Jump Start

Our "new" car has been parked since we bought it, so since the streets weren't icy we decided to finally take it out for a spin. Well, it had been sitting undisturbed for a few weeks, so the battery needed a jump. A very nice man helped us out and we were off to the beach for a walk around.

I took this video of Zach as we waited for Daddy to "make the car go":

I hadn't driven in almost 3 months but decided to give it a go. The rules here are a little different. Instead of four-way stops they have roundabouts, speed limits are only marked if they differ from the regular limit based on the size of the street, and right-of-way goes to whoever is on the right. It will take some getting used to!

Bonus Christmas!

We got a package in the mail today from the Murchisons and Holmquists, so we had a little bonus Christmas. Zach was thrilled to have more presents to open (and so were we)! Thanks for the gifts guys, and especially for the awesome song---what a jam!

Kon Tiki Museum

Since Kelly has a few days off for the holidays, we decided to check out the Kon Tiki Museum yesterday.

Thor Heyerdahl is considered by some to be a great scientist and by others to be kind of a lunatic (the museum only presents the former opinion though of course). In my opinion he'd have to have been at least a little bit crazy because he spent his life building and sailing very flimsy-looking primative reed rafts and boats on really long expeditions (like across the Pacific Ocean).

God Jul!

Merry Christmas!

Zach woke us up early this morning excited to see if Santa had eaten his cookies and ready to open presents. Thank you so much to everyone who sent gifts and cards (we still have some waiting for us at the post office!). We took tons of pictures and videos...here are a few (if you'd like to see all of them, just e-mail me or comment here):

Christmas Eve

We had a great time tonight at our church's Christmas Eve candlelight service. We sang carols and heard the Christmas story and then enjoyed a potluck dinner with our new friends.

After dinner, the pastor was going from family to family asking each person to say a little something while the dessert table was being prepared. By the time he got around to us everything had long been set and people were getting anxious to dig in.

He introduced Zach as the smartest 3-year-old he's ever met and asked if we had anything to say. Zach replied "I'm ready to have cake and cookies now!" Everyone broke up laughing; I think they were all pretty glad he had the nerve to say what everyone else was thinking! So the pastor gave in and invited everyone to help themselves.

Afterward we sang a traditional Norwegian carol and danced around the Christmas tree. It was kind of corny, but really lots of fun.

Being away from home for the holidays has made it a little tough to get into the Christmas spirit, so tonight really helped. We're thankful for our family and friends back home and miss you all!

Bones Festes in Barcelona

We had an awesome time on our vacation to Barcelona!

We arrived on Friday afternoon and immediately headed out to La Rambla, a lively pedestrian-only street about a mile long. There were lots of street performers, live animals (really---chickens, turtles, mice...very odd, but Zach loved it), restaurants. About halfway down is La Boqueria, a huge market with the most impressive selection and display of produce I've ever seen. I snacked on some fresh pomegranate seeds...Kelly and Zach got some Dunkin' Donuts, LOL.

We found our way to the Gothic Quarter and checked out the Cathedral. In front of the church was a Christmas Market selling nativity scenes with a unique addition...a man, well, pooping. Some say that "el caganer," a pooping peasant, is included to remind us that everyone is human and that God works amongst us in spite of our unholiness. I'm guessing others (like my husband, for instance) just think it is hilarious.

We also noticed some wooden logs with faces drawn on them. We wondered what they could be for, but never would have guessed that this was a second defacation-related Christmas tradition! This one is called the "Tió de Nadal," the Christmas log. Children beat the smiling log and then leave the room while it "poops" out a present. They continue this until the log leaves them something undesirable like an onion; then they know that present time is over. Unbelievable.

We wandered down a few more streets and alleyways to the lesser known cathedral Santa María del Mar, which was so gorgeous, inside and out. Then it was back to La Rambla to walk down to the Columbus Statue near the waterfront. We found a little Spanish restaurant and tried paella---not our new favorite or anything, but still worth the trying.

Saturday was all about seeing the work of Antoni Gaudí, a famous architect that designed some really unique places. We went to Sagrada Família, a cathedral like no other, and then to Parc Güell, a huge park plaza complex thing that is a wonderful retreat from the city.

That evening we went to see Casa Batlló, a home Gaudi designed to look like a slayed dragon, and Casa Milà, a apartment building designed to look like a stone quarry that has melted in the sun. Then we went out to the Font Magica in front of the palace to watch the water show set to music.

On Sunday we ventured out to Montjuïc to see Poble Espanyol, an outdoor museum of the architecture of Spain. We saw a fun Spanish/Catalan music show and then we rode the cable cars (Zach's favorite thing from the whole trip I think) further up the mountain to explore the Montjuïc Castle, which overlooks the Mediterranean Sea.

We flew back today and now like the peasant and Christmas log, we are totally pooped!

If you'd like to see all the pictures, just e-mail me for the link.

Why our neighbors probably don't like us...

Kelly and Zach challenged themselves to build a tower as tall as our ceiling...and then knocked it down!

O Christmas Tree

We didn't think to pack our Christmas tree or any ornaments when moving to Oslo, so we decided to just make our own this year. We brewed up some hot cocoa, turned on some Christmas music, and created our tree. We decorated it with a few souvenir ornaments we've collected during our time here and a couple we made ourselves. We're pretty proud of how it turned out!

Christmas Brunch

Zach and I joined our friends from our Moms Bible study group at Lucia's house for a little Christmas party this morning. A very sweet lady named Wimon cares for the kids each week while the moms relax. I am so grateful for this group of ladies!

Zach and his friends playing with Wimon

My friends

Our Little Star

The kids at church have been working hard on their Christmas musical, "The Bells of Glocken," and they performed it in front of the congregation this morning at church. They were all adorable, but it is no secret who our favorite little performer was!

Trying on His Costume

Rehearsal Last Saturday

Dress Rehearsal this Morning

Performance

Where is Your Massage From?

While Zach and Kelly spent the day together, I had an awesome day out with a couple of Norwegian friends, Camilla and Hanne. We went to lunch and then to get Japanese massages. I was joking with them about how odd it was that we were so close to Sweden and not getting Swedish massages---neither one had ever heard of it!

Norwegian Christmas Cookies

Tonight we had some friends from Bible study over to make some traditional Norwegian Christmas treats. Though I am not totally sure how to pronounce most of them, they were all delicious. My favorite is krumkake, an ice-cream-cone-like wafer cookie made with a special waffle iron and then wrapped into the cone shape while still warm.

Karen and Zach Working on "brown sticks"

Kelly and Marlon's contribution (they just ate)

A BMW for BLW (and KGW too, of course)

We finally have our "new" car, which is not really all that new since it is 10 years old. It is new to us though, and we look forward to driving it in 3 or 4 months when there isn't so much snow and ice on the ground. It sure does look pretty in our parking spot!

Julemarked at City Hall Square

Tonight we went to a julemarked, an outdoor Christmas market with lots of little shops, food vendors, and carnival rides for small children.

Zach had what he calls a "super fun time" on the truck ride and we all enjoyed some yummy donuts as we strolled and browsed.

Dinner at Mauds

Kelly and I were treated to a traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner by the company he's working with here. We were feeling adventurous and also tried bites from a coworker's plate that included pinnekjøtt, very salty lamb ribs.

Some things we liked and some we didn't, but we were happy to have tried everything. We enjoyed great company and of course were very thankful for another fancy evening out without a toddler, this time thanks to our sweet friend Elly.

The Menu (translations/explanations provided by Camilla):

Røktkveite - smoked hallibut
Juletallerken - traditional oven baked pork
with sausages and gravy
Riskrem - rice pudding with red berry sauce and
almonds

Birthday Dinner at Ekeberg Restauranten

Thanks to our awesome friends Kristen and Marlon, Kelly was able to treat me to a fantastic birthday dinner at a pretty posh place, Ekeberg Restauranten.

The restaurant is located on top of a hill and has amazing views of the city in addition to some really wonderful food. We didn't remember to bring our camera, but just imagine everything in the picture above covered in snow and you'll get an idea of what we saw. It was beautiful!

A Very Happy Birthday

Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes. I had a really great day topped off with a Skyline dinner and the awesome cake Kelly and Zach made for me. We also got to spend some time with friends tonight, and I'm looking forward to two really fun nights out this weekend thanks to some volunteer babysitters!

Birthday cake!

Hello all; Kelly blogging for the first time.

Bethany's birthday is tomorrow, so Zachary and I set about making her a Norwegian birthday cake. It is a lot like an American birthday cake except that, in addition to mixing water and oil with the cake mix to make the cake batter, you also mix water with the frosting powder to make the frosting. That makes it twice as hard, especially when the instructions are in Norwegian.



In any case, we had a great time making it, even if Zachary did find it a little difficult to wait until he had permission to lick the spoon. At one point, I caught him with a spatula covered in cake mix halfway to his mouth. Not that I can blame him.


I hope she likes it!