Category Archives: Day-to-Day

Real Life

Some days the expat life is great. Other days it can be a struggle.But a couple of recent days stand out as days where I have to pinch myself to be certain this is real life.

Out doing some work in our neighboring city, Tønsberg

 

Coffee and conversation with a local friend

 

Back to School

My primary goal for my sons is not that they live a comfortable, safe, easy life. No, I want them to be challenged and stretched, I want them to experience things and grow from those experience.But at the same time, I do want them to be happy. With all of the changes and adjustments they’ve dealt with in their short lives, a certain sense of comfort isn’t a bad thing.

And when I see them comfortable and happy, it is an encouragement for this momma’s heart!

That is what I saw last Thursday morning, as they returned to their school for a third year (this will be their second full year). They are in a familiar environment, where they are known and cared for. They enjoy school, and they have teachers who challenge them and help them reach their potential. They aren’t seen as a number, and they are encouraged to develop at a pace that suits each of them, without going too easy on them.

As I’ve said before, I’ve learned that when my kids are thriving in this expat life, it makes everything easier.

First day of school after arriving in Norway
Daniel: Grade 1, William: Grade 4

 

First day of school 2013
Daniel: Grade 2, William: Grade 5

 

First day of school 2014
Daniel: Grade 3, William: Grade 6

 

Boats: living by the sea

Living in a seaside town means boats. Lots and lots of boats! Summertime is especially fun, walking down to the brygga/harbor to see what might be docked that day.Many times we see names of cities – or even countries – that aren’t exactly close by. Interesting to see all the different people and places that end up in our little town here in Norway. I always wonder who they are, how they ended up here, what their story is…

Here are just a few of the boats we’ve seen in our area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer: so far, so fun!

While we haven’t done our big summer travel yet, we are enjoying summer holidays so far.
Life here really is quite different during the summer. The rhythm changes. People seem a bit more social and a bit less rushed. Our city’s normally quiet and distant veneer seems to fade in the summer sun, as many travel to the area to spend the summer in their seaside cabins.
With that comes a big population increase, but also a population shift. While we do have a lot of tourists, it seems the majority of the faces we see most often have also travelled away from home. This is especially true in July, the official holiday/vacation month. This means most regular events and activities are suspended during the summer, including the majority of church services. This was a big cultural difference for us!
So what have we been up to the past few weeks?We’ve hiked a lot, been to the beach a number of times, attended some cookouts, and strolled around the city. We’ve made some new friends, and worked on building upon existing relationships. We enjoyed a weekend visit from an American friend, spent a few days in Stockholm, visited Oslo, and grilled by the sea. We attended a couple of conferences. We’ve experienced some disappointments, as well as some much-needed encouragement. We’ve met folks for coffee, and shared meals as a way to slow down and grow closer. We’ve taken the time to rest a bit, to practice language in less formal settings, and to simply enjoy each other.

Still to come: a weekend trip to a cabin, and then a big road trip to Germany!

How is your summer going?
Enjoying coffee with a friend from Georgia
Strolling through our city
Our version of a ‘church fellowship dinner’
Look what we found while driving through Sweden!
Zack took this shot during a bike ride with the boys
Oslo
Making a meal with friends
Silly friends taking a break during a summer conference
Mølen
Mølen

 

Daniel made a tree friend 🙂
Just a few of the beautiful flowers in Sandefjord

 

Crab catchers
Dinner break in Stavern
You never know what you might see around here!
Evening concert after a day filled with conference seminars
Driving home from Larvik
Hiking at Bøkeskogen
Hiking at Bøkeskogen

Living at the beach

Fifteen minutes. I timed it. That’s how long it takes for us to drive to our favorite beach.
Sections of rock, sections of sand – lots of beauty

Zack and I have never been the kind of folks who live for the beach. We don’t look forward to endless hours laying in the sand. It’s just not our thing. A short trip to the beach and we’re happy, and ready to move on.

And yet, if you pay for a beach vacation, and take the time to drive several hours to the beach (as was always the case when we lived in Georgia), then there is a sense of obligation. You feel like you need to spend a lot of time there.

But ah, the beautiful thing about living in a beach town: it’s quite easy to spend an hour on the beach and not feel like it was a waste of effort.

We’re learning to keep a few things close to the door (beach towels, sunscreen, beach toys), a few things on hand in the kitchen (lomper, sprøstekt løk, pølse, chips, snacks, engangsgrill), and a few things in the car (fishing net, picnic blanket).

William & an engangsgrill (one-use grill)

So if the mood hits and the weather and schedule come allow, we can be ready to go at the drop of a hat.

And if we get there and decide were bored after an hour, it’s no big deal!

The one major drawback? Sand. Everywhere. But I guess I can live with it.

Pizza. Summer. Life is good.

We made pizza for dinner tonight.

That’s not so unusual. We do that a lot. Really. A LOT. Yeah, we love pizza.
You know what made it even better? Check out what I’m wearing: shorts and no sleeves! Summer has arrived and the weather has been great. It reached around 26 C / 79 F today! We’ve even had a number of afternoon showers and thunder storms, much like we would have in Georgia.
Only a week and a half of school stands between us and our official start to summer, we are ready!

Mixing & Chopping

Photo courtesy of www.biltema.com

I would imagine you have a room, activity or place that is your go-to when you need to unwind or decompress. For me, it is the kitchen. Cooking is like therapy for me. I am able to be creative, try new things, and provide for my family. I can work out frustrations, think things through, or maybe even disconnect and zone out a bit while mixing, kneading, chopping, and mixing. I also love being in there with any one of my three guys. And I love trying out new tools and gadgets, too.

This is my new best friend in the kitchen. I love this versatile – and rather inexpensive – gadget. We bought it last week, and so far I’ve had quite a few success. I created some restaurant-style salsa, made creamy black bean dip, whipped up eggs for omelettes, and chopped veggies for my tuna salad (in about a quarter of the usual time!). But my favorite thing to make? Peanut butter. Yum! It is so much better than the stuff we can buy here, and cheaper & healthier, too. We are also looking forward to trying our hand at smoothies soon!

Do you have a favorite kitchen gadget or tool?

Weekend fun & preteen celebrations

As I shared on Saturday (HERE), our William turned 12 years old. It really is hard to believe!We had a fun weekend celebrating him, and enjoying some fantastic weather. It was around 23 – 25 C (73 – 77 Fahrenheit) most of the weekend, with lots of sunshine. So most of the weekend, you could find us outdoors!

Friday afternoon we picked up a friend at the airport who was visiting us for the weekend from England. We then met up with friends to grill at the beach. It had rained in the afternoon, so the evening was a little cooler. But the boys and one of their local friends decided to go for a swim. Everyone is estimating that the water was around 10-12 C. The only word I can come up with is crazy.

 

 

 

Saturday we went for a hike, then came back to the house for lunch and William opened gifts.
(He received his gift from us several weeks ago: a much-needed new bike)

After that, we headed to William’s football club for the grand opening of their new artificial turf fields, and to celebrate the club’s 40th birthday. Daniel was excited to meet some of Sandefjord’s players!

Saturday night, William chose to eat at his favorite place: Star Grill. It is a small kiosk in our town that serves excellent burgers.

Then the boys were off to the small tivoli downtown (carnival). They enjoyed three of the four ‘big’ rides. They both looked a little green afterwards!

 

 

We finished up with William’s requested dessert: yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and of course, 12 candles.

Sunday was spent with more friends. We started off with brunch at our house. We introduced some of our friends to a true southern breakfast: biscuits and gravy, bacon, grits, breakfast potatoes, and grits. Then after a nice long walk, we finished it off with dinner at a friends house, and even got to meet a new family that has two boys almost the exact same ages as our boys!
I think it turned out to be a great weekend for our entire family.

Relaxing on the Sea

We were grateful to our friends for inviting us out on their boat last Sunday. It had been a long time (1 1/2 years?) since our last boat trip, and we had a great time!