Catching up....

It has been a few days since I updated the blog. Mostly due to us being busy and too tired to post anything at night? Anyway, I will do my best to remember where I left off.

On July 8th we did head out on Farfar's boat. He was able to borrow some life vests for the kids from a boating shop. Of course he knew the owner so we were able to borrow some new ones and leave the tags on so we can just return it back to the shop. It was a really nice ride on the boat and it was the perfect day for it too. It was in the mid-70's or low 80's and a beautiful sunny day. The kids really liked driving the boat and also navigating with the binoculars when they weren't driving. Davin actually drove it pretty well but Linnea just liked turning the wheel so it felt more like a drunk driver going all wobbly in the boat. Henrik and Par joined us too so that was nice as well. We drove around through the bay up to the main beach and back to the little man-made island that was created a few hundred years ago by the shipping boats dumping their ballasts. Now it is a tiny "party" island where you can go BBQ and hang out. Then we headed into town and parked the boat so we could get some ice cream. Then it was back on the boat again for home.

On July 9th we had another beautiful weather which was in the mid-70's so we headed to the beach in Hudiksvall. It felt a lot warmer sitting on the beach with the sun shinning on you. However, the water was very cold so I didn't do more than get my feet wet. The kids had a lot of fun after they got used to the water and ran around splashing Farfar and Daddy. We ate lunch at a little restaurant on the beach and played for most of the afternoon. I forgot a few places with my sunscreen so I got a little uncomfortable later but so far no peeling. Just itching. After the beach we headed to the pizza place right next door. Katrin (Fredrik's step sister), her husband Niclas and their kids Caroline, Moa and Benjamin. Also, Par and his girlfriend Matilda joined us too. I think that made 13 of us! We took up 1/2 the restaurant! It was really good to have Swedish pizza again as the crust is really thin which I like. Also, Linnea at about 1/2 a kids ham & cheese pizza (which is a HUGE amount for her) and Davin ate about 1/2 his really big plate of kebab meat and french fries. It was good to see the kids eat so much!

On July 10th we headed to the Mulle Meck museum in Hudiksvall. We thought it would be fun to meet up with Fredrik's cousin Staffan and his kids. Apparently they had never been so they thought that was a good idea. Farfar went with us but Irene stayed behind as she needed to prepare for the upcoming job they had which started on Monday. She needs to prepare some paperwork and book a place for the divers to stay while they work. It ended up that just Staffan and his oldest Eddie (who is soon to be 5) but we all had fun together. Davin had a lot of fun building a helicopter out of wood. There was a lot of hammering with nails and sawing as well so it took up most of his time. Linnea was all over the place and loved the slide and driving the airplane. There was also a phone that was hooked up between the airplane and craft room so that was a lot of fun too. After Mulle Meck we headed to the same place we got ice cream after the boat ride. There we had hotdogs and chicken nuggets plus of course some ice cream too. Patrik and Cattis (Fredrik's half sister) were staying at their family cabin which is about an hour drive. They decided to come visit us too and they arrived just in time to share some ice cream with us. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and the cousins just had a blast together. The common language of fun was enough for them. Staffan headed home and the rest of us headed back to Farfar's house so we could walk to the park and burn off all the sugar we just consumed. We were so delighted that Ebbe (Cattis and Patrik's oldest son who is soon to be 5) and Davin just totally clicked together. We don't know if they remembered playing together the last time we visited when Davin was 4 and Ebbe was 2 or what. They played together like they were old friends!

On July 11th, we packed up our things and picked up the rental car that Irene got for us. It is some sort of Volvo station wagon and it is nice except for the fact that I find it really uncomfortable to sit in. Apparently, this seems to be a common complaint so you won't find me buying a Volvo anytime soon. Irene had just gotten a brand new car which was a VW Passat Wagon. Of course, hers was probably a more expensive car but I liked driving it a lot better too. Anyway, we said our temporary goodbyes to Irene and Henrik (Olle had already left for the job and we said our goodbyes the previous night) and headed out to the cabin in Järvsö which is the family cabin on Fredrik's mom's side of the family. We arrived about 4pm and there were many people there to greet us and the tables were loaded with lots of food! Cattis and Patrik where there of course with their two kids Ebbe (almost 5) and Vilda (almost 2). Bjorn (Fredrik's cousin) and Carro have one child Sebastian who is about 3 months old. Carro also had her older brother there with her too named Marcus. There was Maj and Ingvar who are Fredrik's aunt and uncle plus of course Monika (Farmor who is Fredrik's mom) and her husband Jan. We also had Staffan and his wife Lena plus their two boys Eddie (almost 5) and Vincent (almost 2). There were no shortage of people or food there. I tasted a few bites of Fredrik's elk steak and it was quite tasty! I was not very hungry as I ate a big lunch before we left and it only takes about an hour to get to the cabin. Still, I enjoyed some meatballs, potatoes, salad, watermelon, pineapple plus some local strawberries and whipped cream. The cousins (kids) had a blast playing together. Then we headed to Farmor's house which was another hour away and practically fell into bed.

On July 12th, we woke up at Farmor's and ate breakfast. We looked around the house a bit since she just moved in less than a month before. It was a very nice place and a little older than her previous apartment in Motola. However, now she has a bigger place that she partly owns (it is like owning a townhome here in the USA) which costs less than her previous place. We each have our own room downstairs plus a bathroom and upstairs is the kitchen, master bedroom, bathroom and living/dining room. We look forward to exploring it more later. The plan for this day was to head to Jarvzoo which is a small zoo that only has native animals to Sweden. They live in natural habitats and you walk along a boardwalk through the zoo so it is actually quite a good walk. We saw lots of interesting animals like moose, reindeer, fox, wolves, owls, lynx and wolverines! After the zoo we grabbed some pizza and headed to the cabin to eat. It was just Cattis, Patrik, Farmor and Jan by this time which is good because the cabin isn't that big inside and it was getting pretty chilly. It ended up being about 12C or about 53F. At least the rain waited until after we made it to the cabin and not on our walk through the zoo. We had a good visit with them and it was Cattis and Patrik's last night there so we headed home so they could finish packing and go too. They live about 3-4 hours away by car?

So, that should catch you up until now and it is time for bed at last for us.