Sing a song about the HEARTLAND...

The only place we feel at home!!! So, my brother and sister-in-law bought us these cute glasses from TEXAS...and we were unpacking some of our boxes from the crate and happened upon them! Wow...such excitement! Stephen had a busy work week, I was finally adjusting...so we thought--what the heck! Let's have a Texas night! The irony, as you can see in the pictures, is

that the only beer we could find to make the night Texan was Corona...but everyone knows Mexico is part of the state :) We had a great time...I made guacamole, and we enjoyed Texas country with our pilsners! Good times...almost like home!

We are HUGE dorks...but you LOVE us!!

Do you want a riding lawnmower?

Apparantly these are the questions I ask while sleeping, doing my best to adjust to my new hours. What? Anyway, I'm back, safely and soundly. I had an amazing trip, and like most trips, I wish it had been a little bit longer...although it's very nice to be back with Stephen. We had so much fun











while in Dallas/Austin. Just look at our impromptu shoe shopping...Dad looks hot in Chucks :) And I was able to watch some great Karaoke (in English) with Kelly, play darts with Becca, Stef, Kat and D, eat Mexican food with the family, and even introduce Gracie and Bella to Frankie's. Our Little Peanut is still very cozy in her temporary home, but I was encouraged to know that she's not even coming this week...they've set a date to induce on Tuesday, Oct. 16th. So...I would have missed it either way! I'm telling you...she's cozy! In other news, I did try your











recommendations at the fair, as you can see in the pics. The main pic is of the fried cookie dough, which was our groups' favorite, i.e. Mom, Hayley, Marc and Brian. I have to say though, the fried queso was a close second, and we didn't even know it existed. Yummy...yet I still feel bloated! Very worth it though! I also found out that I don't have to live in Belgium to get Belgian waffles, or rediculous outfits and hairstyles!












So, the new task is re-adjusting to life in Liege. I think the first two days, emotionally, were the worst of it. We're great, the weather (cross your fingers) isn't TERRIBLY cold yet, and Stephen got me tickets to see The Police!!! Poor Sting had to postpone last night because of his voice (?) but I'll definitely post pics when we get to the show! Hope everyone is doing well...come VISIT!!!

Lorie Lyon...has a ring to it, doesn't it?

Last night was Lorie and Jesse's big day! It went beautifully, and the bride was gorgeous! Austin weather, or Texas rather, is never predictable...but we lucked out! It was so pretty! The wedding brought in a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time, some I hadn't even seen since High School. It was so nice to catch up, and dance our rear-ends off! I'm not sure why I always take the dancing to extremes...but we worked it! The rest of the time I'm in the states I will be in Dallas...so it was nice to end the Austin leg of my journey with a bang! Next up is the State Fair of Texas, and their selection of fried foods are interesting this year. As your tour guide, I would love to provide you all with a play-by-play of the delicacies...just vote on the side which ones you think I should try :)

Have a great week!!

Peanut's Coming...

My first night in town, we stopped by Lindsay's (sister-in-law) house to see her progress. I guess it's wishful thinking. Maybe, just maybe while I'm in Austin she'll have the baby...so I need to see her BIG one last time! We had a great time visiting, and now I'm in Austin. My great friend Lorie (from HS) is getting married on Sunday, so I'll be here for those festivities and then treking back to Dallas to see friends and family...and little Princess Peanut! Stay tuned for pics of the little princess when she arrives (again, wishful thinking that it will happen during my stay) and her name!!!

FYE

Well, since Katie has left me, I've found time to do pointless things, such as, preparing this video for the blog. Please enjoy! More to come... hopefully!

I'm coming to America...TODAY!

Well, actually tomorrow...but I couldn't resist the Neil Diamond shout-out! In my family, you've gotta have love for the king of polyester. I'll be in TX for the next week or so, and I'll do my best to keep you filled in on the happenings. Meanwhile...send Stephen some love--I fear he'll be a little bored!

Gracie and Bella here I come!!

Video killed the radio star!

Ok...we WILL get better at bringing you exciting, nail biting video drama in the future, but this is our first one to post--the Brugge river tour. I'll get better at editing so they won't be so long, and the shaking will be better in the future, as long as we're not riding the waves again :)







Enjoy!

Liege Aquarium and Museum

I have a lot of time on my hands, as you can imagine! The nice thing out Liege is that there are great museums and places to go. I went to the aquarium one day a few weeks ago (when I didn't

have internet to blog--forgive me) and took Stephen the next day. There were a lot of fish in the aquarium section, not much else, but in the museum they had a whole plethera of animals. Some stuffed, some skeletons, some in jars, some in clay. It was very interesting, and as it's part of the

University of Liege, they have a lot more research based things, which makes it stimulating! They had two tanks, one labeled "Dori est ici" and the other "Nemo est ici"--Dori and Nemo are here (see pics). I had a great time, and I believe Stephen enjoyed it as well. The bones of a blue

whale are huge, as you can see. It's crazy to see God's creations, big and small, that you don't normally think about! Very cool...I highly recommend seeing this if you're here for a few days! (p.s. Can you see that fish in the last pic...look towards the sand!)

BRUGGE

This past Saturday we took a day trip to Brugge, Belgium. It's about a two hour drive, and like most of our weekend trips lately, it turned out to be a little longer due to traffic. The weather was beautiful, thankfully, and the sun was shining! We arrived at around noon and happened upon a market, much like the Sunday markets in Liege. The market here seemed more like a

flea market, but there were nice fruit and vegetable stands as well. We sat near a sculpture fountain and had a sandwich, and then embarked on Brugge full force. We started by walking down the "shopping" lane. The shops are the same as in all of the big cities...but I still stop at almost every window like I haven't seen the clothes/shoes/purses yet :) Stephen loves it! They

also had a lot of "French Interior" shops that were adorable. Lots of yummy French soaps and

good smelling candles. Very nice! We then made our way to the Belfry. It was gorgeous, just 5 euro to go up the million stairs to see the top. We would've done it, but 5 euro?? There was a "beer festival" next door, but upon looking closer, it was 3 beer choices and expensive food!

Welcome to Belgium! We went to a modern museum, which had more weird movie clips than art...sad. But Stephen toughed it out for me! We toured the Lace district, and even caught a women working on a piece in her doorway. It's really interesting watching them do it, but seems VERY confusing with all the bobbins and such. Towards the afternoon, we walked around looking for this museum I had

really wanted to see. Once we got there, it was in scaffolding and under construction, so we'll just have to go back. I want to go back on a Friday, because there is a vial of Jesus' blood they have on display at one of the cathedrals. I think that would be interesting! Late afternoon we took a boat ride through the canals, looking at the history and architecture of this beautiful city! We even caught a cute little yellow lab enjoying his window on the river! I truly loved Brugge, and so far it's my favorite city. Of course, there's way more to come, but it was a wonderful Saturday trip, and I can't wait to take some of you when you're here! We ended with a wonderful dinner in the main square, watching (and smelling) horse-drawn carriage rides pass and tourists snapping pictures. Great trip! Enjoy :)

Something to sleep on...

We were about to go to bed from a long weekend, and we heard this big BANG outside! These are taken from outside our window-fireworks to end "Fetes de Wallonie," a little town festival. The people over here sure love their fireworks...and we do too! They sure are pretty reflecting off the Meuse!

CASTLES

I don't know about you, but I find castle's on the side of cliffs pretty exciting! I don't know if it's the Disney lover in me or what, but I couldn't get enough. We'll do another day trip and actually go in some of these, but until then...here are some of the ones we saw and some other cliffside scenery I loved!

"Rhein In Flames"

Well, it's been forever since our last post. I'm partly to blame, but also our Internet connection hasn't been up to par. Excuses, excuses, I know! But this time, we haven't let you down! We got our PERMANENT Internet connection last night, and I couldn't be happier! I might be a little blog crazy the next few weeks, but I'm sure you'll be fine! We left last Saturday for Koblenz, Germany--about a 2 hour drive. We decided to stay there because it

was about a half hour from Oberwesel (where the "Rhein in Flames" festival was) so we figured we could drive that easier than all the way home late at night! We got to Koblenz easily, and completely lucked out in finding our hotel. We didn't get lost, which was a huge feat! We had lunch--Stephen ordered Jagerschnitzel (and I'm not joking at all) and I had an omelet...it was sub-par, but we enjoyed the scenery. Our hotel was one where the barmaid was EVERYTHING, the waitress, the hotel

staff, the bartender, EVERYTHING. It was pretty neat! We then made our way along the B9, the scenic route to Oberwesel. We were able to see all the pretty castles and river tours going on...it was SO pretty! We'll have to go back just to see the castles! We made it to Oberwesel late-afternoon and toured the city. It was really small, but like Koblenz it had a lot of character! The festival was really nice...all of the local vineyards were represented and you could try the

different wines they offered. Stephen was excited because they had brats AND tortellini--life can't get much better for him! We left the festival in time to see the firework show on the river...it was sooo cool! I had never seen some of the fireworks--they really went all out! We do have video of the show...we'll try and upload the video for all to see soon! Give us time :) We woke up Sunday morning, had breakfast and headed to Cologne, Germany. There is a cathedral there that is unbelievable. It was torn down during the first World War, and they rebuilt it just as it was--huge and very Gothic! I loved it! If you can forgive me--the camera battery died...so all we have is video. But rest assured you will get it! And you will love it!! Ok...I've rambled enough for a Monday! Hope all is well...blessings! Katie and Stephen