My aunt Sara, uncle Steven, Ebba and Inez came to visit from Sweden at the end of June. I was soooo excited to have Ebba and Inez to play with! Although Grand Rapids is new to us, we wanted to show them as much as possible of our new city in the 2 weeks that they were here. Here we are having dinner at the Mongolian BBQ restaurant that is close to our house. Yummy!
Inez and I (and my plush dog Mojo of course) are sitting on the stair in front of our house. It is great that our new house has so many rooms. Our guest could have a big room all to themselves upstairs.
One day we went to Grand Haven. We spend most of the day at the beach by lake Michigan. This lake is so big that it almost looks like the sea! Ebba and I were so excited to run into the water!
Wow! This is so much fun!
My aunt Sara was so fun to play with in the water.
Mom and Inez rested on the beach after a dip in the water.
Ebba has a very cool swimsuit with Ariel printed on the front.
When Ebba and I finally got out of the water it was time to get some ice-cream.
And then we built a great sand castle. We decorated it with feathers, twigs and little stones. It even had a wood bridge leading up to the front gate of the castle.
One day we went to the farmers market by Reeds lake. It was a lot of fun. Aunt Sara bought pies, popcorn and cherries and we also got some bread and fresh vegetables and a few plants.
Dad finally had to buy the BBQ grill he had been thinking of getting for a long time. So one evening we had grilled chicken, corn and italian sausage for dinner.
We moved my little chairs out and added our little sde table so that we could have some fun on our own (I know we don't look that excited, but it really was quite fun!
Then more swimming, this time in Millenium Park where they had a great little lake, just the right size for us.
I love spending time in the water!
On the way home Ebba, Inez and I played in the tall grass that surrounded the little sand beach.
We also got some use of the bathtub upstairs. Inez needed some hair styling tips so Ebba and I showed her some cool up-dos.
Sometimes we were just tired though, and then we watched DVDs together Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, Lilla Spöket Laban etc. etc.
Then, it was time to celebrate passed and upcoming birthdays; namely Ebba's and Moster Sara's (from May), Inez (July) and mom's (August). It was mostly Ebba's celebration though, since turning 6 years old is a big affair (I can just imagine when it's finally going to be my turn!). Sara did such a good job decorating the backyard with colorful balloons!
Happy Birthday Ebba! Now blow out all of your candles!
The cake that Ebba picked out herself had a Sleeping Beauty figurine on it (and lots of candy of course!).
The cake was very good!
When Ebba had finally opened all of her presents it was Inez' turn. Where Inez is? Well, behind the wrapping paper of course! She is all too busy opening her presents. I got some great gifts too! Not my birthday, you say?! Hmm, true as that may be, I sure enjoyed opening those great gifts! My favorite gems: A Pippi Longstocking DVD and 2 Alfons books!!
The big birthday celebration took place on the 4th of July, Independence Day. For lunch we went over to Roses, a great restaurant at Reeds lake. We each had a little American flag to wave and our pretty dresses on.
Ebba and I enjoyed the sunshine outside of the restaurant.
Here we are, all together, although Inez, Ebba and I have already gotten tired of the photography session so no more smiling from us (there is a limit to how many "cheese" you can say in a row).
Very tired now, after a long, hot day at Reeds lake. Riding on daddy's shoulders feels good. I was in good need of a nap.
Late that evening we went back to Reeds lake to see the fireworks.
We had to sit there for a VERY long time before the show started, but once it was on it was worth the wait. Look at how pretty that is!
Taking in the fireworks show!
Hello, and welcome to my play-house, I say, as we happily ran around in the Grand Rapids Children's Museum in Downtown Grand Rapids.
Mirror, mirror on the wall; who is the tallest of them all? Who would have guessed that it was you Inez?
Welcome to my bakery, says Ebba, and serves up some great plastic pastries for us all to try.
There are only a few days left of the visit and we head off to Chicago. We stayed at this great hotel, The Wit, in downtown, and we all loved it.
Chicago meant a whole new adventure that really warrants it's own chapter in my blog so I may come back with more detail, but I can tell you we were very busy. Among other things we tried a lot of fun restaurants, like this Japanese one. Ebba, Inez and I all loved their Miso soup. Inez loved it so much that she finished Sara's portion too, yet still wanted more so Sara had to order a second bowl for her!
Mmmm, tasty!
It's been so fun to have you here, cousins Ebba and Inez, moster Sara and Steven. This week I have felt a bit lonely at daycare. I miss the busy, bustling rumble in the house, and find that I need to play extra rough with daddy each night to keep myself occupied.
But as I say to mommy: "till joooulen, we go to kousinen on the airplane". I can't wait!
