Croatia with Nana and Grandpa

After a winter and spring of non-stop deployments and TDY's for Bill, we were so excited to have a whole week together as a family. We traveled to Croatia and stayed at a resort near Zadar and then finished the week with a visit to the breath-taking Plivitce Lakes National Park.

The week was the perfect combination of relaxation, family time, and excellent food. We were thrilled that Nana and Grandpa could join us from Connecticut for the majority of the week. The resort thought of every detail to make it fun for the kids, which in turn, made it relaxing for mom and dad. Between the swimming, the beach, the activities and the special time with Nana and Grandpa, the kids were in heaven. Here are some of our favorite pictures from the week:

Not a bad view to wake up to in the morning. 

View from the beach. 

Of course Bria decided she would rather play with the rocks and trees then sit on the beach. 

Love these two.

Night time view. 

They held a nightly "disco" for the kids and every night at dinner Bria would announce, "I want to dance."

Jacob was pretty excited about the pirate ship pool. 

Per usual, Bria was very interested in the animals. 

We started each morning with swimming lessons for the kids.

Flexing those muscles. 

 Swimming with Grandpa. 

 

 Dancing to their mother/son wedding song. 

 First father and daughter dance. 

 Our little exhibitionist. When in Europe.... 

 As you can see, Bria was just following suit...

 

 

On the last morning, Jake wanted to hang out in the kid's club. From what we observed, he could have been in school; the staff was phenomenal. They have a minimum 1 year internship to be able to work there.

Bria wasn't old enough to stay by herself, but still had fun exploring. 

We were so sad to leave Falkensteiner, but loved every minute. And I am still shocked we pulled this picture off.

From Zadar we drove a few hours to arrive at Plivitce Lakes National Park. It is the oldest National Park in Croatia, and the largest in Southeast Europe. There are 16 visible lakes in this completely protected forest and the water varies between vibrant shades of green and blue. We stayed in the most unique place right in the heart of the forest. Here are a few pictures from the hotel: 

The kids loved the variety of animals that were freely roaming the property. 

"I want to take THIS one home." 

Just taking the owners St. Bernard for a walk. 

And a few in the national park: 

After a very leisurely European dinner, I think Grandpa was ready to call it a night. 

Just swinging with the pony. 

The next day we hiked through as much of the forest as you can with a double stroller. 

Still can't get over the natural beauty of this place. 

After a final stop in the Old Town of Zadar it was time to head back to Germany. Thank you again to Nana and Grandpa for coming all this way to spend time with us. We know that we will always remember this trip.