Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Stockholm to North Carolina (Part 7)

I've gotten behind here, mostly because we've been having so much fun I haven't had time to post!

I wanted to post a few last pictures from Stockholm. We spent the last two days there letting Carter play outside as much as possible, basically. There are lots of great museums and things to see in Stockholm, but it was sunny and in the low 70s every day, and it seemed a waste to spend those days dragging Carter around to museums. I loved these sheep!

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This was a cool vehicle in Humlegarden Park.

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Carter and I spent the entire day in Humlegarden Park on Monday while Doug was working. I even packed a picnic lunch so we wouldn't have to leave.

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That was our last day in Stockholm. This was the view from our hotel room, by the way. The building on the far right with the tower is where they have the Nobel prize ceremony every year.

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We got up super early on Tuesday morning and started the long trip home. We flew first from Stockholm to London, and then spent four hours in the British Airways First Class Lounge. Happily, they had a great little kids' room, and a buffet of good food and a winebar, so we enjoyed those four hours very much! The flight from London to New York went very well. Carter even slept for a few hours, and generally was a great little traveler. We spent the night in a hotel near LaGuardia Airport that night. Despite the 6 hour time difference from Sweden, Carter wasn't cranky at all and even stayed up until around 8:00 pm.

The next morning Carter and I flew to Raleigh, NC, where we rented a car to drive to Greensboro. We had to say goodbye to Doug in New York, and that was sad. Carter had been dreading saying goodbye to Daddy, and there were definitely tears! But the flight went well, and we finally made it to Nana's house in Greensboro. Carter was happy to be somewhere familiar again.

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and on Friday morning we headed to Ocean Isle Beach, NC, where my Mom's family goes on vacation together every year. We rent a house on the beach and basically all hang out together for a week, and it's lots of fun. The house we rented this year is probably my favorite of all the houses we've rented in the last twelve years. The main living areas on are the top floor, so the views of the beach from up there are fantastic.

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There is a huge kitchen and living area with plenty of room for everyone to hang out.

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We usually rent a house on the beach with a private pool, and that, I have to say, is incredibly nice! We enjoy being able to go back and forth between the pool and the beach, and it almost makes it feel like we're at our own private resort.

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When we're not in the pool or on the beach, we're just hanging out and having fun.

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This house has a den on the lower floor right by the door out to the pool deck, and we made it into a playroom for the kids. It's great to have a space where the TV is always on Nick Jr or a favorite movie, and where the toys don't have to be picked up. There's even a little fridge in there we keep full of juice boxes and snacks. It's perfect!

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We always rent a golf cart to drive around the island, and this is always a big hit with the kids. Last year we called it the Magic Nap Machine because it always put them to sleep. Not so much this year.

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I really thought Carter would want to dig in the sand for hours on end, but it's been incredibly hot and he hasn't been all that interested. The only time we've really been able to hang out on the beach is in the evenings.

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My cousin Julie designs and makes kids' clothes, and she made all the kids matching outfits this year. We took them all down to the beach to photograph them together, and they were so cute!

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Of course, as soon as they were finished posing, they headed for the waves and got completely soaked!

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Every move was captured by the family paparazzi, as always. ;-)

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I always look forward to and enjoy this trip every year for many reasons, but the best thing about it is that I get to hang out with relatives I don't usually get to see, and for an entire week. Everyone is relaxed and on vacation, and it's so much fun. I'm so thrilled that Carter gets to spend time with his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Here he is with his great-grandparents.

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He's had a lot of fun this week. He's mostly enjoyed having lots of time to play, both with his cousins and with the grownups. We've all had so much fun watching the kids play and swim, and it's so cool for me to get a chance to see them for more than an hour or two. We have just two more days here, and we're going to enjoy them. :-)

Here's one last picture I love of Carter sitting on Shane's boat. I love these sunglasses on him.

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I'm sure I'll have more pictures to post, but I'm not sure when I'll get to make another post. It may not be until we finally get back to Austin next week. Stay tuned!

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