Biking in France

At the end of May, Jens and I got on the plane to spend a week road biking in the French Alps with 12 other team members. We left Alvin and Ivar at their cousins' house and Lovisa and Egon at Grandma and Grandpa Rydgren.


I seriously couldn't have asked for a better trip! The weather was great, the food was great, the company was great, and the biking... oh, the biking was AWESOME! We climbed mountains on those bikes! Hills I would never have thought I could climb. And when we got up there, the view was incredible!

In all honesty, the biking wasn't enjoyable all the time. It was really hard work. And it wasn't risk free either. Going down a hill, Jens went down and broke his collarbone. For the second time in three months! Luckily, it was on the last day of riding, so he didn't miss out on any biking on the trip. But he will be unable to practice for at least a month from the time of the accident.



While we were down there I got to practice my French, since a lot of people didn't understand English very well. What a great feeling it was to be able to make myself understood! It gave my French-speaking-confidence a well needed boost!

Biking in the Alps taught me a couple of things. It taught me that a soar back doesn't have to stop me from doing something I love. It taught me that you can do just about anything if you put your mind to it!

During the trip, Jens and I got to spend some time together without having to worry about the messy house or the laundry or the kids' fighting. Being away from the sometimes" groundhog day" kind of life at home was good for us. I missed the kids so much, but I knew that they were having a great time away from their "groundhog day" kind of life too..!

When we got back after a week, I could hardly wait to see them again! Absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

Double the fun - double the frustration

Being a twin must be such a blessing. To always have your best buddy right there, by your side. To have someone who's closer to you than anyone else. Including your mom...
At the same time it seems like it is also very difficult. Alvin's and Ivar's relationship is very up and down. One minute they are hugging and holding hands, and the next they are crying and screaming and strangling each other. I guess that is a part of finding their own identity and claiming their territory.

For the most part though, they are best friends. I remember once when they were only a year old and I was pushing them in the stroller. It was freezing outside and we were on our way home when I realized that Ivar had lost one of his mittens. Alvin looked at his brother, and then he took off one of his mittens and gave it to him.

Another time, more recently, the boys were fighting. Alvin was hurting Ivar really bad, and I got mad at him. After a little while, Ivar came up to me, all teary eyed, and said: "I wish Alvin would stop hurting me." I said that I did too, thinking that he meant that he was tired of getting beaten up. But then he said. "Because when he does, you get so mad at him." Even when his brother hurt him, he felt bad for him when I got mad.

I remember one more occasion when the loyalty between the boys became very apparent. We had been having dinner, and all of the kids were going to have ice cream sticks for dessert. Alvin started misbehaving and after a few warnings, he had to leave the table without ice cream. Even though he could understand why his brother couldn't have an ice cream stick, Ivar couldn't eat his. That's how loyal they are towards one another.

Being the mom of twins is an adventure. It really is double the fun. But also double the frustration.

Spring pictures.

Gratitude

The other day, I came across this short clip of a talk by Elder Henry B. Eyring, one of the apostles of our church. It really touched me. If I look carefully at my life, I don't think one single day has gone by where I can't see the hand of God reaching out to me or to one of my loved ones. Not just in the big things in life, but in the little things as well. Often I can see the hand of God reaching out through a friend or family member. Someone who knows me and my needs or simply feels inspired to reach out a helping hand. I have learnt that when I stop and think about ways in which I have seen God's hand in my life, I am able to more fully appreciate His presence and His love for me. If there is one thing I want my children to learn, it is this.

Maundy Thursday

In Sweden, Maundy Thursday is a fun day for the kids. They dress up as witches, chimney sweeps, or easter men and go around knocking on doors. At every door they hand over an easter card that they themselves have drawn, and in return they get candy for their easter eggs. Although I can't remember my candy ever getting as far as the actual egg...

This year, in lack of better outfits, the boys dressed up as cowboy easter men. It's all about being flexible, right?



Here's a picture of the gang, before they went knocking on doors.

They looked so cute!

The first door. They were all very excited.



This is the candy they collected. They even got a carrot. What amazed me the most was not the fact that they got a carrot instead of candy, but that they were excited about it!

A few days later, Egon walked up to a house in our neighbourhood and rang the doorbell. He kept saying "jinga dodis", "ring candy"... The poor child! How was he supposed to know that you can't do it every day?

Sunny saturday

I have gotten a little bit behind in my blogging. This is from the first saturday of April, when my mom and Folke came for a visit. Jens was away in Salt Lake City for a mission reunion and General Conference, so it was just me and the kids. It was one of the warmest days of spring so far so we decided to go to Tyresta village for ice-cream!

It was the first out-door ice-cream of the year, so it was a big deal for the kids. They savoured every bite.


After having finished the ice-creams we went and looked at some animals on the farm.

Egon kept calling everything "doggy" or "vovve" in Swedish. This little "doggy" was a hen...


This poor rabbit was fed by my charitable children. The sign that said: "Do not feed the animals" did not receive very much attention, I'm afraid. I think it was ok though. It didn't really eat much. Dry sticks didn't seem to be its' favourite dish.


I like this picture of Lovisa. She looks so determined and confident - Lovisa in a nutshell!

Before we headed home, the older kids just had to climb the big "mountain". Here they are, all three of them, after reaching the summit..!

In the meantime, Egon sat in his stroller. Not too excited about it. I guess he wanted to climb the mountain too. Here's my mom and Folke. We really had a great day!

Playing house

Today Lovisa wanted me to play house with her and Egon. I got to be the mom, Lovisa the daughter and Egon the little brother... I asked her what she wanted me to do as the mom and she said: "Well... clean, cook, wash the clothes... You know what to do!" What an exciting life I must be leading in the eyes of my little girl!

Birthday tulips

Tulips are my favourite flowers. Especially red ones. These were from Jens on my birthday.

Dressing up

Egon loves to dress up. If nothing else he always walks around the house in someone else's shoes, rubber boots or - his favourite - Lovisa's black shiny Sunday shoes. When he's wearing those, he walks with tiny steps and puts his feet down really hard - almost as if he is tap dancing. He loves the noise they make...


He wanted to wear Lovisa's princess dress one day. I could hardly get him to take it off when it was time to go to school to pick up the rest of the kids! He kept saying: "tool tlännin", "cool dress" in his baby Swedish.


A couple of days ago he walked into the kitchen looking like this! He had found one of the old play wigs. About ten seconds after this picture was taken, Lovisa pulled it off, and he started to cry!

Baking Buddies

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of Lovisa and Egon baking raisin rolls. I have no picture of the end result. But the fun part is making them, right?

Lovisa's cute toothless grin! She loves her lady bug-apron.

She is such a good baker. She even knows how to make the rolls round.

Egon is having a moment here. He is so happy to help!

He loves to bake and he really gets into it.

Egon made this one. One day his rolls will be round too...