Lynn Reunion 2018

August brings one of our favorite yearly traditions, the Lynn Family reunion.  I'm so glad we're able to have these back out at my grandparent's house.  Even though they are gone now it's still full of memories and my Aunt Charlene and Uncle Phillip have worked hard to make repairs and get the house back in working order.  I was glad to be able to visit with my Uncle Clifford.  He reminds me of my Grandma Lynn.

A family fixture...the large catalpa tree out back

Mom with her siblings that are still with us:  Ginger, Leroy, and Charlene.  (We miss you Uncle Hugh and Uncle Ray!)

All the girl cousins in attendance.  Only missing 2

Both these boys are the sons of cops...and it shows!

Rachel made a new friend in Raylan

Marla was kind enough to pass out samples of Belgium chocolate from our trip.  I was not! 

My Aunt Ruth

July Wrap-up

After my little European adventure, the rest of July seemed fairly quiet.  We used the last few days before school to soak in a little more sun with the friends.

Borrow Lil' Blue for a spin in the sunshine...

And then it was time to start the 8th grade!  Summer moves fast around here!

Wrapping up in Waterloo

Our last day in Belgium was spent exploring nearby Waterloo.  Part of the 1815 monument that commemorates the Battle of Waterloo is a large mound of earth topped by a lion statue.   In French it's Butte de Lion or if you're a tourist from Indiana...Lion's Butt.  You can see the Lion's butt from Tina and Glenn's backyard.  So we capped off our week of sightseeing with a trip to the memorial and nearby Waterloo. 

As it would happen there was a geocache along a hedge on the border of the monument grounds.  So naturally, Olivia and I had to go find the "treasure".  After a mild amount of bushwhacking...success!

After a quick lunch at a Belgian McDonald's (another fun experience) we headed into Waterloo.  We took in some shopping and walked through the cathedral in the city.

After an adventure packed week, it was time to pack up the bags and head back across the ocean. We said our goodbyes and headed into the airport.

We had a small delay as we were in the wrong line for a few minutes, but we quickly found the correct check-in and were on our way through security.

Time to get comfy for this 8 hour journey!

Hello Lake Michigan....almost there!

Thanks for everything Belgium!

Saint-Idesbald & Bruges

After a low key day, it was time to road trip through Belgium.  We started off by meeting some friends of Tina's in Saint-Idesbald which was on the ocean.  It was a beautiful day to be on the beach.

 We also got to watch people catching shrimp to sell.  Apparently, Saint-Idesbald has a rare type of shrimp that is hard to come by.

After lunch on the beach, we headed toward Bruges.  There was shopping to do and chocolate to buy!  But first, we stopped inside Saint Salvadors cathedral and took in a choral performance.  The architecture and artwork was beautiful and the acoustics were stunning.  

Bruges was beautiful.  The architecture was just what you would imagine an old European city to be.

We bought our chocolate at a family-owned shop.  Chocolates were being made in the back of the shop as we browsed around.  I settled on several sampler boxes.  I spent more on chocolate that I ever had before in my life, but it would serve as souvenirs for quite a few people.

After our time in the Chocolatier, we passed a shop selling waffles and I couldn't pass this up!  A freshly made Liege style Belgian waffle with Belgian chocolate topping.  Heavenly!

With full stomachs, we headed back to Braine l'Alleud for a relaxing evening to recharge for the next day's adventures!

Slow(er) Tuesday

After 5 days in Europe, we had been in 3 different countries and been going non-stop.  We unanimously decided that a "down" day was in order.  We decided to head to a park that Tina's family had recently discovered near their home.  Huizingen was a beautiful park that had several playgrounds, many walking trails, a petting zoo, and a pool.  After letting Olivia explore the playground, Tina, Marla, and Olivia tried out the paddleboats on the pond.  I wandered around taking in the beautiful chateau and snapping photos. 

After our park fun, Tina drove us to a local dairy to see the milk machine.

At the dairy, there was a "vending" machine of sorts.  For 1 Euro you could fill a liter container with fresh "straight from the cow" milk.

There was also this structure an insect hotel.  The sign was in French so I still need to read up on what goes into making one of these and for what purpose.

After our milk purchase, we swung by the grocery store.  Marla and I made it evident that we were not local by snapping photos of weird food items and flavors and filling our cart with chocolate and waffles!

It was nice to have a relaxing slow day that included a tasty dinner of homemade pizzas cooked on the charcoal grill. Our day would conclude with this memorable sighting.

A wild hedgehog!  Olivia had kept insisting that there was a hedgehog in the shrubs.  I kept telling her it was probably the mouse we had seen earlier.  I had just got into bed when she knocked on the door telling us that we had to get up and go outside to see the hedgehog.  I insisted that there was no hedgehog and that I wasn't getting out of bed.  A few minutes later Tina came up and told us to come see the hedgehog.  As we walked out into the yard I had to tell Olivia that I indeed stood corrected....there he was, Sonic in the flesh! 

Off to Paris

This day was all about Paris.  We hopped on a commuter train in Braine l'Allued and rode up to Brussels.  There we boarded a high-speed train that would take us to Paris.  Had we drove the trip would have taken 3 1/2 hours.  The train got us there in an hour and 20 minutes.  We ended up riding backward for the entire trip, but it was so smooth that it didn't bother me at all.

As we were nearing the train station, Paris looked like any other urban area, full of high rises and graffiti.  After getting off the train we got on the subway to ride to Hotel Deville (which is where we would get on the Batobus on the Seine).  As we came up out of the subway station into a plaza the architecture and scenery screamed "Paris".  

We got our tickets for the Batobus.  This boat made a loop on the Seine and stopped at the main tourist locations.  We would ride up the Seine to the Eiffel Tower for our first stop.

We got off the boat and joined what seemed like hundreds of people headed toward the tower.  We had already decided that there would not be enough time to go up in the tower so we were content to walk around and take in the sights.  Unfortunately, the scenery was somewhat marred by construction going on around the base of the tower.  But it was still quite something to see something so iconic in person.

We made a stop for some souvenirs and waited to board the boat again.  We would ride it down to Notre Dame.  The view of the cathedral was gorgeous from the Batobus stop.

There were hundreds of people waiting to enter Notre Dame so we would once again have to be content with walking around and enjoying the outside of the building.

As we were walking from the back of Notre Dame back to the front we passed a cafe that was making fresh crepes for takeaway.  I had to grab one.  Marla said that she wasn't hungry.  I informed her that hunger had nothing to do with my decision.  I found myself walking up the side of Notre Dame eating a fresh warm caramel crepe.  Then it hit the top of the hour and the bells started ringing.  It was a perfect moment to take in and enjoy!

Even though it was a quick trip I had a great time taking in the most famous of Paris' landmarks.  Definitely an unforgettable day!