Grab yourself a snack because this is a long one, as you can tell by the title. This post covers 5 months, 7 countries, half a dozen flights, and so many memories. Really should have broken this up in to several updates, but I was on a role and had to keep the momentum going.
This is America! It’s been a couple years since Ana was back in the US and forgot how abundant the grocery stores were. She had to get a picture in the chips aisle.
All the pictures I have while we were in CO are food related. Are we surprised? I’m not.
It was Aprille’s birthday while I was there so we celebrated a few different ways…all around food, of course! Dessert and embarrassing happy birthday song by the staff, tasting menu dinner with the siblings, and then a home cooked meal with all her favorite dishes.
Easter
Bugging Jojo at work.
Spending time with this little girl.
Back in BE. Annual Filipino food festival. Never disappoints.
Still spring!
Passport appointment at the Embassy means QT and brunch for this girl
Happy birthday, daddy!
Went to Pairi Daiza for Mother’s Day. This has got to be the best zoo I have ever been to in my life. We spent more than 5 hours there and still didn’t see everything. The grounds and displays were beautiful. Highly recommend.
Ended the day with homemade carrot cake…made by Ana.
First time baking bread from scratch.
Boba 🙂
Mini Europe in Brussels and then gelato at our favorite neighborhood spot.
Lunch in Leuven
Getting a bit nostalgic about leaving BE at the end of the year so I’ve started taking pictures of everyday things that I’ll want to remember. These are from my walk with Momo right in our neighborhood.
Speaking of leaving. You might be wondering where our family is off to next and the answer is….HAWAII! I guess my vision board worked! But really though, we accepted the fact that there were no opening positions on the upcoming move list for Ty that we wanted and fully expected we’d be moving back to Colorado after our assignment here, assuming he’ll have to retire. To our utter surprise, he was slotted into a job in Hawaii. We are really excited! Even though I’m not a beach person, I know this will be a great experience for the kids and I’m looking forward to the adventure.
Kids’ Heart Award assembly.
Our neighborhood hosts summer gatherings in the park and they set up lawn chairs, bring in food carts and set up a bar for everyone to hang out Friday afternoons. Love it here.
Soaking up the sun.
Still a little too cold to jump in the pool, so this is how the kids got their fix.
Gonna miss our personal baker when she moves out in September. Homemade ube ensaymada.
Last day of school for this senior. Seriously, where does the time go? The picture she’s holding is her very first day of school. I’m not crying, you’re crying!
Visit from the Mendozas.
Ty talked me into partnering with him for the NATO Throwdown Challenge. BTW, it happen to take place on our 23rd anniversary. I want to believe we’re both pretty fit compared to the average person, but this was one of the hardest things we’ve done together. A full on crossfit competition with 3 events. We totally held our own and so proud we finished without any injuries or tears. Team 23!
Before
After.
In case you’re wondering, we did celebrate our anniversary properly with a 7 course dinner at one of our favorite Michelin rated restaurants, Maxime Colin.
Happy 12th birthday, Anthony Paul! Kept it pretty low key and brought cupcakes that he baked and decorated with Ana to his class and then had pancit and presents for dinner.
Prepping for Ana’s graduation party.
Senior things
Family lunch before the Ana’s graduation ceremony.
Ana’s class of 18 seniors represented 7 different countries. The ceremony was intimate and personal, such a difference from the 800+ student graduations in the States.
For each graduate, the speaker read their personal statement and this was part of Ana’s: from The Perks of Being a Wallflower – “And there are people who forget what it’s like to be 16 when they turn 17. I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We’ll all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song and that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are infinite.”
Congrats Brussels Unit School Class of 2026!!!
Party time!
Lunch in Ghent before the family took off.
Anthony Paul and Lauren’s violin recital. I was nervous for them since this was the first time that they performed in front of a crowd but they did great!
Girls doing girl things.
For Father’s day the kids made pancakes for breakfast then we went out to eat some of his favorites: Schnitzel and German beer.
Trying out a new restaurant. The tasting menu at Mimmoa was unique and so tasty!
Summer pool party with some of their classmates.
If the NATO Throwdown Challenge wasn’t enough to deter us from future physical challenges, I joined Ty in another one just a few weeks later: the US 250th Anniversary Fitness Challenge. It was a team challenge and definitely more our speed. Don’t get me wrong, it was tough, but not as technically difficult as the cross fit based events.
The State department closed down the well known Cinquantenaire park in Brussels to throw a 250th U.S. Anniversary celebration. It was invite only and they provided free food via dozens of food trucks, free drinks, entertainment, giveaways, and an awesome firework show. It was so much fun. Who would have thunk the best 4th of July party would be one in Belgium.
Liza and family promised to visit us in Europe and they finally made it out here so we had to do it up right. They took the first day and a half to recover from jet lag and then we explored a few spots in Brussels before our big trip. Jojo also flew in to join us on the trip.
Ghent, Belgium
Brussels, Belgium
Then we were off to Barcelona to catch our Mediterranean cruise. We arrived a day early to make sure we had some buffer to make it on the ship on time and also explore the city a little. More importantly eat paella, good seafood, pan con tomate, and sangria. Check! Gotta love the exhausted kids in the background while the adults drink.
Ready to go into the city.
Even though I’ve already seen La Sagrada Familia, it still takes my breath away.
Mid morning snack.
Waiting for the hop-on-hop-off bus to take us to the Gothic Quarter.
Finally it was time to check in for the cruise. This was our very first time so we didn’t know what to expect. We booked a 7 day cruise on the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas. I packed every motion sickness med, patch, and band ever invented and happy to report I was just fine, but probably could have saved on booking ocean view state rooms since we had to keep the curtains closed to minimize the dizziness. Here’s what we got into.
Setting sail and waving to the other ships.
Welcome party with balloon drop
Sailed overnight to our first port, Mallorca, Spain. I’m gonna go ahead and say this at the beginning because it was certainly the theme of this entire trip, it was so hot!! Temperatures in the high 90’s we were visiting ancient European cities not equipped with air conditioning. We walked miles every day so we definitely struggled but the kids were troopers and we made the most of our vacation.
Trying Mallorca’s famous ensaymadas.
The dads stopping for a beer.
Then it was the ladies turn for a cold adult beverage while the little kids played a bit in the ocean.
Returned to the ship later that afternoon to our first towel animal.
Silent dance party to end day one.
Day 2 was a sea day so we took advantage of all the onboard amenities and activities.
Hanging out by the pool.
Paper airplane class and competition.
Ziplining
Volleyball tournament and open play.
Rock Climbing
Drinks before dinner.
Day 3 P we scheduled an excursion to take us to Pisa to see the leaning tower in the morning and then a tour through Florence. I wasn’t particularly excited to see the Leaning Tower thinking it would be underwhelming, but the kids kept talking about it so we decided to go. I was proven wrong! I didn’t know it’s made completely of marble and so tall, impressive! Pictures really don’t do any of these places justice. The carvings on the tower were so ornate and hard to believe it’s made of stone.
After Pisa, we took a train to Florence through the Tuscan country side and I just fell in love. While everyone napped, I looked out the window at the green landscape and the terracotta tiled houses, it was breathtaking. Tuscany won me over big time and I cannot wait to go back to explore more.
In Florence, we were guided through the city that is absolutely a living museum. Around every corner there were carved stone statues, magnificent buildings and so much history. I really wish we had more time to take it all in, but I am grateful I got to see this city with my own eyes.
More towels animals awaiting our return.
Day 4 was a stop in Rome. After washing our hands at the washy washy station and having breakfast on the ship (our same routine every day), we set out to explore Rome on our own.
We had to take a train to get into the city from the port and started our trek at the Vatican City.
I had no idea we’d be able to actually go into St. Peter’s Basilica, but the lines were short and we got through them quickly. So glad we did. These pictures don’t do a good job showing the scale of this place. It was massive inside and so beautiful.
Lunch – pasta and pizza of course…when in Rome!
The afternoon was spent at the Colosseum. OK I know I said it already said it but it’s worth reiterating how hot it was because it was absolutely boiling at the Colosseum. We did not last that long, but still very glad we went.
Rewarding ourselves with gelato.
Last stop was the Trevi Fountain. We were a little disappointed to find out you have to pay to get close enough to throw a coin in the fountain. Although it was only 2EUR/person, we were all exhausted and just wanted to get back to the ship ASAP.
Quick drink before jumping on the train back to the port.
Day 5 took us to Naples. The Gainey’s decided to book a tour to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii and we decided to take it easy and walk around the city on our own.
Mid morning snack to get out of the heat.
Lunch – more pasta and pizza.
Finally had time to shop for some leather goods. Walked away with some great affordable pieces.
Met up back at the ship for a show to end the day.
Day 6 was another sea day. Eating, trivia, more food, shows, volleyball tournament (champion), drinks and sunset pics.
Last dinner at our table. Our servers Marylin and Gede we great and took very good care of us: extra glass for the guy’s contraband bourbon, tea after dinner, and always extra cookies and apps. Crazy to think they go 7+ months with no day off! 5 stars!
To entertain themselves while the adults talked, the kids created ketchup art every night. Here are just a few.
Airport goodbye. We split ways with the Gainey’s as the continued on to Paris and Disney to round out their trip. It was a memorable vacation. We are so fortunate to have friends we can do these kinds of things with and share the same interests. Although I wouldn’t say cruising is my prefered way to travel because it’s a little too fast paced and structured, I will say this was the best for this trip given our large party and trying to see so many things in a short time. Would 100% do it again.
All the goodies I got on our trip – leather bags, olive oil, spices, snacks, grater plate, and blessed rosaries and holy water from the Vatican.
We had Jojo for a few more days until she had to fly back to Colorado so we did a day trip to Liege, Belgium.
Summer shenanigans. Had to find all sorts of ways to keep the kids entertained while on summer vacation.
Lunch at Ikea. Mussels in Brussels!
Ice Skating
MAS Museum in Antwerp, Belgium
Day trip to Lille, France
Food Festival in Brussels
Volleyball Tournament
Anthony signed up for the Nijmegen 4 Day March, the world’s largest multi-day walking and rucking event. Held every July in the Netherlands, tens of thousands of civilians and military personnel from over 70 countries walk 30, 40, or 50 kilometers daily for four consecutive days. For the military, they must march 40 km per day while wearing an official uniform and carrying at least 10 kg (22 lbs) of dead weight in a rucksack.
I had no idea what he was doing until he started packing for his trip. Keep in mind, we just got back from vacation a couple weeks prior and he has done zero training to prepare.
Gotta love a man’s solution for packing single serving pre-workout portions. SMH
His living accomodations for 4 days.
These are the kinds of picture updates I’d get from him every few hours – send proof of life, please!
Other pictures from the event
Upon completing the Nijmegen March, participants receive the Cross for the Four Day Marches, an official Dutch royal decoration. We’re really prod of you!
I’ll spare you from all the torn up feet pics in the photo folder I came across as I was looking for pictures to pull into the blog. Someone should really put a trigger warning before opening!
Last trip of the summer, Crete, Greece. Wanted to fit one more trip in before the kids started school and decided on Greece. Early morning flight out of Brussels.
Late lunch at the resort.
Garfield the cat took to Lauren and sat with her for most of our meal
Because we woke up so early, Ana and I took naps while Ty hung out with the younger two at the pool. When they got back, it was his turn to rest so the kids and I ventured out into town to find something to eat for dinner.
We decided to have a color photo challenge and I got blue
Our dinner spot
Just missed the sunset
Morning views of the resort
Off to explore the city of Heraklion, Crete. Ty forgot to bring his driver’s license so I was the designated driver for our trip. Driving around the island was interesting with lots of construction, changing terrain (beach coast to winding mountain roads), random merging lanes and divers passing in oncoming traffic lanes. All manageable but the narrow city driving was a little stressful. Really tight European streets had all of us holding our breath as we passed through. Happy to say we made it through the whole trip without incident…except for that one time I thought I was getting pulled over so stopped on the side of the highway all to be told that the flashing police lights were just standard procedure and please be careful because stopping is very dangerous.
My photo challenge color for the day was yellow
Morning snack of a cafe freddo and Bougatsa
We left the city and spent the afternoon in the mountain villages of Koutouloufari & Piskopiano. We had one of the most memorable lunches at Antami. Incredible views, great service, and the best pita’s ever! The kids still talk about it and asked to go back there several times the rest of the trip.
Back at the resort for more pool time – view from our room.
All cleaned up for dinner
Beach day, first stop was Voulisma Beach. We were able to rent some beach chairs and umbrellas for Ana and I and, of course, the littles were in the water most of the time. Unfortunately, there was a lot of micro plastic in the water so even though the water was clear, they didn’t stay in long.
Seaside lunch
One last picture before heading over to the next spot.
The second beach of the day was Plaka, with a pebble covered shoreline and view of the historic island of Spinalonga (former Venetian fortress and leper colony). Water was much better but a little challenging to get in and out of due to the slippery rocks.
All dressed up for dinner
Spent our last day in the Old Town Rethymno. This has got to be one of the most aesthetic places I’ve ever visited. Every alley and building was chefs kiss.
Our last diner was at a family run restaurant. It was the best experience, very Greek. Live music, yummy food, and they even ended the night by smashing plates. It did not feel fake or staged, it was an authentic party on a Monday night!
The thing I would say about Greeks is they are the most welcoming, kind, hospitable people. We’ve traveled a lot in our time in Europe, but our interactions with the locals here have been genuinely some of the best. They make you feel like family and they are so happy you’re there. If you look closely in the picture you can see our waiter waving to us after Ty thanked him for the great dinner.
Goodbye Crete. Off to the airport.
Checking out the flower carpet in Brussels, over 750,000 flowers laid out across the Grand Place. They only do this every 2 years so I’m glad we were able to catch it.
This is an image of what it would look like from above.
Jojo sent us some pictures of her recent hike with Joy and Gem in Colorado.
First day of school for these two. 6th and 5th grade.
Wow! I’m all caught up. Only took me 13ish hours over 2 days to do, but here we are. We have a couple big trips coming up before the big move, so we’ll catch up again soon!