Square Foot Gardening

Have you heard of this? Supposedly you can plant more in less space and not have to worry about weeds! Some people refuse because it seems too easy, but it was perfect for Grandma and Grandpa who this year didn't have any gardening space and who love gardens. They have 3 4x4- squares (each divided into 16 smaller squares) filled with dirt and fertilization and have planted peas, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes and flowers. :) Samuel and Sofia each got two small squares of their own and have to help grandpa water it each night. :)

Dates with Mommy

The other day, I realized I kept running out every couple days leaving Samuel and Sofia and Emmy with Grandma or David so i could do some shopping. So, the other day, I decided to take two days and take my kids out for lunch separately. It was a lot of fun and they felt so special. On mine and Samuel's date, he confided in me that he wanted to take dance classes, so he could dance real cool with an electrical guitar and have everyone cheer for him and that he no longer wants to be called Samuel, but only Sam. Sofia didn't confide anything, but found a "super cute care bear t-shirt that she just loved so so much and wanted to get because Grandma has so many cute care bears!" My mom was proud of her. :) It was fun. (we obviously went to Taco Bell on both occasions so I could give my children that American experience...not many taco places in Sweden.)

Wheeler Farm

On Friday we invited my good friend, Maria and her son Max to go to Wheeler Farm with us for the day. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun seeing all the animals and going on a wagon ride. And although Samuel is NOT a fan of animals, he enjoyed being able to play on all the tractors!

What's More American?

The other day Samuel and Sofia saw our neighbors having a lemonade stand and curiously wondered what they were doing. When I explained, they got super excited and wanted to have one of their own. So, the next day, we cut up fruit into small bit size pieces and put them on a toothpick like a fruit-shish-kabob and had cold water. We put out a sign for free fruit and ice water. I went inside and let them work their magic and within 45 minutes, all the shish kabobs were gone and they had earned $3.25! (so much for free!) They were super excited and I had loads of childhood memories coming flooding back to me. Sometimes I miss being a kid :).

Farmington Pool!

Grandma bought summer passes to our local, across-the-street city pool. We have been thoroughly enjoying our time there.

Farmington 2010 Chocolate Chip Cookie Bake Off!

Last Monday Heidi, her boyfriend, and I gathered for our traditional bake off. Heidi is a two-year champion and I thought for sure I'd pull ahead this year. However, sad as it may be, she won yet again this year! She and her boyfriend had come up with a killer recipe that apparently I simply couldn't compete against.

Our judges. We invited the neighbs over and had a 5 man panel of judges equipped with score sheets and glasses of milk. We had them rate appearance, taste, texture and overall. Last minute we threw in a third cookie in the running comprised of both doughs (it came in last).

My results (let it be known that I did come in a close second!) I don't have any pictures of Heidi's unfortunately....

Cousins get-together/Sleepover

Yesterday was a fun day for us. We had a little cousin get-together and it was so fun seeing all my cousins' kids. There are so many of them! And it was great getting caught up on everybody we hadn't seen for so long. (unfortunately, our outside, fun BBQ/swimming party turned into an indoor crazy house cause it was raining and cold all day! Today there are East Winds!!! I came out here for the sun, come on Utah!!!)

After everyone went home, Samuel, Sofia and I went to Heidi and Steve's for a sleepover. Dave came too, but ended up going back home to grandma's at 1:00 am, so he could be home to help with Emmy in the morning cause Grandma and Grandpa were leaving early (she wasn't invited to Heidi's cause she's not 3).

The kids got to have pizza and watch Cars! They LOVED it! After they were asleep Heidi, Dave and I went out to Olive Garden and then came home and played games. It was so great hanging out with my siblings.

Scripture Hero Parade

Samuel and Sofia got to participate in the primary activity this month. They had a parade and had each kid dress up like their favorite scripture/church history hero and walk up and down the street as all the parents were on the sidewalks waving as they went by. Samuel was set on being Helaman and Sofia just wanted to be a princess, so she got to be Queen Esther. It was adorable and they had so much fun!

Pedicures!

For my mom's birthday Heidi and I gave her an afternoon of pedicures and manicures...here's the results :). The French nails are mine, the red ones are Heidi's and the little ones are Sofia's. We came home and showed off our cute little tosies to Sofia and she was so envious she just had to have hers done too. Aunt Heidi was all too happy to help her out. (Sorry Chris, this is what your girls are doing while you're home in Sweden working your little heart out!)

Trade in Lagoon for hiking any day!

So, for Christmas Uncle Steve gave the kids a day at Lagoon (Utah's version of Liseberg) as a present to be cashed in when we came out this summer. Yesterday was supposed to be our day to cash in, so we packed a lunch and headed over all excited to go on some rides. However, once we got there, we found out it was Lagoon Day, which means, it was only open to the different schools for field trips. We also disappointingly found out that Farmington residence no longer walk into the park for free! It pretty much costs the same for an all-day pass, which is ridiculous! So, we decided to boycott the whole idea and went on a short little hiking trip instead. I was in my element. I love the mountains and have sorely missed not having them in my backyard in Sweden.

Grandma and Grandpa's swing set!

The kids are loving it!

Memorial Day

This year for Memorial Day, we all went up to Great Grandpa Alder's and spent the morning doing yard work and the afternoon having a BBQ and enjoying our cousins we haven't seen in a long time! It was so great for me to be able to be around the cousins again and just hang out. I really like my family.

When we went to the cemetery and Samuel saw all the American flags, he wondered where the Swedish flags were. It's been interesting being here, especially celebrating this American holiday. I'm glad my kids are being exposed to their American roots. Yesterday Steve took Steve out and taught him baseball and American football. Samuel's a fan.

Wish I had more time to write. I have had so many thoughts and feelings....

I'm re

We have arrived!

After a literal 24-hour long trip we have finally made it to America. The kids did pretty okay on the long flight, but I am soooo glad Uncle Dave was with us. I could not have done it alone. We are so happy to be here and I think we've finally made it over our jet-lag. So, let the summer begin America, we are here!