St. Hans continued...

Here are some of the photos I didn't have time to add eariler. The kids had such fun catching crabs, meeting cousins etc. Sabrina played with her cousin Ane, she doesn't speak english too well and Sabrina's norwegian is a little rusty so there was much pointing and nodding and yet they had a great time with smiles and hugs as they left each other. We are all still very jet lagged, sleeping in until almost 1pm today. I woke up at 2 am last night and couldn't go back to sleep until almost 4am. We're all in adjustment mode right now and I must say that the children are doing famously. Trying new foods, loving the bread and cheese we find at Farmor's house. Espen favors, of course, the chocolate spread for his toast! I'll try to keep all updated on our comings and goings, it is not so easy without my own computer, we hope to have that up and running in a couple of weeks, until then it may be hit and miss for a while!


Here is the photos of the Silver & Gold Bank, it was the building that was turned into the Bonfire last night. The first photo shows the beautiful scenery you'll find about a 10 min walk from where we are staying. It is also where the kids catch the crabs (see further down).

The Diner. There was ice cream and treats being sold here during the party. There were tons of people there around 2000+.

William is being held my Tante Elisabeth. You can see Kenneth's nephew and mother in the background. I love his little Roots hat!

Pappa's shoulders, the best seat in the house. Behind Espen you can see the "Real Neils" playing.

The crab catcher!

Apparently cousin Therese captured all the big crabs for the kids, she was bravest (according to Espen).

That's one big crab (there are much bigger ones we can eat that the fisherman catch, these are just found in the little bay under rocks etc. They are usually very small and tiny, but they found a few "BIG Ones!").

Sabrina and Ane.

Welcome to Norway!

Some people have Welcome Signs waiting for them when they arrive at a new home. Others have balloons, candy, flowers etc. We had our own Welcome to Norway!

The day after we arrive it was St. Hans day in Norway. I'm not sure the details of WHY there is a celebration, all I know there is usually a party, and a bonfire. For the last several years Kenneth's cousin Jan (it is a boy name in Norway) has built all sorts of fun things down by the water. Last year it was a full size boat, I think it was one you would imagine Captain Jack Sparrow would find worth of commandeering, one year it was a Star Wars ship etc. So this was he finally year providing all the fun for the people of Stavanger, and he went out in a bang, literally. He built a cowboy town that was simply amazing. All the buildings (except the hotel) are named after Neil Young songs (you see Kenneth's other cousins have a band that are called the Reil Neils, they sing a lot of Neil Young music). So the Hotel was named in our honor as a Welcome home to Norway. The children thought it was great, as did I. Tusen Takk Jan!
So the following photos are of the Cowboy Town that found itself fairly east of the Rio Grande and yet you sat there waiting for the dusty tumble weed to blow on by.





I'll follow this entry tomorrow with photos of the big celebration and fire. After that blog entries may be hit and miss until we get moved over and set up across the street. Just know we are all healthy and arrived safely here, just waiting for one more suitcase that can't seem to make it out of Iceland at the moment. I hope it does soon, as all my other shoes are in that bag!

Happy Father's Day

Since it is Father's Day over here in the Americas, I thought I would post some of the photos I had taken of the kids as a surprise for Kenneth. We fly out on Monday, it has been a whirlwind of activities and emotions while we've been here in Canada. The children have had a great time with their cousins with sleep overs almost every night. It will be a tearful farewell on Monday for sure.

We didn't take any photos of Will because I just had his done. We had to wake him up for the photos, all and all they turned out lovely.

Fun is.....

Driving the Golf Cart....

Quad Rides on the track.....

Esther and Ice Cream @ the DQ.

Mia's happy little smile with her treat @ the DQ

Bond Beach, so much fun, get ready Bella and Tristan, you'll have a blast!

Fun is having a cousin exactly the same age to play with!

Nothing is as much Fun as Brigham!

Life at Home

We've been in Canada for one week now and it has been a great week. We first hurried off to the office of Dr. Bond for some emergency dental work for both Sabrina and Espen, I also found out I have 0 cavities! We've been hanging out with cousins, playing with cousins and sleep over with cousins! It is a Cousin Fest!
I have a many photos to share and need to hook up my camera soon to Mom and Dad's computer. Until then, know we are frolicking at the Bond Beach, rides bikes through the streets of Magrath and trying desperately to keep Brigham dressed! And it other exciting news, William had cut his two top teeth!