Hello everyone! This week’s Weekly Wrap Up is coming two days late, due to the fact that we arrived home yesterday from Stockholm and due to the time difference, collapsed into bed before I could publish this post!

After our time in Spain (and with my boys shipped off on an exchange to Italy), it was lovely to spend time with just the girls and my parents. I do see my parents a lot but there are usually huge numbers of kids swirling around, making long conversations challenging, so it was wonderful to enjoy some calmer days together with just the girls to look after.

Here we are at Grisholm Castle in Mariefred, a gorgeous town set on lake Mälaren in south central Sweden. Originally built by Gustav Vasa, Grisholm Castle hosts Sweden’s National Portrait Gallery, one of the oldest portrait collections in the world. We took a tour and much to my surprise, the girls made it through to the end with minimal complaints. Phew! Although this impressive museum is probably not the first thing on the list of what to see in Sweden with kids, I highly recommend it because it is gorgeous and an amazing history lesson!

Growing up, I visited my grandmother many summers who swam every morning in the chilly waters of the Mälaren! Although I went to Sweden often as a child, traveling to Sweden with our kids is not something we have been able to do, so I was very grateful for this week.

After our visit to the castle, we enjoyed lunch close by, including this yummy piece of chocolate cake with a blueberry cream sauce and vanilla ice cream. Delicious. The girls loved their meatballs with mashed potatoes and lingonberries, a national tradition. In most restaurants, the kids menu offered a choice of Swedish meatballs and Swedish pancakes, also served with lingonberries and whipped cream. These yummy meatballs and pancakes certainly did their part in helping me introduce my kids to their Swedish culture.

Later in the week, some of my uncles and aunts visited, along with my cousin Lotta and her husband Matts and two daughters. I had not seen Lotta since 2003, the year her sister Katarina was married, when Marc and I visited Sweden on our honeymoon. We spent so many fun times together as children. Amazing that after 12 years, we picked right up where we had left off, laughing and having fun. A very special day.

Here the cousins are jumping on the trampoline in the garden. These children’s trampolines are very popular in Sweden and you see them all over the place. The girls were out there jumping for several hours. What a great pastime for active kids.

Here is the cousin line-up, from oldest to youngest. We loved seeing our cousins, whom the girls had never met. We have many more cousins also that we hope to spend more time with soon, now that our kids are getting older.

After a lovely but rainy week in the country, we drove into Stockholm for a few hours before getting ready for our flight home. These decorative, fabric drum shades caught my eye, giving off a warm subtle and cozy light on a drizzly day.

Fore more of my pics from Sweden, check out my Instagram page.

As our plane took off, we say goodbye Sweden but not for long, I hope!

Check back in this Saturday for more of my family’s adventures and thanks so much for reading.

Gratefully,

Melissa

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