Sofiero

The last weekend in May we went to Sofiero. Sofiero is just outside of Helsingborg. It used to be the summer residence (palace) for King Gustov VI of Sweden. The palace itself was not all that impressive (honestly, I've seen much larger and grander houses in northern VA) but the grounds... Sofiero is known for it's rhododendren bushes. King Gustov VI's first wife, Margaret, planted the first rhododendren bushes. They are amazing. Some of them are the size of a house! When we were there it was just past the peak season for the rhododendrens, but they were still impressive.

We met two other American families there - the Trively's and the Andersons. My Mom was still here visiting, so she came with us as well. (Despite what she may think, I did NOT take my Mom there to torture her... I did not realize there would be so many hills.)

I left Dave in charge of the camera so that I could walk with my Mom. Here is what happens when Dave is in charge of the camera...

A lovely picture of some rhododendrens...

"A picture of a snus can in it's natural environment."

A pretty flower.

Another pretty flower.

Walking beneath a giant rhododendren bush.

A totem pole. Yes, a totem pole on the royal grounds. Go figure.

Lilli on Daddy's shoulders.

One of they many hills we climbed. (I think this was when Mom thought I was trying to kill her.)

More rhododendren bushes.

A dandelion.

Ryan and Tipton climbing the castle carved out of a tree trunk. (Tipton is barely visible between the two right-most turrets.) This is at the playground where the royal children would play.

Lilli climbing one of the more recent additions to the playground.

The view from the playground. We sat here to eat our picnic lunch.

Martin at the top of the climbing structure. Dave also climbed to the top, but sadly I did not get a picture.

All of the beautiful rhododendren bushes, and Lilli is most impressed by one of the little yellow flowers that grow like weeds.

Dave tried to take an artistic photo of Lilli playing in one of the many sculptures. I love this one.

They had a labyrinth made of bushes. Surrounding the labyrinth were several topiary bushes. Dave liked the one shaped like a squirell. We thought it was funny that they'd shape a bush to look like a squirell. Incidentally, the kids LOVED running through the labyrinth.

After the laybrinth we came upon a fountain. Immediately the kids knelt down to play in it. (Mia, Lilli, Clare)

The view out of one of the back palace windows.

Another labyrinth - this one lined with stones.

A rat carved on top of one of the stones. The labyrinth told the story of the La Fontaine's fable "The Lion and the Rat."

Martin taking a picture of Dave taking a picture of Martin taking a picture of Dave...

Lilli enjoying her chocolate ice cream with chocolate sprinkles on the lawn in front of the castle.

Jenn in front of some rhododendren bushes.

Lilli passed out in the car on the way home. Drooling. She gets that from her father...

The weather was beautiful and the rhododendrens were amazing. A good time was had by all.

Chicken Licken - A Combined Effort

Tipton's class (PYP2, 1st Grade) worked together with PYP1 (Kindergarten) and PYP3 (2nd grade) to perform little plays. They were divided into groups. As a group they decided which play they would perform. Then the PYP1 students would create a song (including music and words) to go with the play. The PYP2 students would create a dance (picking out music that "worked" with the play.) The PYP3 students would perform the play. They worked on this play for a month. They even had costumes.

The group that Tipton was in chose to perform Chicken Licken (also known as Chicken Little.) His group chose to perform a dance when the characters are running through the forest. So the PYP2 dancers were "trees." They all wore brown pants and a green shirt. They were supposed to be spooky trees. Here is Tipton's spooky tree face.

He spiked his hair that morning so that he would look more "tree-like." He turned his shirt inside out so that it would be "only green." He took his role as a tree very seriously.

Here are the rest of the Spooky Trees.

Nicholas, Noah (in the hat), Maria, Tipton, Erin and Mart.

Here is a video of their group's performance. Sadly, I did not get the PYP1 students performing the song that they had created.

Family Festival 2009

The Bladins Family Festival was on Friday, May 15th. It was a cool, sunny day. PYP2 was in charge of the Egg Hunt booth. As it was last year, the booth was a HUGE success. Several of the PYP2 parents stopped by to help out. I think Ciara was our most enthusiastic parent - she was great with the kids and made them feel good about whatever it was they had "found" in their egg.

The booth across from ours was the PYP6 Cake Walk booth. Tipton won 3 times. Lilli won 5 times. (I think we'll swing by Vegas the next time we're in the US...)

Grandma Suzie an Tipton waited in line for 30 minutes for candy floss (also known as cotton candy.)

Clare took charge of Lilli. She took her around to all of the booths. Apparently Lilli has quite an arm - she kept hitting people in the face at the sponge throwing booth. Lilli also got her face painted.

At the close of the Family Festival they have the drawing for the baskets that each class has donated. I won the PYP6 basket - a gift basket full of chocolate from The Tastey House. I also won a Family Pass to Fun House (an inside play area full of bouncy castles and ball pits.)

Grandma Suzie and the kids had fun, and I won a basket full of chocolate! A good time was had by all.

Saying Goodbye

Our good friends, the Scotts, recently moved back to the US. We had them over one last time for a cookout the night before they left. I made their favorite cake - chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. To make it a little more festive I decorated it with sugars to make it look like the Swedish flag.

We managed to get all four kids sitting on the couch and looking more or less in the same direction. Aaron, Tipton, Lilli & Selena.

Aaron Scott has been Tiptons best friend. They have a love/hate relationship. They either get along really, really well - or they don't get along at all. On this day they got along beautifully. Of course, they had to have a silly picture...

So Lilli & Selena wanted a silly picture, too.

My friend, Sam. My best friend over here in Sweden. If not for her I never would have gone anywhere or done anything. She got me out of the house. We would walk everywhere together. We'd walk downtown and just go exploring. She introduced me to the nectar known as chai lattes. She was my courage. I miss her.

But although she is not here in Sweden with me, she is still my best friend. God bless the internet!

Inspection Trolley Biking

The first weekend in May we decided to get out and do something 'touristy.' We flipped through our Skåne guidebook and decided to try Inspection Trolley Biking. It is how they used to inspect the train tracks back when the train tracks were still used. Pretty much it's a bike with a platform that 'rides' on the rails. They installed a bench seat on the platform. So one person can pedal the bike and one person can ride, and there is space for you to put a picnic basket, etc.

We started off with Dave & Tipton on one bike and Jenn & Lilli on the other bike.

After a little while we decided to change. Dave rode with Lilli and Jenn rode with Tipton.

Eventually we switched back. The scenery was beautiful.

And the ride was very easy. (Too easy... we discovered that we were going downhill all the way, which meant going back was uphill.)

We kept going until we reached the end of the track. We knew it was the end because there was a large rock on the tracks. We decided to have our snacks there. After a little while another family came up behind us. They took a picture for us.

To get back, we picked up our bikes and turned them around. At one point we came upon another group. The only thing to do was to pick up our bikes and step off the track to let them pass. We discovered that we could connect the bikes together. That made the going much easier. The kids liked being close together.

All in all it was a fun outing. We'd like to try it again - there are several different areas that have inspection trolley cycling.

Four Weeks in Malmö

Guest blogger: Suzanne Wade (aka Mom, aka Grandma Suzie)

May 10, Sunday

What a perfect way to start a vacation... in church! I was greeted enthusiastically by friends inquiring abut my surgery & recovery then happily over news of my trip. It was a great feeling & comfort to have so many concerned well-wishers. Gladys took me to Chilli's for Mother's Day... had fried onion rings... excellent! Interesting flight. The meal, which we ate at 11:15pm, had a beef stew. The meat kept "growing" in my mouth. I ate only that & packed up the rest. Sitting on the aisle the attendents kept bumping my arm with never an 'excuse me.'

May 11, Monday

Was served a ham & cheese sandwich & yogurt for breakfast. Jenn & the kids met me at the airport. They've bot gotten soooo tall. Tipton was a great help with the luggage. Lilli was Lilli. Malmö i sbeautiful in the spring... lots of big flowering trees. After unpacking Jenn fixed a dinner provided by Sam (she cleaned her frezer & pantry before moving to the US) - baked fish (that I loved) and macaroni & cheese & sugar snap peas. The sun was still up at 9:45pm.

May 12, Tuesday

The sun was up in my eyes when I woke up at 4:00am. I went back to sleep. When we took the kids to school I was greeted warmly by all of Jenn's friends that I had met on previous trips... everyone remembered me!! Today was yoga day, I 'walked the streets' while Jenn did her thing. It was a little breezy, but I enjoyed walkign slowly along the cobblestones & looking in the windows (the stored don't open untl 10:00am) I had a cup of hot tea & a pastry at a bakery & read, ate & warmed up. I bought a daisy plant for the dining room table from a stall set up in a small square.

After a lunch at home, we picked up the kids from school and headed to tennis. Tipton is improving nicely. From tennis it was off to Little Gym for Lilli. From there it was back to Bladins for soccer for Tipton. Dave was working late, so we had tamales for supper!

Before yoga - went to ICA Maxi at the harbor to finish the items for the figt basket. Chantal drove - neat lady.

May 13 - Wednesday

Had breakfast at a cafe with a buffet (Sisters & Brothers)... got stuffed. From there we walked downtown and I mean way way downtown. The people are fascinating. Some of the small stores have water bowls in front for the dogs! We stopped for a chai latte at Expresso House & split a pastry (and rested my aching legs.) We finally got to Tiger!! Then the loooooong walk back to the car. Stopped at Malmborgs for supper items. We had Cookie Monster's Mini Meatloaves, mashed potatoes & broccoli... mmmm.

May 14, Thursday

Oh! My aching legs! Spent the morning cleaning the kids desks then picked up Jenni from the train. Had lunch at the "pizza place at the harbor" (Pizzaria 01). I got enchiladas... it was a flour tortilla filled with a ground beef mixture that tasted mroe like a sloppy joe and was crammed full of red, yellow & green peppers, mozzerella cheese & more peppers on top. Served with a side of lettuce, 2 tomatoe wedges & some cucumber strips. Met with the real estate agent & looked at a townhouse. It was nice but no yard. Picked up the kids who were thrilled that Aunt Jenni was there. She spent a couple of hours entertaining the kids while I knitted. After Jenn took her to the train we fixed dinner... leftovers. Meatloaves were better the second day. I got Lilli to eat ALL of her dinner - even 9 peas!!!

Had my last "slug" today.

May 15, Friday

Festival Day! Delivered the figt basket along with the kids then home to bake. Jenn made 4 dozen brownies and 4 dozen rice krispie treats. Lunch. Then back to school to set up the booth... EGG HUNT. The cake walk (they used hula hoops!) was across from us. Lilli loved that. She won 5 times (3 or 4 cup cakes in a baggie each time) and Tipton won 3 times. I stood in line for 30 minutes with Tipton waiting for cotton candy. They had sushi, waffles, pizza, hot dogs & turkis/Mediteranian food. Jenn won a basket filled with Belgian chocolate. It was cold (we were in the shade)... I wore my jacket the whole time.

May 16, Saturday

Took apart Lilli's crib & cleaned her room. Jenn went through and weeded out the books then had Lilli weed out her stuffed animals. Jenn held onto Tipton's cow (his first toy.)

May 17, Sunday

A lasy family day. Jenn played Wii with Tipton then mowed the back & front yards. Lilli played in the hard pitching horse shoes with Jenn. When Dave finished putting the new pattery in Jenn's car, he took over horse shoe duties. Leftovers for lunch. Supper was grilled pork. I spent the day knitting Tipton his tree.

May 18, Monday

There was a special play at school involving PYP1, PYP2 and PYP3. PYP1 provided the music, PYP2 provided the dancers (Tipton was an excellent tree) and PYP3 the actors. Everyoen was very enthusiastic. Went to Lidl (the snack store) & shopped. Home for lunch then back to Bladins for Jenn to help Tipton's class with their spelling. Dave worked late, so we had tamales! Yummy!

May 19, Tuesday

It's hectic Tuesday. Got the kids to school then went to Malmborgs for groceries. At 10?30 we went to yoga... Jenn did, I walked the streets again. Had a pastry & hot tea at the best bakery in town. After yoga we went to Mr Changs for dumplings. 5 in an order, each the size of a small orange... I had beef & Jenn had pork. Off to pick up the kids then on to tennis. Next was Little Gym for Lilli, then it was soccer for Tipton. I'm tired just writing about it! Jenn had a meeting at Bladins, so I got to read the kids their bedtime story.

May 20, Wednesday

No school! Had Swedish pancakes & bacon for breakfast - delicious. Went to look at two houses. The first had an unfenced swimming pool & open sided stairway. The yard wasn't "playable." The second had a little better yard & a c9ommunity play area for the children. Met Alexandra & her 3 boys at Fun House for lunch and a fun filled (for the kids) afternoon. After about 1/2 hour we were the only ones there except for 2 three eyar old girls. The kids had a great time. I liked the ice cream... vanilla/strawberry/pear. Jenn & Dave had some errands so I got to read to the kids again.

May 21, Thursday

We're off to Lego Land! Got away by 8:00am - 3 hour drive. Went over 3 looooon bridges. Beautiful countryside. Rolling hills covered in yellow flowers... they are used in teh canola oil. People going into the park looked like ants heading to a picnic. They were even pulling wagons loaded with food & coolers. About every 5th person was pushing a stroller/baby carriage or pulling a wagon. Dogs are allowed as long as they are leashed... water bolws ar eprovided for them. The french fries at lunch were in the shape of Legos! I went on at least 3 rides. The flowers & small shrubs were incredible. The weather was perfect... sunshine & short sleeves. About 6:30pm it started to rain, so we headed inside for supper... so did every else. Afterward we toured the LEgo store - they had Legos in bins like a candy store... every size, shape & color. Prices were wild. .. Denmark is very expensive. The kids slept in my room - Tipton on an upper bunk and Lilli on a trundle.

There was a beautifull rainbow as we came out of the park.

Passed a group of antiue/classic cars... saw some really neat ones.

There were wind turbines EVERYWHERE!

May 22, Friday

Had a terrific continental breakfast at the hotel (the Zleep Hotel in Bilund, DK) Delicious fresh bread, meats, cheeses, spreads, etc with different juices & teas. Then off to the park... parked across from the entrance (the early bird gets the parkins pace.) It was cold so we got a jacket (waterproff) for Tipton. I got Jenn's sweater, so she froze, I watched the kids so Dave & Jenn could ride the big roller coaster. After lunch it started to rain. I stood under a cover while the rest wen ton a ride. The rain slowed down but Dave got Lego rain ponchos for everyone... they were very warm. After making our purchases at the Lego store we strolled through the Lego Town & it started raining again. Then it started to hail. It hurt. We finally left about 5:30pm. after the rain & hail had stopped. Stopped at a McDonald's in a small town in Denmark going home. A good, tiring time was had by all.

May 23, Saturday

Don't remember Saturday. Must have spent it recovering from Lego Land

May 24, Sunday

Had the Trively's over for girlled hamburgers & hot dogs which entailed a bit of house cleaning. Had McDonald's for lunch at Triangeln.

May 25, Monday

Ikea day! Got there at opening time - 10:00am - no crowd! Covered the entire store (I went to bed early.) Found lots of goodies, Jenn got some cushions for her patio furiture. Jenn pu the purchases in the car, then came back adn we went to lunch upstairs... Swedish meatballs... yummy. Got a package of the gravy mix that they use. Went to look at another house - great yard but that was it. Dave worked late so we had leftovers... potato salad & bbq & hot dogs while watching Ice Age 2.

May 26, Tuesday

Not quiet as frantic. Tennis is over for the season. Jenn took me to Plantagen... a huge nursery gift shop. Saw som ereally strange but neat looking plants and the most georgeous artificial flowers I have ever seen. Lots of neat garden accessories. Even a hovering lawn mower. First we checked out a rental house in Bunkeflostrand that Jenn fell in love with... also a local maket (yes, it carried her favorite items.) After Little Gym there was Samba Football (soccer). Had my choice of taking off Lilli's bandaids from Sunday's fall or making dinner. My spaghetti was very good.

May 27, Wedensday

I was wrong. Today is the day we looked at the house. Yesterday we stood around the school & talked (Jenn's Mafia.) Then we went to the trash store (like our goodwill.) Then went to Entre, the new mall... like an American mall. We had lunch at the food court... Jenn had steadk & I had grilled chicken (I still can't chew "real" meat.) We looked at sneakers for Lilli then took the 'catwalk" to the extension across the street. Went into a fantistic kitches store (Cervera) and got soem neat things. Then went downstairs for dessert... Jenn had rhubarb pie & I had pear/cardamon cake w/ sliced almonds. Then it was time to pick up the kids and make the goodies for book club. Jenn took sopapilla cheesecake & Sweet Spicy Bacon Chicken Wraps. Melisa brought a fantastic salsa (I got the recipe) & Jackie made Banoffee pie. It was exsquisit. We finally got home at 10:30pm! Had a great time.

May 28, Thursday

Field trip for Tipn's class. Dropped Lilli at Betsy's then headed for the train station. Got there at 8:10am. Wound up with 21 kids and 6 adults plus me. The train took us to Copenhagen, then we had to take a bus, then walk a block and a half to the Experimentarium. It was all "hands on" science stuff & was packed with kids from 1st grade through high school. You can imagine the noise. Had sack lunches in a designated area then back into the melee. Then to the gift shop!!! Tpton got 2 quartz rocks. Had perfect timing catching our bus then our train back. Thirty minutes after we got home the bottom fell out of the sky (rain, rain, rain!)

May 29, Friday

Off to Lund!!! Hardly any traffic in the city... college must be out. Did see some seniors - they wore white sailor caps and the men wear a suit & tie and the women wear white dresses. After the uphill climb from the car park we stopped at Expresso house for breakfast... orange juice, chia latte and a plane scone. It came with 2 slices of cheese, butter & preserves. Was delicious. Then we ambled down the pedestrian mall. We stopped in the kitting shop... oh, such yarns! I got some short #5 needles and some yarn made of Bamboo!! We stopped to use the toilet (that's how they refer to it here.) Then headed to Tiger... many neat bargains. Just down teh way was a square with many produce stands. There was every fruit & vegetable imaginable. Jenn got some delicious strawberries & some cherries - she had never eaten fresh cherries before. Back to Malmö & Malmborgs to pick up snacks for the park. 15 kids & no fights or arguments in 2 1/2 hours... hooray! Home for showers, pizza & a Star Wars movie (Empire Strikes Back)

May 30, Saturday

We went to Sofiero. About an hours drive from Malmö. We met the Trively's and the Anderson's there (Selese Anderson is an assistant in Tipton's class. Her son, Ryan, is in PYP2. Her daughter, Natalie, is in PYP3.) It was the summer palace for King Gustav. Famous for its rhodedendron bushes - over 5000 of them! Some of them were more like trees. The colors were amazing. Lots of walking. Up and down hills. Had lunch next to the small playground where the royal children would play. Had some ice cream right before we left. While we were eating the ice cream a wedding party arrived. When the old, classic car arrived with the bride and groom the kids ran along beside it so they could see the bride. When we got back to Malmö we stopped by Malmborgs for a few things, then went to the Trively's house for a cookout. We ate outside. Around 7:30 it started to get chilly, so Martin brought me a blanket - just like they do at the restaurants downtown!

May 31, Sunday

Two kinds of cinnamon buns for breakfast... yum. Did some washing & some Wii playing. Went to lunch at McDonald's at Triangeln, then WALKED in teh SUN all the way down to the large square to H&M (clothng store) then all the way back... still in the sun. This was my 4th day in a row that I have walked a minimum of 3 miles!!!! The kids rode theri bikes when we got back. Supper was rotiserie chicken from Maxi & mac&cheese & snow peas. Strawberries for dessert. I went to bed at 8:00pm... talk about exhausted!

June 1, Monday

Happy June! They got the house in Bunkeflostrand! Jenn is estactic. Took the recycle... had to go to Coop as the first place was full. Picked up breakfast & brought it home to ead. Did some more laundry. Went to the farmer's market (Molevang) in the Middle Eastern district Got a black watermellon. Stopped at a Persian bakery & bought a loaf of sesame flat bread (still warm from the oven.) Then went to a tiny Asian market for a can of cream soda... the only place in Malmö where you can get it. Next we went to Jättekul (toy store.) Home for lunch & more laundry, then off to Bladins for spelling. The kids had frozen yogurt popsicles for snack (home made) - Lilli even had it on her forehead!

June 2, Tuesday

Had to shop for going away gifts for Lola & luca which meant walking all over downtown on cobblestones. The football shop didn't open for another hour, so we walked down to Tiger then to Lagerhous, then over to the wooden shoe shop for shoes for Lola. Then back tot he football shop for Luca's shirt. Had to wait 20 minutes for the proprietor to show up then wait while he made the sirt. Then home to unlaod purchases & off to Mobilia (mall) for lunch at Knife & Fork. I had a baked potato & jenn had lasagne. Then off to a larger Lagerhous which had the candle thingies (rotary candles) I wanted. Also found some gloves for Esther! Pick up kids, home for snack then off to Little Gym. From there to football. Home for supper.

June 3, Wednesday

Melisa's going away party. Jenn made Parmesan zuchini bread. I watched while it cooked & she took the kids to school then hit Malmborgs for cream cheese for the pumpkin dip (which I made!) Finally found Selese's house - very nice. Great food... delicious blueberries & strawberries; good, mild cheese; a breakfast casserole; etc. Betsy made some thingies - pretzel crackers with a rolo & pecan half melting onto it. Scrumptious. Then met Lina at Lotus for some Thai buffet. Long walk back to the car then kid pick-up. Brought Ryan home to play with Tipton. Ravioli for the kids for supper & the Scooby Doo movie.

June 4, Thursday

Did some house cleaning & Facebook work then went to TRU for the birthday present for Oskar. Stopped at Coop on the way home for my walking sticks (finally got them to fit in the largest suitcase.) Also some delicious strawberries. Home to start packing. At 7:00pm after potato chip chicken, we went to Bunkeflostrand to see the new house - inside. There is a saunain the master bath & a 2 1/2 foot tub; an office; all 3 bedrooms are twice the size of the ones now. Separate laundry rooom; and an Ikea kitchen to die for.

June 5, Friday

Lilli's zoo trip. Dave was one of the chaperones, along with Martin. Jenn & Dave both left their house keys inside the house & Jenn had left her goat inside also. Went on to ICA Maxi to shop. Human Entrance called a locksmith for Jenn. I stocked up on coffee, cocoa, cinnamon buns - frozen & not, lingonberry jam for Melanie & me, and pepparkakor! Home for the locksmith, then downtown to Entre & Cervera to get the magnificant peelers & glass "people." Found guitar ice cube trays for Brian. Home for lunch - leftover mozzerella pie. Off for the last time to Bladins to pick up the kids then off to John Ericsson Park. Good eats. Jenn got delicious strawberries. Home to finish packing - EVERYTHING fits with room to spare. Pizza & movie night. I put Lilli's hair up in foam rollers... hope they stay in. 3 hurs later the curlers are still in! Cleane dup most of the email on People PC. Lilli had to have the curlers out - couldn't sleep on them. Had a few curls & got some pictures.