Last few days in Belgium

Chloé took all the group photos, so as soon as I get back to Paris I'll post some photos with me actually in them!  The last few days at the beach were spent mostly indoors, as it was chilly and windy.  We went one day to fly kites, and of course the girls chose the papillons.  The most impractical kites ever made, but with all that wind nothing was keeping them out of the air.  

Violynne teaching Marie-Césare how to fly her kite,

Violynne, Louise, and Olivier

Marie-Césare was interested at first, but she quickly realized it was a little hard work to keep it in the air so she let Violynne have her kite and she played in the cold, wet, sand.  Clemence let go of her kite accidentally at one point which resulted in me getting a little exercise for the day.  I forgot how hard running in the soft sand was and how far that kite went in the blustery wind.  

The chilly weather gave us lots of time for eating...especially picking up some delicious Belgian chocolates.  

Chloé didn't get out of her pajamas until it came time to cook dinner that night.  Roast chicken and potatoes for a cold day was perfect.  After dinner we put all the kids to bed and the adults stayed up to watch a movie...in French.  At one point we all looked around the room and laughed out loud as we were all piled up on the couches with blankets and popcorn like little kids.  Marie-Césare did not sleep well that night and woke me up 3 times.  I was exhausted the entire next day.  Luckily it was another rainy day so we didn't do anything.  I went with the boys and Franck to see Harry Potter 2, even though I hadn't seen a Harry Potter movie since the very first one.  I don't really like Harry Potter, but I jumped at a chance to get out of the house for a little while with the boys.  While I was gone at some point, Marie-Césare had heard Justin Bieber's Baby.  So now she was walking around the house screaming, "Baby, Baby, Baby, Ohhh!!!" There was a purpose in me not letting her listen to that song.  I knew that those would be the only words she knew, and I didn't want to hear them 24/7.  Well, I held out as long as I could.  The rest of the week we heard, "Baby, Baby, Baby, Ohhh!!!"  

The next day we went to Clown City in a neighboring city, De Panne.  I went along just for fun, Chloé told me I wasn't needed but I thought it was more of an arcade/game place.  No.  We walked in to hundreds of screaming kids and parents and giant slides and climbing apparatus'.  I couldn't believe a place like this existed.  There were sweaty kids and people hitting each other everywhere.  We found a cramped table beside the lego area and kids were throwing legos at each other and hitting them over the head with them.  There were no staff members around like there would be in the States.  'Every man for himself' was the attitude there.  

Clown City

The kids had a good time but they were all hot, sweaty, tired messes by the time we had to go.  The last day the beach was beautiful so we had a little bit of time to fit last minute sunshine in.  That last day Marie-Césare wasn't afraid of the water and we got in very deep!  Deep enough to where she had to hold my hand because the waves would knock her over.  Louise was starting to shout my name instead of her mother's...which I'm not sure was a good thing.  We rode on the boogie board and buried Tim in the sand.  We bought pastries on the beach (yes, that's right...instead of ice cream they walk around selling pastries) and ate true Belgian fries for lunch.  

Burying Tim...A summer tradition.

Fries on the beach.

It was a great last day at the beach, but we dusted off the sand around 4, got in the car, and drove 45 minutes to a beautiful farm in the countryside where we were meeting some more of their friends for a weekend of relaxation.  Their friends had a daughter who was 10, Victoria.  She was a very quiet, sweet girl who seemed to enjoy hanging out with the boys instead of Marie-Césare....can you blame her?  That's quite an age difference.  

We had a delicious dinner Friday evening outside our farmhouse overlooking the horse pastures and the beautiful sunset.  Saturday was rainy (I learned that it rains A LOT in Belgium) so the girls went to Bruges for some shopping for the day.  The guys went to a war museum.  Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is considered the "Venice of the North."  I now know why.  The city was old and beautiful...with small winding streets and brick buildings.  

Streets of Bruges

Victoria and Marie-Césare

As the day wore on, the little girls got tired, so we went to a Seapark there in the city to keep them a bit occupied.  That's honestly the last thing I would want to do in the beautiful city of Bruges, but it turned out pretty good.  We went to see the dolphin show, which was more impressive than expected.  

Our farmhouse

The most beautiful view

Not scared at all of the animals on the farm.

We arrived home after our rainy afternoon of shopping and trudging around through the Seapark and we looked like wet, soggy, dogs.  Even though I had an umbrella and my rain jacket, you couldn't help but get soaking wet!  Their friend cooked a delicious fish dinner and knowing that we had a long car ride back to Paris the next day and I had a 14 hour flight home early Monday was great incentive to get in the bed early. 

My flight home was good, although a lot longer than the flight to Paris.  Maybe I just wasn't filled with anticipation like I was on my way there....but those 10 hours to Dallas seemed to draggggg by.  The food was decent and I thought they were going to drown us in all the beverages we were offered.  I can't imagine why they would want us to get up and use the bathroom but they sure didn't have any reservations about it.  In Dallas I stopped to buy a sandwich and turned to the vendor and said, "Merci, Bonne Journée!"  Just out of habit....let's just say he gave me a very strange look.  By the time my dad and Beverly picked me up in Nashville it was 3:30 am my time...and my eyes sure showed it.  I was hit with a blast of hot southern air as we stepped out of the airport.  So hot and humid it almost took my breath away.  I have spent this week seeing my family and friends, and spent Friday shopping in Nashville with Laine and mom looking for grove dresses and college things.  Saturday afternoon the Flynn's came over for lunch and it was so good to see everyone.  Toni's daughter Kerry is going to be an au pair in London next year and she was able to come and see everyone before she left!  I also got to see my precious and most favorite little cousin Landon...and Melanie of course!  I enjoyed spending every moment with them, and it was so good to see how he has grown so much...just in the past year!  I can't believe he is going to be 3 in a week!! 

As most of you know, my grandfather (dad's dad) died early Sunday morning.  He hasn't been well for some time now, and it is so wonderful the way God's timing worked out.  I am so thankful that I was able to go see him this past week at the hospital, and am even more thankful that I am here during this time.  It has been a blessing in so many more ways than I can count.  I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers, and know that nothing goes unnoticed.