From Our House to Yours

Trip to Oslo

We had some errands to run in Oslo shortly after the kids and I arrived in Norway. We got to see some of the city, and the king’s palace. We recorded this video while there…

LEGOS

Thought I’d add this one to let y’all know that Legos are still alive and kickin’ at our house! James had plans to submit this photo to the lego creator website. (It’s a spaceship “in space”)

Jump!

Our next-door neighbors are visiting Poland for a few weeks, and we’re taking care of their mail and plants. In return, we get to use their tramp as much as we please! Note the static

At Hvalstrand with the Høgsets

Sally invited us (kids and I) to meet them at the beach. This was the week the boys got out of school, end of June.

Blooming

Norway is blooming and beautiful! I’m so glad I am starting my experience here in the spring/summer months. Everything is green, and there are wild flowers and berries to be found everywhere you look! It’s a delightful surprise to see the new flowers appear in our yard. Our neighborhood is the perfect blend of rural, but not too rural, surroundings. As I’ve told some of you, I feel like I’m in a mountain resort whenever I look out the window! And the lakes and fjords are only a short drive away. Gorgeous!

I hope to add more pictures later. These are a few of the blooms in our back yard:

Getting registered

We waited over an hour at this police station, only to find that we were in the wrong place! Meanwhile, Annie had fallen in the fountain outside and completely soaked her pants. So we took her with us, only half dressed, to the station in Drammen–well past home in the opposite direction. Another wait. They checked our ID, took our information and photos, then sent us on to the tax office in Drammen…all of this in the process of getting our family registered with the Norwegian goverment! Lucky for us, two of these buildings were adjoining some really nice parks which, aside from Annie soaking herself, made the waiting time a little less tedious.

In the end, it will be worth it. Norwegian taxes are extremely high, but we’re looking forward to some of the benefits that will be coming our way. Such as: a monthly credit for each of our kids, and an extra amount for Annie until she’s three because I’m staying home with her! “Free” national healthcare. Most Norwegians get over a month of vacation from work! Working moms with new babies get a whole year of maternity leave!

Yep, there are pros and cons to every system.

Dinner Guests

Carl had a friend, growing up, named Sam Spear. He’s now a doctor in the Air Force, living with his family in England. Well, he recently came to Norway for a vist, with his wife (Dana), her parents (her dad served a mission in Norway), and their three kids. They had dinner at our house! They’re among our first dinner guests here, so we were glad to try out the extension slats in our new dining table They are fans of Apple products and Jane Austen, so we got along well!

4th of July

We heard about a big 4th of July celebration (for Americans) at Frogner Park in Oslo! This park is amazing! It is HUGE and beautiful, and there is a really famous collection of statues in the center. It shows people in all phases of life (naked people, but we figured that keeps it timeless and natural). There were music, booths, food and activites (including a classic car show), as well as a large crowd of people, at the celebration. We had ourselves a good time!

Carl and the kids having a freedom “devotional”:

We took the train to get there!

BYU Synthesis

BYU Synthesis band came on tour to Norway! We decided to make the 1 1/2-hour trek down to Sien to see them play. It was Saturday, July 3. They were playing in the town center.

Pretty town!

We really loved this family that we met there (they were involved in hosting the band): Vidar, Lillian, and their 5 kids. They invited us for ice cream at their house!

Then we followed them to a barbecue with the band members. The lake-side setting was gorgeous! The music was pretty good, too

It wasn’t a perfect day–we were tired and the kids had their issues–but I will remember it fondly for a long time because of the new people we met, the beautiful scenery, and the taste of home!

Norskkurs

Starting the end of May, through the 5th of July, I attended a Norwegian course (“Norskkurs”) at the folk university. Carl would take the early bus home on Monday and Wednesday evenings so he could watch the kids, and I would drive the 20-30 minutes to Sandvika. It was fun to get away for a while and have a language experience of my own! The course was basic, but we learned enough over those few weeks to give me a foundation on which to build: what is your name?, where do you live?, where are you from?, what time is it?, what do you do in an ordinary day?, furniture, meals and kitchen items, clothes and stores…that kind of stuff.

These pictures are really poor quality, but will give an idea of the setting. There are a few people missing because it was the last day of class. We started with about 12 of us.

Andrea is from Germany and only in Norway for a few months. She and Regina (my age, mom of baby girl, from Switzerland), who usually sat next to her, were both very friendly and I enjoyed getting to know them a little.

Some of the other girls. I had classmates from Poland, Philippines, Iraq/Iran, even Madagascar–not all girls.

Our teacher was named Gunvor, an older lady with lots of teaching experience. I liked her personality.