Pile on the Fun!

Pile on DAD!

Pile on MOM!

McDonald's!

Our wonderful Norwegian friends- Anita, Oystein and Janne- who lived a couple houses down from us in Angola, gave each of the boys some Norwegian money (Krone) as a going away/ welcome to Norway present. They wanted the boys to spend it during their first visit to McDonald's in Stavanger. Zach was anxious to try it out and chose to go there for his birthday lunch! It was a fun afternoon out and quite yummy! Happy 10th Birthday, Zach and Thanks ( or should I say "Takk!") to the Gripsruds!

Birthday Boy, Zach, using his Krone to buy himself a cheeseburger (no onions, no pickles!) happy meal!

McDonald's!!

I love these fries!- Nolan

Best chicken nuggets!- Colby

You know you are in a Norwegian McDonald's when... it is normal for a group of boys to walk in and order with all of their snowboarding equipment, including snowboards and super snowy boots!

Snow Much Fun!

Surprise! SNOW!!!

Surprise! We woke up this morning to lots of white stuff falling from the sky! Our first snowfall!!

Zach, Colby and Nolan were so excited I didn't think I was going to get them in the car to go to school, but luckily we left plenty early because it took almost an hour to get to school!

When I picked Zach up from school he said, "I can't believe we're allowed to slide and play in the snow at recess!!" And Colby added, "I even made a snow angel!! This place rocks!"

My first time navigating the streets during a snow storm.
I was fine on the way to school because the traffic was so backed up the only speed to drive was super slow. On the way back I just could not get the car to the top of the hill by our apartment. Slipping and sliding, but just not going forward. From the back seat Nolan kept saying, "You're stuck. You can do it Mommy. You can do it!" And, obviously, since I am sitting here blogging, I did eventually make it back home!

Honkedy Honka Dudes!

Is your head cold? No problem! Just add a Honkedy Honka Dude!
Nolan loves the hats with the squishy balls on top and loves honking them. So he started calling them "Honkedy Honka Dudes". The name instantly stuck and Honkedy Honka Dude fever spread through the house. Here all 3 boys model their new Honkedy Honka Dudes!

House Hunting

Today we went out looking for a Norwegian house. There are not very many family houses on the market right now and there are a number of families looking for houses, so we had to look fast and make a fairly quick decision. We still don't know which one we are going to end up with, but we would be happy with either.

Check out this master bedroom from house #1.
Bonk! I can just feel the bruises that will be all over my head from sitting up too fast when the alarm clock startles me in the morning!

My favorite feature in house #2. Just add a cozy chair, hot chocolate and a good book. Oh, and some firewood!

The Snow Experiment

Nolan just did not believe me when I said that when snow melts it turns into water. So...we did a little snow experiment. We gathered snow from the parking lot at school, put it in a container, then took it home and brought it inside. The end result, "You're right Mom...just water! Now can we put it outside and make new snow?" I think Daddy's in charge of science experiments from now on!

Beautiful Views



Just driving home from the grocery store and WOW look at the view I run into!

My Norwegian driving is a little shakey, so I shouldn't be taking pictures while I'm driving, but I just couldn't resist capturing this harbor town view!

One of the hilly streets that leads to our temporary apartment. Cute and charming in the picture, not so cute when my car's wheels just kept spinning and spinning as I tried to get home the morning of our first snowstorm!

Beautiful!

There's friendly, and then there's okra friendly!

The people here are REALLY nice. So many people have reached out to say "Welcome to Stavanger!" Norwegians and expats alike. This conversation I had with a stranger while picking out onions in the produce department during my very first trip to the grocery store sums it up...

Lady: Excuse me. I heard your American accent. Do you know if there is anywhere around here to buy okra?
Me: Uh...Uh...Uh, I just moved here a few days ago.
Lady: Wow! Well, welcome to Stavanger! You should come over for coffee!!
Me: Um, okay. :)

It's always easier to get settled somewhere that is not "home" when the people around you are welcoming and friendly (and like okra, I guess)!

Raa Raa!

I would give a million dollars if I could somehow obtain a recording of Nolan and I laying on the bed in the hotel watching a kids' cartoon, totally in Norwegian, called Raa Raa. It's about a bunch of African (hee hee) animals, including a lion named Raa Raa. We couldn't understand a word of it, but it was honestly hilarious making up our own dialogue! !
Maybe I'll learn enough Norwegian to be able to understand what these cute little animals are actually saying by the time we leave here in a few years. Or, maybe I'll just stick to the one word I already know...Raa Raa...and make up the rest, Nolan will never know!

Raa Raa and Friends!