Summering but not Sunning

Americans of America, be jealous.  While you are cooking in weather that looks like this:

America's summers are starting to resemble to fiery flames of hell.

I am in Brussels which is always an example of temperance.

An albino's dream.  No sunscreen ever needed. 

So, while we may not be able to swim outside and I may, or may not, have let my leg hair grow a bit longer than usual for July, it is not stifling and occasionally warm enough to crack a window.  I never have to water my garden, which is good because I think I am giving up the idea that I could be a fantastic gardner with a Secret Garden type paradise in my back yard.  I spent $60 on seeds and I have nothing to show for it other than some growth stunted spinach and two inch carrots (I have hope on the carrots).

I have made good use out of my new red hoodie (although I look much cuter than the dude wearing it in the link).  The kids don't even complain about having to wear their Fall clothes because they don't remember what it is like to have the sun touch their skin.

Not that it has been gray every day, we get spurts of sunshine, and when we do we go out.
We have been busy bees this summer.

We went to the famous Helecine Balloon Festival.  The same festival we went to last year sans successful balloon launch.

This year we were not disappointed.

There were of course, weird French influenced circus people.

A hedge maze

Beautiful scenery (and cute kids)

But this year:

Tiger on Seth's shoulders.

The balloon dudes almost knocking Tiger off Seth's shoulders.

Gymnastics while we wait.

Launch!

Just a quick end note on this balloon launch craziness.  Our neighbor's sister won a ride on the balloon launch, what you can't see in these pictures is a very large patch of cumulonimbus clouds on their way. Sure enough when the neighbor's sister landed the basket tumbled and she broker her arm and leg.  Yikes!

Besides watching balloons at castles we went to Antwerp to see Cirque de Soleil.  It was cool but my advice is to never take a three year old to anything longer than an hour.  It could be people walking upside down and they wouldn't care, oh wait, that is what happened.  I loved it, Stella loved it, Seth thought it was cool, Tiger wanted to go and chase pigeons in the parking lot.

We were also able to do a little shopping in Antwerp, my most favorite city.  It is sales month.  For some unexplainable evil reason large chunks of Europe have government mandated sale months.  In Belgium it is January and July.  So we hit some sales.  We also got a bite to eat at McDonalds, which is very exotic in Belgium.  (Did you know that Belgium has one of the lowest McDonalds to people ratios in the world?) While we waited the kids played hopscotch and cars in Groen Plaats.

Groen Plaats

Hopscotch on ancient squares.

Tiger is able to block out the thousands of pedestrians when he is playing with his cars.  

After all of this excitement, we were rewarded with the best treat yet:

They are BOTH ASLEEP in the car

But the best news of all is that they stayed asleep.  all. night. long.

Hooray!

And for those who are feeling sad or bummed out because of their monsoon weather please check out this video of my sweet Tiger singing Joy to the World (in July).  He mixes French and English and it is awesome.