Rain, rain,go away

We woke up this morning to rain...lots and lots of rain. We have been so lucky with the weather, so we were due to have a washout day.  The rain didn't stop us from having fun, however.
Our morning got off to a memorable start when Sidney lost her 10th tooth while brushing her teeth.  She was so excited that the tooth fairy would visit her in Europe tonight.
We headed out the door for a breakfast of Belgian waffles and hot chocolate, or as Dan likes to remind me, they are only called waffles here.  The Belgian description is redundant.  They lived up to their name.  We all agreed that they are the best waffles we have ever tasted.  The hot chocolate was delicious, too.  Jack liked it so much that he finished his and moved on to Hadley's.  He insisted on using a straw.

After breakfast, we hopped on a bus to the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, or as we like to call it, the Dinosaur museum.  Finally, Jack got to see his long-anticipated dinosaur bones.  As you can see, the kids were soaking wet when we arrived, because I was the great mom that didn't pack a hoodie, poncho or umbrella.  They didn't seem to care, though.

 The museum was fascinating.  It was the most informative dinosaur exhibit that I have ever seen.  I think Dan and I learned more than the kids.  They have 30 Iguanodon skeletons that were found in a coal mine shaft in Brussels. They were found completely intact in the proper alignment. For some time, scientists thought that a cataclysmic event must have trapped them there, but now they are leaning toward the theory that it was an Iguanodon rest home of sorts, where old Iguanodons went to die.  Do you think they played Bingo every day?  Just kidding.  The whole display was interesting.  It was also kind of depressing, because so many things that Dan and I learned about dinosaurs have turned out to be untrue, such as Brontosauruses didn't really exist.  What are you going to tell me next?  Pluto isn't a planet?!?

The kids also finally found some hedgehogs at the museum.  Yay!  They were formerly-alive hedgehogs, but hedgehogs none the less.

After the dinosaur museum, we toured around Brussels a little and then went back to the hotel to dry off.  We decided to take the kids to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. I know, I know. It is a chain restaurant, but it is technically not breaking my rule, since it is based in London and not in the US.  While they showed music videos, Dan and I were able to reminisce about the good ol' days when you could watch music videos on TV.

By the time we finished dinner, the rain had cleared off.  It was a beautiful evening in the Grand Place, so I couldn't resist taking a few night pictures.

On the walk home, the kids wanted their picture with this crazy sculpture of a cat on a bike that we have passed about 10 times.

While we prepared for bed, we also prepped for the tooth fairy's visit.  Hadley was still freaked out by the prospect of the tooth fairy being in the room in which she is sleeping, so Sidney and I made a tooth holder.  We hung it on the adjoining doors of our rooms.  It will be interesting to see if she leaves the tooth ransom in Euros or dollars.  That was the big question of the night.  I also have to keep convincing Jack not to pull out his teeth, since he wants in on the tooth fairy action.