Enjoying Norway

Today our family is embracing the Norwegian culture.  A part of Addison's curriculum at school is cross country skiing.  Today I put her on the school bus with her homework, her lunch, and her skis.  This is a blurry shot just as she was getting on the bus.  She was nervous, but she was so excited, and she said she was going to try her hardest.  

This week has been a big week for Ben too, he has started going to a barnepark.  In Norway most kids go to a barnehage, a full day preschool/daycare.  We were not looking for a full time spot for him and most of the barnehages have a waiting list.  Instead we found an opening at a local barnepark.  When I first moved here I thought barneparks sounded terrible.  The kids play outside for about 4 1/2 hours a day.  They go inside to eat lunch, but other than that they are outside.  They do delay the start of the day if the temperature is below -10C.  What you don't see under the snow suit are the LAYERS of clothing the boys are wearing, the wool and fleece do an amazing job of keeping my babies warm.

Ben was so excited to go to his school and carry his new back pack.  

This morning I got a picture of Ben climbing the tree.  While I took this picture he was making monkey sounds, such a silly boy.  You can see Garrett trying to climb as well, he loves his big brother and tries so hard to keep up.  

So, Garrett gets to go to the barnepark once in a while too.  Today was his second time going and he was super excited about his backpack too.  

 This sweet little boy wouldn't stop saying cheese.

 Here are my big boys ready to go to 'school'.

 Ben was a little more anxious to go play, I had to carry Garrett up the hill.

I was hesitant to sign them up for this, but the boys love going to school.  They are learning Norwegian and making friends and this has been a really great step for us.  It doesn't hurt that I finally get a precious couple of hours to get things done.