Barnyard Friends

The girls discovered one of the kitten litters in the barn one morning; Guy and I found a second litter under a bush outside from another cat. And Zohra had her darling pups while we were in France. What a lot of cute little things for the kids to see...

Here's a video clip. Near the end Joey explains why he prefers the kittens to the puppies:

Ferme Dumont in Belgium

Guy's farm is a lovely old place from the 1800's, formerly owned and built by the town governor, Monsieur Dumont. Guy has 7 horses, a dog, and too many cats to count. While we were there, two of the cats had litters of kittens, and when we were in France, Zohra delivered her puppies. The kids were in heaven with all the cute little things, but of course, technology won their attention at least some of the time. :)






















This was the view from the kids' bedroom window.

Brussels, Belgium

We decided to go into Brussels for our last evening in Belgium, to see the sights and to have dinner. Le Grand Place is so impressive with its amazing architecture and grandeur. It's a huge square of magnificent buildings set around an open floor of old cobblestone. The kids seemed to like it also, and the girls were snapping lots of photos. Niki took the above photo of the Breadhouse, or Maison du Roi.

One of the famous Belgian landmarks is Le Mannequin Pis, and most visitors are expecting something large and prominent in the center of Brussels. It's a short walk down a side street, and the statue is a tiny little thing, maybe a foot tall. Ana caught this great view of it from a slight angle.

Guy drove us around a little, and we got to see the most famous structures, including the Atomium from the 1958 World's Fair, and Le Palais Royal, home of King Albert. The kids were quite impressed to learn that Belgium has a king.

I found this last photo on the internet; we didn't take it. But the Town Hall, or Hôtel de Ville, is a spectacular sight at night.