Last Days at school...

On Wednesday, I was invited to join the class for a "good-bye" party for DS at ISB. DS' teacher, Ms. Meyer, prepared a slide show for DS which you can view below. In addition, various teachers who taught DS and the Director of the ECC (Early Childhood Center) joined a community circle with her classmates to say their "good-byes" to DS. She was also given a special good-bye book filled with pictures, drawings, and messages signed by the faculty and her classmates. Truly special!

The class then got to partake in a giant brownie which said "Au-Revoir, Belgium... Love, DS". Okay, so it wasn't as pretty as the Hello Kitty cake I made for PS' party, but hey -- in the middle of a major move, it was the best I could do! : ) In any case, the kids loved the brownie! And the kids thought the Belgium heart was really cool!

That same day, PS had her last day at the International Montessori School. PS and her friends had a fun day celebrating their last day before the holiday break with a special international luncheon.

PS w/French-Speaking teacher, Ms. Marie & with English-Speaking teacher Ms. Heather & friend, Karen...

Lastly, on Thursday, DS had her last day of school. I was one of the parent volunteers who helped with the 1st Grade Winter Party which gave me a chance to say a final good-bye to Ms. Meyer, DS' classmates and the wonderful parents of this great bunch of kids.

DS with Ms. Meyer

It was on this evening that it finally hit DS that she is leaving Belgium. Her way of expressing herself is through her drawings and writing. And, although this led to a tearful conversation, we know that she will come to love her new home once again...

Fair's, BBQ's, Picnics and Parties...

The end of the school year is finally upon us here in Belgium and all of the farewell festivities have commenced! The festivities not only celebrate the end of the school year and beginning of summer, but also signal a farewell to some fellow expat families that are moving on to different assignments.

This past Wednesday, PS' school hosted an International Fair. And although I have over-extended myself with room parent duties this year at ISB (DS' school), I did manage to volunteer as the event photographer for the fair. And, coincidentally, there does seem to be alot of pictures with PS in them...!!!

PS getting her "passport"


The children had a great time visiting each "country", while participating in the crafts, activities and food-tasting of the different locales they visited. They even got passports that were stamped from each country they visited!

Visiting "France"


Unfortunately, since ALL of the girls' kimonos were sent to storage prior to our move, we dressed PS in Aloha attire (after all, half of her roots are from Hawaii...) It actually worked out well, since it turned out to be a very warm day (actually hot for Belgium) and aloha attire was the way to go. And, of course, PS was simply adorable!

Sampling a taste of Germany


Showing off during the "chopstick" skills competition


On Thursday afternoon, there was a BBQ hosted by the Family Association of the International School of Brussels (DS' school). Daddy stopped by after work to take DS to the BBQ and bring her home afterwards.



And on Friday, the kindergarten classes at ISB had their year-end picnic where all the families were invited to partake in food (potluck style), face-painting, and an endless array of picnic games!!





Relieved that my duties as room parent are now officially over (yeah!!), we began a relaxing weekend with a wonderful Friday evening at Iza and Zbig's house, where we enjoyed another BBQ of great food, drinks (a little too many!) and great company.



Saturday morning brought an early Father's Day celebration at the house! The girls hand made some gifts for daddy to let him know how much they appreciate him. One of the gifts were "coupons" redeemable for things like "an hour of quiet time" or "1 afternoon nap for daddy". This gift was especially appreciated...



The fun continued on Saturday afternoon with LD's birthday party at Tor and Dirk's house (Tori, of Tori's Turtles fame!).

Beating on the pinata at LD's party


And, in the early evening, it was time to celebrate DW's birthday at Mike and Dena's new home. They are new expats here from Texas, so it was a nice evening of meeting new friends and trading stories of "life in Belgium"...

Making s'mores at DW's party


Finally, on Sunday, friends David, Karen and DN arrived to visit us in Belgium and to join us on our Greek island cruise next week.



We look forward to the summer holiday season here in Europe, but also are a bit saddened to know that this is probably our last summer here...

However, there is no time to to feel sad. We are too busy planning for our next adventure...

The Sound of Music?

PS has decided (on her own) that she wants to learn to play the violin. And fortunately for us, the Montessori school where PS attends offers a music program where these future young prodigies can start.

And although we don't know where this will eventually go, it sure is fun to watch her give these "mini" concerts...

So, that's what PS does at school!

It's not often that parent's are allowed into the classroom at the Children's House here in Tervuren, so when PS' school (International Montessori) had a "Mom's Morning" one recent Saturday, I could not pass up this opportunity.

PS working on lacing cards...

and a wooden puzzle...

PS was happy and very confident in her classroom surroundings, anxious and proud to show Mommy what she does in school. She chose to work with a wooden puzzle and lacing cards as her activities. What she really wanted to do, was to make bread or an apple pie, but alas not enough time for that. When she was thirsty, she poured herself several glasses of milk, then proceeded to wash her own glass, dry it, and put out a new glass for the next person. All this was done on her own, so I was quite surprised to see how independent she was. She even proceeded to sweep the floor! Now if I could only get her to do this at home!!

PS pouring herself a glass of milk

Washing her glass...

and even drying it!

The morning ended with a special chocolate muffin baked by Ms. Marie... And hugs from her two favorite teachers.

PS and Ms. Heather (english-speaking teacher *from Australia)

PS and Ms. Marie (french-speaking teacher *from France)