summer flies by...

summer has been lovely.  travelling, swimming with kai in the sea, lakes and pools of stockholm, biking, strolling palace gardens, spending time with friends, discovering new places, dinners out... summer is flying by and kai is back to school full time next week. 

i took the time to really savor my little guy during this time.  he's growing and maturing.  he's articulate, he makes me laugh everyday, he's carefree, signs of independence are creeping in, helps around the house (sometimes), and causes me to marvel.  he is amazing and i pinch myself that i get to be his mom and explore this world with him.  

i want to hang on to this good stuff, not worry what the start of school holds for our relationship (see this post).  i'm not sure of the plan, except to remind myself how remarkable kai is, to recognize, to be gentle, to slow down and go at his pace. 

and i'll remember the fun too...

  

rows 1-2: we peeked into this place, rosenhill farm, but weren't able to explore too much since it was closed.  the little we saw of this organic farm we loved and very much want to return especially to eat at their cafe.

row 3-5: we strolled the grounds of drottningholm palace with friends.  manicured lawns, chinese pavillion, and where the king and queen reside.

rows 6-8: we explored tom tits, a huge place filled with hands-on science experiments indoor and out. kai wants to return asap.

rows 9-11: we spent time at hellasgarden with friends swimming in the lake, so lovely!

rows 12-13: we rode our bikes in norra djurgardsstaden and swam in a nearby pool with lovely views. the last pic is the only one taken from a fun afternoon on langholmen with kai.

34 / 52 weeks

kai: the other day kai informed us that he wants to be "Architect!"

h&m visit stockholm

last week, stefan's parents, harm and marion (h&m) came to experience stockholm's summer (they already knew about the winter, see here).  i wish the weather would have been better for them but we did get some sunny days in.  lots of sightseeing in a week, take a peek.

their first evening with us, we made a last minute decision to dine on stockholm's closest archipelago island, fjaderholmarna.  the weather threatened to rain all day but it turned out to be a lovely evening out.  we enjoyed a drink at the newly opened brewery, we strolled around the island and dined.  at the table we were greeted by the snappssomelier which was quite fun and the perfect entertainment for my in-laws.

we visited vintervikenparken for a delicious lunch and fika at winterviken.  with the sun shining and warmth in the air we lazied around on the grass playing games and napping.  then walked along the lake towards home.  it was a lovely afternoon.

kai says his "opa is cool"

herring!

we drove out of the city and took them to mariefred.  i had hoped to swim in the lake but unfortunately the weather had other ideas for us.  it was cold.  i think h&m had a good time nevertheless walking around the quaint small town, visiting the grounds of the fairy-tale castle, and fika-ing.

just as kai took this photo it started to rain!

photo credit: kai

varmdo is easily becoming a favourite destination of mine (see here too).  we happened upon a farmer's market where we picked up a wild blueberry pie and a bag of just picked potatoes.  the most delicious apple cider and jams can be bought at the varmdo musteri (a fruit distillery) where we fika-ed and visited the loppis (flea market).  we breathed in some crisp sea air at ingaro beach.  at siggesta gard we strolled along the troll path to find 'treasure' at every turn, ate some lovely sandwiches - the swedes know how to make a delicious sandwich - met some very cute pigs who liked having their noses rubbed, and the boys tried fotboll golf too.

this was a gorgeous tasting sandwich.

cute, right?

i found wild blueberries :)

we explored saltsjöbaden one late afternoon to pick up kai from a friend's home.  it's such a sweet little spot we had to bring h&m along to spend a little time roaming around the lake.  we stopped in for a drink at the restaurant on the dock - what a spot!

kai cooked a chili dinner one night for his opa and oma.

we enjoyed fika daily!

kai loved 'wrestling' with his opa.

h&m took time to explore a bit of stockholm themselves too.  they will know the city very well during our time here.  

i am mostly very happy that kai has his grandparents nearby and we are already looking forward to spending christmas with them.