Car Free Day and Other Events...

I had forgotten to mention earlier that the Sunday after we left to come to the U.S. was "Car Free Day" in Brussels. And they meant business. In the Brussels Capital Region (of which we are a part, by just a few blocks), there was NO auto traffic allowed. If you had to use your car that day, you had to apply for a permit. The only traffic allowed was, I think, buses, taxis and emergency vehicles. There were barricades on the side of the road just outside our neighborhood, and on Sunday, there was a police officer manning those barricades to prevent any auto traffic from coming into the Brussels proper area.

T.J. had to drive to work that day, so he had to park his car a few blocks away, just outside of the city limits. It would've been fun to be here on that day and to ride our bikes on all the streets. Perhaps next year!

Face Painting
Here are the pictures from last week's birthday party. Isn't Jack the cutest?




Christmas Shopping
Just as in the US, the Christmas decorations are out in full swing. We've been seeing lots of toy commercials on our satellite TV ("I want that! I want that!"), and I'm discovering that most toys (at least, most toys that Amelia wants) are TWICE as much in the U.K. as they are in the U.S. TWICE!!! I think that they'll be slightly cheaper here in Belgium, but they'll still be close to double the price. Amazing. Luckily, the kids aren't really wanting for too many toys (except what they see on tv), so I hope to get by with lots of books this year!

There's not much else to report. Tammy and I have been attending all sorts of wacky classes at the gym, but we're enjoying our Latin dance step aerobics (for lack of a better term) class. It's really fun, the time flies by, and we're burning 500 calories a pop, according to my heart rate monitor.

More later....