Waterloo Battlefield

We went to the Waterloo Battlefield this past weekend. It is in Belgium and it is about an hour or so away from us. Here are some interesting facts about Waterloo:

-This was where Napoleon had his last stand.

-The battle of Waterloo is regarded today as one of the greatest battles in European history.

-The battle took place in 1815.

-9,500 men died.

-The Lion Mound was erected between 1824-1826 and was dedicated to the soldiers who lost thier lives.

-The lion at the top of the mound weighs 28 tons.

-226 steps lead up to the top of the mound.

Aachen, Germany

Cologne, Germany

Last Saturday we went to Cologne, Germany for the day, but unfortunately we didn't get to stay the whole day due to the rain. We waited out the big down pour and we were going to stay once it let up, but we were damp and so was Emma, so we decided to head back so she wouldn't get sick. Cologne is not too far from us, so we are going to go back again when the weather is nicer and explore the city more. I really liked this city from what we were able to see, so I am really looking forward to coming back. The pictures that are posted are of the Cologne Cathedral (Kolner Dom) and a neat little fountain we saw. The pictures of the cathedral do not due it justice, this place was massive! I seriously could not take my eyes off of it when we were near it. It seems unreal when you are next it to. There is so much detail in the architecture...it really is a work of art! Construction of the cathedral began in 1248 and took, with interruptions, until 1880 to complete! It is one of the world's largest churches and is believed to have the remains of the Three Wise Men in shrine.

Play Time!

Here are some pictures of Emma and her little buddy C.J. playing on a playground. We had to watch C.J. for 4 days because both of his parents had to go TDY to Germany. It was totally different taking care of two kiddos than one. Emma and C.J. are only 14 months apart, so we had our hands full, but we managed fine. :)

Flower Carpet in Brussels

Sorry it's been awhile since I updated the blog, but you know life gets busy sometimes. We took a day trip to Brussels a couple of weeks ago to see the Flower Carpet. This happens every two years so we thought we should check it out. It was neat, but it was extremely crowded there so we didn't stay too long. We would like to go back to Brussels and check out the other things to see there. We also saw the famous Manneken Pis statue and we had some yummy waffles!

8 Months Old

Emma is 8 months old now and very active! She doesn't crawl yet, but she sure does know how to get around the house by rolling and army crawling. She also sits up all by herself. Her front two teeth have started to come in which makes for an unhappy baby at times. She is on her second stage of baby foods and enjoys trying new foods.

Antwerp

Last Friday, we went to Antwerp with our neighbors. They kept insisting that they take us there and show us the sites, so we said, "Sure!" Antwerp is one of the larger cities in Belgium and dates back to 1374! The picture to the right is of a castle called Het Steen (The Stone). The next picture is of Emma on her rocking scooter that Matt bought for her in Antwerp. Now she has a scooter just like daddy! :) The picture with the garden in it is The Plantin-Moretus Museum which was the home and printing establishment of famous printers Christoffel Plantijn and Jan Moretus. The picture with the statue is of some 16th century Guildhouses. The last picture is a cathedral. We had a great time there and we didn't even get to see the whole city!