Swarming, Stinging, Species

We were invited to a friends house for dinner on a Friday night.  A summer night.   

A beautiful night.   As the adults chatted and shared summer stories the four  kids headed for the woods.  Awesome.   I love when my kids head outside.   It was rather blissful for a few moments while we caught up with each others lives.  Peaceful.  For just a bit, because soon our friend's children came screaming into the house, hysterical, and yelling BEE STINGS!  SWARMING!!  STEPPED ON A BEE'S NEST!   Did I say they were hysterical.   You can imagine how scary that is.?  Well - our two boys were nowhere to be seen.  Where were they?   Anna and I dashed out the front door, having no clue where they were or which part of the woods they were in.   Visions of the boys being swarmed by a group of angry bees were in my head.   I was freaked out and felt desperate to find the boys.   Anna ran left, I ran right, and then I ran right back inside to get more information from their kids about where to run.   Thankfully, Zoe led us down the block, around the corner, around another corner until I spotted Kuba.  While running I felt like a super hero...I ran faster than I thought was possible and kept thinking of those moms that pick cars up off their children.  When I finally spotted Kuba, he was crying and still swatting bees.  He was on the sidewalk and hysterical.   Two passersby where helping him to get away from the swarm.   We grabbed him, took off his shirt, swatted more bees away and then got him into some strangers car and drove him back.  STINGS everywhere.   He happened to be the one who  happily jumped down off of a fallen tree unknowingly onto the nest.  With his left foot.   As you can imagine that leg had the most stings.  I counted 18 from ankle to knee.  There were at least 12 more bites but there could have been more.   Arms, elbows, back, fingers, even on his bum.  Kuba cried and cried and then had a bit of a traumatic shiver as he settled down.   The bites were painful, red and angry.  After a phone call to the doctor and a dose of benedryl he calmed down and then fell asleep.  Exhausted from the trauma.  Luckily he did not have an allergic reaction.   Amazing with so many bites.   Anders did not get one sting, but he did stay with his brother once he realized what happened.   The other kids each got a handful of stings as well.   Such a painful way to end such a fun time  playing  in the woods.   

The Power of a Good Swedish Photo Collage

     Peacocks in Skansen

    
Dala Horses in Nusnas

 Swedish Landscapes 

 Swedish Cousins 

Swedish Hardware

Forest Chanterelles in Trollhattan

Viking Ruins and Runes 

Mousey!

This mouse has been through a lot.  Kuba got him from Sara, his pre-school teacher 4 years ago and he has been in love with this little fella ever since.  Mousey has been through one incarnation after Kuba lost him to the vast sea up in Maine two years ago, but the little fury guy reappeared on our doorstep a few days later determined to continue his life journey with Kuba. 

Kuba learned to ride his bike this summer and while in Bar Harbor, Maine last week, he took a 6 mile bike ride with his cousins and Uncle Claes.   Kuba taped Mousey to his handle bar.   I am certain this propelled him further and with more passion than if Mousey weren't attached.
I've overheard more than one conversation between Kuba and Mousey and I'd like to say right here, right now, that absolutely stuffies matter and that a child's imagination certainly can construct significant and meaningful relationships with non-human creatures...even with a tiny, stuffed, (no longer white) adorable mouse.

Art Camp

How can I not post about art camp??   It's been 7 years now that I've had art camp here at our house - out in the barn and it's really a pretty amazing experience for the boys and I.   It's hectic, hard work, full of exciting art making and always full of the best kids ever.  I have so much fun figuring out the projects, getting ready for the kids and then watching what happens.   This year I found one art idea when I was passing a gallery in Sweden.   Some paper feathers in a vase.  It was stunning.  I snapped a photo and  knew right away we would make these in camp.  

I took a few good photo's of the boys during camp that I thought I'd include here.   This year our projects included paintings, painted feathers, animal prints, foil stained glass, totem poles and a few others that I can't remember.  I loved them.  Our house really is decorated with art camp projects and I feel so grateful for this.   I know the boys love camp just as much as I do.

Niagara Falls

This was  absolutely the summer of travel.  While in Buffalo for Kaitlyn's wedding, we decided to go to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.  It was a quick trip but absolutely spectacular.  They boys were there once when they were tiny but no one remembered it and we didn't go to the Canadian side that time.  I love the falls and feel completely invigorated from the mist and view and diverse collection of sight seers.   Totally spontaneous, totally fun.  

Kaitlyn and Dave's Wedding

It's been a summer of weddings and two of my nieces tied the knot in the last few months.  Here are some of my favorite photo's from Kaitlyn's wedding on August 12.   It was a hot afternoon wedding so we dressed the boys in linen shorts.   Fantastic Buffalo wedding and so full of memories. 

Summer Summaries

Our Summer Summaries in 12-6-3-1  

We played a game as a family tonight.   For 3 minutes we wrote about our summers.  Whatever came to mind for 3 mintues.  It could be in sentences or just words.   But it had to be from the summer.   After 3 minutes we narrowed that writing down to just 12 words.  Then to 6.  Then to 3 and finally we boiled it down to its essence.   Just one word at the end.    Here's what we wrote.  

Anders:  

peacock  bees  trampoline  tent swim  cousins  Kaj
Sweden  olympics  paint  Ben  sleepover  horse  read  book
love  art  3DS  wedding  fun

12

peacock bees trampoline  Kaj  Sweden

sleepover  horse  read  art  3DS 

wedding  fun

6

peacock  trampoline  

Sweden  sleepover  read  art

3

peacock  Sweden  read

1

Sweden

Kuba:

Bees  bike  30 stings  salt  learn  Maine  Wedding  Buffalo

Matuchee   Marriage  sad  happy  art camp  pie  crocodilean 

12 

bees   bike  learn  Maine  wedding  Buffalo

Matuchee  happy   art camp  pie  crocodilean  

6

bees   bike  Maine  wedding

Buffalo  art camp

3  

bees  Maine  Buffalo

1  

bees 

Anna: 

red houses  clay tile roofs  horses  deer hooves  green grass Baltic Sea  islands  

sweet sing-song lyrical Swedish voices  family and more family  history  metal key
Viking ruins and Viking runes  adventure long drive on small swedish roads

tall tine forest with stony mossy chanterelles  moss water  fields

12

stony  mossy pine forest

red houses  clay tile roofs

Swedish family   history

6  

red houses clay roof 

Swedish family

3

Swedish red houses

1 

Swedish

Judy:

Sweden  red dala horses big and small  red polo across Sweden  family  Malmo Stockholm
Boys and Anna   playing in playgrounds   taking photos  landscapes of yellow and blue

red falu houses  feeding wild deer  Ringso Island and cousins  vikings   Baltic Sea

Kuba gets stung 30 times  yellow jackets riding bikes  losing molars  twisting ankles
breaking pinkies  Kaitlyn and Dave  Jamie and AJ  Weddings  beautiful  
growing close through travel  happy   crossing the ocean

12

red falu houses

beautiful landscape

family growing close through travel 

happy Sweden

6

beautiful landscape

family growing close 

Sweden

3

family growing close

1

growing

Unfurled

I made a collage at an arts literacy institute this past week.  I also had to create a poem. I loved both the poem and collage and felt compelled to post them here.   It's an amazing thing to love this family, this home, this life so much.  and I do.  


home

orange echoed

rich with color texture pattern soul

yes

a place to unfurl

young boys shine like the bright blue sky with 

white mountains of cloud meringue

home

texture  color   soul

a place to unfurl

 yes, boys shine

orange echoed

boys souls unfurl

shine orange 

home

orange souls unfurled

unfurled  

Riding High

One of my favorite things about the summer was this guy learning to ride his bike. He had a lot of anxiety about riding which prevented him from trying for a looooooong time- which caused him even more anxiety as all of his friends were now riding and he was not.  But this summer he conquered his fear and started riding with so much pride and JOY!!!  Just watching his gigantic smile each time he rode, and his exclamations of  "This is so fun!" made me tear up.