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!

Happy 11th Birthday, Nicklas!

Today we celebrated Nick's 11th birthday. We started according to Swedish tradition to wake him up with singing and breakfast in bed (only Nick woke up earlier than the rest so he had to stay in bed pretending sleeping, that works too:) He got lots of nice presents and he decided that he wanted to spend the day on the beach which we all liked!

After a fun, sunny day at the beach we came home and had tacos for dinner and Swedish birthday cake for dessert.

And as for a grand finale we all played "brännboll" a Swedish version of baseball. Even grandma and grandpa played. Nick said the day couldn't have been any better!

Friends and family

Since getting back from our Europe trip we have seen many friends. We spent a fun evening with Christina and Stefan and many of their friends at a popular restaurant in Stockholm, the kids have played with the neighbor kids...a lot! We spent a very nice evening with the Runsten family and we also went to Spånga to see Susan and Niklas and their kids.We know the Moe family from Seattle but they are in Norway for 18 months (in Sweden now for vacation and visiting family). It was fun to compare notes on spending time abroad and blogging!

Now we are at Björkö, my family's summer house in the Stockholm archipelago. It's beautiful here and my sisters and parents are also here. The kids are having a lot of fun with their cousins. Happy kids=happy parents!

Last day in London

We are now back in Sweden after a very fun Europe trip. We barely got home before the kids went over to the neighbors and now we don't see them much. The first night they even had a sleepover!

The last days in London we took a boat ride on the Thames, walked by Big Ben, saw Lotta's office and Bob and I even went out to a pub (very close to our youth hostel) while the kids watched a movie on the computer.

Now we enjoy being back in Täby for a few days. Yesterday we saw Anna and Thomas who have been in Bob's parents' house in Florida for almost three weeks. The had a very nice time and we enjoyed seeing their pictures.

Madame Tussauds

In London we spent some time at Madame Tussauds. And although it was fun mingling with all the famous people, it was a little too crowded for our taste. But we did see President Obama, Michael Jackson, Hitchcock, Hannah Montana, the Queen and more. My biggest complaint would be that they didn't have ABBA on display. Can you believe that?:)

Wimbledon and old friends

We took the train out to Wimbledon on Sunday to see Kalee and her family. We know Kalee from Brussels and now she lives with her husband Mark and their four kids in Wimbledon. Since the big tennis games were going on, the tube station was decorated like a tennis court.

Our kids had fun with the Brown family children. Meagan, who's 16 entertained our girls with "hair crafts" and friendship bracelets. Nick had fun on the Wii with Andrew, 10, and the super cute twins Conor and Max, 3 were playing with everyone.

Kalee and Mark live in a great house with a yard where we sat outside eating the delicious bbq dinner. It was great seeing them and it felt like yesterday even though it's been so many years.

The kids had a great time but after spending an evening with 3 year old twins, Nick is now leaning towards a dog rather than a baby brother:)

We said goodbye and left for the train back to London. We hope to see them in Seattle next!