Disney and celebrating the 4th in Belgium

A few weeks ago we decided to take the boys to Disneyland Paris.  I've always loved all things Disney - and for good reason - I think it really is the happiest place on earth.  It's just hard to not be in a great mood when you're in Disneyland!  Euro Disney may not be quite as 'magical' as what I remember Disney World being, but it was pretty darn close.

We only had one night and one day there, but we certainly made the most of it.  The boys and I picked Scott up from work Friday night and made our way down to Paris, where we stayed for the night.  As we stayed at a Disney hotel, we were able to take advantage of the shuttle and early access to the park.  This was nice because we were able to get in a lot of 'classic' Disney rides before all the crowds showed up - 'Dumbo', 'It's a Small World', the teacups, etc.

Although the day started off pretty cool and cloudy, it soon got warm and sunny - couldn't have asked for a better day!  The whole complex is much smaller than in the states - and there's only two parks - Disney Land and Disney Studios (which is like Universal Studios).  The nice thing is that they're right next to each other - no shuttling between the two, which saves a lot of time.  Because we were only there one day, we wanted to pack in as much as possible, and did we ever!   We arrived at 9AM and left at 10PM, which made for a very fun, albeit exhausting, day!  Although we spent most of our time at Disney Land, we did make our way over to Disney Studios as well.  The only problem we had were Scott's feet...as somebody, who shall remain nameless, forgot to pack his running shoes, so he was forced to wear his work shoes for 13+ hours.  (Although in the packer's defense, he didn't lay them out with the rest of his clothes...:)

Will trying to get the sorcerer's stone out - he was very excited, as  'The Sorcerer's Stone' is his current favorite movie

A three-man effort...still no success.

'Flying Dumbo' - the great thing about the rides was that that Bo could do all the ones Will could do, so the four of us  could do them all together.  

The Teacups

Probably Bo's favorite moment!  We had to wait 50 minutes (Scott timed it) to see Mickey, but for this moment, it was worth every second.

This was about two minutes after Mickey...all the excitement was too much.

In front of the haunted house - probably couldn't have done it if Bo was awake, he definitely would've thought it was too 'thcary'.

Will eating his candy apple - unfortunately, they weren't as good as they looked.

The treasure in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' ride

Bo in a pirate cage

Waiting for the parade to start

Kids in the audience were asked to participate in this little street show by the green army guys from 'Toy Story'.  Will was a little hesitant, but Bo jumped right up.  It was so cute - Will was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to wet himself.

Scott's 'fancy shoes'...especially classy with the ankle socks.

Mickey's 'Magical Moments' Show - it was great - and actually half in English, which was a special treat!  Actually, there was a surprising amount of things in English, which was a nice surprise - particularly being in the middle of French country.

The 'Buzz Lightyear' ride - Will's favorite, as the rider was supposed to shoot lasers at all these targets.  I think it was Scott's favorite too.  This was the only ride we did twice!

Such a wonderful day - I hope to make it back again before we move.  I would love to spend a few more days there, as there looks like there's a lot to do around the whole complex.  

A great but exhausting day!  Here it's 10PM - notice how light it still looks out!  That's been one of the biggest adjustments living here - at the peak of the summer solstice it would stay light until about 10:45!  I didn't realize how far north Belgium actually is - as by the milder weather, you really wouldn't know.  I don't think a night has passed without Will saying it isn't bedtime yet because it's still light out.

The Fourth of July was a hard time to be away from home for me.  I've always loved the days surrounding the fourth, especially spending time in Dyersville then.  But being with other Americans who are in the same boat as us here did make it easier.  The American Women's Club of Brussels had a BBQ, and our friends also had one for some of our American friends.  So, although there were no fireworks, we did manage to do the second best thing about the fourth, that is eat until we practically had to roll ourselves home...

In the bounce house at the American Women's Club 

Will posing with our Fourth of July masterpiece...notice all the strawberry stains on his shirt?

Bo and his bff Brent

I've really been enjoying these past few weeks with Will off school.  The weather really doesn't feel a whole lot like summer yet - definitely not the heat I enjoy!  The warmest it's been getting lately is the low 70's, but the forecast for the next 10 days looks pretty cool and dreary, unfortunately.  We've been just hanging out, having play dates, going to parks and the zoo, and taking it easy.  This week Will has swimming lessons, so that's been keeping us busy.  The most excitement we've been having the last few days has been at night, as we've gotten Bo back out of the pack-and-play and into his big boy bed (which consists of a mattress on the floor underneath Will's bunk).  Bo finally figured out how to climb up into Will's bed and has spent the the last three nights showing off his new trick, much to the exhaustion of his parents and older brother.  We thought he was finally asleep last night at about 10:30, but when Scott when in to check on them, there he was, with all the lights on in the room, reading up in Will's bed - and apparently Will had just finally given up and gone to sleep. So I'm not exactly sure what to do about this...

This is how Bo usually ends up sleeping - half on his bed, half off, with about 15 different animals/toys/books  'sleeping' with him.

We have to say goodbye to some of our friends again this week, as Ben and Angie (on the left) head back to the states:(    We had them over Saturday night for calzones and Tripoley - good times!  They were awesome and took Rachel and I to the commissary again one last time, so I was able to stock up on a ton of 'American' stuff - our kitchen seriously looks like I'm a hoarder.  

Will getting ready for swimming lessons - speedo, swim cap and all...

Next week we plan on leaving for a driving trip through parts of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, but as we've yet to make many plans, only time will tell what we actually do!