Belgium Archives - Tolman Travels https://tolmantravels.com/category/belgium/ Mon, 30 Jan 2023 20:25:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://i0.wp.com/tolmantravels.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/cropped-T-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Belgium Archives - Tolman Travels https://tolmantravels.com/category/belgium/ 32 32 162833905 Family Weekend in Paris!! https://tolmantravels.com/2021/06/12/family-weekend-in-paris/ Sat, 12 Jun 2021 13:15:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9902 Nick and I have both been to Paris several times, some individually and even on a weekend date alone!! But the boys have been DYING to go see the Eiffel Tower but with Covid, it’s been impossible. FINALLY, a window of travel opened up and we took a weekend drive down there! We stayed less than 48 hours so we wouldn’t have to possibly quarantine, but it was a lovely short trip. Paris Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Of course, our favorite tradition in Europe is traveling to see the temples! So our very first stop on this trip was the unique Paris Temple. This turned out to be a highlight for everyone. Photo Tour – AirBNB Experience We’ve done a photo tour several times in various cities we’ve visited, I love the photos and the boys are always willing to do a few photos in exchange for ice cream, so it’s a win-win! You can look at the “experiences” section on AirBNB and find all kinds of fun stuff like food tours, bike adventures, art walks, and so much more! We love exploring new cities this way. These pictures were done by Alex, check out his Instagram! First, some fun family pictures! Best Brothers Our Sweet Simon! Our Happy Hyrum! Our Little Aaron! The little baby got hungry during the walk, so I asked for a few pics for my business Instagram! Haha I love breastfeeding in public, and I hope sharing the experience helps other moms feel comfortable feeding their babies wherever they want! Aaron was pulling us up the hill.. until he rolled down it himself! Hehe, then we decided dad could handle the extra load… sorry baby Aaron! Mom and Dad even got a quick minute for a moment “alone” haha… they’re few and far between! Tolman’s in Paris! Paris Opera House We love introducing our kids to new movies set in specific locations before we travel. Simon’s big request for Paris was to see the Opera House from Phantom of the Opera! It was beautiful, and as we listened to a small concert from a guitar player, he pulled a little girl down from the audience who was in her ballerina outfit and she danced in front of the theatre. Probably one of the cutest things I’d ever seen!! SO precious… The Louvre The little boys didn’t necessarily ask to see the Louvre, but we were in the general area so we popped over near sunset. It was beautiful and Aaron enjoyed a quick snack too. This is where we discovered a blowout diaper that encouraged us to hop back on the subway and head back to the AirBNB for the night #travellingwithkids We had an amazing trip to Paris and most of the rest of it is in the video on our Tolman Travels channel! Enjoy!

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]]> Nick and I have both been to Paris several times, some individually and even on a weekend date alone!! But the boys have been DYING to go see the Eiffel Tower but with Covid, it’s been impossible. FINALLY, a window of travel opened up and we took a weekend drive down there! We stayed less than 48 hours so we wouldn’t have to possibly quarantine, but it was a lovely short trip.

Paris Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Of course, our favorite tradition in Europe is traveling to see the temples! So our very first stop on this trip was the unique Paris Temple. This turned out to be a highlight for everyone.

Photo Tour – AirBNB Experience

We’ve done a photo tour several times in various cities we’ve visited, I love the photos and the boys are always willing to do a few photos in exchange for ice cream, so it’s a win-win! You can look at the “experiences” section on AirBNB and find all kinds of fun stuff like food tours, bike adventures, art walks, and so much more! We love exploring new cities this way.

These pictures were done by Alex, check out his Instagram!

First, some fun family pictures!

Best Brothers

Our Sweet Simon!

Our Happy Hyrum!

Our Little Aaron!

The little baby got hungry during the walk, so I asked for a few pics for my business Instagram! Haha I love breastfeeding in public, and I hope sharing the experience helps other moms feel comfortable feeding their babies wherever they want!

Aaron was pulling us up the hill.. until he rolled down it himself! Hehe, then we decided dad could handle the extra load… sorry baby Aaron!

Mom and Dad even got a quick minute for a moment “alone” haha… they’re few and far between!

Tolman’s in Paris!

Paris Opera House

We love introducing our kids to new movies set in specific locations before we travel. Simon’s big request for Paris was to see the Opera House from Phantom of the Opera! It was beautiful, and as we listened to a small concert from a guitar player, he pulled a little girl down from the audience who was in her ballerina outfit and she danced in front of the theatre. Probably one of the cutest things I’d ever seen!! SO precious…

The Louvre

The little boys didn’t necessarily ask to see the Louvre, but we were in the general area so we popped over near sunset. It was beautiful and Aaron enjoyed a quick snack too. This is where we discovered a blowout diaper that encouraged us to hop back on the subway and head back to the AirBNB for the night #travellingwithkids

We had an amazing trip to Paris and most of the rest of it is in the video on our Tolman Travels channel! Enjoy!

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]]> 9902 Madrid, Spain https://tolmantravels.com/2021/04/23/madrid-spain/ Fri, 23 Apr 2021 09:23:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9476 Traveling is still really difficult in Europe, but as soon as the large travel ban was lifted, we booked plane tickets for the following weekend and took off to Spain! We only have 2 months left in Europe, so we don’t have time to wait for the perfect scenario. If you’d like to watch the video of our trip, here you go! Don’t forget to subscribe 😉 Covid Restriction Fun So there were a few things that were more difficult with Covid restrictions, mostly with the travel. We all had to have covid tests (except Aaron) within 72 hours of traveling. There were MANY extra forms to fill out to get the QR code to be able to board the plane. The airport was pretty empty which was nice! Everyone was in masks of course, but the kids didn’t make it very long with theirs on, but no one seemed to mind. After our trip, we had to fill out a passenger locator form with the Belgium govenement and then wait for a text to see if we were required to quarantine… lame! Belgium likes to make everything as hard as possible. We did end up getting a mandatory quarantine for 7 days with testing again on day 7, but Madrid was a Red Zone at the time so that was really no surprise. For us, it was worth it. The kids all ended up coming down strep throat during our quarantine so antibiotics for everyone! It all worked out though. Madrid! Madrid Temple – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints If you’ve been on the blog before, you’ll know that we like to base our family travel around our church temples that are scattered across Europe! Covid has really put a damper on our goal to see all 14, but we’re still trying to check as many off the list as possible. They are one of our favorite places to visit. Visiting the temple is usually never easy and often quite off our beaten path, and this time was no different. I always learn something new from our experience visiting the temples and I’d like to share our experience. Even though we weren’t able to go inside, there were many tender mercies that we experienced. It was a 40 minute metro ride out to the temple. It was also raining CATS AND DOGS! By the time we got to the temple, we had already been running the kids around Madrid for multiple days, we were soaked, tired, and hungry. As soon as the temple came into view, I think all of us felt the peace and comfort of the feeling of being “home”, even so far away. The gate was open enough for us to enter, and we found shelter from the rain for a few minutes under the eve of the temple. There was a baptism at the church building next door, otherwise the temple ground are closed. We spent about 10 minutes under the temple eve before we were asked to leave, but I was grateful for the few moments of peace there! We met up with a friend from our SHAPE church branch in Belgium who had moved to Madrid about a year ago. It was lovely to see her and after a few pictures by the temple and enjoying every second of the feeling there, she took us back into the city for dinner in the main square! Geraldine speaks spanish so she helped us order a fantastic dinner of many traditional Spain dishes! It was so much fun. Muesum of Optical Illusions We found an awesome little muesum! When we first found it, we had to make a reservation and come back, but it was worth it. By the end Nick and I were a little motion sick… but the kids loved it!! Simon on a plate That’s ALOT of Tolmans!!! Good thing he’s cute!!! Colidoscope Hyrum Who’s the big brother again? “We can finally beat up dad! He’s so small!” The best competition in life is with yourself… or something profound like that 😉 Walking on the ceiling! Walking Photo Tour – AirBnB Experience One of our favorite things to do is hire a local tour guide/photographer from AirBNB (discount using this link here). We get a tour of the city, AND some amazing family photos. This tour/photos, although rainy, did not disappoint. Flee Market! Sunday morning, we stopped by the famous Madrid Flee Market! It was right outside our AirBNB actually. Simon LOVED this! A place full of cheap junk and trinkets… that’s his kinda jam! We picked up a couple things to remember the city while we walked around. So much fun. Graphity The graphity in this city is incredible. It was very rarely ugly or vulgar (also, I don’t speak spanish.. haha!), but usually it had a very artsy vibe! The whole city was extremly colorful and fun. I took a walk one evening with Aaron and took some photos of a few ones that caught my eye. The boys also loved posing in front of of “awesome” ones. The OLDEST resturant in the world Nick and Simon went on a little evening date to have dinner at the oldest resturant in the world! Sobrino de Botin was founded in 1725 and has been open for almost 300 years! For some prespective, that’s older than the United States! The earliest reservation time was 8pm, so I stayed home with the littles and the big boys got to enjoy some suckling pig and filet mingon. Travel Photos! This trip was Aarons first time on a plane, and we utilized all kinds of transportation on this trip. Drive to the train station in Jurbise, train to the airport. Plane to Madrid, metro to the AirBNB, metro all over the city, and lots and lots of walking! We wore masks, hand sanitized and washed hands, and did our best to find things to do outside away from people as much as possible. Aside from the air travel, the covid restriction were quite easy to navigate. We’re exhausted! Movie in the AirBNB 🙂 Until the next adventure! ~Tolman Travels~

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]]> Traveling is still really difficult in Europe, but as soon as the large travel ban was lifted, we booked plane tickets for the following weekend and took off to Spain! We only have 2 months left in Europe, so we don’t have time to wait for the perfect scenario.

If you’d like to watch the video of our trip, here you go! Don’t forget to subscribe 😉

Covid Restriction Fun

So there were a few things that were more difficult with Covid restrictions, mostly with the travel. We all had to have covid tests (except Aaron) within 72 hours of traveling. There were MANY extra forms to fill out to get the QR code to be able to board the plane. The airport was pretty empty which was nice! Everyone was in masks of course, but the kids didn’t make it very long with theirs on, but no one seemed to mind.

After our trip, we had to fill out a passenger locator form with the Belgium govenement and then wait for a text to see if we were required to quarantine… lame! Belgium likes to make everything as hard as possible. We did end up getting a mandatory quarantine for 7 days with testing again on day 7, but Madrid was a Red Zone at the time so that was really no surprise. For us, it was worth it. The kids all ended up coming down strep throat during our quarantine so antibiotics for everyone! It all worked out though.

Madrid!

Madrid Temple – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

If you’ve been on the blog before, you’ll know that we like to base our family travel around our church temples that are scattered across Europe! Covid has really put a damper on our goal to see all 14, but we’re still trying to check as many off the list as possible. They are one of our favorite places to visit.

Visiting the temple is usually never easy and often quite off our beaten path, and this time was no different. I always learn something new from our experience visiting the temples and I’d like to share our experience.

Even though we weren’t able to go inside, there were many tender mercies that we experienced. It was a 40 minute metro ride out to the temple. It was also raining CATS AND DOGS! By the time we got to the temple, we had already been running the kids around Madrid for multiple days, we were soaked, tired, and hungry. As soon as the temple came into view, I think all of us felt the peace and comfort of the feeling of being “home”, even so far away. The gate was open enough for us to enter, and we found shelter from the rain for a few minutes under the eve of the temple. There was a baptism at the church building next door, otherwise the temple ground are closed. We spent about 10 minutes under the temple eve before we were asked to leave, but I was grateful for the few moments of peace there!

We met up with a friend from our SHAPE church branch in Belgium who had moved to Madrid about a year ago. It was lovely to see her and after a few pictures by the temple and enjoying every second of the feeling there, she took us back into the city for dinner in the main square!

Geraldine speaks spanish so she helped us order a fantastic dinner of many traditional Spain dishes! It was so much fun.

  • Dinner with Geraldine!!

Muesum of Optical Illusions

We found an awesome little muesum! When we first found it, we had to make a reservation and come back, but it was worth it. By the end Nick and I were a little motion sick… but the kids loved it!!

Simon on a plate

That’s ALOT of Tolmans!!!

Good thing he’s cute!!! Colidoscope Hyrum

Who’s the big brother again?

“We can finally beat up dad! He’s so small!”

The best competition in life is with yourself… or something profound like that 😉

Walking on the ceiling!

Walking Photo Tour – AirBnB Experience

One of our favorite things to do is hire a local tour guide/photographer from AirBNB (discount using this link here). We get a tour of the city, AND some amazing family photos. This tour/photos, although rainy, did not disappoint.

  • Classic brothers…
  • …literally ONE second later.
  • Classic Covid Pic!

Flee Market!

Sunday morning, we stopped by the famous Madrid Flee Market! It was right outside our AirBNB actually. Simon LOVED this! A place full of cheap junk and trinkets… that’s his kinda jam! We picked up a couple things to remember the city while we walked around. So much fun.

Graphity

The graphity in this city is incredible. It was very rarely ugly or vulgar (also, I don’t speak spanish.. haha!), but usually it had a very artsy vibe! The whole city was extremly colorful and fun. I took a walk one evening with Aaron and took some photos of a few ones that caught my eye. The boys also loved posing in front of of “awesome” ones.

  • Can you see the full monkey face?

The OLDEST resturant in the world

Nick and Simon went on a little evening date to have dinner at the oldest resturant in the world! Sobrino de Botin was founded in 1725 and has been open for almost 300 years! For some prespective, that’s older than the United States! The earliest reservation time was 8pm, so I stayed home with the littles and the big boys got to enjoy some suckling pig and filet mingon.

Travel Photos!

This trip was Aarons first time on a plane, and we utilized all kinds of transportation on this trip. Drive to the train station in Jurbise, train to the airport. Plane to Madrid, metro to the AirBNB, metro all over the city, and lots and lots of walking! We wore masks, hand sanitized and washed hands, and did our best to find things to do outside away from people as much as possible. Aside from the air travel, the covid restriction were quite easy to navigate.

  • First airplane ride!
  • Waiting for the train in Jurbise!

We’re exhausted! Movie in the AirBNB 🙂

Until the next adventure! ~Tolman Travels~

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]]> 9476 Hallerbos 2021 https://tolmantravels.com/2021/04/18/hallerbos-2021/ Sun, 18 Apr 2021 14:12:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9718 We’ve been to Hallerbos before but had to go one last time to see the bluebells before we leave Belgium this summer. They weren’t quite in full bloom yet, but we enjoyed the hike with friends and anytime we get to be outside in beautiful Belgium, it’s always a good time. Here are a few photos and a video of our day. ~ Tolman Travels ~

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]]> We’ve been to Hallerbos before but had to go one last time to see the bluebells before we leave Belgium this summer. They weren’t quite in full bloom yet, but we enjoyed the hike with friends and anytime we get to be outside in beautiful Belgium, it’s always a good time. Here are a few photos and a video of our day.

  • Whoa, a bug!

~ Tolman Travels ~

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]]> 9718 Groot-Bijgaarden Castle https://tolmantravels.com/2021/04/16/groot-bijgaarden-castle-tolman-travels/ Fri, 16 Apr 2021 12:22:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9649 Covid really sucks, and the tulip fields in Holland are not available to use this year 🙁 So we looked for something similar here in Belgium. While not as impressive as Keukenhoff (see this post here), it was still a wonderful day adventure! You can watch the video here! Warning, flower photo overload 🙂 I’m so happy to share these and remember them forever!!!! These boys love smelling flowers. I think their mother may have conditioned them to love flowers, but regardless. So cute! It’s such a joke to get a good photo of these two brothers! Here is a classic example of a “photoshoot” with them! I narrowed it down from the 25 photos of them punching each other… good thing we are not photo prefectionists and LOVE a good candid photo 🙂 Simon stopped several times and said, “Take my photo here!” Hyrum did too, but only to copy is brother. I doubt he cares as much about beautiful flowers as my sweet Simon does. These grounds were full of beautiful areas, gardens, and a variety of landscapes. It was beautiful. There was even a small playground we stopped at for the kids and a cafe which we skipped. Such a fun place to explore! I LOVE flowers! Have I said that yet?? One of my favorite parts of Europe. One of my favorite Simon moments of the day, he shopped to admire this beautifully manicured grass lawn. We had seen SO many incredible flowers and sights through out the day, but this was his favorite as we left the castle. He said he loved how “short and clean and sharp this grass was”. What a classic Simon statement! Maybe this kid is destined to be a golfer… hehe I love his little mind. Of course, we stopped for ice creem and Belgian waffels on our way out. I will miss those waffles FOREVER! Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! ~ Tolman Travels ~

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]]> Covid really sucks, and the tulip fields in Holland are not available to use this year 🙁 So we looked for something similar here in Belgium. While not as impressive as Keukenhoff (see this post here), it was still a wonderful day adventure!

You can watch the video here!

Warning, flower photo overload 🙂 I’m so happy to share these and remember them forever!!!!

These boys love smelling flowers. I think their mother may have conditioned them to love flowers, but regardless. So cute!

It’s such a joke to get a good photo of these two brothers! Here is a classic example of a “photoshoot” with them! I narrowed it down from the 25 photos of them punching each other… good thing we are not photo prefectionists and LOVE a good candid photo 🙂

Simon stopped several times and said, “Take my photo here!” Hyrum did too, but only to copy is brother. I doubt he cares as much about beautiful flowers as my sweet Simon does.

These grounds were full of beautiful areas, gardens, and a variety of landscapes. It was beautiful. There was even a small playground we stopped at for the kids and a cafe which we skipped. Such a fun place to explore!

I LOVE flowers! Have I said that yet?? One of my favorite parts of Europe.

One of my favorite Simon moments of the day, he shopped to admire this beautifully manicured grass lawn. We had seen SO many incredible flowers and sights through out the day, but this was his favorite as we left the castle. He said he loved how “short and clean and sharp this grass was”. What a classic Simon statement! Maybe this kid is destined to be a golfer… hehe I love his little mind.

Of course, we stopped for ice creem and Belgian waffels on our way out. I will miss those waffles FOREVER!

Hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!

~ Tolman Travels ~

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]]> 9649 Christmas 2020 https://tolmantravels.com/2020/12/25/christmas-2020/ Fri, 25 Dec 2020 14:58:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9782 Our final Christmas in Belgium. Sadly, Covid restrictions have closed all the wonderful Christmas markets, so this year we celebrated close to home, really focusing on our little family! We did make a trip into Mons to see some lights! Always a beautiful square. We also did some Poptart “Gingerbread” Houses! We’ve never tried that before, but this may be the new tradition! Lastly, a few little Christmas pictures in our Belgian home. We will miss Belgium forever. Merry Christmas! ~Tolman Travels~

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]]> Our final Christmas in Belgium. Sadly, Covid restrictions have closed all the wonderful Christmas markets, so this year we celebrated close to home, really focusing on our little family!

We did make a trip into Mons to see some lights! Always a beautiful square.

We also did some Poptart “Gingerbread” Houses! We’ve never tried that before, but this may be the new tradition!

Lastly, a few little Christmas pictures in our Belgian home. We will miss Belgium forever. Merry Christmas!

~Tolman Travels~

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]]> 9782 Aaron’s Baby Blessing https://tolmantravels.com/2020/11/01/aarons-baby-blessing/ Sun, 01 Nov 2020 14:49:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9760 Covid times are weird times. BUT, we were so thankful to be able to bless baby Aaron in our home and on Zoom with all of our family. It was a lovely day! We love sweet baby Aaron and are so thankful to have his determined and energetic spirit in our family. ~Tolman Travels~

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]]> Covid times are weird times. BUT, we were so thankful to be able to bless baby Aaron in our home and on Zoom with all of our family. It was a lovely day! We love sweet baby Aaron and are so thankful to have his determined and energetic spirit in our family.

  • Nailed it.

~Tolman Travels~

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]]> 9760 Family & Newborn Photos! Welcome Baby Aaron https://tolmantravels.com/2020/09/11/family-newborn-photos-welcome-baby-arron/ Fri, 11 Sep 2020 13:06:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9398 We’re a family of 5! We are so happy Aaron Lawrence Tolman is now with us. He was born August 24, 2020 at home. We had an incredible experience bringing this baby into the world via water birth with our 2 wonderful midwives. I loved everything about it. Sarah Soriano, a friend and fantastic photographer, snapped some family and newborn photos for us! We are loving life with our 3 little boys and couldn’t be happier. This next one is in memory of our crazy birthing time/emergency appendectomy experience! It was a lot to navigate in 48 hours… but our boys did amazing and we had so much help from dear friends. We are so blessed here in Belgium. Now for the newborn photo overload! We love you sweet Aaron. I wonder what he’s thinking? Those eyes are so inquisitive! I wanted a little photo of Aaron with his Rebozo. I used this rebozo during pregnancy, his labor, and have since carried him in it afterward! This is a special tool for me with a lot of personal significance. And last but not least, I wanted a unique way to remember our little water birth baby. Sarah, our photographer, is an INCREDIBLE editor! She does beautiful composite photos that she creates from scratch so at the end of his session, we snagged a couple of photos to see what she could put together. Isn’t this photo just amazing?! Sarah is so talented, we are lucky to know her! Check out some more of her photos like this here! We’re so happy to have this new addition in our family. Welcome to the world baby Aaron! <3 ~Tolman Travels~

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]]> We’re a family of 5! We are so happy Aaron Lawrence Tolman is now with us. He was born August 24, 2020 at home. We had an incredible experience bringing this baby into the world via water birth with our 2 wonderful midwives. I loved everything about it.

Sarah Soriano, a friend and fantastic photographer, snapped some family and newborn photos for us! We are loving life with our 3 little boys and couldn’t be happier.

This next one is in memory of our crazy birthing time/emergency appendectomy experience! It was a lot to navigate in 48 hours… but our boys did amazing and we had so much help from dear friends. We are so blessed here in Belgium.

Now for the newborn photo overload! We love you sweet Aaron.

I wonder what he’s thinking? Those eyes are so inquisitive!

I wanted a little photo of Aaron with his Rebozo. I used this rebozo during pregnancy, his labor, and have since carried him in it afterward! This is a special tool for me with a lot of personal significance.

And last but not least, I wanted a unique way to remember our little water birth baby. Sarah, our photographer, is an INCREDIBLE editor! She does beautiful composite photos that she creates from scratch so at the end of his session, we snagged a couple of photos to see what she could put together. Isn’t this photo just amazing?! Sarah is so talented, we are lucky to know her! Check out some more of her photos like this here!

We’re so happy to have this new addition in our family. Welcome to the world baby Aaron! <3

~Tolman Travels~

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]]> 9398 Weekend trip to Normandy, France https://tolmantravels.com/2020/08/02/normandy/ Sun, 02 Aug 2020 09:34:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9222 We’ve been stuck in the house for SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long! Our last trip anywhere really was Nick and I’s 10 year anniversary trip to Malta back in January. We had several other little get-a-ways planned before the baby arrives, and all had to be canceled due to Covid-19. Such a bummer. But, right as I hit 37 weeks, we hit a small window where travel is allowed to some areas, the AC in our car was fixed, and we had a weekend available so we hit the road! We drove 5 hours down to Normandy, France to explore the beaches and history there. ROAD TRIP! It was a long car ride and we did hit some traffic since it was a weekend in the summer, but it was a beautiful drive. When we arrived at our AirBNB in Bayeux, we took the evening to explore the cute little city! Our AirBNB was right above a restaurant, so we decided to try it out for dinner. It was pretty good! The view from our AirBNB window was an incredible cathedral! It was absolutely beautiful. We did explore inside the cathedral, and Sunday morning we could hear the organ music playing for church service. It’s things like that that I’ll miss most about Europe. Day 2 Utah Beach First stop was Utah beach. We moved pretty slowly (thanks to me and my huge belly), but it was a beautiful day and the monuments were special. The kids asked if they could dip their toes in the water… so naturally they got soaked. It was a little chilly but they didn’t seam to care at all. Omaha Beach Next stop was Omaha beach, where many of the American troops landed. We decided to make this our lunch and main beach stop. We bought some fruit and vegetables from a local farmer who had a stand set up, and went for a picnic on the beach with our PB&J sandwiches 🙂 A sweet little french family cam for a picnic and stuck an American flag in the ground next to them. A sweet little tribute! Simon branched out of his comfort zone quite a bit and went neck deep in the water with Nick. I was proud of his willingness to be adventurous! It doesn’t always come easy for him. He was also proud of himself for doing some brave fun things, what a sweet and special soul he is. Once he saw the jellyfish toward the end of our playing though, that was it for the water! I have never seen Hyrum play so hard or be so free. We just let him run and splash and throw sand at his own will, and it was amazing to watch him. He spent 2 hours playing HARD in such a random and fun way. I love to let him have free reign when I can and not stress the small stuff. He is such a free spirit. Both boys crashed hard on the way to our next stop. Juno Beach Last stop for the day, Juno beach. Definitely where many Canadians landed because there was a large Canadian museum there and lots of maple leaves! A really fun little stop to end our day. There were some bunkers still in tack and the boys explored a bit while I enjoyed some maple leaf cookies and a little foot break 😉 Day 3 Nick and Simon went on a walk around the city each night before bed (usually looking for ice cream) and again in the mornings to find mom some breakfast. I usually enjoy doing this too much I really had to rest quite a bit and not overdue it on my feet and hips! They had a great time exploring together though. I wasn’t quite up for another stop yesterday, so on our way out of town, we stopped by the American Cemetery. It was an incredible place. So solemn and reverent. I’m really glad we stopped although it wasn’t really on the way… What a perfect trip! It felt so good to be out of the house and back in the world. We did have to wear masks when we went indoors, but so much time out doors was really refreshing. I’m feeling much more ready to have this little baby! Hopefully we get to explore more of France soon. ~Tolman Travels~

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]]> We’ve been stuck in the house for SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long! Our last trip anywhere really was Nick and I’s 10 year anniversary trip to Malta back in January. We had several other little get-a-ways planned before the baby arrives, and all had to be canceled due to Covid-19. Such a bummer.

But, right as I hit 37 weeks, we hit a small window where travel is allowed to some areas, the AC in our car was fixed, and we had a weekend available so we hit the road! We drove 5 hours down to Normandy, France to explore the beaches and history there.

ROAD TRIP!

It was a long car ride and we did hit some traffic since it was a weekend in the summer, but it was a beautiful drive. When we arrived at our AirBNB in Bayeux, we took the evening to explore the cute little city!

Our AirBNB was right above a restaurant, so we decided to try it out for dinner. It was pretty good!

The view from our AirBNB window was an incredible cathedral! It was absolutely beautiful.

We did explore inside the cathedral, and Sunday morning we could hear the organ music playing for church service. It’s things like that that I’ll miss most about Europe.

Day 2

Utah Beach

First stop was Utah beach. We moved pretty slowly (thanks to me and my huge belly), but it was a beautiful day and the monuments were special.

The kids asked if they could dip their toes in the water… so naturally they got soaked. It was a little chilly but they didn’t seam to care at all.

Omaha Beach

Next stop was Omaha beach, where many of the American troops landed. We decided to make this our lunch and main beach stop. We bought some fruit and vegetables from a local farmer who had a stand set up, and went for a picnic on the beach with our PB&J sandwiches 🙂

A sweet little french family cam for a picnic and stuck an American flag in the ground next to them. A sweet little tribute!

Simon branched out of his comfort zone quite a bit and went neck deep in the water with Nick. I was proud of his willingness to be adventurous! It doesn’t always come easy for him. He was also proud of himself for doing some brave fun things, what a sweet and special soul he is. Once he saw the jellyfish toward the end of our playing though, that was it for the water!

I have never seen Hyrum play so hard or be so free. We just let him run and splash and throw sand at his own will, and it was amazing to watch him. He spent 2 hours playing HARD in such a random and fun way. I love to let him have free reign when I can and not stress the small stuff. He is such a free spirit.

Both boys crashed hard on the way to our next stop.

Juno Beach

Last stop for the day, Juno beach. Definitely where many Canadians landed because there was a large Canadian museum there and lots of maple leaves! A really fun little stop to end our day.

There were some bunkers still in tack and the boys explored a bit while I enjoyed some maple leaf cookies and a little foot break 😉

Day 3

Nick and Simon went on a walk around the city each night before bed (usually looking for ice cream) and again in the mornings to find mom some breakfast. I usually enjoy doing this too much I really had to rest quite a bit and not overdue it on my feet and hips! They had a great time exploring together though.

I wasn’t quite up for another stop yesterday, so on our way out of town, we stopped by the American Cemetery. It was an incredible place. So solemn and reverent. I’m really glad we stopped although it wasn’t really on the way…

What a perfect trip! It felt so good to be out of the house and back in the world. We did have to wear masks when we went indoors, but so much time out doors was really refreshing. I’m feeling much more ready to have this little baby! Hopefully we get to explore more of France soon.

~Tolman Travels~

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]]> 9222 Maternity Photos – August 2020 https://tolmantravels.com/2020/08/01/maternity-photos-august-2020/ https://tolmantravels.com/2020/08/01/maternity-photos-august-2020/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2020 21:11:28 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9155 I usually really enjoy being pregnant, but this time has been quite different. So many challenging things going on in the world and personal life that have made this pregnancy difficult. I was really looking forward to taking some maternity photos to have a fun and happy memory, especially here near the uncomfortable end, and these did not disappoint! Not only have I struggled with more morning sickness, atypical pain, heartburn, and swelling than ever before, I’m also the heaviest I’ve EVER been, by quite a ways, and not just in the belly! I love having a huge pregnant belly, but everything else this go around has been hard to swallow. It doesn’t help that we’ve been forced to stay home due to Covid-19 for MONTHS and being so inactive along with things stretched out from the other 2 kiddos, it’s been hard to feel confident about my body! Thankfully, I know a wonderful photographer, Sarah Soriano, and decided to venture outside my comfort zone a bit and really get some fantastic photos so I could remember this last pregnancy! I even ventured into some *tasteful* nudes… which was new but so fun. There are many lumps and bumps that are hard to look at, but she helped me feel beautiful and glamorous, even in my current (LARGE) state. I’m happy I was brave enough to try something new and the photos turned out incredible. I love my sweet, little, growing family! I’m so excited to have this new little one here and to move on into the next stage of our lives. Enjoy the photos! My fun-loving Hyrum! My sweetheart Simon Soon to be 3 little boys! Can I just say how much help my husband has been through this whole pregnancy? If there was an award for best partner, he would be a no-contest. I’m so thankful for him and all he does for our family. This whole process would have been unbearable without him. I love him so much. At this point I sent the boys home, and we dived into the fun ones! This is really a picture overload, and I didn’t even post them all! Love every single one, Sarah is so amazing… I can’t thank her enough. Also did a few tasteful nudes, and most of those I’ll keep for myself! But this one was a more “modest” pose that I absolutely loved. If you ever get the chance to do something like this for yourself, I wouldn’t hesitate. I want to remember every little bit of this last pregnancy, even the not glamorous lumps and bumps. I love these photos! What a great way to finish up this pregnant time and I can’t wait to meet this new little man 🙂 See you soon little one!! ~ Tolman Travels ~

The post Maternity Photos – August 2020 appeared first on Tolman Travels.

]]> I usually really enjoy being pregnant, but this time has been quite different. So many challenging things going on in the world and personal life that have made this pregnancy difficult. I was really looking forward to taking some maternity photos to have a fun and happy memory, especially here near the uncomfortable end, and these did not disappoint!

Not only have I struggled with more morning sickness, atypical pain, heartburn, and swelling than ever before, I’m also the heaviest I’ve EVER been, by quite a ways, and not just in the belly! I love having a huge pregnant belly, but everything else this go around has been hard to swallow. It doesn’t help that we’ve been forced to stay home due to Covid-19 for MONTHS and being so inactive along with things stretched out from the other 2 kiddos, it’s been hard to feel confident about my body!

Thankfully, I know a wonderful photographer, Sarah Soriano, and decided to venture outside my comfort zone a bit and really get some fantastic photos so I could remember this last pregnancy! I even ventured into some *tasteful* nudes… which was new but so fun. There are many lumps and bumps that are hard to look at, but she helped me feel beautiful and glamorous, even in my current (LARGE) state. I’m happy I was brave enough to try something new and the photos turned out incredible.

I love my sweet, little, growing family! I’m so excited to have this new little one here and to move on into the next stage of our lives. Enjoy the photos!

My fun-loving Hyrum!

My sweetheart Simon

Soon to be 3 little boys!

Can I just say how much help my husband has been through this whole pregnancy? If there was an award for best partner, he would be a no-contest. I’m so thankful for him and all he does for our family. This whole process would have been unbearable without him. I love him so much.


At this point I sent the boys home, and we dived into the fun ones! This is really a picture overload, and I didn’t even post them all! Love every single one, Sarah is so amazing… I can’t thank her enough.

Also did a few tasteful nudes, and most of those I’ll keep for myself! But this one was a more “modest” pose that I absolutely loved. If you ever get the chance to do something like this for yourself, I wouldn’t hesitate. I want to remember every little bit of this last pregnancy, even the not glamorous lumps and bumps.

I love these photos! What a great way to finish up this pregnant time and I can’t wait to meet this new little man 🙂 See you soon little one!!

~ Tolman Travels ~

The post Maternity Photos – August 2020 appeared first on Tolman Travels.

]]> https://tolmantravels.com/2020/08/01/maternity-photos-august-2020/feed/ 4 9155 Wild Blackberries of Belgium https://tolmantravels.com/2020/07/24/wild-blackberries-of-belgium/ Fri, 24 Jul 2020 14:35:00 +0000 https://tolmantravels.com/?p=9745 I’m SO sad we never realized how many wild blackberries there are in our area! Once Nick found a large patch on a run one day, we started noticing them everywhere. We LOVED exploring and hunting for blackberries this summer, and we enjoyed every delicious one. We made a dozen jars of blackberry jam and about the same of blackberry syrup. Such wonderful memories. A short blog post here, but some photos we want to remember. Bon appétit! ~ Tolman Travels ~

The post Wild Blackberries of Belgium appeared first on Tolman Travels.

]]> I’m SO sad we never realized how many wild blackberries there are in our area! Once Nick found a large patch on a run one day, we started noticing them everywhere. We LOVED exploring and hunting for blackberries this summer, and we enjoyed every delicious one. We made a dozen jars of blackberry jam and about the same of blackberry syrup. Such wonderful memories.

A short blog post here, but some photos we want to remember.

  • Our new family favorite… crepes!

Bon appétit!

~ Tolman Travels ~

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