The Great Danes

Karsten's cousin Henrik and his family came to visit us in San Diego this summer.  The "kids" Anders and Jeppe are all grown up and QUITE tall, towering at around 6'5" each!

Despite the size difference, Axel still had confidence that he could beat Anders in an uphill footrace:

Linda and Henrik enjoying the summer concert in Mission Hills park:

Axel was generally euphoric to be hanging out with such a cool guy as Jeppe, and he requested to sit next to him at every restaurant:

The rule is you gotta stop for ice cream at every possible chance while you're on your "staycation" in San Diego 

A walking tour of Balboa park

Linda tried to explain to Axel how to throw a coin in the fountain to make a wish . . . 

I think the whole concept went over his head.

Their trip ended with an awesome meal at Brookline Girl, including bone marrow shots 

Mellon Balling

A long lost childhood friend of Karsten's was in San Diego on vacation with his family from Norway, and we invited them to our house for a dinner party.  Despite nobody knowing each other, a general shyness of personalities, and the obvious language barrier, the kids had bonded by the end of the night over making watermelon balls together.   We grown-ups stuck to the traditional ice-breaker of alcohol.

Step One: Axel demonstrating the mellon balling method

Step 2: All the kids doing it by the end of the night.  Step 3: World Peace

Legomania with Tante Jane

When Jane came to visit she brought a lego present for Axel which was VERY well received.

She also had the patience to guide him through building the lego ship all by himself, a feat that only took about two hours . . . 

Snow Cones

We heard the ice cream truck.   We HAD to get the snow cones.  Everyone is happy now.

Swimming with the Orcas

OKAY its not quite as good as swimming with dolphins, but the kids certainly had fun jumping off the orca statue at the water playground. 

Camping with Cuzzies in Seattle

When we visited Tom's family in Seattle this year, we took a few days to camp in some old fashioned cabins at a site near the beach.   It was a great place for families to stay.  PS. thanks to Tom for the amazing photos that I stole off his Facebook post!

Maddy June with the binoculars:

Axel with the binoculars . . . Who knew that these would be such a hit with the kiddos?  A tip for parents: binoculars are ESSENTIAL for camping with kids, regardless of the low likelihood of seeing any wildlife.  

Karsten begins the "marshmallow" course of dinner, which was obviously quite substantial 

Believe it or not it was almost 10pm here, the days are LONG up in the north land during summer

Karsten says goodnight to Annabelle by the fire

Returned home, and the first activity is to paint the sea shells collected from the beach

Tarzan Swing

Ana and Elsa

Axel was recently invited to a very princessy party.  He seemed pretty comfortable swimming among a sea of princesses.   He didnt mind all the girliness, plus he got to meet Princess Ana and Queen Elsa - all I can say is "wow"!