Ice Age 3: Die Dinosaurier Sind Los

This week I wasn't really in the mood for sightseeing or exploring (perhaps I'm saving my energy for Switzerland next week), so I don't really have anything too exciting to post to the blog.  BUT...it's been brought to my attention that certain people don't like it when I go more than a week without posting something. (not to name names or anything but ...JOHN POULSEN)  So I've decided to write a little bit about the movie theaters here.

I know you're probably thinking that this is weird because they can't possibly be that different.  And you're right, this is weird.  However, there really are quite a few little differences.

  

This week I took Timon and Flora to the third Ice Age Movie, and of course, it was in german.  BIG DIFFERENCE!!!   The next difference is a little less obvious and concerns concessions...they don't have butter on their popcorn.  Butter isn't even an option, nor is any other kind of seasoning.  bleh  Also, they sell orange juice for the little kids.  And let me tell you, orange juice does not go well with butterless popcorn and chocolate.  The last difference I will talk about, is about the seating.  In America, when you go to a movie, you get to pick your own seats.  So naturally I thought it was the same here.  But when I chose the perfect seats right in the middle of theater, and looked up to find Timon and Flora still standing in the isle looking at me with a really strange look of irritation, I started to think otherwise.  Timon showed me the tickets and sure enough, there was an assigned seat written on it.  So in order to keep the kids calm, (because heaven forbid we sit in the wrong seat... I mean one of the other 4 people in the theater might drastically need that exact seat and who knows what kind of horrible things could happen then?!)  we hiked all the way to the top of the ridiculously large theater and sat in the back right next the other 4 people.

Needless to say, next time I'd rather just wait and rent the movie.  :)

they doesn't speak so good english

Something that Timon and Flora said to me over vacation inspired me to do a short little blog about the kids and their english.   It's absolutely amazing to see 4 kids at these ages that are bilingual.  But, as expected, they're grammar isn't exactly the best and they tend to mix things up a lot.  Because I am around them every day, I have grown used to all their little sayings and mix-ups but once in a while they say something that really tickles my funny bone. 

After we had been in Croatia for about a week I was beginning to get a pretty good tan and Timon came up to me and said "Wow Neecall you are really much brown!  really really much!!"  After a minute or two of staring at me he turned and left and then Flora leaned over to me and whispered "He don't speak so good english.  right Neecall?"  When she said this, it hit me just right and me laugh pretty hard so I just had to share that.

Fanny and Christoph are probably my favorite though when it comes to their english speaking skills.   Sometimes their sentences are half english and half german.  For some reason they just can't get a grasp on the english words  but, with, and now.  So whenever they would use them they replace them with the german words  aber, mit, and jetzt.  

For example:

"Aber Neecall, I don't want to!"

"Neecall! Come play mit me!"

"No, I want it jetzt!"

But my favorite thing that Fanny says, whenever she thinks she can't do or say something, is:  "Aber I don't can do it Neecall!" ( I wish you could hear her say because her voice is so cute!!)

One more quick example-

One day I was telling Timon about one of the weekend trips that I will hopefully be taking in the near future.  I told him I would be taking a train and he asked "But what happens when the train doesn't want to fly anymore?"  Of course I was a little confused so I asked him what the heck he meant and he just replied, "You know! When the trains stops flying and hits the ground where will it be?"   I, still a little confused, answered "trains don't fly Timon."  This answer seemed to throw him for a huge loop and then I finally realized what he meant and said.  "Trains don't fly but PLANES do."  He just got super irritated and said "yes whatever Neecall!  it sounds the same!"

Croatia

So for those of you who have been waiting, I am finally back from Croatia and I'm ready to tell you all about it!   We stayed in a mobile home in a camping area of a holiday resort.  Staying in the mobile home was by far the worst part of the trip because there were six of us crammed into a teeny little space that's smaller than the average living room.  But nonetheless it was still an amazing vacation.  The resort we were in was right on the Dalmatian Coast on the Adriatic Sea.  I literally felt like I was walking right through one of my infamous travel books!   On this resort they have a beach (obviously), a pool, and a shopping area filled with souvenir shops and restaurants.  They also had lots of things to keep the kids entertained such as mini golf, pony rides, water-slides, and about a million more things.    The beach was absolutely beautiful and the water was the perfect temperature.  However, after a few days of swimming in the sea I came to a conclusion about myself.  I'm a freshwater girl!!  If you get splashed in the face with fresh lake water its no big deal...it's just water.  But if you get splashed in face with sea water (which was inevitable and unavoidable in my case considering I was with 4 very active kids the whole time)  it tastes disgusting and stings your eyes like crazy!  Another thing I hated about the sea was whenever we got done swimming and dried off we each had enough salt caked on our bodies to fill a few salt shakers.  YUCK!    But luckily for me, Fanny and Flora hated swimming in the sea more than me, so the girls and I spent a lot of time in the nice clean pool. :) 

       -Just a quick story about Fanny because I think it's really cute...First you need to know that

        Fanny has really bad eyesight.  In fact it's terrible.  (which is sad considering she's only 4, 

        but she's so dang cute with her glasses!)     One day when we were at the pool and she 

       wasn't wearing her glasses she was wandering around the pool by herself (usually she likes

        to hold my hand).  After a little while I looked around to make sure she was still doing ok.  

        I turned around just in time to see  her approach a lady who had a swimsuit 

       that looked like mine.  She put her arms around her neck and said "NICOLE!  where is 

       Flora?"  when the lady responded with nothing but a confused look, Fanny restated her 

       question but still the lady just looked at her and laughed.   At this point I went over closer          to her and said "Fanny, Flora and I are right here!"  She then looked at the lady with a                  panicked look and swam away from the lady to me as fast as she could.  ...Since then she has       worn her glasses EVERYWHERE!

My favorite part of the vacation was the boat trip we took from the resort to a national park called Kornati. We left at about 8 in the morning and returned at about 6:30 in the evening.  Kornati National Park is about 3 hours from the mainland, and consists of 365 islands of various size.  The islands were unbelievably beautiful.  I can only hope my pictures can give a small idea.  Also, the water was a shade of blue I'd never seen before.  Words can't begin to describe the beauty of the water.   The boat stopped at one of the major islands and let us off to wander for a few hours.  We ended up going swimming in a salt lake that was on the island (as if we hadn't had enough of salt water).  Around the lake and all over the island they have various wild animals.  The most popular one being the wild donkeys!  It was absolutely hilarious to see them just wandering around but surprisingly they were really tame and mild.  They handled the people very well and all the little kids loved petting them!  After spending some time on the islands we all piled back onto the boat and set off for another 3 hours back to the resort, and even saw a few dolphins on the way.  :)

This is all I can think of for now, so I'll just end with this last little piece of info.  After spending 2 weeks in the sun, for the first time in about 9 years...I'M TAN!!!  :)

I just had to add these pictures of Christoph because they're good for the soul and really make me laugh!  He loves wearing my glasses and Timon's hat!  :)