Just the highlights.

I honestly feel like, at this point, my main job when with the kids is wiping noses. Every single kid is sick in some way or another, from constantly running noses, to explosive sneezes to fevers and coughs... So as you may have guessed, we're all getting sick at this point. 

Tuesday afternoon, Mallory and I needed a little break so we headed into town to the Bru House, where the Irish owner, Allen, loves to hang out with us and give us a hard time about everything. He is quick to stand up and yell at any man that approaches us, even if it's someone we know. It's great.

After babysitting kids so some couples could have a date night (all we had to do was put the kids to bed and be there in case they woke up), we began planning for Amsterdam.

Wednesday, we discovered the university town of Leuven, which is just a short 20 minute train ride from our town - perfect for an afternoon trip. It was my first time going to a city this trip without my Rick Steves' book to guide my footsteps. I felt lost.

Thankfully, Amy had been there previously and led us to the breathtaking town hall, after stopping to check out some sales and H&M and Zara, of course! It was so wonderful to find a town so close that we can stop by for the day, shop, grab a beer and leave! Well, that is, after gawking at every turn.

Wednesday evening can be summed up by three words: beer, wine and trivia.
As we settled in with new beers to try and €4 wine, casual conversation with a trivia question from Amy every now and then, turned into half of us downloading this trivia app and collectively playing for hours.

I had wanted to stay out past dinner on Wednesday so I had switched dish duty with someone. This turned out to be a fatal mistake. I ended up with dish duty on Thursday afternoon... When the dishwasher just so happened to be broken. This disaster brought on two hours of washing dishes by hand, but hey, I got to know the guys I had dish duty with really well.

Thursday afternoon I went to Allen's to get some work done, where he helped me with my resume and cover letter. Who knew going to a bar would be so helpful?

Mallory and I, needing a good night out on the town (the town of Zaventem, basically meaning one of the 3 bars in walking distance), headed back to the Bru House that night for some R&R.