Hytte

Our friends invited us to spend a weekend with them at their hytte. A hytte is a mountain cottage/cabin, often shared by a family and passed down over generations.

Our friends' family hytte is in the Telemark region, just outside of Bø. We had a great time relaxing, hiking, and being tourists.

Here are some pics from a wonderful weekend...

syttende mai

The seventeenth of May (syttende mai) is Norway's National Day, or Constitution Day.

Our city is not that big and the celebration was HUGE, so I can't imagine what it must be like in a big city like Oslo! The day includes two parades, bands, music, lots of food, traditional clothing (bundad), cook-outs, flags, and so much fun.

*Each area of Norway has its own traditional design for the bunad. You can visit THIS SITE to check them out. We live in Vestfold.

Here are a few pictures from the day. It was incredible, overwhelming, and unforgettable!

There's no place like home

I just realized that I never posted a follow-up to unpacking. We are unpacked and settled now. Here is a little peek at our home... hope you enjoy!


If you can't view it above, click HERE.

Unpacking

About nine months ago, the movers pulled into our driveway in Georgia. They boxed kitchen items and toys. They carefully wrapped beds and other furniture. And most of our personal belongings (what remained after several yard sales and countless trips to drop donations at thrift stores) were placed in some faraway storage facility, awaiting our arrival in Norway.

Nine months later, I sit in our home on another continent. Awaiting the arrival of another team of movers. This team will come today with all of those boxes and furniture. And after almost three months here, we will finally get to unpack and really settle.

I don't know exactly what to expect today. I imagine there will be surprise as we see things that we'd forgotten were around anymore (many things were packed when we sold our house back in September 2011). There will be excitement as the boys unwrap beloved toys. Maybe some disbelief as we wonder why in the world we thought it necessary to pack some of the items for the move. And probably a little anxiety and frustration as we try to find a place for everything!

One thing is for sure: this weekend promises to be a busy one!

Spisebord

We sat at a table as we ate lunch today. The first time we've sat as a family at home around the table for a meal since we left Oslo in mid-February. We are thankful for a great deal we found on Norway's version of Craigslist. We are now the proud owners of a lovely table and 6 chairs! Can't wait to see who might end up around this table over time :)

And while we're talking dining tables, I'll share a bit of humor with you...

A dining table is called spisebord [SPEEH-seh-bord] in Norwegian. It is a combination of the words for eat (spise) and table (bord). You see, in Norwegian, when you describe something it becomes one word. So you put SPISE and BORD together: spisebord. Take a look at the funny picture one of our Norwegian friends posted on Facebook. It shows you how we can really mess up the language with just the incorrect use of a space. Dining table? Or eating a table? ;)

Impromptu Date

We (Zack & Jenn) have Wednesdays off from language class. So this morning once the boys were off to school, we studied for a while and did homework. Then we decided to take the bus to Tønsberg, a nearby town we'd visited once before. We leisurely walked around the mall, and even found a couple of items we'd been trying to find for a while. Then we grabbed two kebabs (similar to what some cultures call doner, donair, shwarma or gyro) and found a bench by the fjord. The sun was out and it was 7C - a beautiful day! We enjoyed an outdoor lunch & beautiful scenery (and the rare chance to eat slowly and quietly :) ).

Unplanned dates are often the best dates!

Sandefjord Photo Shoot

Last Saturday we went walking around the city, doing some filming for a video. The boys needed to answer some questions that they received from a kindergarten class in Georgia, and we thought it would be fun to do it in video format!

While we were out, we snapped some more pictures of our city (... and of course our boys!). This place really is beautiful - and it still looks very much like winter. Can't wait to see it when everything is in bloom!