did get spoiled by family. 

 

 

Christmas with Opa's family

Tonight was Christmas with Opa and his family. We were thinking of grandma, off is sunny Calfornia, while we all chatted and caught up. 

It was a fun time. The kids enjoyed playing with the dog, having Emma painting their faces and being silly to entertain the grown ups! 

 

 

 

Winter wonderland

Touch down in Ottawa and someone ordered us perfect winter weather! The kids have been sledding, snowball fighting, building forts and snowmen. It's been glorious snowy and mild. 

 

 

 

 

A night away

Over the past two weeks we have arranged sleepovers for our kids with good friends of our. One weekend we watch the 6 kids, the next they do the same, so that we could each have a bit of time to explore without the kids. This past weekend was our turn.

We booked a hotel near the German border. We explored the Christmas markets in Aachen and Monschau. 

First was Aachen, Germany. Here we explored the cathedral of Charlemagne. It was spectacular. Such incredible mosaic work and stained glass. 

 

 

After that we drove to the little village of Monschau, Germany. This fairytale village of half timber house and mills, with its castle on the cliff overlooking it all, was magical. A musician sat on a rooftop playing Christmas music on a trumpet. Incredible. 

 

The next morning we crossed over to the Netherlands to see the market in Maastricht. This one was more family oriented with rides and carnival games. 

 

It was really fun to see how the Christmas market differ from one to the other. 

Football World Cup Qualifier: Estonia vs. Belgium

I was invited to a World Cup qualifying match where Belgium (FIFA rank no. 5) hosted Estonia (FIFA rank no. 122) here in Brussels.  

My lasting memory is HUGE energy from a crown that alternated between 4-5 different songs, including one song which was only the Belgium Captain's sung over and over again:

EDen hazard
eden hazard
EDen, EDen, EDen haZARD!!!!

The beer was reasonably priced. 2.50/cup

Also in person, no instant replays on the big screen at all.   I was told this was to keep the crowd calm in case of a bad call.  

No batteries required

This week was Sammy's school production. He played a green crayon in a play about how simple toys, like teddy bears, books and crayons are just as fun as electronics. A great message and a fantastic performance. I wish I could share the video here! 

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like..,

Today the Christmas tree went up. Even though we will be headed home for Christmas we wanted to decorate. 

 

One tradition we've picked up is the Christmas pickle. The Christmas pickle is a glass ornament that you hang on the tree last. The kids then search for it. The first one to find it gets a treat.