my "vacation"

I can't lie, personal time is goooood. Even if I am not on a beach in Greece or exploring Romania's capital city, just having free time has been so nice. I've been painting my room and cleaning-getting ready for my mom and Aunt Kim to arrive on FRIDAY.

Easter Weekend Pictures

Easter Weekend in Romania

I'll probably never understand why the Romanian Orthodox calendar has Easter a week later than the rest of the world, but that's how it is. It ended up being a great weekend. Friday after the zoo we painted Easter eggs. That night I shared the Jesus Film with the kids and we attempted to make Resurrection cookies (each ingredient representing a part of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection). I spent the night at the house (I was "on duty" Saturday) and woke up bright and early, as the kids started creaking around upstairs. I let them watch a couple Disney movies--Saturday morning cartoons are just not an option in Romania, so you've got to make your own. After lunch, some of us decided to take a walk up to the nearby forest. This was great fun and I think will become something we do on a regular basis. The kids wanted to go home another way and as I stood at the top of this hill deciding if we'd be able to find our way home, Maria jokingly yells out, "Look out, here come the wolves!" So we all race down this hill until we arrive to the dirt road. We eventually did find our way home, just minutes before the thunderstorm hit. Sunday morning was of course church, everyone dressed in their new clothes. That afternoon Becky had an Easter egg hunt for the houses and they kids enjoyed this fun egg-breaking game.

Vacation Outings

The weather didn't cooperate perfectly last week, but the sun did peek it's head out on Friday afternoon. We were scheduled take a trip the the zoo and have a picnic there, but it was very yucky when it was time to leave. However, about 2 it was lovely out and we loaded up the cars and headed out. Thursday afternoon was a new adventure for all of us as we tried out Romanian bowling. Casa Ana, Nadia and Rebeca rented out the hall (all 6 lanes) for 2 hours and enjoyed playing. I had lots of fun watching kids try to get the heavy ball without holes down the lane. Thankfully there are no gutters so unless you are really bad you can knock down at least one pin.

To the earth's core?

Well, we did not go quite that deep into the ground, though we did visit a salt mine. Deep inside we found a playground and enjoyed exploring. Maria-Do the walls taste like salt?

Enjoying the swings (above) Me and Kati, (below) Catalina, Elis and Maria.

Pool time

The kids (and I) are loving the pool. A couple weeks ago Claudia told me, "I want to go the pool again and I will pay for it." So last week during vacation time they had the choice of going to the pool an extra time on their own allowance and everyone chose to come. The educators take turns coming and we have enough people usually to actually do some lessons. Most of the kids have no fear...I can't decide if that's good or not.

I know it's been a while since an update...sorry! Things are going well on this end. The kids are on Spring Vacation now. We've been swimming, to a salt mine, to the circus and the fun will continue with bowling and hopefully a trip to the zoo.

Big news: Zorro has officially passed the first grade and will hopefully take the exams for second grade this summer. We are making room for a new face at Casa Ana. Pray for wisdom and God's will. My mom and aunt come next week! Yahoooooo!

A little team work

First glance at Casa Nadia might make you question if the house itself has contracted chicken pox. A closer look reveals hundreds of soccer ball marks, as it tends to be the goal.
Last Wednesday was gorgeous weather and Zorro was finished with his homework. I noticed that he was in a helpful mood and asked him if he wanted to join me in sweeping off the courtyard in front of Nadia. A few minutes into it Adi joined us and about an hour later we finished up. Then Adi said suggested cleaning off the ball marks, so we requested scrub brushes and cleaning solution. Well, I don't know that the house looks much cleaner but I think the kids had fun and enjoyed working.

Zorro getting a boost from David.
Daniel problem solving when we ran out of brushes.
What a team! Casa Ana and Nadia kids working together to clean up the mess they made together.

Cornel's new pursuit

From the time he moved in, Cornel has wanted to play soccer with a team...and he's good. We finally are feeling comfortable with letting him do so and he has joined a team of kids his age, some from his class. He had his first game last week and when he got home and was asked how it was, he said "We lost," but still had a big smile on his face. His coach is very excited to have Cornel on the team and has said he is a great player...ok, he said he's the best, but I didn't want to brag.

Action shots

Casa Ana's new favorite past-times include playing the card game Phase 10 and jumping rope. Bad weather doesn't stop us-we'll jump rope in the house as well as outside.

Zorro and I getting in on the jumping action. Who can last the longest?
Zorro beat me and Kati joined him as David and Mama Juli turn the rope.

Simona and Maria look like they are trying out skateboard moves.Claudia enjoying it on her own. It doesn't matter what I might be doing, every once in a while I hear her call out, "Angela! Uita-te! Numara!" which translates to "Angela! Look! Count!"