BEAUTIFUL BRUGES

We've had some fun visitors for the past 2 weeks who just left this morning. Laura, Tom, Ian and Macy! For a week of their time, they went to Belgium and so of course we had to follow! Jeff had a 4 day weekend and we wanted to make good use of every moment! So on friday we woke up at 4am to drive to Bruges since Laura, Kim, and their families were all exploring that adorable city. We have some major FOMO, which is why we woke up early and drove straight there with hardly any stops. 

We got to the city and had the star-struck feeling we get every time we visit a new place. Jeff requests I take pictures of just about every nook and cranny, so I was snapping like a fool. He was especially adamant that I get a picture of this little old lady. ^^

The architecture here is much different than Germany. Different colors of exposed brick climbing up each and every tall and skinny building.

As per usual, we took about 45 minutes to successfully unload this absolute walking circus.

^^ SEE FOR YOURSELF! ^^

walking the streets of Europe with SEVEN kids in tow, NBD. Sometimes I'm like...why don't we have our own reality tv show?

Walking to the town square, starting to get these sweet glimpses of the unique and lovely charm that this city has to offer. 

This man washing the windows was a hit with the kiddos.

They have these horse carriages in every tourist city in Europe, but they neverrrrr get old with the kids. Jane squeals with delight, as Lyla flaps her arm in excitement each and every time a horse walks by.

^^ sibling pic. and my favorite picture of the day! Jeff and Laura have a long-standing debate over who is taller, and as he stood up on his tippy toes to really drive home his point, they were all transported back to their childhood pictures; all of which included a tippy-toed jeffrey boy :)

Lyla was a hit with the older girls. We made the observation that this weekend we had a 4 year old girl, a 3 year old girl, a 2 year old girl, a 1 year old girl, and a baby macy girl :) Cutest little ducks in a row I've ever seen! Sam and Ian were the honorary boys stuck between all those sweet, and emotional, girlies. :)

Speaking of Baby Macy!!!! She was an absolute angel for the whole trip. I barely heard her make a peep, and she is generous with her huge smiles that push her chubby cheeks up to create the cutest squinty eyes.

Lyla was also an angel, as per usual. I'm out of words to describe my adoration for this child.

Notre Dame of Bruges

The kids were equal parts enamored, terrified, and intrigued with this weird guy. They have them everywhere. These crazy people who paint and dress themselves up to be some sort of mythical creature who stays still unless people put money in their hats on the ground.

And of course, the real reason we made the trek back to Belgium: the waffles! They did not disappoint, although if I were forced to choose- the ones in Brussels had better caramel sauce. But like....who can even find fault with a creation as marvelous as THAT ^^

Jane happily enhaled that mound of cream before moving on to the actual waffle portion.

Jeff's one request for the day was that he got his OWN waffle because he was quite bitter about the fact that last time he had to share with Jane. 

One of my favorite town squares I've seen! So fun and colorful! I had to snap some pics of these cute buddies.

Charm, in ever nook and cranny, I tell ya!!

Holding hands with her dadda :)

This is my new favorite picture of me and jeff. Not because we look spectacular. But because we look young and in love, and like a couple of kids who have kids of their own, somehow.

Caught him taking a selfie. Classic Jeff. 

Beautiful Bruges

These boats totally lured us in, in case you were wondering. 

Had to snap this because Jeff couldn't keep gushing over all the bricks. He kept repeating "These bricks are SO COOL....and SO OLD!" Had to preserve the brick obsessed moment.

Running away and giggling when I ask to take her picture! 

It's just like....I don't want to taint these pictures with words because they are just best left as is....yet here I am. Type-Rambling.

The kids waving at the people in the boats passing through the canal tunnel.

Our turn to get onto one of these cute little boats! This goes down as Jane's number one "favorite part" of our entire 4 day weekend!

Jeff's "Huh! That's interesting" face

My favorite view of all, watching her take in all the beauty around. She is getting so good at pointing at the small and big beauties all around us. Her gasping "Wow! Beautiful!" is a common phrase when we are out in nature, and I love it.

If you look closely, you can see a little boy peeking through that window with his grandpa. My impression was that those two spend a good portion of their days looking out the windows and waving at the boat riding tourists. It was precious.

Swan heaven!

We really loved the boat tour, but this accordion playing, puppet moving musician was another highlight for the kids. He started playing "I wanna be like you" from Jungle Book and had all the kids dancing with smiles smeared across their faces.

These two sat together and laughed at each other for a good chunk of the day. It was so so so adorable! Cousins bonding is a fun thing to witness.

We had such a fun time exploring Bruges altogether. And it was surprisingly not as chaotic as one would assume. Its almost easier when we travel in large packs, because the kids have entertainment in the form of cousins. That leaves us adults better able to enjoy and take in the city. A delightful day spent exploring a new place with people we love; it doesn't get much better than that if you ask me! We all drove back to Kim's house and let the kids play and unwind for a bit before putting them to bed.

Next up: Tackling Amsterdam with an army of children!!