Saturday in Barcelona. Wow. I can't believe it is only our third day here. I went for a quick run down La Rambla to the beach. The buildings on the coast were beautiful and very ornate. I finally feel like I know my way around the city a little bit. One of our goals with our whole time here in Europe was to teach the kids that they can get around any city if they can read a map and that if they are calm and logical they can get their way into or out of most situations. I think this trip has really highlighted their acquisition of some of these skills. Again, Emma astounds me with her ability to recognize places. We were about to walk right by our street one day when she pointed ... read more

Another travel day. Today that meant getting up at 6, getting the kids up at 6:45 and biking to the train station. We then two took trains to Charleroi and a city bus to the airport. The kids were thrilled that there was, once again, a little plastic house to play in near the terminal. Sometimes happiness really is the simple things. The flight to Girona was about an hour and forty minutes. The kids all did fantastic which gave me hope for our long leg going home in January. Once in Spain we had to navigate our way to Barcelona. I am not sure in the end that these tickets were worthwhile since we ended up spending so much money on shuttle buses but the whole weekend was so fantastic it that it doesn't really ... read more

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that is easy to enjoy. All you need is good food and good company and you suddenly feel lucky. We had a great time working together with our friends to create a memorable feast that we were able to share with friends here in Leuven. The Menu: Green Bean Casserole (this was not your mom's version with cream of mushroom soup but instead the richest dish ever complete with crispy coated onions on top), maple glazed sweet potatoes with apples (thanks to my mother in law for introducing this dish to me, which will always make my Thanksgiving complete), squash, potatoes (this au gratin type dish with sliced potatoes, cream and green onions was brought by Zoe and was in a head to head competition with the green beans for ... read more

We purposely planned our time in Europe so that we would be able to take advantage of the nice summer weather for travel and use the fall to entertain visitors. We thought this would give us the opportunity to explore many places so we could give any guests informed travel advice. Aside from the fact that the weather was miserable this summer this plan has worked really well. Now we are knee deep in visitors from home. My mom and four of her friends arrived a few days ago. Dazed they tackled Leuven on day one, and rented a car on day two to drive to the Netherlands where they would spend the night in Amsterdam. While they were touring windmills one of Jonathan's colleagues from home and his wife arrived. On their second day they ... read more

The long awaited, much anticipated arrival of friends from our hometown is here! The girls have been beside themselves with excitement for weeks, diligently marking off the calendar we made and trying to plan every minute of their playtime with their pals. Friday, October 19 our friends Amy & Patrick and their son Cole arrived. After a quick nap we made them forget about their jet lag with a trip to our local palace, Arenburg, and for the more important cappuccino next door (while the kids played on the hotel swing set). We went out for some traditional Belgian food that night and watched the Red Sox highlights and felt like we were almost back in Massachusetts. Saturday morning our friends Bill & Wendy and their kids Collin and Sophie arrived. It was officially a houseful ... read more