On Wednesday morning we climbed the Empire State Building, marveling at the sights of New York from all points of the compass; enjoying the beautiful weather - the sun, the breeze, the presence of a VERY famous person that nobody seemed to recognize and yet he traveled with an entourage of five (5!) security guards.
The kids were super excited that we were finally on our way to Sweden to see their grandparents and cousins; Amanda has finally realized that morfar (my dad) does in fact NOT live at the airport awaiting our arrival but that he simply comes to pick us up when needed - and it was needed this morning. We will be living out of suitcases for most likely three months and need to carry not only clothes for all occasions but also all paperwork that makes up a life: birth certificates, marriage certificate, insurance and bank papers, jewellery, the wii, laptops, ds games, stuffed animals, contact lenses....the list goes on and on. I still miss my shoes btw; if we're lucky I'll see them again at the end of September... A lot of luggage, a lot. And while the Newark - Arlanda flight is convenient and quick, it does not give a good nights' sleep. Hardly any rest at all actually. Luckily we did not have to haul our luggage on the bus to the car rental shop with two very tired children in tow and fight the morning commute. Thanks dad.
Seeing the sights in NYC and driving through summer Stockholm on our way to my parents house on the island of Färingsö could not be more different. Beautiful art deco architecture and brownstones gave way to fields and meadows, cows and horses, Volvo and Saab's, blond people EVERYWHERE! My parents live as mentioned on an island, a short walk away from lake Mälaren. To say that they have green fingers would be an understatement; plants grow everywhere. Lavender is planted around the house and the two green houses, there are flowers of every kind and style wherever there is a place to grow them, there are tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, melons and grapes, asparagus, raspberries, blackberries, herbs, currants -black and red, apples, plums, cherries, rhubarb - in the summer they are pretty self sufficient when it comes to fruits and vegetables and it is a pleasure and a joy to come here and cook and eat during the summer.
Our children are like most kids picky when it comes to food, especially greens, and they get most of their natural vitamin intake during the summer. Non processed, only fertilized by the compost and the occasional bag of horse and cow manure.
Summer in Sweden is magical but hard to understand if you are not born here. How can you go to bed when it is still as light as day? Marcus was so tired he was in tears and thought that when I said it was eight o'clock and bed time, it was eight o'clock in the morning and time for breakfast. To humor him I made him chocolate milk and a sandwich but he fell asleep even before the bread was ready. Jet lag sucks and the nine hour time difference between Phoenix and Stockholm is just cruel. When I couldn't keep standing midday I took a 2 1/2 hour nap; I'm pretty sure I'll be paying for that tonight. I'm just hoping the kids will sleep through and I'm not stuck playing Yahtzee or hearing the pling plong from the ds, or reading Dinner with Olivia - again.
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