Dalsnuten

Okay, two days in a row now...I know you are surprised! I haven't done that in some time now :)

But, today after church, the weather was amazing, so we set off to find and hike Dalsnuten. It is only about 20 minutes away and we were headed up to the main parking area when we came to a traffic jam on the narrow (yes, shocking, the road was narrow...) road. We could see people ahead trying to u-turn and come back down and at one point, a woman stopped by where we were sitting and said that it was chaos up there! Tons of folks apparently had the same idea we did and the parking lot was over-flowing. So, we managed to get turned around and headed off to find an alternate parking area on another road. We managed to get lucky and scored a parking space with a trail across the street that according to the map would take us up to Dalsnuten in a round-about way. We began our trek...it was a pretty tough trail and very steep at times. It is one that is likely meant for more experienced hikers and we only saw 4 people on our way up! It was a very wooded, rocky area and quite muddy from a week of rain! We managed to get to the top along with dozens of other people who obviously had come up the easier way! We were rewarded for our efforts though! The views from the top were spectacular! This is, of course, why I am blogging now - I wanted to post pictures!

We stayed up at the top for a little bit taking in the sights and then decided we had better begin picking our way back down. Well...we didn't exactly go back down the way we came up...we started off on the right path, but apparently missed the turn to go back toward where we parked and so we basically decided to follow the crowd, so to speak and head toward the main parking area we could see in the distance. We certainly didn't want to get stuck in the woods somewhere as the sun began to go down. We knew we would have a long walk down roads to get back to the car, but at that point, figured it was a safer bet than our other option. The walk back to that main lot was easy compared to how we had hiked up and it was nice to see it from the other side. The walk down the road back to the car was long, but we would be willing to bet it was way easier than if we had gone back the other way! It really didn't take that long and it was mostly a downhill walk, so with only moderate complaining from one child, we found the car and headed for home. I think we can all safely say we will be feeling it tomorrow!

Kyla proved herself to be part mountain goat again and easily maintained the lead. Daddy easily kept her pace with Brendan and Mommy bringing up the rear, huffing and puffing away. It really irritates me that I can't keep up better since I do exercise regularly and consider myself to be in decent shape...Brendan and I had to ask the mountain goat portion of our family to please wait for us on several occasions! At any rate, it was a gorgeous afternoon and we were glad to get out and enjoy a hike and see something new today!

Enjoy the pictures!

Busy Week

I know I have been away for a whole week and some of you think we have disappeared, but alas, no...we are here, just staying busy!

We received our second package from home this week! Vicki sent us the two new universal power strip/surge protectors we needed and an assortment of other goodies! So, so, so good! Brendan is tearing through the Chewy Granola Bars and we are rationing out the Goldfish and M&M's. The two small boxes of Frosted Flakes...well, those are gone and we are going to be enjoying some Kool Aid and Crystal Light very soon! We were also all glad to get our beloved Maroon Out t-shirts for this year! I was able to get all the computer stuff hooked up like we wanted and that is awesome too! Can I just say, I love getting packages! Best part, we again managed to avoid paying any taxes on it!

This week passed by pretty quickly with the usual assortment of things going on - It ended up being a very rainy week with some days being flat out miserable with non-stop rain, but life goes on! Monday morning started with Kyla's "Share in Our Learning" day (Brendan's was last week) and then I did my usual walking group thing. I did yoga on Tuesday, and then Wednesday rolled around. Spencer was off to Oslo for the day and I went to the PWC coffee. I had a lovely chat with several of the ladies and it was a very nice morning. I ended up giving a lady named Louise a lift home. We keep running into each other - I see her at the school, at the mall, she is in the yoga class, etc. She is actually one of the people I met very early on when I took the kids over to play on the school playground one day before school started. She has invited me over after yoga next week to visit. Thursday was my volunteer day at the kiosk. After that, I headed off on an outing with our friend, Dan for lunch and to check out the Figgjo porcelain factory again. He had not been there and is currently between consulting jobs, so he is a little bored when Ella is at school. We ate at the Mexican place in the Kvadrat mall and then hit the store and they were having a sale! 30% off everything in the store! It is very expensive stuff and even with the sale, still more than I was willing to spend, but I did get 4 bowls for us. While we were out, I got word from Spencer that the car was ready to be picked up from the repair shop. Finally! Dan took me by on our way back from Figgjo and I got the car picked up...it wasn't the least it could've been, but not the most either, so all in all, I guess it ended up okay. We dropped a chunk of change on that one though!

Thursday after school, Kyla had a playdate set up with Abigail at her house, so I let Brendan invite a friend over. It seems to work out better when we can have friends over when one or the other kid is occupied somewhere else. I am blaming it on the tight quarters of the apartment... It actually worked out great on Thursday for many reasons. Kyla was at Abigail's in Tananger which is where Spencer's office is. He had to stay late for an after-work function so I had to pick him up anyway. John came over to play with Brendan and then I dropped him off on the way to get Spencer and Kyla in Tananger. The timing of it all worked out perfectly!

Whew! On to Friday! Friday was PWC movie day in town and I was able to catch a ride with a lady named Sue and a couple others. PWC had arranged for "us" (about 60 people) to have an entire theater and show the movie "Letters to Juliet." It was a total chick flick and I, of course, loved it! After the movie, we walked around town a bit and grabbed a bite to eat at a very delicious deli/bakery place called Ostehuset...YUM! It was a lovely day! Then it was back home to meet Brendan from the bus, pick up Kyla from dance after school, and get Brendan off to soccer with Daddy. I think we were all tired by the time Friday evening arrived!

This morning was Brendan's usual soccer games, but today, the weather was sunny! It was still quite chilly with the wind, but no rain! This afternoon, Brendan was off to a birthday party for Eli, so I had arranged for Kyla to have her friend, Anouk over while he was gone. Again, a perfect time for a playdate! Once B was home and Anouk had left, we set off to get some dinner. We decided to try a new place...we pass by it all the time, it generally has people out front, and is literally about the size of one of the taquieras around Katy...Ahmed's Kabobs and Grill. And let me just say...we will be going back! Great food, good prices! Oh, and kabobs here are not what we were expecting :) We were thinking meat on skewers, but apparently, kabobs (at least at Ahmed's) are meat, seasoning, "salat", etc. on a pita bread bun. No problem...it was delicious! And, we fed all four of us for under 300 NOK! I think that is the least we have spent anywhere for all four of us!

Tomorrow, I volunteered to help out with the Sunday School at church. After that, weather-permitting, we may go on another hike. Time is running out to do some of these as it is definitely getting darker earlier and the cold and rain are setting in, so winter is a-coming. We need to get the kids winter gear soon, but since everything is closed on Sunday, that will have to wait until later.

On the agenda for next week...the usual stuff Monday - Wednesday, but then Thursday is the start of a 4-day weekend so we will be heading over to Bergen until Sunday! So excited! Everyone says it is a really wonderful place with plenty to do!

In other news...Spencer received all his SpareBank stuff, but you guessed it...my debit card didn't show up, so I have requested another to be sent...waiting... Driver's License is still a dilemma. I have searched various websites and found conflicting information on them and none are very recently updated...not sure what to do on this. I do think I have figured out a way to order a duplicate of my Texas DL though. As you may remember me mentioning, you are required to surrender your current DL when you apply for theirs...I would totally not have issue with the whole process if they didn't take my Texas DL since I am pretty sure a Norwegian one won't be accepted in Texas...I have considered just waiting still because I have spoken with several other people who arrived about the same time as me and they haven't heard any of this. We were all under the impression we had one year to take care of it. The worrisome part is the random traffic checks, etc. they do here and the knowledge that tickets are outrageously expensive!

Well, that's all for now, I think...

Weekend Sept 18-19

Kyla's Friday afternoon playdate went great and she and Abigail have another playdate planned for this coming week on Thursday. I am thinking that I will arrange for Brendan to have a friend over that day...

Saturday morning soccer was quite chilly and very wet! I am getting a sense of what winter will be like...hmmm, but later Saturday the sun did make an appearance now and again. Today (Sunday) was pretty nice overall and we had quite a bit of sun :) I guess one of the cool things is that we see lots of rainbows here, and some are amazingly bright! I am including a picture of one we saw from our balcony over the lake this week.

The best part of Saturday was being invited to join some of the soccer team kiddos' families to hang out and eat with them. They are all military (NATO) folks so it was really cool for them to include us. Hanging out with them reminded us a lot of our Drake Court friends...smoked brisket, sides, beer for the guys, tons of kids running around...oh and we also enjoyed the fact that we got some "American" food that they have access to and we don't! Military folks have different rules they follow and are allowed to get stuff shipped over without paying taxes, etc. My kids were so excited to eat "Great Value" fruit snacks...oh, and Ruffles and Keebler crackers and real ranch dip and...yep, the list goes on! And the smoked brisket...mmm, mmm, mmm, good! Plus the company was great and it was interesting to hear how the military handles
"expats" versus how the corporate world here does.

This morning, we headed to church. After church, Brendan had a fundraiser walk to participate in for an organization he joined at school called SWEC (Show We Care.) It is an environmental group that does little activities and fundraisers for various things like endangered wildlife and plants trees, etc. He is supposed to get sponsors who pay him for each lap he walked of Mosvanet Lake. We (Brendan and I) ended up walking it two times around (about 3 km per lap) so that was pretty good. Daddy and Kyla stayed home. Spencer had some work to do this weekend and Kyla always prefers to be with Spencer if given a choice...:)

Later this afternoon, we headed over to the Darbys for a little visit and the weather was good enough for us to walk around over by Tananger harbor. We walked up to an area where there is a small lighthouse and climbed around and found some good potential fishing areas for Dan to check out. We could look across the water and see the COP offices and a big rig out in the water. Another thing we have seen several of are concrete bunker fortification things along the coastlines. Come to find out from our military friends, they are from WWII and were built by the Germans. We saw one today in Tananger and have seen them by the beach as well. I am including a few pictures from our walk around Tananger this evening.

I guess the only other big thing going has to do with drivers' license stuff...we thought we would be in good shape for a year and would be leaving for our next place before a year was up, but we recently learned that the rules changed July 1 (we arrived July 20th or so) and you no longer have a year to get your Norwegian license...you have 3 months to apply and start the process moving. Greeeaaat...the really pain in the butt thing is when you go to apply, your Texas drivers' license is confiscated. And they don't mess around here with tickets and stuff - crazy expensive if you get a ticket for anything from parking to speeding to not having proper paperwork in your vehicle...nevermind the HUGE stuff like talking on a cell phone or worse! AND get this...they set up periodic and random road checks where they pull cars over from the road and check for paperwork and that all your signals and such are working on your car, etc. I had just heard about these on Thursday morning, but never seen one and then, as if by fate, saw it happening on Friday morning. Nuts! I didn't get flagged over, but my reprieve would be I am still driving a rental car as ours is still sitting at the shop.

Other good news from this week - we are completely set up and booked for our vacation in October. We are set up for Munich and Salzburg and we are so excited!!! A HUGE thank-you to Barbara Koy who worked her travel magic for us!

So...that's what's happening in our part of the world.

Week of Sept. 13

I am sitting here looking out my window watching the rain fall, but knowing in 10 minutes, the sun may just pop through again...I have learned this week why people say to always be prepared and have your rain jacket and boots with you! It has rained a lot this week, some days almost non-stop, but other days, like today, it comes in waves. Ten minutes ago the sun was shining brightly!

A quick (well, ok, I am never quick - too wordy for that!) run-down of the week...
Weather: mostly rainy, cool, windy, with some sun now and then

It was really a pretty "normal" week with just the usual stuff - school for the kids, my usual commitments, like walking, yoga, and kiosk, and work for Spencer with the bonus of not having to fly over to Oslo for the day Wednesday!

Kyla started the little Daisy Girl Scouts thing after school on Wednesday and she had a great time. It is a good chance for her to see friends in a more social way instead of just on the playground at recess. They had a snack, did a craft and some "get-to-know-you" kind of things. They will be getting workbooks and sashes and will work toward earning some patches as the year goes on.

This afternoon is dance for Kyla after school and soccer for Brendan with games in the morning. Kyla's friend, Abigail is coming home with us after dance to play and have dinner so she is excited about that. Daddy will do soccer practice duty with Brendan :)

Spencer and I finally broke down and went to the forusakutten (private doctor) and had our boosters for one of the vaccines we received before we left. We have one more to go in February and then we should be done with that.


As I type this, I am finishing off a Dr. Pepper I found at the MENY market (the one that also sells Welch's grape jelly.) They are hard to come by around here, so I splurged!

Car update: We are still driving a rental as the car is still sitting in the repair shop parking lot. One thing to know and understand here, they are not a service-oriented country. No one gets in any hurry unless they are trying to get through a door way ahead of you or push by you if they feel you are in their way. They did call and let us know what the possible issues are and we are desperately hoping it is the most minor one (i.e. least expensive.) Notice here, I did not say cheapest...because nothing is cheap here and anything service-related seems even more expensive. I did tell ya'll about the renseri (dry cleaners) right? We took 5 pair of Spencer's pants to be pressed...800 NOK (averages to about $20 per pair) later we decided we would do all the ironing at home! So you can imagine what our potential car repairs are going to run us...the minimal estimate is in the range of 10-12,000 NOK and depending on the damage once they get in there, as high as 20,000 NOK...They have ordered the parts and we are now waiting for those to come in and once parts are here, they will make an appointment to work on the car (which is already at their shop.) In the meantime, we will continue to pay for the rental...and hope the car is back in good shape before we head over to Bergen on Sept. 30.

Other things I have done this week that were "new" experiences...picked up a package from the posten (post office), ordered vacuum cleaner bags from the UK for the vacuum in the apartment (couldn't easily find them and decided not to run all over town) and discovered they were cheaper to order anyway :)

In other news, Ireland in October is a no-go - we had our travel agent (Barbara Koy) trying to set up some stuff for us and she absolutely could not find hotels, etc. Apparently our fall break is everyone else's too..., so Plan B is falling together - Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria!!! Barbara has found us some amazing tours and is getting all the hotels, tours, bus passes, etc. all set up for us! One thing we have learned from talking to people around here and with Barbara is that it is very difficult to find hotel rooms for 4 people. Most places have a 3-person maximum per room so it is either search out one of the few quads or reserve 2 rooms. We are super-excited about the trip! One of the tours is a "Sound of Music" tour where you get to see all the places where the movie was filmed. We will also do a tour of 2 castles in Germany - so, so excited! Spencer is excited about Oktoberfest and German beer as you can well imagine :)

One last little thing to add...please keep some of our friends in your thoughts and prayers. Their little girl (age 3) was just diagnosed with a cancerous tumor and is undergoing surgery today to remove the tumor and get a permanent catheter for her series of chemotherapies that will start soon.

Weekend Sept 12

Trying to remember where I left off...

Friday afternoon the kids had activities after school - Kyla had her first little dance class and right after that, Brendan had soccer practice. Daddy handled soccer practice, so Kyla and I chilled at the house.

Once everyone was home, we realized a quick trip over to the store was in order. The kids didn't want to go, of course and have been asking to stay here when we need to run a quick errand - like across the street to the grocery store - so...they were both zoned out watching TV and we decided to give it a try with them both here (we actually did it once before with just Brendan being here for about 20 minutes.) Spencer and I took off for the store with our fingers crossed. The kids obviously feel safe and comfortable here and we returned about 35 minutes later with them both still zoned out on the couch watching TV. Ahhh...we think we will build on this... :) We see potential here...

Saturday morning brought some very wet and generally nasty weather, but the game must go on, so off to soccer we went. The rain was pretty relentless the whole day, but it doesn't stop much around here. There is rarely thunder and lightening, so it is of no consequence really. I said I would take pictures of soccer, but I will wait for a better weather day for that! During one of the games (yes...DURING) Brendan ran off the field to remind us about the cookout happening at the Harley-Davidson store. Despite us all being a bit wet, we headed straight over there after the games and sure enough, hot dogs and hamburgers were cooking and motorcycles were being displayed and we, of course, stopped to check it out. The kids each pounded down a hamburger AND a hot dog and Spencer visited with one of the reps for the Rogaland (that is like the county) H-D Club. After checking out the bikes and stuff, we took off to go by the meat market since we were so close by. Our purchase - thick sliced bacon - which we enjoyed some of this morning (Sunday!)

Once home we got into dry clothes and chilled out for a while until it was time to head over to the Darbys for pizza! We headed out to Tananger about 4:00 and the kids had a great time playing with Ella! We had a great time sitting around the kitchen table, eating home-made pizzas, and having social time with friends! Spencer and Dan assembled a couple small IKEA tables (and we ALL know how tedious that can sometimes be, although these were pretty easy ones!) And we just caught up on things. We do miss them being right downstairs, but it is nice to go to their house and hang out too!

Today, the weather was better and the sun was really trying to make a strong show. It stayed pretty hazy and we had light showers on and off, but not too bad. We had a lazy morning and then as the afternoon started to clear up, we decided to head out for a short walk. We were attempting to find Ragnhildsnuten (yes, the one I searched for that day and never found...) Spencer, of course, found it on a google map and off we went. All was going well until tire met large rock on narrow road while passing another car...Spencer had to pull over to change the tire. Spare is a donut...it only took a few minutes to change so we went ahead to our destination which was right up the road. It was a nice, fairly easy walk and not very long at all. What it did offer...amazing views of Sandnes, Jaeren, and the Stavanger peninsula (see pictures!) It was still hazy, so pictures aren't as clear as we would have liked and we could only imagine how great it would be on a clear day!

Following our short hike, we headed for home. By the time we got to our garage, the poor little donut tire was no longer sitting straight and leaning in a not so good-looking way... Now, I am without our car (or will be once the repair shop opens tomorrow) and I obviously can't drive it...so now we have to deal with getting it to repair shop for a tire and to repair whatever else was damaged...I can hear the NOK cha-chinging down to toilet...looks like we will be paying for a rental car as well, because one thing we have learned for sure is no one gets in a hurry here and service-related things are the absolute worst! I, of course have several things going the next couple days...only some are close enough to walk to and I haven't quite figured out the buses yet. Oh and...weather supposed to be super yucky on Tuesday.

Otherwise, all is good here!

Sea Shipment Arrived!

So it turned out to be a very busy week this time around! Monday was a holiday for you in the US, but not here in Norway. It was a regular school and work day for us. I got the kids off to school and headed over to meet up with a some COP wives to walk Stokka Lake. It ended up only being 3 of us, but is was a nice walk - much more fun to do while chatting - and a bonus, one of the ladies named Rhonda is a wealth of information and insight!

Tuesday morning I went to the first yoga class I had signed up for at the Leisure Fair. I really enjoyed it and despite the fact it is a bit pricey, I am going to continue to do that through the fall. I got home from yoga and was planning to go have a quick lunch with Spencer and bring him home as we were expecting our sea shipment delivery mid-afternoon, however, they called a couple hours earlier then expected and could be here in 30 minutes...I, of course, said "Come On!" Spencer was a little irritated that I couldn't put them off long enough to go pick him up. It ended up they were here within 15 minutes and had all the boxes brought up and unpacked within an hour and a half! Now, I just had to find a place for it all!

I quickly realized we are woefully lacking in closet space, so after some creative arranging and storing (and a purchase on Wednesday of a rolling wardrobe thing from IKEA and more storage containers) we have most everything in a place. Kyla was so thrilled to have all her stuff here and Spencer has already been playing Guitar Hero on the Wii! Brendan now has all his legos too! I had to pack up and put away many of the pictures we brought also because we simply don't have a place to set them or hang them...I did put out as many as I could though! It makes is feel so much more like home!

Still on Tuesday...we had Open House Tuesday evening at the school. It was a chance to hear about all the "specials" classes the kids take (art, music, PE, Norsk, etc.) and hear a presentation about each of their grade levels. I think 4th grade is definitely going to more challenging for Brendan and Kyla will move through 2nd grade without too much trouble.

I was so tired after Tuesday, but Wednesday morning I managed to talk myself into attending the "People Who Connect" Coffee meeting. This group was originally called the Petroleum Wives Club, but after many years, they changed the name and opened it up to anyone who was interested in joining. Many of the members are expats, but there are Norwegians that also participate. I am actually glad I went - there was quite a crowd there and I saw many familiar faces both from the COP group and from the school. If you join, you have the option of participating in numerous activities and special events that they are sponsoring for much less money. I signed up for a movie day later this month where they have arranged to rent out the theater to show the movie "Letters from Juliet" and it will only cost me 50 NOK (less than $10) which is a great price! I also met a few new people and exchanged phone numbers and emails with a couple ladies.

From there, I headed over to pick up a few more storage containers and that rolling hanging deal I mentioned earlier. Then, I headed home and went over to do some grocery shopping. I finished that just in time to run up to the school to sign Kyla up for a little after school Girl Scout group (I know...not a huge fan, BUT, most every little girl in her 2nd grade class is doing it and it is a little more casual here. Plus, I like the two ladies heading it up!) They will do craft projects, take short hikes, work toward certain patches...but basically all of it will take place at their once a week meetings after school on Wednesdays. Then, back home to assemble the IKEA purchase and continue to organize...we tackled Kyla's room too...

Thursday was my volunteer morning at the school kiosk and then I worked on Brendan's room a little bit. I rearranged the furniture, but I am not sure I like it...the rooms are so small so it is certainly a challenge! Kyla went home with her friend, Anouk, to play for a little bit after school. Brendan and I spent most of the afternoon dealing with homework...desperately trying to get him to be organized and responsible...and also letting him "fail" (forgot agenda one day, homework another) with the hope he will step it up a little bit. After a rough go of it, I turned homework over to Daddy...I need a break to keep my sanity!

On today's agenda...Kyla has her first dance class after school today - this is a neat deal, by the way! It is led by a couple of the teachers and the primary school girls are taught fun dance stuff by several of the 12th grade girls as part of their community volunteering stuff. It is a free class and many of the girls do the class, including most of her new friends! Brendan has soccer practice after that with his two games in the morning. Hopefully the weather will hold out for tomorrow's games! It has been a beautiful week here!

Needless to say, it has been a busy week here and we have had several nights that the kids' bedtime got pushed a bit...certainly feeling it today! I think I need to take advantage of the great weather and head out for a walk! Sorry, no pics today. Will try to take a few at soccer tomorrow morning to post!

Running with the Sheep...

So, picking up with Wednesday...after getting the kids off to school, I attended my second COP Spouse's Coffee. It was good to see some of the people I had met previously and meet a few more ladies too. Then, I headed over to get a one more item at IKEA...only to discover my debit card had unexplicably stopped working completely! Luckily, I had been to the minibank recently and had some cash. I ran over to the store next and once again...no go with the debit card...so now, we have NO access to our funds and I am very low on cash...Great...even had to fill up the car with gas and use my American credit card. Now we are back to where we started 6 weeks ago! Otherwise, Wednesday was Spencer's day in Oslo, so it was mainly low-key in the afternoon - homework, pizza for dinner, then a bike ride over to Three Swords. The kids nearly gave me a heart attack watching them on their bikes. We obviously need to work on biking and walking etiquette here since there are quite a few sharing the paths with us. I thought B was going to send a biker right into the road into a car at one point! YIKES!

Thursday was my school kiosk volunteer morning. I am enjoying that part of my week and really like the other mom I am working with at the kiosk. Stephanie is a valuable source of information for me as well! After that, I headed into Tanager to get Spencer...we ran over to the Tanager branch of the other main bank in the area, SpareBank (yes, as Emily pointed out..."spare bank" which we obviously need!) I opened an account in my name and our debit cards and information should be here next week. Cross your fingers (and toes!) Thursday evening, we again headed out on the bikes, but this time over to Stokka Lake with Spencer joining us. Spencer and I were walking and the kids would ride ahead and stop every so often to wait for us to catch up. We finally ended up walking/biking the whole lake - 8 km (or about 5 miles.) It is quite a ways around, but with the kids on bikes, there wasn't too much complaining.

Friday was a school day off for teacher team building. We had a lazy morning up until...the bank notified us that our 4-digit number we have been waiting weeks for was in. Spencer could not get away from the office, so he somehow managed to arrange for me to go get the information without him...so, kids in tow, off I went to the back downtown. Well, to my amazement, they had a number for us, gave it to me without much fuss, and home I came to see if it actually worked...AND....drum roll please...YES!!! YES, YES, YES!!! Online bank access, new pin for new debit card retrieved, available bank statements! The whole thing! Can I get a WOOHOO?!

After the bank excitement, we headed off to a birthday party for Kyla's friend, Abigail. It was at a place called Lekeland and it kind of like a cross between a Pump-It-Up and a big indoor playground. It was not crowded or busy at all, so I payed for Brendan and we just stayed. I visited with a couple of other moms and enjoyed hanging out with the ladies while the kids were thoroughly entertained! After the party, we headed back here to get Brendan ready for soccer practice. After practice, we decided to pick up Surfe Inn again for dinner (our new favorite place, I suppose) and ate over at Three Swords. The weather has been go beautiful this week and weekend!!! Needless to say, we wore the kids out pretty good and they slept well that night!

Saturday morning brought the first official soccer game. Brendan is on the green team and they played two games. Both games were close and the team is coming together pretty well. Kyla and I had to leave a little early to get her to the birthday party at the Stavanger Community Pool in city center. Okay, let me just say...you learn something new every day here and I learned several things on Saturday! I was sort of expecting the mom or the birthday girl to be in the drop off area, but no...so I was totally clueless about what to do, where to go. I took Kyla into the changing room where there was this huge pile of shoes inside the door. Apparently you can't wear shoes into the locker room...I am still looking for someone familiar or anyone I know. Then we round the corner and there are people (we are in the women's dressing room for clarification) all over and most of them are naked...yep, totally in the buff and not modest at all. I tell Kyla to go ahead and get showered off (everyone must shower before swimming.) About that time, I see three moms I recognize (one is Stephanie!) and I am totally flustered and said, "Please help us, we have no clue what to do or where to go!"

Stephanie, bless her heart, helped us get Kyla's swim cap on (you must wear a swim cap and luckily we had one!) and took me in to introduce me to the birthday girl's mom. Let me just say, I did not feel good leaving Kyla at the party, but it was a drop-off party and clearly stated so in the invitation...I was just expecting a lot less chaos! The pool was quite busy! So, then I am walking out with Stephanie and she asks where I parked and something came up about paying the meter (what meter, I ask?) and I was confused...I didn't pay, I said...she then told me about the little box at the front of the lot where you pay and get a ticket for your car (learn something new every day here!) I am just lucky I didn't get a parking ticket! I headed back to get her after the party and that time, I payed! Kyla then ambushed me about staying for the slumber party (first I had heard about it!) and she could go with Abby (birthday girl) and the other friends and her family back to her house...ummmm, no...Let's just say Kyla didn't take it well.

So, (still on Saturday here. Are you keeping up?) I get home and Brendan is waiting for a call back from his friend, John. He finally calls and he is coming over to play. For entertainment (and becasue the weather is so wonderful) we decide to take the kids to the beach to walk around and play a bit. Then we came home and I made spaghetti for dinner and the kids played out at the playground a bit. John had ridden his bike over, so we decide we will get the kids' bikes out and we will walk while they all ride to get him back home. Ah, a successful bike trip with only some complaining about pedaling uphill! Needless to say, we are all once again, pooped!

Today we went to church and I helped out with the Sunday School kick-off week. From there, we headed straight out to drive around a bit and went in the direction of Byrksjedal where the candle factory is. We continued on toward Sirdal, which is a popular skiing area in the winter. We could even see the ski lifts up in the mountains! It was a beautiful drive. We got to a point to turn around and began the trek back only to come to a complete standstill on the road. Cars line up as far as we could see and people out milling around and calmly hanging out...we are baffled. The kids are totally curious and head off to find out what is going on. Spencer followed a bit behind them while I stayed at the car. A few minutes later, I get a message on my blackberry (thank goodness for technology!) and Spencer says, "You gotta come see this!" So, I head down the road...to find a sheep herd being moved across the road - yep, herders, sheep dogs, the whole thing and literally thousands of sheep! We are cracking up! Brendan had just mentioned that his Norsk teacher at school was telling them that the farmers move their sheep down from the mountains around this time of year...and sure enough, we saw it happening! CRAZY! It was a worthwhile 45 minute delay to see that! I am attaching some pictures!

Whew! Are you tired of reading? This one is kind of long! Sorry!