I'm still in disbelief that we were able to go to the  Emerald Isles Classic!!  GO NAVY!

Unfortunately, we were only able to go for the weekend, which meant that we didn't have time to leave Dublin.  We have every intention in going back so we can check out the rest of Ireland!  Here's the pics from the game...  Navy lost, horribly!  It was still fun though!

This past weekend was the Brussels Carpet Festival.  It has been SO hot that as you can see in the picture, the flowers were dying by the minute.  We went the 2nd day of the festival. I can't imagine how brown it was on day 5!   Still a very cool thing to experience though. 

THE Brussels carpet!

This was the coolest street act I've ever seen.  This dog didn't budge.   I actually stood over him looking for his respirations!  At first I thought he was stuffed!  

This is HOT!  Especially when your house has NO  air conditioning!

Such tourists. Always supporting the street acts!

A plastic replica of Mannequin Piss.  If you don't know what he is, consult your friend "Google!"  You wouldn't believe the comments people say about this! 

No, waffles do not come from Waffle House.  These are  traditional Belgian waffles.

No, this isn't a picture from 1988!  It's 2012.  Yes, I'm aware that the boy in the picture has neon green shoes and a matching shirt.  This is the first day of 4th grade!!  I know, I'm a bit late.  School started last week.  I can't believe it!  4th grade.  Wow.

So far, so good with the new school year.  Today he came home needing to research interesting facts about Slovakia and Hungary to present to his class.  I suggest that he take Hungarian currency to school and discuss the conversion to euro and dollar.  He was appalled that I would suggest such a thing.  Afterall, "I'm sure the Hungarian kids in my class are aware of the conversion, Mom!"  My bad!!  Sometimes I forget that this kid is so worldly! 

Terceira, Azores, Portugal!  Ever heard of it?  It's only the one of the most amazing places on earth.  That might be because I spent a good chunk of my childhood there.  Even though I was very young, it stood out so much to me that from that point on, I wanted to go back.  So, 20+ years later, I did!  I took my family and showed them the island and all the things that I used to do as a kid.  It was a complete shock to see that the island had changed so much.  There's even a 4 lane highway now!  We all had a good time, and the kiddo even said that he wants to take his kids to the Azores in 20 years!  Can't wait for the next trip, even though it's 20 years away!  =)

Our first house on the Island.  1985

The same house.  2012

Overlooking Praia.

TORO TORO!!

The islands main bull ring

A typical Azorian fishing boat.  They are beautiful!

Looking down from the cliffs

Split Rock

Prime family photo op moment!

At Biscoits.  We swam the next day!  The salt water smell is something you never forget!

It was super cold, but I did it!  

Typical Azorian church.  This one has been abandoned, but it was still pretty!

Hanging out at the water front in Praia.

At the peak of the island.  He thought it was so cool to be in the clouds!

Flax'n Muffins!  

Deciding to eat right, doesn't mean you have to eat boring!!  They may not look pretty, but they taste good!!

1/4 cup Milled flax seed
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Naturally white flour
1/2 sugar(I used granulated splenda and it worked great!)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg beaten(egg beaters is what I used)
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil(or preferred oil)
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup chopped nuts

blend dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend well.  If the batter seems too thick, add more milk.  Greece muffin cups and fill 2/3.  Bake at 190C or 400F for 18-20 minutes.  Top with Nutella.

Yummy!

If he's interrupting Call of Duty in the man cave for it, it's gotta be good!!!

Don't judge a book by it's cover!

You know... I love Belgium.  I really do.  I love living in Europe and embracing my European heritage.   With that being said, I had no idea just how much I'd love being back in the U.S.  We arrived in Florida the same day as Tropical Storm Debby.  After 3 days of traveling and multiple attempts to get to our final destination, we are finally here!  Of course, Delta probably had no business trying to fly us through a tropical storm.  I think they realized that after the fact when they tried to land the plane several times and were unsuccessful only to bring us back to our originating airport.  In an attempt to make it right, they gave us meal and hotel vouchers combined with a new itinerary.  I have never been so glad to see Fla!

Our first weekend here we took a trip down Ecofina.  It was 7 miles of paddling fun!  The springs were amazing!  The hubs and I did discover though that we'll never be olympic paddlers.  Not together anyways.   

July 1st was the start of scalloping season!!  There are not many things in life that are more fun than swimming around the bay, catching your own scallops..   That is until there are virtually no scallops left!  It was the 1st day of scalloping season, we spent around 5 hours on the water, and this was our catch...  =(

Until next time...

"It's summer time...

And the living is easy!  Fish are jumping, and the cotton is high!"  --Chances are, if you didn't spend a lot of time with your grandma, born in the late 20's, then you don't know that song!  Every summer, it's one of the first things that come to my mind.

School is out!  O-U-T!  OUT! OUT!  OUT!  I feel pretty confident that we've never looked forward to summer vacation as much as we have this year.  Oh, it feels so good!

Around the BE, it's been pretty mellow(go ahead... act completely shocked!)  We've had a few Queens Diamond Jubilee festivals and celebrations.  I'm pretty sure the kiddo is one of the few(if not only) American boys that has earned a Queen's Diamond Jubilee badge.  This will be his last week of scouts as we will be going on holiday to the US next week.  Last week they had bicycle safety class and inspection, followed by a bike ride around the headquarters.

The girl and boy scouts rode together on this ride. 

                                            Around here, nothing stops for rain and thunder!  

Scouts Queen's Diamond Jubilee patch

Afternoon at the British Fete.  RAF vs. Royal Navy.  Royal Navy ate a bit of dirt. 

This is why you don't drink and drive...  Or in this case...  Drink and not put on your parking break!  Only in Belgium does the federal police leave the car in the road with a "memo" on the windshield!

Last weekend was the football tournament.  The kiddos team came in second.  He played very well.  Of course, it's eat and breath nothing but football now.  We'll be back from the US just in time for him to attend a summer football clinic.  Here, they play year round.

Representing England 

Not thrilled about 2nd place.  He wanted the gold.