Forest Walk...

to me... this is what matters most...
I love my sweet little family!
gosh, the fun we have had on this vacation has been fantastic!

we have seen so many things, done so many things, and seen so many people...

but a nice walk in a forest is always the highlight!

I love how small my girls look in a huge forest... even I feel so tiny... so powerful these trees feel... the nature you hear.

I love how our girls plow through so comfortable as the trees surround them almost like they're being hugged.
We have always taught them to be kind to Mother Nature... respect her and she will be kind to you...
It's a beautiful thing when your hike takes twice as long because your girls have to move the giant snails from the trail to help Mother Nature... EVERY snail! ;-)



I love a forest but not as much as Pappa Bear...
He could probably live forever in a forest...
He has always loved them always will... I love how happy he is in the wild... like a kid again... showing our girls all of the trees, the moss, looking for forest fairies.



I love the sound of the thud... the hollowness of your steps... a good mossy forest can do just this... as you step there is this thud and you can't help but wonder what is below...
then a crackle as you step on a frail stick that was ready to leave it's tree... pop!





and then... there it is... you reach the top!
You feel SO alive!
to share these moments and take them in with our family is truly enough! I love how we appreciate nature and love to be in it...
we don't care if our shoes get mucked... we scrape a knee... it's always so worth it... it always is so beautiful!





to explore this world... to have such a passion to show our children and experience things together inspires us so much!



and then a stop by at a cookie buffet... yes you read that right!
In Sweden when you properly go to have cookies there are "cookie buffets" ... you go for coffee and walk up to a table full of cookies... BUT there HAS to be SEVEN different cookies... not six... not eight... but SEVEN! then it's official!
I love this tradition... and I love the cookies!

rain doesn't stop these Swedes!

it's so inspiring these Swedes... when the rain comes pouring down... they don't run for cover...
instead they put on their rain gear and head outdoors!

ok... not as much as if the sun is shining but really... if you need to get to the store... on with the rain boots... dog needs a walk.. get the umbrella!

This visit has been a tad on the rainy side... I forgot what that was like after last summer's visit... last year was so crazy hot that I even had to buy extra tank tops!
this year I bought rain jackets...

it's not like we come to Sweden for an exotic vacation on the beach... so we don't mind too much...

but we have 3 days left in this beautiful country and a little sunshine could be a fun finale!... crossing fingers!

This was at our friends' Annual Gris Fest... (Pig Roast)... lots of fun games and lots of amazing food with amazing friends!

little visit...

sweet sweet visit with our sweet sweet friends...

friends...

it's so funny how small this world really is...
back FIVE years ago we were pregnant and were searching for the perfect way to have a baby... then... we discovered a beautiful Birthing Home!
we met the midwife... who I met a bit before... Heidi... we had something in common... we were together with a Swede!
when I found out that she would be our midwife it was like magic!
I was so happy!
then... her and her family decided to move to Sweden... to a village quite close to where we visit every summer... SMALL WORLD!

So every year when we visit we make sure to get in touch and visit this sweet family!

there is something about being friends with a woman who was present on one of most beautiful days of our lives... she was there... sharing our joy... sharing our tears... being strong for me too!
When I see our little Isabelle that this woman was present for her birth... it's fantastic!



this year a beach picnic was in order!





and now our children are friends.

the lake...

this was a beautiful day... a day we will remember.
do you have certain days that you really HAVE!
a day where you just eat up every bit... every crumb!
you can just sit there and think... I am lucky to be here... to be me!
this was one of those days!

Pappa Bear is from this sweet little village in the southern part of Sweden... Sövde. It's small, it's wholesome, it's beautiful!
We both, even though totally different, grew up a little similar...
the way kids need to grow up!
being free...
he often tells me stories of wandering in the forest as a small boy... exploring and enjoying life. There are often stories of the lake... and this is just where we went this day...
It was so fun to show our girls this place... for him to tell us how this very lake that our legs are dipped into freezes so hard in the winter that he would skate all day upon!

it's beautiful to have a gentle childhood... to have happy memories of simple times... we had this... our wish for our girls too... is to have just this...







then a little stop by the Cider Mill... was the ending to perfection! we sampled the most delicious juice I have ever tried... apple juice... something so simple could be something so amazing!
It tastes so crisp, so clean, you can't help but imagine this glass you are drinking a glass of pure apples... you think of the apples on the trees... the apples being smashed, popped, delicious scrumptious bits of YOW!
I wish I could pack my suitcase with 20 bottles!!! ration them out to a glass a day... but then it wouldn't be special now would it...

a nice visit...

a nice visit at some friends... lots of children running every which way... lots of giggles... lots of hopping on the trampoline... picking berries! so beautiful!



I love this picture... there is so much happiness here! pride! Our oldest, Isabelle, has always wanted a butterfly to land on her... well it happened!





can you believe how beautiful this little boy is... this family makes some gorgeous babies!







just so much happy fun times! making memories, remembering old times and making new ones! that's what life is all about!

playsilk fun!

playsilks
a must!

We love our Playsilks! One of the best things I have ever bought our children! It's instant magic! Instant make believe! Once they place them on their shoulders, tie them on their heads, twirl them about... they begin to giggle, run, play!
They're easy to pack... easy to play! So FUN!

and as for the smoked salmon... mmmmmmm!

picnic.....

what a beautiful night this was! just a little bike ride away was an outside concert in the park... so we loaded our picnic baskets and packed the big blanket and away we went!
could be one of my most favorite ways to spend the afternoon/evening...
I love a picnic... good food spread all about... laying in the grass... being together.
when there is music to listen to it just makes it even better!
Our girls just ran about meeting other children...
playing house under their tree... the branches hung all the way to the ground which felt like a real house to them.

Do you ever get down low with your children and actually see what they are seeing? Try it... it's a beautiful magical world down there...
Things look so different.
I thought about this, this evening as they were opening and closing their branchy door... it was so fun!
They climbed up the trunk to their bed... they cooked dinner with their sticks and leaves... they laughed just like little girls do.
They were children being children!

So the night went on and our girl's feet got blacker and blacker... well used feet... toes that do not touch each other with so much grass and sand in between... knees with scars... legs with scratches... finger nails needing a trim with so much dirt underneath and palms of hands green from the grass... this is childhood...

it was a beautiful evening...