Fun in the Sun in Sweden

Hooray! These past days have shown the best of the Nordic summer. Warm, pleasant, sunny, beach, good friends, family, beer, BBQ, strawberries, biking in the countryside, kids playing. Not one single second of computer games or Mom-I'm-bored. Have a look at: http://picasaweb.google.com/Sandelowskyalbum/FunInTheSunInSweden

//Hanna

Grattis min kära dotter på 11-årsdagen

Önskar Pappa från Ohio, USA

Roots and Time: Finland

The kids and I traveled to Finland last week. We met all my family except for Minna who's still in Nepal. Happy Birthday Mika, Susanna and Mom! Little cousins Sampo and Nooa, bigger ones Marc, Jan, Tuomas, Antti, Tanja - everyone was there. On Sunday we saw my beautiful God daughter Laura's Confirmation. Just like her mom, my friend Susanna, I, too, after having met all these youngsters have a bit confusing feelings of sadness and excitement over how fast time goes. And still she and I feel just the same as before: two girls hungry for life! This year we've known each other for 30 years. We just got to celebrate that - maybe a trip somewhere?!








I left the kids at Grandma's. They are having a blast at the summer place where my awesome mom and my sister in law Sirpa will take care of them and four more cousins, for one whole week. I heard Maja was lost for a while today and all the seven kids, two ladies and probably even grandpa went crazy looking after her. She then chose to make a grand appearance - from underneath a berry bush she was hiding in, happy as ever!

So hey, here I am, sitting in our quiet house, probably just as lonely as Benke over in Cincinnati. I went back to work today. The Doc is on duty again! Fun, of course, like I'd never been gone. I've been looking forward to this week for months - and still, I feel kind of empty. I miss my family.

//Hanna

Back home for the summer!

Benke said good bye to us and the kids and I had an 18-hour travel day (and night!) via Paris to Stockholm. I had, at some previous weak moment, promised to take the children to downtown Paris, since we had a 5-hour transfer time at Charles De Gaulle. Said and done, after a sleepless night partly on the air plane floor, we took the subway and got out of to the sunshine just long enough to have a picnic lunch (baguette & juice) in a park by the river Seine. Another 4 hours of traveling, 2 lost pieces of baggage (Air France, what else?), and a ride home (Thank You, Jens!!) we still had to battle with a worst kind of jet lag for another 48 hours, at least (I still feel kind of zombie). We've met our Swedish family already, a bunch of our friends, the kids have played and played and played! I've already dug my fingers into the soil of my own garden - just pulling weeds, but nevertheless I love it! I've arranged bikes for the kids - we don't have a car this summer and the bus drivers just went on strike yesterday. I've been running in our woods, Tyresta National Park, and inhaled the smell of pine trees... In other words, back to the basics - just what we need and want to have from this summer after a year in the USA. It feels wonderful to be at home again!

The last pieces of the baggage arrived today, 4 days after the AF plane landed... Good thing since we're heading to Finland tomorrow. Yes yes, I know what you're thinking - but there will be a time for rest and relaxation, later. I'll keep you updated!

More pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/Sandelowskyalbum/BackInSwedenSummer08

The Grahn Family: Eastern USA Tour

Great friends make your vacation even more fun! Lotta, Jens, Agnes and Signe visited us June 13-26. We met in NYC and drove together all the way to Ohio, via Niagara Falls. We then had a few fun days visiting the Must-sees in Cinci (i.e. Kings Island, Downtown/Mt. Adams, shopping malls, The US Air Force Museum), celebrating the Swedish Midsummer together, playing at the pool and just visiting. See you soon, back in Sweden!

//Hanna