So in a nutshell, here's what I've been doing since report card writing:
1. Taking (little ole me in charge) 76 children and 8 adults to Arnhem, Holland for four days (see map for the distance we drove in a double-decker bus with a mini van driven by my colleague Jon--it took us just under 4 hours). Arnhem is near Nijmegen and was the site of the failed airborne battle called "operation Market Garden" in the autumn of 1944...it was recorded later in a movie called "A Bridge too Far". Several months afterward, in the winter of 1944, Canadians liberated this area and we went to see the Canadian cemetary after the liberation museum tour by several elderly Dutch who were children at the time of the occupation. That was one of many activities we undertook but this trip followed the exact same itinerary as last year's so you can just read the archived blogs (June 2008) for our events.
2. celebrating Jon's significant birthday at the same time as celebrating the end of the school year. Here's a picture of my colleague and his spouse who opened his house in Overijse for a barbeque on one of the first nice days of many we've recently enjoyed:
3. having our own barbeques with friends new and old. I think we've cooked outside or have been guests where someone has cooked outside every day but one in the last ten days...its been lovely. Oh, and we've been hosting Canadian friends as well. Here's a picture of Greg and our family stopping for a break at the commune market's wine stall. He visited for three weeks off and on during his European tour and seemed to take to the domestic life with children...we dragged him to a party or two, out on the town to buy children's shoes, cafe-dining for moules and frites and he didn't seem to balk at all...but a confirmed bachelor I think this one is ladies, so unless you own your own plane, can cook pizza with roasted vegetables and are willing to have Greg keep his scotch collection in your liquor cupboard then I think he'll be a fine fish that evades your net, girls...
4. visiting the coast for some sun, sand, surf and creme soleil! On Canada Day we went to De Haan by train and tho' the weather was stinky in the city (27 and humidex of 32--Belgium called this a heat wave) it was fresh and perfect at the coast only 70 kms away. This is one of the widest ocean beaches I've seen: smooth sand, a fast outgoing tide and lots of shells for my little clam diggers to discover. As for the sun block, we applied in patches, and everyone regretted the lack of full coverage: I got a face burn and the back of one leg just fried, and the first born got slathered, but then bent down to do his sand castle construction and got a stripe of a burn just above the bathing suit line. We had to run to the pharmacy that evening, I tell you! (did you know you can't buy benzocaine/solarcaine spray anymore? Why is that, I wonder?)
5. Hosting M's little friend, S for several playdates and overnights, his parents for cocktails, barbeques and guitar jams. S and his family are part of the diplomatic corps from Lithuania and unfortunately for M have come to the end of their stay here in Brussels. The dad worked for NATO and is being shipped back to Vilnus next week. Our first born is devistated, as he's a one-friend-kid...this has been his buddy for the last 10 months--they even went to an AC/DC concert (chaperoned by their dads) together last month. We took S to the beach with us, and here's a pic of the boys running on the sand after having dipped their toes into the frigid water for the first time...they did eventually get in, and had a marvelous day body surfing and playing in the sand.
Ah, the life...now what will the next seemingly unlimited holiday weeks hold? We've got planned five days of a day-camp of tennis and multisport for the little one, tennis and horseback riding for the elder--then we'll jet over to Ghent for a music festival the week after just to stay busy. We hope the weather holds, it has been 26 (or more) and sunny for a week with only one brief half hour of rain today...tomorrow looks less promising, however...this is Belgium where it can be teeming rain and then half an hour later be blazingly bright without a cloud in the sky--no grey moods allowed here--there's always sun after the storm!
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday |
 26° C | 14° C | 23° C | 13° C | 19° C | 14° C |  20° C | 12° C | 16° C | 8° C |
| Chance of Rain 20% chance of precipitation | Chance of Rain 40% chance of precipitation | Chance of Rain 40% chance of precipitation | T-storms 60% chance of precipitation | Chance of Rain 50% chance of precipitation |
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