Harris Family Journals

Lena's Surprise Party

2007-11-18T13:27:00.000-08:00

Lena got what she's (secretly) always wanted: A surprise birthday party!

For her 13th birthday we decided to take matters into our own hands and invite her whole class (it's pretty small) as well as the students from last years class who now go to other schools. In all about 22 teens.

Luckily, all but 5 or 6 of the students showed up to surprise her. It went great! Here's a short video clip filmed about a minute or two after we walked into the room and everybody yelled "Surprise!"

See some pics from the event at my Facebook album, here (friends only).

Presents from Grandma and Grandpa!

2007-11-18T13:09:00.001-08:00

Lena and Emili got a package from America with some nice birthday presents inside!

Here's Lena on the phone saying thanks. She's wearing the Oregon University hooded sweatshirt she got from them. You can see more pics of them both at my Facebook album here.

Some recent pics

2007-11-18T12:55:00.000-08:00

As you can see from the picture below, I really gotta lose some weight! He he. This was also before Lena got makeup tips from a babe at the Body Shoppe, so now her makeup looks much nicer (not quite so much around the eyes).

Parental internet tips for surfing kids

2007-09-11T00:57:00.000-07:00

I found this interesting, informative presentation about how to raise your children with healthy internet habits:

http://www.slideshare.net/dlevin/parenting-the-myspace-generation

Amy stumbles around

2007-09-02T10:23:00.000-07:00

Amy's first steps

2007-09-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Amy takes her first steps. This is from about a month ago, right after her first birthday.

Best Practices for Form Design

2007-09-02T04:31:00.000-07:00

I found this on the web and was very impressed with the presentation. Great tips and design patterns for online forms! :)

Thomas' 9th birthday pics!

2007-09-02T04:14:00.001-07:00

Thomas had a birthday party with a pirate theme. The kids divided into two groups (5 girls vs. 5 boys) and each designed their own pirate flag.

Here are some pics of the groups holding their flag, and of Thomas pirate ship birthday cake that Irene and I made out of chocolate cake and frosting.

Kelvin dressed up as a pirate ghost and the kids had to "swordfight" him to find out where the hidden treasure (chocalate coins) were hidden.

Thomas Birthday song!

2007-09-02T04:05:00.001-07:00

Thomas invited his whole class (10 kids came) to his 9th birthday party! Here they all sing to him in English:

Make your own Harry Potter wand!

2007-08-17T02:30:00.000-07:00

I just found this very cool site that gives instructions on how to make your own wand out of a sheet of paper, a glue gun and some paint!

These could pass as film props. Check out the amazing quality!

I gotta try this myself and post some pics. Until then, enjoy the above pics of wands made by various other people who followed the instructions found here.

UPDATE April 1st 2009 (No, this is not an April Fools Joke): It looks like they started charging to download the instructions. Only $1.25 or so but still not too cool since I've been advertising for them for free all these months. Well, be warned but the jig is still pretty freaking cool, and not too expensive considering..

How does your brain see color?

2007-08-15T00:38:00.001-07:00

Just found a great test for the eyes.

Check it out here

You may be surprised. :)

Find me on Facebook

2007-08-06T10:33:00.001-07:00

I started a facebook account. Visit my profile here.

I've been uploading loads of pics since it's a heckofa lot easier than through Blogger.

So, check out my Photo Albums for some great pics of me and my family! :)

Cheers,
Rich

Happy First Birthday to Amy!

2007-08-06T02:59:00.000-07:00

Amy's first birthday!

We're singing the Norwegian Happy Birthday song.

She turned one year old on July 30!

Amy gets clean

2007-08-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

We recently entered Amy into a contest for most photogenic soap baby. Hopefully we will win the $3,000 travel money so we can go to the states next year! :)

My Dæmon

2007-06-17T01:07:00.000-07:00

Swingin' in the sky

2007-05-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

This last picture (by Irene) is great because you can see all three kids (Thomas in front, Kelvin and Lena behind) in the swings on the bottom right of the pic.

In my opinion, this is the scariest ride in the whole park! It freaks me out! I can't ride it any more because I'm always afraid the chains will give way to my enormous weight and throw me to the trees! ;-)

Farris Wheel

2007-05-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

The four older kids agreed to go on this mini Farris Wheel to warm Emili up to the idea of going on rides. It was suuuuper slow, but they were all very good sports and Emili ended up liking it enough to try other rides afterwards.

These were taken on our (rainy) day at Tusenfryd theme park in Norway on May 18th.

Carousel Ride

2007-05-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Lena, Kelvin, Thomas and Emili riding the Carousel at Tusenfryd.

Emili's motorcycle ride

2007-05-23T14:52:00.000-07:00

Tusenfryd fun

2007-05-23T14:48:00.000-07:00

Kelvin must be having a good time. He has cotton candy remains on his face! :)

Thomas look a bit skeptical. Is that cotton candy really a trap?

Finally I found a picd where Lena looks happy! Yay! :)

Emili loves the bumper cars!

More snapshots

2007-05-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I need a shave. This is the only pic of me in the batch so I had to add it.:)

This is Irene trying to give me her best "serious look" glare for the picture. Kind of daring me to take the pic. ;-)

Thomas is happy and ready for our trip the "Tusenfryd" theme park, which we visited on May 18th.

Kelvin and Amy being nationalistic (is that a word?) holding a Norway flag.

May 17th parade and after

2007-05-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Irene leads the whole parade! The woman next to Irene is mother to Stina in Kelvin's class.

These are the graduates, called "Russ" (pernounced roo-ss) drunk as skunks on their fancy drinking wagon.

Irene loves Amy! And Thomas loves his mom! :)

Emili's May 17th

2007-05-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Emili with her best friend Ruben (above) and two of her kindergarden friends wearing bunads, their Norwegian national dresses (below).

Emili and Ruben walked in front of the whole group during the parade. Ruben held the class banner.

In the last pic, Emili is worn out and ready for bed. She is looking at one of her favorite books, "The little prince", written by a french author.

She sleeps in the bottom bunk with Thomas above her and Kelvin in the same room but in his own bed.

Natalie and class on May 17th

2007-05-23T12:55:00.001-07:00

Lena Natalie and her class during the May 17th celebration at Steiner school. In the last picture, Lena is in a booth selling soda and ice-cream to raise money for the school.

Kelvin May 17th

2007-05-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

Kelvin and some of his classmates on May 17th, Norway's national holiday! :)

Thomas' note to God

2007-05-21T00:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in Sunday School, the kids were asked to write a note to God, asking about anything they might wonder about.

"Dear God, I wonder if you are true. I love you, God?"

It touched me to the very core.

Emili says

2007-05-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

This happens a lot. Emili speaks English with a few Norwegian words thrown in here and there. Sometimes with humorous results.

"Can you hell for me?"

Helle = pour

She wants me to pour some juice into her cup. Cute! :)

Norway: Murderer gets 30 days in prison

2007-04-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

I can't believe this story that I read in the local newspaper (Romerikes blad) today.

Basically, some inexperienced truck driver was annoyed by a driver in front of him who was driving uneven speeds and decided to pass him. He was driving a looong truck (2 trailers long) with over 20 tons freight.

He ended up killing the driver and passanger by entering the lane again BEFORE he had passed the car completely!

So what does he get? 30 days in prison (assigned to 60 but allowed to go after half) and loses his drivrs license for 5 weeks! That's it!

Regardless of the Judge who said he showed clearly irresponsible driving and that the deaths were because he was careless and did not follow standard driving procedures.

Two people die and 5 others badly injured because of some careless moron and he gets a slap on the wrist.

What a country! Gotta love Norway. :)

Dagens horoskop

2007-04-23T04:04:00.000-07:00

Today my daughter read my horoscope to me and for once it suited me well:

Du kan oppdage en lit tvilsom side ved en venn eller kollege i dag. Dine kommentarer og skrevne ord kan fort bli tillagt mye større vekt en vanlig, så vær forsiktig med hvordan du uttryker deg.

Translation:

You may discover a doubtful side of a friend or collegue today. Your comments and written words can quickly be given more credence than usual, so be careful how you express yourself.

...but it's a day late.

Yesterday Irene became quite offended by something I said or did. Or wrote. I can't remember which.

And Lena's was also suitable for her:

En ny sak kan komme til å ta mye lenger tid enn beregnet. Energien er heller ikke helt på topp, så pass på å få slappet godt av i kveld.

Translation:

Something new may take much more time than planned. Your energy is not up to par, so be sure to relax well tonight.

And today Lena is sick! No way! It knows her!

Not only that but this could suit Lena nearly every day since she almost always misjudges how much time she needs to alot for things.

Lena and I are both sick today in fact. I am working from Homw and Lena is "relaxing" home from school. Let's hope we get well soon. :)

It Snowed Last Night!

2007-04-10T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, these pictures are from yesterday so technically it snowed "the night before last" but either way that's pretty late in the year for snowfall!

Irene and I spent our Easter holidays cleaning the house (spring is here?) and building this mini greenhouse in our yard.

Enjoy the pics!

PS. The snow has already almost melted. Another day or two and we'll be back to the grass and dirt we love. :)

Amy is growing - cell phone pics

2007-04-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

I took these pics yesterday with my cell phone because our camera is damaged...

Kelvin's first piano lesson

2007-01-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

I guess it would have been more correct to say this is Kelvin after his first piano lesson, playing the piece of music he just learned to read.

He does a pretty good intro, but it may be hard to make out all that he is saying. He says this is the first song he has learned "from a book". The piece is called "The woodchuck", like the famous tongue twister.

Kelvin Casts New Years Magic

2007-01-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

These were taken last night in our front yard. Kelvin looks like he's casting a spell on baby Amy in that last picture!

All Five Kids Together

2007-01-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

These were taken today. Left to right: Kelvin (10), Thomas (8), Lena (12), Amy (5 months) and Emili (5).

Amy's First Teeth!

2007-01-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

Here's a short video of me trying to get a shot of Amy's brand new teeth. She turned 5 months this day (New Years Eve) and had two teeth break through!

Kelvin decorates the tree

2007-01-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

This was filmed on my birthday, 22 December 2006.

Emili plays with baby Amy

2007-01-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

Emili loves to play hold and play with her baby sister. Yesterday Amy was 5 months old! She actually cut her first two teeth too. I'll try to post pics of that later.

For now enjoy this cute video of Emili posing for the camera with baby Amy. (She keeps saying "Cheese!" because she thinks I am going to take a picture. She doesn't realize I am recording a video.)

Cutie! :)

Midnight New Years Fireworks Video

2007-01-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of 2 videos I recorded from our balcony last night. (Scroll down or click here for part one.)

It was exactly midnight and the New Year had just begun! Fireworks galore! I wish you could see all the amazing fireworks. They were EVERYWHERE!

New Years fun for Thomas and Emili

2007-01-01T13:42:00.000-08:00

More cute family photos

2007-01-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some more cute family photos taken today, New Years Day 2007! :)

Fireworks!

2007-01-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is 1 of 2 videos I took of the view from our veranda last night (New Years).

What an awesome sight! I wish the video did it justice!

New Years Kids

2007-01-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

Just a shot of each kid on New Years day. (Picasa only lets me post 4 pics at a time or there would be more here.)

Today we talked about New Years resolutions, played some games, played outside and played with Star Wars toys.

Kelvin started taking piano lessons (from Irene, his mom). He is doing well and I hope he continues. He seems to enjoy it so far. :)

More New Years Fireworks

2007-01-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

Some more fireworks from our balcony and a shot of the kids with sparklers in our front yard.

Happy New Years!! :)

New Year Fireworks

2007-01-01T11:25:00.000-08:00

The view from our veranda last night at midnight:

Kids see newborn Amy for the first time

2006-12-21T12:23:00.000-08:00

I found a few old videos I forgot to post here.

Here's a great one of the kids visiting Irene and Amy at the hospital only a couple hours after the birth.

Google does Edvard Munch!

2006-12-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

If you visit Google today you will see the above picture instead of their regular logo. Cool huh!! :)

(Clicking the picture does a search for Edvard Munch.)

Gotta love Google for giving kudos to the Norwegian artist!

He was born 12 december 1863, so today would have been his 143rd birthday!

Thomas 3rd Grade Christmas Play

2006-11-27T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is the Christmas Play Thomas 3rd grade class put on last Saturday (two days ago).

It took YouTube a while to finally put it up after the upload or I would have posted this yesterday.

Enjoy!

PS. This is only the beginning. My camera ran out of batteries pretty quick so I had to stop recording. :(

Kelvin happy builder

2006-11-27T12:52:00.000-08:00

These are just some nice shots of Kelvin that I wanted to share. I think he's such a handsome photogenic dude! And what a great smile! :)

Emili loses her first tooth

2006-11-27T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute pics of Emili trying to show that she has lost her first tooth.

Her face is covered with chocolate or something.

Cutie Amy

2006-11-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

Amy is being cute.
This pictures are from last week.
She is smiling in almost all the pictures. Isnt she adorable?

Lena draws mountains

2006-11-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Lego Bionicle builders

2006-11-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

Amy all dressed up

2006-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

Amy looking pretty in her new pink dress. Picture taken October 8th, 2006. Amy was three months + one week old.

Amy at 3 months video footage

2006-11-26T04:29:00.001-08:00

Thomas and Emili, Bandits

2006-11-26T04:14:00.000-08:00

This is a really cute shot of Thomas and Emili showing off their biking gloves and wearing bandanas. They both wanted to be photographed wearing their "costumes." Matching a pose with the gloves in picture was of vital importance! :)

This was taken October 17th, 2006.

Amy at 3 months

2006-11-26T04:00:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not I have tried many times over the past few weeks to update this blog with some recent pics. But there has always been some technical problem that prevents it.

Hopefully these will go through this time.

This pic was taken on October 2nd 2006. Amy is 3 months old here. I will upload some more shots from around this time and up to some as recent as yesterday.

Jedi costumes

2006-09-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got my Jedi costumes in the mail! They are hand-made by a friend of mine, Simon Poon from Singapore. Check out costumebay.com if you're in the martket.

They are much much nicer if you can see them in natural light. The flash brightens the colors more than it should. The pants and tunic are both darker. Beige and brown.
Here is the outfit without the robe. Notice the belt with comlink puch and energy capsules. (I forgot to latch on my lgihtsaber!)
Here is Kelvin wearing the Dark Anakin costume. It is really made for my size, so it's obviously way to big for him but I wanted him to try it on to see how he looked in it. I'll post some pics with me wearing it later.

In this pic my hair is all sweaty because I had just taken off a full head mask (Darth Maul).
Here's a shot of the side view. This is the Obi-Wan tunic but I am wearing Anakin boots and robe because I thought they looked cooler. (They were a darker brown than the ones Simon makes for the Obi costume.)

Amy 6 weeks

2006-09-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since we last updated with some baby pics. These were taken a couple of weeks ago.

Amy was approx six-weeks old.

I had a hard time narrowing it down to only four because there were so many cute shots!

Taekwondo boys

2006-09-25T05:34:00.000-07:00

The boys and Lena and I have started Taekwondo training. Here are the boys in their new outfits. I'll try to get a shot of Lena and I some time, but for now enjoy these shots of the boys practicing some moves! :)

Newborn and Mother

2006-07-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Three pictures of Irene Borge Harris with her brand new beautiful baby daughter, Amy Lynette, born at "Ahus" hostpital near Oslo in Norway.

First pic of all five together

2006-07-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is the first photo taken of all five of our children together after the birth of little Amy.
From Left to right: Thomas (8 next month), Emili (4½), Amy (three hours), Lena (11½), Kelvin (2 months from 10).

Daddy and brand new daughter

2006-07-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

This is a shot of brand new baby Amy sleeping in Daddy's arms only two hours after her birth today at a Norwegian Hospitol near Oslo.

Having children changes people

2006-07-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

I read this a few days ago but forgot to blog about it until today. So in honor of our new arrival, I offer a quote from Brad Pitt:

It really changes your perspective on the world. You know, I've had my day. I made some films, and I've really had a very fortunate life, and it's time for me to share that a little bit. [Having children] takes the focus off yourself, which I'm really grateful for. I'm so tired of thinking about myself. I'm sick of myself.

You feel you want to be there and not miss out on anything. It's a true joy (and) a very profound love. You can write a book, you can make a movie, you can paint a painting, but having kids is the most extraordinary thing I've ever taken on.

Amy Lynette Harris born today

2006-07-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

After all this time I can hardly believe it. Our new baby girl finally arrived today:

Amy Lynette Harris (name not 100% final)
4.64 Kg (10.23 lb)
51 Cm (20 inches)
Born: 30 July 3:46 PM

Yes, she is kinda ugly in the picture, but aren't all newborns? Come on, she's only an hour old! ;)

I'll upload more of the mother and child in a jiffy...

Batting practice

2006-07-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

Emili certainly is the big slugger in the family! She absolutely loved the batting practice net at the fourth of July festivites yesterday.
That yellow blur is the ball coming her way. She hit three or four out of ten balls on her first attempt. Notice how she really needed to choke up on the bat to be able to swing. The bat probably weighed as much as she did! ;)
I should probably mention that our camera ran out of film so these pictures are all taken with my cellular phone: a Sony Ericsson w810i. It has a pretty god 2 megapixel camera and a great walkman with room for like 90 mp3 songs! :) Kelvin did really great and hit six out of ten balls.

4th of July in Norway

2006-07-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

All four kids took part in the relay races at the fourth of July celebrations this year. Lena and Emili were an inseprable team. Emili (4) had a hard time trying to carry Lena (11) during the Wheel-barrel race, so Lena carried her both ways.
Kelvin (9) and Thomas (6) won first and second place in the watermelon-eating contest! The prizes were quite generous. They both got big bags full of goodies including Bey-Blade, Legos, candy, Hubba-Bubba, Pringles, and more.
All of the children (everybody) who participated in the relay races also got a bag of treats. It was an all around great time to be had by all. We plan to attend next year as well.
The two winners stand pleased and pals waiting for their prizes after the contest was over.

Frogner Park, Oslo

2006-07-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

The kids and I took a trip to Vigelandsparken, also known as Frogner park in Oslo, on Sunday July 2nd.

Every year, Americans in Norway have a big celebration for the fourth of July on the nearest Sunday.

This was our first year attending. It was a fantastic celebration! The boys won the watermelon eating contest! We all had a great time! :)

"Dating several men overseas"

2006-06-07T04:57:00.000-07:00

I read something funny at IMDb.com today. I guess Lindsay Lohan's publicist isn't as smart as she thinks she is. Either that or she has a really good since of humor. I'll leave that to you.

I don't know which is worse, the public thinking you are dating some rich woman's grandson, or that you're dating several men who live overseas. Ha ha!

Two long months!

2006-06-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been two whole months since I last wrote an update.

We are still looking to buy a house. We looked at a couple of houses yesterday and are considering one of them - if the price is right. We should find out tomorrow or Friday how that goes.

School is almost over. The kids are all finishing off their year at Steiner (a Waldorf school). All is going exceptionally well.

Irene has only six or seven weeks left of agony carrying our to-be fifth child! Amy Mira (I just made up that last part. We'll have to see how it goes over with Irene. Mira is short for "miracle" which she is considering my vasectomy...) is due to enter the world on July 25th.

Emili newborn

2006-04-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken on November 17th, 2001. This was the first time the kids saw their new baby sister.

Kelvin (5), Lena (7), Thomas (3) and Emili (1 day).

We're way busy with moving right now so I don't have access to the camera cable to get out recent pictures.

Lena is enjoying her new school. All is well. :)

Lena Natalie to switch schools

2006-03-25T03:40:00.000-08:00

Natalie (11) had her last day at her current school yesterday. On Monday she will be starting a 2-week trial period in the 6th grade at Steiner School, which is the private school that Kelvin attends.

We are sending in an application for Thomas (7) as well, because we found out that his class (2nd grade) only has 11 students, and we think that the extra attention afforded him from such a group would be to his benefit. Hopefully he can start just after Easter.

Droids masterpiece by Kelvin

2006-03-25T03:24:00.000-08:00

Kelvin (9) drew this picture of C-3PO and R2-D2 from memory without any reference photos or toys to look at.

I think it was an amazing job. I especially love Threepio's expression and the way he is holding his hands. Fantastic!

I haven't blogged for a while because we have been so busy getting ready to move. It will continue that way with only a blog every few days over the next few weeks. We leave this house in only two weeks so we have a LOT to pack and clean.

Good Night, and Good Luck

2006-03-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago I finally got the chance to watch George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck. It immediately rose to my Top-5 list of last year, and within my Top-30 or so of all time. An excellent film about how TV journalist Edward R. Morrow brought down Senator Joseph McCarthy from his Communist-witch-hunts in the early 1950's.

Summary: "In the early 1950’s, McCarthy was destroying people’s careers and lives as he fanatically sought to expose Communists in America during the Cold War. Murrow and his devoted CBS staff defied Congressional intimidation, corporate pressure, and concern for their own careers to use Murrow’s “See It Now” TV broadcasts to enlighten the public about the deceptions and abuse-of-power tactics behind McCarthy’s “witch-hunts.” Though the conflict effectively ended both men’s careers, Murrow took his place in history as a stirring example of the media’s power to protect the public good."

If you haven't seen it yet, rent or buy this film now! An inspirational story that should be seen by everybody interested in politics and media.

Official site
IMDB page
Rotten Tomatoes
Widescreen DVD from Amazon.com

Christmas theater

2006-03-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

Each Christmas we get together with the rest of Irene's family. All the children who are old enough (3 or 4 and up) take part in an enactment of the Nativity story: The birth of Jesus.

Here you see Karoline, Lena, Kelvin, Emili, Dina and Emma. (Thomas is probably hiding.)

Diary of Lena

2006-03-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

Natalie has started her own blog, Diary of Lena.

She writes mostly in Norwegian, but you should visit it and check out the pics. She loves horseback riding and has posted some shots of our last visit to Steiner when she got to ride.

Horsebacking at Steiner School

2006-03-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

In December 2005 we went to a Christmas workshop at Kelvin's school. They had lots of great activities, one of which was horseback riding. All of the kids got a shot at it and mostly enjoyed themselves. Natalie especially loves horses. We are hoping to start her in some riding classes after we move.

Re-Imagineering

2006-03-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

I happened across this blog today: Re-Imagineering

It reminded me a lot of our trip to Disneyland last May. I bought a book on the history of Disneyland that had a lot of the pictures on that site in it.

I love Disneyland. Maybe more now than even when I was a kid.

Five hours hiding in a bathroom

2006-03-16T05:49:00.000-08:00

Thomas (7) was supposed to go skiing with the other 2nd-graders today but decided to hide in the school lavitory instead.

When Irene (his mom) arrived after school to pick him up, she couldn't find him in the classroom. Other students from his class said Thomas had been hiding in the bathroom all day, and was still there.

Irene confronted the teacher who professed to have only just discovered that he was there. She was apparantly unaware that he had been there all day and thought he had been home from school.

This picture was taken on Thomas' first day of school (August 2005). His countenance was not so bright today when he came home. "I hate going to school late" was his excuse for the bathroom visit. But he failed to see that he was only late because of fighting not to get his ski-clothes on before going to school this morning.

Solution: No TV before school and an earlier bedtime. He agreed that going to class would be much better than smelling the toilets for five hours.

Boating last summer

2006-03-16T04:46:00.000-08:00

Last summer we rented a cabin by the sea. It included a small motorboat which we really enjoyed cruising around in. It wasn't fast or powerful enough to use for skiing, but it was still a lot of fun and perfect for short trips out to the mini-islands in the cove.

Roadstar Emili, or "Emili's need for speed"

2006-03-16T03:23:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken last summer (July 2005). They really show Emili's addiction to speed, excitement and adrenalyn. She enjoyed dragging her "motorcycle" up the sloped driveway, and then driving it full-speed-ahead down again with both hands in the air!
The little dude on the bike next to her is her neighbor- best- friend, Sander. He is one year older than her and the toys they are riding on are his.

First snowfall this winter

2006-03-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken on October 20th, 2005. It was the very first snow this winter and the kids were very excited about it. They ran outside and quickly packed together some snowballs.

Self snapshot

2006-03-16T02:47:00.000-08:00

To be fair to my wife, whose picture I have plastered all over this blog, I decided I better add a close-up shot of myself. Although this is not entirely flattering, it's the best I could find of recent photos.

This was taken on November 30th, 2005, and is the most recent shot I have. I have neither gained nor lost any weight since then, so I look pretty much the same today, 3½ months later. ;)

Soccer Thomas

2006-03-16T02:36:00.000-08:00

Thomas was on the soccer team for a while and enjoyed a few great games.

These shots are taken during a one of those on September 5th, 2005.

Kelvin's private school

2006-03-16T00:40:00.000-08:00

Kelvin (9) is a very creative and artistic child, who has not felt at home in the public school system. We have felt that the school system out here (Enebakk, Norway) does not really support nor promote these attributes in children, much to our (and Kelvin's) frustration. So after much deliberation, we decided to try out Rudolf Steiner private school, whose philosophy is "education is an artistic process." What the public school consider frills, Waldorf schools consider essential, e.g., weaving, knitting, playing a musical instrument, woodcarving, and painting. After three months, we can clearly see that it was the right choice for Kelvin.

Read more about the school founder: Austrian-born Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), and about the schooling concept: Waldorf Education

Another summer collage from 2005

2006-03-15T12:27:00.000-08:00

Summer collage

2006-03-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

Emili and I enjoyed boating while Irene tanned in the warm sun. Sandy beaches with seashells everywhere made our stay very pleasant.

2006-03-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Catching shrimp

2006-03-15T11:21:00.000-08:00

Last summer we spent a week at a cabin by the sea. It was great fun and we had nearly perfect weather with loads of sun!

Kelvin and Thomas are trying to catch some shrimp. There were dozens of little ones swimming around under this dock.

Thomas' Christmas Joy

2006-03-15T10:16:00.000-08:00

No doubt this picture was taken directly after opening presents on Christmas Eve.

Every Christmas we meet up with Irene's family at her parents' house and eat a lovely dinner and then open presents.

We always leave some for the kids to open on Christmas morning as well. So in a way they get two Christmases.

Leaning Tower of Kelvin

2006-03-15T10:09:00.000-08:00

Kelvin loves to build with Kapla blocks. And he's very good at it. He built this big tower using thin flat blocks and no glue, tape, nails, whatever. A bit like stacking cards or Dominos.

My Thirty-Fifth

2006-03-14T13:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is really my last blog for the night. It's way past my bedtime and I have to get up early tomorrow.

I just wanted to post this picture from my 35th birthday (December 2005). I am eating yummy cream-filled chocolate cake with Emili. Irene makes amazing cakes!

More later...

Candle holder

2006-03-14T13:31:00.000-08:00

Natalie is absolutely gorgeous in this picture. I think it was taken in February 2006. She is eleven and is getting prettier every day.

I fear for my future - when she grows up and has guys chasing her.

I only hope they will be able to see past her good looks to that sparkling and feisty personality. He he. ;)

My one and only

2006-03-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

I can't help but think my wife is the most beautiful woman on the planet.

This was also taken Christmas 2005, at her parents house.

Thanks to Picasa for the red-eye remover. Her eyes are almost as big, brown and beautiful as in real life. Well, almost.

Deep in the snow cave

2006-03-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

Thomas loves digging caves in the snow. The sun is so bright that for this picture he had to close his eyes. I guess he takes after his mother. ;)

Snow fortress

2006-03-14T12:52:00.000-08:00

Thomas Jonathan, Lena Natalie, Kelvin Alexander, and Emili Michelle behind their wall of snowballs upon the giant snow hill across the street. Typical Norwegian winter and a clear blue sky.

Kelvin the concert violinist

2006-03-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

Kelvin Alexander (9) loves music.

He is learning the reed flute and the violin at school. So far, he can only show us the correct way to hold it. :)

Emili the pirate

2006-03-14T12:31:00.000-08:00

Emili (4) loves pirates and dresses up as one every chance she gets.

Here she is dressed up to go to a Carnival dress-up party at her Pre-School.

Family portrait time

2006-03-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

Finally we took the time to pose for a family portrait. This was our belated attempt to make Christmas cards, in January 2006.

From the back, we have Emili (4), Thomas (7), Kelvin in the middle with toungue out (9), and Lena Natalie in the front (11). Irene and I are parents so we can keep our ages a secret (35 and 30-ish)! ;)

This picture is taken on the staircase of our home in Flateby. The home is now sold, and we have one month to move out and hand the keys over to the new owners. We sold it for just under $300,000 (1,960,000 Norwegian Crowns/Kroner).

Christmas dinner, 2005

2006-03-14T12:08:00.000-08:00

This is my beautiful wife, Irene. We are celebrating Christmas at her parent's house. This was right after we finished eating Chsitmas dinner.

I think she is beautiful here even though she is closing her gorgeous brown eyes. You'll have to use your imagination. Or look at one of her other pictures. :)

First Blog Ever

2006-03-14T06:39:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to setting up my own blogger account. I will either use this or set up a wordPress account to use later. For now, let's see how this goes. :)

The idea is to keep all my (and my family's) long-distance friends up to date with pics and info about our family here in Norway.

Hope it works for you. Drop me a line or post your comments here.

Cheers!

Rich