Protection Island

After spending a couple of jetlagged days in Vancouver, Anna and I headed over to Protection Island to spend some time with the other side of the family. After all of the action in Sweden, I think that Anna thought it was a little boring to be home alone with me during the days.

We managed to arrive in time to spend a day with Toby and Lukas, which Anna thought was fantastic. More boy cousins to play with! I enjoyed my time with them too, especially my morning swim with Toby.


After the boys left, Josefin, Tim and Isabelle showed up, and we caught up on celebrating Bella's first birthday. Her first backpack!

Anna and Bella spent some time lounging in the hammock and the pool,


and they kept us all busy because both of them want to be on their feet walking with pretty much every waking hour.


James and I stole some time for ourselves while mormor and morfar were up at the house watching over the girls. I won't forget those hours anytime soon - the sunset, the conversation, the company - thanks James!

Till Viggo

Kära Viggo,

Det var svårt att säga hejdå till dig, Hugo och Frans när vi var tvungen att resa hem, men jag är glad att jag fick ta med mig snäckan som en extra påmminelse av våra härliga stunder tillsammans. Nu har snäckan fått ett hus, och jag vill att du ska få se den. Jag hoppas att du tycker att den blev bra. Säg till om du tycker att det är något som fattas från huset och då ska jag försöka få till det.

Hälsa Hugo, Frans, mamma och pappa, och stora kramar till er alla från Patrik, Anna och jag.

Sweden Recap Part V - Stockholm

After a difficult goodbye in Jämtland, we spent our last couple of days in Stockholm, catching up with a few friends. First and last were Johan, Johanna and the boys who hosted us at their place. It was great to wake up to Love's smiling face and to get some more cuddles in with Linus.

We went for a very nice walk in Hagaparken - a wonderfully sunny day after a few days of mixed weather in Jämtland.



Then on Friday we headed over to Magnus, Jenny and Tuva's place in Nacka, just on the south side of Stockholm. They have a beautiful home that they have renovated from top to bottom - amazing!


They treated us to a boat trip out into Stockholms skärgård, which was a bit of a nostalgic trip for me, reminding me of the trip Patrik and I took three years ago, which ended up bringing us together.


We had a lovely dinner on an island and a dip into the ocean before heading home to put the kids to bed. Anna had a little pre-sleep on the boat, being easily lulled to sleep by the combination of the sounds of the engine and water and the fresh air.


On Saturday we headed over to Ulriksdal, for a visit with Klaes and Ulrika and family. We were lucky enough to get to experience another boat trip, with fika on the water and more swimming.


Afterwards, we were treated to dinner back at the house before heading back to Johan and Johanna's for our last evening.



Anna and Milles bonded over a car,


and Anna warmed up to Lovisa almost immediately. I think that she could tell that she was a seasoned big sister and was very good with babies.

Sweden Recap Part IV - Lugnvik

We spent a number of days in Lugnvik, at Malin and Daniel's home, where Anna got to maximize her time with her faster Malin, and Patrik and I got to play hard with the boys. And once the kids went to bed, the adults had a chance to visit and hatch plans for the future.

With a slackline set up in the backyard, we felt right at home.


Anna was very content in faster's arms.


On one of our afternoons in Lugnvik, we all headed out to Jamtli, which I have heard so much about but have never seen. It's part museum, part playground, part interactive theatre. Different parts of the grounds are divided into different time periods in Sweden, with buildings from those times and with people employed to talk the talk and walk the walk of that period. There is also alot for kids to do and an afternoon was definitely not enough to see everything. But it was a start!



Down a short trail from Malin and Daniel's house is a lake - one of the bigger lakes in Sweden. In the winter, the Eriksson's spend a lot of time skating and sledding on the lake, and in the summer it is good for swimming. We spent a couple of hours down there with the boys swimming and Anna and Malin exploring the stones of the shore.




Anna also got lots of attention from her cousins, which she soaked up. It was fun to watch her watch them - so curious at first, and then with growing recognition and delight with each additional time she met them.

Sweden Recap Part III - On the waters around Lit

We had a mixed bag of weather while we were in Sweden, but there were plenty of nice days in between the rainy ones. On one of our last days up in Jämtland, we set off on a sunny day in 'Merry', Bengt and Solweig's boat.

Anna was co-captain, helping her farfar with steering and reading the charts.


And while Anna and Bengt were doing all of the work, Patrik and I were chillaxing on the foredeck.


This is a river that we are boating on, but it is so large that there are even island groups that we passed by.


While we were out on 'Merry', Malin had taken the boys out on 'Lolla', and we met up with them on a little beach for lunch.



Back on the boat Anna wanted a turn with dad up on the foredeck before taking a break with farmor.



Before heading home for the day, we stopped off at the campground in Lit where they have a nice swimming area. Anna dipped her toes into the water with the help of faster Malin.


And we managed to meet up with Kicki and Pär, some old friend's of Patrik's who had just arrived home after travelling for 4 months through Europe in a VW van equipped with a rooftop tent, and with 3 kids in tow. Something to aspire to - so impressive!


Finally it was time to jump back into the boat and head home to Lägdvägen 33, where a dinner on the patio was in order to cap off the day.

Sweden Recap Part II - Lägdvägen 33

It was nice to have our home base at Solweig and Bengt's house in Lit for most of our time in Sweden. Anna got to spend a lot of time with her farmor and farfar, and it was so great to watch her face light up when she saw them enter a room.

Anna was a big help in the kitchen, learning some Swedish cooking from her farmor.


There were plenty of cuddles to go around.


And Anna was quite delighted that she was allowed to empty the magazine shelves onto the floor over and over again.


Johan, Johanna and the boys came up to Lit a couple of days before the baptism and so we had a few extra chances to visit. Linus was born in March and so we met him for the first time. It was so cozy having a little cuddle with a younger baby that is still in that melt-into-your-chest stage.


Love has turned 3 since we last saw him, and he is FUN! Patrik got a good workout playing with him.


Anna was gifted this little wagon from Malin, Daniel and the boys, and does she ever love it. Her walking improved hugely the very first day she started using it. And proud she was...


Visiting with Patrik's moffa was also a highlight of our trip, and it was fun to introduce him to his great granddaugter - the first granddaughter since faster Malin was born.


I got to see a whole new side of my mother-in-law while in Sweden - she's competitive! Check out the look on her face after scoring a point against Daniel...

Sweden Recap Part I - Dop

While we were in Sweden, we had Anna baptized in "Svenska Kyrkan" (the Church of Sweden). Patrik's family organized everything for us before hand, including the ceremony at the church in Lit, and a lunch for all of our guests back at their house.


One of the things that really touched me about the day was that Anna got to wear the baptism dress that not only Patrik wore, but also Anna's faster Malin, her farmor, and almost all of Patrik's cousins and aunts on his mom's side. Now Anna's name is sewn into the dress just below her dad's name.


The ceremony was very nice and Anna thought it was great being up front where she could wave and talk to everyone watching. The only part that she didn't like very much, was having the water sprinkled on her forehead.




Both Malin and Solweig wore their Lit's dräkter (the traditional dresses from the town of Lit), and they looked amazing. Anna was also gifted with a little dräkt of her own, which Solweig made for Malin when she was a little girl. It will be worn proudly!


Four generations together...


Anna received so many beautiful gifts that day, but maybe one of the sweetest was this little kiss from Love.


Anna enjoyed chilling out with the girls after lunch.


After the festivities of the day wound down, a few friends stayed for dinner, which was the perfect cap to a great day.