Good Riddance to Summer/Hello First Day of School!

Summer is over, school has begun, and fall is in full swing.  I'm not going to lie, I was glad to see summer go.  Our third summer here was hot and dry and pretty miserable.  The grass literally turned crispy brown.  The constant noise pollution from the construction site behind our house didn't help either.  And it seemed like the entire city of Stuttgart was under road construction.  

Supposedly this was one of the worst summers if not THE worst on record in Germany. We're no strangers to hot days every now and then… but these scorchers in the upper nineties and even into the one hundreds went on day after day after day.  Just when it would mercifully cool down for a few we'd be assaulted by another heat wave.  

This was how I pretty much felt:    

So, no, I'm not sad to see the summer go.  But, there were some definite highlights including Pat and Nancy's three week visit, which allowed Ben and I to go on our amazing trip.  

These pictures are adorable:

And although we don't have central air, we do have this trusty air conditioner that really saved our sweaty necks this summer.  It blew cold air day after day and never faltered. 

Normally I think it's a noisy eye-sore that takes up too much space, but I was very grateful for it reliable service this summer. 

Ugly noisy construction site + dead grass = pining for fall

But I got to say we did try and make the best of it.  We went to the public swimming pools, A LOT.  The freibads here are quite nice. We'd either meet friends there or take a friend along… and the girls were happy as clams swimming it up.  And, bonus: my legs got a little bit tan, which is truly a rare phenomenon. 

One swim outing resulted in a visit to the German ER with a split chin… nothing a little super glue couldn't patch up.  They were so kind and gentle with Caroline.   

And here are some other highlights:

Sunday afternoon building a castle… this was a gift from Josh and Kristen who visited this summer.  

Trip to the zoo with friends from the ward… on a nice cool day :)

Saturday outing to a biergarten with friends and a lively soccer match.  

I got to go on a 48 hour girl's trip to Prague with my dear friends Shannon and Christa… where it was 100 degrees… the hottest on record.

Outing to Traumland with the Beckers and Sotos:

Taking selfless during James' first roller coaster ride was a blast.  

Caroline learned to ride her bike… wahoo!  It was quite the ordeal and as you can see here she is up to her usual negotiating.  Thankfully the neighbor kids cheered her on and that helped her gain the confidence she needed. 

Our last lazy morning before school started.  This girl LOVES to cook!

Open house before the first day of school.

Emily's first day of 2nd Grade!!  Ready to take on the world!

And Caroline's first day of kindergarten!!! (Which was on a different day than Em's first day.  I know, why do they have to make it complicated?)

I'd like to say I got all teary as I waved good-bye to her, but no, I did not.  I think  Caroline and I have BOTH been very ready for her to start.  It's time.  And so far she has just loved it!   

Stockholm, my favorite city from the cruise

Ben and I had an amazing opportunity to go on a Baltic cruise back in July while the intrepid (and very sweet) Pat and Nancy held down the fort with the three little ones.

The cruise was like a second honeymoon… it was so wonderful to reconnect and remember why we fell in love in the first place!  I highly recommend getting away with your spouse, even if it's just a little escapade… it does wonders!  And the nice thing about the cruise is no wi-fi… we were totally disconnected from our devices. We had no choice but pay attention to each other!

We visited SIX different ports including Copenhagen Denmark, Warnemunde Germany, Tallin Estonia, St. Petersburg Russia, Helsinki Finland, and Stockholm Sweden.

 All the ports were great, but Stockholm stole my heart.

We cruised through an archipelago with literally thousands of islands that stretch for 80 miles from Stockholm to the Baltic Sea. We got up early to catch a close-up view as our ship glided through the narrow channels.  

We docked early on a Sunday morning, and since we only had eight hours in port, Ben and I booked it off the boat in order to maximize our time.

It was a gorgeous morning, about 7 a.m., and the lighting was just beautiful as it hit the shoreline across the harbor.  We skipped the shuttles and hop-on buses, and just speed-walked the mile or two into town.  And along this route we got gorgeous views of the harbor front, which of course the pictures just can't do justice.

Since we were there so early on a Sunday morning there was like no one around.  It was awesome.  We did the Rick Steves' walking tour of the Old Town area.  Man, why haven't I discovered Rick Steves travel books before now!  Oh my goodness, his book was so helpful!

King Gustav III… the 18th century Swedish king who turned Stockholm into a beautiful European capital

Stockholm is made up of 14 different islands!  There's water everywhere… it's so beautiful. 

In front of a baroque cathedral and the palace on the right… early Sunday morning there was hardly a soul around.  

This is a fist sized statue called the Iron Boy.  Legend has it that it honors the orphans who had to transfer cargo from sea ships to lake ships before the locks were built.  Grannies knit hats for him in the winter to keep him warm… so cute… and I can totally see them doing that.  If your kids aren't wearing a hat here in Europe in the wintertime… watch out!  You'll likely get publicly chastised by a seemingly harmless grandmother type.

This is Stockholm's oldest medieval square and it houses the Nobel Museum… it was also the sight of the notorious Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520 where the Danes beheaded many of Stockholm's intelligentsia and aristocracy.

The streets were so clean and devoid of tourists

An old-fashioned telephone booth:

Standing in front of the oldest church in Stockholm (13th C.) the statues of Caution and Hope are guarding the entrance.  

The cathedral was so beautiful and peaceful… nice to spend a bit of the Sabbath in a church. 

Royal tombs

Souvenir browsing

This is the real deal:  Swedish meatballs were TO DIE for!!

And our last stop was the Vasa Museum, which featured a battleship from the 1600s that sunk in the harbor on its maiden voyage because it was too skinny and laden with too much weight.  What was cool was that they just excavated it in the 1950s and it's 90%  original… somehow it was preserved.  

We went for a bike ride on the island of Djurgarden, which although in the heart of the city,  is dedicated to nature and recreation.  Lots of green open space and bikers.  These pics are a little contrived, but still cool. 

Taking a water taxi back to our ship… check out the amusement park right on the water!