Happy Halloween

I'm getting chocolate on the keyboard as I type this, as I've had the difficult task of eating all of the kids' candy that I deemed 'unsafe' - oddly, a lot of the 'unsafe' candy included Reese's peanut butter pumpkins, Hershey bars, Twizzlers, and M&M's - funny, huh.

We were worried when we moved here to Belgium that there wouldn't be anything to do on Halloween, since they don't really celebrate it here. Luckily, we were wrong - they had a cool "Haunted Clinic" (using an under-renovation part of the base health clinic), a haunted forest, and tonight, a really big Trunk-or-Treat. Usually I think Trunk-or-Treats are kind of lame, but this was huge, with tons of cars, plus food carts and a couple of carnival rides. The doggies were even able to come. The kids brought home a huge haul of candy, which means that I have now eaten enough Halloween candy for a lifetime....or until next year.

Let Petit Chocolatier

Did I mention that I like chocolate? That's why I was especially excited about this week - it's a school holiday this week, so the kids went to a day camp - a CHOCOLATE-themed day camp (unfortunately they didn't accept adults at this camp). They did a bunch of Willy Wonka-type activities and crafts and - of course - learned to make chocolates from a local chocolatier. And best of all? They brought some home for Mom. Did I mention I love these kids?

Munchies at Maubeuge

Our poor doggies have been stuck in the kennel for the past week (we had a 'pet room' at the hotel for the first 10 days, but had to give it up, so the dogs have been in the kennel - affectionately called 'the goulag' by our friends - since then). We try to visit them to take them for walks as often as we can, so when we had a free Saturday, we decided to spring them for the day to take them for a nice, long walk.

At the same time, Ellie wanted to go to France - we didn't have time to go to Paris as she wanted, but the Belgian/French border is just a half-hour from our new house, so we thought we'd just drive over the border and see what we'd find. Right over the border, we found a town called Maubeuge, which dates back to the 7th century. We also found a McDonald's, which dates back, well, not as long. But we were hungry by then, so we swung in and grabbed some grub and went to look for a nice place to picnic and let the dogs roam. Little did we know that there was an old fort there. It's abandoned now of course, but it's really quite cool to walk around. It was a great place to walk around, and the dogs tore around that place like nobody's business. Not a bad picnic spot!


One picture can't capture the fortress at Maubeuge, since there are all sorts of battlements and bunkers and hidey-holes that the kids said looked like Hobbit houses.

Ellie was a bit afraid of being attacked - until we assured here that no one's been shot here for about 70 years.

The dogs had a blast tearing around this place

We had a hard time just getting Oliver to hold still for a picture

Although Otis didn't mind sitting and hanging with Ellie

And by the way, you'll see these hoodies a lot - it's chilly around these parts!

Road Trip!!

Usually, road trips are not a pleasant thing for us Sorensons. There's crying and screaming and fighting - and the kids aren't too well-behaved, either. But we took a road trip this weekend, and whatcha know, we actually had a lot of fun. Chalk it up to our new European attitude, or maybe the fully charged iPads, but whatever it was, we've gotta bottle it for the next time.

We had to drive up to Bremerhaven, Germany, to pick up our car at the port there. So we decided to make a road trip of it. On the way up there, we stopped and spent the night in Bremen, Germany. We lucked out that they were having their annual Freimarkt, a 979-year-old festival that they have this time every year. There were tons and tons of rides and food vendors, and we had a blast just walking around and checking things out. We did a couple of rides - which definitely wouldn't meet U.S. safety regulations - and ate some soft pretzels, Berliners, and apple turnovers. The party went long into the night and early morning, but we made it a relatively early night so we could get up and get our car early the next morning. Jared's favorite part of the road trip was driving on the Autobahn in Germany - and I have to admit, crazy speeds aside, those Germans know how to do things in an orderly way. I'm thinking I'd make a good German.

After picking up the car, we headed toward Amsterdam. Since we had to get back home that evening, we just spent the morning and early afternoon there, taking a really nice boat ride along the canals, walking around the Central Station there, and eating some yummy food. We can't wait to go back there again to really see the sights. And now that we actually know we can handle a road trip without bloodshed, the sky's the limit. Road trip, anyone?!?



The kids' biggest thrill along the ride in Germany? A McDonald's. We haven't seen a McDonald's since we moved to Belgium, so that was a pretty big deal for them. And yes, we totally ate there.

Fun at the Freimarkt - there were a ton of people there, and lots of rides and food - we stuck to the more tame rides, since our tummies were full of pastry

Look at us go!

The toboggan ride down was fairly tame - but the ride UP was crazy - it was kind of a magic carpet ride you kind of surfed up - or rather, you TRIED to. The kids were towed up by one of the workers, and Jared did some rather complicated gymnastics trying to stay on his feet. After seeing the guy in front of me turf it, I decided to walk up the stairs. Call me chicken, but with all the cell phone cameras around, I didn't want to end up in a YouTube video called "old lady face-plants on the magic carpet ride."

But I was NOT afraid to try out the local fare - and use the like 4 words of German I know to try and order it. Here's a yummy Berliner (kind of a jelly donut) - as JFK said, Ich bin ein Berliner!!

The next morning, after picking up the new car, we had breakfast in Bremerhaven. One thing I have to say - we have more yummy pastries in Germany and Belgium than I think I've ever had. Watch out waistline!

I look innocent, but I had already inhaled a gargantuan pastry.

Playing at the local playground in Bremerhaven

We were pretty tired by the time we got to Amsterdam that evening, so we hung out at the hotel, and got a fresh start the next morning. Here we are at the Central Station (train station) in Amsterdam.

We got breakfast at a yummy cafe near Central Station. Here's Jack eating some Dutch-style pancakes - before the nice Dutch man next to us told us that in Holland, they actually roll up the pancakes and eat them that way. Good thing we don't have "Stupid Americans" written on our foreheads!

Yeah, we should just give up on trying selfies. I think we're just too old.

We decided to take one of the smaller canal boat rides - there were just 10 or so of us on the boat, and a really cool captain/guide named Martin.

Apparently, Martin took leave of his senses and decided to let our children steer his boat.

I don't know if you can tell, but along some of the canals, they park their cars REALLY, REALLY close to the edge - we asked if they ever fell in - and apparently, yup, that occasionally happens.

We also asked if young girls ever crashed his boat, which Ellie came pretty close to doing.

Now, THIS is what I like to see at the end of a road trip. 'Til next time!

Europe is really dang old

Europe really IS really dang old.

As witnessed by the local playground we took the kids to today - which is on the grounds of Casteau d'Havre, which is really. dang. old. They're not actually sure how old it is, but it was talked about in the 12th century. Kinda old. Which makes it extra weird, when there's a nice new playground (complete with zip line) right near the castle ruins. Weird and awesome.


Our neighborhood castle - complete with moat! Can't have a castle without a moat, don't you know!

Have fun storming the castle!

Jack said the zip line was fun - but "it hurts my balls" - hopefully the French speakers at the park missed that part

Some Things You Maybe Didn't Know About Brussels...

If you haven't been to Brussels yet, there are a few things you may not know:

(1) The Grand Place really is, well, grand. A relatively small area, but really cool buildings, and tons of tourists of course.



While we were there today, there was some kind of firetruck display going on, and even Scottish bagpipes!


(2) The Mannekin Pis is actually quite small - and no, that's not a snide remark about his you-know-what - the statue is really tiny


Thankfully this was one of the last things we saw during our afternoon, which is good, since the kids spent the rest of the time making pee jokes


(3) Did you know the Smurfs came from Belgium? Well, now you do. You're welcome.


(4) Apparently it's ok to pee in public if you're a guy


Which is a good thing for Oliver, since he left a Hansel-and-Gretel-like trail of pee and poop across Brussels. (And before you judge, we made sure to get him to a grassy area at least hourly - the poor puppy was just a bit stressed by all the crowds. Not to mention all the people who wanted to take his picture. Why? Don't ask me, but at least a half-dozen people snapped his picture. Go figure.) So...lesson learned for traveling with Oliver? Bring lots of water to hose things down.


(5) They have a LOT of chocolate in Brussels. No, I mean a LOT. There must have been, what, a dozen chocolatiers just in the mile or so around Grand Place. Lydia is happy.




Very happy, indeed.

First Days

It was the first day of school (again) for the kids. First day of school at SHAPE Elementary in Belgium, that is. They were understandably a little worried when we took the tour the other day, but seemed fine when Jared dropped them off in the morning. And when they came home in the afternoon? All smiles. Good first day. Meanwhile, it was also my first day back at work, after a few days off for the move. Despite some odd hours working with people 6 hours behind me, I'd have to say it was also a good first day.

Off for their second-first-day-of-school

This is the story of my work life now, trying to remember what time it is in D.C. so I don't try and schedule a meeting at 3am.

And these are my officemates. They're pretty smelly as far as officemates go, but at least they agree with everything I say and don't fight me over the thermostat.

Chocolate, waffles, and fries, oh my!

The kids and I had three important goals when we arrived in Belgium:
(1) eat Belgian chocolate
(2) eat Belgian waffles
(3) eat Belgian fries

Well, I'm happy to report that we've achieved goals 1 and 2. And I'm not embarrassed to say, we've completed them several times (chocolate and waffles are full of vitamins and minerals, right?). Turns out they have waffles all over the place - even at gas stations. But of course, some are better than other. The other day we got some REALLY good ones at a place called The Grand Place - it's kind of a central market area in downtown Mons. Short of driving to Brussels, the waffles there are pretty close to getting the best around. We also have been sampling chocolate left and right and left again. We still haven't yet been to a fritterie (which serve, you guessed it, frites, or fries), but don't worry, we've got our eyes on the prize, my friends, and we'll get there.



Hanging out at the Grand Place - if you can't tell, it rains a lot here. So you can just refer to me from now on as "Lydia of the Frizzy Hair"

The doggies even enjoyed the Grand Place - although not the rain (I'm with ya)

Mmmmm, waffles

House Hunters International

Have you ever watched "House Hunters International"? Knowing that we'd be moving overseas, I started watching that to see what I'd be getting myself into. And it's a good thing, so that when we went into the house we eventually chose, I didn't scream out "are you KIDDING me? How do you people LIVE this way?" Don't get me wrong, I think we're going to love our little house that we picked out. But there ARE some things that us Stupid Americans maybe aren't used to. For example...

-a teeny tiny refrigerator (although luckily, the military provides a larger one for us Stupid Americans)
-no dryer (but again, luckily the military provides that as well)
-no garbage disposal (and when I asked the guy in the rental office about that, he just stared at me and said, we don't do that in Belgium (not said but implied .... you Stupid American)
-a teeny tiny driveway (to hold the teeny tiny cars that they drive)
-a teeny tiny oven that in NO WAY, SHAPE, or FORM is going to hold my cookie sheets. I need to take a moment to mourn.
-no carpet - tile or wood floors everywhere - but that is actually a good thing for a family with two dogs in a rainy climate - carpet bad with smelly dogs
-some fairly teeny tiny bedrooms (the master is a good size, but the kids' rooms and the guest room are pretty small - hey, did I mention we have a guest room? Hint Hint)
-weird showers - or in our case, not really a shower at all - it's more like a bathtub with a handheld shower thingie - translation, there will be water ALL OVER THE FLOOR after our kids bathe

All that being said, it's really a cute little house, and I think we're going to love it. The location is good (10 minutes from the kids' school, 10-20 minutes from Jared's work (depending on which office he's in), about 3 minutes from the mall, and about 5-10 minutes from 'downtown.') So a pretty good location - especially since you consider that Jared's Pentagon commute was sometimes an hour-and-a-half or more. The house has a big, beautiful yard. And even though inside it's smaller than our house back in Virginia, it's got what we need - including a small guest room, hint hint!

We get to move in there at the end of October, so we will literally be counting down the days. Some people love living in a hotel - but some people don't have two kids and two dogs with them.

Cute little Belgian house, here we come!!

Meet the Expats

Well, my friends (or should I say, mon ami), we are officially expatriates. We arrived in Belgium two days ago, and have been spending time settling in - and getting used to being non-French-speaking-Americans in a mostly-French-speaking area. (Note to self - learn French.) We're heading out again to explore the countryside, so I'll bid you a fond adieu (see, I know some French! croissant! a la mode!) until next time.


The bags were packed - all 16 of them, plus 2 dog crates - and piled into the van that took us to the airport

There are my world travelers - who I must say, handled the cross-Atlantic trip with great aplomb. Aplomb, I say! Look it up!

Taking two dogs as cargo on a plane is no small feat - a trip to the vet, another trip down to Richmond to turn in the vet paperwork, and an extra hour in the check-in process - I know of two dogs and one boy who were none too happy about that hour

Poor widdle Oliver - good ol' 10-year-old Otis did just fine, but by the time we got Oliver, the poor guy was shedding all his hair off out of stress; good thing we don't have to do this for another 3 years

We're leavin' on a jet plane

Because of the time difference, we arrived in Brussels 1am our time - but 7am their time, so we went about our day with the little sleep we had managed on the plane - the kids managed to do great while we were walking around, but the minute we'd hit the rental car, it was lights out

The best cure for jet lag? French pastry for lunch!