The view of the back of the house from the yard.  Crockett is
                                                      standing outside of the door that leads to the boys' room.
                                                      Above him is the small balacony outside the master bedroom
                                                      and Lexie's room.  The area behind the trees and plants is the
                                                      living room.  Just behind where we were standing when we
                                                       took the picture is a stone sitting area and then the                                                                  
                                                        yard borders on a corn field.

8 Jul 06--While the post was on preventive lockdown based on an annual "demonstration" from a local group called BombWatchers, we had a quiet afternoon at the hotel.  Clay went to the air base to do laundry (and to get some much needed quiet, alone time) and Johnna and the kids took a much needed nap (sort of).  Just before dinner, we left for "Bash at the Barn", a "summer morale boosting event" hosted by one of the local first sergeants who actually lives out in the middle of the countryside and has a barn in his back yard.  While we don't expect anyone to actually care where it is, the directions were too funny not to share...
   1.  Turn at the Chinese Dragon restaurant.
   2.  Continue until you pass recycling bins and a big chicken atop a WWI monument.  Salute the chicken and turn right.
   3.  There's now a pond to your right...no skinny dipping.
   4.  A couple hundred yards down the road there is an old place surrounded by a lot of nothing.  Pass the house and park in neat rows on the right...

There were ribs and chicken and burgers and a table of potluck side dishes.  The kids played with a few other kids who were there and we met a few folks as well.  The highlight of the evening was the great band that played.  It was composed of several member of the SHAPE International Band who volunteered to play for the evening.  The lead vocalist was absolutley fabulous and they had a truly varried song selection.  Check out the band's website to find out their mission and the other kinds of groups that fall under the umbrella of the SHAPE Band.  It was nice to sit in the grass and listen to some familiar music while the boys played with some kids their ages.  Everyone seems a little more relaxed now and ready to tackle our last week in the hotel!
    
                     Listen to a sample of the band...                                    Lexie in the "lot of nothing"

9 Jul 06--After a quiet "post-bash" day, we took a trip about 15km (9 miles) from the hotel to a town called Soignies.  We told the boys we were going to a special French restaurant for dinner...they didn't even suspect a thing when we drove into the parking lot of....McDonalds!!!  They were very excited to eat a "familiar" meal...Asa had a "Royale with Cheese" (a Quarter Pounder with cheese), Crockett had a chicken nugget kids meal, Lexie even had a little cheeseburger.  Johnna also had a Royale (but with no cheese)...Clay had something called the McFeast...it was a cross between a BigMac and a Double Quarter Pounder.  As is the case throughout Belgium, we were offered our choice of sauces for the frites (fries) -- we chose ketchup and mayonnaise.  Afterwards, the boys played in the playplace, but decided to stop when a little boy (probably 3 or 4) smacked Crockett in the head with a plastic snake and then a few minutes later licked Asa on the leg...odd...very odd.
 
                            Enjoying a McDonalds surprise...                              Town Center 1 block away

11 Jul 06--After just one day at work, Johnna had to take a day off to take her driving test.  Let's just say that while most of the basic principles are the same, there are some VERY important differences.  The most important of these is the concept of "yielding to the right".  Basically, unless posted otherwise, the car to the right of you always has right of way...even if they are at a stop and you are already moving...even if you are on the main road and they are on a smaller road...even if you are in a parking lot...next time you are driving, look around you and see how wierd it would be to have to yield everytime you come to an intersection if there is a car to the right....Anyhow, Johnna got 100% on the written test, but it still remains to be seen whether or not she can actually successfully drive on the Belgian roads.  Clay takes his test next week, but has the advantage of having driven around since we arrived.

14 Jul 06--The day finally has come!!  Today, we signed the lease for the house and went later in the day to pick up the keys!  The cats got to spend the first night in the house all by themselves (probably much to their relief!).  We will begin to move the things in the hotel to the house over the weekend in preparation for the furniture to arrive Monday and Tuesday.  Its a good thing that things are beginning to settle down a little on the home front because they are really ramping up on the work front for Johnna.  She begins travelling at the end of next week with a quick trip to Brussels (only about an hour away) for meetings.

15 Jul 06--Our friends the Bosettis came to visit today (Christi is one of Johnna's roommates from college).  They live in Germany, but made the three and a half hour trip to welcome us to Europe.  We had a late lunch (there was really bad traffic through the western part of Germany when they were coming through) but the food was good and the fellowship was great!  It was wonderful to see them.

17 Jul 06--Today we got an early start to meet the movers at the house.  They arrived promptly and then unpacked our nine crates of furniture, clothes, toys, kitchen goods, and other assorted "stuff".  All things considered, our things fared pretty well.  While there were a few things broken, dented, or scratched, all in all it could have been much worse (see below for one of the more dramatic photos of an end table with the back punctured).  We'll file a claim for those things that are damaged and see what happens.  After the movers left at around 4pm, we unpacked a few boxes, arranged the furniture in the living room, and assembled the patio table in hope we could eat outside sometime this coming weekend.  We had forgotten how "disassembled" some of our things actually were...case in point our leather recliner in the photo below (it has since been re-assembled and all is well).  Now the chore of unpacking, arranging, and cleaning begins...but we're actually sort of looking forward to it.


22 Jul--  We had our first friends over for dinner.  While playing at the pool at the hotel one day, the boys met two children who were coming in from South Carolina.  We had the opportunity to spend a few evenings by the pool in the evenings with them.  Once we moved in, we invited them over for a homecooked (OK, home-grilled) meal--burgers, hot dogs, beans, chips, etc.  It was nice to be able to sit and relax in our own home and be able to offer someone else a break from "hotel life".

25 Jul--Our television is now hooked up and the boys have been catching up on cartoons and kids shows (they haven't figured out yet that most of the programming is a season or more old).  We're slowly making progress with boxes and what not...its been a long, hot week and it only promises to be hotter the next day or so.

27 Jul--  Our van is here!!  We called this morning and found out that it was ready for pickup at the Vehicle Processing Center.  When Johnna finished up at work Friday afternoon, Clay drove up in the van instead of the tiny little rental car...what a welcome end to a long, hot, tiring week.

30 Jul--It is FINALLY raining.  Early this morning we went onto the SHAPE compound for one of the monthly flea markets during the summer months.  We were looking for a few specific things, but only managed to find a small computer desk for the boys' room.  It is actually a school table desk, but will work nicely for just a monitor and keyboard.  We are getting things settled, slowly but surely.  With the exception of the boxes of office things we're waiting to unpack for a while and the boxes that Johnna is bringing in bit by bit from the mail room at work, we are down to six boxes.  We spent yesterday ensuring the hanging clothes were all in the right place and getting the boys' room settled in all the way (except hanging pictures).  The next significant task is to re-organize all of the drawers in Johnna and Clay's room since the movers emptied all of the drawers out and then re-filled them with other things (makes no sense...I know...but that's what happened).  Hopefully by this time next week we will be able to take some "with furniture" photos to post here.