Sunday was the first really really really nice day weather-wise for weeks. We did manage to go biking after all, and it was gorgeous out there. To celebrate the weather, we broke out Anna’s Stomp Rocket, and it was an instant hit with the kids. 🙂 Later that afternoon we headed to a birthday bashRead more
A bike-trip with mom was planned for this glorious-weather morning, but when I called mom up to see if she was still up for it, she informed me that Bjarni Sr., my stepdad, had died this morning from complications of a long term illness. This wasn’t entirely shocking, since he’d been sick for a longRead more
Bjarki got Anna to wrap him up in a duvet etc this morning. He was her little baby. Awwww… It was a mostly quiet day, even though this is the start of a three day weekend (yet another holy holiday on Monday). We took forever to leave the house (herding cats that dress slowly isRead more
Iceland is a special little country were ‘common sense’ does’t always work the way you think it would. Case in point: price per weight for goods of varying packaging sizes. Example 1: Basmati Rice: To summarize: 500 g in a paper box with four plastic boil-in bags: 296 isk or 592 isk/kg 500 g inRead more
Just a few pictures of a ‘summer clean-up’ at Bjarki’s daycare. The parents were summoned to help weed, sweep, mend etc the main playground. We were also asked to bring hot dogs and buns, and a couple of teachers manned the BBQ so there was a steady stream of hot dogs for a couple ofRead more
This is going to one of those blog-posts-as-therapy, since I’m too stingy to actually go see a therapist – and seriously, isn’t a therapist there to get you to talk and realize what your hang-ups are? Well, look, I’m ‘talking’! So yes, today I’m surprisingly sad. Or perhaps a more accurate description is that I’mRead more
This past week has been Anna’s last week at school. On Monday we’re supposed to show up to fetch her report-card, and then she’s off to at least a month of aftercare before we begin our month-long-ish summer vacation in July. To celebrate the end of school, two big events were planned. The first one was this past Tuesday morning, where all the parents of the kids in class gathered into the school-auditorium and saw the kids sing, give a power-point presentation (!!!) and act out three plays. The second part was today (Friday) where the entire morning was fun and games, then some hot-dogs, then a small concert plus ice-cream.
Part of the new building that they built next to the old main building to house all the kids Melaskóli needs to house.
This weekend will go down as one of the more crazy ones this spring. Not only was there a graduation, but Finnur and Anna took off for a family-reunion/gathering on Finnur’s side which was held some three hours (south)east of Reykjavik, at Steig, a farm (now also a guesthouse) where Finnur and his dad bothRead more
My brother, Pétur Breki, graduated today from Menntaskólinn í Hamrahlíð, a ‘Junior College’ where students usually enter at 16 years old, graduate after 3-4 years, and can then enter University in their chosen field (no general subjects). If the setting seems familiar its because his older brother graduated from the same school some three yearsRead more
The school year is drawing to a close. One of the yearly rituals of Anna’s aftercare is to participate in a boxcar race (kassabíla-rallý) against the other aftercares in this part of town. The centers made a big deal about it, had a parade downtown and then took over one of the squares for the racing. There were four centers present, three with first and second graders, and one with third and fourth graders (not nearly as many third and fourth graders go to aftercare as first and second graders).
There were many races run. The older kids had third-grade-girls vs. fourth-grade-girls, and the same for boys. The remaining centers had competitions between centers per gender per age. Anna was chosen by her center (after they timed the kids) to be one of three girls in her age group to race for her center, and they crushed the competition! Now, it must be said that Anna’s center had by far the best car: lightest, best wheels, and pushbar up high, so that probably made it easier. But still, it was awesome! 🙂
It was a rainy day! Here are the third and fourth graders by Ingolf's Square.