Hot Dogs and Candy

The sun has continued to shine and the feeling of Spring is most definitely in the air. I am lovin' it! We got to celebrate Easter yesterday with all our cousins over at farmor and farfar's. We had a delicious dinner outside of salmon and potato salad (plus a couple hot dogs for the kids). Sofia and Samuel love getting together with the cousins and yesterday was even more special because they got to eat candy. We've said, birthdays, Easter and Christmas then they can have "real candy". I thought they were both going to puke after how much they ate yesterday, but they LOVED every minute of finding their eggs and devouring as much as they could. Sofia especially enjoyed it since this is the first time in her life she's tasted the "real stuff". So, it was a momentous day yesterday in her little 2 year old life :). Anyway, just wanted to wish you all a happy Easter!!!

(ps. still no baby...)

Our week at a glance

A couple pictures from our week...

Samuel and Conference

Today we enjoyed watching General Conference at church. Samuel's getting old enough that he's starting to listen to what's being said and picking up small things here and there. We told him to try to listen very hard and each time they said the word Jesus to raise his hand...he did quite well for a little while. Then, he got bored and started playing with his toys, reading his books, and doing whatever else he could in the confinements of a church bench. I didn't think he was listening anymore, but every now and again, he'd look up to me and whisper small words or phrases that he'd heard or ask questions. A couple that came up: Someone said something about the "Dark Ages"....Samuel questioning looked up to me and said, "what? Darth Vader?". Then when someone used the word "persuade", he said, "what? Bruce Wayne?". Finally, when a speaker by the name of Rafael was announced, he again looked up and said, "what? Rafael, like the turtles?!". I think it's quite clear what is going on in his mind as a 4 year old...bless his little heart :)

Sunny Days!

Lately, the weather's been amazing here. Especially for Sweden! Although it's still in the low 50's, it's been sunny for nearly 2 straight weeks! The kids and I have taken advantage of the sun and have tried to be outside as much as possible. The kids are just as anxious as I am to shed our winter coats and enjoy spring and summer in all it's glory! Samuel's been wearing his sweatshirts outside (with his hat and gloves and long-sleeve shirt underneath) and loving it! Yesterday when the temperature reached 52, he insisted that he needed to have shorts on because it wasn't cold outside. He got to wear his shorts, on one condition: that he wore his pants over them, and with that, he thought he'd won! :)

Yesterday we went to a little lake that's close to us (one of the many) and enjoyed a beautiful spring afternoon with some friends and hot dogs. The kids loved it and it was so rejuvenating to be in the sun for so long after such a long, dark winter. Samuel even decided it was warm enough to go swimming (it was just barely 50 degrees). We let him strip down to his shorts (that were under his pants) and get in. Although it was freezing, he managed to stay in for a couple minutes and wade out till the water came to his knees. :) Then, it got too cold. Sofia also insisted in getting in (of course since Samuel was doing it), but was only to dip her toes in before running out again.

Oh, how we love the sun!!!

(FYI: no baby yet...but we've talked about how the baby will be coming in Spring, and since spring is here, the kids are expecting the baby any minute...but not too soon, cause as soon as the baby comes, Grandma's supposed to be coming, and she still has two weeks until she flies out...time and kids...it's a hard thing).

1/2 Marathon here we come!

The Gothenburg Half Marathon is HUGE. And each year it gets bigger and bigger. This year, there are 50,000 people registered! Chris has been training pretty well and pretty regularly, but since there's only a couple weeks left (in the middle of May), last Saturday Chris decided he wanted to run the route just to get a feel of it.

I'm not sure if his decision to bring Samuel along in the stroller was more for my sake, or simply because he liked the idea of the challenge, but we packed Samuel in the stroller complete with apples, books and drinks and Chris with is backpack and Sofia and I dropped them off at the starting point and the two of them set off. I was a little skeptical that Samuel would sit still that long (and that Chris would have the energy to push him the entire way!), but the run ended up being great for both of them. Chris said, they pretty much talked the entire time...Samuel would point things out and ask questions, and it ended up being a great bonding moment. I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed! :)

Our fam this past month.

Two Week Countdown

Wow, I can't believe we're already so close to the end. This pregnancy has just zoomed by and yet at the same time, it seems like I've been pregnant FOREVER! Nine months is a long time. And really, I guess it still could be another 5 weeks until this little girl enters this world (they let you go 3 weeks over before inducing you here!!!). But, hopefully not, cause Grandma's coming out the 18th! I'm feeling great though. A bit tired during the day and a bit heavy during the evenings, but for the most part, I feel pretty good. Anyway, just thought I'd share this picture in all my pregnancy glory! (I think this pregnancy more than the other two, I'm pretty ready to get rid of my big tummy and extra layers of fat I've accumulated).