November 2017 – Snow, Sledding, and Friends

Once Emma got a pink wall in her room, Bjarki requested a blue one in his room. I went to get some samples (many weeks prior to this), and painted three large swaths of them on his wall. He couldn’t decide between the the colors, instead deciding that he wanted all of them, in large stripes!! This Friday I finally got going, using a slim wooden stick, 1/6 of the wall length, and a pencil, to make guidelines.

This Friday was also Emma’s first time attending swimming lessons, at a nearby private indoor pool. She was soooo close to knowing how to swim, so we decided to give her that extra push, and she really got into it. At the end of April, she was a pretty confident swimmer, and she absolutely loves diving for things.

Mostly all done! This project seemed incredibly daunting, but actually went remarkably smoothly.

Feeling very accomplished, I ventured downtown for some peace and quiet. An hour in, people start gathering, and then a French (?) guy shows up and starts singing and playing the guitar! Turns out I had stumbled on to an Iceland Airwaves Offsite Concert!

I felt a bit bad, because he started singing just as I was about to leave, because we were going to visit friends. I hung out for three songs, and then made my exit. Hope nobody got offended!

Out in Reykjanesbær, Agnes and myself took the kids out for a walk. They found some ice!

Spider monkeys.

The view from a large man made hill (I suspect it hides a utility station of some sort).  And yes, those are giant steps leading down the hill…

Emma showing off her magna-tiles structure. These are the best toys ever.

I took the kids to the library in Kringlan, and then we stopped at the coffee house for refueling.

Anna heading out to a Halloween party. She did her makeup all by herself!!!!

Creepy!

Daycare had a grandparents’ day. Emma drew a picture of her and grandma and grandpa playing with blocks.

The Q&A went as follows: Q: What do you do at their house? A: I watch TV, and sometimes I sleep over. Q: How are grandmas? A: They have long hair. Q: How are grandpas? A: They have a beard.

I got the big camera out for a change. Here’s Emma.

Hair.

Anna.

It was a snowy day outside.

The end of our street.

It’s always nice when the snow collects on the branches.

I stopped by Sólfarið on my way downtown.

Google made a panorama!

Sun striking a mountain.

Downtown covered in cranes.

Even more cranes. And then I went and had my me-time.

I dragged the kids out to go sledding at the end of our street. And I brought out the big camera with the big lens.

Emma slightly worried.

Funny face.

Bjarki excited at the top of the hill.

Speeding down.

The sisters at the top.

All three lined up.

Anna going down, sledless!

Anna making a snowball to throw at me.

Snowballing.

Cuties!

We moved off to the side a bit.

Slow going.

Bjarki dodging a snowball!

The guilty parties.

Emma.

Bjarki.

Time to head back home.

I vaguely recall driving Anna to the ice skating center, and then I took a short walk around the Laugardalur-area, because it was just so pretty.

The permanently broken waterfall.

A turf house of sorts.

A sign of life!

Picking Emma up from daycare. She wasn’t quite ready to go.

I accompanied Bjarki to a group-gymnastics meet in Garðabær.

His group was the only mixed-genders group…

… so they won gold!

Yet another Emma pick-up from daycare. This is taken at 16:43, and she slid down a few times on her butt before I succumbed to the cold and dragged her home.

The three of us attended a concert Adda was playing in.  Bjarki’s still in the “make funny faces” phase…

You can barely see the band on the left, and then there were two choirs on the right. It was fun! The venue was unusual: The headquarters of the Hafnarfjörður Search and Rescue squad!

Later that day we attended a Thanksgiving feast with other ex-Californians.

Yummy food!

Some of the youngsters.

Soffía, cheerful as usual!

The ex-turkey.

Guðrún being a busy hostess.

We brought an apple cake.

Twins.

The never-been-to-California girl in a Californian dress.

Anna practicing to be an adult.

Guðrún and Aldís.

Proof I was there!

Happy adults.

Moar food!

Emma getting some attention.

Bjarki was there!