Let's go surfin' now...

Surfing in Norway...who knew? Joe is LOVING it though! He surfs once or twice a week and has an absolute blast. It's not as fun for the observers....the last time I was there with him, the windchill was hovering around 35 F and I still haven't got all the sand out of my car...the wind was amazing! It hailed three times...it was just nasty. Joe's lips were so cold by the time his 3 hours were up that he couldn't hardly talk....think of novacaine at the dentist....that's how he was talking! However, he says the wet suit and the activity keeps him warm (after his body gets over the shock of that icy water!) They are due to continue to surf until Dec...I am not sure we'll have enough hours of light during the day for that to happen...but goodness, it takes my breath away watching them out there! The picture of him talking to a man all bundled up, is his coach, Shannon. He's a surfer from South Africa who is apparently pretty darn good! He is usually out there with them but was videotaping them on that occasion (he couldn't believe how cold it was...and that was several weeks ago!) I certainly admire these kids for going after their passion!

Thanks for the visit!

We had a great week with my parents here! When you live overseas and no one has been to where you live...or met your friends there, it is really hard to get people to relate to your life. It was great to have my parents come and spend a week here. They didn't miss much! They saw the area, got to watch Joe surf, Tim play in a soccer game, both boys do a basketball practice with their Norwegian team, Lily do Tae Kwon Do (and me as well!) and visit Lily's classroom. They got to visit our church, take a tour of the NATO base, and go to Tim's orthodontist visit! We kept them humming! (although they were at my house enough to totally spoil my youngest dog, Kona, rotten! Belly rubs all the time from Grandpa...) We were so glad they were able to come and I am hoping that we'll be living a whole lot closer next year, so visits won't be so far apart! Thanks for coming Mom and Dad! We love you!

Tim's Birthday

Can you believe my baby is 13? I have TWO teenagers in the house now? Tim turned 13 on September 19th. He's a big kid for his age and often people think he is much older than he is. He can pass for 16 in most cases. He's a good kid and he's got a good group of friends. For his birthday, he had 5 good guy friends over for cake and ice cream and some general all-around fun. Where are these guys from? Canada, Scotland, Indonesia, Norway and Italy. Kinda cool. Don't think he'll have this kinda mix at his next party!

Børe Stranden (Beach)

My father did not believe that there were beaches in Norway...let alone surfing. Lucky for him, his oldest grandson is in the ISS surf club! We drove out to Børe Beach and got to watch Joe surf for awhile. It was warm and dry (for Norwegian standards) and Lily came along to play.
There is a small camp grounds right by the surfing school near the beach and that is where the metal cow and the wooden boat was (at the playground). There were also a bunch of "scary cows" as Lily called them (and continues to call them). They are Highland cattle and look like shaggy bears if they don't have horns and yaks if they do. They are interesting creatures.

Grandma & Grandpa with Lily

Lily's Grandma and Grandpa got to come with her to "share in our learning" morning at preschool one of the mornings they were here. We read a story on the carpet together and then worked together to cut up fruit for our "Friendship Fruit Salad." Dad bravely held a pear for Lily to try and slice and dice. Lily sure did enjoy having her grandparents here to visit!

Mom and Dad's Visit to Norway

I tried my best to show my parents around the area of Norway that we live in. We luckily had really nice weather (they don't believe me that it rains so much here!)and they were able to do some sightseeing both by boat and by car in the mountains. We took them on a fjord cruise and then I took them up into the mountains one day for a drive. These are some of the pictures we took...