Florida!

We made it to Florida! Flight was good, both girls slept when they were supposed to..mama didn't. We arrived late to our hotel ( I just picked a Best Western Plus close to the airport. I had so many bags so I asked for help to drive one of the luggage strollers. Unfortunately we had to wait a little too long for our hotel transfer..and I almost got too tired and ran out of energy right before they finally showed up
.Both girls were tired and also started to loose their patience... But eventually we got there and got a few hours of sleep before they woke up at 04. Breakfast was a couple of hours away so we took a walk around the hotel area, not so much to see.  Then a "swim" in our tub..I dont know how much other guests appreciated that but...we killed time.

After breakfast we took a cab to our real hotel Courtyard by Marriot Fort Lauderdale beach. I haven t decided yet but I think we'll  stay here for 4 nights, but I am a little curious about another resort closer to the Everglades. ( We will not go to the NP this time but anyway... )

Our first day we had gray clouds but we played at the beach for a while, had lunch at Beach Bunnies ( good omelett! ) We were all tired so I only managed to keep Jamie awake til 11.30 Then we slept til afternoon..
It rained and was about 15 degrees C in the afternoon but we found a playground by the beach and played in our pool for a while. Hours flew away and it was time to get ready for dinner. Tonight we just wanted tp eat somewhere close, I was afraid Jamie would pass out before 6... Anyway we ate at the famous Bubba Gump shrimp place from the movie Forrest Gump.
Very nice for the kids!  As always here in restaurants they got crayons and paper to draw. This time I ordered 3 meals, a salad for me "popcorn" shrimps for Natalie and Chicken strips for Jamie. Theirs got served in a boat and they ate really good. Jamie almost feel alseep in the highchair so she got to lay down in the stroller...first time ever at dinner time she just feel asleep..poor child so tired and jetlagged...still happy though! Anyway we left pretty quick after that I didnt even finish my mojito..(I wanted a small one and the waiter assured it was..but no...) Next dinner I will save some money and only order 2 meals. A good thing is that we got a doggybag without even ask for it..so maybe the girls have shrimpsnack tomorrow...

Pictures from today...

Here we go again...

It's time to pack our bags and cross the big ocean again... I suddenly decided to book tickets and go back to Montana! It's been many weeks without Daddy so next monday we are going to fly over even if my real visa still isn't done...so this time I travel with the normal ESTA visa, which means I must get back and do my interview no later than 90 days after arrival... It feels like a never ending story even if our case is "standard" and nothing complicated!

Of course its been very nice to see beloved friends and family in Sweden and be home again. We have had alot of  quality time together...even if its never enough... but I keep moments we had close to my heart..♡ I'm also very happy that both girls got to spend so much time with the whole family here! For Natalie its been fun and also important to play with her friends and go a few days to her preschool here. I really appreciate that she got to experience the swedish traditional lucia and christmas now when she is old enough to remember and bring the traditions with her no matter where she'll be next year. BUT we missed (and family here missed...) the traditional american celebration the 25:th we've had in Sweden last 3 years...Jared has to cook christmas dinner a little late for us!

I think this time will feel more like we actually fly over to really live a normal everydaylife at the ranch and not just feel like we are travelling around... Because of the visa situation it still doesn't feel like moving "for real", we take that stepbystep..( not saying "for good" because we keep that open...)  Anyway I'm looking forward to experience the different parts of the year at the ranch, that's really exciting and most of it very new for me...

BEFORE we go back to Montana, me and the girls are going to have some very spontaneous and well needed realaxing days in the sunshine state FLORIDA!!

White ground...

Today we played at the beach in Hörvik...I'm getting really tired of the grey winter here! It suppose to be cooler next week, so we might get some snow... I'm sorry for being mean wishing for cold weather when half the us suffers from icestorms and blizzards.. I don't wish for that coldness but a little white on the ground would be nice!! 

We still haven't heard anything about a time for my interview so now I'm working on getting back to Montana...and I suppose back again as soon as we get the appointment scheduled..I can't stand the thought of the girls beeing apart from Daddy anymore..especially the little one because so much happens so quick at that age! And I must admit that it is very hard on me too beeing alone with them and never get a break. I am longing for a sleeping morning...

Anyway, eventually we will replace the gray sand in Hörvik to white snow in Montana...but before that we hopefully feel something warmer between the toes for a little while... 

Irresistible...

I wish I could have said we'll be back for Christmas...but we will be back in time for Valentine's day...♡♡♡

(Dresses from Gymboree and Gap Kids)

Black and White Christmas...

Here are some pictures from our Christmas at G-grandma Kerstin and G-Grandpa Hasse the 25:th...

Lucia...

13:th of december it's time for Lucia! I will tell you all about the tradition later... We started the day very early and the two girls had a cozy and wild Lucia morning Before we head to Natalie's preschool for their real celebration. Both girls were so excited about their White dresses and were dancing around in the livingroom while we watched the Lucia celebration on tv...

 At the preschool I must admit that it was hard not to cry when all kids were singing as pretty as it can be with 4-5 yera olds. My heart melted completely!

 

A week in Gothenburg...

From 14th of december...

We had a really nice time in Gothenburg together with my Dad, his wife and their son Hugo! My big brother also joined us for half the week. It felt good to live alittle "city life" for a while. I lived in Gbg a year and it is definately my favourite city in Sweden. Very pretty now before Christmas!  Since this friendly city is located right by the ocean it can be windy and also quite rainy. We had a little bit of both..
The plan was to do alot of kid friendly activities during the week. And since I had "babysitters" I also planned to actually spend some time without the kids in the evenings..just be me again.. not only a mama!

We went on a two-day trip to a  waterpark resort "TheReef", in Denmark. I can highly recommend it to families! We started with a
3.5 h trip with the ferry to Fredrikshavn. Already on the boat Hugo and Natalie had a lot of things to do and Curious George also came and played for a while. The resort is a theme "Pirate hotel" with an inbuild waterpark. So you take the elevators from your room to the pools! Very good for kids of all ages!

We also visited Universeum (universeum.se) , and had a fun half day there with oncle Mikael...
And I got to go out and had a few drinks with my loved friend Carolina!  So nice to catch up on our lives!♡♡♡

Except from a few planned things that a storm and sickness unfortunately put an end to, our week was memorable and fun.. And we will definately be back soon!

Once again..only pics from my phone.

  

 

Almost Christmas. ..

Time just fly by..and Christmas is getting closer...

We had hope of spending the Holidays together overseas, but that's not gonna happen so this year we will have a Swedish Christmas. It seems like it takes forever to get my visa done, and its very hard to understand how the process is so slow when we got my approval already in June... Right before we left for Gothenburg I finally heard something from national visa center (after several emails...)
(NVC dep. that handles the visa processing after US immigration , USCIS,has approved the application) NVC also book interviews at the embassies all over the world...unfortunately US embassy in Stockholm has nothing to do with it until they get all my documents from NVC... Anyway before the final stage of my process I have to send in a few more documents again from Skatteverket, that we already sent to USCIS last winter.. and also Criminal records from the police (utdrag ur belastningsregistret). I dont know why we didn't get this request earlier!!  Luckily I am "clean" at least that I am aware of...I got a speeding ticket once, but that shouldn't be in there or make a difference. It takes quite few days to get this so before NVC get all documents it will be a few more weeks.. so my guess now is that it will be done mid january..We hope. .dont dare to plan anything right now! I guess the girls have to put on their nice christmas clothes and get the gifts later that we have in Montana...a second Christmas!

Lets hope for snow then, here its just green, gray and foggy not so much Christmas feeling over that...
Well, we are trying to get in right mood for the Holidays and afterall it's gonna be nice to celebrate with my family here. The girls made some decoration with things we found in the woods- very appreciated activity for Natalie. I'll show the result later.. We also baked some and yesterday we got this year's Christmas Tree. Natalie loved decorate it and she did a good job even though it might not be picture perfect... but it's more important they have fun making it. In the future I think the girls will have their own in each room so they can get exactly what they want in the tree...

Here are some pics from my phone.

Over and out...

  

Jamie 1 year...

From 16th of nov..

I can't believe it's already been a year since we got our little girl! Time is running so fast this time. I guess it has something to do with the bigger sister... With the first child you can be totally drawn into the magical time with a baby but when you already have another one its so different... but still magical♡..

Anyway we had a small birthday party for Jamie and she got to eat chocolate cake for the first time! It wasn't the prettiest cake in history, but at least I put my heart in it and made everything from scratch...Jamie liked the rasberries on top most!

To open presents was very enjoyable and I can say that big sister was very helpful. Surprisingly not as jealous as I imagined. The reason for that might have been that she also got a few late birtdaygifts by herself.
I think its very important for the girls to get the best from both "worlds" USA and Sweden, so I encuraged family to get swedish design, books, movies and so for gifts, and I also try to buy that as much as possible while we are here. Alot if BRIO, Astrid Lindgren, and danish LEGO! Good and sustainable toys!

( Longing for a computer so I can put up real pics not just from my phone...will post more later but this is better than nothing though!)

Cold day..

From 27th of nov..

So far we have had nice and relaxing two weeks in Sweden. November has been alot warmer than usual, and also more green. Moms neighbor mowed his yard yesterday... But it will be cooler.

It's really nice to see all friends and family again, I wish all people were of work though so we could just hangaround..but thats not how the real world works...Only when you are parentfree with your extremely wild 1year old..
One of my best friends, Annika, is also home with her little daughter right now so we can admire our girls together!  It's truly a unique and such a big advantage swedish parents have overhere. Parents can stay home with their baby for a long time without worries for losing their job or not pay the bills. The swedish law give you rights to stay home 480 days ( each parent must at least take 60 days, the rest you can split however you wish between the mom and dad). For 390 days you will get almost 80% of your salary ( depending on your average salary the last 240 days before the birth). The rest 90 days you get 180 sek minus tax (so only like 20 usd/ day). And you can plan to "take" as many days a week you need to save days for future until the child is 8. All in all unbeatable benefits for swedish parents...

I put up some pictures from my cellphone...All taken in Hörvik, where we stay right now.

Love..

Today I was planning to take some pictures in beautiful Hörvik, but its too cold by the ocean...

Christmas gift...

I just ordered this absolutely gorgeous kitchen from Kidkraft... I think it'll be a very appreciated gift for Christmas!  I wanted this one because it's a little taller than many others, made in wood and seems to be good quality! I've seen some swedish websites that sell KidKraft so its possible to get in Sweden to!