tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83260731403589684182024-03-05T08:16:32.844+01:00The Shand FamilyThe Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-85465045437400834202012-07-13T14:02:00.001+02:002012-07-13T14:02:51.439+02:00First and Last Day of School - 2011-12It is a bit overdue, but here are the first and last day of school (last day in uniform) pictures.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img $ca="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIHI6L-oDhc4FaombXK77W2zmeuOunp4g8V7g3qYKTqxpWwLueGLgt-GmwLJPBwwAbuolwamWQGFxlje_eR_7fqHjHnYQBjUBt30sgBpqobEd4vElk3Vb6JGQDl1-w7wvFJoUV9A3i1A4/s320/P1010961.JPG" width="213" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4iLjGBTGAx0yHJL0njzLeqWZpDDqboIKPxt1bamh5VFKXuTGieIyinWWPZRGQ2A2RPLEtq3Fjhejb7XOTSKKshuxT83aE4hVGHFH_bUL-Dz2NMMKzAA_4f69wPWXt2etMOTT9_fbBAI/s1600/P1040984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img $ca="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4iLjGBTGAx0yHJL0njzLeqWZpDDqboIKPxt1bamh5VFKXuTGieIyinWWPZRGQ2A2RPLEtq3Fjhejb7XOTSKKshuxT83aE4hVGHFH_bUL-Dz2NMMKzAA_4f69wPWXt2etMOTT9_fbBAI/s320/P1040984.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-80150909034253241392012-07-09T01:16:00.001+02:002012-07-09T02:20:53.425+02:00Packin' Up and Movin' OutCrazy probably best describes our moving week. <br />
<br />
The movers showed up to our apartment bright and early Monday morning to start packing us up. It took them just about 2 full days to pack our things and wrap our furniture in preparation to be loaded into the container on Wednesday. We had originally planned on staying in the apartment until Wednesday, but after we were left with only a few kitchen items Monday night and our internet was turned off early,<br />
we decided to check into a hotel a day early. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYsLBZfd5IHk7kTae5OKz1FblyvnJpx79YWFG1a3CnR35UluWxVMTRkZmDJF49InDVj8_ZZe-NghNDcoR32YUuiNkWyJehegLqS9XfwCWi3dn5Fhyphenhyphen5j_7BS3sgtbjWfoxExv1bs9t7qM/s1600/P1050012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPYsLBZfd5IHk7kTae5OKz1FblyvnJpx79YWFG1a3CnR35UluWxVMTRkZmDJF49InDVj8_ZZe-NghNDcoR32YUuiNkWyJehegLqS9XfwCWi3dn5Fhyphenhyphen5j_7BS3sgtbjWfoxExv1bs9t7qM/s320/P1050012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The container was waiting for us when we arrived Wednesday morning and the movers spent most of the day loading all of our belongings onto the lift through the windows.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8BRzq5ngxFycC1w5O2cFUhJ7it3-W_POCf5h41FfijilqgOovmTuQsxgQIpjLpXWmkq0MEdfdMoub48ZoKDVafaJB3eRRnjnxXYcrRFYhzWz58w7kxVyoazTlZRlsFq9Obn-NiIsdjg/s1600/P1050003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8BRzq5ngxFycC1w5O2cFUhJ7it3-W_POCf5h41FfijilqgOovmTuQsxgQIpjLpXWmkq0MEdfdMoub48ZoKDVafaJB3eRRnjnxXYcrRFYhzWz58w7kxVyoazTlZRlsFq9Obn-NiIsdjg/s320/P1050003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlZQV_wPMuV6tfgMWv6iI-M-4gQPNGj9-hiGcNJ9lisvF_KsKIShgqQ8dZ2UNtVOOf6UvJGsiNqQobfag2lk8D9lYKaxo9bipzkSvsaNSAh2KC2gzIDShkK5XcttKy1uznKMhCwhwasI/s1600/P1050005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZlZQV_wPMuV6tfgMWv6iI-M-4gQPNGj9-hiGcNJ9lisvF_KsKIShgqQ8dZ2UNtVOOf6UvJGsiNqQobfag2lk8D9lYKaxo9bipzkSvsaNSAh2KC2gzIDShkK5XcttKy1uznKMhCwhwasI/s320/P1050005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Thursday morning we dropped the kids off at a friends house and finished cleaning the apartment for the inspection that was going to happen that day. We had heard from friends that the apartment inspections were pretty thorough. It ended up taking two inspectors two hours to go through the apartment and we were relieved to be only charged 215 euros for the things they found wrong. <br />
<br />
Having already returned the car and with all of our things pack up and shipped off, we felt relieved and slightly strange to walk away from the apartment with nothing but a city trash bag with touch up paint and a Belgian license plate that we had kept for a souvenir. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyBM8Dq8X9pax2NTeb57GmbJgLor0lgq0TR5Bg9bGlYu4_ukKMJ5QfXpGTC-I3kybsJ1DdCzFD1DSfHPmObZJHf8cVea2ZTGGgOw12D5Bq3dD2uzZWVclsfQMd95P8wKSScjlFKUsuhw/s1600/P1050042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" sca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyBM8Dq8X9pax2NTeb57GmbJgLor0lgq0TR5Bg9bGlYu4_ukKMJ5QfXpGTC-I3kybsJ1DdCzFD1DSfHPmObZJHf8cVea2ZTGGgOw12D5Bq3dD2uzZWVclsfQMd95P8wKSScjlFKUsuhw/s320/P1050042.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
We stopped by the cafe around the corner for a beer and ended up running into several people we knew and said our final goodbyes. It was a nice way to finish off our last 24 hours in Belgium. For us, that was the way things were while we were here - being outside and enjoying the city as much as we could and randomly running into people we knew who were often doing the same. It was an emotional few days. There is no doubt that we will miss Antwerp.The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-11747501631142048772012-06-20T14:37:00.000+02:002012-06-20T14:37:42.517+02:00Our Funniest Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Here are some of the funny pictures we have taken over the past three years:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Acting silly :: Mosel Valley, Germany June 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpH3uLj_9w-RaPL9wJyIjeb9ed0gA5WbmsEkbzD0LLYUBQ7yOO1uBhobd6jiK5Iix9aaNszhntSFlZWq-b3F8Tdouu8eilbYvESGz_aIojxldJByzSh08ruuCf19PgY1wHptiaBTJV-h0/s1600/img_0564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpH3uLj_9w-RaPL9wJyIjeb9ed0gA5WbmsEkbzD0LLYUBQ7yOO1uBhobd6jiK5Iix9aaNszhntSFlZWq-b3F8Tdouu8eilbYvESGz_aIojxldJByzSh08ruuCf19PgY1wHptiaBTJV-h0/s320/img_0564.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong>Sleeping in the bike trailer</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Christmas Market :: Antwerp, Belgium December 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcSYQcfCht3Yjvqehx7rpcZibL5bBkrr4QWgRtEH9Q3pzXGPMmqjSzcgGHjEoGZLkXqjl52gQiPh8gwV5A2TnnXKX4mAyKbDiMSwtceJ3UvCFWpEZxegayQeKwAxZQ1dN0Kl-Q3odGwI/s1600/img_3982.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcSYQcfCht3Yjvqehx7rpcZibL5bBkrr4QWgRtEH9Q3pzXGPMmqjSzcgGHjEoGZLkXqjl52gQiPh8gwV5A2TnnXKX4mAyKbDiMSwtceJ3UvCFWpEZxegayQeKwAxZQ1dN0Kl-Q3odGwI/s320/img_3982.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Autovrij Weekend :: Antwerp, Belgium September 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil8Xfku2Nu6HwpbMrWTiPF_-9mhCY4I-R5_ivhqR8OZLL6se3XXaJrFCaGTu46UeR9b58GtcYaViChViM_k5EvjgLzOMKu0zufmNow44GPVJawOtTpdZv1vAVk4p-elqU3u6btqzup8iY/s1600/img_1836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil8Xfku2Nu6HwpbMrWTiPF_-9mhCY4I-R5_ivhqR8OZLL6se3XXaJrFCaGTu46UeR9b58GtcYaViChViM_k5EvjgLzOMKu0zufmNow44GPVJawOtTpdZv1vAVk4p-elqU3u6btqzup8iY/s320/img_1836.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Look kids, Paris...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9cWOnXATBUbEboaqjLFgBRCebNSwVpfFReZ9pCtPjP24Kiq6I7wOcPKQSaKfFENnvxIXogcs6YxH_TJa633qDQ0Am-KM0RVTFUK_CJhXCrpA6axkc13fPPOgP7TioBdzmvxC5HKt4eg/s1600/img_0243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9cWOnXATBUbEboaqjLFgBRCebNSwVpfFReZ9pCtPjP24Kiq6I7wOcPKQSaKfFENnvxIXogcs6YxH_TJa633qDQ0Am-KM0RVTFUK_CJhXCrpA6axkc13fPPOgP7TioBdzmvxC5HKt4eg/s320/img_0243.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
...and the Louvre :: Paris, France May 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kjM6NwHkKuoPoW7ivdSbSXjfN3Mrh3VyJAcZh0Yxw6P2apL6XRWFCMVsaUfs_oQZOzKYrTLPtelcZd9lnyGvEl0fHiCiV3xZOhq3N6gc-Mzys0Dghn-NToVoRMjo2D1tY7KkXtqg9cE/s1600/img_0051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kjM6NwHkKuoPoW7ivdSbSXjfN3Mrh3VyJAcZh0Yxw6P2apL6XRWFCMVsaUfs_oQZOzKYrTLPtelcZd9lnyGvEl0fHiCiV3xZOhq3N6gc-Mzys0Dghn-NToVoRMjo2D1tY7KkXtqg9cE/s320/img_0051.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
One our early experiences with rain and how unprepared we were :: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg April 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXi7GaPnTZtyRV3F1nEIpkDNjCgM9p3rarWIG8ipXTLK8E4rzck0Hm8eIPwBvBYYi0Z3D_7i7KYIdGORDHieDqAEAGubRzNqdExhUVLHNdI8Uyxq8xf8RmumpXjWAU6Oz_voS4oi1xrg/s1600/100_3890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXi7GaPnTZtyRV3F1nEIpkDNjCgM9p3rarWIG8ipXTLK8E4rzck0Hm8eIPwBvBYYi0Z3D_7i7KYIdGORDHieDqAEAGubRzNqdExhUVLHNdI8Uyxq8xf8RmumpXjWAU6Oz_voS4oi1xrg/s320/100_3890.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our Royal Tannenbaum :: Antwerp, Belgium January 2011</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAIC97ztB7McPc-EGMZRFcQWauIrukYb2Ev7EKKduLDMIqvuFbCpQobP2Zxzs8Wq-2gOxPotwg3TgtpZQl8eQaGzs1HezrQIUEtVt7Hrr3d5viyEIiYKaZ3-2tPY1AsaS0zBAxpyQAGQ/s1600/img_0292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAIC97ztB7McPc-EGMZRFcQWauIrukYb2Ev7EKKduLDMIqvuFbCpQobP2Zxzs8Wq-2gOxPotwg3TgtpZQl8eQaGzs1HezrQIUEtVt7Hrr3d5viyEIiYKaZ3-2tPY1AsaS0zBAxpyQAGQ/s320/img_0292.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br />Chocolate in the Nose :: Middleheim Park, Antwerp, Belgium April 2011</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTV18vK1ws1pk8TKQGxE_nsy7OsZKKOXCGRz5Wih3Xnokh8JlNAdjix-aBazTwFQQV0exOiXkyXaVqAoxFQJIUYZR7Cas7r945rHdTxkA_aM21UC-TM9OgSUXHHuFExhXzIxjwqkvGuOc/s1600/P1000845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTV18vK1ws1pk8TKQGxE_nsy7OsZKKOXCGRz5Wih3Xnokh8JlNAdjix-aBazTwFQQV0exOiXkyXaVqAoxFQJIUYZR7Cas7r945rHdTxkA_aM21UC-TM9OgSUXHHuFExhXzIxjwqkvGuOc/s320/P1000845.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Pretending to sleep on the horse :: Playmobile Fun Park, Zirndorf, Germany November 2011</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBZKHYkuNMgK-3C_1ggJPiuQb1zI0O6y1a4PvPHRUoo50KsVxQJOsniwts9jFAyi4eKqrqF9M0RbbJP6HUOt1bmkit5XUby6rQ1MxTccPxNPHK0xqOzLXAYiu0QvC_265zn3FqaHFPJA/s1600/P1020847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBZKHYkuNMgK-3C_1ggJPiuQb1zI0O6y1a4PvPHRUoo50KsVxQJOsniwts9jFAyi4eKqrqF9M0RbbJP6HUOt1bmkit5XUby6rQ1MxTccPxNPHK0xqOzLXAYiu0QvC_265zn3FqaHFPJA/s320/P1020847.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Colin's first time bowling :: Antwerp, Belgium April 2012</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlEg8Zxr_YlZwSdpXZtvbWoFehz57-R7nYL5ng0yrAcDYrvPnMUiPUHtT0vbPzhVaxIghdxv2Fer9v5CzrtaXoAT2hQKpdhQtgSYZN2e8oDfzdzkVfXmwyHhzyD38BhmQLrB3_ZRVjrk/s1600/IMG_0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdlEg8Zxr_YlZwSdpXZtvbWoFehz57-R7nYL5ng0yrAcDYrvPnMUiPUHtT0vbPzhVaxIghdxv2Fer9v5CzrtaXoAT2hQKpdhQtgSYZN2e8oDfzdzkVfXmwyHhzyD38BhmQLrB3_ZRVjrk/s320/IMG_0067.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When in Belgium...just kidding, it's empty :: Antwerp, Belgium March 2010</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO7-277LLtDcuL18GRZwanw8OhclFBK0jdYu8seQ_6dO0_Sl3jCcjabFrhwts3HsMDcYP0q9FdPDdUM9CRf1ONYci_8uOwZvT0x-GXOrVDbYgKI3JhL8I6FcrRAP5d6_I7jog1JXdBkw/s1600/img_4312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMO7-277LLtDcuL18GRZwanw8OhclFBK0jdYu8seQ_6dO0_Sl3jCcjabFrhwts3HsMDcYP0q9FdPDdUM9CRf1ONYci_8uOwZvT0x-GXOrVDbYgKI3JhL8I6FcrRAP5d6_I7jog1JXdBkw/s320/img_4312.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Colin pointing out the statue's birdie :: Gent, Belgium May 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAdV_PrIo-IZ3V5fHPUo75JyPdgCjk0or0xfSoFd2I3Ag_atVTlVi8ATyOnX4-5HfrFCXm7jJwGg1bmonaNrHAPf8V6MMHJKmvaTxkmk66bxhgjtlkmAzlNIE0rGKFQwGUrX1QZYSqhg/s1600/100_4332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAdV_PrIo-IZ3V5fHPUo75JyPdgCjk0or0xfSoFd2I3Ag_atVTlVi8ATyOnX4-5HfrFCXm7jJwGg1bmonaNrHAPf8V6MMHJKmvaTxkmk66bxhgjtlkmAzlNIE0rGKFQwGUrX1QZYSqhg/s320/100_4332.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><strong>Colin's Funny Faces</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Big Ben :: London, England August 2009</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxPiqt7ikXU6FRGxhZFn23Z4QK0eYKqn3c31oWxknCW7EYfaHhorgw7Gp5Eb_upySJtwt0Hq8VGDPKlXyRAk24oitTLQYj6BkPTcZQTE3e_pFNZiC-oJgeonscMnCq9YYf_Z3AUbjc84/s1600/img_1439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxxPiqt7ikXU6FRGxhZFn23Z4QK0eYKqn3c31oWxknCW7EYfaHhorgw7Gp5Eb_upySJtwt0Hq8VGDPKlXyRAk24oitTLQYj6BkPTcZQTE3e_pFNZiC-oJgeonscMnCq9YYf_Z3AUbjc84/s320/img_1439.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Marienplatz :: Munich, Germany October 2011</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTS9zXv1qeaMkzXCogyFt-dFK4ddwABS3f7r3ftfZLOjnNygP-AIlDOvkbtDcvmCb3Y8XCq6kSKYl94CeF12KYvnvJ803UPL3OeIXCM15dN-6vIOlsCXjhXYQDIAdV6wC_oFENMInjD3k/s1600/P1020532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTS9zXv1qeaMkzXCogyFt-dFK4ddwABS3f7r3ftfZLOjnNygP-AIlDOvkbtDcvmCb3Y8XCq6kSKYl94CeF12KYvnvJ803UPL3OeIXCM15dN-6vIOlsCXjhXYQDIAdV6wC_oFENMInjD3k/s320/P1020532.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
When I told Chloe to go stand next to the bear so I could take a picture, she walked up to it and punched it in the stomach.:: The Hague, The Netherlands June 2012</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg808YW7w4WIbFpGfxB516UeWCGvkI9o5zv-z_tYmqEJGfi681VxcPht0L3r2PEqEk5nc6k12pHhat6rWymZYDwWHBylx6swy7rolqp2NvDPHTOVGNNBPdxC5oQaMWeL5kICbFqTrCtBQA/s1600/P1040904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg808YW7w4WIbFpGfxB516UeWCGvkI9o5zv-z_tYmqEJGfi681VxcPht0L3r2PEqEk5nc6k12pHhat6rWymZYDwWHBylx6swy7rolqp2NvDPHTOVGNNBPdxC5oQaMWeL5kICbFqTrCtBQA/s400/P1040904.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
::</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong>And the Winner is...</strong></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The tourist who wanted to take Chloe's picture because of the color of her hair and Colin who was giving her the look of death :: Marienplatz :: Munich, Germany October 2011</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCBrOAUxcAyLmvg9NE8pqPUbUgThvII3v4EeRRjEoRuPQdeaMBTYYwQ6l4GPRFywV9LNzHsX08L06hB41KBCBF3EGNLw7qRbomKFeFgcoBjVG71oUc6WHT1xlnHmG8SbXf4lpEWUyAEo/s1600/P1020543.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCBrOAUxcAyLmvg9NE8pqPUbUgThvII3v4EeRRjEoRuPQdeaMBTYYwQ6l4GPRFywV9LNzHsX08L06hB41KBCBF3EGNLw7qRbomKFeFgcoBjVG71oUc6WHT1xlnHmG8SbXf4lpEWUyAEo/s640/P1020543.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-51962799249507766742012-06-19T12:32:00.000+02:002012-06-19T12:32:26.173+02:00Grote MarktProbably our favorite place to go in town is Grote Markt. Since day one, Colin has called the statue in the middle of the square, The Animal Statue and we still call it that now. I love it when Colin says "Let's see what's going on at the Animal Statue". I can't even guess as to how many times I have heard him ask this. We have over 150 pictures tagged Grote Markt that include The Animal Statue taken over the past 3 years!!! In sun, clouds, snow, with Jules, with a vuvuzela, with strangers, running through the water, at the Christmas Market, on a regular day, watching a football game, ice skating and more.<br />
<br />
The statue in the middle of Grote Markt is actually called Brabo. The legend is that a giant by the name of Antigoon would tax people crossing the river. People who could not or would not pay, had their hand cut off and thrown into the river. The hero, Brabo, killed Antigoon, cut his hand off and threw it into the river. The name of the city was derived from this legend - Hand- throwing = Ant -werpen(meaning to throw). The story is a little gory, but telling it to the kids allowed them to actually notice several other details of the statue that they would have otherwise never noticed. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeJKCf3jaIfkN3mMjDiAHuxLDKaeckGVTXObyLkvDO5uq6KSEqdFe6bYa8UZ_xw_5-sNhQo94v_Ls8-Fql9ToWFmDW9c1MwgQmJEEA1hiwMio-nSFxJ8dgpjqYK3zH9nGjSIqALqAvek/s1600/mosaic+grote+markt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" rca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAeJKCf3jaIfkN3mMjDiAHuxLDKaeckGVTXObyLkvDO5uq6KSEqdFe6bYa8UZ_xw_5-sNhQo94v_Ls8-Fql9ToWFmDW9c1MwgQmJEEA1hiwMio-nSFxJ8dgpjqYK3zH9nGjSIqALqAvek/s640/mosaic+grote+markt.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>
The city has been doing a lot of paving work around Grote Markt and while doing this, discovered cellar walls of the old town hall that date back to the 16th century. They have fenced off the area and built a temporary bridge of people to see. From what we know, they will be filling it back in again to complete the paving work. So cool.<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyRwyIxrB8eqELbe8WKNS5byA8ncGx3iKc-WlouhbXr_lHIF6SGOqbtUNYnk5s5leMb_wwgunYjSw25jLjFUZoT2WAbkJokrYr_vr2cyywDPJVKkKqv-uzhxr_gq672tonO5rVWsKzAE/s1600/P1040566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJyRwyIxrB8eqELbe8WKNS5byA8ncGx3iKc-WlouhbXr_lHIF6SGOqbtUNYnk5s5leMb_wwgunYjSw25jLjFUZoT2WAbkJokrYr_vr2cyywDPJVKkKqv-uzhxr_gq672tonO5rVWsKzAE/s400/P1040566.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZttYp6HE94GreU8cXjrp2kc3LsQk-nOMDpxgonI6Y1sb8XH6Ig_hwO-mZNnPa0R-90AkLwPB7YEnhSMsmx-icfyfM-DlrG1s2sIL38ppfW7n6RqMgLezRz0lHAk7O-agHclhyKpQzLU/s1600/P1040567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZttYp6HE94GreU8cXjrp2kc3LsQk-nOMDpxgonI6Y1sb8XH6Ig_hwO-mZNnPa0R-90AkLwPB7YEnhSMsmx-icfyfM-DlrG1s2sIL38ppfW7n6RqMgLezRz0lHAk7O-agHclhyKpQzLU/s400/P1040567.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-30158308190750997532012-06-07T19:48:00.001+02:002012-06-07T22:16:31.501+02:00This Past Week <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5l9TGBC6gEgwf-B4qDulbVuk_J0tmM2JjVzRGyWeYi06znk6pGRhv3d-PU6M3GZbgbygE7mM7HfaK_I97b0-HYoTictniSmIpEQSeu6vkAaGvcRDFvyInvE9f2RIqBHDEk8JDLRsNRFk/s1600/Colin+with+coaches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5l9TGBC6gEgwf-B4qDulbVuk_J0tmM2JjVzRGyWeYi06znk6pGRhv3d-PU6M3GZbgbygE7mM7HfaK_I97b0-HYoTictniSmIpEQSeu6vkAaGvcRDFvyInvE9f2RIqBHDEk8JDLRsNRFk/s320/Colin+with+coaches.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Coaches Inge and Cindy</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Colin has been playing basketball for just about the entire school year. He first started with the youngest group and eventually was moved up to the next level that plays 2 times a week. He is not the best player, but being moved to the new group allowed him to play with one of his best friends from school, Khamrym. The opposite of Colin, Khamryn was probably the best player. She is also American and her dad plays for the Antwerp Giants basketball team. Last week was Colin's last practice and his coaches gave him a special basketball trophy. So nice :) </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Last weekend was the Sint Andries run. Sint Andries is a neighborhood right next to ours with an open space (plaats) with restaurants, kids climbing net, basketball court, and a cultural center. We call Sint Andriesplaats, the Rope Park, and it is a place we go often. Colin was going to run in the Kids Run, but the weather was terrible. When it cleared a bit, we went over to see the Bakfiets Race. A bakfiets is a bike with a large box in front of the handlebars. It is completely normal to see parents bringing their kids to and from school in these bikes.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The rules of the race required all bakfiets to be parked in a staggered line along the beginning of the course. The person riding the bike had the run from the starting gate to their parked bikes and then start the course. It was also required that each bike had a passenger in the front. Probably a little dangerous racing your bike with your kid in the front, but they did require them to wear helmets. Helmets are not normal here and my friend joked that there were probably more helmets in this one spot than in all of Belgium. It was so fun to watch and there was a beer stall at the finish line, of course.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiMEyxz918_uIzAUqT5CsmNhczzHV4lV1Y-Q412EobOSDLx3XVEus1jW987abOBYn2lPWQlLOsk9nNtK1XdFo0hVGoP-0Vc9j6ynOawK_nFCcCnwtPwUVJYYtKIypzxOdEHoFBoGzZAU/s1600/mosaicaf85b92af597a7f5b6ca849197abbb983d526637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRiMEyxz918_uIzAUqT5CsmNhczzHV4lV1Y-Q412EobOSDLx3XVEus1jW987abOBYn2lPWQlLOsk9nNtK1XdFo0hVGoP-0Vc9j6ynOawK_nFCcCnwtPwUVJYYtKIypzxOdEHoFBoGzZAU/s640/mosaicaf85b92af597a7f5b6ca849197abbb983d526637.jpg" width="425" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXawNr4E_w8TEygBHbOPSa_U0rPzG540AyCjjaRLKfjfE2PJ96TNSKd6HPnsHerAaA_mINmrmVMAK2QPS-rqqqGOi6blQXWGSDXAyCp52_9AcYk-0N_Np01VczfAeJMOsKt9PLidCg_u4/s1600/P1040768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXawNr4E_w8TEygBHbOPSa_U0rPzG540AyCjjaRLKfjfE2PJ96TNSKd6HPnsHerAaA_mINmrmVMAK2QPS-rqqqGOi6blQXWGSDXAyCp52_9AcYk-0N_Np01VczfAeJMOsKt9PLidCg_u4/s320/P1040768.JPG" width="309" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Other than that, we are starting to sort out all of our things, sell our electronics and getting ready for the movers to start packing everything on June 25th. It is coming up quick!!</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nPl9JfDlX1LLRLQPnjXkYfPKylhKhuNGg_grm5Pr-fePKjTpCgZo2yani4M3N33pOxyJ5srrR4EAgk5FYxADFuBCf5aInp9aBzAOZesFCiOJyofjlg-OPAPVgFn0jHbZ0ZyCCeyAKxc/s1600/P1040743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" fba="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_nPl9JfDlX1LLRLQPnjXkYfPKylhKhuNGg_grm5Pr-fePKjTpCgZo2yani4M3N33pOxyJ5srrR4EAgk5FYxADFuBCf5aInp9aBzAOZesFCiOJyofjlg-OPAPVgFn0jHbZ0ZyCCeyAKxc/s640/P1040743.JPG" width="318" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-20245087211237021292012-06-01T16:22:00.000+02:002012-06-01T16:22:54.933+02:00BeerThe Belgians are famously known for their beer and there are over 1000 beers brewed just within Belgium alone. For Christmas, I bought Craig the latest edition of Belgian beer book picturing and describing all of the beers brewed here. The book offers information on it taste, how it is fermented, the temperature at which it is to be served at, how it is to be poured and of course, a picture of the glass it is to be served in. Every beer has it's own glass and you will never be served a beer in a cafe that is not served in it's proper glass. For the most part, many of the beers here are very high in alcohol content. Normally somewhere between 6% and 8%. We have had some at 12% and I know they go higher than that. At this point, Craig has tasted about 200 of the beers in the book. Pretty impressive!!<br />
<br /><br />
We thought it would be nice to bring home some beer mementos for the bar Craig wants in the basement of the house that we don't own yet. At this point, we have a fairly large collection of glasses, which are the easiest to find. It has been more of a challenge to find signs and other accessories, but we have managed to collect some nice things.<br />
<br />
We took advantage of one the past weekends to make a quick trip to the Duvel Brewery. The brewery is only about a 20 minute drive from Antwerp and down the street from Craig's work. Duvel makes several beers including one of my favorites, Vedett, and LaChouffe. We managed to pick up a sign, coasters and make a stop in a local cafe for a beer (or two).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgydvkAGCR39Afpa1dymOzbmHAfOtTb863qHK3ocVkdHVqIgNX3rkUDVJSTj75jkNUPsauUiFyR_v3Qy5sSr_df1lUe95j-EG5ei5Pqpd807I0lTGk-gJf6NBqH9fTT3zM54bPo39TwaY/s1600/P1040532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgydvkAGCR39Afpa1dymOzbmHAfOtTb863qHK3ocVkdHVqIgNX3rkUDVJSTj75jkNUPsauUiFyR_v3Qy5sSr_df1lUe95j-EG5ei5Pqpd807I0lTGk-gJf6NBqH9fTT3zM54bPo39TwaY/s320/P1040532.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also, now making Duvel Tripel Hop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QCdCRttxG_XtuXQxDAcx-BjNleEB3fKIdPHSWt9fGbKDzBrhHBQX3WR-MUOuBr1rz6KES8zjDAXy5MkPCRbaPJauMssHlAC1yy-NHMU_9jfyUpfCrzbHp3b6lU8Fh5yuqB6wK_63gd0/s1600/P1040538.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QCdCRttxG_XtuXQxDAcx-BjNleEB3fKIdPHSWt9fGbKDzBrhHBQX3WR-MUOuBr1rz6KES8zjDAXy5MkPCRbaPJauMssHlAC1yy-NHMU_9jfyUpfCrzbHp3b6lU8Fh5yuqB6wK_63gd0/s320/P1040538.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
This past weekend, we drove to Mechelen to visit the town and have dinner at Brewery Het Anker. They brew many beers under the Gouden Carolus name along with several other varieties. They have been brewing beer since 1471(!!!) but did not start using the name Het Anker until 1872.<br />
<br />
The weather could not have been more perfect and instead of using our time to explore the town, we found ourselves sitting at one of the cafes on Grote Markt sipping the local beer. Most of the beer in Belgium is very territorial. Even though we were only 16 miles from Antwerp, there was no sign of DeKoninck, the staple beer in every Antwerp bar. Mechelen is obliviously very proud of there local brew and it dominated every menu here.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqUC6JoYvK4X1nuITHCYcewn-NR2gD8oIpn2Rjf7Pc78UL6wLD5vK0H48u1p1gv3qmycs5j70wdX2cMwgLtOz0SR43c1oWzS9JQPXf-0lZfkZ9cxZt4YIsSDdKsLlgZwsePe58VwJ1Kk/s1600/P1040670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwqUC6JoYvK4X1nuITHCYcewn-NR2gD8oIpn2Rjf7Pc78UL6wLD5vK0H48u1p1gv3qmycs5j70wdX2cMwgLtOz0SR43c1oWzS9JQPXf-0lZfkZ9cxZt4YIsSDdKsLlgZwsePe58VwJ1Kk/s320/P1040670.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brouwerij Het Anker - Stepped Gables surrounded by cases of beer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcjWADCZXiiGPa_1USzFUJyf4cppdKBPHegiLEuVf9tb7gGNMQi9Phkba9vPi3UPoqZiTnKZKC1WlbIwlNugaLAmvMk8Ey8qTWp1VPQz-g2vc4YiioU9KzSoy9LdZ-lnbpb3NQW6JSGQ/s1600/P1040622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcjWADCZXiiGPa_1USzFUJyf4cppdKBPHegiLEuVf9tb7gGNMQi9Phkba9vPi3UPoqZiTnKZKC1WlbIwlNugaLAmvMk8Ey8qTWp1VPQz-g2vc4YiioU9KzSoy9LdZ-lnbpb3NQW6JSGQ/s320/P1040622.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gouden Carolus Classic and Maneblusser</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQh8_08_smHo8AID5pPxv0Un-Gc5bSxApJ53yKklcrKkD_vkGdOBPEe3ti7hq0UM2pLUowJrsKduYphtzZ_k38Br3ezcwunB3KJwOWkA1HK1QpTHLZqAqIZ-oGkQ2P4jK3CgBz7sQjlJI/s1600/P1040646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQh8_08_smHo8AID5pPxv0Un-Gc5bSxApJ53yKklcrKkD_vkGdOBPEe3ti7hq0UM2pLUowJrsKduYphtzZ_k38Br3ezcwunB3KJwOWkA1HK1QpTHLZqAqIZ-oGkQ2P4jK3CgBz7sQjlJI/s320/P1040646.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In Grote Markt - Mechelen, Belgium</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-12138223547792521032012-05-29T09:18:00.000+02:002012-06-02T17:46:17.714+02:00The Past Few Weeks<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIuDWSREgcsbIkWipxK6PpjmyrS1DmokXmGbzYVSVQ6xy17GJsZWfnv2mY2Ov7TLxCX1ly6Sy9ZofKAyCkdfhy7WDENvPaSFXFrl62qEgAIchWH6AXf61-7vfMnGm7ku2ubLLu93RilU/s1600/000_0150.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMIuDWSREgcsbIkWipxK6PpjmyrS1DmokXmGbzYVSVQ6xy17GJsZWfnv2mY2Ov7TLxCX1ly6Sy9ZofKAyCkdfhy7WDENvPaSFXFrl62qEgAIchWH6AXf61-7vfMnGm7ku2ubLLu93RilU/s200/000_0150.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
There are so many things I have wanted to blog about as we are about to wrap up our stay in Belgium, but we have been quite busy with different things so I thought I would tell you about a few of them.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong>You may remember this picture ----></strong></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Colin's big birthday present was a trip back to the US for a long weekend. Craig was asked by Michael to be his sponsor for Communion and we decided to book an extra ticket to surprise Colin and the family.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEn0PtcJVcPEgFZzI-XdiHCp6IUDXoXbL3voCTUS6GB27JT5uQ1oMU2UPZUe86PGJr_hnHl4uadhAmLTTsZvS0WzY99Q6jwi6-rc7PI4r0g1D9aC4N4BQjYRK3Z5i4JpDFGvUYSu-wLkw/s1600/Craig+and+Michael.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEn0PtcJVcPEgFZzI-XdiHCp6IUDXoXbL3voCTUS6GB27JT5uQ1oMU2UPZUe86PGJr_hnHl4uadhAmLTTsZvS0WzY99Q6jwi6-rc7PI4r0g1D9aC4N4BQjYRK3Z5i4JpDFGvUYSu-wLkw/s320/Craig+and+Michael.jpg" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Craig and Michael</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirQq80YEs_Q91gwqsVseQfb35KLCoavsmPfxlgMAtM98IAn4nzTlzAoGs2Jwq6SOVX2CRjty1dGPfM6lfEPPYluyjtVfOaPppYoQWr_K4ESVd5QaK1Q0tzkJlHU8I7txHBPKTEHhZmSw/s1600/cousins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiirQq80YEs_Q91gwqsVseQfb35KLCoavsmPfxlgMAtM98IAn4nzTlzAoGs2Jwq6SOVX2CRjty1dGPfM6lfEPPYluyjtVfOaPppYoQWr_K4ESVd5QaK1Q0tzkJlHU8I7txHBPKTEHhZmSw/s320/cousins.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cousins!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
One Saturday afternoon, we were invited to a Baptism for our friend's son. The Baptism was held in Carolus Barromeus Church which was designed by Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens was a long time resident of Antwerp. His house is now a museum and a large statue of him stands in the middle of Groenplaats. It was special and beautiful, to say the least. Colin was very interested on what was going on and once invited by the priest, was eager to make his way right up to the front to watch.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyQkaquPoqhScZnCLJPhkswgGeb0HN5ii47sHrlsZmPeqFmg320arZLAtqLtdrO5uPyupoER6Xe_LzXnS604xQ2cLNxzVVqJmWSZBXoEHtummDomuORDEfqqn1ypNjrOPX-uWq1wQ8iI/s1600/P1040501.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyQkaquPoqhScZnCLJPhkswgGeb0HN5ii47sHrlsZmPeqFmg320arZLAtqLtdrO5uPyupoER6Xe_LzXnS604xQ2cLNxzVVqJmWSZBXoEHtummDomuORDEfqqn1ypNjrOPX-uWq1wQ8iI/s320/P1040501.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the side rooms of Carolus Barromeus Church</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
A couple of weeks ago at school, Chloe's topic was learning all about Mom while also learning about the French artist Niki de Sainte Phalle. The week wrapped up with a small Mother's Day show and painting with mommy. It was nice to be invited into Chloe's classroom and see their normal activities. It was around this time that Chloe realized that she wanted to be an artist when she grows up and she told me that I should start looking for an artist costume for her to wear when she is bigger.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_K6q58W6Qfw6Nxr4vMRn7jcqf7N-liN5U5meuEKkhDU9wD0G5_YCbuYv5orytIqbFlizHlCZ8bnDypTR-mt1jT3Q93fdu78iqM7pDUNh2SYoIxoyJPOo_P5lyUaWQcE136XqN-9i8t8/s1600/P1040530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_K6q58W6Qfw6Nxr4vMRn7jcqf7N-liN5U5meuEKkhDU9wD0G5_YCbuYv5orytIqbFlizHlCZ8bnDypTR-mt1jT3Q93fdu78iqM7pDUNh2SYoIxoyJPOo_P5lyUaWQcE136XqN-9i8t8/s320/P1040530.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our future Rubens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Later that evening we had parent / teacher conferences at the school. I have known for quite awhile that Chloe has a close group of friends that she hangs out with. I refer to them as The Gang: Edie, Jan Leon, Brenna and new member Luke. There is also another boy, Jawad, who really wants to be a member of the gang, but seems only allowed to join in occasionally. Her teacher told me that the table they all sit at was named The Power Table by Jan Leon. Pretty dominating for a group of 4 year olds!! Ironically, all of the members of The Power Table, with the exception of Luke, will be moving to America over the summer. I hope they are able to train Luke well enough before the end of the school year to kept the Power Table going next year in Kindergarten 2. Maybe Jawad will have a good shot at obtaining a permanent spot at The Power Table next year.</div>
<br />
The following week, Chloe's Teacher, Miss Sarah, got married. She was married in one of the local town halls and was nice enough to invite all of her students and their families. It was our first Belgian wedding and it did not disappoint. The Borgerhout Town Hall was absolutely beautiful. Nicer than most of the churches I have been in in NJ. The ceremony was performed in their wedding hall and the students all had special seats behind Sarah and Pieter. The ceremony itself was relaxed and very casual. Chloe had been talking about Sarah's wedding for a while and was so excited to see her in her dress. She looked absolutely beautiful and it was so adorable to see all of the kids run up to her as she approached the Town Hall for the ceremony.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1lt8E_T5IBr2pMB517XPJi1oczio-4cQsn7ySzb6Ggobc4smgAM8zsefYZ4uB72Ae7yUrz9WS7nu90_fl47kjwg-OroH8F2VHcGrcLQeFEZSdV5tBl5TVRtALw2ZBadNrW7u2K-7tuU/s1600/P1040575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt1lt8E_T5IBr2pMB517XPJi1oczio-4cQsn7ySzb6Ggobc4smgAM8zsefYZ4uB72Ae7yUrz9WS7nu90_fl47kjwg-OroH8F2VHcGrcLQeFEZSdV5tBl5TVRtALw2ZBadNrW7u2K-7tuU/s320/P1040575.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edie and Chloe out from of the Town Hall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8smwiEPkANQDddT7nXTyXdQfc6uNeHbl7qm3vNQez0fRM-zcea32RGGAbOyTXuQS1HSruhYcltsLHsttzEY4KYD4W3YjGQsvGItXxmRhsQ22Dv7uh3AjWy2VrRqtCij5AtihC5AonK4Q/s1600/P1040588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8smwiEPkANQDddT7nXTyXdQfc6uNeHbl7qm3vNQez0fRM-zcea32RGGAbOyTXuQS1HSruhYcltsLHsttzEY4KYD4W3YjGQsvGItXxmRhsQ22Dv7uh3AjWy2VrRqtCij5AtihC5AonK4Q/s320/P1040588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ceremony</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: right;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
More to come...</div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-17863317567317443702012-04-19T12:17:00.002+02:002012-06-02T17:45:50.184+02:00Colin turns Seven<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Colin turned 7 this week and with a bang!</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3eRB83CplvFDpYGOWNJ7oCixtCOwt2tURmVIa7DaC1KU7W1l9wLu3TqVP5dR1kBs_QVq8f0ow_fsnvuihJquzF0Xz_-gXLDTnPbzVaTCzV9B5DKU3j6r97M50NFIWBqlUxYFsgu8nM8/s1600/000_0127.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3eRB83CplvFDpYGOWNJ7oCixtCOwt2tURmVIa7DaC1KU7W1l9wLu3TqVP5dR1kBs_QVq8f0ow_fsnvuihJquzF0Xz_-gXLDTnPbzVaTCzV9B5DKU3j6r97M50NFIWBqlUxYFsgu8nM8/s320/000_0127.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello. I am 7! (he wanted to wear the tie)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
We had 21 of his friends at Antwerp Bowling for an afternoon of bowling and play in their indoor playground. When I planned this, I really wasn't sure how long the kids would be interested in bowling, so I only booked the lanes for an hour. I expected only some of the kids to bowl for a while and then wander off into the indoor play area. I was completely wrong. EVERY kid bowled (except Chloe) for just about the entire time we had the lanes. It was a bit chaotic at times (think, fitting 21 kids in bowling shoes with European sizes), but thankfully many of the parents stayed and lended a hand. It was fun and there were definitely a few star bowlers in the group.<br />
<br />
On Monday, to celebrate his birthday, be brought a batch of cupcakes to school and later that afternoon, a batch of cupcakes to basketball. Luckily, I am armed with several boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix because the cakes and cupcakes that we are used to are not a normal thing around here. I did not bring any tubs of frosting over with me, so I have to make several batches by hand. Frosting is one of those items that I would have never thought of making from scratch. That is just one example of some of the regular conveniences that I have become so accustomed to that I needed to figure out since living here.[Insert stupid American joke here].<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk4vWCYNfCylHHJagTZsA-YNbz_1yMq9TbbjZ96w_hid5g58ACl6r0rfYT7bO99N-zQVx2ad30E3Fyg5BVXRtoZzk22OzkFhrbu0W60WuIf_NIRW43Unldskm5GeJDAN4348mJzerOTQ/s1600/IMG_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWk4vWCYNfCylHHJagTZsA-YNbz_1yMq9TbbjZ96w_hid5g58ACl6r0rfYT7bO99N-zQVx2ad30E3Fyg5BVXRtoZzk22OzkFhrbu0W60WuIf_NIRW43Unldskm5GeJDAN4348mJzerOTQ/s320/IMG_0065.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppx4PakA150Nd2fuWGXUQZlb3WNV7WwUXIxXGRkOtLvRH_ofGxUBzPrXTdKcCbg2RttXkLxNMroGRELY838zqircRMYcx6Bc7-4cldcqwxID8aMh_rF9ygXcGAFTFaObxjC2qbEbLg_s/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppx4PakA150Nd2fuWGXUQZlb3WNV7WwUXIxXGRkOtLvRH_ofGxUBzPrXTdKcCbg2RttXkLxNMroGRELY838zqircRMYcx6Bc7-4cldcqwxID8aMh_rF9ygXcGAFTFaObxjC2qbEbLg_s/s320/IMG_0141.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbqK0ISd9RinJyOAB2bQbH0Al8gb6xRrNFj4V58nnBfhgxG7VoFLDlo1ipK4iz4oQirnqkpiiWiGQBCnLu_9h6f7enXdAFtoI8GFTFibRJaGHSr5sr8GReGHtAeSSFuVUgJjNG2m-9dk/s1600/IMG_0154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbqK0ISd9RinJyOAB2bQbH0Al8gb6xRrNFj4V58nnBfhgxG7VoFLDlo1ipK4iz4oQirnqkpiiWiGQBCnLu_9h6f7enXdAFtoI8GFTFibRJaGHSr5sr8GReGHtAeSSFuVUgJjNG2m-9dk/s320/IMG_0154.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
In my opinion, one of the best things about bithday parties at this age, is the hand drawn and written birthday cards. Just about all of this kids write out a birthday message or at least sign there names. Some were even nice enough to drawn Colin pictures. Here are some of my favorites:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHKVHjohk1CBSPx-zXXtwNL2oSm9ob5zpWmAFpaiFIKvg4pK95pUlOYblPMJoI9jq6k4FwyQ5tC_620ZahtKhlpUef6Qj_uOoJBbnczqIZG67ChiAfPkII9zBKINm_WROLRnRphKIGGY/s1600/000_0152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxHKVHjohk1CBSPx-zXXtwNL2oSm9ob5zpWmAFpaiFIKvg4pK95pUlOYblPMJoI9jq6k4FwyQ5tC_620ZahtKhlpUef6Qj_uOoJBbnczqIZG67ChiAfPkII9zBKINm_WROLRnRphKIGGY/s320/000_0152.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lillianne's card was written backwards.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfWCyqb8E6I2yht6r-BZ_uDd6invLtxTo0Rifap2jZqMoHeKp3f5Q7eQQNSJ9bHx9-YQGWcLLJfSe-di_FtyaMZVQ6vgqSNgVyi7grCEmUSVgDMy4xKcBcUz3SKqEyOgySITLbYYUfxY/s1600/000_0153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIfWCyqb8E6I2yht6r-BZ_uDd6invLtxTo0Rifap2jZqMoHeKp3f5Q7eQQNSJ9bHx9-YQGWcLLJfSe-di_FtyaMZVQ6vgqSNgVyi7grCEmUSVgDMy4xKcBcUz3SKqEyOgySITLbYYUfxY/s320/000_0153.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So cute. From Edie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XMOzkn4NNfgicMbn1nwmxFnDGIwlxDOVM0wrx_QjNMjR3vWWIuUtnK6cHUQHhyphenhyphenmVUj-Onuik_WIz9OokKmq6lRErCOREOUxzS0n8fTG4_hzbW0fjR6gND2Qb0zGYGcbuMoFqsjnDwC0/s1600/000_0154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XMOzkn4NNfgicMbn1nwmxFnDGIwlxDOVM0wrx_QjNMjR3vWWIuUtnK6cHUQHhyphenhyphenmVUj-Onuik_WIz9OokKmq6lRErCOREOUxzS0n8fTG4_hzbW0fjR6gND2Qb0zGYGcbuMoFqsjnDwC0/s320/000_0154.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Front, in the bowling theme.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYbJh7NoTJNjwm-ED2HfcOSSFcwTqnipy0d8IlxArqXf0WyY82V4XmR-RJb2Y1kQ4P_gR5X1wsd-611ioLZqLQ3Gse9BZ1xKyoS0ExiFLwhufdtlsdkzXHJstPHvysSHLXdTxJZkwXjE/s1600/000_0155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYYbJh7NoTJNjwm-ED2HfcOSSFcwTqnipy0d8IlxArqXf0WyY82V4XmR-RJb2Y1kQ4P_gR5X1wsd-611ioLZqLQ3Gse9BZ1xKyoS0ExiFLwhufdtlsdkzXHJstPHvysSHLXdTxJZkwXjE/s320/000_0155.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Back, not sure if that is Colin or Dracula. From Veer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUluvvUKqpkRO5wadSoEl2zRcsN0cEQtPef53g2jsaRNzN4vmw364p8-eSF3bYinFKCXtL3-lFVJQ5YRiMMXlh3G3rB-r1HTgz3oeUFT5om7OYtyk9myQjOqFId_LRlSpjrI67ancd14/s1600/000_0156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUluvvUKqpkRO5wadSoEl2zRcsN0cEQtPef53g2jsaRNzN4vmw364p8-eSF3bYinFKCXtL3-lFVJQ5YRiMMXlh3G3rB-r1HTgz3oeUFT5om7OYtyk9myQjOqFId_LRlSpjrI67ancd14/s320/000_0156.jpg" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A nice dinosaur from Sofie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTi64Spe6izjpDze7DhjYJvXCR01DkFhuEcTsthvqRXuStRmb6FzxVgS_kO1a-g2YnHbAb7-4AEBtgITVN85yn2f99Ih2a6OWqWtllS3OhmO80HeWRsLmjEdMQXx-bJ0jgCUhfOyOJWY/s1600/000_0157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="261" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuTi64Spe6izjpDze7DhjYJvXCR01DkFhuEcTsthvqRXuStRmb6FzxVgS_kO1a-g2YnHbAb7-4AEBtgITVN85yn2f99Ih2a6OWqWtllS3OhmO80HeWRsLmjEdMQXx-bJ0jgCUhfOyOJWY/s320/000_0157.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rockin' out. From Martta.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqQ9SxHL39IA4yTcIh8Qxak6sPoqEd6zjlK6HB2HRDiPjeQWvWhCM_s__DvWNAR0OuV8mpA4RJTjEyDbJvgeQgZixZWbpPtpCYD_I_5Ya67nFhuwWF8Ddpmp4KsdA8CTYA58t8tHBuAE/s1600/000_0158.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhqQ9SxHL39IA4yTcIh8Qxak6sPoqEd6zjlK6HB2HRDiPjeQWvWhCM_s__DvWNAR0OuV8mpA4RJTjEyDbJvgeQgZixZWbpPtpCYD_I_5Ya67nFhuwWF8Ddpmp4KsdA8CTYA58t8tHBuAE/s320/000_0158.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite. Lauren claims that Colin is the coolest kid in the class from America. I am not sure if that is really saying a lot since there are only 3 kids from America in the class and Lauren is one of them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Happy Birthday Colin! <br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-38759983043469953712012-04-13T13:36:00.003+02:002012-04-13T13:36:58.177+02:00Te HuurThat is right! Our apartment is te huur or to rent. Our movers are booked and we are coming home! You can offically count on the Shand Family permanently moving back to America by the beginning of July.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJXLXX5iCEczVGPYcBD-6z7Pq5xz_IG9DQfSdvUKoRj5lStNc_QH6Lj1it3myDV80A0gzSSEBAqLlwpz3MgG0sOZr8FLiQUHUYUvr-YuZrJKMu6dSkmEuQVPM1ulmzhA3IJJK-27Amuk/s1600/000_0125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJXLXX5iCEczVGPYcBD-6z7Pq5xz_IG9DQfSdvUKoRj5lStNc_QH6Lj1it3myDV80A0gzSSEBAqLlwpz3MgG0sOZr8FLiQUHUYUvr-YuZrJKMu6dSkmEuQVPM1ulmzhA3IJJK-27Amuk/s640/000_0125.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-1188532117563956012012-04-13T10:01:00.000+02:002012-04-13T13:29:33.983+02:00EasterEven though we had only arrived home from skiing a few hours before bed time the night before Easter, it was plenty of time for Chloe to be so bad that the Easter Bunny cut back on her treats the next day. He left notes for the kids saying only Colin had eggs to find. Almost as expected, this did not phase her much. We didn't have any plans for Easter, so we wandered around the city for a while.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWA6VUxXDQwv0FQ_t7102ocUyBhNgB1L4A3rhU8d3ixQyetY31GTwzeU1fLcLQAlEtuPztloSWGSOKOgVh63XU1WJTaWvIz48Smhuo_NHQUBR5X-5c5CTkG0CpYVuZPlcnWfFpwPD4po/s1600/P1040243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWA6VUxXDQwv0FQ_t7102ocUyBhNgB1L4A3rhU8d3ixQyetY31GTwzeU1fLcLQAlEtuPztloSWGSOKOgVh63XU1WJTaWvIz48Smhuo_NHQUBR5X-5c5CTkG0CpYVuZPlcnWfFpwPD4po/s400/P1040243.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chloe being her normal bad self.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
One thing Chloe does not mess around with is her art work and writing. There are 20 kids in Chloe's class and as her teacher rotates the children to work on their art, Chloe is the only one who will sit and work on her project the entire time. She goes through phases of things she likes to draw - eyebrows, teeth, etc. She is great with scissors and she is currently obsessed with writing her name. Once shown, is is very good at almost remembering how to write other peoples names as well. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjf1uFnvw3f5UDBXGGUNPro7wrPfMdkRrJV_JLGawkC1ckSNcVH3CtOOEscAuUIrFYOj0z6ByrvilszhHHoVQ9pF_A9C-_70PgkBfTlNlmKa09dcBhVxho5o0MfLBQfs_SkE16VOjNwI/s1600/000_0121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjf1uFnvw3f5UDBXGGUNPro7wrPfMdkRrJV_JLGawkC1ckSNcVH3CtOOEscAuUIrFYOj0z6ByrvilszhHHoVQ9pF_A9C-_70PgkBfTlNlmKa09dcBhVxho5o0MfLBQfs_SkE16VOjNwI/s320/000_0121.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyebrows and teeth.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjth5dPaYzpyEIMhF6mqDBGxIXnUib8Egh0U-p5hIadAN3zDvhaLS7kvoV3GSHLdJcxxRMRpIAT_uYSlvXcwn5lNkhF3CwoNB-xaBT7Fp5LpBCeR83JiMDEaj15F9P-NDvvulAxkXPk5fg/s1600/000_0122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjth5dPaYzpyEIMhF6mqDBGxIXnUib8Egh0U-p5hIadAN3zDvhaLS7kvoV3GSHLdJcxxRMRpIAT_uYSlvXcwn5lNkhF3CwoNB-xaBT7Fp5LpBCeR83JiMDEaj15F9P-NDvvulAxkXPk5fg/s320/000_0122.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvGwrXFPtxHMyv2vmYpK9nQrP2EjAa_VOxbsg1nJ4yBwE7XEFHO9bodORvO0SBcXih9HrcwQBY2glPk14Px-WRt8DxRSP4ygGUoyRhBH1jHrRutZ2YnOwYW5ih4rmorT7d9CUn3OWqMw/s1600/000_0123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDvGwrXFPtxHMyv2vmYpK9nQrP2EjAa_VOxbsg1nJ4yBwE7XEFHO9bodORvO0SBcXih9HrcwQBY2glPk14Px-WRt8DxRSP4ygGUoyRhBH1jHrRutZ2YnOwYW5ih4rmorT7d9CUn3OWqMw/s320/000_0123.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note for the EB with Chloe's letter writing practice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We were so proud when Chloe won the Easter Egg drawing competition for her class.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgty0mQEDaIcDRQzAwi4mJBhuhlIgijvvmmGTr4oB8XjTZb_bNcOuJlociedAjgFBUvNVTL6q7ffEYfa4CWH-nRcHAcNm7OzYaaT02SPIPJev_doKrIiYnUYcG3_GyHghVwKX6b-kGRU_8/s1600/000_0119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" qda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgty0mQEDaIcDRQzAwi4mJBhuhlIgijvvmmGTr4oB8XjTZb_bNcOuJlociedAjgFBUvNVTL6q7ffEYfa4CWH-nRcHAcNm7OzYaaT02SPIPJev_doKrIiYnUYcG3_GyHghVwKX6b-kGRU_8/s400/000_0119.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The winning drawing for KG1!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-68992835353119155652012-04-10T15:35:00.000+02:002012-04-10T15:35:29.712+02:00Skiing, again and Chloe turns 4!Last week, we went back to France for another week of skiing. Although we were not the only people to come back within one season, I am pretty sure we were the only Americans to make their second trip within a six week window.<br />
<br />
<br />
We made the trip down over two days. In the middle of France we came upon a maroon Buick labeled County Sherrif with lights and sirens. It also had a Missouri license plate in the back window and 911 and Dare stickers on the back fenders. Hysterical! I would love to meet the person who had that shipped over here. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We stayed in a different chalet this time with 2 British families. As before, we were really lucky with the people we shared the chalet with. They were good company and the kids were all happy together. We also shared our time with the host and chef of the chalet. We had a lot of funny conversations about weights and measures and were comparing our new friendship to the "special" relationship to that of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. By the end of the trip, Colin's British accent was in full force and even Chloe was slipping a few British accents in as well. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXMOfwfoQXa27QBz2HLY0IWJqvPrNGPts6J5OkMp3WJNg4wE5xtwm2KLfAnamtxV7vgDOWLXh_4B5BJXmL05wT7Uw5tksm9TDU28VK8rj6hIpJpMRUhtdAHc459NFkorvVEd-oN18moBM/s1600/P1040113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXMOfwfoQXa27QBz2HLY0IWJqvPrNGPts6J5OkMp3WJNg4wE5xtwm2KLfAnamtxV7vgDOWLXh_4B5BJXmL05wT7Uw5tksm9TDU28VK8rj6hIpJpMRUhtdAHc459NFkorvVEd-oN18moBM/s320/P1040113.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Chloe just fit that age requirement to start ski lessons through the French ski school. Her class started in "the garden" which is just off from being level. She learned to put her put her skis on and also managed to hold onto the rope lift. By the middle of the week, the French instructor wanted to kick her out of the class, telling us she was too small. As before, the company we booked the vacation through has a staff member to help with their guests taking lessons. They told us that Chloe was making progress and should stay. Chloe's helper, Matt, had her riding the button lift up a small green slope the next day. We were told on Friday that she actually got on a chair lift! She still has a long way to go, but she likes being on skis and asked to go skiing one more time on the day we were packing up to go. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDt3xVLjkP8OMNNKXJ9x-W8QL2ldfUP7jZtLN2coyz1HM-k_zv3Z5cnw1R8qkhC-zcMyxVIfk3T6lGh_offTP0AZYGRoAUEB5YB3_ta1gLiqMiogOh0YfAdB6kpYmeoYt291WKMnkR3mA/s1600/P1040123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDt3xVLjkP8OMNNKXJ9x-W8QL2ldfUP7jZtLN2coyz1HM-k_zv3Z5cnw1R8qkhC-zcMyxVIfk3T6lGh_offTP0AZYGRoAUEB5YB3_ta1gLiqMiogOh0YfAdB6kpYmeoYt291WKMnkR3mA/s320/P1040123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colin getting off the lift and the strangers responsible for his safety.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Colin continued in the program that he had started 6 weeks ago. Even though he started with the next level, Flocon, he was bumped up to the 1 star group by the second day. At this level, the start using poles and gradually stop snowplowing and start practicing parallel turns. For Colin's ski lessons, the group meets at the ski school to put on their ski bibs that typically states their level. From there, the group heads off to a chair lift. Only one ski student is allowed to ride on the lift at a time and the all meet at the top of the lift. It seems very unnatural as a parent to send your small child off to ride a chair lift with several adults who often make conversation with them. But as one of those adults, you are very protective of those kids, making sure they aren't in danger of falling off. I am also always talking to them, asking them what class they are in and how long they have been skiing. We would often ski by Colin's class, as they were skiing on the same blue slopes that we were.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_d_KHy2ns7QIRh3jNfqeDO_Rk933n43NA6pjOiSVNrk-QUHb-a_MXcbvxuc61dWtLTbqMclJm65lI1MCLAlOI07HbxF9ImylI6dQ6KVuspe8u5uoIEPV7rkJ5n8SATd_aL08KFE37q8/s1600/P1040142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV_d_KHy2ns7QIRh3jNfqeDO_Rk933n43NA6pjOiSVNrk-QUHb-a_MXcbvxuc61dWtLTbqMclJm65lI1MCLAlOI07HbxF9ImylI6dQ6KVuspe8u5uoIEPV7rkJ5n8SATd_aL08KFE37q8/s320/P1040142.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
On Thursday, we celebrated Chloe's 4th birthday with the entire group in the chalet. Our chef, Rhys, made a chocolate cake and the other kids surprised her with presents! I think it was one birthday we will never forget.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigErnl-KNnx-EOyice2PtJo9eXcGFAt9ToYDULPFrapUoYxKHQ05-JO7DxdtLdrstWPmRiIRdUoM33nA_3uMv9bK1ZYM6BrSZiKSRtXxEmRptQMtZtlkw2XxTWVhOR8nZxyqH-Gp18o8A/s1600/birthday+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigErnl-KNnx-EOyice2PtJo9eXcGFAt9ToYDULPFrapUoYxKHQ05-JO7DxdtLdrstWPmRiIRdUoM33nA_3uMv9bK1ZYM6BrSZiKSRtXxEmRptQMtZtlkw2XxTWVhOR8nZxyqH-Gp18o8A/s320/birthday+girl.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Friday night, the kids were presented with their ski school pins acknowledging their accomplishments. Although we were happy with what Chloe had achieved, We were so proud of Colin. He class was not easy and he worked really hard. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-xKBIlnmHC6i61kk1I0cmFQ3ALEJxfql9mcl3bik-DoVOL_ky08XgD8XwGSgqIaxGCyf9A2b4tTNqUnVA29y8yuecu21MInd8kwEpRm2Sd-juegMIcx0nOnX2qKyo75BBn_UtpXtpN0/s1600/P1040263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-xKBIlnmHC6i61kk1I0cmFQ3ALEJxfql9mcl3bik-DoVOL_ky08XgD8XwGSgqIaxGCyf9A2b4tTNqUnVA29y8yuecu21MInd8kwEpRm2Sd-juegMIcx0nOnX2qKyo75BBn_UtpXtpN0/s320/P1040263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It was another awesome ski vacation. If we had found out about this <a href="http://familyski.co.uk/" target="_blank">company</a> when we got here, I sure it would have been at least a yearly trip. We definitely are planning on doing more skiing when we are back in the US.</div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-53226743362321228112012-03-29T16:18:00.001+02:002012-03-29T16:18:53.908+02:00Birthday Tea PartyBirthday season has begun. As in previous years, Colin and Chloe's birthday fall during or right around the two week Spring school vacation. This can make planning their parties challenging. <br />
Yesterday, we held Chloe's birthday at our house. Every Wednesday is a half day of school so we invited 7 of her girlfriends back for a tea party and lunch. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1n9dmsPUGUzNMl5sztE8zFZCZ0UpLJ7e0OhNughPza66HL2Ii-_5O1WkK0H9KeT6epB3jNQLO0OXpBWZhoJeqjd8XjzJYnz8KmoQcbeUxpPNiQXyTMWUhr5yek0wv82YQzy4H5TYIZxI/s1600/P1040034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1n9dmsPUGUzNMl5sztE8zFZCZ0UpLJ7e0OhNughPza66HL2Ii-_5O1WkK0H9KeT6epB3jNQLO0OXpBWZhoJeqjd8XjzJYnz8KmoQcbeUxpPNiQXyTMWUhr5yek0wv82YQzy4H5TYIZxI/s320/P1040034.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of treats ...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJzp92DKYJ6k8hJmfFbg9-OajqmS3UwB4XwtpvDUH4fLJc-EfJxMqLLgLIizOIGcIBfXsJuiDTaj-d5blhsBpxKT1vlWNhjAMRykRviYoiVQTfalIDp3CnNx98pJWW8mea3BLkvjMlBU/s1600/P1040035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZJzp92DKYJ6k8hJmfFbg9-OajqmS3UwB4XwtpvDUH4fLJc-EfJxMqLLgLIizOIGcIBfXsJuiDTaj-d5blhsBpxKT1vlWNhjAMRykRviYoiVQTfalIDp3CnNx98pJWW8mea3BLkvjMlBU/s320/P1040035.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and lots of presents!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
And one more big treat... guess where we are going next week??</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjf4jrpBCH14MhVXnUhTYaJXioQnhaKeZX2y6deAB_ItCtg0aimSIqddQOeBNxbD6Im3LRawm8NQL9FYxgz4r9GuKmfHBWWu4kVN9PVDAV-hepwgrwwVOsVwkNK-8yWkANHPrOaX9Z23k/s1600/P1040050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" dea="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjf4jrpBCH14MhVXnUhTYaJXioQnhaKeZX2y6deAB_ItCtg0aimSIqddQOeBNxbD6Im3LRawm8NQL9FYxgz4r9GuKmfHBWWu4kVN9PVDAV-hepwgrwwVOsVwkNK-8yWkANHPrOaX9Z23k/s320/P1040050.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SKIING!!! Yes, we are going skiing , AGAIN!<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we inquired and found out they had only one vacancy left for next week, we couldn't resist and booked it. This time Chloe will be old enough to start ski lessons. What better way to celebrate your fourth birthday than on the slopes in the French Alps!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-48711114656037261562012-03-21T11:38:00.001+01:002012-03-21T11:41:28.738+01:00Colin, the Toothless Wonder.<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
It only took a span of about a week for both for Colin's front teeth of fall out! He is certainly keeping the Tooth Fairy busy.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0JHMQ1gCG9I6Lw1lxeNru-v2bP_U-WPvuM4etxx7IN0iXzueSwWTIGNMPLtCnT2K8o01ukhFLw3BFikfwT1-zM6P7JzO7DuXFmQeh8JAMIDK4j8QHlT31aRDDNaBZQmbfXEnMdis-Z0/s1600/P1030991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0JHMQ1gCG9I6Lw1lxeNru-v2bP_U-WPvuM4etxx7IN0iXzueSwWTIGNMPLtCnT2K8o01ukhFLw3BFikfwT1-zM6P7JzO7DuXFmQeh8JAMIDK4j8QHlT31aRDDNaBZQmbfXEnMdis-Z0/s320/P1030991.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
First tooth lost on 3.13.12</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QL-41tvArx3qz41CtjDKKHS17QQf5ycaymPE77xtOpq067bHqryG_9YfibAMslFAzM9lznDtDaPTmwXBel8nykLeLfV4D9biHIaTnUiU7T6WCBRuAejyuoohjtqMAydjKtC1cpRstFw/s1600/P1040002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4QL-41tvArx3qz41CtjDKKHS17QQf5ycaymPE77xtOpq067bHqryG_9YfibAMslFAzM9lznDtDaPTmwXBel8nykLeLfV4D9biHIaTnUiU7T6WCBRuAejyuoohjtqMAydjKtC1cpRstFw/s320/P1040002.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second tooth lost 3.21.12</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
</div>
The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-9897457814487667732012-02-29T14:36:00.001+01:002012-03-06T09:51:00.895+01:00Last Minute Skiing in France!!If there was an award for booking a trip last minute, there is no doubt we would win it. <br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The kids had their half term break and we wanted to go away but were having trouble finding a place to go that wasn't going to cost a fortune or that had availability. We searched the internet until the very last minute and I woke Craig up on Friday morning to let him know that I had found something that sounded interesting, but it would require us to leave that afternoon. After a few phone calls and some some quick packing, we picked the kids up from school at 3:30 and got on the road headed toward Ardent, France and the Portes du Soleil mountain area for a week of skiing.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9FEz4GksOj2TQN1oDJzIm1CgI5csfXlEJVppaVs7pWm_pS_76I8jeQLIEQrXDS2ck4qDyu5my-VMmj1Su6dfYKhGN9esamsxj07CUv_q3VwJ-l5IIeZA5unEkYu5toJTxC6ZW-F307tU/s1600/P1030814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9FEz4GksOj2TQN1oDJzIm1CgI5csfXlEJVppaVs7pWm_pS_76I8jeQLIEQrXDS2ck4qDyu5my-VMmj1Su6dfYKhGN9esamsxj07CUv_q3VwJ-l5IIeZA5unEkYu5toJTxC6ZW-F307tU/s320/P1030814.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The area in France we were headed was right on the border of Switzerland and just outside Geneva in the Alps. We stayed in the one road village of Ardent in a chalet that was directly across of the street from the ski lift. The chalet we stayed in was big enough for 4 families. Each family had their own rooms and bathrooms and all other common areas were shared. The company that managed the chalet and the entire ski and child care program is based in the UK and is primarily used by British families. We could not have gotten luckier with the families we shared the week with. They were good company and being around other kids that spoke English was enough to make the trip memorable for Colin and Chloe. </div>
<br />
The chalet was run by two girls - one who was a host and the other who was a chef. They were there every morning to make breakfast. They would leave fresh bread and snacks for when we arrived home from skiing, served dinner to the kids at 5:30 and cooked a 3 course dinner every night for the adults at 7:30. We didn't have to do any dishes or prepare anything - it was great! The one night they were off, they made dinner reservations for us, provided transportation and arranged sitters for the kids.<br />
<br />
Mornings were probably the craziest time of the day. All of the kids and parents would be dressing to head up the mountain for ski lessons. Chloe was just a bit too young for lessons, so we brought her to a full day care that was located just two chalets down the road.<br />
<br />
The ski lessons Colin took were run through a French company, ESF. The ESF has a reputation of being an excellent and hard core school, but they are also known for being strict and not dealing very well with kids crying and such. We saw several examples of this. Lots of yelling and we even saw one instructor pick a kid up out the the snow by the hood of her jacket. Because of this, the company we used to book the vacation with sends some skiing assistants to tend to the crying children, provide hugs and encouragement when needed. Colin was having a bit of a rough time by day 2, but was able to turn it around and even get bumped up one class by the middle of the week. By Wednesday, they had him on a chair lift. Truly amazing!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOUfBBC7Myazl59u14mYFo8LEgXUf_f6Gx35lLEjZGYxox8LdjlU3AGr2VYYCl4Qt74ub6A5bwy30Wx8BQXK8mCITIF9nJWodaTebBQ7KZBvCyujoVRrwpyJeug0JgokmisfhEuRfQrw/s1600/P1030879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitOUfBBC7Myazl59u14mYFo8LEgXUf_f6Gx35lLEjZGYxox8LdjlU3AGr2VYYCl4Qt74ub6A5bwy30Wx8BQXK8mCITIF9nJWodaTebBQ7KZBvCyujoVRrwpyJeug0JgokmisfhEuRfQrw/s320/P1030879.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Most days, Craig and I skiied together but he is a much better skier than I am so we often split up in the afternoon. I spent most of my time working on my technique on the easier blue slopes, while Craig was a little more wild. The slopes brought us over the border between France and Switzerland several times and I ended up with tons of border crossing notification texts on my cell phone. Thursday afternoon, Craig went to ski with 2 of our chalet mates on several red slopes. I knew better than to even attempt a red slope.<br />
<br />
After Colin's last lesson on Friday, we brought him up the mountain and skied with him down several blue slopes. He is a very controlled skier and clearly has no fear of what lies ahead of him. While we were skiing, we were shocked to see him ski just off one of the runs to go over 2 jumps.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxjMyJBwfXx69u4NOWzS81zvdzXtxA3mOumzAavvPx9opiE9Khx4UZ4iQuWQ1Z1OS9s06JXvEwh4Mey5et86ddRyr_kywFwrcAmEIxd8H3agYqfVXbT3JuYCQCUVNAzop2dnt8XjKD9E/s1600/P1030898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxjMyJBwfXx69u4NOWzS81zvdzXtxA3mOumzAavvPx9opiE9Khx4UZ4iQuWQ1Z1OS9s06JXvEwh4Mey5et86ddRyr_kywFwrcAmEIxd8H3agYqfVXbT3JuYCQCUVNAzop2dnt8XjKD9E/s320/P1030898.JPG" uda="true" width="240" /></a></div>
Friday evening, the ski instructors went around to each of the chalets and presented the children with ESF ski school completion certificates and pins. I don't know if we have ever been more proud of Colin. He worked through his rough patch, gave it his all and ended up really enjoying it. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9wJqKcsYUKr9GfIeS8tjpz6zJduAAVVz5DSd7G_VpFCCNCrx_9GbF5N1jXAHEy3yJq9aNCntkR_Mz5W5GtUjQmPlPYe1SUj8JADMesz0Fo0Ej9G_28q-xUZrFumdUk599x6o8r-aI3U/s1600/P1030914.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf9wJqKcsYUKr9GfIeS8tjpz6zJduAAVVz5DSd7G_VpFCCNCrx_9GbF5N1jXAHEy3yJq9aNCntkR_Mz5W5GtUjQmPlPYe1SUj8JADMesz0Fo0Ej9G_28q-xUZrFumdUk599x6o8r-aI3U/s320/P1030914.JPG" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It was much more sad to leave than I had anticipated and depending on the weather, we are already considering making another trip back before the season is over!The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com21003 Route de Vonnes, 74390 Châtel, France46.257873 6.84064946.252383499999993 6.8307785 46.2633625 6.8505195tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-87581565985685816722012-01-28T14:31:00.001+01:002012-01-29T18:21:13.837+01:00Hurting Ears, Bumped Heads and Strained EyesThe Shand Family has had a lot of adventures over the past couple of weeks. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLE4jMx2C2jfZl7T9sWARiXYa509-Vl22UAnnuyBziZRYmZ3d2D59NrSJZQwlakMcReADSDdSBKL9wmz5jRutpdhUEZWHZTcY_t64E4SIAjYW3qMwY5hBvRpne7EVpQmPZwc119b80brY/s1600/P1030772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLE4jMx2C2jfZl7T9sWARiXYa509-Vl22UAnnuyBziZRYmZ3d2D59NrSJZQwlakMcReADSDdSBKL9wmz5jRutpdhUEZWHZTcY_t64E4SIAjYW3qMwY5hBvRpne7EVpQmPZwc119b80brY/s320/P1030772.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Chloe had been asking us for a while now to get her ears pierced. A pretty bold question for a three and a half year old, but that is Chloe. Craig and I discussed it and really could not come up with a good why we shouldn't let her. We decided to ask Colin for his opinion and he was very quick to veto it, stating that she needs to be older. We ended up ignoring his opinion and brought her to Claire's (yes, they have Claire's in Belgium, too) the next day. We gave her plenty of warning that it was going to hurt, but she still was determined to have it done. Once we found someone to help us, she sat in the chair calmly, let them pin her hair back and mark her ears. They said she was one of the calmest little girls they had seen. They lined up their piercing gun, both at once, and did it. She flinched hard and curled her head down into her chest, but did not scream or wail. There was a little whimpering but no crying. We do have a video of the piercing, but it makes me cringe every time I watch it. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cAvj-JyYyvCf0fc5xfyRXjFDQCFJLwh1FS10GrG97E2iH7DcMwfGMwyPzNRaSjMbDMNNOylT_m7aG6vI-3F55-s3EPF-pnEssLv3UJ1or5vsXmd1ozIn9XWgY_zbkVa8V8F3Txjrg34/s1600/img_0726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5cAvj-JyYyvCf0fc5xfyRXjFDQCFJLwh1FS10GrG97E2iH7DcMwfGMwyPzNRaSjMbDMNNOylT_m7aG6vI-3F55-s3EPF-pnEssLv3UJ1or5vsXmd1ozIn9XWgY_zbkVa8V8F3Txjrg34/s320/img_0726.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All worn out after having her ears pierced.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next day, Chloe was able to show off her newly pieced ears adorned with pink crystal earrings at the annual New Year Toast in Grote Markt. It is almost hard to believe that this is the third New Years Toast we have been too. As expected, there was free fries, beer, gluhwine and juice. It is really an awesome event and it was mobbed. We met up with several friends and camped out for about an hour in front of the swing ride while the kids went on over and over. We have declared that it was going to be the last go around when Colin decided to climb out of the swing the wrong way and landed face first on the cobblestone. The egg on his head grew immediately and then quickly turned black and blue and was followed by blood coming from his nose. We rushed over to the first aid tent where his head was wrapped with ice. They told us we should head over to the hospital to have it checked. Assuming we were tourists, they asked us if we were familiar with Sint Vincentius Hospital and I had to laugh since I feel like we are practically on a first name basis with the staff. It took a few hours of waiting, but Colin was cleared by the doctors and was able to go to school with a good story the next day. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The following Sunday, I headed off to London by myself for Diamond Grading Lab. I have been taking e-learning classes through GIA (Gemological Institute of America) towards certificates in diamonds and pearls. I was excited to get away by myself for a bit. Every time I have been to London, I am so shocked at how busy it is. The tube system is so efficient and is always mobbed. One night, all four corners of the Oxford Circus tube entrance was backed up with people leading all the way up the steps to street level. I still haven't figured out whether to stay to the right or left when walking down the street. Honestly, I don't know if Londoners have it figured out either. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I was pleasantly surprised to see on Facebook that one of my friends from elementary school, Matt, had also just arrived in London. We have not seen each other in about 10 years, so we met up for dinner one night. The day I left, Craig was able to manage 2 birthday parties at the same time, then vomiting and soiled underwear in the evening. Unfortunately, the week went down hill from there with all three of them getting sick.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The Diamond Grading course was an intensive 5 full day lab. It is normally taught over 7 weeks for full time students We were warned on the first day that we would feel eye strain and by the third day, I was definitely feeling it. By day 4, I had to walk way from my microscope a few times during the day and by the fifth day, I felt like my eyes were bleeding. The strain I was feeling must not have affected my judgment too much because I scored a 95% on the 2 stone challenge. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
I arrived home late Friday night and had a few days to rest up before I packed back up and head of to London again for a Pearl Grading Lab. I felt like I had a very Dutch moment when I loaded my suitcase onto my bike and rode myself to the Antwerp train station. The train station has a large area underground just for bikes. There must easily be a few thousand there. The stairway leading down has grooves along the sides of the steps just large enough to fit your bike tire so you are easily able to walk it down and back up. I arrived back in London on Wednesday in The Pearl Grading Lab was only one day and the day flew by fast. Although I enjoyed having a bit of alone time, it much nicer to be back home.</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhsKYGHT4UcSmOxIWQTH5aAHdTtrhSgbDp7JLjLGWJEtCJTXPUgeiJteBa1IXTYdlxct81zwrMGan3uvU-Agv2oCccFs7gZyOZo66KYdcUdP_tQ1kOgTGIqGHQav-5slEytbB5ob00YU/s1600/P1030785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" gda="true" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhsKYGHT4UcSmOxIWQTH5aAHdTtrhSgbDp7JLjLGWJEtCJTXPUgeiJteBa1IXTYdlxct81zwrMGan3uvU-Agv2oCccFs7gZyOZo66KYdcUdP_tQ1kOgTGIqGHQav-5slEytbB5ob00YU/s400/P1030785.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Years Toast in Grote Markt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-51071232286952392012012-01-07T12:21:00.000+01:002012-01-07T12:21:01.808+01:00Christmas Holiday Part 3<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRKirOX6Dj1ntACWq029F4rj6DKwnManUL5XDLDSSz70gPaEdOYRFaJZV7EgRT_2xZxFG900XCjZ51giooQ4snnLymkK7P6tuz6646iASXYoffbtJ8x7xB9kdgCiA26UEAAPG6W7KkVQ/s1600/P1030649.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRKirOX6Dj1ntACWq029F4rj6DKwnManUL5XDLDSSz70gPaEdOYRFaJZV7EgRT_2xZxFG900XCjZ51giooQ4snnLymkK7P6tuz6646iASXYoffbtJ8x7xB9kdgCiA26UEAAPG6W7KkVQ/s320/P1030649.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colin and his new skates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We arrived back home from London around dinner time and immediately went out to find something to eat. It was clear that Christmas had officially begun here because most businesses were closed and the street were just about desilate. We ended up around the cathedral eating pizza and coming back home to check Norad to see where Santa was. I also checked my email to find that Santa had sent a video message for each of the kids. Colin was relieved to find out that he was officially on the good list but Chloe was a bit stunned to hear that she had been a little bad. He told her that she still had time to turn it around before Christmas. She spend the rest of the night very quiet and crawled into bed without a hassle. I know it is a little mean, but it had to be done. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We woke up around 7 the next morning to find that Santa came and did leave presents for both kids.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
In the afternoon, we had our friends Hugh, Tracie, Tracie's mom and kids over for dinner. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WVWBq0XcdcQMo8x3LibDJSkYoZzqStrasZtsGEkhxY7qYuKo50hLePlvzM0lqTMP_4uDUMt3cDuRmJJA4pk7WIw-DztKXrbex921aE5MLhihAoF_JctezpHvZDmFrSzNYDsx_Eo3rqg/s1600/P1030666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_WVWBq0XcdcQMo8x3LibDJSkYoZzqStrasZtsGEkhxY7qYuKo50hLePlvzM0lqTMP_4uDUMt3cDuRmJJA4pk7WIw-DztKXrbex921aE5MLhihAoF_JctezpHvZDmFrSzNYDsx_Eo3rqg/s320/P1030666.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sundae Making and Christmas Cookies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Craig won tickets at work for a local amusement park, so we went to check it out a few days after Christmas. The name of the park is Plopsaland, yes, Plopsaland. Plop is a TV character here who is like a gnome. It turned out that they were giving away Campbell Soup hats with admission. We needed them because it was cold and windy!!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMI7al3Wyd0k2n4MmHJ_EtDdFwWyOVCivhlo0KwHyz4Sdnck372yBO5bHgHXuz1otUuBQ5v4vrVYaXqUMPLEmaf897qYYuimZHQGKvL-B9oDSI6fTmzFZZgk5ygrWqsZ2ZpHQ1v9xYRuM/s1600/P1030733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMI7al3Wyd0k2n4MmHJ_EtDdFwWyOVCivhlo0KwHyz4Sdnck372yBO5bHgHXuz1otUuBQ5v4vrVYaXqUMPLEmaf897qYYuimZHQGKvL-B9oDSI6fTmzFZZgk5ygrWqsZ2ZpHQ1v9xYRuM/s400/P1030733.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We love Plopsaland!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Most of the Antwerp Christmas Market is now closed with the exception of the ferris wheel and skating rink. I brought the kids skating this week. Colin is a pro and skates with the big kids around the main skating area. It was Chloe's first time and she wore the double blade skates. I expected her to be a lot worse than she was. </div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAk7FbZQ9S58CIlweTS-S575uwYFfpJHrAI73O1raLufDacjxMYFOjHGVFEKbEaa-qANDAkcHIdzCWNEI45jEHxPLexBT524TH3uE8TZL44nTNosIUCbBOs1eKrbln_FwL09FFJR8bQEo/s1600/P1030746.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAk7FbZQ9S58CIlweTS-S575uwYFfpJHrAI73O1raLufDacjxMYFOjHGVFEKbEaa-qANDAkcHIdzCWNEI45jEHxPLexBT524TH3uE8TZL44nTNosIUCbBOs1eKrbln_FwL09FFJR8bQEo/s320/P1030746.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woah!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1QXf8uMdwp-tx6SEhwlcKcf2FXPP6uhArv1qI87qchrCjhwFb_jgMCp_dFyOtJUmjd2r6Sef3UUK9BbUjbIQnTH0tTDPguWXaR-CRYAih_SJsCyiJbIMIIShLQbiop-wW3TQ8jN-Eq8/s1600/P1030748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-1QXf8uMdwp-tx6SEhwlcKcf2FXPP6uhArv1qI87qchrCjhwFb_jgMCp_dFyOtJUmjd2r6Sef3UUK9BbUjbIQnTH0tTDPguWXaR-CRYAih_SJsCyiJbIMIIShLQbiop-wW3TQ8jN-Eq8/s320/P1030748.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Double Woah!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0Antwerp, Belgium51.2192159 4.402881851.0600899 4.0870248 51.3783419 4.7187388000000006tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-41399448636723872742011-12-26T17:33:00.001+01:002011-12-27T21:45:22.999+01:00Christmas Holiday Part 2<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Last Wednesday was the last day of school before the Christmas holiday and we went to see Chloe's Christmas show. She sang and did all of the moves, but did not like the audience looking at her so she faced the back of the stage the entire time. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85ut64HFQKKRYHm1AsTZQW0NcrB5kz74aMXmz6OvHUBLC7S3wM8H_xa7QpqGfcKEsbXwZ6dnqwrUFLlVj3uReDzWsj0V8S_a8aoSCHQCUeBraaFAJ0Chpj0iKQ8JpgQ6uZuFOdkqjgLA/s1600/P1030337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj85ut64HFQKKRYHm1AsTZQW0NcrB5kz74aMXmz6OvHUBLC7S3wM8H_xa7QpqGfcKEsbXwZ6dnqwrUFLlVj3uReDzWsj0V8S_a8aoSCHQCUeBraaFAJ0Chpj0iKQ8JpgQ6uZuFOdkqjgLA/s320/P1030337.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had a nice view of Chloe's hair for the entire show.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We left right after for London. Like before, we took the ferry and then made the 2 hour drive into town. Our timing wasn't great and we reached London during rush hour. To say driving through London at rush hour while on the opposite side of the road was stressful, doesn't quite capture it. We were very relieved to reach the hotel. We had heard about a Winter Wonderland in Hype Park and walked over the next morning. We got to see Santa, went on a few rides and played a game.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBXGP5dpqCAUPiffdXe16Z2JtwLR5-3kmgDPgRHzX7H5dVah4MZDgcB7MC6c9g60kYJoWyy1WcN9PKHMGzDloiE5Dk4yk_unkLmiu2oNj9oyecVJUy2-gJsA_GT8IAKdAJRcBwqOM1Xs/s1600/P1030357.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYBXGP5dpqCAUPiffdXe16Z2JtwLR5-3kmgDPgRHzX7H5dVah4MZDgcB7MC6c9g60kYJoWyy1WcN9PKHMGzDloiE5Dk4yk_unkLmiu2oNj9oyecVJUy2-gJsA_GT8IAKdAJRcBwqOM1Xs/s400/P1030357.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colin the confident one and Chloe who knows she has been a little bad.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After a stroll around Harrod's, we took a taxi down to the Southbank to see a German style Christmas Market. English taxi's are 'brilliant'. It is so nice to be able to roll the stroller right on without having to fold it up. We walked over to Leicester Square, Covent Square and then made a stop in M&M World where we let the kids make their own mix of M&M's. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfF5WVNEFZtXLW4BSVQvcH8Kjo1y_Wxw5vSupuaD7GSLRetuWEOz77IrQhpydpbWBZG7qQEit1Y1y020WVXvMb0l4F-Q46O2ygi_iJDme3-tAu4Ysw4oLo-XHFsxaKp2h_jntqiYGIGs/s1600/P1030485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfF5WVNEFZtXLW4BSVQvcH8Kjo1y_Wxw5vSupuaD7GSLRetuWEOz77IrQhpydpbWBZG7qQEit1Y1y020WVXvMb0l4F-Q46O2ygi_iJDme3-tAu4Ysw4oLo-XHFsxaKp2h_jntqiYGIGs/s200/P1030485.JPG" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0aQAe5Q2KCI26KwAKHkL1p4i6mR2aP5iJxeHpgeCg1ySs7WErBYvdin1feb-BQFkFJXYw0VmNri-1LabD0ZdOPY_IWlQvERUYmY_PhxCA7hw1c6VDLt7K4Afoj4OAE3dRBPDJ_K3WF4/s1600/P1030491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0aQAe5Q2KCI26KwAKHkL1p4i6mR2aP5iJxeHpgeCg1ySs7WErBYvdin1feb-BQFkFJXYw0VmNri-1LabD0ZdOPY_IWlQvERUYmY_PhxCA7hw1c6VDLt7K4Afoj4OAE3dRBPDJ_K3WF4/s200/P1030491.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfM8H8k6Z1OgUrsChmXOJlAfCuZrOy1zhG01uY71t1gdTVEBgwDH59VKQ02wHjq_XkaujsMdkcxvsTjedTc03nfTWTek9DqQYeqhoq0vuASZrcB9w-pH_qTziDJ5s_qXZyFeTMOwNhMc/s1600/P1030498.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAfM8H8k6Z1OgUrsChmXOJlAfCuZrOy1zhG01uY71t1gdTVEBgwDH59VKQ02wHjq_XkaujsMdkcxvsTjedTc03nfTWTek9DqQYeqhoq0vuASZrcB9w-pH_qTziDJ5s_qXZyFeTMOwNhMc/s320/P1030498.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 2 bags of M&M's valued at about $15!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Over in Piccadilly we brought the kids to the Rainforest Cafe. Needless to say, they loved it and it made paying a small fortune for an OK meal worth it. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuc3IvsDzUWeFDjqCk0GpWVlMXiD2aNHoijCsY6XBfdNZ_sqU_h6hVpSVwl3ZrzQt3WT0SQcURVeySQpjM96HJlskbKaaasLVKisb1ZgLZdGkUD9a6qhDqNHk9rAMG4sTZbUf8rgW171c/s1600/P1030504.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuc3IvsDzUWeFDjqCk0GpWVlMXiD2aNHoijCsY6XBfdNZ_sqU_h6hVpSVwl3ZrzQt3WT0SQcURVeySQpjM96HJlskbKaaasLVKisb1ZgLZdGkUD9a6qhDqNHk9rAMG4sTZbUf8rgW171c/s320/P1030504.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
A friend recommended that we walk up Regent and Oxford Streets to see the lights. People don't decorate with lights like we are used to so it was nice to see the buildings and streets a glow. While the walk was nice, we didn't expect the enormous crowds of people doing their last minute shopping. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBU3ns-phMy5ZZsX9DIF-McfhiJvzrQWzJpUmLOfK_tntsLX0YliUDdAjYlMyOAWDJrcAFsNwLRg8p5z4KJwUAj85yzo9tPq0Iak2hJzp8hcur1z9R3Bo1FIHnkwq91l9p7kCSFRFKuhA/s1600/P1030611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBU3ns-phMy5ZZsX9DIF-McfhiJvzrQWzJpUmLOfK_tntsLX0YliUDdAjYlMyOAWDJrcAFsNwLRg8p5z4KJwUAj85yzo9tPq0Iak2hJzp8hcur1z9R3Bo1FIHnkwq91l9p7kCSFRFKuhA/s320/P1030611.JPG" width="240" /></a>We had a long day of walking and were pretty tired and went back to the hotel. I had brought Chloe's skeleton pajamas that glowed in the dark. When we turned the lights out, she gave us a performance of 'Dem bones, dem bones, dem dancing bones' on her bed. I wish I had video because it was so funny. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The next day, we brought the kids to a stage performance of The Snowman. It is a story of a boy who builds a snowman and that night dreams that he comes alive. It was the first time they have ever been to the Theater and they were mesmerized. After the show, we did a little more wandering before that bad weather moved in and we head back to the hotel. We were lucky that the hotel had a pool and the kids were eager to swim every night.</div>
<br />
On Christmas Eve, we pack up the car and start our trip back to Belgium. We get really excited about going to foodstores in other countries, especially the UK. Food in Belgium is very expensive and the selection is not great. We packed the car with Cheerios, tonic and things like popcorn and some curry supplies and got back on the ferry so we could be home in time for Santa to come!The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-41544713098985938742011-12-19T15:04:00.001+01:002011-12-26T17:20:49.358+01:00Christmas Holiday Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eDxRJAtCgm5UfhgunaiFgjEiamdXfXshdKcSQ_CiFkSi42q0nB7GC1uEK1LAy0HdDAjtSIcA0gPNtK1n3VMijN56Qo6v5QeOZfV9wGXxJxdKon0L8_kqWRq2rZf9K8cQxKXBZla5ZM8/s1600/P1020894.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eDxRJAtCgm5UfhgunaiFgjEiamdXfXshdKcSQ_CiFkSi42q0nB7GC1uEK1LAy0HdDAjtSIcA0gPNtK1n3VMijN56Qo6v5QeOZfV9wGXxJxdKon0L8_kqWRq2rZf9K8cQxKXBZla5ZM8/s320/P1020894.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
Our holiday season kicked off with the arrival of Sinterklaas and his Zwarte Pieten in Antwerp. As usual, it was a big deal to see his boat come up the river and see Sinterklaas and his entourage parade into town. Colin went dressed as Sint and Chloe as Piet. There were easily a few thousand people who came to see him and we were packed in tight to try and get a glimpse. The TV footage that played the following few days proved to be the best view. The kids also got a visit from Sint at school and Chloe found it funny that one of the Zwarte Piets told her she was a little bit bad. She would think that was funny. As expected, we woke up on December 6th to find that they left the kids sweets and toys in their shoes. Colin is already asking if Sinterklaas will be visiting us when we are back in America. If you want a good laugh, listen to this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYdpte1W0vk&noredirect=1" target="_blank">You Tube recording of 6-8 Black Men by David Sedaris</a> describing Sinterklaas. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The opening ceremony for the Antwerp Christmas Market is the Light Parade that starts down by our house and ends up that the market. It is another one of those odd Antwerp events that I would describe as a indie, performance type event that seems to be normal around here. My favorite was the light princess that guilded down the street by way of bicycle, of course!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15lKfs_L_vE1PvdmWuWOHaZbQqrKrm6us-hEB45SStkdDbznRT4mxvSSz09sbuTFWnPB4GgHK9WUL-dFFksB35fh_2155OWgoW8sch_nVmQ3lioyps-W_8NCzgAhyphenhyphenx54ujoJG7cMk0lM/s1600/P1030142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15lKfs_L_vE1PvdmWuWOHaZbQqrKrm6us-hEB45SStkdDbznRT4mxvSSz09sbuTFWnPB4GgHK9WUL-dFFksB35fh_2155OWgoW8sch_nVmQ3lioyps-W_8NCzgAhyphenhyphenx54ujoJG7cMk0lM/s320/P1030142.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
It is nice to be here during Christmas and to be able to see the markets. Being around wooden shacks covered in lights somehow makes it ok to hang out in the freezing cold. The market gets very crowded and many people end up hovering around the drinks stalls or the fire pits that are set up. It is almost hard to believe that they are not selling beer at the stalls here in Belgium rather, it is typical for the stalls to sell gluhwine, amaretto and of course, jenever. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrViXufOlKpeyyFOaB7XdcSLyNigv3L4cNff8HGHCurTg6RRURhnjKCq3L1hmvACltWNdt-xJFuboNkK0qa3033oXKSKN69Ocqttqfmum5HP84XMZFm2xuB6cUMILir1F8hpEPKRRsvs/s1600/P1030161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrViXufOlKpeyyFOaB7XdcSLyNigv3L4cNff8HGHCurTg6RRURhnjKCq3L1hmvACltWNdt-xJFuboNkK0qa3033oXKSKN69Ocqttqfmum5HP84XMZFm2xuB6cUMILir1F8hpEPKRRsvs/s320/P1030161.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
This year, there is an enormous ferris wheel set up and I brought Colin on. I could not believe that he was not scared, even when we stopped at the top for a few minutes while they were letting people on and off. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6BzHY7PEuPV-5IXzdsH4huhyQCLUcidvsbHvFFNxFNXJNFomK3eN7intFnnYqY7N6cIp3b5sUb82rG_Zeh2QGzjVk-JGC-wWpA8Mz0nbYEkDGzBfHaiHAmpMRoy9CPMZZtcEuL60nEs/s1600/P1030223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv6BzHY7PEuPV-5IXzdsH4huhyQCLUcidvsbHvFFNxFNXJNFomK3eN7intFnnYqY7N6cIp3b5sUb82rG_Zeh2QGzjVk-JGC-wWpA8Mz0nbYEkDGzBfHaiHAmpMRoy9CPMZZtcEuL60nEs/s320/P1030223.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Colin has also been playing basketball twice a week. He enjoys playing and has a friend in his class. He is not the best player, but he doesn't seem to get discouraged. He had his first game early in December and recieved a medal for his achievements.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdxAMa7Bqnd16kO83Uw5TPQ8rFTGDF4fU_9XJ6qqAGv9XPStbHQm1Ef-YhVRYqxWiOWjQv_akgEYIWGjZ0DlDVVHGQ1XiceKQ3vM44AtKwIuIG_bhn7yVQjVA_x9sMlxZd6lM1F3tcKM/s1600/P1030104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsdxAMa7Bqnd16kO83Uw5TPQ8rFTGDF4fU_9XJ6qqAGv9XPStbHQm1Ef-YhVRYqxWiOWjQv_akgEYIWGjZ0DlDVVHGQ1XiceKQ3vM44AtKwIuIG_bhn7yVQjVA_x9sMlxZd6lM1F3tcKM/s320/P1030104.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colin and his giant uniform.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-77700680346023206912011-11-24T18:22:00.001+01:002011-11-25T20:36:16.365+01:00Het Zuid<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The neighborhood in Antwerp that we live in is call Het Zuid, or the South. At one point, the Zuid would have been described as up and coming, but now it is known as the trendy place to live. I thought I would take some pictures of some of the interesting things and wonderful buildings we see on a regular basis.<br />
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We live just off of the main shopping street for antiques. There are also a couple of fashion concept stores along this street. On the weekends, it is normally crowded with shoppers. There are also several cafes along the street and the weather doesn't even have to be nice to make it difficult to find a seat outside.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Below is an art gallery with an elaborate wood sculpture attached to the facade of the building. It is next door to one of our favorite restaurants, Chez Fred.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9gwIbc07fXzfhsLgOk7Y-DbQmE7GiSHVB-oY5U_SFlKgTOdAYBMqDGOHSVjZe3sk2rNewgcLEBX5mH94mOIxAA2XeTyAd94MreLxMa44XEhZfEyqppd6ZT3WDgJtbVD0e7pBUZuyXEI/s1600/P1020970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9gwIbc07fXzfhsLgOk7Y-DbQmE7GiSHVB-oY5U_SFlKgTOdAYBMqDGOHSVjZe3sk2rNewgcLEBX5mH94mOIxAA2XeTyAd94MreLxMa44XEhZfEyqppd6ZT3WDgJtbVD0e7pBUZuyXEI/s400/P1020970.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Just down the street is another restaurant/bar, Heilig Huisken. The name translates in to The Holy House. Heilig Huisken is a typical example of a stepped gable house that you see all over town. You will often see with them with the year they were build in wrought iron on their facade. I have seen them as early as the 1400's. Heilig Huisken is know for their good service. I would normally consider the phrase 'good service' an oxymoron in Belgium, but they do take care of you here. This is where one of our favorite servers works, Kenny. You may remember him from the Bollekesfeest Tandem Bike Rice.</div>
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnlVKIUfKBJ729sZfeQGlTvn5RdtQGcAJowNNElPsqugjcPmtplmD8kO8wdfotxF9fD9Fbr5DTDPBu7qhgqnohgpI9BWW1wwLNo8khj2S-iHHhTF5So0wpl2Qbs1HRmC9xIOT06o31Wk/s1600/P1020971.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnlVKIUfKBJ729sZfeQGlTvn5RdtQGcAJowNNElPsqugjcPmtplmD8kO8wdfotxF9fD9Fbr5DTDPBu7qhgqnohgpI9BWW1wwLNo8khj2S-iHHhTF5So0wpl2Qbs1HRmC9xIOT06o31Wk/s400/P1020971.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heilig Huisken</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
This is the infamous bar on our corner where the Belgian Beer Pouring Champion works. He also owns the bar along with his father. It is called De Vismijn or Fish Market. The bar has been here since 1930 when the street we live on was the Antwerp Fish Market. It is a landmark in Antwerp and most people know it. It is definitely a hang out for all ages and you can frequently find people dancing inside. On the weekends, there is one man who takes orders and serves all of the drinks. You are not allow to walk up to the bar and order a drink from the bartender. It is suprisingly efficent. The owners are quite friendly and they are nice neighbors to have. With the exception of the Vismijn, our street is full of modern apartment buildings and several high end design shops.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7BvTbGGm0kEodY9JeQWwDHOc1wKmrPkIfjxvFw8hSdFF-4otCDriaZl_TzKtU6q7cjCpHipVeDPogds4F_nxfZ8e7RxRU2jAPbAeiNbx1uOGGdq84dcNSZ-rjtnZ30Qmqu3FLBrXWmw/s1600/P1020976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7BvTbGGm0kEodY9JeQWwDHOc1wKmrPkIfjxvFw8hSdFF-4otCDriaZl_TzKtU6q7cjCpHipVeDPogds4F_nxfZ8e7RxRU2jAPbAeiNbx1uOGGdq84dcNSZ-rjtnZ30Qmqu3FLBrXWmw/s320/P1020976.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">De Vismijn</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Even though we only live about 4 blocks from school, there are many interesting sites along the way. Only about 2 blocks from our house is a local Steiner school. The building is probably one of the most well known Art Nouveau buildings in town. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrm6B_UKUuwCiaAwMAmc5iPCgS5YZ5jW1-TYLmZ2afpaKT8XvX4_Z1Ga3eEhZLpz-fGgWG3A3bga4snhgGJFZhEzZqtjicjRlfWxa4VP_kY7LtSKKzscu8SVpJf2EJYVS6rt08GFadnA/s1600/P1020975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghrm6B_UKUuwCiaAwMAmc5iPCgS5YZ5jW1-TYLmZ2afpaKT8XvX4_Z1Ga3eEhZLpz-fGgWG3A3bga4snhgGJFZhEzZqtjicjRlfWxa4VP_kY7LtSKKzscu8SVpJf2EJYVS6rt08GFadnA/s400/P1020975.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art Nouveau Steiner School</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just one block further, in Marnixplaats, stands a large statue of Neptune. There are 7 streets that lead up to this circle, so you are able to get a great view from many places. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-C6x6jcN1WmhAqwvRTxDnLYRoqgynagA3ZBVk0HzzP_dPv_o6Y_Uwr9jgw1y_4jQsHiNcDqKyPrdAZRpOA-ddarV5mmP_51dpC3A6NBTGDMvQ39EzxwY7dn8kAG0YS3MBFyfeIEFPEiw/s1600/P1020974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-C6x6jcN1WmhAqwvRTxDnLYRoqgynagA3ZBVk0HzzP_dPv_o6Y_Uwr9jgw1y_4jQsHiNcDqKyPrdAZRpOA-ddarV5mmP_51dpC3A6NBTGDMvQ39EzxwY7dn8kAG0YS3MBFyfeIEFPEiw/s400/P1020974.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marnixplaats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After I drop the kids off at school, I often walk over to the food store. Along the way is the Royal Musuem of Fine Arts and just behind it is another popular building in Antwerp, t' Bootje or The Boat. It is another Art Nouveau building from 1901.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLtXOk6sO5vDJilSS_Mil4WSWpHK1E5oTbKqcABjQLk9JydaZLlQUPIpSN6DoRKMB0eFvFDgNEs4N5A63YFuu2SfMW3ZoGPqrkI4BlVLTlp31Tukv899rXkQH2cwWbkxW1p07keAo-Y0/s1600/P1020973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOLtXOk6sO5vDJilSS_Mil4WSWpHK1E5oTbKqcABjQLk9JydaZLlQUPIpSN6DoRKMB0eFvFDgNEs4N5A63YFuu2SfMW3ZoGPqrkI4BlVLTlp31Tukv899rXkQH2cwWbkxW1p07keAo-Y0/s320/P1020973.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxrjKgUc1vo_SFHQDBMDGSKvLYjVFXeqPZKQFpzha6IYsoZwealiTFr9_f16ZKCRMEgDPnvml_HNREvLWjGJVGpt0CkUfwAuHhOM-2Nv5HdzY2Jsd04hS5Lf5gWOx1GLFEKRdt3bbQYg/s1600/P1020965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxrjKgUc1vo_SFHQDBMDGSKvLYjVFXeqPZKQFpzha6IYsoZwealiTFr9_f16ZKCRMEgDPnvml_HNREvLWjGJVGpt0CkUfwAuHhOM-2Nv5HdzY2Jsd04hS5Lf5gWOx1GLFEKRdt3bbQYg/s320/P1020965.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'t Bootje<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
This apartment building is around the corner from us along the river. The design was inspired by a building designed by Adolf Loos for Josephine Baker in 1928. The original building was supposed to be built in Paris, but never was. Our friends Amelia and Rajat live across the street and have a great view of the building. What you cannot see from the street is a wacky mannekin leg sculpture on the roof. </div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEyPreX7iT9OaUmDgLU-yOmQzL5boaib7n376mEKBPi59KkPNsJfsHrqa7dd1g5mOc5jE088d4rGnAEwIxSuyUdGMHjS0wc7I7VPh7QF2jdFUi4CB9m0zuKGMc_vU24Axjh_JjTXXg-c/s1600/P1020969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEyPreX7iT9OaUmDgLU-yOmQzL5boaib7n376mEKBPi59KkPNsJfsHrqa7dd1g5mOc5jE088d4rGnAEwIxSuyUdGMHjS0wc7I7VPh7QF2jdFUi4CB9m0zuKGMc_vU24Axjh_JjTXXg-c/s320/P1020969.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
The buildings in Antwerp are pretty diverse. There is a nice mix of old and new with a bunch of Art Nouveau thrown in. We have been pretty lucky with the weather this fall but as you can see, it has turned very grey recently.</div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Craig has been away all week, so we will be celebrating tomorrow.</div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-79029616155201096672011-11-24T17:05:00.001+01:002011-11-24T17:05:55.248+01:00Happy Thanksgiving!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgfcEDB4q9HBjKn2oxiDvjOguE8CpmahEdxt6Rn9yS2AuJYBF8O4mfOD0_paZ5uTPJqBwF11-2Tn6-CPdlqT8m378rAQaI75I-n2tJnQCDoZidMFjT50h8wTHTODBRBuqG9LSgEOhTng/s1600/P1020977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgfcEDB4q9HBjKn2oxiDvjOguE8CpmahEdxt6Rn9yS2AuJYBF8O4mfOD0_paZ5uTPJqBwF11-2Tn6-CPdlqT8m378rAQaI75I-n2tJnQCDoZidMFjT50h8wTHTODBRBuqG9LSgEOhTng/s640/P1020977.JPG" width="441" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chloe's Hand Turkey - Gobble Gobble!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-71610250390655158382011-11-09T19:18:00.000+01:002011-11-12T14:59:09.859+01:00Sausages, beer and more sausages - Munich and Nurnberg <br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCumK1EBGT1BIkYRwCMroZzdpxq0_RG2vW0NCF-nO67lY5VMDlAkG-kv3m2jsCirx01VPY7JbYx5sr-URCylbpuMCgO9NmBvCw1DDr0dJa1g5-tH2c-ZMwtv8L8xwPL6mR_E3LaP36gQ/s1600/P1020432.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCumK1EBGT1BIkYRwCMroZzdpxq0_RG2vW0NCF-nO67lY5VMDlAkG-kv3m2jsCirx01VPY7JbYx5sr-URCylbpuMCgO9NmBvCw1DDr0dJa1g5-tH2c-ZMwtv8L8xwPL6mR_E3LaP36gQ/s320/P1020432.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marienplatz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
After a week in Bavaria, it was a good thing that we left when we did. As much as we wanted to keep eating, I don't think our bodies could take anymore sausages, pretzels, potato salad and beer. Eating is one of our favorite activities to do while in Bavaria and Munich and Nurnburg were the perfect places to do it.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
Out first stop was in Munich. We rented a very tiny apartment for 3 nights, which gave us plenty of time to explore the city. We hit all of the major sites including Marionplatz. We were so lucky to have decent weather and many people were out. One of the nights we were there, Munich was hosting Naples in a soccer match. The Italians made the city very lively and you could hear chants everywhere.</div>
<br />
We stopped in the famous Hofbrauhaus to have a tradional liter of beer. We learned that a beer venue can only technically be called a beer garden if it is under chestnut trees.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QDKfPxdd5yIXBtTgsYldOWSFr7UXavpO6RkLAedCvH3inXHEZGetkDaeRfXeZxWJ_YZkc5LkndydEE-fRF2WDpny83O6gTOnDHuu8MLranCzb5YxGsS9sjrXNBJFo_AbQMUFxcpJVsU/s1600/P1020505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QDKfPxdd5yIXBtTgsYldOWSFr7UXavpO6RkLAedCvH3inXHEZGetkDaeRfXeZxWJ_YZkc5LkndydEE-fRF2WDpny83O6gTOnDHuu8MLranCzb5YxGsS9sjrXNBJFo_AbQMUFxcpJVsU/s200/P1020505.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hofbrauhaus</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU-bx2IqQ4oGQCGWeK9WGO8eSX2KmWcIFdDJEHC7Wh11LAaUe1AEicsnSNozQ648gKSJZgViap6XduIramuc_BAZ7MSv37IeGFVv651YgUaEPnarxgx6CljxzTAm4XyExFbAjxDfQ0xo/s1600/P1020467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmU-bx2IqQ4oGQCGWeK9WGO8eSX2KmWcIFdDJEHC7Wh11LAaUe1AEicsnSNozQ648gKSJZgViap6XduIramuc_BAZ7MSv37IeGFVv651YgUaEPnarxgx6CljxzTAm4XyExFbAjxDfQ0xo/s200/P1020467.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marienplatz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just like in other places we have visited, Chloe is a popular attration with the Japanese tourists. The white, blonde hair makes her a novelty and people are always wanting to take her picture. Craig was joking that Chloe's picture is probably hanging in many Japenese living rooms. If only they knew that under that angelic white hair there was a crazy three year old ready to have a meltdown and any moment! <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
We scrapped our plans to go to Legoland at the last minute and went to Nurnberg and Playmobile Fun Park instead. We were pleasantly surprised with Nurnberg. Nurnberg was one of the cities heavily destroyed during WWII. They did an amazing job rebuilding that you hardly noticed that many of the building were barely a half centry old. Nurnberg is famous for 2 things - besides the trials. Lebkuchen, soft gingerbread cookies and sausages, which are sold everywhere! </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTucLuZ_Ly_KGP9VrfvxXCwUaPg1GkUD4M-w9MDNHL7xYpYiTKP_2cWO801JmyDEapCfnl-7StP1yUADTi8jNe8I65B4dR7h9XtxUNMtm08kUdDf2tgA_sbZhYDmoT2Ne2yUaxG8FEp0/s1600/P1020743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTucLuZ_Ly_KGP9VrfvxXCwUaPg1GkUD4M-w9MDNHL7xYpYiTKP_2cWO801JmyDEapCfnl-7StP1yUADTi8jNe8I65B4dR7h9XtxUNMtm08kUdDf2tgA_sbZhYDmoT2Ne2yUaxG8FEp0/s320/P1020743.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Diet in Bavaria: Sausages, pretzels, beer, potato salad and sauerkraut.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Playmobile Fun Park was great. All of the attractions were interactive and were exact replicas of actual Playmobile toys. They also had a huge indoor playground and a seperate play area with all of the Playmobile toys. Also, in typical German fashion, they also have their own beer garden. What is not to love about Germany!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Y6LEmh5TxhKkKOAE3yTS-6Lhwp6yrxDVfJ5ja46d3PE-UBHRddLcewwS3D5n-3rD9YDTfIiZs4bT56k0SuiROBIk6XYq4oUu4kG9xqlTIOycHLKDzIaJfz8eVdY4csQfAZKinwgloX8/s1600/P1020792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9Y6LEmh5TxhKkKOAE3yTS-6Lhwp6yrxDVfJ5ja46d3PE-UBHRddLcewwS3D5n-3rD9YDTfIiZs4bT56k0SuiROBIk6XYq4oUu4kG9xqlTIOycHLKDzIaJfz8eVdY4csQfAZKinwgloX8/s320/P1020792.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSGywQ1MXM9QMH4jOhRQ7tnDFWjRNdMVWcKlIO9L8uOtA3IdWfk-Z-yoW_hMlf4W14NF63olDLaCdbSI75v6XTC5YJjYqdkbbfDpzz4iP5jkl0xOeI8QMuBOvfjemc9eYyfBpIMBTisU/s1600/P1020752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuSGywQ1MXM9QMH4jOhRQ7tnDFWjRNdMVWcKlIO9L8uOtA3IdWfk-Z-yoW_hMlf4W14NF63olDLaCdbSI75v6XTC5YJjYqdkbbfDpzz4iP5jkl0xOeI8QMuBOvfjemc9eYyfBpIMBTisU/s200/P1020752.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglw6_9532WYuwd1VYxsbjkfIqIsKnghAniAN9NkEBmfnpC3FBccqPSU2JgPB7g_sbRAoeLT2955QX5HqovSivAbOJjFGofqvmmEmCkyFysIn-OhD38un-xqSJa182Nq4KmrcC_aVT4wCI/s1600/P1020756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglw6_9532WYuwd1VYxsbjkfIqIsKnghAniAN9NkEBmfnpC3FBccqPSU2JgPB7g_sbRAoeLT2955QX5HqovSivAbOJjFGofqvmmEmCkyFysIn-OhD38un-xqSJa182Nq4KmrcC_aVT4wCI/s200/P1020756.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-88671534546109599102011-11-08T11:53:00.002+01:002011-11-08T11:54:33.726+01:00Cinque Terre FloodingDuring the past week, we heard about the flooding and mudslides that have hit the Cinque Terre. It was just this past June that we visited the area and were amazed at how beautiful it was. Two of the towns we enjoyed most, Vernazza and Monterosso, were the hardest hit. Let's hope that they are able return to life as normal, sooner than later.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQbDSJGA82gRKXTYu98joHVXb53tGzJm0DgIU5aQgXPrnMOKdmGuteQvf4wtYWmlGAJ-nnRcni-OniY-GyMarwFtylge2WdBvQ9Gei6tdHA90YhB6i8ZU0-yIO5gdXQUsoYa09kDHOVo/s1600/P1010118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSQbDSJGA82gRKXTYu98joHVXb53tGzJm0DgIU5aQgXPrnMOKdmGuteQvf4wtYWmlGAJ-nnRcni-OniY-GyMarwFtylge2WdBvQ9Gei6tdHA90YhB6i8ZU0-yIO5gdXQUsoYa09kDHOVo/s400/P1010118.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vernazza - June 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCigW5DccMac-d4s-U488lPUEpuJ5TTxpnhyphenhyphenIa509NcP-LwFc4LXVRasA7KtXyncXNMGu_0ddVcLjfYrypx-YuU5GanMaqPSEMW8ZTFZrYxzUIPpj3h06Gd6oJXmiPMfdg7dbt2ZBRNQU/s1600/ct1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="297" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCigW5DccMac-d4s-U488lPUEpuJ5TTxpnhyphenhyphenIa509NcP-LwFc4LXVRasA7KtXyncXNMGu_0ddVcLjfYrypx-YuU5GanMaqPSEMW8ZTFZrYxzUIPpj3h06Gd6oJXmiPMfdg7dbt2ZBRNQU/s400/ct1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vernazza - After the Mudslide October 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-42945496842093101742011-10-30T15:05:00.000+01:002011-10-30T15:05:04.686+01:00Halloween<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JYHTwvMkolbu6koS0oDGMVRhnmGJDj1szfTMVk86u4wZzXxyDuTfGBxIuyjLMshMAHmcFCtsmU22-KXVlEmCauP5Gzcl-zh8Osq9rzcX3VeincoPzmBbxZrJZGPb-gq0RiWhddzCqsE/s1600/Colin+Plankendael.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JYHTwvMkolbu6koS0oDGMVRhnmGJDj1szfTMVk86u4wZzXxyDuTfGBxIuyjLMshMAHmcFCtsmU22-KXVlEmCauP5Gzcl-zh8Osq9rzcX3VeincoPzmBbxZrJZGPb-gq0RiWhddzCqsE/s320/Colin+Plankendael.JPG" width="240" /></a>While Craig was making a quick trip to the US for work, we were very busy in Antwerp.</div>
Last Saturday, we made a trip out to Plankendael, a zoo about a half hour outside of Antwerp. I had the kids believing that if we told the car we wanted to go somewhere fun, it would surprise us and take us somewhere.<br />
<br />
Sunday morning, friends of ours from New Zealand invited us over for brunch and to watch rugby. New Zealand played against France for the World Cup Championship. It was my first (ever) rugby game and it was a great one to see because they won! To me, rugby seemed like a cross between soccer and football. I thought is was especially crazy that while medics were attending to a hurt player on the field, the game continued and the teams just played around them!<br />
<br />
Right after the game, we went to the a Halloween party that was being held by the English speaking kids group we are apart of. Colin was a bat and Chloe was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. They also dressed up for school on Friday. Chloe is taking this role very seriously and has been practicing swimming while laying on the floor in her costume.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dweB8oiOH6aSwCAoDrlWIls7yb83wMn8HmGJkhVBLkbORq2-uewb9w-UovzvlOltG3FkgdElfTdDNthvaUlwg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAchg4ZG8zi5ovTAFeCwjYEu8BMY3dYb3y8P_eGdAJcquuF4RzW5ZCp82Jvm_p-aEfSRpmW9_OcBt-uKtcyD9ELykVyD2JnPmlibLOcvcLKIHzfw-azh5mPuXDO6mxKXyMw-LwfOkqQGs/s1600/P1020415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAchg4ZG8zi5ovTAFeCwjYEu8BMY3dYb3y8P_eGdAJcquuF4RzW5ZCp82Jvm_p-aEfSRpmW9_OcBt-uKtcyD9ELykVyD2JnPmlibLOcvcLKIHzfw-azh5mPuXDO6mxKXyMw-LwfOkqQGs/s320/P1020415.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ariel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcADMl8Jh07poN9YWUJZcC96GXtiiVk9c-eVZLLr14ieJpBPTeorpMDlvCZxA95Pgq_3BIVQAHvzaZnVyRT4C-Y1aZMJj7I6hOuYneyN3q3UYKiOBgA3cxjfwtaNOS854rT63ppf0-C5Y/s1600/P1020416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcADMl8Jh07poN9YWUJZcC96GXtiiVk9c-eVZLLr14ieJpBPTeorpMDlvCZxA95Pgq_3BIVQAHvzaZnVyRT4C-Y1aZMJj7I6hOuYneyN3q3UYKiOBgA3cxjfwtaNOS854rT63ppf0-C5Y/s320/P1020416.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bat</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This week is the Herfst Vakantie or Fall vacation. We will be going to Munich for a few days and if the weather is still good, we will also bring the kids to Legoland.<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-60603695403737385402011-10-28T07:42:00.000+02:002011-10-28T07:43:19.067+02:00Crazy ChloeJust further proof that Chloe is really a bit crazy. Check out how she starts copying Colin at the end and then turns it into a sneeze.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyWfW4GWVegbBqR6nJvdlZunUTH6iNopvYZ_hLZUeFPcivdWFsEvHsYhpKRo21bKmCzfWO9PFFV8Lm_egQFyw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326073140358968418.post-570618907381917572011-10-26T10:55:00.000+02:002011-10-26T10:55:59.029+02:00Disneyland for the second (and last!) time.<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPE1EA4qs3ggdskUyqK8ouiITD1B52d1SwVyl2mkDsJqVxZ-RfRexL9G2fvvaLL9lTprTFYkGk36_s84y_4VJcvF5n5ymE7kbvsmT8_nxq0a1hCKzjkhknjzyvnaLfS2A-ZuElcF6QTf4/s1600/P1020271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPE1EA4qs3ggdskUyqK8ouiITD1B52d1SwVyl2mkDsJqVxZ-RfRexL9G2fvvaLL9lTprTFYkGk36_s84y_4VJcvF5n5ymE7kbvsmT8_nxq0a1hCKzjkhknjzyvnaLfS2A-ZuElcF6QTf4/s320/P1020271.JPG" width="320" /></a>Hi! I am so far behind on my blog posts that I will try to catch up over the next few entries. Sorry for the wait.</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
In the beginning of October, we took our second (and very last!) trip to Disney, which is located just outside Paris. What a difference 2 years make! We didn't tell the kids where we were going until we were within about 10 miles of the hotel. We stayed at one of the surrounding kid friendly hotels with a circus theme. The kids had bunk beds that were able to be sectioned off from the rest of the room with a curtain. Mickey Mouse had left Colin and Chloe each a bags full of Disney goodies including fanny packs so they could carry their own stuff! We managed to unload the car and quickley get over to the parks. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
The weather was perfect! Over the three days we were there, it was between 75 and 80 degrees. Chloe was soooo excited to see the princesses and go into Sleeping Beauty's (or as Chloe calls her - Sleeping Bleauty) castle. Disney is great because just about every ride is OK for kids of all ages. It was nice to be able to go on everything together. </div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
No crazy stories from this trip but it was great and went fairly smoothly. Lots of pictures on Flickr.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI66kxE73whdlmPBUaRNA6kOSrWZy5s0zTY3zxJX8bJcM63N7XgjeFAPvaVDzMXNqyTh3zNy8y90tXn2qbvZgOhdcryra2-R-W6nQSaPfd7uDlvu-Y2oydBi5yGE9G_rdhRFfzQqlFpE0/s1600/P1020326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI66kxE73whdlmPBUaRNA6kOSrWZy5s0zTY3zxJX8bJcM63N7XgjeFAPvaVDzMXNqyTh3zNy8y90tXn2qbvZgOhdcryra2-R-W6nQSaPfd7uDlvu-Y2oydBi5yGE9G_rdhRFfzQqlFpE0/s320/P1020326.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAlF-RO4YGvfUSKr4kP51TW_9eTlSvzxVYHYBHP-z_gEG3r_6yL8gWlF0Leo_xF4SuwwJe61qYgPqUvykYb6hP8I7cSzAiFT_9qhd0bgo8J0zmRS4dqqobIQM2jOUurTyZoYuw1dc540/s1600/P1020396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAlF-RO4YGvfUSKr4kP51TW_9eTlSvzxVYHYBHP-z_gEG3r_6yL8gWlF0Leo_xF4SuwwJe61qYgPqUvykYb6hP8I7cSzAiFT_9qhd0bgo8J0zmRS4dqqobIQM2jOUurTyZoYuw1dc540/s320/P1020396.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">
Kids with Fanny Packs</div>The Shand Familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14817183283549906654noreply@blogger.com0