Jedi costumes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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.