Ethan's 10th B/day Sleepover

 Ethan had his three best friends over for an early b/day celebration.

 This cake was going to be the death of me.  This was the second attempt. Thank goodness it tasted great!  Ethan was very adamant about having a homemade cake with Dad's buttercream icing.  

 It was a NERF bday.  He received bullets, a new gun, and a gift card to buy more nerf!

 I found a few minute to win it games.  During this game, they had to use straws to pick up skittles and move them to their plate at the other end of the table.  

 This game was hilarious!  They had to get the oreo in their mouth, but couldn't use their hands!  

 I love this photo!

 Here, they had to build a pyramid with 15 cups and then restack them!  Ethan has been playing with the these cups since Saturday night.  

 No one was able to complete this one.  They had to keep two balloons in the air for a minute.  

 I laughed and laughed with this one.  They wore pantyhose with a tennis ball in the end.  

They had to knock down the water bottles.  

 Each kid had a different strategy.  

 No one completed this one either.  They had to pull all the tissues out one at a 

time with only one hand.  

 The boys called this one junk in the trunk.  We put marshmallows in the tissue boxes, and they had to dance around to empty the boxes.  

 Success from all!

The boys were not super excited to play the games at first.  They wanted video games and nerf, but in the end they all loved the games and had fun!!

Memaw and Pappy will be here on Ethan's actual bday!  I guess the tenth bday deserves two parties!

Kulinarische Wanderung

 One my very favorite local things to do is the Culinary Walk in Rodenbach.  

 There was even a new food stop this year!  This BBQ pork skewer was AMAZING!!!!  

 There was a little curry in the sauce and Ethan thought it was way too spicy!

 We tried to save the bouncy house for the end!  At each stop, they asked how much longer!!!

 OH....I see it!

 Each stop had a pretty big line, so the kids played while the Daddy's bought food.  

 We enjoyed BBQ skewers, BBQ pulled pork, and flammkuchen.  

 We stood in this line for dessert.  Unfortunately, they ran out about three people in front of us. 

 We headed to the bouncy house.  Unfortunately, everyone else did!  The kids were getting trampled!

 The van below honked at the boys as I took this picture!

We spent about three hours walking and eating and playing!  The kids were troopers!!!  

After School Fun

 The weather here is CRAZY!! Last week we all needed jackets.  This week it was t-shorts weather.  We have TWO free afternoons a week, so on Wednesday

we invited the besties to come over and have a water gun fight after school!

 When I was growing up, my closest neighbor was a 70 year old lady!  

We never had friends over after school!  It just wasn't possible!  

I think that is why it fills my heart to see them playing and hear the laughter in our backyard!

Tongeren, Belgium

                             

Bri and I went to Tongeren, Belgium this weekend for their weekly antique flea market.

We were both surprised to learn that Tongeren was established in 15 BC by the Romans.  The city has part of a stone wall still intact.

Neither of us had anything specific in mind to buy.  But, we did have somewhat high expectations.  We had heard lots of great things about this market.

                                  

I don't think a 2009 Astra Zeneca poster qualifies as antique!

If you wanted a demijohn, you could find one about every 20 feet!  

There were lots of dead animals for sale.  I have never seen so many dead turtles in all my life! 

 We also saw lots of bear skin rugs!  

                                  

We went into an actual antique store.  This piece was amazing!!  

I don't think it would have fit in my car!

                                         

This beautiful Swedish Mora clock was my favorite find of the day!
I am hoping to find one of these at the Ramstein Bazaar this week!  

This piece was also gorgeous.  It would look amazing with the clock and hutch!  

Out back the yard was filled with old tiles!  It would be fun to add to a paved patio.

I wasn't super impressed with the market.   If you wanted an old brass candlestick, a porcelain knick knack, or an English tea set, this was the place for you!  

These are two of my three purchases.  I took the picture from the webcam and iPhoto does not have a mirror function.  The book is a 1924 book in ENGLISH about Old Ships! I knew the boys would love it!  The teapot is a Villeroy and Boch brand new teapot.  I thought it was cute and we need a new teapot!  After researching the teapot at home, I learned it sells for over $100.  I paid 15 euro!  I had no clue!   I just lucked out.  I bought one more thing, but it's a gift for my dad.  Nate laughed and said, "Oh you bought your dad a used old gift!"  I like to think it's an antique! :)

I learned a valuable lesson this trip.  I think that I like new items that look antique!  

Reading/Homework

With the exception of a two page homework packet that Link gets done in about ten minutes on Monday, reading seems to be the only homework that the boys have this year.  HURRAY!  After fighting with them to pick out books at the library this summer, I decided to go when they were at school and pick out some books that I thought they would enjoy.  So far, so good!  

We are on our second set of books and no complaints!!  

We've also constituted a no video games Monday-Thursday rule.  Besides the minor grumblings (Link said his childhood is ruined), it's going well!  As I type this, they are upstairs playing legos!  

It seems we are all happy with second and fifth grade!