We're off to Sweden!

Karina and I headed to Stockholm, Sweden to begin our 5-week visit to Scandinavia! We stopped in Newark, NJ to meet up with my mother (who lives in Connecticut) so we could fly together to Sweden.We stayed with my incredible cousin, Harald, and his amazing and lovely wife, Karin. I've experienced good hospitality before, but they take the cake! It was really hard to leave them... Luckily, they come to the U.S. quite often!Their home is just beautiful and Karina LOVED their little pond!

Stockholm is so much more beautiful than I ever imagined... especially for those who like water!

Karina and I were showing off our new hats on the ferry returning from an outdoor lunch at a fort!

We walked on the grounds of the Royal Palace (although Karina was disappointed since it SO didn't match Disney's palace look...)

A guard at the Palace. I found it interesting that they have a "do not cross" boundary around them (although not surprised).

Here is my mom near the Palace. I thought this was so "Bourne-like"...

This is the church where Harald and Karin were married. It reminds me of something out of a storybook. People arrived by boat via a canal...

I was so happy that we got to see Björn Ulvaeus' house (from ABBA)!

A popular meeting/hangout area in downtown Stockholm.

We drove to Oslo, Norway from Stockholm and stopped half-way in Karlstadt, Sweden (which I loved). We spent the night and had a lovely dinner at our hotel. It was the first time I had ever seen a flower-lined bridge! It was beautiful.

Through the eye of a child... our child.

Welcome to our blog!

I first created this quite some time ago, but I've never been known to do things quickly, so I didn't want to surprise anyone or catch them off guard. :-)

This blog will be mostly Karina updates, since Mark and I aren't nearly as interesting these days. ;-) She's one of the friendliest kids I've ever known. Nearly everyone she meets receives a warm and sweet "leg hug". The time has definitely come to teach her about personal boundaries... Oh to see the faces of the grocery store shoppers as they make their way down the aisles looking for their mundane products until little Miss Karina brightens their day with her unconditional love for all people and things. "Hi! What's your name?" Shy is not a word in her vocabulary.

We hope you enjoy our posts and pics! Love to you all!

Mark, Kiki & Karina

Fourth of July

We started our Independence Day celebration with the annual Layton parade (it's tradition for Karina to watch from her dad's shoulders, at least for the first few minutes). This was our third year attending and I think we finally found our favorite spot from which to watch! Karina, of course,

loved it (ESPECIALLY the candy that was being tossed!)!

Mark was thoughtful enough to get us some sparklers!
What a great way to pass the time waiting for dark and fireworks!

She wasn't too sure in the beginning, but watching from the
safety of her dad's lap... what could go wrong?!

She ended up loving it...

Our little Princess...

Karina is certainly all girl! She has discovered the wonderful, make-believe (it is make-believe, isn't it?) world of princesses and castles!

Most days she talks about her castle that has pink and blue lights and goes back and forth on whether or not I am permitted inside. She starts by saying "you can't come in my castle." Then follows it up rather quickly with "I changeded my mind!"

She's certainly the prettiest princess we've seen!

Lagoon, June 20th

Mark, Karina and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Lagoon on his company (thanks, iCentris!) in June! Karina had a BLAST until she got so tired (we went in the evening to avoid the worst heat of the day) that she was

too "far gone" to go on any more rides.

Mark took her on a dragon coaster, but it was probably a bit too much for her first ride this year. Oh well... live and learn!

She had a great time with her friend, Evelyn, and LOVED "driving" the car, although she hadn't told her face! ;-) It was the only ride she went on twice.