Winter Wonderland

It was snowing when I woke up this morning and it didn't stop until 4 PM.  The trees all looked so beautiful, here are some shots from around town.

 The sun made a brief appearance just in time to set.  I am sure this was truly spectacular from a higher vantage point, but I still thought it was pretty.

 This is the view from our living room.

 I opened our living room window to get this shot.  I am so thankful for such a beautiful day.

Not So Thin Ice

This Sunday morning we got everyone dressed warm and headed to Sandvika to go walking on the ice.  We drive by this spot often and we have seen people out on the ice walking, skiing and having fun.  Jon found out at work that you are allowed to go out there so we decided to try it out.  

This is how I have managed to get the kids in and out of the car.  The cars are parked so close together here that I use my mitten to keep the door from hitting the other car, that way I can get the kiddos in and out of their seats.

 We were able to park right next to the water.

 We got the sleds out of the car and headed out to the ice.  The kids were really excited about walking on the ice, but they were expecting something a little more exciting.

 There were a couple of paths across the ice so we got on one and started walking.

 Garrett was having fun on his sled, he kept trying to steer and made it a challenge to pull him along.

 Ben got mad when he got knocked off the sled and Addie wanted to drive their sled.

 These kids are so funny.

 Jon, Addie and Ben, that is the sun behind them.

 We were way out in the middle of the bay.

 That is Sandvika behind us.

These pine trees are how you know it is safe to walk out on the ice.  As long as you stay in the safe area you can walk on the ice.  They are very serious about keeping people safe.  Jon heard about people being warned by helicopter when they are thin ice, 2 people did fall through the ice this week.

 Here are some pictures of some of the other people that were out on the ice.  I thought this was a really neat sled.  The woman was pushing the sled with her foot.  I would use one of these.

 This family was out cross country skiing.

 There was even a family with a tiny baby in a stroller.

These two ladies looked like they were dressed for a nice Sunday stroll.

Garrett was not a fan of having to walk.

Just off the ice there was a big snow pile.  All of the kids had fun climbing.

 All four of them made it to the top!

My Favorite Thrift Store

My favorite thrift store, Marita Butikken, came through for me again today.  I have been debating about getting a new piece of furniture for our dining room.  I had an idea of what I wanted, a substantial piece of furniture that was black or dark wood.  When I walked downstairs at Marita I saw this beauty.  I called Jon, emailed my Mom, talked to another Norwegian customer and went upstairs and paid for it.  It will be delivered on Tuesday and I am so excited.  I couldn't get any information about how old it is or where it was made, but I don't care.  I love it and I think it is going to be a great addition to our home!

A Busy Week for the Kiddos

This sweet girl started ballet this week.  Now here schedule includes ballet, swimming and cross country skiing.  We love her school and all of the opportunities that she has here.  

 These two boys are just precious together.  James has an older sister too and he is around the same age as Ben.  They get to play together quite often and they have so much fun.  The other day when Ben saw James he said "Yes! I love that guy."

Garrett and I got to spend some time together yesterday.  He was so happy to be able to pull the basket. When he saw me pull out the camera he stopped to smile and say cheese.

Doing some shopping in Majorstuen we were introduced to a shop with a bakery.  Garrett was very interested in this case of cupcakes.  We may have to go back and try one of these out.  

 Addison wrote this sweet note on the bulletin board for me.  It has been a challenging couple of weeks with the kiddos, but seeing this note helped me remember why I do what I do.

A Little Cajun Fun in Norway

Last night Jon and I got to have authentic gumbo, and it was delicious!

 We also got to have king cake.  It is amazing what you can get here in Norway when you have the right friends.

The Stroller That Came Back

Today I went back to one of my favorite places, Baerum's Verk.  I am having a picture framed and I thought it might be ready for pick up.  The picture wasn't ready, but I always enjoy wandering around this small shopping area.  It was a beautiful day, the sun was out and the temperatures were above freezing and I was on my own.  I decided to stop into a florist shop, it is not a place I go into when I have the boys with me. As I walked into the shop I saw a stroller in the lobby.  I had to look twice because the stroller looked familiar.  To understand why this is important you have to go all the way back to October, shortly after we moved here.  On the day I wrote about here we lost our almost new umbrella stroller.  I had researched lightweight umbrella strollers that would be good for living in a big city.  We had only been in Norway for about 2 weeks when we came to Baerum's Verk for the day and we ended up leaving the stroller.  I went back 2 days later, when we realized the stroller was missing, but the stroller was not at the restaurant where I thought we must have left it.  I was so frustrated that the stroller was gone.  All of my friends had said that the Norwegians were extremely honest and that the stroller would still be there.  

Fast forward to today when I saw our stroller sitting outside the florist, not the restaurant where I thought it had been.  I could not believe it was our stroller.  I went into the cafe that was right there and asked behind the counter.  The woman said the stroller had been there for a long time and they had been looking for the owner.  I told her it was my stroller and I tried to explain why we had left our stroller and just come to claim it now 3 1/2 months later.  I thanked her and happily walked out of the cafe with our stroller.  

The stroller still had our hats and mittens sitting in it that we had left on that same day.  I am continually amazed at the level of integrity here in Norway.  People are not overly friendly to strangers, but you don't have the same level of fear here about losing something or leaving something.  I am just so thrilled to have our stroller back!