A Rainy, Sloppy Day

The snow boots that have become a permanent fixture on our feet had to be replaced with rain boots today.  The temperature was about 36 degrees all day so all of our beautiful snow melted and became a wet, sloppy mess.  It then began to rain, making it even messier.  The boys and I were still determined to go out and ice skate however, so we went nonetheless.  We always joke that the Swedes are tough, they don't ever let the weather deter them.  This was in full evidence today when it was pouring down rain and the ice rink was full of people, young and old.

Coco and Josh watched from the sidelines and gave Coco's raincoat and pants a true test.  She stayed pretty dry but was still more than ready to come home after more than an hour in the rain.

Hot dog stands are everywhere in Sweden and we noticed that yesterday and today, there was a hot dog stand right at the edge of the ice.  You wouldn't even have to leave the rink to buy your hot dog and people were eating as they skated.  Max was so disappointed that he had forgotten to bring any cash along (and that his parents refused to buy him a "dog")

Max did suffer a couple of falls on the rink and complained of a sore wrist afterwards but hopefully some ice and Ibuprofen did the trick and we won't find out later that he really did injure it.

Late this afternoon, we headed over to the home of a friend for a surprise 50th birthday party for Nancy's husband.  A big group of our friends made this a great evening and we even met a Swedish couple that we truly enjoyed getting to know!

The party environment in Sweden is so funny because of the shoe thing!  Everyone comes in and then takes several minutes to take off their shoes and either go around in their stocking feet or change in to their indoor shoes.  There is a then a HUGE pile of shoes by the front door until people get ready to leave.  I was so proud of myself for finally remembering to bring my indoor shoes to this party!  I am really tired of walking around in my socks and never having the benefit of shoes to complete my outfit! When it is time to leave, everyone says good-bye but then spends minutes, changing shoes, putting on hats, shoes, gloves, etc.  It seems like we say good-bye a million times, just in trying to get out the door!