Story time

Chris and I love stories, whether it be books, movies or theatre so kids aren't any different. We've started visiting local movie theaters and both Ivor and Mia can't get enough. So we figured that they might be ready for more. Through their school they went to see a kid theatre performance "Miffy" (about a bunny) and couldn't stop talking about it. When I saw that Disney's Beauty and the Beast is on stage we had to go take a look. The performance was absolutely mesmerizing. Music was wonderful with the live orchestra and actor's voices were spectacular as well as they were singing the familiar Disney songs. Yes, the words were all translated appropriately and it was done so well that it seemed like it was meant to be sang in Croatian. I am proud to say that both munchkins managed to last through the three hour performance (I didn't know that it would be that long) and have loved it. The story does get scary, so I've prepared them ahead of time. We talked about the plot and costumes, and how it all comes together on stage to tell a story, just like in a movie. They understood and got a little nervous when "wolves" showed up on stage but after a little reassurance they've really enjoyed it. Then a week later we went to see Sleeping Beauty on ice. That was fun as well. Now they keep asking what we're going to do next. As if I am supposed to have live entertainment ready for them daily. :) Chris and I went to see Za Ondekoza (Japanese drummers) perform a few weeks ago and that was really nice as well. Our near future theatre plans include Cinderella and Miffy (again) as soon as it's on stage.

White Easter

We went out of town for Easter to a small mountain town of Brinje, an hour southwest of Zagreb, actually already close to the coast. I have some more distant relatives there, so it made for a nice day trip for all of my family (parents, sister, her kids included) to head out there. They got to meet Chris and the kids and I could catch up with everyone. The road was nearly empty as most people got on the road two days earlier. We saw a light dusting of snow on the ground as we got closer to Brinje and it was beautiful to see. We spent the day eating sweets and talking to people. In the early afternoon though, we noticed that it started snowing outside. Yes, snow on Easter. I must say that the view was just breathtaking. We were in a valley surrounded by tree covered mountains all covered in snow. Just like a in a postcard.

Since the ground was still warm enough we figured that we'd be OK driving back. Yeah right! A one hour trip back took an amazing three hours. Snow accumulation seems to have been instant. By the time we pulled out of the driveway, the snow plows were already going through the town. Same on the highway, the roads were already being cleaned. That was nice to see. They are used to snow and ice in these parts and the snow crews were ready. Despite that, the roads were still so treacherous that we drove some 20mph for much of the way. Snow was so heavy that visibility wasn't very good. We drove a bit faster as we got closer to Zagreb. Close to the city the snow turned into heavy rain. That rain turned into snow overnight so we woke up to snow covered streets in Zagreb on Easter Monday. It all melted quickly, though, so by noon it was all gone. Til next winter (I hope).

All shook up

Kids are in bed; Chris is in class; I was sitting at the computer in a quiet room when the house started shaking and I could feel a loud rumble. I jumped up while searching for clues as to what was going on and the shaking stopped. Apparently we've just had an earthquake. No apparent damage. Kids didn't even wake up. My hands sure feel a little shaky though. Media isn't as fast here so I guess we'll know by later this evening or tomorrow how strong the quake was. Back to work now...

UPDATE:
Just found out. It was only 3.3 on a Richter scale (4-5 on Mercalli scale). However, it turns out that we were about a mile from the epicenter so I suppose it felt strong. Back to work now... (again).