A "Mouse" of a Good Time

Peyton's 1st trip to Disney World was a complete success. She had a wonderful time meeting all her favorite characters, riding the rides and seeing the shows. We all enjoyed the trip, although the weather was hot and humid and the crowds were just ridiculous. I do believe that will be the last time we go down there over a holiday. Kali had a fruitful trip, too. She rode the new Mt. Everest ride 6 times - thank God for early "magic" hours! Peyton rode Kali River rapids twice and the Tea cups countless times. Her favorite rides were the "spooky, spooky" ones - Haunted Mansion, Snow White, etc. She spent most of the 10 days there singing "It's a Small World," over and over and over as loud as she could. That doesn't sound anything like Peyton, does it?!?!?! We only rode that ride 4 or 5 times! The biggest surprise to us was how much she enjoyed all the 3D movies - she wasn't the least bit afraid of them. She sat through Mickey's Philhar-magic at least 7 times. Of course, we did not get to all that we wanted to. I guess there's always next year!?!?!

Lake Erie Fun on Father's Day

Kali and Peyton "took" their Daddy to the beach for Father's Day. I think it is safe to say that they had more fun than he did!

Zoo Time

Nothing says summertime like a trip to the zoo! We love the Akron Zoo, it's right in our backyard and a great way to spend an afternoon. Of course, it's not the Cleveland Zoo - but it's a great time all the same.

Kali, The Knave of Clubs

As you can see, our little "Ace of Clubs" had a great time performing in "Alice in Wonderland." The show was a great success and both Kali and Peyton got a huge kick out of seeing their Mom on stage as the Queen of Hearts. Now that the show is behind us, our summer is in full swing!

Peyton and her Kindermusik

Peyton just loves her Kindermusik classes. What's not to love about music, dancing and fun! Jimmy got back in time to take her to the last 2 classes of this session. He helped her make a jingle bell necklace, just what we need. Peyton making more noise as she runs all around. Next up for Peyton this summer - Zoo camp!

Kali's Spring Festival Performance

Kali was only supposed to dance in one piece in the school's dance festival, but by the time it was over, she had danced in 3 pieces. The ballet piece, which we knew she would be in, an excerpt from "Alice in Wonderland" that was added at the last minute and a jazz piece that she learned the day before the performance. She is a trooper. She loves to perform. It was just wonderful to see her happy. Jimmy got back in Akron just in time to lay the dance floor.... I mean .... see his little princess on the stage ;)

Decked out for Memorial Day

Kali dressed herself for Memorial Day in true American fashion!?!?! We are so grateful to be home in this wonderful country of ours. The Oliver's are looking forward to a relaxing summer. A beautiful Memorial Day weekend was just the thing to get the season started!

By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea.......

The little seaside town of Piran is on the Adriatic Sea, across from Italy. It was so quaint, you could almost forget you were in Slovenia. That is, until you came across the unpleasant Slovenes in the restaurants, cafes and shops. When you look at this country from afar, it is hard to conjure up the image of Yugoslavia. The rolling hills, majestic mountains, lush forests and the little towns are just exquisite. Then you encounter the people - and no doubting it, it is part of the former Yugoslavia. Maybe this narrow-mindedness and cold, hard, unfriendly blood will be bred out in a few generations. One could only hope. It's a nice place to visit, but I would never want to live here, again.

Proof positive that we were all in Slovenia

Kali and Alexander

Peyton and her Niko

Hiking in the "Rain Forest"

Time is slipping away for the Oliver Family in Ljubljana. We spent Saturday afternoon hiking in our neighborhood. Kali and Demi earned their "Earth and Sky" Try-It Badge for Brownies with a lesson in erosion. When the weather in Ljubljana is nice, living here is very, very enjoyable. But when the weather is bad, living here is horrid! The unfortunate reality is that the winters are very cold and very long and the fall and spring weather is extremely rainy. We get out and soak up the sunshine whenever we can.
Jimmy's job is, for all practical purposes, over. He doesn't even dress for the games anymore. We are just waiting to get paid. It was a very sad year for Jimmy's basketball career. The good news is that it is just a few weeks from being over. They still owe us 40% of his contract, so he will be here until the end of the season to fulfill his part of the deal. Never mind, they have broken the contract time and time again. We are hoping we won't have to hire a lawyer! The moral of this story - Don't ever do business in Slovenia. It is still full of Yugoslavian suppression and corruption. Live and learn.

Now, that's a race!

Ex Pat Picnic Fun in Slovenia!

We spent a glorious day in the foothills of Ljubljana at the Ex Pat Picnic. Great food, lots of drinks and wonderful company. The weather was perfect - just under 70 degrees and partly sunny. Our friends from Greece and South Africa were there, plus we made a few more friends. Jimmy even spent a while in "deep" conversation with a ex-hippy who was at Kent State on May 4th, 1970! Now that was an interesting conversation!!! Of course, it ended up with Jimmy showing off his American flag boxer shorts - and he wasn't even drinking!!!! I, on the other hand, drank our 45 euros worth and then some. My friends and I made nice with the strawberry lady ( she was circulating with a huge basket full of strawberries) and the champagne lady (no explanation needed). Much to our delight, we never had to stray too far for refills. Jimmy insists that the food was good, I never made it past the soup - which was, indeed, very good. Sometime, while I was waiting in a food line, I switched to this fabulous cherry liqueur. Never made it to the food table. This "liquid gold" was the best liqueur I've ever had, of course the real cherries in it didn't hurt. I stuck with that for the rest of the afternoon. Delicious, smooth and mildly intoxicating - just what I needed. In good faith, I couldn't go to church after drinking all afternoon - so we shut the picnic down! Kali had fun with her friends, blowing bubbles, walking on stilts and having wheelbarrow races. She and her friend, Demi, where busting a groove to some great salsa music. At the time, that music choice seemed perfectly natural, but in hindsight it was a little odd. Did not really compliment the Polka music that dominated the 1st half of the day. Oh well, no one seemed to notice with the beer, wine, champagne and liqueur flowing. Peyton had the time of her life. Her Greek "boyfriend" Niko was there. They played "The Three Little Pigs" all afternoon in the play house. She also met and fell in love with her 1st horse. People were amazed by the fact she was not afraid of the horses. We all know her by now, so it wasn't all that unusual. She fed them, she brushed them and she rode them - over and over. Maybe she will be the equestrian in our family. Jimmy and I are in total agreement - this was the BEST day we have spent in Ljubljana. If there would of been more days like today maybe we would have had a nicer stay. It almost makes me sad to leave - we have made some great friends here! We are hoping that the South African family will find their way to Akron in the future - he is pretty high up in Goodyear! Hope springs eternal!

Just what Kali needs - longer legs!

"Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin"

Peyton's 1st Horse Ride

The sad result of poring rain and 553 steps!!

Slap Savica near Lake Bohinj

Jimmy finally saw some of the Julian Alps today. He actually had an entire day off in the middle of the week due to "The Day of Uprising Against the Occupation of World War II." I guess his coach has more respect for war then he does for religion - Jimmy had to work on Christmas! And, of course, it pored down rain from morning till night. That's OK, the crazy Oliver's hiked up to see the waterfall at Savica. All 553 steps in the rain! It was beautiful, even in the crappy weather. I can only imagine what it looks like when the sun is shining. As we left, Peyton looked back and said "Bye-Bye Waterfall, Thank- you for letting me look at you." We tried to drive over the Alps via the Vrsic Pass - think Hemingway's "Farewell to Arms" - but we only got part way across because of the heavy snow. Apparently, it doesn't open completely for another 2-3 weeks, they are still plowing snow up there. We turned around and explored the area's of Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj, instead. It was nice just to get out of Ljubljana. Kali is on another school break for the next week. I now understand why they keep the school year going until June 23rd - they have half a dozen week long "holidays" throughout the year. Oh well, we'll make the best of the break. We are hoping Jimmy has Sunday off so we can drive to Zagreb to visit friends. I believe there is another trip to the Alps in our near future, as well. Jimmy got just a glimpse of the mountains and the gorgeous river and wants to see more! All we have to do is wait for the rain to stop and the snow to melt. Hope springs eternal!

Tip Toe-ing through the "Tulips" of Tivoli

Jesus, Mary and The Turks

Well, we completed another hike up Smarna Gora (669 m). Not only did we make it to the top for donuts, we got there by hiking the path of Jesus, Mary and The Turks while surviving a killer thunderstorm! All in a days work here in Slovenia. Kali hiked by herself, with the help of her hiking poles and Peyton rode most of the way up on Jimmy or Dave's shoulders. The only problem was the mud. By the time we finished the hike my kids were a filthy mess. When it was time to get dressed and go to church I realized just how dirty they were and just couldn't bring myself to throw a dress over the caked on dirt and take them to mass. We didn't have time to go home and clean up, so we just went to get a drink with our friends and let the kids play some more and get even dirtier. Drinks turned into dinner, as it usually does here, and Jimmy barely made it to practice at 7:30. When we finally got home, I hosed the children down and they fell into bed. I'm hoping that the candles we lit at the Church of the Holy Mother (on top of the mountain) along with the prayers that go with said lit candles are enough to keep us in His Grace this week.

Turtlenecks and Sweaters for this Easter Sunday!

Even Mommy and Daddy cleaned up for Church!

Getting Dressed in our Easter Best for Mass

Well, Easter is behind us. One step closer to returning to Akron! As you can see, the girls had a great Easter. It really makes all the crap I dragged over here worth the sore back and broken nails!! Jimmy had Sunday off. We truly had a wonderful day, even though it was dark and gloomy outside.

I spent Saturday making Kali's favorite - white cupcakes with white frosting! As they were cooling we went to the market for a couple of kilos of fresh strawberries and we soaked in the Center of Ljubljana, complete with the Native American Indians having some sort of musical Pow-wow, the Hari Krishna's doing their Hari Kari Dance (as Jimmy puts it) and the Mormons out in force! All of this in front of our Franciscan church! A very strange Holy Saturday, indeed. Kali enjoyed the Hari Krishna spectacle, while Peyton was more impressed by the Native Indians. The poor Mormons got lost in the crowd - they need a gimmick to hang in Presernov trg!

Jimmy had an away game Saturday night, so I was stuck doing all the "Easter Bunny" preparations by myself. Except, Jimmy "hid" the plastic eggs so high in our closet that I couldn't reach them. He was stuck hiding 60 eggs around the house at 3 am when he got home!
The price he pays for putting things out of my reach!

The girls were up at 6am on Sunday morning! Poor Jimmy was working on about 2 hours of sleep! They were so excited that the Easter Bunny found them in Slovenia! Kali was thrilled she could eat candy after 5 weeks of Lent. It's a very good thing that "Easter Bunny" left electric toothbrushes in the baskets! Peyton raided everyone's basket for the pastel Life Savers! She ate more candy them the rest of us combined! It was a Dora Easter for Peyton and a Diddlina Easter for Kali - the great big smiles on those sweet faces made all the effort worth it and then some!

We went to Mass at 5:30 and then went out to dinner with our monk and some of the others "parishioners." It was our 1st Slovenian restaurant in the 7 months we've been here! We passed on the "game" plate and blood sausages, but Jimmy enjoyed his mixed grill plate and I loved the specialty of the house "Turkey Sokol" - a turkey filet covered in a cream sauce. The highlight of the meal was the soup! It was served in bread bowls and was fabulous. Jimmy had mushroom, I had onion. We will be trying that place again after church. It will be a hard decision every Sunday between that place and Joe Pena's, the Mexican restaurant we love. If only that was the worst of the dilemmas we faced here in Slovenia!

Snickerdoodle Our Easter Bunny!

Our Honey Bunnies!

Yippee! The Easter Bunny found us!!

Easter Masterpieces!!!

The girls are all smiles as they admire their handiwork. Look at those beautiful Easter eggs. (Make note of the fabulous egg holders Kali made in her pottery class?!?!) I have no idea what I'm going to do with the almost 3 dozen eggs we colored (of course, Peyton ate a couple as we went along!) Kali's friend Demi helped us, so she went home with a basketful. Nevertheless, we have over 2 dozen eggs to eat! That number might actually tide Peyton over for the weekend ;)
Today we are on a mission to find this ham we had last year in Croatia. That goes over really well here. The Slovenes eat mostly cured ham and I can't stomach it. The ham we had in Croatia for Easter last year was smoked. It wasn't exactly "honey-baked," but it was pretty good. We have been asking around about the "Croatian" style ham, we have a couple "good leads" that we will follow up on this afternoon before Brownies and Kali's "Portfolio Night." These people really are not helpful. I understand it's a bit of a national pride thing - we like the Croatian ham better - but to turn it into this week's episode of "Law and Order" is ridiculous. I'm grateful that Jimmy is "on the case," his appetite is more than helpful! I told Jimmy I'm ready to just throw in the towel and make filets for Easter dinner. I can see you all shaking your heads, I know - It's not Easter without ham!!!! We are trying!!!!

Going to church on Palm Sunday

Kali and Peyton make the climb up to the doors of The Franciscan Church of the Annunciation - or as most people call it - The Pink Church by the Triple Bridge. We are so happy to have finally found the elusive English Mass. Although, we were palmless on Palm Sunday. Evidently, in Slovenia it is BYOP (bring your own palms). We are currently without a palm tree, but most churchgoers improvised with an array of leafy sticks. A family from Kali's school shared their branches with us - olive, I'm thinking.

Yesterday, Jimmy arrived home early from his trip so he was able to come to church with us and continue our month long tradition. First, we drive around trying to find a parking space. Did I mention the church is smack dab in the middle of the Center? Then we have to pay 40 SIT a person to pee before church starts. While we fork over a quarter to use the bathroom, Jimmy buys freshly made spiced almonds for "Peyton" to eat during the service. Then we shlep the stroller up the stairs, run Peyton past all the candles in front of St. Francis while she is singing "Happy Birthday" and find our way to the little chapel that we celebrate mass in. The monk who celebrates mass every week is wonderful. Seeing as Jimmy and I were married by a Benedictine, we are partial to monks of any kind.

Although our methods might seem a little "unorthodox", the "soul food" we receive at The Pink Church is just what we need to get through the last couple months of living here.

Trying to fill big sister's hat!

Kali's Special Easter Bunny!

A Kali Sandwich!

The Big Picture

Jimmy's still wearing green! It looks like he will be a "dragon" for the remainder of the season. He is not being utilized as the offensive threat that he is, but the lack of "action" just might add another year to his career! When given the chance, he's playing well. The "extra" energy he has from sitting on the bench is being used in the weight room. At least he has the opportunity to get out his aggression and to get his body "swim suit ready" for our 10 day trip to Disney World in June! ;) The girls and I will be going to his game tomorrow to cheer him on. We haven't all been to a game in months, it should be fun!?! Plus, another chance for Kali & Peyton to show their "team spirit." When we were in the States we picked up green and white pom-poms and matching Nikes to complete the cheerleading ensemble. Go Jimmy!!!

A Beautiful March Snow in Ljubljana

For those of you who have asked about the scenery in Ljubljana, Slovenia ~ here you go. I took this picture in our "back yard," the park that is directly behind our apartment complex. Ljubljana is surrounded by mountains. If the sun shines, (operative word being if) it is quite breathtaking. But, most days you can't even see the mountain ranges because of the clouds and fog. Cross-country skiing is huge here and this park connects to literally miles and miles of open "ski" country. If only I liked the cold!

Swimming in a Winter Wonderland!?!

Jimmy had Sunday off, so we went to the Atlantis Waterpark for some fun. We arrived at Noon and it was raining. The kids wanted to swim in the outdoor pool around 1pm and it was snowing - as you can see! Only the Slovenes would think it's a good idea to swim in the snow! People were actually having snowball fights in the pool! I can't believe my family actually went out into the Artic in their bathing suits! I stayed safely inside, thank you very much. By the time we left at 4pm there was almost 6 inches of snow on the car! It took us 40 minutes to get home, it's normally a 10 minute drive. There was chaos everywhere, I've never been so happy to be inside this apartment. It's still snowing at 6 o'clock, we are knocking on a foot of snow already. I have no idea if there is such a thing as a "Snow Day" here. We've been told it is going to snow 40 - 60 centimeters, how ever much that is. It sure does sound like a lot. We'll see if Kali has school in the morning, I guess I better start making some phone calls.

No rest for the weary - Me!

As you can see, Kali and Peyton were laid out on the flight to Frankfurt! Traveling coach is terrible, I miss the days of business class!!! We were lucky to be able to frighten away the man who was sitting next to Kali, so we had 4 seats between the 3 of us! By the time my two girl stretched out, I had barely any room to sit! What a mother won't do for her kids! They deserved it, especially Kali after the tooth drama in Detroit! We were catching a last minute "American" meal at Chili's in Detroit's airport and as we were munching on chips and salsa, Kali chipped a tooth. Sounds benign enough, until she opened her mouth and spilled about a pint of blood on the table! It was all I could do to stop the bleeding! I'm glad we were on American soil, we had plenty of ice in our water - just for occasions like this! We hurried to finish our meal and the only thing I could think to do was call Jimmy's agent and ask him to get in touch with Jimmy. That poor guy got all the gruesome details on his voicemail and then had to call and tell Jimmy. I had to let Jimmy know ASAP so he could find a dentist! The world's greatest Daddy had an appointment all set up for his 1st born the day we got in to Ljubljana! It's all taken care of, the good news is that it was just a baby tooth, no big deal. My kids just have bad timing! On a bright note, the remainder of the trip was uneventful and all 6 of our bags arrived with us! Add to that the fact that Frankfurt just opened a Starbucks and I dare say it was actually a pleasant trip. Both the girls behaved beautifully, got some sleep and did not fight! God was shining down on us (he must of looked away for a second in Detroit, but I won't dwell on that.)

Chuck E. Cheese is but a faded memory

Our whirlwind trip to Akron was over in a blink of the eye, but not before we took a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We followed that by a viewing of Curious George, complete with popcorn and nachos! As you can see, the girls were very happy, indeed. We were able to visit with so many people while we were in town, but not nearly everyone we wanted to. It's only 3 more months until we are home for the summer! Hopefully we will get to spend time with all our loved ones at that time. Poor Jimmy, this is the 1st year of his European career that he did not get a mid season trip home! 10 months away from the "comfort zone" is a long time, he's homesick! I brought him back some movies, candy and his favorite granola (his request). The kids and I being over here this year makes all the difference in the world. I doubt he could of hacked this turbulent season on his own for 10 months! There is light at the end of the tunnel!