I'm posting these photos to help family and friends "picture" our setting in Norway :)

This is Carl's work place, as seen from the freeway. (He actually spends most of his time in another building close by.)

Our church building (the font is off of the main corridor, behind sliding glass).

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Our neighborhood grocery store.  Good ole' Kiwi.

This is the school that our boys attend this year.  It's about ten minutes from home--the taxi bus picks them up each morning.  Joseph and Sam are in the "mottaksklasse," a class for foreign kids to learn Norwegian. James is in a regular 6th grade class.  It's a nice school!  Newly expanded with smart boards in almost every classroom, kitchens for cooking class, craft rooms, etc...they like it!  There's a field at the school that has been frozen over so the kids can skate.

I volunteer at the school every Monday.  I spend a couple hours working with kids (James included) who are above-level in English and need lessons different than their classmates.

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This is our neighborhood barnehage.  It's the standard preschool/daycare that almost every Norwegian child attends.  Last year, Sam went to barnehage 4 days a week.  This year, he's in school, and Annie goes to barnehage 4 days a week.  (We signed them up in hopes that they would learn Norwegian language and culture.)  I've been happy with the nice ladies that work at our barnehage, and the structure of the system.  The kids play well together in a safe atmosphere.  They eat and sing and do crafts.  Spend a lot of time playing outside and taking walks in the forest.  Annie loves it!

On days when Carl has the car, I walk up the hill to get Annie, and we sled all the way down! :)

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Sam lost his first tooth!  With the babysitter on Saturday night.

Then lost his second tooth--the next night!  It suddenly wasn't in his mouth anymore and he couldn't say where it had gone!

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We shared the LOVE with a special candle-lit dinner, cards, and (what has become our tradition) fudge!

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The weekend following, Carl and I got to attend a party at the Oldham's.  Adults only. :)  We played a couples game and talked and had a good time with friends!

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The snow came late this year, but we have plenty now!  We're trying to get out once in a while to enjoy it Norwegian-style.  (Norwegians are, naturally, really big on outdoor winter recreation :))

Bjørn and Hans Vågen came for a slumber party with the boys.  We took them sledding with us.  We discovered a great hill by our house, and had a fun time!

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We finally got a new camera!  (I'm tired of crummy iphone pictures.)  So, we tried it out on the kids:

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This one was taken a while back.  I think it's funny.  The girl is always peeling off her clothes!

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Our wonderful next door neighbors, the Knoll family, came over to help ring in the New Year!  We had tons of good munchies and, yes, lit sparklers in the house. :)  Fireworks are a big part of Norwegian new year.  Carl serenaded the neighborhood with "Auld Lang Syne" on his saxophone, we made some hats...what more could you ask?!

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We had another great Christmas!  Carl's friend from work, Dennis, and his girlfriend came for turkey dinner on the 23rd.  Christmas Eve we took some cookies to neighbors, had a special dinner and read Luke 2 by candlelight.  The kids received board games that Carl had brought back from London, and spent Christmas and the days following playing them with Dad and friends!  We missed extended family, but enjoyed packages and cards they sent...overall, we had a really nice time!  Nothing quite like Christmas :)

We bought a used Yamaha piano before Christmas that we considered our biggest gift.  We're loving it.

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Our stake worked really hard this past year to prepare a Christmas concert for the community.  Carl was asked to sing a solo number, The Christmas Song, along with his saxophone.  He also played clarinet in the orchestra.  He performed beautifully, and the concert as a whole was a big success!  Lots of talent and Christmas feeling.  The Young Women dressed in traditional bunads and passed out holiday buns/rolls following the concert.  It was really nice.  Next year's concert is already being planned. :)

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Clips from the 6.trinn Juleavslutning at Midtbygda school.  James is (most of the time) front left, wearing a red sweatshirt.

We were impressed by the courage and talent of the soloists his age!

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What a fun day!  We went with our friends, the Amundsens, to cut a tree from a farm nearby.  We got to sip gløgg with "Julenissen," and the kids got to ride a "reindeer." :)  We then drove in to the city to hear a free outdoor concert and look at the Christmas lights and market booths.

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Saint Lucia day was celebrated at Annie's barnehage in Norway. December 13th.

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Just a few snapshots from Carl's business trips in the past few months.  He was in San Jose, CA and New Orleans and London!

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We have a lot of fun with the Vågens!  They moved here from the States shortly after we did.  Harald is Norwegian, Alison is American, and they have 4 kids.

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I'm hoping to "round up" some more pictures of this one...

We had a really fun Western party with the ward in November!  Cowboy-themed, in Norway. :)  There are a few of us Americans in the ward that helped with the planning.  I helped do the games, and Carl and I both participated in musical numbers.

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(spazzy kids :())

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Just a few of them, but they had a good time together. :)  Hiked in and set up tents in a pretty spot. September 2011.

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