Eli is........not here!!!

Eli is on his first ever trip away from home without mom and dad!!! I can't believe I let him go. Am I crazy? 10 year old's aren't ready for this stuff, are they? Here in Norway they emphasize the out doors. SO, ISS 4th grade has taken their trip to Lierskole for 4 days, to learn about survival in the snowy cold. Eli has been very excited about this one from the day he heard of it. Mommy....not so.
We'll see how he really survies when we pick him up from the returning bus on Thursday afternoon...

What I like about Norway

Pepperkaker
Gjenda with chocolate. My favorite cookie here...coconut flavored with milk chocolate spread on the bottom. I don't buy them anymore on purpose. l love to eat them with cold milk and they make really good s'mores!
Brown Goat Cheese (especially with pink lady apples)
Cardamom. At first, I wasn't toooo fond of this spice in a lot of the Norwegian baking, but it's actually a very sweet spice. It tastes good. They use it in their bakery rolls and vaffler and....? I'm not sure what else, but it's used a lot. Thank goodness it's not in the bread. That would be way too much.
Apple cake
Vaffler
The Yogurt - less sugar, excellent flavor. Yum
The Bread. At the grocery store. Fresh baked and yummy and there's many kinds to choose from.
The Bread Cutting Machines - just don't use them when the bread is warm.
Fresh oven baked Salmon
Eplemost - an apple cider soda made locally
Blackberries and Blueberries (Though I still think the berries are definitely better in Alaska)...and Strawberries and Raspberries
The Chocolate
Hot Chocolate - not too sweet, but rich. Yum. Reminds me of my mom's homemade hot chocolate.

Short rock fences/walls -between the farmland fields.
The farm fields all around.
Tractors on the roads.
The low sun - makes for some very pretty skies and longer sunsets...
The fjords. They are everywhere.
Bike trails. Every community needs these to get around on. They are fab. You can get anywhere on your bike or feet if you need to walk.
Riding our bikes on the bike trails.
The "Tire Park"
The beaches. When you live in a country where most of the border is surrounded by water, then there has got to be some very beautiful beaches. And there are plenty here - with lots of good sand and dunes.
The Rock. It is everywhere.
The Rain and all the raingear that we wear because of it.
Minimal bugs and no poisonous ones....that I am aware of anyway.
Exploring world war II left overs. This has been quite the history experience. The Germans were organized. It's pretty scary.
Cool air all year round. Cool air is refreshing.
Hyttes!!! We love them.
Sheep and sheep bells and baby sheep in the spring.
The Norwegians I do know. I like them. They are good people.
The flow or rhythm of the language
Budnads - especially on the 17th of May.
Candles. Mostly a wintertime thing...they add warmth and light to dark winters.
Walking. You can get to most needed places (grocery store and school, even church) on foot if you have to.
Slower traffic speeds. Americans may think this awfully annoying, but, its a safer more enjoyable way to go...enjoy the ride everyone.
Flowing traffic. Norway has traffic, but it doesn't really seem to stop....for very long anyway. Roundabouts and yielding make that happen.It's nice.
Yielding traffic - the system is basically a more cautious driving system.

No large wildlife wandering the neighborhoods (or even mountain trails). Definitely much safer. I like that. They have moose and bear, but they are not overabundant. It's just right.
Crystal clear water...everywhere....fjords, streams, rivers. I think that is mostly because of the rock the water runs over. There isn't a lot of silt or soil to carry away.
Did I mention the beautiful scenery all around us. It is beautiful. This world is beautiful and amazing. You definitely see that here everywhere.
The green. It is very green here. Life green, tree and plant green, moss green, green.
The Ocean and its many treasures. The ocean is all around us and it is awesome to visit and explore the water's edge whenever we can. And, it hasn't got any dangerous creatures lurking in it. You need to watch for the orange jelly fish, they'll sting you but they aren't lethal. The danger is the cold...
The clear jellyfish. You can hold them. They are very "jelly". Cool.
Crab fishing. Not big crabs, just little ones on the shoreline. They are fun to catch. We could show you how if you've never done it.
The Three Swords along Hafrsfjord

Ikea. There are things I like about that store. And things I don't. Dave doesn't like it at all. But I don't know how else we would have gotten by for organizing and what not...
Knit things. I'm still wanting to learn. The Norwegians are good at it...I think they are anyway.
The sweaters. There are a lot of neat sweaters here.
Ice and frost.
The sky. I know you can see it everywhere...it's just as neat here as there...but the skyline is different. I like watching the sky.
The sun in the fall and spring when it shines right into our house and warms it up. Since it is low, it shines straight in for most of the daytime. I like it.
Christmas decor - lighted stars in windows...nisse and hearts.
Felting.
Winter.
Ferries across the fjords - they are a nice rest stop during a long journey while your are still going....cool! And the kids look forward to enjoying a bacon wrapped hot dog and soft is during the ride and the wind blast if you step outside.
Our silver Volkswagen Touran. The perfect little mini, mini van.
Riding a luxury tour bus to school
ISS and all our friends and teachers there...

Cool sleds with a steering wheel, 3 skis to slide on, a brake for stopping and a retracting rope with a handle for pulling.
The Pumpkin Patch...yes, they can grow good sized pumpkins in a place as wet and cool as Norway!
The Stavanger Branch
Small cars....everywhere
Ice Cold Tap Water. It tastes good too!
Rolf, our landlord.

I know the list is a little long....but I don't want to forget all the good experiences and things Norway has given to us.

Bits of Adam

Adam's Fort

Eli and Adam have a tree house...though Eli claims it is his tree house, not Adam's. And I am sure you can guess who gets to make ALL the rules about that tree house. Eli. Eli is in charge of the tree house and anything that goes on at the tree house, including who may come up to the tree house. Lately, we have had issues with littles being bossed around by bigger littles. Eli is tired of a certain neighbor taking over and "ruling", "ruining", or "stealing" his ideas, his fun, or whatever it is he wants to do. And, Adam, being the good sport that he is, doesn't usually mind letting big brother be commander in chief and usually he doesn't mind giving other in charge neighbor time too. Till lately. I think he needed a break from being under someone, whether it was Eli or the other in charge neighbor. He was given a bit of wood (under the envious eye of Eli) from a moving neighbor and went right to work building his own place. A fort right in the front yard. (A rather smart place where the mommy police can see what was going on and give some protection.) He was soon joined by his little friend (who also has a big brother) and they finished the job together.

Adam's "in charge" signs...

After the fort was done, Adam went to work to erect a flag he had made and tied to a very long stick he'd had around all summer. It took a bit of work, but it finally stood in the corner of the yard for a day or two, then he moved it over to the fort where it remained...

...until big brother convinced little brother that they could share the tree house again and that it would be a good idea to use that wood up at the tree house.

So, the neighborhood crew got very busy and quickly moved the wood up yonder hill to the tree house and there all the wood would still be, except that other in charge neighbor came and demanded that the black boards belonged to them and just about caused war until other neighbor was peacefully given the boards they claimed after a little mommy talk with Eli who decided he was very willing to keep some peace rather than fight over a piece of wood.

(Thank you for your help with that Eli. It showed that you have grown a lot.)

I hope Eli will realize one day, just how kind his little brother has been to him.

All that is left of Adam's fort... the pictures and the memory.

It was a great little fort. Good job Adam! You are a good builder.

Bubble Bath

Adam loves to take a bath now and then, especially a bubble bath.
And most especially a bubble bath when daddy goes overboard on the soap.
This is Adam fun at it's best.

Hmmm. Maybe I need a bubble bath. It's been a while since I had one.

Biker Boy

Eli has been faithfully and enthusiastically riding his bike to school every day rain, shine, wind, downpour, dark, cold, alone if need be...He loves it. He started riding so he could earn an award at school. He had to do it for 30 days. He finished his task today. He says he wants to keep it up all year. Except, he told me today, when it is pouring rain. He doesn't like that so much.

Good job ELi!

Signs

Someone has been putting signs around my house.

She says "in case someone comes to visit, they can know where they are".

I love kid stuff. It's sweet.

School Busses and Kindergarten

Do you know anyone that gets to ride one of these to school?
Well, if you know my kids, you do. Pretty cool.
I don't know how they do it in the states these days,
but these even come with Seat Belts that the kids must wear.
Eli had never ridden a school bus, till we came here.
I don't think any of mine know how nice they have it. They really like the Bus.

Today I wanted to share with you Kindergarten and the first sweet days of school
as kindergartners through Adam (a little late) and Mary Alice.

First, two years ago on the first day of school,
Adam was ready for Kindergarten and for his first bus ride to school.

Thankfully, we had a super big brother by his side to make sure he got there ok.

The smaller bus stop crew two years ago.

Boarding. This bus driver is my favorite.

After a successful first day, the best treat of all was
riding home on a DOUBLE DECKER bus.
The prize of my boys. Their favorite seats? The front row, of course.

Sweet.

This year, it was Mary Alice's turn.

She was ready.

Happy to see her friend, Lauren, who started kindergarten too.

A much bigger bus stop crowd.

Notice the rain boots, a must have for school (and everywhere here).

Sweet.
I love these kids. They grow up way too fast.

Tour bus/school bus line at school.

Adam's Baptism

On August 22, Adam was Baptized.
We were thankful to have Uncle Brian here for this special day.
I think Adam was really looking forward to being baptized in the fjord,
but that plan was tossed out when it was pouring rain.
Of course the rain stopped when it was time for the baptisms.
My thoughts on that one...they were going to get wet anyway.
It's not the place that counts, though. But the spirit, authority and preparation.
It was a very special day. We love you, Adam. Keep up the good work.

I am sorry that the only picture we have of all of us caught Adam somewhere else.

Where did we leave off?

Oh yea...May. Wow! It sure has been a long while since I last left any word...it's hard to know where to pick up sharing on this blog! I'm so sorry. We had a super summer we'll have to share with you all later. To everyone who came for a visit, thanks for the company! To anyone who still wants to come, it looks like our time here is ticking...we'll let you know more when we know more.

For now, here's what we've been up to this month.

School of course...and homework.
Eli is quite the little student. He love his fourth grade! They get planners in 4th grade and learn a lot about keeping track of homework and what needs to be done that day. He' good at it. His grade gets to earn "Academic Avatar" cards for extra work they choose to do. Eli is riding his bike to school for 30 days to earn one of these cool cards.

This month the elementary classes had Share In Our Learning. Each class had a time for parents to come visit their kids in the class and see what they do and what their class is like. This time I remembered my camera for each visit!

Eli, Showing off his wiggly pencil...

Adam, reading a bit during a free moment. Can you guess what book?

...and showing off his all about me page and fetching a folder from his back pack.

Mary Alice loves her teacher, Mr. Kallenburg. She was upset that she got a "boy" teacher this year. She just knew she should have had Miss Megan, Adam's old teacher. When we went to meet her teacher the day before school, she would not even talk to him. BUT, after the first day of school she came home and said, "Mom, I like Mr. Kallenburg. He's all right and he is funny!"


With school came soccer, or rather, Football here in Europe. I found myself suddenly volunteered to be in charge of organizing Kindergarten soccer. Phew! That added to my plate of - company in town, Dave just finding out we may be moving by Christmas, a kids sale I had to prepare for, girls camp to prepare for (a bit late in the year, but we pulled it off...), a Young Women's activity to plan for (my turn to be in charge) and Dave too busy with work to be home for dinner if at all. How do moms do this?! Thankfully, things are now much calmer and running pretty smoothly? I think.

Older kids are fun to watch, but my favorite will probably always be kindergarten soccer. These kids are so funny! You never know how a game will go. The girls often like to chat more than play, the direction gets confusing and they often score for the other team, there is always one or two crying or upset about....I'm not sure what, and at least a couple that have no desire to do anything with the game or even kick the ball. Last week, a few orange team members were doing stretches and tumbling type moves in the goal box while the ball was rolling by. I wish I had my video camera to catch the fun...

Eli loves to play.

We had to sort of make Adam play. Doesn't that sound mean. It really isn't for some kids. I was sure he wanted to, because he said so until it was time to begin play. He is not a fan of new things....yes he has played before, but a new team and new coaches, new anything, even the first day of school, is not a good thing for this boy of mine. When the season began, he sat in the car and cried. Now, he loves it. And, he gets to earn Wii time when he plays. I'm not a fan of sitting ducks and this is a fun way to get in some exercise. Go Adam!

The highlight of September for Eli, his birthday, of course!
First a celebration with the family - my favorite. We went out for Chinese dinner. It's the only day Dave will ever eat Chinese. Then we came home for cake and presents! It was way cool when we checked the mailbox on the way home and found Grammie and Grand-dad's gift!

This weekend we finished off his birthday celebration with a friends party. Next year....I think we'll just do the family thing. It was fun to have the party, but they wear me out!


Other happenings....

Can you guess what happened to Mary Alice's nose?
She had a lovely fall on the way to the bus stop Wednesday morning and landed on her nose! OUch! There was a lot of bleeding. I carried her back home and we cleaned her up, let her rest and gave her lots of love. Then, she became very concerned about missing her new favorite thing, Girl Scouts (which is after school on Wednesday's). She was ready to go to school right before lunch so off we went and she happily finished her day with her usual smile and fun personality! Good job Mary Alice. I am glad your nose is looking so much better.

The last bit of recent events....

The boys just being boys. I'm glad I was able to catch them on the camera.
Adam started looking through his straw then Eli had to have a look too.

Hopefully, I will take less time for sleep and post more...more often...or find more time during the day. I thought with all the kids in school all day I would find time to do so many more things...ha, ha. Later!