Swedish au pair experiences life in North Oaks

Angies said it all started at their kids swimming lessons when they were talking to some friends who have au pairs. They looked into the Cultural Care Au Pair program and liked what they saw.

When Dave and Angie saw Emma’s profile, they thought she would be a perfect fit for their family. 

“It was serendipitous because she had matched with a family prior and it had fallen through and she was back in the pool,” Angie said. “I think we did a total of four or five Zoom calls. We felt really comfortable with her. She was great with the kids — we had them interact with her. So, we matched, as they call it, and we decided to move forward.”  

The family met Emma at the airport with welcome signs the day after Labor Day in 2022.

“We spent the first weekend just showing her North Oaks, having her meet some of the friends in the neighborhood,” Angie said. “She’s been here five months and it feels like she’s like my younger sister. We just clicked.” 

There are times when the family does things together, Angie and Emma will go out for a girls night or Dave and Angie can have a date night and spend time alone as a couple. 

Joey and Dorothy have a nickname for Emma — “sweetie pie.” 

“It just started one day and whenever they introduce me to somebody, they say, ‘sweetie pie,’” Emma said. “I love them and we have so much fun together.”

Angie said it’s fun to see the cultural exchange between her children and Emma.

“They’ve learned some Swedish songs and it’s amazing how they can recite the song,” Angie said. “Emma sings to them at night when she’s putting them to bed.”

Emma also helps get the kids to and off the school bus, to activities and with the cooking. She even makes Swedish meals for the family.

“I’ve made Swedish meatballs and Swedish pancakes and (especially) Joey loves them,” Emma said. 

“Emma gets the kids to eat vegetables and they will never eat them for us,”  Angie added.  

Recently, the family was nominated by Emma for Cultural Care Au Pair’s competitive “Host Family of the Year” award and was chosen as a finalist out of over 600 nominees. They didn’t win but were touched by Emma’s letter.

Below is an excerpt from the letter that Emma wrote.

“I have eaten new sorts of foods like tater tot hot dish, celebrated all the holidays (thanksgiving was one I have never celebrated before), and seen how American families go more all in on all the holidays compared to what we do in Sweden! To support me and make me feel more at home, they always try to celebrate Swedish things or do activities related to Sweden (which they have a lot of here in Minnesota)...One memory I love is the day of Halloween when all five of us dressed up as Super Mario characters to go trick or treating, eat pumpkin-shaped pizza, and in the evening, wear matching pajamas and watch Charlie Brown together. I just love the caring and inviting side of the family where I am always invited, and they all (both parents, kids, and me) do everything together!”

The family is showing Emma things to do outside of North Oaks as well. They all went to New York City in December and took a trip to Disney World. 

Emma’s parents are coming to visit her and the family in April. This summer, the Nolans plan on showing Emma the “cabin life” experience in Minnesota at their cabin in the Pequot Lakes area.

Emma is set to go back to Sweden in September. There is an option to extend her stay with the Nolan family but Emma hasn’t made that decision yet. She said she does plan on going to college in the future but doesn’t really know what she wants to pursue.

“What’s really impressive is she is an extension of Dave and I,” Angie said. “We’re both working full-time and the kids are in a lot of activities. Whatever we need, she’s there.”

Dave said he was a little hesitant about getting an au pair at first because he would have a stranger living in his house. 

“The first few days took a little bit of getting used to but now she’s just part of the family,” Dave said. “It’s sad that someday she has to head back but we’ll enjoy every minute we got her here.”