Welcoming party at Marija's garden!

We arrived in Sisak August 1st and the next day which was saturday my best friends from highschool had a little welcoming party for us. Marija has fixed up a part of their back yard with a little garden and nice grass and deck furniture and was proud to invite us all to come and hang out there. It was a special treat because we had some guests of honor as well-Marija's husband Zvonimir-who is currently serving with Peace Corp in Kosovo then my friend Melita's boyfriends Mario-this was his first appearance on a group gathering like this:):):) and my friend Masa with her daughter Anja and husband Vlatko who came from Zagreb for the weekend just to see us.

Everyone was thrilled to see Emma and hang out with her and Emma like a true champ was having a blast with almost no signs of jet lag eventhough this was her first real day in croatia.
The most exciting thing for Emma were all the animals. Marija lives in a little village and has a dog, cat and turkeys. Emma was sooo excited as she loves dogs and this was her first experience with real live turkeys. She has only seen them in her picture books-I don't think they even show them in her Baby Einstein McDonald Farm video. She got a little startled when they started making noise but quickly warmed up to them even though I personally could not stand the smell (even for a short time while taking some pics).

Emma and Anja enjoyed the little pool Marija set up for them. That was an awesome refreshment for a hot day. Since Emma loves the pool there was nothing better to win her heart.
We had some nice food (thanks Zvona for grilling) and girls for making all the differenct sides and a delicious cake (melita-i did not even know you are such a baker).

It was a great day and we enjoyed hanging out with everyone. Chris liked it a lot too because unlike when we have parties at our house, he did not have to do anything but simply enjoy some beer and good conversation.
We miss them all now that we are back in the states!