Never Ending Daze

These long days make me hazy, foggy, like one too many cups of coffee that are just starting to wear off. I love the light, don't get me wrong, but the long days mean so so so much to do with kids. It can be exhausting. This is definitely a country that comes to life with the summer. All the events and theme parks are in full swing. The islands are a maze of opportunity in itself. The city has tons of outdoor activities, parades, concerts and festivals, and then there are the normal going to the park things that offer extra activities in the summer. I think it has to do with the fact that the country works very little in the summer. All of July is basically a national vacation month. Then, it is normal to take extra time to do all of these fun adventures on top of taking July off. It is standard and encouraged to use your vacation time on, well, vacation. So, it is fun. But, as we feel our time is limited here we are trying to see things that we would not try to see all in one summer if we knew we would be here for, say, another five years. It is good, though, if this is my biggest dilemma in life right now; how to manage too much fun!

So, we LOVED the island; Grinda. Soooo relaxing and peaceful. Our cabin was great and there were great beaches for the kids. There was an awesome cafe right by the water with fabulous, yummy food. And, as important as the food, the atmosphere was perfect for having kids. Two thumbs up on a relaxing family get away.

Rob is gone this weekend. He is at a conference in Tällberg. It is in central Sweden, in the province of Darlana, and is very traditionally swedish, or so one says. Rob called this morning and concurred. He said "it is sooo classically swedish here." I said, "like what", he said, "you know the little red wooden houses and the old streets and our hotel is from the 1400's or something". Classic.

Saniya's school is out for the summer in two weeks. I think it will be all about parks and picnics during the weekedays this summer. I am looking forward to having her with me again. Even though it is a ton of work and she kills me with the "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy", not really to ask me anything just to kind of sing song it to pass the time. Then I have to pull the "QUIET, PLEASE, I heard you the first time" and feel bad because I remember when my mom used to do that to me. Ah, the full circle of life again. Anyways, that was a tangent. It will be a fun and busy summer. We will keep you posted on what happens.

A last note. Rowan is really talking quite a bit now. He was not really talking before, just a few words here and there, and just in the last week or two he is saying back everything you say to him. It is so great!

Yasmiene