Easter then Welcome Spring

Can you believe it's May already?  It is true that the older I get, the quicker the days seem to fly by.   The Payne's covered a lot of ground in the month of April..... and we are so excited as we look forward to the next three months.  We will host a large number of guests this summer and we are thrilled.  Our first guests, Sandi and John, arrive in just three weeks.  The boys can't wait to not only see Gamma and Pop Pop, but to show them around our stomping grounds.  Since I was blessed with two wonderful sets of in-laws, I'm thrilled to have just spent a week with Steve's dad and Barb, and now will spend three weeks with his mom and John.  Stay tuned for a complete tour of Sweden as we show our guest around this wonderful, amazing country we live in.

Now let's go back a few weeks to when the boys celebrated the arrival of spring with Crazy Hat Day. My friend Nancy, whom I met in Stockholm (even though she lived in Atlanta at the same time as us) has three daughters.  One of her daughters needed community service hours (all middle school students need a certain amount of hours each year as part of their requirement to graduate) so she made the hats for the boys.  They not only came out fantastic, but they fit their heads perfectly.

Smith's hat kept poking everyone

Chase and Ms. Jeanna added their own touches

The next day we flew to Amsterdam where we spent one day exploring the city before heading to Florida to spend the week with Bebop and Kiki.  I went in with very low expectations of Amsterdam.  It has never been a city I've cared either way about, but I did always want to see the Anne Frank House.  We woke up in Amsterdam to beautiful, sunny skies.  The first stop was the Anne Frank House.   I tried to order tickets online to prevent waiting in the queue (what the lines are called in Europe) but the entire month of April was sold out.  Knowing that the line would be at least an hour, possibly more, we headed to the House to see how long it actually was.  We walked around one building, then another, and then through a square to find the end of the line.  Steve looked at me and said,  "I'm sorry... I knew you really wanted to see this".  Which is when I looked back at him and said, "Yes, I'm waiting on this line.  Take the boys to the park and explore the city.  I'll text you when I'm 20 minutes from the door and you can walk back".  He thought I was insane, but I knew it was now or never for this one museum that I wanted to see.  During my two hours of waiting, I made some wonderful friends from England and France.  We had a great time getting to know each other and sharing our travel stories.  A nice touch was when the museum provided free WiFi once we hit the 45 minutes to go mark.  Steve and the boys walked around and  at the exact time that they arrived at the park, my text came in saying they needed to head back to meet me.  Poor guys!  In the end it was perfect timing, they met me at the very front of the line and we all went in and enjoyed the museum.  Jake and I were a lot more intrigued by it since we have been reading The Diary of Anne Frank for a few weeks now.  It made the book come to life when we were able to stand in the rooms and see the conditions in which these people had to live.  

With all that history we worked up an appetite.  The weather was so pretty, with sunny skies, that we thought it was a good idea to eat outside on one of the many patios around the city.  Within minutes of sitting down, the wind picked up, the sun hid behind big clouds, causing the temperature to drop about 10 degrees.  We received our drinks, and we all tried really hard to stay outside, but the weather won, and we asked if we could move inside.  Either way, we had a great meal, and we enjoyed the atmosphere of the city.  

After lunch we strolled the streets and this is when Amsterdam won me over.  The brick and cobblestone streets made me feel like I was in a story book.  There were a number of walking bridges with old fashioned bikes chained to them.  The trees were beginning to bloom and I knew before long this city would be vibrant with color.

Smith and I standing on a walking bridge

The water throughout the city was so peaceful

We then stopped at an outdoor patio for dessert.  I ordered an Irish coffee and it about blew my socks off, it was VERY strong.  It did warm me up though, so I wasn't cold on the patio anymore.  The boys enjoyed pastries (we almost fed them brownies with pot... it's a good thing I read the fine print) and everyone was happy.  The sun was beginning to set and the city took a turn from beautiful streets with tourists strolling, to loud and rowdy people going out for the night.  Definitely time to get the kiddos back to the hotel for our early morning flight to the US.  In conclusion,  I like Amsterdam a lot, during the daylight hours.  

These Dutch shoes made us all laugh!

This looks like trouble!

Call me crazy, but I actually like the plane ride from Amsterdam to Atlanta.  It's nine hours, I know.... but it's one of the few times I am able to sit and watch movies, read books, have snacks and drinks served to me, AND.... all my kids are happy!  The boys have become great little travelers.  They help with the luggage, know the ins and outs of the airplane, Smith especially, will sit next to strangers without complaining, and they go to sleep when we tell them it's time to shut it all down.  

Sweet Chase taking a snooze in the plane

We had a great time in Florida, well.... everyone except Steve.  We arrived on Sunday night and by Monday night he was feeling tired and achy.  He did not get out of bed (except to go to the doctor) until Saturday morning.  We had to extend our trip a few days because he was to sick to travel.  To this day, we are not sure what he actually had, but we do know it kicked his butt.  He rallied and flew home on Easter Sunday, but then went straight to bed and didn't get out again until Wednesday.  Other than a lingering cough, he is finally back to normal.  

The rest of us enjoyed our time with Bebop and Kiki... and Aunt Dee Dee who came to visit for a few days.  The boys always love hanging with Dee, she's so fun and easy to be with.  We played in the pool, went shopping, walked on Flagler Avenue, watched movies with Bebop, played games, and had an amazing visit.  I was given a whole day of beach time Monday before Steve got sick.  Since nobody wanted to come with me, I read my book and enjoyed my favorite place in the world... the beach!!!  I also got a mani/pedi which made my day even more fabulous!

Using Bebop's head for balance

Smitty will surf one day... I'm sure of it

Chase has amazing balance

Chase loves his Bebop

Bebop and Kiki

Me and Dee

Since Easter was spent on the plane, we decided to have our Easter egg hunt a day early.  We didn't have baskets, but the boys were just as happy with their plastic bags.  

These were waiting for the boys when they came home on Sunday.  Swedish Easter "baskets" are these large eggs, so we went the Swedish way this year.  There were very few restaurants open Easter Sunday, but we found a yummy little Italian place called Lilla Capri.  I walked down, ordered us a little meal, and we humbly spent Easter eating, unpacking, and trying not to nap from the jet lag.

Swedish style Easter baskets

The boys always have a harder time adjusting to the travel on the return trip.  Someone told me that the jet lag will last the amount of days that is equal to the time difference in the place your flying from.  Since the east coast of America is a six hour difference from Stockholm, it takes roughly six days to get body clocks reset.  I would say that is accurate.  The first night, the kids are wiped out so they fall asleep without a problem.  The next three to four nights, they are up at midnight frustrated that they've been in bed for hours and can't fall asleep.  The next few nights they are able to fall asleep around 9:00 or 10:00, but they are still very tired during the day.  In the end, we adjust, and life gets back to normal for everyone.

The best part of coming home was unpacking the two large suitcases full of American goodies.  I always use our trips back home as a chance to restock on all of the essentials that we are so accustomed to.  We also went on a nice shopping spree and bought a bunch of spring clothes, paying half the price of what it would cost here in Stockholm.  Steve was not happy with me, once again, for buying more things than we had suitcases for, but we managed to borrow one from his dad, and also had time to run to JC Pennys about an hour before our flight took off, since our suitcase weighed over 90 pounds. They wouldn't let us check a bag that heavy.  Can you imagine his mood when he and his dad had to drive to the store, buy a suitcase, and repack in the airport... plus he was still sick.  

Unfortunately, we are officially out of our favorite peanut butter.  I packed 24 jars of 365 (Whole Foods) peanut butter when we moved here.  We just finished our last jar.  Since there isn't a Whole Foods in New Smyrna Beach, we weren't able to bring anymore back with us.  It's kind of good though, Steve might have divorced me if I had anymore things for him to pack.  We bought some Swedish peanut butter and will be using that until we can stock back-up on old faithful!

So yummy!!!

Easter Monday is a Swedish red day, no school or work.  The weather was amazing so Lori and I met in Vasaparken for a workout while the kids played.  Cody, Lori's son, kept an eye on Chase for me.  The sun is shining regularly now, so everyone is out catching rays every chance they get.  The parks are constantly packed with people, as are the bridges and open grass near the water.   Daylight hours have increased drastically in the past few months.  Sunrise was at 4:42am today and sunset 8:46pm.  My "eye bras" (as Steve refers to them) are working like a charm.  I've been wearing them everyday since we moved here so that I was completely used to sleeping in them by the time I needed to wear them.  It is very bright in my room in the mornings. 

The parks are full of people again

I have spent a lot of time in these blogs explaining how the Swedes are not the friendliest people, but I'm not sure that's the right way to describe them.  When you get to know a Swede, they are extremely nice!  However, they will not go out of their way to befriend you.  Now that daylight is in full force, I'm noticing a friendlier atmosphere around town.  In the past few weeks alone, different people have spoken to me on the bus and train.  I've had a few people even say hello to me when they passed by.... of course I initiated the "hello", but they reciprocated, and that's all that matters.  I'm seeing a general sense of happiness.... smiling faces.  I guess it's the end of the long, dark winter, so everyone is feeling cheery. 

The cherry blossom trees are absolutely beautiful and you can only see them in full bloom for a week or two.  Chase's class walked to Kungsträdgården to see them last week and they were amazing.  Chase will spot them in all the parks now and say, "Mom, look at the blossoms".

Chase's class sitting on the bleachers at the park

Tuesday it was back to school for the boys.  Chase had Pedro's birthday to look forward to after school.  We all walked to the party from school and all three boys were invited to stay and have fun.  It's very customary here in Stockholm for all the family members to be invited to a birthday party.  Since most of Chase's friends have big brothers Jake and Smith's age, it was fun for everyone.  Chase just adores his little friend Pedro!

Friday, Monica invited us over to her house for Fika.  The weather was perfect so we sat on her patio and caught up on all of our travels.  Traveling here is quite different than the trips we took in America.  Dubai, Netherlands, Spain, Greece, and Prague were just some of the many places traveled to this month.  Others stayed right here in Sweden, and explored this beautiful country that we live in.

Monica's house for Fika

Love this city when the sun is shining

The week was full of sun and warm temperatures.  What I keep forgetting is that the hours between 11am-3pm are the warmest.  After 3:00, the wind starts to kick in, and by 6:00, it's quite cold again.  Since I'm desperate for summer to arrive, Steve and I were convinced that the weather was going to be warm on Friday evening so we went to an outdoor restaurant on the water.  The scenery was amazing, the place was packed, and not many people seemed to mind that it was cold.  Once again, everyone just wanted to be outside.  A year ago I would have made fun of this, now, I am becoming one of the crazy ones.  

picture of the restaurant, which is a dock

Smitty and me

the sun was still on our table, so not too cold yet

me and chase before sitting down

Smitty enjoying the view

Sunday rolled around and it was 71º F.  I didn't care what we did or where we went, but we WERE going to spend the entire day outside.  These warm temperatures are few and very far between, so we were making the most of this day.  We packed our soccer ball, football, and snacks, and the boys rode their bikes and scooters to Rålambshovsparken, my favorite park here in Stockholm.  It's a very short distance from our apartment.  Åsa, Jimmy and Liam met us there and we enjoyed an amazing day at the park.  

Bringing a little bit of America to Sweden

boys throwing the football

tons and tons of people were here with us

Wednesday evening was a holiday here in Sweden as we celebrated Valborgmässoafton (Walpurgis Eve).  We are saying goodbye to winter and welcoming spring.  It's a traditional holiday where Swedes gather around a bonfire and sing songs.  This year we planned to be outside in the evening and then watch the bonfire, however, the temperatures dropped considerably from our nice 70ºF, so we shifted gears and celebrated with Craig, Claudette, and Ryan, and Åsa, Jimmy, Liam and Nina at our apartment and had a Mexican fiesta (in honor of Cinco de Mayo falling on Monday) with margaritas for grownups, and homemade lemonade for the kids.

We had a great time and didn't miss the bonfires at all.  Hahahaha  A few friends did do the traditional celebration, so I borrowed their pictures for this blog.  

bonfire in Skansen

bonfire 

all the people gathered around the bonfire

It was also Ryan's birthday, so we had a celebration for him as well.

Ryan is an official teenager

singing happy birthday in two languages

I also learned about another tradition here.  High School graduates (they call it gymnasium not high school) wear sailor hats all day in honor of their graduation.  Claudette snapped a few random pictures to capture the moment.

drinking age is 18, so here they are in a bar

So, the tradition of saying goodbye to winter and welcoming spring, was Wednesday night, and we woke up to snow flurries on Thursday morning.  Kind of cruel.... but apparently this does happen at times in May. I am not used to snow in May, so I was very sad.  Thankfully the snow only lasted a few hours and before long the sun was shining again.

snow is coming down... just can't see it in this picture 

Åsa and I, along with the rest of the parents on Jake's team, stood outside in the very cold temperatures, with crazy winds, from 10am-4:00pm watching their tournament.  Thursday was a holiday, similar to our Labor Day, so all businesses and schools were closed.  Steve was freezing his tail off at Smith's tourney all day.  Sam, our babysitter, stayed home with Chase all day.  I'm so glad he didn't have to go with us... it's was brutally cold.  Since then, the days have warmed up a bit and other than Thursday, I haven't worn my big, heavy, winter coat in almost a month.  

This weekend we've spent a lot of time at the parks.  The boys are finally getting a weekend of downtime.  Other than Thursdays marathon soccer day, we've had a practice here and there over the course of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Friday we all went to Humlagården and the boys joined a soccer game that was a random mix of high school/college age boys, along with young girls and boys their age.  It was so nice to see the mixed  ages all playing together.  Steve was amongst the group as well.

Steve on left, jake with the ball, Smith on far right in red

Smith in the back in red, scoring a goal

 Chase preferred kicking the ball around with Mommy, and then we played at the playground.

this and many other pedaling toys are at most of the parks

After soccer, the boys had to climb in their favorite rock.

very strange rock in the middle of the park

they climb in the hole

boo

this cracked us up

The day ended with delicious burgers at Phil's Burgers.  It's a brand new restaurant that opened near our apartment.  By far the best burgers we've had here in Sweden, possibly ever!  We stumbled across this place while walking to the bus stop.  We went with Smith's buddy Aaron and his parents.  We ended the evening with  "Family movie night".

Saturday was spent at Kronobergsparken (across the street) where we started out with a family circuit workout, then Mommy walked to the running store and bought new sneakers.  I've officially registered for the half marathon in September so it's time to start training.   Jake had practice in the afternoon so Smith and Chase and I went to Hörtorget to buy fish and meat for the next few days....the boys scored ice cream cones.  I bought a lot of fruit at the market outside too .  Yummy!!!

Sunday morning we woke up early because the sun was shining bright.  I forgot to put the dark shades down before going to bed.  I was kind of happy that the sun woke me up though because I was able to leave for my run earlier than expected and therefore was able to go to Chase's soccer practice. It was a beautiful run as I ran around Kungsholmen, along the water.  It was an 11 1/2 Km (7 miles) run.  I came home, showered and went to watch Chase's practice.  He was so excited that I was able to see him play.  

Kicking around with Daddy

Chase and his team warming up

Then we raced home and headed out to Jake's game.  The weather today was crazy!!!  It started out sunny, with temperatures in the 40º's, the wind increased as the rain clouds blew in.  During Jake's game it snowed a bit and we were all freezing.  

Steve just left for Madrid, where it's in the 70º's and 80ºs.  I'm so jealous that he will get warmth.  I don't think I'll ever get used to the chilly temperatures here.  I'm a bit sad as I remember our May schedule over the past seven years in Atlanta..  The air is warm, the schools are finishing up for the year, and swim team is beginning.  I will miss hanging out at the pool with all my friends as we juggle our crazy schedules around swim team and other sports.  I will miss my "extended family" that lived at the pool and soccer fields with me.  I will miss Thursday night swim meets.... some of the best nights of the summer.   I will miss mixed tennis and my women's tennis teams.  I miss all of you soooooo much!  I like tennis here, but it can't compare to Shakerag Tennis!  

I am wrapping this blog up with a funny story.....

I was at the doctor on Wednesday.  The doctor offices here remind me a bit of minute clinics.  They are plain white walls with a very cold feel to them.  The nurses work behind the reception desk and only the doctor will come out and bring  you to your room.  I'm sitting in the waiting room, the door opens, and the doctor walks out with a piece of notebook paper with handwritten Swedish.  I looked at him and told him that I couldn't read Swedish.  He goes back in the room and comes out with handwritten English on the back of that paper.  It said, "I have a cold and can't speak, but you are welcome to come in and talk, and I will respond by writing".  Not really sure what to do, I followed him into the room, and the appointment began.  To say it was the strangest thing I've ever been a part of, would be an understatement.  After about 20 minutes of me talking and him writing A LOT,  he agreed that we needed to get some tests ordered.  We then walked to the "nurses station" aka, front desk, where the very friendly nurse brought me into another room to draw blood.  My veins are not easy, so I've been told, and the amount of times I've been poked and re-poked, proves that statement to be true.  Usually after the rubber band goes on the arm, they have me squeeze that ball that helps your veins pop out.  Well, they didn't have a rubber band, just a little velcro piece and there was no ball.  I knew this was going to be trouble... but I tried to make myself believe that this time would be different.  If you have ever been poked over and over while the nurse tries to find your vein, you know that it's not fun.  I'll usually bruise afterwards too.  Well, she missed the first few times on the left arm which wasn't pleasant for me, however the next event was not pleasant for her.  When she pulled the needle out of my arm, a large amount of blood came squirting out.  I think it's startled her because she bobbled the needle and stabbed her own finger, drawing blood.  Here's the bad part.... she wasn't wearing gloves!  The poor nurse was a bit stressed after that and managed to work this question into the conversation.... "um, do you have any kind of blood disease?"  I could've been really cruel and said, "um, yes", but I decided to cut her a break and told her that I was healthy.  Now put on gloves when you are working with blood!!!  All in all, the day was very eventful, one that will go down in the books for the weirdest doctor visit of all time.

I'll end with this observation.....

Even though the Swedes struggle a bit with which side of the street to walk on, and the etiquette on side walk courtesy, they DO have the escalator courtesy down pat!  For those of you visiting us this summer, here's one of the many rules you'll have to learn before you step off that plane.  When riding the escalator, you MUST step to the right and leave a clear lane for people to walk up or down.  If you don't, you will definitely be knocked over, or at least knocked in the head with a bag, as it flies by.

Happy Spring!!!!