Croatian Vacation

I know it's coming all year long, but I just never know what to do with the staff vacation at the end of the summer. Do I go home to the States? Do I backpack across Europe? Do I stay home and rest? But this year I kind of invited myself to go along with some of my LOC friends/coworkers to the beach in Croatia. It was a 16 hour drive folks, almost half of which was on the pot-holed, curvy roads of Romania, another bit through war-torn Belgrade, Serbia (saw some bombed-out buildings on the way home), and the rest through really beautiful Croatia. Don't ever be deceived if you look at pictures of the beaches of Croatia. Yes, the water is that beautiful and crystal clear; no, that's not sand, it's rocks. Definitely invest in the water shoes; I did not, but my flip flops joined me each day in the Adriatic--the saltiest sea I've ever been in. I realized that I love snorkeling (might have made the top 10 list of things I like to do) and saw all kinds of fish, sea urchins, coral, crabs, shrimp, and collected many shells. We visited 4 "beaches," saw the first ever "sea organ" in which the waves push air through underground pipes and make music, and took a boat tour of a national park (though the second half of the 10 hour ride was a little much). I'm as tan as I've ever been and am feeling rejuvinated.

Becky, Fiona and I on the boat tour (Paul, Fiona's husband is taking the picture).

Absolutely gorgeous beach (though the rocks were large and very jagged) where I first went snorkelling. I wished all week long that I had an underwater camera!

Some sweet rock formations on the boat tour. The dude who sold us our tickets totally suckered us into it and told us we'd be making a stop at which we couldn't anchor, but could jump off the boat and swim. That did not happen, but we did have great seats that were in the sun all day and the food was not too bad (definitely ate a fish with it's head still attached).

Our third and possibly favorite beach was found because we got lost going somewhere else. We hiked down this steep hill where there were very few people and excellent snokelling conditions. Most of the shells I was able to take that day were actually hiding in the rocks (much smaller and less painful this time). The shells I found in the water still had animals in them.
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Family Vacation

I am ashamed to say that I took almost no pictures of our Casa Ana family vacation to the Black Sea. However, Kelly is putting them on a disk for me and I will be sharing them with you soon. It was a fabulous time; I don't think I would have changed a thing. The weather was beautiful, the kids were well-behaved. The LOVED the tv in the rooms almost as much as the beach and the hotel swimming pool. They had great attitudes and were thankful for all they took part in.
We left at 12:30 am on Friday the 11th and sadly hit a detour and then a pothole (turning into a bent rim and flat tire) that made the 10 hour trip into a 14 hour trip. Each morning we walked 5 minutes to the beach and played until lunch--sandwiches in Becky's room, and each afternoon we played in the hotel swimming pool. We went out to dinner at some fun places and rode rides at a small amusement park. One day we went to a water park and went down slides, floated on the lazy river and listened to some bands. (That would have been day 2 of my "I've been in the sun too much and have a rash" and so I spent the afternoon under an umbrella on a beach chair). After a morning in the pool (and pedicures for Kelly, Becky and me) we drove home on Wednesday.

Party at the Mac

Elis' 15th birthday happened in the middle of camp this year, but thanks to her sponsors we were able to take her and the rest of the kids from Ana into town for a celebration at McDonalds. The kids were so tired that it took everything for the party people to get them to play games, but they did love the foozball table.

Camp Sadu

This year camp was full and so I just went up with the other American staff to visit for a couple days. Personally that's the way to do it! I loved being there with my kids and just having fun with them. They were already established in their teams, they had already accepted the authority figures in their lives for that week, and I didn't have to be "Angela-the boss." During one of the free times, I took a walk with Zorro and Simona to the river down the road. We played, gathered rocks, found and ate raspberries and strawberries.
Maria getting her make-up done for the girl time.
The campfire and s'mores are always favorites at camp.

Sweet 16

Simona, our oldest, turned 16 on July 31. 16! It's such a monumental age in the States, but thankfully she will not be driving any time soon. She enjoyed all of her gifts immensely (I think that receiving gifts is her love language)...thanks to everyone who sent her something!

summer summary

Sports camp, camp at sadu, the weekend, bicycles, birthdays, vacation to the Black Sea, what am I leaving out?! The kids at Casa Ana have been loving their summer vacation. Occasionally I've heard the words, "I'm bored," but for the most part they have kept themselves entertained. They have enjoyed Livada's summer interns and short term teams, and it's been fun to listen to they try to use their English. They've enjoyed the new freedoms of bike rides and visits to Casa Rebeca. Less than a month until school starts again.

my apologies

I'm so sorry that it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. This summer has been insanely busy, which is great, but it hasn't been easy to keep you all updated. I'm working on it though!