I can't believe it has been a week since I last updated things - we had a busy and fun weekend and then it was back to the usual stuff, I suppose. I will briefly mention...I am a total loser as I forgot to take my camera on two occasions, so I am lacking for pictures for this blog...I know, shameful!
Last Thursday, Dan and I had a fun time checking out shops downtown and we ate at a place the serves traditional Norwegian fare - believe it or not, it was much cheaper than most of the other restaurants in town.
Friday morning, Wendy and I took off to drop off cakes at the craft fair and do a little shopping. I have to say, I had the "biggest craft fair in Norway" built up in my mind as being a lot bigger than it actually was...I was thinking Nutcracker Market when really it was more the size of Heart of Katy...but, nevertheless, it was fun to walk around and check out all the hand-made wares. I picked up a scarf with a matching ear wrap made from alpaca and some wooden items hand-painted with traditional Norwegian rosemaling. It is actually hand-painted by a lady named May who is the president of the PWC group I am in. She makes beautiful things!
Last Friday afternoon, Spencer left work a little early and we went to do a quick preview and price some ideas for Christmas. It was nice to go out on our own for a couple hours. One thing for sure here, we miss having babysitters readily available! The week ended with sleepovers for both kids. Brendan went to his buddy, John's house and we let Kyla have a friend over here, Madeleine. Both sleepovers were successful and we re-grouped about mid-day Saturday for a family outing. The weather was nice, although cold, so we headed over to take a walk/hike on a trail we have been wanting to check out. It was fairly muddy after the rain last week and we were on a pretty small footpath for some of it, but we ended it with a nice view! This trail was part of a group of trails that all connect called Melshei. We hope to make it back over there sometime soon to check out some of the other trails. We did have to choose a simpler path since Brendan is still in his cast and the steeper climbs are just too hard without two hands!
Saturday afternoon and evening, we headed over to our friends', Peter and Helen's house. Helen is from the UK and their little girl goes to the British School. Saturday, Nov. 6 the British School was hosting the Guy Fawkes Day Celebration and they invited us and another family to join them for the festivities. For those of you who aren't familiar (we had to google too!) the Guy Fawkes Celebration is a very big holiday in the UK! It is basically a celebration commemorating the foiled plot of Guy Fawkes to blow up Parliament in the early 1700's. They burn his effigy on bonfires, have fireworks, etc. It was quite a show! Following the celebration, we headed back over to Peter and Helen's for dinner and fun and lively conversation! We met another expat family who works for Statoil and we girls made tentative plans for a quick 2-day trip to London for a little shopping and a show! I hope it all falls together!
Sunday we visited the North Sea Baptist Church again and were treated to hearing Michael Howard preach. We heard him preach a couple times while he was filling in at the International Church back in July and Sunday he was the guest pastor at NSB while their pastor was out of town. He delivered another great and thought-provoking sermon based on the Prodigal Son but with the focus being on the elder brother instead...
After church, we met up with Dan, Sheila, and Ella for a return trip to the cannery downtown. It was the first Sunday of the month so they had the fire going with fresh smoked sardines for taste-testing. We have plans for another "sardine party" but I am thinking I am going to expand it to include a couple other families. We then made a stop for hot chocolates for the kids. From there, we headed over to Lamonte and Wendy's new apartment downtown right near the cannery for dinner. We had a great time checking out their new home, visiting, the boys trying out new beers, and eating homemade spaghetti (Spencer was in heaven!)
Then it was back to the usual...however usual didn't last long. I was just getting started on my walk Monday morning with the ladies and my phone rings...a number from the school...Kyla is at the nurse's office with a tummy ache. Great...I am not convinced after speaking with her so suggest she lay down for a little bit and I will call and check back in 30 minutes. We start walking and I call back with my fingers crossed that she is miraculously better, but no, so we turn back from our walk and I head up to the school. Kyla has absolutely no other symptoms and I get her to eat a banana trying to convince her to stay at school, but the nurse and her teacher are of the "better safe than sorry" opinion, so home we go. Kyla proceeds to watch TV, read, color, and basically have a lazy day at home with absolutely no other symptoms except dark circles under her eyes and a little pale - a sure sign of being tired, yet, she just "couldn't" fall asleep. The bright spot - I got to try out my gingerbread recipe - not bad, not bad at all! They have a slightly different texture and taste but all in all should work out great!
Alas, back to school she went on Tuesday. Dan and I had plans to try out a Mexican restaurant downtown, but we get over there and wouldn't you know, they have recently changed their hours and are no longer open for lunch...nice...so Plan B - Phileas Fogg. I finally tried creamy fish soup and it was delicious! Mussels, crawfish, hunks of the "catch of the day" served with fresh homemade bread!
Tuesday night, I notice Brendan's cast is crumbling around his hand and is literally broken across the top of his hand...ummm great...so first thing Wednesday morning I unwrap the ace bandage to try to do some damage control until I can get him in to the doctor. I take off the ace bandage to find there is a huge crack at the elbow too. I am now wondering how long that has been cracked! So, I use my masking tape to try to get it back together and with the slit in it from previously, the cast is just a mess. Numerous strips of masking tape and a re-wrap of the ace bandage, I wait for 8 am to call the clinic. I get through to someone just before I need to leave to get the kids to school and they say to bring him in. I am thinking, "super!" - maybe they will x-ray and such since we have to come back next week anyway...ummm, nope. They literally take off the ace bandage holding it all together, and then use a fiberglass wrap to cover the cast, masking tape and all, and then send us on our way. Really? Absolutely no concern that he has possibly damaged the healing bone. So strange...
So the rest of Wednesday was spent at the PWC monthly meeting and following that, Wendy and I headed out to IKEA for a little shopping and then over to Kvadrat (the mall) for lunch and more shopping. I found a few small things but left most of the money spending to Wendy :)
So, weather and dark update... it has been a beautiful weekend and week - sunny and clear, but very cold! Any puddles left on the ground are icing at night so thankfully it has been dry this week. It is getting light around 7:45 and getting dark again by 4:45 or 5:00 in the evening. The days are definitely feeling shorter and it is weird for it to be dark so early. We are to the point where Spencer is leaving in the dark and returning home in the dark and very soon the kids will be going to and from school in the dark as well.
Tomorrow is PWC movie day and then Friday we have the kids' parent/teacher conferences at school.
Work is going fine and Spencer is certainly taking every opportunity to impress the management and make himself invaluable which is a good thing. He has been asked to sit in on some meetings and seems to be doing what he does best and getting attention by being the amazing smart guy he is and being able to see how all the pieces fit together to make this project run smoother.
In other news...the COP Spouses' Group has picked the date and location for the spouses trip - Early February, Budapest, Hungary!!! I am so excited!!! We will be booking soon and there seems to be quite a big group of us going! It should be fun!
Oh, and how could I NOT mention, my girlfriend, Sharisa surprised me with a phone call today! It was awesome to talk to her - what a treat! She and her family are living in Chester, England right now and their two year stay was extended! We compared notes on our vacations, what we can and can't find in our "host" countries, and had a fun time catching up with the each other - totally miss seeing you girl!!!
We Are Going To Look For…
15 years ago