Spring Break

Last year we camped in a tent on Spring Break but spent one night in a one-bedroom cabin. That was enough to convince Mark that until the youngest kids are older tent camping is not for us. (Compare this post to last year's adventures by clicking HERE). So this year we rented a cabin by Wister Lake - nothing spectacular, but it was perfect for our family. Two bedrooms, a small kitchen and living room and table that seated six. The cabin was built on a peninsula so we had the lake on both sides. The kids (Isak and Elina - and Anja intermittently) spent a lot of time fishing by themselves down by the fishing dock. Isak caught 3 fishes unassisted and then let them go again - happy as a lark.

We also climbed rocks by Robbers Cave, went on an hour-long horse back ride through the forest, paddle boated and just hung by the cabin a lot. Here are a few pictures. I am also posting the only evidence that I was on the trip. Two hundred pictures were taken and I am in , um, two of them. As usual. :-)

our cabin

kids' room (we brought travel beds for the little ones)

Mark's and my room

 Isak's first fish - he came running up to the cabin to show us.

And Julia.

 Isak has a passion for fishing!

 He also spent a lot of time climbing up and down to the water behind the cabin. 

 Julia had plans to join him. For real. 

The kid has no fear, and screamed when I brought her back in the cabin.

 They sure look like brohter and sister here. 

In the pitcher is Isak's fish that they released back in the water.

Detta var Anja's höjdpunkt: att rida ponny! 

Konstigt nog ville inte Julia rida. "Nej, nej" sa hon när vi lyfte upp henne.

Lika bra det tyckte vi. Hon som alltid vill göra ALLT som de andra gör.

 Isaks häst hette Patch och var den mest bångstyriga. 

Han vek av från stigen flera gånger och Isak fick styra tillbaka honom. Men Isak tyckte det vara ganska kul.

 Elinas snälla häst hette Charlie Brown. Den red Isak förra året mindes han.

 I skogen.

Cowboy-Isak.

 I klämman.

 

 Elinas höjdpunkt. En hel påse med sk Minnows som används som bete. 

Men Elina hade dem som husdjur...

 ...tills några började dö i påsen och hon släppte dem fria. 

 Jag, Isak, Elina och Anja åkte trampbåt.

 Och gungade. 

Jätteroliga långa gungor som till och med vuxna kunde få upp ordentlig fart på.

Lilla Anja fick allergisk reaktion utav solskyddskräm!! 

Till och med 3 dagar efteråt var hon aldeles svullen i hela ansiktet. 

Hoppas kunna hitta en kräm som hon tål till sommaren.

Nya Svenska Vänner

Massa svenskt prat i hela huset, hela morgonen! Jag och mamman, Fia, träffades för två helger sedan på universitetet vid ett helg-långt seminarie. Hon bor i där jag pluggar, så det är ca 40 minuter körväg mellan oss. Hennes barn är Hannah, (fyller 7 om nio dagar, sa hon) Maya, 5, och Emily snart 3. Elina fick alltså en kompis som är bara ett par veckor yngre än henne själv och Anja är precis mitt emellan Maya och Emily i ålder och hon lekte med dem båda. De kom väldigt bra överens. Jag tror vi behöver en större "scen" till Lucia tåget nu när vi har fler lucior/tärnor.

Isak hade läst ut Harry Potter 3 i går kväll (på svenska), sent, så han fick som belöning titta på filmen (på svenska) på den bärbara teven och sågs inte till mer än till lunchen. Resten av tiden lekte 6 små flickor så lugnt och fint att jag inte kunde fatta att vi verkligen hade SEX barn tillsammans. Jag antar att jag är van vid åtminstone ett par stycken killar vid de flesta lektillfällen att jag inte till fullo förstått skillnaden mellan könen. Jag och Fia kunde sitta hyfsat lugnt och samtala under stora delar av förmiddagen.

Hannah och Elina

Lipstick

A girl knows how to put on make-up, even if she's young! I think she's pleased with her look. Brand: blue Zebra stamp from a birthday party gift bag Anja received last weekend. Oh, and check out the pants on top of her overalls. All her own design.

Father-Son Bake Off

Tonight is the "Blue and Gold" celebration dinner for Isak's scout troop. It marks the birthday of The Boy Scouts of America and is celebrated every year. For the dessert table each scout was to make and decorate a cake with their dads. Isak wanted a blue lake on his cake with Swedish fish swimming in it. He baked it all, frosted it and decorated it with very minimal help from Mark, who mostly "coached" on the sidelines. Misson achieved: Isak was happy with the result.

Oh, and aren't these two cute? Julia in Elina's old overalls and Anja wearing Isak's old ones. They have been packed away since Isak and Elina grew out of them, respectively. Glad I remembered them this time around. For Julia they are the BEST EVER because she cannot take them off by herself. (The constant removing of clothes has me otherwise wearied).

Elina is Seven!

It is actually seven years since I welcomed my biggest baby on a Sunday afternoon. The Birthday went in a "Puff the Magic Dragon" theme. And she got her Swedish gräddtårta.

Officially seven years old...

 ...and the candle went out like that.

Grandma came and had cake, too!

And Puff doesn't have to worry about slipping back inside his cave, because he will probably sleep here every night. She fell asleep before undressing completely.

Friendly Isak

A boy and a girl from every class is chosen each month for the Terrific Kid Award. This month the award was for "friendly."

 

Kneeling, Isak has his butt against his heels, while the girl next to him is standing erect (just to point out that she isn't really that tall). She is, however, fast and agressive. She was one of the four girls that were madly in love with Isak last year and the one who was most incessant at chasing him on the playground, even enlisting male friends to chase him for her when she wasn't succesful in catching him. It was a source of anxiety for poor Isak. "I don't want her to chase me. I'd rather she just play with me." This year they were put in the same class and that put an end to the chasing at once, to Isak's relief.

Viewer discretion (feet)

Isak is showing signs of becoming very TALL. No surprise there, and it's not news. But the latest round of shoes shopping has me pretty amazed. He turns nine in 4 months, and he is wearing a size 6 - that would be 39 in European measures. To be fair, his soccer shoes are "only" 38s (5.5 US). I used to wear a 40 before kids, but after 4 pregnancies my feet have grown (both length and width) to need an American women's 10, or European 41. Keep in mind European sizes use ONE SCALE from babies through adults (men and women), so when Isak wears a 39 and I wear a 41 he is truly only 2 sizes behind his mother at age EIGHT. Here's a picture of his new shoes and both our feet:

Elina's 7th Birthday

We celebrated Elina's birthday early this year because the next two weekends are booked. For the first time in our family we paid for a birthday party. Elina's special request. She had once seen a birthday party group at the Natural History Museum, and she never forgot it. Here are a few pictures:

 "Puff the Magic Dragon" clay sculpture by Inger and Sofia. Elina LOVED it.

And book to match!

 All the kids, minus Julia whouldn't sit still, and Grace who left just before this was taken.

The Functional Family

Student-led Conferences

In the Spring at our school we have Parent-Teacher conferences only if there is a particular need. If there isn't, then we have only student-led conferences. Both Isak and Elina did a really good job showing Mark and me what they have been working on. Isak's class has a cowboy-theme in the classroom and this was the cover of his home-made folder filled with his best, recent work. I am happy to report that both kids are doing very well in school. They are hard workers, organized and responsible. I just turned in the application for Anja for pre-K. We find out April 1st if she got in, since it is a drawing and not everyone is guaranteed a spot.

Julia, Julia, Julia

Julia could be the star of her own blog. There is SO much material to work with. I don't usually think of capturing her antics in pictures, but this one I did. I heard her screaming her "I am very, very irritated" cry, while coming up the stairs. This is how she entered the master bedroom. It is noteworthy that the toilet ring in the picture has been retired (and cleaned) for a long time and been tucked safely away back in a cabinet in the laundry room. She obviously found it. Typical Julia. I don't think she knows what it is. She has her frog-potty and tells me several times a day that she has to go use it - no prompting from me. 

Last night when I went to my class my brand new textbook was sporting huge "hanks of yarn" in ink on the front and back covers and at least 15 pages. Isak's beloved Indiana Jones book had gotten the same front cover treatment. He came in to show it to me and in turn I showed him my book. He just sighed and said "I can remove the dustjacket, I guess."

Only a month ago Mark went and painted large areas of wall where she had colored (to be fair Anja had helped). It is time for another round, because this little artist is not lazy, no siree. And trying to get the kids to keep track of their crayons, pencils and pens that they use is as futile as getting them to close the bathroom doors. I have found Julia twice with her FOOT in the toilet, once she had shoes on (put them on herself of course) and was stuck and very angry about it. I sometimes fear for her life on a daily basis, but the truth is she is just fine if she has some attention. It is when I have to clean, cook, do laundry or tend to other things that she finds entertainment for herself. If it were up to her we would just sit on the couch and read books about babies all day long, or get pushed on the swing.