Zipper merging has been the law in Belgium since 2014. It does work better, but not everyone follows or knows the rule.

We were in the Tower of London last week and it wasn't too crowded. The tours are very interesting and of course you can see the Crown Jewels. The British Museum is fantastic as others have said. They have the Rosetta Stone, an enormous antiquities section. We also saw a show, Wicked. It was fantastic. My least favorite thing was the hop-on hop-off bus, but it's good when you get tired of walking and don't have time to figure out the public buses. We missed getting into Westminster Abbey because it has limited hours. So definitely check on trip advisor or something to plan your day. We only spent three nights so we didn't have time for everything. Oh, if you like Chinese food, there are great restaurants in China Town. If you are looking for something quick and healthy, there is a chicken chain called Nando's.

In Europe, even the grandmas are in bikinis. No one seems to care what anyone else is wearing. It is freeing to think about it. Men of all shapes and sizes are in speedos, too. You kind of get used to it. I have a one piece and feel like I kind of stand out even more. If I can find a well fitting two-piece, I might go for it. Actually, in some places, people are wearing even less than speedos and bikinis which makes any bathing suit at all seem quite modest.

Young women everywhere seem to be wearing white Adidas and cute summer dresses. Not a look I'm comfortable with but my girls can do it. Sparkly and glittery shoes are in this season too. But by fall, I'm confident most people will be back in leather boots.

We've lived in Europe for 15 years now so most of our clothes have been bought here, but wherever we go it is obvious we are not from there. Even on our last trip to London, everyone knew we were American by the first word out of our mouths. As far as clothing, layers and comfortable leather shoes and sandals are what you need. Also a small umbrella or rain jacket. I prefer a hooded jacket. We are also able to spot Americans in a crowd by the sound of their voices, loud and clear over all the other noise. Americans tend to talk louder than everyone else. I don't know why this is. Maybe our ears just pick it up.

Last year I decided to make my health a priority and I did make some progress. I signed up for a weekly Pilates class that I didn't miss except when I was sick or there was something that absolutely couldn't be helped. This was after I went to an osteopath for lower back and hip pain. Gradually I added Nordic Walking which has done wonders for my back, hip, and neck pain. I'm in better shape than I was a year ago, but not where I want to be yet. Sometimes I ride my mountain bike. The weather here is a challenge. The last few weeks it was very hot and there was an ozone warning, plus I got a bad virus. So that was a setback. Finally I decided to change my diet to include more vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans with small amounts of lean meat and very little simple carbs. This has helped with the weight loss. My family had to adjust a little to my being out of the house for Pilates. Sometimes other things just didn't get done. I usually do my walking in the morning while the kids start their school work. They are high school age. So I guess it was a matter of deciding to make it a priority and making gradual changes.

I don't worry about the last few lessons too much. There will be more reinforcement in the next book. Just keep chugging along and I second using Art Reed or DIVE. I dislike grading proofs too. I feel like I have to relearn it every time one comes up and there is more than one correct answer.

Embalming is becoming more of an issue and an option now than it was before. The funeral home gave us the option of not embalming my father but then he would have had to be buried more quickly. I had to travel from overseas so he was embalmed. I was very glad to have the chance to see him for the last time before the funeral. It did cost more, but everything cost quite a bit so I'm not sure that it made a significant difference in cost. Quill, I'm sorry you weren't given a choice. I agree with you completely.

We used English from the Roots Up. We made flash cards for review and played some games.

You might like Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier or Pride and Prejudice.

I was surprised that the article said that in the UK family members do not often view the body in the coffin prior to burial. When my grandparents died we had two day wakes before the funerals so people could come and pay their respects. The caskets were open. When my father died we had a visitation for a few hours immediately prior to the funeral and only family were present when the casket was closed. For me the closing of the casket is the most important moment of the whole funeral. I think this is common in the US. Closed casket is usually for cases when the body is determined to be not viewable for some reason.

C&A and H&M do have larger sizes. I think 44 and up are like US Large and XL. C&A online has plus sizes, too. There used to be a shop called MS Mode that was plus size and less expensive. I haven't seen one near me in a while though. At C&A you might find your size in their Canda brand. Avoid the Clockhouse brand, that's for teens. I tried on winter coats in XL in Clockhouse by mistake and I couldn't even get my arms in. The INNO department store has larger sizes too. I find the German brands to be more generously cut. Since you're coming from Alaska, you probably won't think it ever gets cold here. The weather patterns very a lot, but generally September and October can be beautiful Indian summer months. Then we are in for a lot of rain, damp, gray and cold. Usually a sweater or fleece with a good rain coat is sufficient. When the Christmas markets start late November/December you will need a winter coat and warmer boots if you're going to be out for a while. I have a heavy Land's End parka that I've only used once or twice. Usually one of those medium weight quilted coats are sufficient on the coldest days. And always a scarf. I like buying scarves here, they always fit. ;)

I know what you mean. I usually run to the grocery store after school in shorts and a nicer t-shirt and I feel like a bum next to all the women shopping after work in their business casual. If I'm going out to eat or do a family activity, then I dress a bit better. I've starting wearing skirts over bike shorts and nicer sandals on the weekend. Summer will be over before you know it though so I wouldn't spend too much for summer. You will notice that people wear the same things over and over here. But I would start shopping for fall as soon as the new styles come in unless your fall/winter wardrobe is in good shape. The women will usually wear dress boots, skirts or tight jeans and slacks. Nice coats and pretty scarves also. I think everyone is working so they are usually well dressed. If you want to keep expenses down, H&M and C&A have cheaper clothing.

The website for Excellence in Literature lists the books covered for each of the 5 curriculums. English 5 is World Lit and it has The Odyssey, Antigone, The Aeneid, Divine Comedy, Don Quixote, Les Mis, The Portable 19th Century Russian Reader, Faust, and Out of Africa. English 2 has The Count of Monte Cristo, The Heart of Darkness, Till We Have Faces, Julius Caesar, Ivanhoe, and the Importance of Being Earnest. Enlish 3 is American Lit. English 4 is British Lit and includes King Lear, Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, To the Lighthouse. There are a few more. I feel like you have a lot of freedom and if you can do a book every four weeks or so you can have a nice variety. ETA: I didn't try to match the history curriculum because it moves too fast. It truly is a survey of the entire history of the world. But the Excellence in Lit program always suggests several context resources to look at online and usually requires an author profile and/or historical context paper in addition to the main essay on the text.

We did OM World History and our own World Literature course this year. The world history course covers basically all of world history so we just chose based on interests from various lists that I found online and what was suggested in the Excellence in Literature course ( I have the full set so I can pick and choose). In the end we spent a lot of the first semester on Homer's Odyssey and a few Greek plays because my daughter really likes those types of things. I found a study guide online for the Odyssey and listened to the Vandiver lectures from Great Courses. It was really fun for us. The second semester we did Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, Julius Caesar, some 19-th century Russian lit, and Things Fall Apart. Most of these are taught in the Excellence in Literature course. For Things Fall Apart, we just used a Cliff Notes and some online material. We spent about 4 weeks on each. We enjoyed the freedom of choosing good books and writing about them. My other daughter did an online World Lit course which consisted of a lot of very short works and two books. I think they were Rebecca and Julius Caesar. They followed some sort of themes. It's been a couple years so I don't remember exactly. But I far preferred our self-designed course.

I bought the course fully intending to use it. I like Oak Meadow courses in general, especially the literature and history courses. In the end we did AP Human Geography for ninth grade. Actually it was Human Geography with The Cultural Landscape by Rubenstein and taking the AP exam. I just wanted my dd to have an early experience to AP testing so she would see what it was like. But to answer your question, the Oak Meadow course looked really good to me. The textbook is nice with a lot of maps and photos. The syllabus follows their usual format of 36 weekly lessons consisting of an introduction, reading the chapter in the text, answering comprehension questions, and choosing from a list of projects. I think it is at a good level for ninth grade. There are no exams or quizzes.

We turned an extra bedroom into a library with bookshelves against all the walls and back to back down the middle of the room too. Some of them are never touched unless my husband uses them for his work. We have to constantly keep cleaning out the kids books because we just buy them tons of books. We don't have much in the way of bookstores or libraries here so amazon is our good friend. Some of my childhood favorites that I was anxious to share like Nancy Drew and tons of horse books didn't go over well. We are reading the classics now so those are good investments for sure. But lately I've been buying cheaper paperback versions so we can mark in them. We like audio books sometimes and kindle books, too. I think books are good investments. I think every room in the house has a bookcase, except the kitchen where the books are in a cabinet. When we were looking at rental properties I was shocked by how many homes seemed to have no books.

Saxon has been a good fit for my daughter that needs the incremental learning for retention. She is quick to grasp the new concepts, but needs the constant reinforcement of the incremental approach. We also like how the geometry is fully integrated. We started with 8/7 and are now in Advanced Math.

We have tried both Art Reed and DIVE. I think Art Reed is great and easy to listen to, but my daughter prefers DIVE so that is what we are using now in Advanced Math. We also used DIVE for chemistry this year and I think it went well. Maybe you can watch samples with your son and see which style he prefers. I think they are both good choices.

You can wear them in Europe. They wear all lengths and a lot of summer dresses. Just don't wear them with sneakers and you should be fine.

You've arrived at a great time. We are having beautiful weather after a week of rain. Enjoy the festival. I think I read that you can't bring any kind of bags or purses for security reasons. It's usually packed.

I agree that it is not very engaging and the questions are just comprehension questions. The exams are just more comprehension questions. There is no literary analysis that I can remember. We dropped Abeka after that and use Excellence in Literature with whole books, picking and choosing according to our needs.

The problem with arriving on Sunday is that nothing will be open on the economy and the commissary is usually closed on Sunday and Monday. Do you have a sponsor? They can advise you when is best to arrive so they can help you get your initial ID cards, rental car, etc. You can't get much done in Belgium on the weekend.

This is a very interesting question. Your children are at the age where children's Bibles are much too simplified and make the Bible stories almost seem boring and lack the beautiful language scripture is known for. I would recommend you get a copy of God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts and work through it. I would also recommend the website Biblegateway.com to take a look at all the translations available and some of their Bible study resources. I also like books by Kay Arthur such as How to Study Your Bible 4 Kids. There are also a huge number of teen study Bibles available if you want to dig deeper.

If you are coming to Belgium, I assume you will have access to the military base's PX and commissary. If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about stocking up on over the counter medicines. We have it all here. The things they are lacking are nicer shoes and clothing, but there is plenty available on the economy for a price. Amazon is great for the rest. I would not put family quilts in government storage. As previously said, climate and bug control is not good. For homeschooling, you might want to bring extra letter size printer paper, three-ring notebooks, notebook paper, your preferred graph paper. The PX carries these things around back-to-school time in bulk and in smaller amounts all year long, but the choices are limited. The office supplies on the economy are different, quite nice, but the wrong size for American homeschooling materials. Try not to stress too much. The moving company will do a walk through before they schedule the move and explain all the rules. Generally they give you some boxes at that time and wrapping paper so you can pack some things on your own. Really the most important thing is having your passports and important papers, car keys, house keys, cell phones, etc. locked safely away where they can not get to them. It is unbelievable how quickly they pack and they will be in several rooms at once. There is no way you can watch everything.