The week before we left for Europe there was an article in the Seattle newspaper that talked about how a father and child were kicked off of a flight because the child was throwing a fit. We were a little worried this might also happen to us when Gabe decided to throw a major fit for the first 45 minutes of our flight. We have no idea what was wrong but he was not a happy camper and did NOT want to be strapped into the seat. Once he calmed down they were both in a great mood. In fact, they were so giddy that they kept each other awake until we were an hour from Germany. Every time Gabe would fall asleep Zara would hit him and yell “Babriel. Babriel Karl.” Gabe he would return the favor yelling Zaza or Zawa. We tried our best to keep them entertained by offering them something new every hour and with the exception of a yell or loud giggle, they did pretty well. It was a really long trip and pretty tough on us all so we were very happy when we arrived to Europe.
The kids were super excited to see Baba and Dide (Grandma and Grandpa) in person. The kids are usually very shy when they don’t know people well but since we often skype with Baba and Dide, the kids were comfortable right away. We were able to spend a few days with Aunt Lucija and cousin Eva in Slovenia before they returned to France. Zara and Eva were fast friends. Zara was super interested in Eva and wanted to hug, kiss, and hold hands with her. It was super cute. Gabe was too busy to care about the girls and didn’t really know what to make of them. Zara fell in love with an old teddy bear that Eva had claimed so it will forever be known as “Eva’s bear.” Zara was surprisingly good about giving Eva her bear back.
After a few days we headed to our house in Croatia. Zara and Gabe had a lot of fun running on our outside terrace playing with the large toy truck and wheel barrow Baba and Dide bought. These were a huge hit and provided hours and hours of entertainment. The kids had a blast in Croatia. They loved going to the beach and playing in the sand, running with their toy truck / wheel barrow, and swimming.
Europe was much hotter than we’re used to in Seattle! We forgot how miserable hot summer nights can be! The kids didn’t mind the heat – this meant more playing in the water and more ice cream – a novelty they experienced several times on this trip!
View our Vacation 2012 photos.