"Dating several men overseas"

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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

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

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

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

 

Summer collage

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