Beaches in paradise

I keep asking James, "what is this magical place we live in?" The weather is phenomenal, the scenery is beautiful, edible wild berries grow on every path, roses grow wild in the forests. Families play together on beaches and in parks all summer long. Our neighbors are always happy to see us. Of course we know the other side to this paradise - the immeasurably long winters, the relentless darkness, the closed-off Swedes. But for now, right now, we are happy.

This is one of three beaches within a few minutes' walk that we've been frequenting.

Both kiddos stuffing their faces:

My beach babies

I keep meaning to tell you how much we are loving our new place and the nature we're immersed in. We go for nightly nature walks, looking for slugs and snails and toads and ducklings. August loves it. Saturday it was finally warm enough (finally!) to go to the beach. (Our beach isn't quite ready yet, they are still landscaping the property, but this one is a short walk down the path from us and almost visible from our balcony).

Leif loved feeling the sand in his fingers (and between his teeth), and August loved running in and out of the water. It was such a joy to watch them playing and exploring outside.

Ahhh, life in the Swedish countryside...

The boy in the background, probably a bit older than August (maybe three or three and a half), was running back and forth in the water, pulling his boat behind him. There was another boy, maybe three or four years older, lying on the rocks and casually watching him. Shortly after we arrived, the two boys packed up their things and walked off down the path. They were at the beach alone! Totally normal in Sweden, but I'm sure their parents would have been arrested in the US. And we would have been reprimanded for letting our little boy play on the beach naked.