English tea party themed Wimbledon finals viewing...

...complete with strawberry tart, scones with lemon curd and strawberry jam, cucumber tea sandwiches, veggies and crackers with three awesome sauces, watermelon, and, of course, lots and lots of tea.

Söderåsen with Alex and Aila

Catching up!

Here are some pictures to add from everything that's been happening in the past couple weeks!

Lounging in the sun with Aila in Clemenstorget

Graduation day!

Human Ecology: Culture, Power, and Sustainability 

Class of 2014

Playing with Aila in Flädie

 

Preparing for our Midsommar feast!

Watching the world cup with Jess and Trevor in Malmö

Jess having a, shall we say, difficult time with her dinner

Chatting internationally with Dad on his B-day

Aila's new favorite toy!

Flädie

For the past week and a half, Alex and I have been housesitting for my boss out in the Scanian countryside. We started our visit off with a Midsummer celebration complete with Swedish songs, flower crowns, and dances around the Maypole. During the week I took breaks from working to take Aila out for walks in the village--which she was more than happy about.

My temporary breakfast spot and afternoon workplace

Taken on a midday walk with Aila

Swedish summer weather

The sun still shining on this field after 9pm

It was a bit sad to realize that this is probably the last time we'll stay in the house since it's currently up for sale--but if you have $5 million Swedish you could buy it and then we could housesit for you!

Sneak Peak from Midsummer

The girls in front of the midsommarstång in our blomkransar!

Graduation! (June 10, 2014)

Before the ceremony

Entering the hall

On stage!

Fun and Frenzy

In the last month I've finished writing my thesis, written an abbreviated version for the current issue of Geostrategic Maritime Review, visited my family in California, and defended my thesis. It's been stressful, fun, and quite an adventure.

California...

Defense...

This month, both me and Alex's brother Lucas graduated! He from ship captain school and me from my Masters program. Saturday we celebrated with a dinner with family and friends. I missed everyone in California of course, but we had a really nice time.

Lucas' mom Helen made me this flower crown to wear for the evening

And Lucas got a captain hat!

Bonus Picture...

The strawberries from our garden!