Minnesota to Sweden Planning

We didn't realize how much time and effort this move would really take until now but Mattias and I are used to working under pressure and are pretty good and getting it all done! We've researched this sailing trip which originally was going to take us from the Great Lakes to the Mediterranean but now we are limiting it from the Great Lakes to the East Coast of the U.S. Regardless, most folks take three years to plan out a trip like this we've found from the sailing chat boards. We're more like 5-6 months and most of that was prep work to the boat (our Storebro Royal 33'), and for getting the house ready to be sold. All that other stuff went by the wayside until end of August thru mid-Oct. and that's including Mattias' 3 week sailing and travel trip to Sweden and our annual summer trip to Sweden! We are a few days away from leaving on the jet plane and there are still more details to wrap. What went right? Well, biggest hurdle which turned out to be little was that our family house sold in a day! That took pressure off and knowing the new owners will close in a couple of weeks is great news to us. The belongings have been packed and the container has arrived in Sweden. There are a few paper details to deal with in regards to the container (Swedes have more sailboats per capita in the world, but don't know what to do with goods considering the owners will be living on their boat for the next few months and don't have a permanent address yet). Mattias has a unique job lined up in Sweden which he will plug away at some now and full speed in January. I am applying for Permanent Residency status in Sweden, which we found, requires Fed Ex-ing paperwork to Sweden and back to the U.S. We found the Swedish tax office doesn't have us registered as a married couple! Yikes! Paper, paper, paper. Since I won't be able to enter the country until I've had our interview and are approved by the Swedish Consulate--this is a big deal. I don't want to be waving to Mattias and the girls from Denmark! It has been tricky to locate information here when most of the files were sent to Sweden. Again they sit in that big container! So, our new Jeep owner will have his car title mailed to him! (luckily, a trusting friend). What's left? Deciding what final paperwork travels and what gets shredded; child parties at school; farewell lunches and dinners with friends and family; doing laundry and packing up the "one bag per person" for the boat. A few more crazy days of details and then we can settle into our airplane to meet Windfall in Annapolis! More later, Carrie