The Last Vacation Week

2018-08-07Us Standard

[Photos taken on 07-12 August 2018, posted on 11 17 February 2019.  The flu sucks.  Emma’s finally on the mend, only to pick up an ear infection.  Grumble!]

Emma’s daycare was closed until noon on a Thursday, so it made little sense for us to go back to work for a day and a half.

Instead we decided to get some much needed work done at homes #1 and #2: Finnur kept working on the wall in the back-yard, the garage got some attention, I stained a deck, Pokemon prompted romantic morning drives, and the kids enjoyed the unscheduled time, although we did make it to the swimming pool and family park. (45-ish images total)

Tuesday 07 August 2018

About three months behind schedule I finally attacked the garage, which was groaning from too much stuff. There I found a few of Anna’s old play-dresses, and just in time, as Emma was about to grow too big for them!
Emma trying out the next-size-up bike. It went remarkably well. This is the first bike in the series that has gears.
Hard to believe, but this is post-garage tidy-up.

Wednesday 08 August 2018

Progress on the great backyard wall began accelerating as Finnur got more practice.
We opened up a few plastic bags of random stuff that had been cleared out of Anna’s room years ago. She did a great job of scouring the detritus for usable stuff, and the rest got thrown away. And yes, that is pretty much what her floor looked like in her younger years. So. Much. Tiny. Stuff!
Time to go visit the recycling center. It feels like all I did this summer was filling up this car with random stuff! And yes, that’s a C++ textbook from 20 years ago being chucked out.
Emma outside her grandparents’ house. I think she stayed there while we were working at home.

Thursday 09 August 2018

Adorable picture that Emma drew of her and her dad.
DAYCARE FINALLY REOPENED after the summer vacation. And it was such a gorgeous day we put sunscreen on her for the first time pretty much that entire rainy summer.
With the weather forecast FINALLY being dry for two consecutive days, I went to buy some wood oil, and drove to the summer house to put some oil on the decks.
Target #1. There was a bird’s nest in the drain on this side so there was a bunch of bird poop that needed to be high-pressure washed off.
Me and my gloves, as I washed the deck.
I was not in the mood to cook, so I drove to nearby Borgarnes in search of dinner.
Happily, the restaurant was still open.
… and here we have…
I popped out on the chilly balcony to take a photo before diving in for dessert. The view was amazing.
I stopped by the gas station on the way back to buy a few essentials, all dairy related, as they were out of eggs. The house was stocked with frozen bread.

Friday 10 August 2018

It took a long while for the deck to dry out after being washed so I didn’t start working until well past lunch. I regretted getting a colorless stain for this deck, as it just looked slightly less nude post-oiling.
By 8 pm I was mostly done. This is to document that I stained the entirety of the area around the hot tub. Some parts of the wood really needed it.
On the way to Borgarnes again, at 8:40 pm. I really like all the mountain views in the area.
Dinner in Borgarnes again, this time at the settlement center. The menu reflected the historic nature of the place.
I think there were two Icelanders present in the room full of people.
One tired Hrefna at 10:30 pm, about to drive into town.

Saturday 11 August 2018

The day began with a romantic car ride around town to catch a certain type of Pokemon. This is the back-view of our national theater.
Yours truly in front of a statue upon a hill downtown.
The view from the hill of very expensive housing being built.
That afternoon I went for a recharge-trip to Hafnarfjörður, where a friend of mine took a sneaky photo of me.
Emma sitting on a pillar at home.
Jumping exercises.
Posing exercise.
Ice-cream post swimming.

Sunday 12 August 2018

The next morning was part two of romantic driving around and catching virtual beings. This is from downtown, by the harbor.
Public art.
That afternoon Emma and Bjarki agreed to go to the farm animal/family park with me.
Excited to try the new fall tower.
The new tower is taller than the old one.
Emma and Bjarki both highly enjoyed the ride, and went multiple times, as the line was short.
Snack time in the new snack building, by the elephant from Costco!
Sand pit visit.
Water and sand is an amazing combo.
A brand new playhouse.
Time to go sailing!
Bjarki chasing Emma, as envisioned by the auto-panarama-feature of Google photos.
A little rest and relaxation before heading home.
Finnur still building the wall, around 9 pm that night.

Thus ended our summer vaction of 2018!