Summer vacation

We were away over the weekend last week to celebrate Rickard's sister and her husband's 40th birthdays. His was in June and hers is in September so they invited us and 23 other friends and family for a party at their summer place in the Bohuslän archipelago.



It was a great party and totally worth the ten hours travel to get there and back again.



Since we were on an island we were served shellfish for dinner. These are langoustine, crabs and shrimp, served with home made aïoli and cheese pies. So good.

We were invited to spend the Sunday there too and drive home on Monday but Rickard's brother and his fiancée, L, had work on Monday (we drove up together) and it was Isabel's birthday (and our wedding anniversary) so we drove home again on Sunday afternoon. It took 5 hours with a nice stop half way home for a bit of supper at L's parents' house.

The Monday was Isabel's 9th birthday and we celebrated with the family with a pizza party (no time to make more elaborate preparations) and home made cupcakes.



Lime-vanilla cupcakes with a lime cream cheese frosting and raspberries and blueberries.



Chocolate cupcakes with piped meringue, dipped in chocolate.



Tuesday that week saw the start of our rest-of-the-year project. We are putting in insulation in the attic and making it into two rooms for the girls.



This was the starting point (after we had cleared out most of the junk we had stored up there because we could). I'll probably cover the build over the coming months.

Doing stuff

(Pictures taken today - not necessarily presented in context)

Well we've been home for a week now and while I do miss Crete it's nice to be back.

I've been on my own with the girls this week. Rickard is back at work and will be this coming week too. I have a few ideas for stuff to do, but not a whole lot.



Tomorrow we need to arrange a gift certificate for my SIL and BIL who has invited us to celebrate their 40th birthdays on Saturday at their cabin/compound in the Bohuslän archipelago. We've been there twice before and it is an amazing place. I'm kind of looking forward to it. It will be a big thing I suppose and I don't usually do well at big social occasions. I always feel out of place and uncomfortable.

But I suppose it will be alright. They are putting us up in one of the cabins on the grounds so we don't have to stay at the island hostel. Which is nice.

We'll drive up on Saturday morning with Rickard's brother and his fiancée. They're serving lunch at 1 pm and then the party starts in the afternoon/evening. We have to drive home soon after lunch on Sunday because Monday is Isabel's birthday and we want to be home with her then.
The girls are staying with my parents so we have to be home in time to pick them up not too long after bedtime.

So this week we have to arrange for the BIL/SIL gift, gifts for Isabel, prepare for the party we're having on Monday for Isabel and I will make her cake on Monday morning.
It's supposed to be a nice week, weather-wise so I hope we can manage a visit to the beach as well.



We were in the Western Harbour today which is always fun. It's a brand new neighbourhood that is still growing so there are always new buildings to look at and new coffee places to visit.
The flats there are horribly expensive and the weather is only nice 2-3 months a year, bearable another 1-2 months and the rest of the time it's windy, cold and rainy so I'm not sure the location would be worth it. But I also wouldn't mind finding out. It's a lovely place on days like today.



I mean just look at that view!