And That’s the End of the US Visitors…
[Written 31 July 2014. Sniffles.]
All good things must come to an end. Boohoo. (14 images total)
Wednesday 9 July 2014 – Thingvellir
The day after we drove to visit the Seljalandsfoss waterfall, and the Sólheimajökull glacier, we packed up, cleaned, and drove back to the capital area.
As promised, we stopped by Thingvellir on the way. We hiked up to the Öxarárfoss waterfall, where Finnur flew his drone. I did not take a single picture, I don’t know why. (Well, I took a few pictures of a couple using their camera, but that was it.)
The following Thursday and Friday were quiet days. We were all plenty tired, and the travelers needed to charge their batteries for the trip back.
Thursday 10 July 2014 – Fancy Dinner
Morning computer time in session.
US Visitors – Seljalandsfoss Waterfall and Sólheimajökull Glacier
[Written 29 July 2014. C’est la vie!]
We decided to play tourists again and drive to see a fun waterfall one can walk behind, and see how much further we could make it along the southern coast before it got too late. (69 images total)
Getting ready to set out. Our first destination was Selfoss, where we planned to eat lunch before continuing on.
US Visitors – Out in the Countryside
[Written 26 July 2014. At least it’s still July!!]
After spending the work-week in the city with our US visitors, we headed out to the trusty old summer house by Laugarvatn on the Friday. We planned to stay there for four or five nights.
It took us half of forever to get going, packing everything up, and fitting it in the cars. Cleverly, we’d planned for the US-ers to leave first, which they did, so they could stop at Thingvellir (which is half way there) to sight-see a bit.
The rest of us got a slightly later start because there’s always something that needs doing at the last minute, and then we had to make a library run, aaaand pick Finnur up from work. Oh, and return back home for stuff I forgot to pack.
Anyway, we finally caught up with the gang around 5 pm as they were about to walk to a waterfall in the gusty cold wind. We told them they were out of time, and that we’d stop by on the way back when there would surely be less wind. They admitted we had a point, so onwards to Laugarvatn we all went, settled in, and made dinner.
We were super lucky in that the second house (again, Finnur’s parents’ house) was available, so Sarah’s parents could stay there and get a break from the loud and rowdy kids (and adults!). (36 images, 2 videos total.)
Friday 4 July 2014 – Finnur Flies the Quad-copter
Around midnight on the Friday, the weather was doing its ‘calm before the storm’ routine, so Finnur used the opportunity to test drive his 40th birthday present: A quad-copter with a video camera, aka drone.
Our First US Visitors!
[Written 19 JULY 2014. Because there was a huge backlog. Sorry Stella!]
Early Sunday morning, our good US friends, Sarah and Augusto, arrived in Iceland from California with their two children. I went out to the airport to pick them up, we fed them, and then shooed them into bed for a quick nap.
A couple of hours later, Sarah’s parents, Stella and Walter, also arrived, and this time Finnur went and picked them up from the airport. He dropped them off at his parents’ place, where they would be staying while Finnur’s parents were traveling. (Finnur’s parents are awesome like that!)
Thus began two weeks of fun-ness, and a great time was had by all!
Being a total trooper, Sarah’s already begun blogging about their trip, see the Trip to Iceland, and the First Day, so I guess now it’s my turn.
As it happened, Finnur worked through their first week here, so I was responsible for our three kiddos. This left me somewhat mentally and physically drained (it’s like herding cats!), so I didn’t take a whole lot of photos, and the few I took were mostly on my cell phone. Sorry!! (But Augusto took a ton, so watch their blog if interested.)
So here goes! (26 images total)
Sunday 29 June 2014 – Arrival and Salalaug Swimming Pool
While our guests slept, we did our best to keep the house quiet. The big kids were engrossed in their computers, Finnur was out on an airport run, so that left Emma and me. The weather was nice so I used the opportunity to visit the playground of her daycare-to-be (now closed for the summer holiday). I also took her to this tiny playground adjacent to it. She was very happy there, although she had a hard time understanding why she couldn’t just go up the slide once she’d gone down it.
Eating at Ikea
[Written 18 JULY 2014. Why hurry?]
Emma and I went to Ikea for a quick stock-up before the impending arrival of our US guests. Of course, lunch was had.
The salmon received a failing grade, but the peas made up for it. Will have to try something else next time.
Bjarki’s 7th Birthday – The Classroom Party
[Written 18 JULY 2014. It was raining earlier.]
Bjarki’s waited fairly patiently for his birthday for an ENTIRE YEAR. For his patience, he was awarded with two birthday parties, one with his classmates, and the other with family and friends.
For the first one, we joined forces with the family of another classmate’s of his to host a double birthday-party at one of the local party-haunts (Ævintýragarðurinn, yes the same as last year). Co-hosting is the only thing that makes financial sense because there are a whopping twenty boys in the class (and ten girls and two teachers, yes there is a severe girl shortage in the neighborhood). Surprisingly, almost all the boys made it to the party, even though it’s the middle of summer, and people traveling here and there. (9 images total)
The two birthday boys and two guests by the cake and muffins.
Late Afternoon Kiddos and Library Run
[Written 17 JULY 2014. There’s no going back.]
A few snapshots from a Wednesday afternoon. (5 images total)
Emma the builder. Behind bars. A snapshot of the future?
Bjarki’s First Football Meet – Skagamótið 2014 – Day Three
[Written 15 JULY 2014. Time is in the eye of the beholder.]
The third and final day of the football meet began with the same shoddy weather as before. Thankfully Ríkey was there to rouse me, because I’d been so out of it the night before (sooo tiiiiired!) that I’d only begun setting my alarm, without completing it.
After getting dressed quickly, I headed out to fetch Bjarki from school and found him… (47 images total)
… still fast asleep at 8 am. Apparently he was a little apprehensive falling asleep the night before but got to lala-land in the end.
Bjarki’s First Football Meet – Skagamótið 2014 – Day Two
[Written 14 JULY 2014. Because of clogged brains.]
Day two of the football meet greeted us with more of the same weather wise, and a lot more football. (39 images total)
The boys started waking up around 7 am, which was fine because we had to be at breakfast around 8:30 am.
Bjarki’s First Football Meet – Skagamótið 2014 – Day One
[Written 14 JULY 2014. Because I can.]
This spring, innocent old me signed Bjarki up for a football meet, not realizing it was THREE DAYS of commitment a little ways away from the capital, with two overnight stays. After much hand-wringing about how to go about this, I ended up taking Bjarki there, while Finnur and the girls hung out in the city.
We arrived around noon-time on Friday, and went straight to the opening ceremony. (19 images total)
Bjarki with his fellow team-members. Their team is called Breiðablik. It doesn’t really translate, but they had a ton of teams there.