Wow, it has been SO LONG since I last posted! What a loser! ;D Well, since I've last posted, we've had Swedish Midsummer, Claes' birthday, and several fun excursions in addition... I have been keeping busy!
Midsummer was quite the experience... I have uploaded lots of pictures that you can see in the Daniel and Lana's Pictures tab at the top of my page, but this is one I just had to share on here!
I didn't quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be a ton of fun! It was raining the days before, and we decided to chance the 7 hour drive to the West Coast anyway... I'm glad we did, because the weather turned to beautiful sunshine a few hours shy of when the festivities would normally begin... Wow! Talk about lucky! Anyway, during this traditional cultural experience, I danced around a cutely-decorated tree-post thing to the tune of several Swedish songs I did not know, dancing like a pig and a frog, and then played tug of war, and then an easy version of baseball they call Brännboll (literally: Burned Ball)... During one of these games I slashed my left shin, and I now have a lovely little scar to remind me of all the fun I had this day ;) During dinner we ate crawfish and shrimp, and sang some more traditional Swedish songs, and stayed up late discussing politics and why Sweden is so much more intelligent than the rest of the world... Not really, but the current events of America and its current administration did come up, as well as the healthcare situation, and it got a bit awkward, as these discussions usually do. Don't worry though, I represented you all very well! Here's to an American sticking up for her country during a Midsummer celebration in Sweden! Oh and by the way... This lovely guy was totally my lunch! Skål!
The sunday following, we celebrated Claes' birthday the traditional Ankarcrona way, complete with morning breakfast, cake, presents, and birthday wreath :) After church that evening, we had a lovely dinner, to which Claes' mother came, and presented him with a Wii! He was so jazzed :)
Most recently we went to a beautiful island called Dalarö, where Claes' mother lives during the summer... It was an amazing day! From enjoying a walk in the cute little town, to sweating half my body weight in the sauna, to having a quick swim in the cool ocean water, to catching my very first fish.. Uh oh wait, what did I just say? Catch my VERY FIRST FISH??? Yes, folks, its happened... I can finally add my name to all the fishing greats, because I caught a bonafide WHOPPER! See for yourselves:
Ok so he's no Jaws, but he's still a rather sizeable fish for a first catch! Don't fret though, PETA and animal sympathizers of the world... He was thrown back! He better thank his scaley fins he has too many bones to be a fish for food, or else he would have been our dinner, without a doubt! Yes, I've said it! ;)
Today I braved the raging sea and canoed through my very own rendition of "The Perfect Storm" ... A youth get together had been planned for today, and although there was slight rain earlier and end-of-the-world wind, the canoeing had gone ahead as scheduled... We set off with the wind in our faces (as opposed to the more attractive "At our back" situation) and struggles through a little over an hour of paddling for our lives. I was fully prepared to quit paddling and assume ourselves for stranded, and soon after ward dead, but due to my innate survival instincts (and Daniel paddling ferociously behind me) we made it all the way to shore... At which we were greeted by a relaxed and composed Pethrus, lounging on a bench in the sunlight. He apparently got to skip the fight for your life paddle hour we had just endured, and rode his bike over to meet us for a hot dog grill. Some Swedes have all the luck ;) No, it was actually very fun, if at the very least massive workout for the upper body! Here's a fun photo from the day:
Aaaargh! ;D
Midsummer was quite the experience... I have uploaded lots of pictures that you can see in the Daniel and Lana's Pictures tab at the top of my page, but this is one I just had to share on here!
I didn't quite know what to expect, but it turned out to be a ton of fun! It was raining the days before, and we decided to chance the 7 hour drive to the West Coast anyway... I'm glad we did, because the weather turned to beautiful sunshine a few hours shy of when the festivities would normally begin... Wow! Talk about lucky! Anyway, during this traditional cultural experience, I danced around a cutely-decorated tree-post thing to the tune of several Swedish songs I did not know, dancing like a pig and a frog, and then played tug of war, and then an easy version of baseball they call Brännboll (literally: Burned Ball)... During one of these games I slashed my left shin, and I now have a lovely little scar to remind me of all the fun I had this day ;) During dinner we ate crawfish and shrimp, and sang some more traditional Swedish songs, and stayed up late discussing politics and why Sweden is so much more intelligent than the rest of the world... Not really, but the current events of America and its current administration did come up, as well as the healthcare situation, and it got a bit awkward, as these discussions usually do. Don't worry though, I represented you all very well! Here's to an American sticking up for her country during a Midsummer celebration in Sweden! Oh and by the way... This lovely guy was totally my lunch! Skål!
The sunday following, we celebrated Claes' birthday the traditional Ankarcrona way, complete with morning breakfast, cake, presents, and birthday wreath :) After church that evening, we had a lovely dinner, to which Claes' mother came, and presented him with a Wii! He was so jazzed :)
Most recently we went to a beautiful island called Dalarö, where Claes' mother lives during the summer... It was an amazing day! From enjoying a walk in the cute little town, to sweating half my body weight in the sauna, to having a quick swim in the cool ocean water, to catching my very first fish.. Uh oh wait, what did I just say? Catch my VERY FIRST FISH??? Yes, folks, its happened... I can finally add my name to all the fishing greats, because I caught a bonafide WHOPPER! See for yourselves:
Ok so he's no Jaws, but he's still a rather sizeable fish for a first catch! Don't fret though, PETA and animal sympathizers of the world... He was thrown back! He better thank his scaley fins he has too many bones to be a fish for food, or else he would have been our dinner, without a doubt! Yes, I've said it! ;)
Today I braved the raging sea and canoed through my very own rendition of "The Perfect Storm" ... A youth get together had been planned for today, and although there was slight rain earlier and end-of-the-world wind, the canoeing had gone ahead as scheduled... We set off with the wind in our faces (as opposed to the more attractive "At our back" situation) and struggles through a little over an hour of paddling for our lives. I was fully prepared to quit paddling and assume ourselves for stranded, and soon after ward dead, but due to my innate survival instincts (and Daniel paddling ferociously behind me) we made it all the way to shore... At which we were greeted by a relaxed and composed Pethrus, lounging on a bench in the sunlight. He apparently got to skip the fight for your life paddle hour we had just endured, and rode his bike over to meet us for a hot dog grill. Some Swedes have all the luck ;) No, it was actually very fun, if at the very least massive workout for the upper body! Here's a fun photo from the day:
Aaaargh! ;D
WOW, I was holding my breath while reading your daring fight for survival. Thank God you made it.
I hope you're wearing a hat to protect that pretty little face from the sun and wind burn. You are really going to have some muscles to show off.
You are making so many wonderful memories. So happy for you, but miss you terribly.
Thanks for taking the time to share your adventures and pictures with us.
Love you.
Nonnie
FINALLY!!! Some people thought you might have died... not me of course, but some people!!! Great update, just a little tardy! ;-p