Guest Blogger -- Pat

It’s the guest blogger – Catherine’s Mom! OK, so you fly for 14-15 hours after being up for something like 36 hours and you get off the plane, dragging two 50 lb. suitcases filled mostly with American toys and American food. Then, what do you do? You go to a museum – quiet, sedate, restful – not really! This museum was Skansen. Absolutely awesome!
It’s a collection of ancient buildings from a windmill and a storehouse (14th century) to steeples and Rune Stones from the 11th Century. Also, demos of things from the past. Brady and Brenna loved it all from the glass blowers to learning how linen was harvested, prepared and,finally, woven. Oh, did I tell you the part where it’s built on a very steep hill. Not to worry -- there are rose gardens, a zoo with moose and bears and reindeer and seals and… And, did I mention the double stroller? And, the hills? On the way home we visited what I remembered from France -- fabulous fresh fruits and produce!
The idea I think was to get me adjusted to their time by wearing me out. It worked, although they did laugh when I logged about 12 hours of sleep that night.

Next day to Galma Stan which was built in 1252, but today is home to many tourist shops. Just Catherine and I went as Craig did kid duty so we strolled and shopped and ate ice cream and had some wonderful Mother-Daughter time. Then, back to the apartment (which is huge by Swedish standards and large by ours) to collect the kids and Craig and go for an American McDonalds meal (no better here than the one on 22nd St.) and a walk through one of the fabulous parks.

Today (Sunday), it was cruise time. Got on one of the many boats for a trip to Brika, where the Vikings once roamed.
It was an absolutely lovely cruise watching the beautiful countryside and summer homes go by. Seems the Vikings were mostly farmers and knew how to pick a great spot -- absolutely beautiful island so lush and green. We climbed to the top where the Vikings once had a fort and listened to our guide (an archeologist) bemoan the fact that we no longer bury anything with our dead so our graves will not be a treasure trove. She was very pleased to learn that recently a woman was buried with her cell phone…. This time we wore out the kids -- not me!
Back home and we split up with Brenna, Catherine and I going to the Swedish grocery store to get things for dinner. Love shopping in other countries and could have spent much longer there if it weren’t for the fact that there were no carts and the little basket you have to carry was getting pretty heavy.

Enjoy some of the sights with me…from Brenna and Brady learning how to make linen at Skansen to a tired Mom and boy on their way home from Brika….

Our Recent Wave of Visitors

Ok, so I have to admit, "wave of visitors" is a stretch! But we did have 3 visitors this month! Our first vistor since Tata and Lisa left, was Troy. Troy is an undergraduate student that works in Craig's lab. He was able to get grant funding to come and work with Craig here. He didn't stay with us but we saw him often. He even got here just in time to go to the Crayfish party with us on his first night here! Here is a picture of him that Brenna took as he was getting ready to eat some kebab with us at our favorite kebab place. And a picture of our favorite kebab to go with it!!
(I am going to stray a bit to tell you about the kebab. Kebab is a lamb/beef mixture like gyro meat but the Turkish version. It is served over a pile of hot french fries...YUMMY You can also eat it over rice but that just seems too healthy to me. Anyhow, we eat it waaayyy too often!)
Will and his best buddy, Woje, arrived on Aug. 20th. I was so excited to see my little bro and so glad to get to share this experience with him! His visit overlapped Troy's but they never got the chance to meet. Will and Woje spent their first day hanging out with the kids and I at Grona Lund and the park. Woje even won a giat sized basketball. Will and I got to ride the new coaster, Insane. I have been waiting to ride it and finally, with the help of Woje as the babysitter, I got my chance. Will and Woje decided they HAD to take a cruise and check out Helsinki in Denmark or Norway....or FINLAND! That was their stupid joke but I thought I would throw it in there in case they read this.

Will at the park looking cool in his Tucson Toros shirt

Woje and Will testing the park slide that the kids call "fast slide"


While they were partying on the boat, we were saying goodbye to Troy. We went out for some dinner and hit the park with the kids.

Will and Woje returned Sunday. I went to look for them and be the nice big sister and help them back to the apartment with bus passes, but they were nowhere to be found. Afer waiting for multiple buses, I gave up and headed home. The whole way, all I could picture was the guys lounging on the couch waiting on me and laughing. Luckily for Will, this wasn't the case. They did make it home on their own about a half our later. Although Will was feeling quite sea sick, we decided to head back out to the Vasa Museum while Craig babysat the kiddos. The Vasa is a great musuem but the lighting is terrible for pictures! Sorry...they were all too dark! The Vasa is a viking ship that has been recovered and restored after spending 333 years under water. It was fun to hang out with the boys and enjoy the museum without my noisy little ones. Afer getting home, we invited Erik over and had a small BBQ outside. Our dessert got moved inside due to rain...bummer.
Here is Brady with Erik in another picture Brenna took. She loves the camera! Monday was already Will and Woje's last day in Sweden. We took a walk through Galam Stan, watched the Changing of the guards, and headed back to meet up with Criag and the kids. We met up and went for pizza. This place served the biggest pizzas! In Sweden, the pizzas are very thin and considered individual pizzas. These were so big though that they spilled over the edges of our plates and onto the table!! We headed to the park for a bit and then home. Will and Woje went out to the 80's heavy metal bar down the street...strange place! They discovered earlier in the trip that you can play blackjack at most of the bars and they let you play with your credit card...DANGEROUS! We had to say good bye early in the morning. I really am so lucky to have gotten to have this special time with my brother. I wish my big brother had been able to come as well. Maybe next time. Next visitor...MY MOM...YEAH!
Not the best smile....Will and I in Galma Stan


My little jumping beans


Future rock climber

Unlce Will...the human jungle gym

We love you Uncle Will!

My First Crayfish Party

Friday I experienced my first Swedish crayfish party. This is a big thing here. I have no idea how it got started but every year around this time there are many of them. All the stores sell crayfish party decorations, crayfish shaped bread, and of course, crayfish. What is a crayfish party?!? I think this is really just an opportunity to drink!
When we arrived at Robert and Asa's house, we were given party hats. Yep, adults and kids alike!

I'm sure Craig will love me for this one!

During the party, we ate and then suddenly it was singing time. I don't sing in English...or Swedish! It was fun though and everyone joins in to sing a short drinking song followed by a shot of some of Asa's schnapps. She made her own lemon-mint schnapps. The night was filled with friendly conversation, laughing, singing and drinking. The kids had a great time playing together. It was a blast! Everyone we met was great! I hope to see them all again and will try to arrange a BBQ here soon!

A Week in Review

This week we have been enjoying the weather! It has been beautiful. While all my friends and family bake in Arizona, we have been enjoying the 60's-70's with a little rain.
On Friday, we went back to Grona Lund as a family. Brady and Brenna love it there! We fed them there, tired them out, and went out to dinner afterwards.
We decided to take advantage of the grill check out and had a beautiful family dinner down by the wading pool last Sunday. It was so nice and we had a great time with the kids.



Monday was an uneventful day of laundry and Puh Corner (the indoor playroom here).
Tuesday I decided it was time to do something that wasn't only meant for young children...shopping! I headed to the center of town to look around and window shop. Instead, I ended up running across a cultural fair. It was great. There were arts, crafts, food, and music from many cultures. There were also some really great street performers. The kids and I had a ton of fun until the rain hit! We tried to outlast it in the Denmark tent, playing with Legos but decided we better head home when everyone started closing up.
Thursday, we met Craig during his lunch time and headed back to the fair. There was a really great show in the square. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera. There were some guys using a giant exercise ball to do tricks on while they balanced. They also had a van with the whole top as a trampoline. They did many cool tricks and it was fun to watch.
Friday, was a fun day! Troy, Craig's student, arrived in Stockholm. After they went to the lab and he checked into his hotel, we met back to head out to Robert's Crayfish party. It was a fun night and deserves its own blog entry.
Saturday we headed out with Troy to show him a bit of the town. We went by the culture fair for its last day, headed to Galma Stan to check out the shops and then took the ferry over to Djurgarden. We stopped outside Skansen to grab some ice cream. I had my very first nose bleed that didn't have anything to do with a soccer ball. It was very strange and super embarrassing!! I obviously lived through it :) After ice cream (and getting cleaned up) we went over and spent a little time at Rosendal garden. It is such a beautiful spot!! On the way home, we stumbled across a car show. There were some really great cars and some silly ones!
That leads us to today...it is super super windy!!!! We are just hanging out and enjoying some relaxation time.

A Busy Four Days with my Good Friend Lisa

Our first vistor since Tata left was Lisa Thompson. Lisa is my very dear friend from childhood. I feel so blessed by our friendship and was so happy to have her come to visit me here. The last time we traveled together was in Italy just after high school (that was 16 years ago...YIKES!). For any of you that know Lisa, you already know she is super athletic and loves to explore and travel. Let's just say, she kept me moving for four days straight...almost killed me :)
Lisa got in on Friday and was already ready to start exploring. My family met her at the bus and we headed out for some kebab lunch. We had to introduce her to our favorite "Swedish" meal! After lunch, Craig had to head back to work so Lisa got to see her first day of Sweden through a child's eye. We decided to head over to the island of Djurgarden for some fun. Our first stop was Junibacken. This is a play place dedicated to characters from famous children's literature. It had tons for the kids to explore! There was also the Sagotaget (story train). It was a little like a Disney ride but Swedish lit is a little on the dark side. Many of the characters were teetering on death or already there. The main cause seemed to be jumping off the roof or out the window....strange! Maybe it has something to do with all the old building with no screens.






After finishing up with Junibacken, we ran in and played a few games at Grona Lund. The kids rode the cars and played a couple games. Somewhere along the way we lost Brenna's stuffed mouse, Prilla, that she got with her Tata. It was not the best way to end the day but we went back in and let her play the game again and she won a duck which she has named Brandon.
On Saturday, Lisa and I took just Brenna and headed to Galma Stan (Old Town) for a look around the shops. We stopped along the way and watched a bit of the parade going on in the central square and Brenna hula hooped (or tried) and won some chocolate bars. One of them was chocolate with pieces of black licorice in it...YUCK!
We went back to our place and had a BBQ with Robert and his family. It was nice to hang out and all the kids had a blast playing. I was glad Lisa got to meet Robert and Asa. Here is a picture Brenna took of the gang.

Sunday was a big kid day...YEAH! Craig watched the kiddos and Lisa and I got to head out for the day on our own. This was the first time really away from the kids for me in a month. Don't get me wrong, I love them with all my heart, but a break was nice!!
We decided to head out on a boat through the Archipelagos. We ended up being lucky enough to ride on the Storskar, the very boat Craig proposed to me on! It was so beautiful along the way. Our trip was about 3 hours and took us to the island of Finnham where we hiked for a bit and had a beer before heading back.

A view from our hiking trip

After our boat trip, we hurried to make our reservations at the Absolut Ice Bar for a drink. Now, I must admit this was quite the tourist trap but it was pretty awesome anyhow. The Ice Bar is in one of the hotels. The whole room has ice walls, ice trees, ice tables, and a really great ice bar. The drinks (all absolut vodka drinks) are served in ice glasses. It was fun to see and nice to have a drink together. It was fun to take pictures and hang out.
We got our parkas and gloves and ordered our drinks

Cheers!




It was a great day!
On Lisa's last day here, we decided to go to Skansen. Skansen is a living museum built literally on a mountain. WOW did we get in over our heads! We set off with the huge double stroller and soon found out that climbing a mountain with two kids was no easy task! We got to see some seals, moose, and even some reindeer. We decided to check out the train for an easy ride back down, only to find it was closed. We found it pretty funny that they charged 25 kr to go up on the train and only 15 kr to go down. We were starving but also a little lost! We finally found our way down and to food. After we ate, and the kids had some cotton candy, we decided to call it quits and head over to Rosendal's cafe garden. On the way out, we came across a playground and let the kids run out a little energy.
Brenna took this picture all by herself. She loves to take pictures and is really quite good at it!

Brady's own unique way of eating cotton candy :)

Playground time!


We love Lisa

Rosendal's garden is one of my favorite places! It is has the most beautiful gardens and open spaces. It also has a garden cafe in an old apple orchard and a great cut-it-yourself flower garden. The cafe is a quiet place and we realized quickly that the kids may be a little loud for this part. We quickly ate our raspberry chocolate cake and played a little catch with the kids and then headed to the garden. Brenna was so excited to cut her own boquet and remembered doing it from last year. Brady was too little last time so this was his first chance. The kids had so much fun! We cut a small boquet...with very short stems! Brenna picked out a small hanging vase for their flowers. She is already talking about going back with her Nana and her Nanny when they visit.




Lisa headed out the next morning. Thanks, Lisa!! It was so great to spend time with you!!! We will miss you!