The pilot turns 6

Cole turned six on March 28.  Again we had pizza and cake with the Hannestads and this time the Guinsbourgs joined us as well.  Then we had his class birthday party Saturday at David Lloyd with 13 friends in the pool.  The teachers did a great job keeping them entertained and the brownie cake was yummy if rather strange for a birthday.  At least I made him an awesome runway cake and star cupcakes for school.  Most of his friends stayed close to his aeronautical obsession and he got some great new gliders and airplane toys.  He said it was the best birthday ever!

Paris in Spring

We spent the Carnaval holiday weekend in Paris with the kids.  On the way down we stopped at the Air & Space Museum just outside the city. We boarded a deconstructed 747 and both a prototype and real Concorde.  Then a few miles later we spotted the Eiffel Tower and pulled into our hotel in Montparnasse.  We spent twilight walking around Notre Dame and the Ile St. Louis.  We acknowledged that we cannot enjoy sunset from a sidewalk cafe with Caroline in tow at this age so we had a savory dinner at a casual creperie.

Saturday, after a stop at one of many patisseries, we took the metro to the Place Trocadero.  With the sun rising through the Eiffel Tower we introduced the kids to Paris in its glory.  The kids rode one of the antique merry-go-rounds and then we finally walked to the base of the tower.  

We sat ourselves in the little playground by the tower and spent a few hours enjoying the view.  After our picnic lunch we rode a horse-drawn carriage around a few of the sights and finally metroed back to the hotel.

I took Caroline with me shopping at Monoprix while Lauren napped and later we walked down to the Luxembourg Gardens to check it out for the next day.  We managed dinner in a large, noisy cafe and early to bed.

Sunday morning the skies shown bright blue and we grabbed Starbucks, pastries and enjoyed feeling the sun warm the day in the Jardin du Luxembourg.  When the man arrived with sailboats to rent Cole and Lauren chose US and Belgian flagged vessels and Jesse had fun circling the pond to guide the boats with the kids.  We stopped in the manical park playground which the kids loved as well.  Cole told us he wanted to move to Paris immediately and we could understand clearly why after this trip.

After a final creperie lunch and a fresh, warm baguette from the boulangerie, we packed up the van, squeezed out of the garage and returned to Brussels.

Birthday Season

Caroline turned two on February 21 and we had a cute little celebration with Kate & Jonas and the kids (twin babies born Feb 1).  Caroline went from zero understanding to full comprehension that her birthday meant she got all the attention.  February 22 was a bit of a buzzkill for her.

We've had some beautiful days and spent time back at the playground and scooting around.  

Lara stopped in for a visit on her way to Ghana and we loved having her join us for a rainy day in Bruges.

Cole and Lauren are budding artists with that corner of the playroom getting the most use.  The two of them attended three days of art camp at a local atelier the week of Carnaval and I finally had time to get a haircut!

Sort of Winter

We haven't gone anywhere together in a while.  Jesse's been traveling a lot both in Europe and to the US.  The kids have school, I have my French classes and meetings with friends and there's no snow.  I've been updated of the current weather conditions in PA, WI and DC through Facebook and e-mail and I have to admit I'll take a dreary 40 degrees over freezing any day.  We've even had several days of bright blue skies and we've enjoyed being outside in Brussels.

Mom was here until January 22 and we miss her a lot.  Lauren went to her first drop off birthday party and had a fun time.  We've been enjoying the pool downstairs every weekend and will be sad to leave that little luxury.

Merry Swissmas

Christmas in Switzerland has been a success. The kids are enjoying ski school in the mornings.  Dad arrived without a hitch on Tuesday.  It snowed on Christmas and the next day.

We spent Christmas  Eve at a lovely local fondue restaurant though unfortunately I felt sick from dehydration and probably altitude sickness and couldn't enjoy that part much.  The next morning Santa was a hit and the kids, Jesse & I hit the slopes.  I took a three hour lesson and felt great.  A bit too confidant to leave the bunny slope and enter a blue piste and my swift wipeout put an end to my first ski day.  

That afternoon we drove to the Bains de Saillon, an outdoor thermal spa where all of us relaxed and enjoyed the extensive pools.  It was dark, cold in the air and warm in the pools.  Great Christmas evening.   

Thursday was a perfect post-Christmas day.  After skiing we rested at home and went down to play in the snowy playground until dinner where all the kids behaved and adults enjoyed food and drinks.  Jesse & I tried out the hot tub and went to bed all warm and cozy.
I talked myself into trying again and got back out on skis Thursday & Friday mornings.  This time I stayed on the graduate bunny hill and regained my confidence.  I feel so proud to have tried skiing at 35.  I want to someday be able to go with the kids. 

Getting to Switzerland

We drove to Haute-Nendaz, Seitzerland for Christmas.  It took 10 hours because we remembered we forgot our passports 30 minutes into the drive and had to backtrack.  The drive itself was luckily uneventful.  Luxembourg looks like Belgium, the Alsace wine country of eastern France is lovely and that box is checked, and Switzerland stops you to pay a 40 CHF tax when you enter the country.  

I've never had my own car in Switzerland and always relied on the excellent trains before.  Turns out the highways are excellent too.  They have more tunnels then I've ever seen, so we didn't have to wind through the hills until we came between Sion and Nendaz.  Then wind we did, climbing up the mountain to Chalet Henri, our rental home for the week.

We spent our first full day getting organized, renting the kids' equipment and playing at the playground in the snow.  The whole time I just kept looking at the mountains.  They are exactly as beautiful as I remembered them.  Totally worth the trip by themselves.  We took Cole and Lauren ice skating and then bungee trampolining before dinner and early to bed for their first day of ski school on Monday!

London

Last weekend Jesse, my mom & I took the kids to London.  Cities in the winter with small children, not exactly recommended, but we thought we'd try anyway.  It had its moments of why in the world did we attempt to do this, but fortunately, it also its moments of beautiful, fun awesomeness.
Friday after we checked in to our lovely hotel - St. Ermin's Autograph on Caxton Street in Westminster - we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace and over to Hyde Park.  It got a little cold and windy so we gave up on visiting Diana's Playground, but it's on the list for a warmer weather trip.  That evening we attended Evensong at Westminster Abbey for a few minutes at least until Caroline couldn't take sitting any longer.  I just kept thinking a very pregnant Victoria Beckham sat in the same seats to watch Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.
Saturday morning we rode the Underground to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  It was a beautiful, crisp, clear day and quite an impressive stop.  Then we headed to do our tour of the London Eye - so worth it!  Lunch on the South Bank and back to the hotel over Westminster Bridge.  So many people!  London at Christmastime is crowded!  I know its a huge city and all, but for some reason I expected all of these people to be dispersed.  They may well have been, but then after sunset, they all converged on Oxford/Regent Street to see the lights, shops and general sardine walking ambiance.  We visited Hamleys, an amazing toy store with toys we never knew existed (pictures were taken for future reference), we saw the 12 Days of Christmas light displays spanning the wide avenues, and after we rode a double decker bus back to the hotel through the theater district, we had room service so we could not see other people for a few minutes.
By the grace of my mother watching all the kids for the evening, Jesse & I headed out for drinks at the cozy Blue Boar, walking in the rain along the Thames and up through Trafalgar Square to Burberry on Regent Street.  Quite a flagship store.  We ended up grabbing more drinks at a small pub off Regent and then back to the hotel on the top of another double decker bus, nearly alone in the rain.
Sunday we tried to push it and walked all the way through Kensington to the National Science Museum.  It wasn't that great for toddlers, the kids were over it and except for Starbucks and the lovely homes and gardens we passed, probably not worth our trip.  So we called it a weekend, got the car and headed back home to Brussels.

Buckingham Palace - Queen was home

Hey kids - Big Ben and Parliament!

View from Westminster Bridge

Christmas decor at St. Ermin's

Tower of London and Tower Bridge

On the London Eye

Date night!