Thursday, July 30, 2009

Europe Pictures--in random order, sorry!


Gustav enjoys nutella and peanut butter sandwiches on picnics. I think he really just enjoys licking the filling out. But then again, who wouldn't? :)


Gustav loved splashing in the cool, clean lake!


Heidi, Tim and Gustav


Sister time.


Beautiful!


Evening at the lake our greatgreat grandfather fished in.


Kerstin, Gulvi and Willi


Tim and Gustav relaxing in the shade--Sweden was very warm while we were there!


Cousin Gulvi


The cottage--it has no running water, so Willi and Gulvi have to lug it with them all the time.


Willi got a workout pulling Gustav all over. They were very good friends!


Exploring the property.


Cousins Gulvi and Willi's land and cottage.


Oversized and undersized--we had lots of fun climbing on these at Astrid Lindgren World.


Gustav's throne.


Playing in the rock fountains.


It took Gustav awhile to figure out what was happening, but once he did, he didn't want to leave.


Heidi and Tim discussing the very "American" never ending drinks with your meals at Astrid Lindgren World--this included lingonberry juice and BEER! What a great place!


Drinking Lingonberry juice with dinner. Yum! :)


Our Swedish family at the cottage.


Gustav rearranging the furniture at the little houses at Astrid Lindgren World--he loved to move the tables and chairs around.


Playing at Astrid Lindgren World--the houses were more Gustav sized than Erica sized.


Exploring the area around the fish smoker.


Sampling the finished product--Gustav was a big fan.


Finished product--salmon, eel and trout.


Talking about spices used to flavor the fish and how to package it.


Fish smoker describing the history of the place and the smoking process.


Raw fish getting ready for the smoker.


Cousin Anders, our tour leader.


On the sea at the fish smoker. Cousin Kerstin, Heidi and Gustav.


Partially packed vehicle--no where near done, and so much more to find places for.


Gustav and Heidi relaxing.


My baby "sister" Eliane.


Goodbye gifts from the Hausgemeinshaft.


Fun in the kitchen while cleaning up the party.


Kristin and Eliane--so glad I got to see both of them, and I really wish they lived closer to us!


Laughing at some story Heidi and Kristin were telling.


The church sending and farewell service for Heidi, Tim and Gustav.


Gustav loves taco salad, enough so that he grabbed a chair and hoisted himself up to the table to eat out of the bowl at the farewell party. Either that, or we weren't feeding him enough.


Kristin and Heidi making caramel corn. Very sticky, and much discussion over which is the best way to eat caramel corn--crunchy bits or sticky balls? We all have our favorites! :)


Tim was in charge of beverages for the party, and this is only a portion of what was purchased. I think he did an excellent job of calculating how much to buy. I would have loved to try the beers he bought, they certainly looked and smelled good!


Gustav loves to observe from his window and watch the people who reside in the Hausgemeinshaft. And, of course, everything is much better if you're doing it naked, right?!? :)


Gustav "helping" Kristin roll out cinnamon roll dough. I'm not sure who ate more dough...Kristin or Gustav. :)


Eating the dough...not sure she did this before meeting Heidi and picking up a "bad" habit.


Bedtime stories for Gustav and Kristin.


Cooking with Gustav, he's always very eager to help and sample.


Gustav's bathtime. He loves playing in the water, and has changed quite a bit from that first bath I witnessed so long ago. No more screaming! :)


Kristin and I relaxing in the shade, enjoying fresh strawberries and currants while watching Gustav run naked in the sun!


Gustav waving "Tschuss" before heading to bed.


Setting up the grill for the big farewell party.


Eliane at the farewell party.


Heidi "sleeping" in Gustav's bed...I think this was an attempt to quiet a tantrum. :)