Summer Part Two: The Adventure Continues

Vi älskar Stockholms skärgård!

(Note: this post is too long for an email, so feel free to click through the website to see all the photos.)

Our summer continued with a visit from my younger brother, his wife, and two daughters. Their girls are four and six, so there were girls of 4, 6, 8, and 10. It was a fantastic visit, and it was heartwarming to see the Cinnamon Sticks play with their cousins - which they did for three weeks straight. Here are the kids shortly after arrival:

Getting silly with their uncle:

We introduced them to Fika!

We were only in Stockholm for a short time because we spent the next week in the archipelago of Stockholm. Hundreds (thousands?) of islands are off the coast of Stockholm. We rented a house on an island called Resarö, which is just a 30-minute drive, but felt like a world away. The island was peaceful, not touristy, and very laid back. Here’s a view from our balcony:

And one of our pool:

While we loved the pool and used it extensively, we also enjoyed one of our favorite activities: wild swimming. Taking advantage of Sweden’s incredible access to water is one of our favorite things to do. We went to a local beach:

And some local neighborhood swimming spots:

Don’t let the beautiful view fool you; the water was so cold at this spot my head hurt:

Mrs. Cinnamon bun earned her nickname with her marvelous baking:

And we enjoyed a Fourth of July Celebration! With a traditional American cookout in Sweden, some great drinks, and another Mrs. CB creation:

My older brother’s dog, Abbe, joined us:

Here’s a nice picture of all the brothers. Who thought we would all end up in Sweden at the same time?

It was over much too quickly, and we all agreed that next year we must stay in the archipelago for longer.

Once we were back in Stockholm, my slightly older brother and his wife hosted an excellent barbeque.

The man presides:

They have a lovely park nearby:

One of our favorite trips near Stockholm is Skansen. It has a beautiful old town with stores and houses from hundreds of years ago. The kids all loved it, and it was super fun for the whole crew:

The trip was over too soon, and we will miss our family from the US!

To be continued…