sweet summertime

a few things to describe summer bliss...

• the beach
• flip flops
• sunny days & long nights
• crane's beach
• chappy
• ice-cream
• grilling outside
• corn on the cob
• strawberries, raspberries, blueberries... all things berries...
  

oh how i heart the summer




i could go on... but i'll save it for another post on another day...

hiatus

so... i took a little blogging hiatus...

haven't really thought about blogging in quite some time...

here's an update since our big announcement :)


baby alpine incubating at 30 weeks.

i'm now 32 weeks pregnant - for all of those non-preggo peeps... that means i'm 8 months baked. i have 8 weeks until my due date... we'll see when baby alpine decides to make an appearance...

so far i've been feeling great. i've been hiking, walking, running (well, that was a few weeks ago), swimming A LOT and doing other exercises to try to stay in shape. my favorite is swimming at chappy. it's soooo relaxing, i feel weightless in the water (which is important for a pregnant woman, believe me), and it's good exercise.

one thing i learned since becoming pregnant is that my ligaments loosen up, supposedly makes it easier to pass a child through... well, having loose ligaments makes us (pregnant people) more prone to injury... so swimming is easier on the ligaments...

alpine hiccups ALLLLLL the time... it's kind of an uncomfortable feeling, but i can't complain... the whole pregnancy has been smooth and alpine is healthy! yesterday i counted alpine had the hiccups 5 different times!!! and it can last for 20 minutes...

anyway... not much more exciting to report...

healthy baby, healthy mama, loving summer :)

sunset at chappy

here is yet another shot at creating a timelapse...

i didn't hold the camera entirely still, hence it didn't come out so smooth...

this was actually my first attempt at a timelapse and oh do i love the sunset at chappy :)

Sven Jansson

today i was thinking about my morfar...



so i wanted to write a post in memory of him...

Sven Jansson, my morfar is my mother's father - well, he passed away, but he will always be my mom's dad.

morfar = mother's father (direct translation from swedish to english)

where was i?

oh yes...

the memories i have of my morfar...

him teaching me how to drive his stick shift 1990 Volvo on a frozen Lake Siljan days after i turned 16
gardening with him; his favorite part of the garden were his potatoes
him driving me to and from Granberget daily to ski & snowboard
him driving me to the first day of school at Leksands Gymnasium because i was too nervous to take the bus
learning how to bake bread from scratch in an old-fashioned oven - my brothers and i called it pizza bread - it was only recently i learned it's called "mjukbulla" or "softbun"

learning how to bake many things delicious
building sandcastles on martha's vineyard on one of his visits to America
bodysurfing at Chapoquoit Beach, Marconi Beach and many other beaches...
always having candy in his glove compartment of his 1990 Volvo
my brother Peter stating Bompa Gigi = translation morfar candy b/c he knew morfar kept candy in the glove compartment oif his volvo
orienteering with my morfar
telling morfar about Jesus
spending as much time as possible with my mormor and morfar during summer 2007 because i had a feeling it may be his last visit to America
i was right, he passed away May 2008
morfar meeting caleb during the summer of 2007; so glad this happened
going into the woods early in the morning to pick blueberries for me and my brothers to have for breakfast in 2006 on our first morning in sweden; when he came in he said "ja, man börjar att känna man är gammal" (yes, i'm beginning to feel old)
celebrating santa lucia with morfar in 2003 with my family and friend Mary Beth because it was his birthday
him surprising me with a season pass to Granberget for my christmas present from him and mormor December 1998
him and mormor driving me to Karlstad Universitet where i spent a semester of college in Karlstad, Sweden
wishing he could have seen the picture of Caleb proposing on Granberget June 2008
wishing he could have accompanied my mormor to my wedding October 2008
knowing he would have been so happy that Caleb proposed in Sweden; that we had a candy bar at our wedding; that the wedding ceremony was so personal; he would have danced with me; and he would have laughed
wishing he would have been able to meet my kids... (no, i don't have any children yet; they're in the someday plans for now)
oh how i miss his laugh, i wish i had recorded it, he was such a wonderful person
he was kind, friendly, non-judgmental, athletic, outdoorsy, helpful, a team player, a caring father, a loving husband, a wonderful brother, an unforgettable Morfar.
morfar, you are missed.
my trip to sweden wasn't the same without you.
my previous trip to sweden for your funeral was strange.
i know you're in heaven; i look forward to seeing you when the time comes; i hope you're having fun orienteering, picking blueberries, growing potatoes, swimming and building sand castles. i'm sure you're having a grand old time. make sure you save a spot for mormor. she misses you.
don't worry though, i'm going to keep her company as often as i can.
we spent time together for my birthday this year. i'll never forget it.
you married an incredible woman.
i miss you.
i love you.
your barnbarn sara linnéa

[ps-this will be edited with pictures once i can compile a few; just wanted my thoughts to the keyboard before i forgot]

family

caleb's been studying a lot lately... and to pass time i read, watch tv, waste time on the internet, visit w/friend, find things to do around our apartment... lately it goes like this...

i go to work 8am-5pm (sometimes later)
C leaves for work at 8:30am or 9am, C comes home from work at 6pm, we have a quick dinner and C goes to the library and comes home around 11:15pm...

so you can imagine my excitement today when my cousin invited me over for dinner... it's great having family nearby :) (her husband was meeting up w/a business friend and wouldn't be home)

she made enchiladas :) yum!!

she has two adorable girls...

this was taken september 2008 - we took a rainy trip to singing beach :)



one of the girls was our flower girl last year...



so we had dinner, i got to spend time talking with my cousin, and i got to hang out w/her adorable girls... much better way to spend an evening rather than wasting away on the internet...

when i showed up, her two girls RAN to the front door shrieking, they were so excited :)
they kept interrupting each other to tell me stories of their day and fighting to sit on my lap.
later after they were tucked in bed; my cousin and i got to relax on the couch and talk about grown up things.

vacation: cape cod

after our escapades with the jock family, caleb and I ventured to the Cape. my brother peter spent the summer backpacking europe and was leaving shortly to spend a semester in sweden. i had hardly seen him... we had a fun family dinner and wednesday morning we headed to martha's vineyard for a bike, beach and ice-cream trip. mv is a great day trip from the cape and it's such a fun island!!

caleb- sara- pete

before caleb & i left for mv

the boat ride

that's the flying bridge
where we got married on 10/25/2008 :)

ernie boch's llamas...

"i'm ernie boch... come on downnn"

for those of you who DON'T know who ernie boch is... he was a car salesman/dealerships owner, he passed away and the dealerships are still in the family. he has a large house on mv with a helicopter pad and llamas in the front yard.

c&s in front of the llamas
helmets & sunglasses required... ;)

c&s at south beach
warm water, awesome waves and a picnic lunch
fabulous day!!

for my friend ashley ;)

it was great seeing you in missouri
and great seeing you for breakfast in ipswich. xoxo

on the boat ride home
such a fun day!!

vacation: crane's beach

the day after Caleb left Calvary, we went on vacation.
it was wonderful to have a week of nothingness... we had plans, but it was lots of fun planned and nothing work related :)
Caleb's last day, Sunday, August 16 - both our families came - to hear him preach and to enjoy the banquet the church held in our honor. it was great to get support from both families. Caleb's sister Brooke, her husband Dan and their two little girls, Julia and Hannah stayed for the night: pizza, marshmallows and then Crane's Beach on Monday. we had such a fun time laying out, playing in the sand, walking along the beach...

dan-julia
walking to the pizza place, julia insisted on bringing her little wagon

brooke-sara-hannah
at the pizza shop :)

caleb practicing ;)

brooke-sara
marshmallows over a candle... just for kicks :)

caleb's wake-up call the next morning from julia and hannah... haha

hannah making calls to auntie summer, auntie k-k (kïrsten), grandma and grandpa...
she's saying she wishes they were there to go to the beach w/us :)

julia is more engrossed with the puzzle than with the camera... this is a seldom event in the giguere household... hence i had to have a photograph for proof!

hannah - aunt sara
making drip sand castles :)

hannah-uncle caleb
life is good walking the beach with uncle caleb

hot mamma :)

hannah -julia
playing in the sand together :)

dan-brooke
cute couple!!

it was so fun to have dan, brooke, julia and hannah come visit :) we're looking forward to visiting them or them coming to visit us again - despite the cramped quarters... ;)

and that was the end of our first day of vacation. stay tuned for the rest of the week...