The last few months have been a lot of the same thing and, at the same time, so many new experiences. We all needed a little breather after our end-of-year road trip, but we still managed to fill our calendar with fun day excursions and even a spring break getaway for the family.
Ana’s Model United Nations trip to The Hague, Netherlands
Local Sights
Love finding new places in Belgium to explore. It never fails that we find something we’ve never seen before even if we’ve been to that part of the city.
The kids had a day off from school so we went up to Ghent, Belgium for some lunch and a little window shopping.
Random drive over to Lille, France to see what this little city had to offer.
Bubble Experience in Brussels, Belgium.
Lego Convention
Trying New Things
Lauren selling Girl Scout Cookies with her Brownie Troop.
Ana and I taking a Taekwondo lesson (we were too embarrassed to take a picture inside).
Violin Lessons
Hackathon at the School – AJ built and coded his robot and they won first place!
Random Acts of Cuteness
AJ’s crocheted toasted marshmallow man.
This guy…living his best life
AJ got a new Lego set and I told him this was my dream car, so he found pieces to make a Lego me to drive it.
Spring Break in Barcelona, Spain
We spent 6 days in Barcelona during the kids’ spring break. We didn’t have many plans other than a little beach time and lots of good food. Spain delivered!
First meal – seafood by the beach.
Arc de Triomf
La Boqueria Food Market
Lego store collecting stamps for their Lego passport.
Our favorite thing to do is eat at food halls. We get to try all kinds of food and in one place. The vendor I chose had a Michelin Star!
Beach day. Even though it was cold with the weather in the high 60’s, the kids still went in the water.
Dinner
La Sagrada Familia
Although this place was swarming with tourist, it was 100% worth it! I enjoyed every minute of our small group tour and am so glad we had a opportunity to visit this incredible cathedral.
Our guide told us that these holy water shell bowls were donated by the Philippines so we had to take a picture.
Breakfast
Park Güell. Walking around this enormous garden with architectural elements designed by Antoni Gaudi was a great way to spend a day.
Take 1
Take 2
Scroll through the images in this next photo gallery to see Ty’s artistic vision come to life. LOL, so silly.
Quick dip in the ocean before dinner.
We clean up nice.
Spring
Spring in Belgium is so magical. Here’s a look around the house and the neighborhood.
Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in Amsterdam, Holland.
Stopped at some tulip fields on the drive home.
Health and Longevity
I’ve done a good job sticking with my new weight lifting program for the past 7 months and have seen big results. Last October, Ty and I did a DEXA scan to measure lean body mass and fat %. Since then, I have put on 10 lbs of muscle, lost 5 lbs of fat and improved my body fat percentage by 14%! Really happy with my progress and will continue to do what I can to ensure I’m fit in healthy later in life. Ty’s idea of celebrating was a stop at McDonalds for lunch…can’t win ’em all.
Easter 2025
Started the day by adding some new plants to the front flowerbed.
Dyeing eggs.
Ana’s famous carrot cake for dessert.
We’ve been enjoying doing puzzles as a family lately.
Ana’s scones are fire!
Happy Birthday, Daddy!
The kids made Ty’s cake.
Mother’s Day
The ladies did a little shopping the day before mother’s day and Ana got me a new Hoya plant for the house.
AJ found some tissue paper (clearly leftover from Christmas) and decorated my desk.
Spent the day at the Filipino food festival in Brussels and then the rest of the afternoon was poolside at home reading a book. Couldn’t ask for anything else.
Junior Prom
Ana went to Prom with her friends in downtown Brussels.
We’re all caught up! The school year is coming to an end and we’re all looking forward to the family visiting next month. Can’t want to show them all our favorite spots and explore new places together.