Norway 2009/2010

Friends

Just before Christmas, we packed up and went to Norway to spend time with Farmor, Grandpa, Aunt Sara, Uncle Michael, Cousins Leo and Jacob.

As an extra bonus, great-grandmother "mormor" came over from Sweden, as did great-aunt (Oh, I bet she LOVES being called a great-aunt...) Marjan, great-uncle Benny and 2nd cousins Hannes and Manda. So it was a BIG christmas gathering.

Norway was cold, but not unbearably so. We'd barely arrived and settled in before Christmas dinner and everyone was at the house. Daniel and Rachel thought it was great fun to have their names on the gingerbread cookies that decorated the tree - and cousin Hannes impressed Daniel with his lego-building expertise.

I almost titled this posting: "Woodolf the Wed-nosed Waindewe", which is how Rachel would pronouce it. She can tell the difference when listening, so you can get fun exchanges like:

"Rachel, do you want to watch Rudolf"?
"Yay, Woodolf!"
"Woodolf"?
"No, Woodolf, not Woodolf"
"Woodolf"?
"NO, Woodolf!"

Anyway - Rachel dearly loves her cousin Jacob. While in Norway, she would consistently flock to him, and since getting home, she's been saying "I miss Jacob". By the end of the trip, she would consistently remember Michael's name, but for a while, he was "Dat Guy".

Leo and Rachel didn't "click" this trip, but that wasn't really a problem, since Daniel and Leo played quite well.

And another tidbit that doesn't really fit here, but has to be documented. Rachel loves carbohydrates. Bread, pasta, cereals -> anything with starch. While sitting at a Starbucks, she acknowledged as much: to quote: "Everything with Crumbs, that's what I love!"



After celebrating christmas in Oslo, we packed the cars and drove up to Renåfjellet where we'd rented a large cabin. We were super-lucky with the weather, and had fresh snow to play in.


The kids dug tunnels, jumped from the porch into the deep snow, went sledding all around the cabin. It was reasonably cold, so after doing that, it was nice to be able to come inside and take a nice warm bath, or even get in the sauna.



Daniel and Rachel borrowed cross-country skiis, and we took a couple of trips around the area. No speed records were set, but there was very little complaining, and for being his first time, Daniel did great. He was comfortable going across on the flat, and by the last time we went out, he had figured out how to go downhill - at least somewhat. Ups were harder.




The cabin was really nice, with plenty of space for everyone, a nice big open space upstairs for the kids to be crazy in (see video posting) and it was just nice to actually all be in one place rather than have to trek across Oslo to get together with the cousins. The only flaw in this cabin's design were the white cloth dining chairs - I think by the end of the trip, Rachel had stained every single chair. Here everyone's relaxing after a busy day

Farmor and Jacob.

For a 10-year old, Jacob has an amazing amount of patience and love for his younger cousins. And, as I said before, Rachel LOVES him (so does Daniel, but not with the same fervor as Rachel).







Sadly, all things must come to an end, and so it was with this trip too. This posting wouldnt be complete without a note on how good the kids are at travelling. Sure, they have plenty of practice, but even so they are just awesome - just mellow, go-with-the-flow kids. At the end of virtually every flight, some random stranger says "your kids are good travellers" when deplaning, and it's true.

Having the right distractions is key - here's Daniel playing his favority iPhone game: "Pocket God". Mostly he likes feeding his little electronic natives to the sharks, or spearing them, or striking them with lightening - so it's not exactly an educational game, but the humor is perfect for a nearly-five-year-old.

And once home again - there was Delilah - the current love in Daniel's life. Every night, she snuggles up next to him in bed, and pretty much sleeps on his face.

So that was Norway. An excellent time with family and winter activities.

Until the next posting (which I'm trying to write today).

ADRE.