The end of an adventure...we are home again!

It is hard to believe that our adventure is over. We are back in Seattle and it is great to be home again. Our dear friend Linda picked us up at the airport and took us home to our house that we hadn't seen for 6 months. We were welcomed by a sign that our neighbors made for us and the kids went over to play with their friends right away.

The people who rented our house had left it so spotless (it has never looked that nice) that we almost didn't want to unpack and clutter the house again:) Fresh flowers and fruit. Our friends and neighbors had left food and flowers so we really feel welcomed home!

Now it will take time to process everything and we will live on this trip for along time. The trip has been absolutely fantastic but the best part has been seeing all you family and friends first in the US, then around the world, in Sweden and now the ones waiting for us back here in Seattle. Thanks for following our travels on the blog. Life is an continuing adventure but this is the end of the blog!

Goodbye Sweden....for this time

Tonight is our last night in Sweden and we are spending it in a jumbo jet by the airport. It's a new youth hostel that they turned an old jumbo jet into. It is very cool. We got to peak into the cockpit where they have the "honeymoon suit".

Tomorrow our plane leaves at 6.20AM which is why we decided to get to the airport tonight. My dad and Anna took us here and it was very sad to say goodbye. It is always sad when we leave but after three months together it was harder. We have had such a wonderful time and we are missing everybody already.

Tomorrow at this time we will be almost home. Can't believe it!

Cray fish party

Last night was our last night in Näsbypark at my parents' house. They had a crayfish party to send us off. Everybody had fun but it is sad to leave. It feels like it was a long time since we came to Sweden but at the same time it feels like yesterday.

Anna made skirts for Hanna and Matilda out of fabric we bought in Malaysia. The big kids went to the skateboard ramp after dinner. We haven't even left yet and we miss them already!

Now we are frantically packing. At 4PM we leave!

Rice

All summer we have talked about going to the Asian restaurant Rice. My parents were still in Odensåker but the rest of us went there for lunch yesterday, Anna, Thomas and their kids and our family. The kids loved it and so did we. All the sushi you can eat as well as other Asian dishes.

On the way home we stopped in a store where the kids tried on pink sun glasses:)

Then Thomas went back to work, Anna took all the kids back to their house and Bob and I went home to pack. Only two more days!

The fun never ends!

Yesterday we drove up to Finnäs, outside Falun, to visit Maria and William and their son Oliver. We know them from Seattle but it was the first time we saw them in Sweden. Their summer house is beautiful by the lake and we swam both morning, noon and night. They treated us to ostrich (!) burgers, very good! We played football, poker and talked. We spent the night and Bob and I got our own little house even. What a nice time!

We drove home this afternoon and now we just got back from an evening with my parents' neighbors, Mia and Magnus. Our kids have played with their kids, Simon and Vilma now for years every summer and we had a wonderful dinner over at their house.

Now we have to seriously start packing and organizing our things. I can't believe we are leaving in three days.

Less than a week left of the adventure....

We are quickly approaching the end of our big adventure. And even if we are getting anxious to come home we are enjoying lots of fun things even these last days.

Yesterday my friend Mariana and two of her kids came over for a fun lunch and last night Anna-Lena and Robert had us over for a very nice thai dinner. Mia was there too and while the kids watched a movie we caught up. Great friends, great evening!

Stjärnholm and Fjäll

We spent the last three days visiting my aunt's and uncle's summer houses. They live 30 minutes from each other and both have beautiful places on the water.

First we visited Inger and Pelle where we were treated to great meals and views of the lake. The water was pretty cold but Clara and Bob still swam. The kids also got to go fishing and play in the playhouse. They especially liked the cherry tree where they climbed and played. We did some sightseeing too, close to the house is a sculpture walk through the woods. After saying goodbye we drove off to our next destination.

Bo and Lisa also have their summer house on the water and we had a great time with them too. Great food and Lisa taught me how to bake her tasty bread (now I have to do that at home!). The kids enjoyed spending time with my cousin Gustaf. He played music with them, both on instruments and on the computer. Nicklas especially is very fascinated by Bo's magic tricks. After coffee and cake today we said goodbye and left for Stockholm. It was a fun little getaway.

Gröna Lund

A few days ago we spent a whole day at Gröna Lund, Stockholm's main (only?) amusement park. My sister Anna and my friend Kerstin and their kids came too. The kids went on a ride called Extreme but passed on Insane!

We had a great time but 8 (!!) hours later we were ready to go home:)

Seeing old and new friends

On Thursday night Bob and I met up with Helena and Lasse downtown for dinner and drinks. Helena and I have known each other since we were Nick's age and have kept in touch ever since. We ate dinner at Bistro Pastis in Gamla stan, great little place with very good food. We had a fun evening and afterwards we walked through town. At the Royal Theatre (Dramaten) we stopped by the statue of Margareta Krook, a very famous Swedish actress.

On Friday night we went to dinner at Kicki and Hans house in Bromma. We got to know them in Seattle last year and they have since moved back to Sweden. We had a great bbq dinner at their house and they live close to a lake so the kids of course enjoyed jumping in the water. They said it was really warm (I guess it's all relative:). After ice cream cake and strawberries we took the bus home. The kids were especially happy for the candy bag they each got from Kicki!

Lunch Concert in Gustav Vasa Church

Today we went downtown to hear my cousin Arvid play a lunch concert in Gustav Vasa church. He is working as the church organist this summer and was playing beautifully on the church organ.

After the concert we got to go upstairs and the kids even tried to play the organ. It's a huge organ, 5000 pipes and we got to inside it.

My aunt Lisa, my sister Lotta and Arvid's girl friend Nadja were also there and afterwards Lisa treated us all to a very nice Indian restaurant.

After that Lisa took Bob over to show him the hospital (Karolinska) where she works and the kids and I took the bus home. But first we stopped in a used comic book store and got some comics to read on the way home!

Harry Potter

Tonight our kids, together with cousins and friends, went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. It was a total of 7 kids and two "lucky" adults (Bob and my sister Anna) who saw the movie. We started out with Mexican food and then I took Hanna and her cousin Matilda home to play. The older kids really liked the movie, the adults were not as enthusiastic!

Old Friends

Last night I met up with 4 of my close friends from my time in Brussels. It was Eeva, Pia, Pia-Lotta and Agneta, and not that we are old:) but we have known each other for a long time now. It was great catching up on old memories as well as new news.

We had dinner at a French inspired restaurant in Gamla stan (Old town) where we all very appropriately had Moules frites and after dinner we walked over to a bar where they served Belgian beer. An evening to live on for a long time!

Bob turns 39...again

We celebrated Bob's birthday at Björkö and like Nick, he also got breakfast and singing in bed.

We had cake in the afternoon. The traditional strawberry cake and then a Daim cake in Bob's honor since that is his favorite candy.

This was also the day we left to go back to Stockholm and while the kids and I drove, Bob and Thomas took the ferry boat (4 hours) back. Bob thought that was a nice ending to his big day.

Beautiful Björkö

Nothing beats the Swedish summer when the weather is nice and it is now (couldn't be better actually). We are spending the week in Björkö in the archipelago and have been to the beach every day.

The kids and their cousins love to swim or play in the sand or on the cliffs. The adults enjoy a good book, a dip in the (cold!) water and a cup of coffee with that. Life is good!