Yodleaihihi

Then it became time for Erik's class to celebrate fastelavn. I believe it was is the first time in 3 years they did it. And everybody was dressed up. It was Erik's own idea to dress up in Tyroler outfit. We had fun making it.

The rest of his class can be seen here.

Grandmaster Erik

 

DJ HERO is the successor to Guitar Hero. I must admit sometimes the game developers imagination overwhelm me. The game was an immediate hit with Erik. I think I'll stick with guitar hero - there's only 6 buttons to control.

Rita the Queen

 

Rita knocked down the Fastelavns barrel at roller skating training today. She was so proud. It must be pretty difficult to stand still on skates and swing a bat.

Fastelavn

 

 

Tomorrow is Fastelavn. Rita and Axel really got into it this year. Erik has been wanting to dress up too but not until his class has a carnival in a couple of weeks.

Recorder day

Rita, Edith and Felicia spent the whole day practicing on their recorders for the big concert. It was so cool when they played one the themes from Once upon a time in the west.



And Rita played a solo.



We all went to watch the concert even my father. It was very special.

Snowfun

We may not have got as much snow as the US in the last few days but last weeks heavy snow fall gave us plenty of snow to build igloos and snow men in the back yard. Rita and Erik had fun. It ended up being a true FCK snow man with scarf and all.

Happy birthday

42 years old! So now we are the same age. We woke up Ellen with birthday song and the tasty peanutbutter and jelly pancakes we got from Rick and Jennifer for Christmas. Then a lazy day where the hardest work was to check out a house for sale in the neighbourhood. Supper was a very nice roast with good Italian red wine. Dessert was a Russian cheese cake. I don't know what made it Russian, but it was good. Axel helped cook the roast and accompaniments and Rita the cake.

My heart will go on

Rita has also become quite excellent with her flute. Her teacher keeps giving her more and more challenging musical pieces. Rita is excited about the challenge.

Do re mi

Axel is really improving his trumpet.

Resting bedouins

Bedouins have taken over the living room. Tonight they are tenting here where will they be tomorrow? We hope the camels are dung free.

New years eve II

And fireworks...

New years eve I

Silly hats and good spirits. We all love New Years Eve. It has been a tradition to celebrate it with our good friends David & Nadya and Kirsten & Jens for the last 4 years. I cook, Jens buys the drinks and David champagne.

This years menu ended on 5 courses all involving or including beer somehow.

1. Cured cod marinated in a Belgian blonde.
2. Fresh oysters and Stout
3. Cured duck with a sauce of apricot, chili and English brown ale.
4. Roast veal, artichokes with a chorizo marinade and sauce made of Belgian ale. ( I forgot the zucchini - Ellen teased me afterwards: a real meal for men - lots of meat and little vegetables).
5. Pistachio and beer ice cream with baked rhubarbs.

It was fun to make. I have never had raw oysters before. It's not the last time.

AfterChristmas

Not afterski but after Christmas. When we got home from Norway we had the traditional cold cuts and lobster soup. Opened gifts from the US and Mom and Far. I had found a pumpkin ale. It was better than the one I remember Tom serving me many years ago.

Trysil III

Fixing the car. Tire chains was a must. The first night, we just stopped on the way up the mountain the wheels on the Fiat spinning around and car not moving. Read the manual and mount the chains...easier said than done but we were 3 good heads so there were plenty a warm hands to take over when the other got cold.

Trysil II

On the way up we drove behind a German car with a Christmas tree on the roof top. We laughed about it. Imagine driving all the way from Germany to Norway with a tree - you would think they had trees enough. Well, Ellen could stand Christmas without a tree but almost had a conniption fit when she heard the price: 400 NKR for a tree! Luckily we only wanted a tiny tree although we could have needed one with more space for the gifts :-)

Trysil I

Christmas was spent in Trysil, Norway. We had a great week of skiing and enjoying company and Christamas with my parents, Merete and her daughters. The weather was cold, snowy - at times windy and at times foggy. The kids and I went to the top of the mountain one day. It was a bit extreme. Visibility was 3-4 meters and it was cold cold cold but also kind of fun.

Joseph and his brothers

Just before Rita lay down with the flu her class performed the story about Joseph and his brothers. Rita was one of the brothers. I can't remember which.

Christmas cookies

Erik boiling "klejner". His favorite.

Christmas cookies 2

Usually it's Ellen who makes the bourbon balls but she is down with the flu. So I made the dough and the kids are rolling. Perhaps I spiked it too much - they seem to be laughing a lot.

Smooth

A little snapshot of Axel and me enjoying the outdoor jacuzi on the cruise. It was a wonderful starry night. We just loved feeling the cold air in the face while immersed in the hot hot water.

Birthday cruise to Norway

For my birthday we had booked a 48 hour cruise to Oslo for the whole family and then this was the vessel they came up
with :-)