I'm just home from the opening of the movie "Twilight"...the teenage vampire thriller/love story. I've read the book, but didn't plan to see the movie. Emma, however, has been bouncing off the walls in anticipation. She and a friend, Stephanie, reserved their tickets last week to attend with Stephanie's Mom and sister. We find out that the movie is PG15, so Stephanie's Mom asked if it was still o.k. I approved and Emma has spent the last week trying to decide which clothing most makes her look 15. I can't believe I not only approved, but encouraged my 13 year old [View Full Entry]

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Hej, I'm Signe J. We went to the Alpenzoo in Innsbruck, Austria. We met our friends there. They're living in Munich, Germany this year...it's Bruce, Marcy, Molly and Josiah Wells. They used to live in St. Peter, Molly's Dad is a professor, too. Now they usually live in Philadelphia, but they are having a year-long adventure, just like us. Molly is my age. Marcy was Jorgen's first day care Mom. Our first stop at the zoo is the otters. The otters are some cute creatures that like to swim and eat fish. We were lucky to catch them having lunch. One [View Full Entry]

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It's taking a bit longer to get Jorgen's thoughts on the Pergine Castle and Signe's rendition of the Alpenzoo, so I thought I'd just use the break to come clean on my thoughts of Italy and travel, in general. Early on, I blogged about my brave girls. Well, they don't get that from me. I'm a chicken. Italy, while breathtaking and delicious, scared me. I spend a lot of time talking myself into things (does talking to myself make me crazy?), or through things. I spent a lot of energy in Italy trying to calm myself down...generally, any time we left [View Full Entry]

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The morning following our trip to Venice was glorious - sunny, not a cloud in the sky and close to 70 degrees. Rudi (Rudi is Maria’s first cousin’s Italian husband) declared that it was a perfect day to head to the mountains. I thought I had time for a quick run before we left, but in my typical state of oblivion I failed to realize that the plan was to leave pronto so we could get lunch in the small ski village of Arraba Reba. Many businesses close in Italy from 12-3 and there was concern no restaurants would be open. [View Full Entry]

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So, as you read in the previous blog, my task is to explain Venice. This is a pretty difficult task, because I have no idea how I could possibly explain how beautiful and awesome Venice was…. But I am going to try. The day started early, we were taking the train and because the train station was so close, we all were walking. We left the house at 7:00 AM, so it was still dark out. When we got outside, Sig and Elizabeth bolted ahead of everyone, and me, being half awake, took my place as the dilly-dallier in the back…as [View Full Entry]

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We’re lucky to have connections. My cousin, Mary, has lived with her husband and two girls in Northern Italy for about 14 years. As a lover of all food, especially anything remotely resembling pasta, bread or cheese, I’ve wanted to experience Italy and all that it has to offer, foodwise. To do so in a country famous for breathtaking views is a bonus. Jeff and I saw the girl’s “fall break” as a chance to do just that. Mary suggested Ryanair as a low cost carrier and we found round trip tickets for the entire family for about $700…not bad, considering [View Full Entry]

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When I come to the end of my life (a long time from now, I hope!), I will be able to say for certain that I saw some great and beautiful places, that I experienced true love and that I was blessed with true friends. For the past few hours of this cold and rainy day, I've been curled up on the sofa thinking about writing this blog (and moping), the one in which I describe the first visit from someone from "home". The problem with having a visitor is that you eventually have to say good bye...again. However, the sadness [View Full Entry]

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I've often heard about the wonders of Paris in the Springtime, but never once have heard of Stockholm in the Fall. So, I'm here to tell you about the wonders of Stockholm in the fall. Before I get into the whirlwind trip to Stockholm, I want to take a minute to tell you about the great travel director I've got here. I haven't given Jeff much credit since we arrived...mostly, I've just given him grief. He's done a remarkable job getting us where we need/want to go. I get overwhelmed with the language, the options, all the details and have a [View Full Entry]

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We've been here now for two full months,I'm having a hard time resolving within myself how those days can feel like forever and hardly at all, all at the same time. I want/need to stop counting the days until we go "home"- don't quote me on that - but I'm going to try. Last week we had incredible weather, what we in Minnesota would call Indian Summer. In Sweden, it's referred to as "Brit Summer" (and I may have that wrong)...call it what you want, just give me more! As I look out the window, the trees are starting to turn. [View Full Entry]

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My baby turned five yesterday. Minnesota has a "golden birthday" tradition which simply means the birthday in which you turn your age on the date of your birth is special. So Jorgen turned five on October 5th, thus...he is golden! This tradition wasn't known to me growing up in South Dakota, but my kids are enjoying the idea of a "Golden Birthday". For the past year, Jorgen has spent his playtime primarily with Legos. The original lego toys were carved out of wood by a man in Denmark in the 1930's. Billund, Denmark is home to the original Lego land. Our [View Full Entry]

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