Jendy George Family

June - Home again

2012-02-01T22:18:00.010+01:00

Back at home, we visited an old church town: weekend homes surrounding a church which allowed people spread across the land to attend church--

More hiking on "our" island--

Alec found a bbq grate :)

June - Northern Sweden

2012-02-01T21:39:00.008+01:00

After Lofoten, we drove back over the Norway-Sweden boarder and made our way south-east back home.

Along the way we stopped in Bjorkliden Sweden, and thanks to Nina+Gil, Andy and I got to take an incredible midnight hike. Well above the arctic circle, for the first half of our hike we watched the sun lower to just above the horizon, and the second half, watched it rise. Truly the land of the midnight sun :)

Sun at midnight

The following day we hiked around the Abisko Falls:

Finally dropping below the arctic circle:

Storforsen - huge water falls just before home:

June - Lofoten Islands, Norway

2012-02-01T17:26:00.018+01:00

June - At Home

2012-02-01T16:15:00.006+01:00

Hanging out in the sandbox

"Big shoes" to fill, heh heh

Hiking, biking, & camp firing on "our" island

Eating cookies :)

May - At home

2012-02-01T16:09:00.005+01:00

Some of our May activities:

Playing with daddy's reindeer antlers :)

Watching the lawnmower tractor

Fishing with Aunt Renee's fishing set :)

Basketball!

Riding bikes

Finding big sticks

May - Dads Take Themselves Backpacking

2011-11-17T12:48:00.007+01:00

Jamie thinks I need to update our blog so that we can post pictures of our new baby before she turns 10. Yeah, if you haven't heard, Davin + Alec are expecting a new baby sister (--we think - they're not big on telling you the gender here!!) at the end of March :)

MAY: One of the best times of year to hike. The fresh green is bursting out, it's not freezing (literally), but still cool enough to keep the bugs in hibernation. OH, and still wet enough to start fires to one's hearts content (which I understand is quite a few for some ;).

Andy and his buddy took off to enjoy this for a two day hike (--about 30 min. from home!).

Real reindeer antlers!

a reindeer/moose mix :)

Moose!

May - Dads Take Kiddo's Hiking

2011-11-17T12:23:00.007+01:00

The snow is finally (mostly!) gone and spring is taking over!

(haha, ok this is the part where you laugh at the irony in my blog post timing - since winter is currently trying to take over again...oh well ;)!)

I was having a sleep-over with my girl friends (-to watch only the biggest, most exciting event of the year: The 2011 Eurovision Song Contest!!! Every European country preforms an original song, and then each country votes on which they like best; it gets pretty outrageous at times, haha, but really fun to see what is "cool" from so many different cultures. See here if you wanna know more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest)

ANYWAY, while I was away, Andy and another dad took our kids hiking (culminating in roasting hot dogs and checking out massive ant hills :). Following are a few pics of the hike and our "backyard:"

Hot dogs!

-training our children up in the true ways of hiking (=fire+meat!)

(This is about 15 minutes from our home, and about 5 minutes from Andy's work; we really like it here ;)!)

An Ant Hill!!

30 April - Pitea Kanalsim

2011-10-18T15:02:00.008+02:00

Every year, on the last Saturday of April (just after the ocean ice has finally broken!) Pitea has this crazy AWESOME tradition: the Pitea Kanalsim (canal swim). A canal goes through town connecting our two harbors - 950 meters in length. Fins and full wet suit are required; every seam in the suit water might enter is taped with duck-tape. I was completely intrigued when I heard about this and HAD to do it!!

We had a bbq in our backyard with friends right before the swim to celebrate...(thanks again, guys!)

These pics are from the race's end-

Unpeeling duck-tape

Davin checking out my strange suit!

How was it? SURVIVAL was my only thought! Of course "competition" was first before entering the water (-I was with some of my swim team friends), but that quickly lost place as soon as the cold hit! It took a lot to regulate my breathing (plus my borrowed equipment was super crummy - not much help) but I finally hit a good rhythm by half way and thoroughly enjoyed it from there!! No regrets on this one - an amazing experience!! (plus I survived ;)

My medal for survival - yeah!

(btw, I ended up 6th out of 20, and second woman)

There was a city celebration at the park afterwards; the second video is Davin going NUTS in the bounce house :)

The first video gives an idea of the swim (-it's really loooong, so just take a peak if you want); I was #12 :)

27 April - Amsterdam

2011-10-18T14:42:00.007+02:00

Last stop: Amsterdam

I admit, I wasn't as enchanted by it as I thought I'd be, but it was still impressive in its own right.

...I like how nothing is quite straight...

Floating flower market

(OK, so part of my disappointment was I thought the market flowers were actually floating (you know, like floating planter boxes)...oh well!)

Amsterdam is known for its tight spaces, and our hotel staircase was a perfect example (seriously terrifying!!).

27 April - Marken, Netherlands

2011-10-18T13:22:00.009+02:00

On our way to Amsterdam, we stopped at this small island town just off the coast.

The church - everything dedicated to hope for a safe sea life!

The best part (of course) - an old tractor!

26-27 April - Amersfoot, Netherlands

2011-10-18T11:40:00.015+02:00

Amersfoot was my favorite city visited in the Netherlands (-I know I said I would live in Enschede, but that's in its countryside, so it doesn't count ;).

It had a perfect mix of everything: ancient canals and old city walls, castle and cathedral - all without having to share it with too many people :)! Besides getting to explore the medieval town, the biggest treat was getting to actually sleep in the middle of it! We found a fantastic bed-and-breakfast housed in one of the old buildings right up against the cathedral in center city. It was lovely :).

Old city walls surrounding old town-

Alec's stick!

City gates-

A grey heron!

Inside the walls-

Little houses on canals-

And fountains for the boys to try and jump into-

Our B&B-

Our loft bed - so much fun! (the boys slept below)

Andy going nuts on the B&B piano ;)

Boys enjoying the B&B toys-

...MY only regret: not enjoy the second B of our B&B ;)!

26 April - Utrecht, Netherlands

2011-10-18T11:09:00.011+02:00

From Germany we drove west into the Netherlands. We spent part of our first afternoon in historic Utrecht, an ancient city which was once the most important in the Netherlands (-until Amsterdam took center stage).

The Dom church-

I like the little red doors going up the side of the church :)

(the boys really liked this garden and fountain!)

...in fact, it was a bit hard to keep them out!

In 1674, the church nave collapsed in a storm and was never rebuilt. The result is a funny but beautiful open square (surrounded by trees) between the main church and the bell tower.

This is the filled-in church wall with a picture of what the cathedral looked like before the nave collapsed-

The bell tower:

-this was once the INSIDE looking out through the main doors (through the bell tower)-

Looking "in" from the old front doors-

Bell tower - from the "outside"-

Utrecht - a slightly calmer version of Amsterdam

25-26 April - Oldenburg

2011-10-18T10:37:00.008+02:00

We spent two days enjoying Oldenburg and its surroundings.

It was fun to finally go back (after 11 years!), but I admit it was a little sad no longer being a "special" guest to the town (-as a missionary is :)!)

My old apartment (it actually took quite a bit of wandering to find it!)

The Oldenburg cathedral-

Downtown

Bad Zwischenhan-

Schloss Rastede -

This was a residence of the Oldenburg rulers; it is surrounded by a beautiful forest park.

Daddy was very sweet and let the boys decorate him with daisies :)

We really liked the horse carved from a tree stump!

24 April - Easter in Oldenburg

2011-10-16T22:15:00.016+02:00

We spent Easter Sunday in Oldenburg, Germany - where I spent my first Easter on my mission (-just after arriving in Germany). It was pretty special for me to be there :)

After church, we spent the afternoon in the beautiful Schloss (palace) Park, complete with Easter egg hunt.

This was Alec's first real egg hunt; it took just a moment for him to catch on, and was quickly hooked after that. Each egg had one gummy bear - and each was eaten in quick succession!

(mouth full)

Davin's turn!

(-he was already a professional egg-finder!)

The eggs had faces. Davin's even talked.

They talked A LOT! -In fact, each egg found had to be introduced to the other eggs...see the video below :)

(this one was in conversation for quite a long time!)

(Alec is disappointed that his candy is "all gone"!)

Walk around the park after our hunt (and sugar high ;)

Beautiful gardens!

These videos are pretty funny; the first is of Alec's Easter egg hunt; the second is Alec's disappointment that it's no longer his Easter egg hunt; the last 3 are conversations with Davin's eggs :)

23 April - Hamburg

2011-10-16T21:57:00.010+02:00

We spent a fast afternoon in Hamburg, trying to retrace some of the places from my mission months there.

Ah, Hauptbahnhof...so many memories :)

Rathaus-

Fun in the Rathaus fountain :)

A cathedral bombed in WWII that was left in its ruined state as a memorial -a very effective memorial, I thought.

The Alster-

23 April - Lubeck

2011-10-16T21:44:00.008+02:00

Next, we drove over to Lubeck to visit some friends. They shared an amazing bbq with us, followed by a personal tour of the beautiful old city (-vielen Dank noch mal!!!).

22 April - Minature Wunderland

2011-10-16T21:18:00.007+02:00

After our stay in Enschede, we drove over to Hamburg, Germany.

First stop: Minature Wunderland

This place is super-mega-ueber-awesome!!! A few years back, two model train fanatics went to work creating this giant model train world (-I believe it occupies 3 stories of a building), complete with cycling day-to-night lighting (we were there about 3 hours, but it felt like a month by the time we left! The lighting goes through sunset/night/sunrise/day - all so you can appreciate every lighted detail. So much fun!).

Daytime:

Sunset:

Night:

The boys LOVED it.

-We were all really into it :)

A Hamburg league soccer match-

A model of our "eternally snow covered north"

(-so not true! It lasts only about half the year ;)!

Alec especially enjoyed pushing the buttons...

Guy climbing a climbing wall :)

17-22 April - Enschede Holland

2011-10-16T20:56:00.004+02:00

Andy had to do a week of materials testing for work in Enschede, Holland.

This was the university he was visiting:

Enschede happens to border on my mission area - and despite living in Germany for 2.5 years, we never made it up for a visit (...we were too close to other amazing places down in the south ;). SO we found cheap tix for the boys and I and we flew down to meet Andy for the week (--it actually turned out to be a wild adventure getting there, including broken airplanes at midnight and angels guiding us through the 10 complex Dutch train transfers--with stroller, car seats, luggage, and 2 little boys--to finally reach Enschede, etc etc, BUT that was like 6 months ago, so we'll move on ;)!). Anyway, the least expensive place Andy could book for himself for the week happened to be in a countryside spa complex just outside the city (woo-hoo!!), so while Andy enjoyed time with his carbon fiber fabrics, the boys and I explored the GORGEOUS spring countryside, the indoor swimming pool, forest walks, and the hotel playground. I would move there. I even have our house picked out. If only it had mountains...haha, anyway, it was lovely.

One of our countryside walks-

Playing in the closet :)

...somehow our other pics of the place are missing, but I'll leave to your imagination one of the most beautiful places on earth (-even if it is flat ;)!

10 & 29 April - Pre & Post Easter Celebrations

2011-10-16T17:44:00.008+02:00

We were going to be gone for Easter, so we celebrated a little early :)

(...I'm always looking for an excuse to make a chocolate cake ;)

Decorating eggs!

(Andy is quite the artist ;)!)

Alec with his colors :)

After our vacation, we got this fantastic Easter card from Grandma & Grandpa George!

Alec considering the card and stickers...

End of April: Snow is gone!!!

2 April - Island/Ocean Snowshoeing

2011-10-16T16:48:00.004+02:00

A Saturday afternoon and Andy HAD to get out - so he ran over to "our" island (-ours because it's right across from our house) and snowshoed from it to another island in our archipelago.

Camp fire hut on the island

Normally (-in our winter) this would be a pretty cool "walk" (you know, "island hopping")

But the temps had finally started playing with the 0+ marks and the ice was beginning to go..!

1 April - Alec: Funny-faces + Cookie Monster

2011-10-12T18:02:00.011+02:00

Alec is a pretty funny guy. Following is a breakfast photo-shoot:

Alec is also quite a cookie monster (...wonder where he got that from ;)

We made chocolate chip cookies, and here they are cooling--

These are the photos I took before stepping in to slow his cookie ambush...!

(next cookie-)

30 March - Ice Skating on the Gulf of Bothnia

2011-10-10T23:23:00.013+02:00

Ah, home-sweet-home :)

--No more of that perpetual Spanish sunshine, give me seasons!!

(haha, I'm still not sure how serious I am about that statement...but I have definitely enjoyed experiencing natures' extremes up here!)

It was actually warming up quite a bit by now (well, coming closer to the 0 degree mark!) and we checked off one of my winter goals just in the nick of time: ice skating on the ocean!

(-By the next week, the ice had already started to melt! -no worries though, it was still VERY solid this week!)

(This is the OCEAN - isn't that nuts??!!)

Every year they plow a circuit around the islands for ice skating/sledding/walking/etc. It's SO COOL!!!

We went with some of our favorite people, and even shared sandwiches and hot chocolate on the ice (-Swedes know how to enjoy this climate ;)!

Davin's first attempt at ice skating-

(we'll try again next year ;)

We had fun pushing our kiddos around the plowed track in strollers-

-As well as just walking around and exploring-

(Alec)

-Alec's worried because his glove fell off!

Yes, that's my son licking the ice ;)

We had a TON of fun - I absolutely loved it. I mean, for a California girl to go skating on the ocean - that's pretty radical! ;)

Anyway, I totally recommend it to anyone looking to do something completely different (like totally outside their normal climate-zone!)!

--Walking back home--

26 March - Jen's Swim Meet

2011-10-10T23:08:00.004+02:00

I have had the privilege of training with the Pitea swim team. I am about twice as old as the older swimmers...but I absolutely love them! I have so much fun :)

Two days after our return from Spain, I was scheduled for our team's swim meet; I figured maybe I could count my two + weeks off without touching the water as a fantastic taper. I was, however, impressively wrong! haha, It was fun at least to compete.

The best parts were the relays: it's been a long time since our club has had enough women for a relay, so it was super fun to get everyone excited and to place well together.

The age span on our relay: 11, 16, 19, and 32 :)!

23 March - Malaga + Journey Home

2011-10-10T22:53:00.005+02:00

We spent our last night in Malaga, and were greeted by a lovely coastal sunrise...and well, I'm afraid that's all the claim we had to Malaga.

We returned our car, caught our first flight of many, and began the long journey back to the very far north. Fortunately, like road-tripping, our boys do really well on airplanes - actually, airplanes and airports are probably the highlight of the whole "traveling" thing ;)!

The Stockholm airport houses "Davin's little white Airplane" - a fantastic children's play area.

Davin initially had a hard time relinquishing sole status as "his" airplane's pilot, until Andy taught him about co-pilots. He's really excited now about being a "co-pilot" - which is good, because Alec is also quite excited about piloting the craft..!

Our last flight home...brrrrr, it looks awfully cold and dark out there! Thanks, Spain, for sharing your sunshine!!

22 March - Granada

2011-10-10T21:46:00.016+02:00

Another road-trip - down to Granada:

Lots of olive orchards along the way-

Granada

Alhambra

This is a Moorish palace and fortress built for the Muslim Emirs in the 14th century.

I have always been a big fan of our "western-style" castles, but this blew me away. The Islamic architecture created beauty in a way I had never before conceived. When the palace was later taken by "Catholic Monarchs," they inserted a "western" palace into the structure, providing raw contrast of the two styles. The Islamic design is intricately detailed and overwhelmingly beautiful; this could be heaven. The western pattern set in the middle of the other seems austere, uninspiring, and entirely lacking imagination. Anyway, I was impressed by Alhambra!

Exploring the beautiful gardens-

Davin actually got a little too into "exploring" and ended up cutting the inside of his mouth open (jumping from a little stone wall to another, I think, and landing "wrong" :(

Anyway, he was bleeding profusely, so we put a clean diaper on his face (-a pretty good idea, I thought!) and sought out help (-so much blood, we didn't know what damage had been done). Paramedics were called in...and yeah, I felt a little guilty stepping back to take this pic, but I figured it would be worth the story later ;)! Anyway, we were greatly blessed and a cut inside his mouth was the only real hurt.

Inside the palace:

Originally, every detail was painted; it is pretty spectacular without paint, but I can only imagine life as an Emir back then..!

Running laps...

Davin enjoys being our "map-reader" :)

(of course that also means he gets to direct our way!)

They were also known for their thermal baths - with these cool star windows-

The fortress section:

(old cannon balls)

The Palacia de Generalife

This is an upper summer palace, a place for the royals to "get away" from their normal palace life...

View of the main palace:

21 March - Cordoba

2011-10-10T20:53:00.018+02:00

Moving south, Cordoba was our next stop.

They say if you can't tour the middle east, then the once Moors (Arab) occupied south of Spain is as close as you can get to appreciating Muslim architecture.

The Great Mosque of Cordoba (-now Cathedral) is an awe-inspiring site with ingenuitive gardens and fountains, gorgeous Arabic mosaics, and full of red-and-white symmetric arches. When the mosque was taken over by Christendom, a cathedral was built in it's center, providing an odd contrast of east and west religious architecture.

Playing in the fountains:

and enjoying yummy Spanish pastries (in an old olive tree)!

Inside the mosque:

(looking into the cathedral-)

The cathedral-

Outside the mosque/cathedral-

Local castle-

Hot dogs for dinner!

Our very cute hotel (-some were cuter than others ;)

20 March - Toledo

2011-10-10T20:29:00.008+02:00

Next we spent an afternoon in Toledo, another ancient hill-top town.

The Toledo cathedral

Getting some wiggles out in the town square-

Davin "relaxing" with the locals :)

Playing in a dry fountain (they went around it about 1000 times...I've become quite a fan of "confined" spaces, heh heh - especially when they are self-imposed!)

Davin trying to help Alec up :)

Walk around town:

Davin was particularly interested in this store window...

Lots of very narrow, tight-winding streets

Views from the city:

Old hill-top windmills on the way out of Toledo:

18-20 March - Madrid

2011-10-10T19:59:00.009+02:00

From Segovia we drove south to El Escorial (just outside of Madrid). It is a massive structure housing a monastery, royal palace, museum, and school.

Then we headed down to Madrid.

The Royal Palace of Madrid:

The cathedral outside the Royal Palace:

Accordionist playing for Alec while we waited for Palace tickets...

(Alec really liked dancing to the music, and I think the accordion man appreciated the "interactive" audience!)

Peacocks wandering the palace grounds:

Plaza Mayor

On Sunday we got to attend church in a building that shared ground with the Madrid temple! It was quite a treat :)

...Davin really wanted to go in!

Alec really wanted to jump into the fountains...

Beautiful gardens-

What a wonderful place!

17-18 March - Segovia

2011-10-10T17:20:00.014+02:00

After our morning on the beach, we drove 7 hours west to Segovia.

The boys did great on the long car trip (we've trained them from birth ;)

Here is some of what they did:

quick stop...(changing drivers + "car inspection"...in a cherry orchard)

After a beautiful (long!) drive, we arrived late in Segovia. We followed GPS to our hotel address; people often have a "pet name" for their GPS (after all, one generally spends lengthy periods in deep conversation with it ;)!) - ours is "Ignorance," because of the "twisty" adventures it often leads (and ditches) us in. Anyway, as we followed ancient, twisty-tight, eentsy-teensy little streets up a hill that had been inhabited for more than hundreds of years, we were getting a bit concerned about where "Ignorance" was leading us (and whether we'd be able to get out again!). BUT to GPS's credit, after taking us to the very center of the old hill-top town, we did indeed arrive at the right place - and without our realizing it, our hotel was edging the town square, which was also edged by the incredible Segovia cathedral. This was the view from our hotel room:

(Andy was a wee-tad exhausted :)

-This place was beautiful! What a sweet surprise (I guess March is a good time to travel ;)

The boys were hungry (somehow not thriving on our road-tripping snacks ;) and all stores closed, so room service brought up dinner - and they got it in bed.

Alec looks pretty natural in this set-up!

The old-town by night:

The next morning:

View (from our window) across the square:

and the cathedral again:

and our hotel:

We set out for an early morning walk around the city (btw, this was once the capital of Spain). Here is some of what we saw:

An old Roman aqueduct runs from the mountains to the city center - very impressive!

We picked up some pick-nick supplies and spread out in the town square:

Then we walked down to the palace...

...so beautiful!

All of the past kings and queens lining the wall:

The boy's favorite room:

View of the city:

This old city was definitely one of my favorites - highly recommended if you're ever "in the area" :)!

17 March - Calafell

2011-10-10T17:10:00.006+02:00

A few minutes drive south of Barcelona, we stayed the night and next morning in Calafell, a small beach town.

Our apartment was right on the beach...

...and we had the whole place to ourselves!

(obviously none of the locals had spent enough time lately in our -30 degree weather to appreciate what they had, haha)

Davin and I even went for a (quick!) swim; it was "refreshing" ;)

-but no worse than California!

16 March: Barcelona, Spain

2011-10-08T21:01:00.017+02:00

Jamie thinks we need to update our blog, but Andy says it hasn't even been a year yet...haha, we'll see how far we get :)

After Andy's ueber-awesome dissertation defense--since we were in the "neighborhood"--we flew down to Spain for a week. We have learned that despite any efforts to assimilate into the European culture, we are very different. Our wonderful European friends travel to relax (i.e., go ONE place and STAY there - at least 1-2 full weeks. Period.). We, on the other hand, are like children who have won a shopping spree in a candy shoppe: MUST TRY EVERY FLAVOR BEFORE TIME IS UP!! -and must wait until our return home to relax (and recover). I'm not sure which method is better...I'm inclined to think a combo might be best; I'd like to try it sometime anyway ;)

ANYWAY, the "candy shoppe" mentality is how we came to see ALL of Spain in one week. Eight cities in seven days. We rented a car in Barcelona, and ended in Malaga. It was fast, but absolutely incredible. The following posts document that week in Spain (and we hope we convince YOU to come with us next time..!).

16 March - Barcelona

La Sagrada Familia

This is a cathedral designed by Gaudi, begun just over 100 years ago (construction still in progress). I think it is my absolute favorite catholic cathedral. Gaudi's designs were inspired by study of nature's intricate patterns and building them into architecture. The result is balanced, unique, and stunning.

La Pedrera

More Gaudi architecture

(there are NO straight lines in this entire building!)

Casa Batilo (on right)

Arc de Trionf

Just past the Arc in the park.

Too bad the boys had both just fallen asleep in the stroller (finally!).

Roman aqueduct leading into the old city gate next to Cathedral

Barcelona Cathedral

March - Officially DOCTOR George!!!

2011-04-06T16:58:00.014+02:00

Andy is finally officially Dr. George, PhD!!!

In the middle of March, we were all able to travel down to Germany so Andy could give the oral defense of his dissertation.

(This may come as a surprise to some as he completed and moved (literally) on from doctoral work nearly a year and a half ago...buuuuuuut we're understanding better now why the Germans say what Andy did in 3 years is done by most in 5. I'm not exactly sure the entirety of those involved with the involving paper work, but if YOU weren't contacted to place a signature, I'd be surprised, haha.)

ANYWAY, we owe great appreciation to all who helped Andy receive his Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Stuttgart. He was awarded a perfect score.

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

-as they would say here in Sweden :)

(-if you think you see a Barbie leg dangling just behind Andy's left ear, you're right!...)

This cap and gown was specifically tailored for Andy by the cool guys at the IFB he used to work with. If interested, he'll explain (with great enthusiasm!) the über-coolness of each of the high-end hard-to-get materials and process complexities involved in putting this together :)!

Not only was this tailored especially for Andy out of all his favorite materials, but it reflects (rather perfectly!) his personality as well! The "fluff" (-Andy will have to explain it's technical name later) on top represents a rock, and Ken (in shorts like Andy ALWAYS was) is climbing it.

It is completed with precision stitched messages by one of their multi-million euro embroidery machines.

This is our dear friend Elke. She saved us on a daily basis. Thanks again Elke!!

A similar THANKS is owed to many, many others.

Vielen vielen Dank! Tack så mycket!!

Germany!!

A quick look at our few days in Germany...

Old castle ruins in Herrenberg

I love the crooked old half timber houses!

Thanks again, Steve, for chauffeuring us around!

Trains!

In addition to seeing all of our fantastic friends in Stuttgart, no trip would be truly complete without a stop at the Hauptbahnhof to watch the trains come and go!

Flowers

On his return, Andy's company gave him these:

(a good co-worker suggested that he bring them home as a surprise "gift" to me from him, heh heh, funny ;)

some fun with my camera and his pretty flowers...

Super-mega CONGRATULATIONS, Dr. Andy!!

March

2011-04-06T16:35:00.010+02:00

Company Retreat

In an effort to "inspire unity" in their workers, Andy's company took them on a two-day retreat involving a lot of snowmobiles...

(I'm glad he got to have this adventure, but I think if his company REALLY wants to create fantastic company atmosphere, they should invite spouses (and provide free babysitting, heh heh) - I mean, what worker isn't 10billion times more effective when everyone at home is well vacationed..! I might have to write a letter, haha ;)

Snowmobiling on the ocean

Operation: Balance-the-Hoop-While-You-Can-Reach-It

It has been Andy's year-long goal to balance the basketball hoop; nice of them to pile the snow conveniently under it! Below, Andy and Davin gearing up for the task.

tools!

Playing Inside

18 months!!

-and first day of church nursery!! Congrats handsome little man :)

Mego's Hat

This is the hat Megan made Davin for Christmas. It's super-mega cute!!

!!!NORTHERN LIGHTS!!!

2011-04-06T15:56:00.010+02:00

On March 1st the sky was filled with one of the most amazing wonders I've ever seen...the whole night I couldn't stop saying: wow! Wow!! WOW!!!!! -absolutely brilliant.

My favorite memory was standing on the ocean at midnight, surrounded by quiet islands, and watching the lights dance over head.

February - Andy's Epic Ski Adenture

2011-04-06T15:43:00.005+02:00

Near the end of the month, Andy and our neighbor--as much an outdoors man as Andy is (crazy, huh?!)--took off on the truly unbeaten path. They forged 10 hours through a wilderness shared only by reindeer shocked to see others enjoying their haven. They made their way on old Swedish military skis, which are essentially snowshoes on skis. I'll leave the rest of the commentary to Andy...

February II

2011-04-04T21:26:00.004+02:00

More snow...

...but good friends to share it with!

Watching a movie after playing hard outside :)

Grandma's Silver Airplane...

Long story short: Grandma bought the boys an awesome silver airplane; boys LOVED said airplane; airplane was lost somewhere in Heathrow airport (i think)...Grandma re-sent another beloved silver airplane! (wow, thanks again ;)

(making the airplane noise of course)

check this sequence - so funny (or traumatic)!

ah, poor Alec! (he does get it back, though ;)

Electronic-Mania

Any new electronic brought into our home is preyed upon like feeding piranhas...

This is a VCR Andy brought home from work; we're not sure how well it worked BEFORE our little mechanics went to work, but it's permanently theirs now..!

..."I think this garlic press should do the trick..."!

a few other tools Andy brought home...

Alec Exploring

Alec has recently gotten in to getting into things...

Reaching for the light switch only accessible to 1-and-a-half-year-olds from the kitchen sink...a big deal for him, an immense accomplishment...yeah, I'm so happy... ;)

What's "different" in our refrigerator...

haha, one of Alec's special terminals I've just become aware of :)

Alec has also become VERY insistent on pulling up a chair any time I'm cooking. He REALLY likes to HELP!!

Alec playing Piano
One day, Alec helped himself up to the piano and went at it
super cute!
inspired of course by an amazing daddy ;)

Heart Glasses

I found these treasures going through my stuff in CA...then the boys found them going through my stuff here, hehe

(fitting that it was Valentines Day, don't you think?!)

Sunglasses

Sunglasses are now cool, too. I think they came in vogue after checking out an airplane book from the library and seeing the pilot's sunglasses :)!

Watching cartoons...

Trip outside

First we watched a tractor digging ice out of a ditch...

it was REALLY cool!!!

Then we walked...

past our house...

and a bit further...

to the sea (people are skiing on it)...

and the playground next to it

Then Davin climbed a huge snow hill

The End!

February - Winter Wonderland

2011-04-04T17:02:00.028+02:00

Late morning sunrises...

The sun would eventually show its self in the south, skim along the horizon, then set again in the south - we saw sunrise and set all from our living room window

Beautiful ice crystals adorning everything

Views from our balcony

(looking towards the Gulf of Bothnia & our island)

Walter's snow cave

and snow family :)

The temperature??

drum roll...

-30 degrees C (-22 F)!!

My eyelashes froze together...

we did like bears and hibernated a lot ;)!

But still unbelievably beautiful.

January in Pitea

2011-04-04T15:47:00.009+02:00

Talk about shock to the system -

Over 100 degrees F colder in Pitea than California!!

This is our backyard:

our growing snow pile (around the basketball hoop) in the front:

the view from our kitchen window:

cozy :)

Andy after a -30 degree adventure in the snow!

(he likes to point out the icicles on his eyelashes ;)

Playing in the snow

trying to convince Alec how fun the snow is!

car in our parking lot

A lot of playing inside :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDY!!!!!

-thanks again for celebrating with us :)

Our presents to him: giant salami log + exotic cheeses + crackers :)