Luciadagen

This morning bright and early Ebba took us all in to Bollnäs to Monica's Dagis (preschool). Linnea got dressed up in her Lucia dress (over all her warm clothes and snowsuit) and joined all the children to line up for the Lucia performance. The rest of us went out to the back yard with the other parents & families to get ready to watch the program (that's right, the performance took place outside in a balmy -14 C (+7 F)! Only in Sweden!). Linnea sang all eight songs in Swedish with the other children and did such a great job!

After the program, they had a little reception, still outdoors, with coffee, juice, and pepparkakor. Linnea enjoyed it quite a bit! Since we were all pretty chilly by that point, we only went for a quick tour around the outside of the dagis so that we could look in the windows and see where Monica works. We're not allowed inside because all the children have severe allergies of one type or another. Before entering everyone must change clothes to ensure there are no potential allergens on them. Once we made it around to the back of the building, one of the other staff and one of the children opened the back door. The little girl was so excited to see Linnea, and she said "Hello, my name is Wilma!" Monica had been preparing them for Linnea's visit, and had taught the children a few phrases in English. Linnea was tickled!

We came back to Alfta, had some lunch, and took a little nap. Then we all went out to play in the snow around 3:30 pm (in the dark - the sun sets at 2:45 right now). By this time, it had warmed up to -10 C (+14 F). We started with some sledding first and had a great time.

Ebba and Linnea sliding down on a "pulka" (toboggan).

Christine and Annali

 Then we moved on to going on the "spark", which literally means "kick" in English. A spark is a kicksled, kind of like a dogsled without the dogs. It has long runners that you can stand on in the back, a bar for you to hold onto, and a seat in front if you'd like to take someone with you. The Larssons have 3 sparks in various sizes, so we were all able to try it out. They even have a box that attaches to the seat for a very small child to sit in, so Annali was able to join us! We borrowed a 4th spark from the Larsson's neighbors and all went on a little outing around Alfta. It was so much fun and not difficult at all! Even I was able to do it easily! By the end, both Kevin and I were really almost too warm!


Ebba and the girls going for a ride on a spark all together.

Christine with Annali

Kevin with Annali, Ebba with Linnea, and Anna-Greta

Linnea taking Annali for a ride on the spark.

There they go!

Linnea loved every moment - she really enjoys being outside and playing in the snow. Annali, on the other hand, would have been much happier had we all decided to stay inside. She hasn't gotten used to putting on so many layers yet, and she really fought putting on mittens today. I'm sure she'll get the routine down soon!