WE DID IT!!

Stephen and I have been in Belgium for ONE YEAR! Can you believe it? In some ways I think it has flown by, and in others it seems like an eternity. I think it's natural to feel that way. In celebration of our anniversary here, I thought I would list a few things we have learned since moving to Europe.

• Personal space is an American thing.
• Deodorant is optional.
• You get over being homesick, but not over missing those you love!
  
• Dreaming of Ranch on fries is not normal.
• The things I miss the most about the US aren't things, but people.
• Driving a standard car in traffic is so annoying.
• Driving a car that you don't pay for is amazing.
• Cabin Fever is very real.
• Cold showers before bed make nights without A/C bearable.
• Public transport is awkward.
• Being in walking distance to the city center is awesome.
• I'm not as independent as I thought I was.
• I'm not as strong as I thought I was.
  
• I can ask for help, even in French :)
• Sitting on terraces in nice weather is something to take advantage of.
  
• Short days in the Winter are depressing.
• Long days in the Summer are incredible.
• Having Gracie over here has enriched our lives more than we admit.
• Having each other is such a blessing.
• Europe has so much to offer, and the festivals are pretty cool, too.
• You can have too many frites.
• Going to a doctor that speaks "pretty good" English is a bad idea...get references.
• As a couple, we can do anything!!!

Thank you for keeping up with us and our past year of adventures...we are so thankful for this opportunity and thank you for your prayers and encouragement along the way!

Bastille Day/Ghent Music Festival

Stephen and I made it out to the Bastille Day Fireworks show here in Liege. It was not bad, actually. We had low expectations, and they were exceeded with flying colors (pun intended!). The weather was great, and getting out amongst our "neighbors" was a nice change.

















The next weekend we had a holiday (Beglium's "4th" if you will) and so we decided to try and make the most of our weekend. We drove to Ghent on Saturday, which we hadn't yet been to. It was gorgeous. We'll have to go back when there isn't a festival in town. They have castles and incredible architecture, all nestled on little waterways. It was really beautiful.

















The music festival was situated in between the major waterway, or canal I guess. In fact, one stage was placed over the river, so the audience was split to either side of the canal. They had decorations to make it seem like we were on a beach in South America, and all of the drinks were your typical island creations. It was very nice. Except that it was 60 degrees and incredibly windy. Not exactly tropical. Of course there was always great people watching, and we were able to get Stephen a sausage! Pretty par for the course concerning European festivals. We danced to a few different salsa bands and had a great time, then decided to try and catch another firework show in Brussels.
















There is a "Mini-Europe" park that has all of the major landmarks/buildings/cities in the E.U. done to 1::25 scale. It was really cool, and very interesting. We have actually added to our list of "destinations before we leave." It's crazy how ornate and grandiose some of these buildings are, and to think that they were built hundreds of years ago. It's mind boggling!



The fireworks show there was also a lot better than we figured it would be. We had a nice time, saw the sights, and then headed home. All of these fireworks shows have to wait until it's dark, so most of them don't start until 11pm or later...so you can imagine how tired we were after they were over!

This week was business as usual, and this Sunday Stephen's cousin Sadie comes in town. She's going to be visiting us for about a week before heading back to Kauai! I'll do my best to keep the blogs and pics coming! Until then...

P.S. Check out Gracie's blog to see her in action at the Salsa concert!! www.graciesbigadventure.blogspot.com

Euro B.O.

I've always noticed it, but I guess we're usually outdoors, so a brisk wind takes it away minutes after contact with my nose. I'm definitely not used to standing in it...submerged in thick, steamy BO like I was today. I take the bus to work. Usually the bus is pretty sparse. It was in the 80's today. Really hot weather when you don't have a cool breeze or air conditioning.

The bus was FULL. Full of large men, wearing jeans and jackets, sweating from the run to catch the bus...permeating the cramped interiors with their full-on stench. Then if it couldn't get any worse, a day-care class decided to make the already full bus their ticket home. We all got out of our seats so that the little tykes could have a place to sit...I mean half of them were in diapers and standing in the aisles while the bus was moving. Tres Belge!

I stood, holding the "Oh Shoot" handle, doing my best to not sway into the open armpits of the man next to me every time the bus driver switched gears.

I made it home without vomiting. Baby steps folks. Baby steps.

There's no place like home...

Being back in the states was a little different this time around. I was overwhelmed with ENGLISH; all of the sudden I could understand all conversations around me. I have to say it was a little annoying. I was unintentionally listening in on everyone around me. I felt like I was being over saturated and I wasn't ready for it. Don't feel too sorry for me, though. I adjusted in a day or so, and I was in HEAVEN.

















I arrived in Austin on July 3rd, and was welcomed at the airport by my entire family...babies included. My mom made some REALLY cute signs that said "Welcome home KT" with little holes cut out for Mackenzie and Olivia's faces...it was adorable! I can't describe how excited I was to see my nieces. Though Mackenzie was a little frightened by my loud entrance and Olivia was asleep, everything mellowed down and the night ended with gelato and an early bedtime, but not before I "re-introduced" myself to Bella. She had a little trouble remembering me at first, but then she fell back into place!

For the 4th, Dad BBQ'd on the "Green Egg" and we hung out by the pool with 'ritas and tunes. My parents house is really nice to lounge and hang out at...it was awesome! Both little ones sported adorable bikinis and swim gear. It's all just so cute! Mackenzie swam with us and hung out in between naps, and miraculously Olivia slept through most of our shenanigans. Little Mackenzie got over her fear of my loud voice and scary faces, and we actually became little besties. I was able to put her to sleep, feed her, and push her around Nordstrom's and Target. Why is it so fun to push a baby around in a cart or stroller? I'm sure it will wear off when it's mine, but it was so fun! Once Olivia get's old enough, we'll have to test out her shopping skills, too :) She's so mellow, I'm sure she'll dig it!

















The rest of the weekend was pretty chill...we relaxed, shopped and ate :) Heaven, right? Mom and I made the trek to Dallas soon after everyone left, and I did almost exactly the same things in Dallas...food, family and shopping! Brooke, who is 6 months pregnant and "glowing," met me for lunch one day, and Lorie and Jesse met me for lunch another day! It was nice to get to see them and catch up! One night Kelly and I went out for dinner and then out on the town! We always have too much fun! Another night we went to a Rangers game with Jeremy and Lindsay, his friends, and Stefani and Jordan met us up there. It was really hot, but I think everyone enjoyed the walk-off home run ending...it was pretty cool! Glenda and RP made a special trip up to see me, too. We went to dinner with Kelly and had a great time talking and catching up as well! It was so nice to be back, to see everyone, and to wear summer clothes in summer weather. (It's been averaging about 60 degrees here and raining here, boo!)

The Friday before I left (Saturday), my Aunt Julie drove my grandparents up to Dallas so they could hang out with me and the babies for the weekend. I was only able to see them for dinner on Friday and breakfast the next morning, but it was so nice!!! I hadn't seen them since the wedding, and the time spent with them was amazing! I miss them a great deal...and how cute are they? We had a great time, and of course they were completely spoiling the babies (and the babies loved it).

















I arrived back in Belgium (to cold weather :( ) on Sunday morning. Stephen and I had some breakfast and headed home so I could take a nap. We then took a late afternoon stroll, had some dinner and caught up. It was so nice to be back in the states and see my family, it was a treat to see some friends I hadn't seen in a while, and it was wonderful to spend time with my grandparents. A very good trip...and now that I'm home I feel equally blessed to have a husband who loves having me home, a job and a life that's full of fun and crazy European adventures. I don't think if you'd asked me 6 months ago I would be ok coming back...but it wasn't a terrible transition. Of course it was really sad to leave, but this isn't permanent, we'll be back before we know it!






















Things are full swing here, I'm busy and enjoying work. Stephen and I are busy booking trips before we come home next summer, and life is good! Thanks for praying for us, loving us, and sharing this adventure with us! A Bientot!

These kicks were made for running!

In efforts to start getting serious, Stephen and I visited the "shoe guy" to see about getting shoes that would support our feet for the marathon. Stephen was running in shoes he "got a good deal on" and I was running in shoes that "worked with my Nike+ running gear." You can imagine that neither of us had great shoes. When we had travelled to Brussels to visit Eric (the shoe guy) before, we were turned away because he was too busy. So, we crossed our fingers and were able to see him on Saturday. It was awesome.

He began by having us run a short distance in his shop. Instantly he was able to tell us things about our feet and strides we had never noticed before. It was pretty incredible. Then, we jumped on this treadmill and ran in our shoes, while he videotaped our strides and how our feet hit the ground. We were able to watch it on the computer, and he showed us problem areas and ways to train to help us in the long run (no pun intended). He then brought out shoes that he thought would work, mind you knowing our sizes by just looking at our feet. We put the new shoes on, which felt like walking on clouds compared to what we had, and ran on the treadmill again. The difference was unbelieveable.

After a few alterations to mine, and a few shoe changes for Stephen, we were out the door with new kicks, socks, water belts and smiles! Yesterday, we tried them out on our long run (9 miles) and both of us escaped without a blister or pain. Pretty awesome! You guys need to find yourselves an Eric...he's pretty cool! Or, just come visit and get some new kicks :)

Soccer Schmocker

Stephen and I started, at one point, to get into soccer. Until we realized what happened after a big win.

Please view the video below, taken after midnight last Thursday when Turkey beat Croatia. It's rediculous. People hanging out of cars, a TRAFFIC JAM, it's nonsense. The effort it would take to get up of the couch, get into your car, grab your neighbors and country flag, find your national "music" and drive around town is WAY more than I'm willing to do for the sport.

If the unnecessary acting on the soccer field doesn't kill me, this will!

Summer Solstice

Saturday we had dinner at the Cross', a family we've gotten to know really well from church. We had a blast playing games outside, like a mean game of Monkey in the Middle and Power Ball. It was great! I think everyone had a great time, although Stephen is sporting some battle scars from my "over-excitedness." Michelle prepared a very "English" dinner, including a pork roast, baked butternut squash, stuffing, green bean casserole, steamed carrots, roasted potatoes, and rounding out the meal was an apple crumble and a fruit "roly poly" for dessert. It was incredible...we were FULL to say the least. And, for all of you out there wondering, Stephen ate ALL of his potatoes, some of his green beans and even some carrots and squash. I was proud :) On our way home, after catching the Holland/Russia Euro 2008 game, we were able to catch the moon in all it's glory. Since it was the summer solstice, it stayed lighter for that much longer, so we still had relatively lighter skies until 11'ish. The picture I took of the moon was around 1am...isn't it incredible?

In case you were wondering...

This haircut is in style for the summer. If you or your loved ones would like a similar 'do, take a hint from this guy before you make an appointment at your hairdresser's. The side burns and faux-hawk are very precise...get it right! And if you can rock the earring...make it happen!


p.s. One of these days I'm going to get caught, and it's not going to be pretty

Do you still love us?

I promised I would update soon, like two weeks ago. Sorry. I guess the blog was easy to update when I wasn't busy. Now I'm going to have to really make it a priority. I promise I will do my best!

School is going great! I teach M-F, and the hours are very flexible. Some days I teach mornings and have afternoons off, some days I teach in the afternoons only, and some days, like tomorrow, I teach in the morning, afternoon and evening with breaks in-between. I really like the school and the people I work with. Everyone has been really nice and inviting, and the students have been great. It's such a blessing to FINALLY have a job; one where I am able to meet new people, have a great schedule to travel and enjoy time off, and one where I can have a sense of independence and purpose. Things are great! Thanks for the prayers.

Stephen is staying busy with work, and keeping me sane while I adjust to working life again. It's silly, but I haven't worked in 13 months, so I have to "get back on the saddle" so to speak...it's been fun! The weather is finally starting to warm up a bit, albeit with rainy cold days intermittently. Today was 66 and partly cloudy. Nice. Since it is sunny'ish until 10:30pm or so, we are able to really enjoy the evenings with Gracie on a nice walk or on a patio somewhere. And on "training" days, we can enjoy a nice jog with cooler weather from 8-9 and still have about 2 hours of daylight to enjoy. It's really crazy, and we love it. Well, not the 4:30 sunlight in our windows in the morning, but the ability to enjoy the sunlight for as long as we can! I'm rambling, but you get the idea!

We're still on for the Cologne Marathon. Stephen hasn't worked out in over a year, but in the last week and a half he's logged three 3 mile runs and one 5.25 mile run. I'm really proud of him. Of course the training is going to get tougher, but he's a trooper right now! Encourage him, and me! Ha!

I'm heading home July 3rd to see the family. I'm SO excited to be able to meet my nieces...and see the whole gang for July 4th! I'm really excited to see "real" sunshine, too! I joked with Stephen that I will have to put on SPF 50 to sit outside, and I'll probably still get burned. Lack of sunlight for 10 months will make a girl pasty white! I'm proof!

As you can see, nothing terribly earth shattering or exciting is going on around "Chez Dotson" but that is a good thing. We are finding our groove and starting to enjoy life as Belgians. We spent Sunday after church with our friends Richard and Michelle (and their girls Gabrielle and Nicole) at their house. I learned to play chess, we played UNO, listened to music, and then played EVERY sports game on the Wii. We had such a good time, and are embarrassingly sore from pitching in Baseball and punching in Boxing...but it was awesome! We might need to invest in one soon!! More importantly, it's nice to be able to spend a lazy Sunday with!

Well, I'm going to close by saying this: I WILL POST MORE from now on, and I will post more insanely "Europe" adventures for you...don't get bored! Stay with me :)

*Pics are from the last few weeks around here...

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you...without a dope beat to step to...

RIP Aaliyah. Sorry I have been MIA lately! I got a job teaching English at Berlitz. I was originally hired to teach in August of last year, but it's taken 10 months for me to be "legal" to work. Stupid, I know. But, here we are. I started training last week, and will finish at the end of this week. It's been tough, I leave at around 7 in the morning and it takes 2 hours in traffic to get there, then I'm in training from 9-5:15. At rush hour, it's time for me to make the trek back. So, you can imagine how tiring the 4 hour driving days could be, then on top of homework and life, it's pretty exhausting. So, I'm sorry!

If you saw the last post, you that I'm now an Aunt for the 2nd time. Sweet Olivia was born on Tues. of last week...so excited to meet her and Mackenzie this summer! It's hard not being there!

I have a lot to share with you all, but it's going to have to be when I'm clear in the head! Just a sneak peek: For Memorial Day we went back to the American Cemetary and watched a very moving Ceremony with quite a few WWII Veterans, we participated in a Pub Quiz last night in Brussels that was a good time, and we also have decided to run a marathon in Cologne this October. So, things are staying busy in the Dotson household these days!

Until next time...Au Revoir!

OLIVIA BELLE KAMPEN

Andy and Natalie welcomed baby Olivia on Tuesday, May 27th. She weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20 inches long! Mom and baby are healthy and at home...surviving I'm sure! Can't wait to meet my 2nd niece this summer!

Super Dirrrty!

Stephen intended to grow a short beard, but our clippers broke. As the beard got longer, he got a little more attached. Finally, it was a little out of control, so he decided to cut it. But not before he tried out a few looks...

Catch ya later...

Proud Mary keep on rollin...

Ava and Paul invited Stephen and I over to have dinner and then go see a "Tribute Band" concert. I was pretty excited, I love live music and love watching people pretend to be someone else. Ha! The concert didn't disappoint. I was worried that being Dutch, they wouldn't sound the same, or it would be a trainwreck. Well, all of them sounded just like the singers (well, close at least) and they put on great shows, and they served Cristal (not exactly what you were thinking, it's beer).




Although I don't know a lot of the Rolling Stones songs, they were great entertainers and really made everyone want to dance. CCR was awesome. Reminded me of college and Texas. It was really great, and the lead singer really got into it.



Tina, ha, oh Tina. Tina was a diva. She had four costume changes, and even a back up singer. I think her backup singer brought more attention and crowds than Tina did, at least to the 30 drunk guys in the front row. She was wearing this trashy outfit made out of patent leather that laced on the sides...I'll let the pictures and videos speak for themselves. There were a few men that loved both, see pic. She was good though, Tina that is. She played all of the major hits, and some I had never heard. It's funny though, I didn't know the songs but everyone around me, young and old, knew every word. Guess she made it big over here!!

I've combined all videos for your viewing pleasure (only CCR and Tina, sorry RS fans). It won't be a treat to your ears, as I've mixed them all together and I took the videos with my camera, but maybe you can pick up some of your favorite songs and get a laugh from some of the dancing!

Enjoy!

Long time no blog...

I'm sorry blogworld. Things got away from me, and I've neglected you! I apologize. There are a few things that I will be blogging shortly, from our recent adventures. A teaser...

1. Tina Turner, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the Rolling Stones
2. Stephen's Facial Hair progression
3. American WWII Cemetary in Henri Chappelle
4. I got a job

Stay tuned...

Dirrrrrrrrty...

Full progression coming soon...