Mother's Day Antique Weekend

Whereas April was mostly devoid of any travel, we more than made up for it in May! My first trip was actually a girls' weekend over Mother's Day with my friend Laurel. We drove to Belgium for the popular Sunday antique market in Tongeren. We overnighted at Ramstein Air Force Base on Friday to break up the drive and stop at a few antique stores in the area before driving into Belgium. The only downside to our weekend was that driving was somewhat of a nightmare, with staus and construction all over the place. On the bright side, we had no shortage of things to talk about and with no little ones in the car to keep entertained, the time ended up going pretty quickly!

After checking into our B&B in Belgium, we drove into Tongeren to have dinner and scope out parking for the next morning. It was so nice to have a quiet, leisurely dinner with uninterrupted conversation. Another town, another gorgeous church!

After a somewhat fitful night's sleep (maybe we were too excited!), we woke up just before 6 to hit the road and get a good parking spot! We lucked out with rock-star parking at the lot recommended by other market-goers. Ready to load up the car with our finds!

We heard that most vendors are set-up or just about finished around 6:45 or 7, and although many were still setting up when we arrived around 6:45, we started perusing immediately. Laurel and I each had a wish-list of things we were hoping to find. I was looking for a front-entryway bench, antique sled and old windows that I could possibly make into a mirror or just to hang on the wall. Laurel was on the look-out for a demijohn and antique farm door to turn into a coffee table. Laurel found her demijohn within minutes of getting to the market for a steal! I found my sled for a great price and we both ended up buying antique bread dough bowls. Although we didn't score our big ticket antiques, we had a great time looking around and seeing things we never would otherwise (like a huge antique camera)... aaaaand, to my husband's relief, we didn't break the bank either. :)

Laurel and I left the market as it was starting to rain and made it back to our B&B just in time for their delicious breakfast. The drive home, although a little long, was sunny and scenic!

Upon arriving home, I was met with lots of excited squealing -- and my 3-year-old was pretty happy to see me too (ha!). I also had these waiting for me. The flowers were from Ellie and Brian, and Brian helped her with the homemade card.

This year marked the first Mother's Day in which I received a handmade gift from Ellie that she made at school. Coincidentally, Germans celebrate Mother's Day on the same day that we do in the States, so Ellie had come home with her gift on Friday. She could barely contain her excitement about the gift on the way home, although initially she said it was her present (I think because she has shown a recent rock fascination).

This is a rough translation of the German card:

"For Mothers' Day

Your eyes are laughing
and make not worry
I love you and give you
a big kiss from me."

Doesn't get much better than that. :)