ROMANIA

We had 2 months+ in Romania (Gordon only 2 weeks, unfortunately) and we all had a great time. I greatly missed my dad though...
We'll try to select a few pictures and also Italy pictures, where we were for a week.

Family time with my grandmother, five days before she passed away.

'Cetatea Sighisoara', and the orange building is "Dracula Restaurant"

Visiting the Salt Canion Praid

One of the 5 galleries

Huge underground playground in the canion

Checking that the walls are salty

Taking the cable car to the Ice Hotel

Igloo

The lobby of the Ice Hotel

Our room, called "Chillout"

At the Black Sea, Constanta

With tanti Nuti & Adrian

Loads of FUN for Emily and Jonathan

Two little visitors at Arcul De Triumf Bucharest

Yes, I turned 40!

Cousins having fun

This is how it is to be the only girl...

Tudor's sleep over at grandma's.

Waiting at the doctor's with all 4 sick kids the day we left for Italy. We wanted to have the doctor's aproval for our Italy vacation, and the answer was YES. Hoorayyy! And their cold didn't last more than 2 days!

ITALIA

VENEZIA

Gondola ride

Our awesome hosts and guides, Angi and Radu!!!

Plazza San Marco

It's good there weren't more children than adults. 4 / 4

Verona, arena

Romeo & Giulietta's house / balcony

Gardaland!!! The Italian disneyland... this is the highlight of our Italy vacation for the little ones

A boat ride in a 'volcano zone'

And this rollercoaster train ride is Emily's highlight of Gardaland. We went on it 3 rides.

On the beach at the Adriatic Sea

Best travelers ever!!!

Grandma and Grandkids' Love

I am witnessing a wonderful true love between our children and their grandma. Not only that grandma showes her love in so many ways, it's aswesome to see how the children show their love for her too. In the past 3-4 weeks they've been realizing more that they are going to go home without grandma, and they are showing her their love more than ever. Every single day they come to her wanting to give her hugs (lots!) just out of the blue and tell her that they are going to miss her in America. Emily especially, who speaks Romanian better than Jonathan, tells her these things almost every day: "I love you very very very very very (...) much. I love you more than when I came. I love you more than 100 percent. I'm gong to miss you in America" and she just clings to her neck, then she sits on her lap and gives her lots of long hugs. At the table she always says "I sit next to grandma", at night she sleeps with grandma. It's such a beautiful picture of love! She melts grandma's heart and mama's heart, especially that nobody tells her to do this and it's just her own pure love for grandma showed so clearly. It's like she wants to spend as much time as possible with her while she has the possibility, and they are both enjoying every moment of it. Jonathan shows his love a lot too, but he doesn't say too much though.
The kids love their aunties a lot too. One time we were at the park with cousins and my sister, and Emily picked some flowers for us moms. She gave me one flower and she told me that the rest of the flowers are for my sister, because she is going to miss her in America. Then one day she told her: "What am I going to do in America with only one mother?" (my sister told her one time that she is the 2nd mother while we are here in Romania). So it'll be hard to leave all these loved ones behind when we go back to America, but now it's their turn to come to our house and we really look forward to it.

Este minunat sa observam dragostea adevarata copiii nostri si bunica lor. Nu numai ca bunica isi arata dragostea pentru ei in multe feluri, este minunat sa vedem cum isi manifesta si Emily si Jonathan dragostea pentru ea. In ultimile 3-4 saptamani, si-au dat mai mult seama ca se vor desparti de bunica, si au inceput sa isi exprime dragostea pentru ea mai mult ca oricand. In fiecare zi vin la ea, se agata de gatul ei, si apoi se aseaza in bratele ei si o imbratiseaza mult. Emily mai ales, care vorbeste romaneste mai mult decat Jonathan, ii spune mereu urmatoarele lucruri: "Te iubesc foarte foarte foarte foarte foarte (...) mult! ..  Te iubesc mai multe decat inainte! ...  Te iubesc mai multe decat 100%. ..."  La masa zice mereu : "Eu vreau sa stau langa tine, buni!", iar noaptea doarme cu buni mereu.  Ce frumos tablou de dragoste intre nepoti si bunica! Ii topeste inima lui bunica, si a lui mama, mai ales ca nimeni nu ii spune sa faca asta, este doar manifestarea dragostei ei pure de copil pentru bunica ei draga. Vrea sa petreaca timp cat mai mult cu bunica cat mai are ocazia, si amandoua se bucura de fiecare moment. Si Jonathan o iubeste mult pe buni, dar nu spune prea mult.
Copiii isi iubesc si matusile foarte mult. O data eram in parc si Emily a cules un buchet de flori. Mi-a dat mie o floare si mi-a zis ca restul sunt pentru matusa ei, pentru ca o sa ii fie dor de ea in America. Alta data i-a zis "Ce o sa ma fac eu in America doar cu o mama?" :-)  ...Asa ca o sa fie grea despartirea de cei dragi de aici, dar acum este randul lor sa vina la noi, si ii asteptam cu mare nerabdare.