Texas 2012

We are just back from spending a month in Texas visiting friends and family.  Temperatures were between 95-104 F.  We stuffed ourselves with things like fried cookie dough, Peanut Butter paradise ice cream at Amy’s, funnel cake, donuts and many, many hamburgers.

Highlights of the trip – seeing dolphins, circus, swimming, 4th of July.  Low points of the trip – mosquitos , fire ants, paying 5 dollars for a locker at the swim place.

New experiences this year – watching t.v. at the gas pump, fried cookie dough, motor raceway and the unique culture that goes with it.

Måns’ 38th Birthday

Last week was Måns’ 38th birthday.  We spent his birthday in Italy with presents and a great lunch in Lecce.
Yesterday was the celebration back home.  We were lucky to have a beautiful day in Katarina’s garden.  Måns made a wonderful chocolate cake with Oreo cheesecake filling.

Italy – Puglia – May 2012

We have just returned from a week in the Puglia region of Italy.  It was very beautiful and quite different from the other Italian regions we have visited.  Most of the buildings were white and we were close to the sea.  We stayed on a large property about 15 minutes away from San Vito dei Normanni.  The property used to belong to a shepherd before it was converted into small houses.  We even saw someone herding sheep one day.  They also had many olive trees and even a few lemon trees.  There were donkeys to wake us up in the morning.
We mostly ate orecchiette (local pasta), burrata (heart attack inducing cheese), mozarella and tomatoes.  Most of our meals were outdoors because the weather was so nice.  The boys spent most of their time in the kids’ pool, eating caprese, searching for lizards, and playing on the swing.
One of the best parts of the trip was celebrating Måns’ birthday!  We woke him up with presents and an ice cream cake (that lasted 5 minutes before melting).  Then we spent the afternoon in Lecce and Otranto.  A nice way to ring in a birthday!

Gotland 2012

This weekend we visited the island of Gotland.  Gotland is 3 1/2 hour ride by ship through the Baltic Sea.  Christer and Birre have a summer house there.  We had a great time and the boys especially loved all the nature!  On the last day, we visited the main city of Visby.

Max’s 5th Birthday!

April 15 was Max’s birthday.  He woke up to an egg and donut, got lots of presents and had a great party.  Max also told me that now he knows that eating fruit is good for him and now he will listen to everything I say the first time because he is 5 and he can understand those things now.

 

Easter 2012

We have had a great Easter weekend here in Stockholm, and it still continues!  Easter started Thursday when the kids painted their faces at school and everyone had a half-day.  Kids are supposed to dress as witches on Thursday and trick or treat for candy in the evening.  We didn’t have any trick or treating witches (more candy for us!).
Friday was a day off for everyone.  It’s so long ago that I can’t remember what we did!

Saturday is when Sweden celebrates Easter.  The boys woke up in the morning and lifted their pillows to find their first clue to finding their egg.  They followed different clues around the house until they each found their paper egg full of candy and toys.  In the evening we had family Easter dinner.

Sunday we went to church and then played in the park.  We might have eaten more Easter candy.  I have no recollection.  The rest of the day has been a blur of pinball and arcade games.

Monday is also a holiday in Sweden.  No plans yet.  I expect more games, more movies and sadly more candy even though we promised ourselves we’d put an end to it.  I’m realistic though and know us well enough that I am confident after lunch we will decide to finish our candy so “it won’t go bad.”

Berlin 2012

Måns and I have just returned home from our 12th anniversary trip to Berlin! We stayed in an apartment located in East Berlin which was actually a very beautiful part of town.  We went to the top of the T.V. Tower, saw pieces of the wall and even visited the Stasi museum (East German Secret Police) – though I was disappointed there was no gift shop at the Stasi museum.  I would have enjoyed buying a secret camera tie.

Prague 2011

This week we visited Prague in the Czech Republic.  Prague is a beautiful city and I highly recommend it to anyone thinking about a vacation.  We were lucky to be there in December to see the big Christmas market.  The Russian president visited at the same time as well.  And I thought all those police and snipers were just for us.  Oh well….

Prague sells lots of fun warm drinks all over town in Christmas booths – hot wine, hot mead, hot rummy chocolate, hot cherry punch, etc.  I think the booths open up around 9 or 10 so I suspect many Czechs (or maybe just the tourists) walk around slightly drunk all day.

The prices were cheap, but I compare it to Ryan Air where it looks cheap on the surface before they add service charges and charge you for bread and water.  Shopping was quite cheap though, but not the food at the Christmas market.  Måns and I paid 400 czk for cabbage and potatoes!  (Look that up, it’s more shocking if I don’t translate the price.)

Anyway, we had a wonderful time and we plan to visit the city again!