79th Birthday & Active Volcano Visit
[Photos taken 15 – 18 August 2022, posted online on 01 May 2023, yet another gorgeous and cold day.]
After our vacation in the US, the adults returned to work, Emma tried out a nearby tennis camp (wasn’t great), Bjarki roamed free with friends, and Anna began studying biomedical engineering at Reykjavik University.
Later that first week back, I lucked out and got to tag along with some hiking buddies to the active volcano that had started erupting at the beginning of August in Meradalir.
We were just in time, because just the next day the volcano quieted down at lot, and the day after that no fresh lava was visible, and that was the end of that eruption!
Horse-Camp, Laugarvatn, Birthday-Boy & Graduation Party #2
[Photos taken 24 – 30 June 2022, posted online 19 February 2023. Today is Emma’s second family birthday bash, and there’s a storm coming.]
Emma’s first two weeks at horse-camp came to a close with a ‘show’, where the kids paraded in a line, demonstrating speed and direction control. The following week saw the start of a new two-week camp.
We decided to visit Finnur’s parents at their summer house in Laugarvatn over the weekend, where Finnur helped his dad build yet another deck. Then Bjarki turned 15 years old, we had a celebratory dinner, and then a party with Finnur’s family where we also celebrated Anna’s graduation, as so many had been traveling when the actual graduation took place. (45-ish images total)
Friday 24 June 2022
Easter 2022
[Photos taken 17 – 22 April 2022, posted online 10 September 2022. Time has gone on fast forward again.]
After two years of non-standard Easter days, we went right back to tradition: Chocolate egg hunt at home, and late lunch and social whist at Finnur’s parents’ place with most of his family. There were two more public holidays in the following week, for weird reasons, but I’m not complaining!
We managed to complete a few spring-related activities, and kept going to the office! (40-ish images total.)
Easter Sunday 17 April 2022
Emma’s 9th Birthday, Skis & Bagels
[Photos taken 12 – 14 February 2022, posted online 10 July 2022. Sitting in rainy Borgarnes, on my way home after some house #2 time. Trying to get over feeling like a parental failure.]
Emma’s last single-digit birthday was super-legit, with a party and everything. Mindful of covid, we first had a party with just Finnur’s family, and then had some health-hiccups before we could get to mine.
The day after I went and bought cross-country skis for myself. It’s a thing middle-aged women do apparently. I even went out for a bit!
Snow kept falling in copious amounts, and Anna made bagels while on a school-break. (30-ish images total)
Saturday 12 February 2022
Goodbye 2021!!
[Photos taken 31 December 2021, posted online 07 May 2022. Went to see Trevor Noah last night in a packed auditorium. Been a while since I laughed so hard!]
We all tested negative on PCR tests for Covid, so the New Year’s Eve party at Finnur’s parent’s place was ON!
However, as the day wore on, I began feeling more and more poorly, and in the end I decided to stay home, reading a book in bed, only venturing out at shortly before midnight to join with the others for a few photos and some fireworks.
And thus endeth 2021, may it never come back! (30-ish images)
Friday 31 December 2021
Yule 2021, Anna’s 18th Birthday & Self-Quarantine
[Photos taken 24 – 30 December 2021, posted online 01 May 2022. The past week included two 20+ km e-bike rides and two hikes, and I’m still mostly standing, if a bit stiffly.]
Finally, finally (!!!) yule arrived! To lessen tensions while waiting for the clock to strike 6 pm, and the formal start of Christmas, I took Emma out on a walk up to the observation point on a nearby hill. It was a little colder out than we expected, but it was a nice walk.
Mom and baby-bro Bjarni joined us for Christmas dinner, and opening of presents.
The following day we met Finnur’s extended family at his parents’ place for a yule day feast, and celebrated Anna’s 18th birthday! Late the following day one of the guests tested positive for covid, so we went on a self-imposed quarantine, with Finnur and Emma hunkering down at house #2, while the big kids and I whiled away the days in town. (85-ish images total)
Friday 24 December 2021
Regular Life Rhythm Restart
[Photos taken 16 – 31 August 2021, posted online 23 December 2021. Record number of Covid-19 infections yesterday, restrictions have been moved down to 20 persons per room, 200 max and masked at organized seated events with official negative rapid-test, and 2 m distancing instead of 1 m. Zero snow on the ground, and the officially-no-longer-erupting volcano is shaking again. Never a dull moment!]
With summer vacation from work officially over, life began resuming some sort of a rhythm.
In the spring, Emma had managed to squeeze out of me a week of half-days at a “petting-zoo” in Mosfellsbær (a 20 minute drive from our house) so this first week back at work involved a lot of driving. Thankfully, Anna now has a driving license, so we split up driving duties.
With covid-19 levels running rather high, but waning, Finnur and I worked mostly from home. Walks were taken, the garden was harvested, parties were attended (!), we filled house #2 to the rafters with people one night, Bjarki got vaccinated, schools restarted, and I caught some cold or other that was not covid. (45-ish images total)
Monday 16 August 2021
Bjarki Turns 14 Years Old!
[Photos taken 28 June – 01 July 2021, posted online 26 September 2021. Elections yesterday, for the first time in Iceland, women hold more than half the seats in parliament.]
Bjarki’s long awaited birthday finally appeared and he’s now officially 14 years old, and busy checking ever more boxes on the “stereotypical-teen checklist”.
We again held two parties, one for each family, a few days apart, in between life as usual. (25-ish images total)
Monday 28 June 2021
Lava-Looking, Tidying & Filling House #2
[Photos taken 23 – 27 June 2021, posted online 12 September 2021. The remnants of hurricane Larry are visiting Iceland.]
I’d been waiting for the weather to be nice enough to warrant a walk to the active volcano eruption, and finally the conditions lined up nicely, weather-and-wind-wise. Bjarki and Anna decided to join me, we ate a fast-food hamburger dinner, and then drove about 40 minutes to the parking lot by the main walking path.
There was no fresh lava flowing, but we enjoyed walking alongside the newly hardened lava, spotting one hole into a red-hot furnace, and had ourselves a small picnic.
The first two weeks of Emma’s horse riding school came to a close with a “show”, Bjarki departed on a two-night gymnastics trip, home-tidying commenced as birthday-celebrations loomed, and we hosted Finnur’s family (adults only) at house #2. (55-ish images total)
Wednesday 23 June 2021
Emma’s 8th Birthday!!!
[Photos taken 12 – 17 February 2021, posted online 18 June 2021. It’s been a rather cold June so far, but thankfully a little wet along with the dryness. Also, Finnur and I have been a couple for twenty-seven years now, eeek!]
At long last, Emma’s 8th birthday arrived! She requested breakfast in bed with a little bit of chocolate, and I obliged. With Covid-19 momentarily mostly under control, we invited people over and had a proper birthday party (part 1)! Then we moved on to cream-puff-day, eat-till-you-explode-day, and ash-Wednesday-aka-second-Halloween, while preparing for an actual ski trip (with more people!) to the north of Iceland. (30-ish images total)
Friday 12 February 2021
