[Written and implemented on 09 June 2015.] I just took all the posts written between 01 March 2015 and yesterday and re-dated them so that they’re now organized in the order they happened, and not in the order they were written. (I do try to make the newest posts appear first, even though they’re outRead more
[Show on 06 June 2015, blogged on 08 June 2015. Brilliant!]
In a fit of unusual productivity in early April, I booked tickets for not one, but two (!!) plays with the big kids this spring time. The first was Pippi Longstocking, which Bjarki wanted to see. That had been running for a while, so that was easy to get tickets to, and we went a week or two later. That show was a hoot!
The other was Billy Elliot the Musical, which Anna wanted to see. It started its run late this winter, and has been very popular. We therefore had to wait a couple of months to see a show from good seats. But boy oh boy were they good seats!
The musical was great! The kids did a wonderful job, the main adults were splendidly cast, and there was nary a dull moment. Bjarki did cringe a few times when Billy was dancing through his frustrations, but overall an excellent time was had by all! (5 images total)
We sat down in our seats early.
[The show was on 05 June 2015, but this is being blogged on 08 June 2015. Close enough.]
The academic year is over now, and one of the final events was the gymnastics spring exhibition. The local club is called Gerpla, and every year they host a series of spring shows. I’m pretty sure the big kids participate in all the shows (five this year) but the little kids only perform in one show, thank goodness.
The show this year was fun, they’d woven the performances to a narrative of the old Norse mythology. I did overhear somebody saying that they’d had to make a decision as to whether they should have good lighting or fancy costumes, and the lights won out. It was probably a good call, as it made for a cool show.
First though, we had to ‘assign’ Emma to somebody else, because I had no desire to try and wrangle her for a solid two hours. Finnur’s parents very kindly offered to take her to their summer house in Laugarvatn, which was great because the next night I had tickets for myself and the big kids to see Billy Elliot the Musical. (Finnur’s still in California.) (10 images and 1 video total)
Emma in the car with her grandparents and one of her cousins, who was also having a summer-house sleepover.
[Club held on 04 June 2015, blogged on 08 June 2015. Instantaneous!]
I’d committed way in advance to hosting a sewing club for the ex-CA-ans on 28 May, but as it turned out I had to postpone it because I was sick… and I remained sick all through the weekend. (Finnur departing for CA that Friday the 29th was less-than-perfect timing, but we all survived. Barely.)
Anyway, I decided it was one of those now or never things, so a week later I did host a sewing club, sans the help of Finnur who usually picks up a lot of my planning slack, and takes care of the kids upstairs while the girls chat and nosh.
No such luck this time, but it all worked out ok (and as an added bonus, the lower floor is clean and tidy for once!). The only thing to go “wrong” was Emma discovering a jar of vaseline which she smeared all over herself and our sheets, and Anna calling down around 9:30 pm to ask if she should give Emma a bath to clean her off. (I decided no bathing, just a rub down and back to bed. She finally succumbed to sleep soon thereafter).
Other than that I think a good time was had by all! (2 images total)
The ex-CA-ans who could make it.
[Written 28 May 2015.] So, May’s essentially come and gone. It was unusually crazy. Here are the highlights: Weekend #1 saw our first weekend trip to the summer house at Laugarvatn, where we erected the big trampoline, along with Holla and Óli. On 7 May I visited my little nephew for the first time, andRead more
[Written on 28 May 2015.] So many long-time bloggers I’ve sort of followed are falling off the cliff and not blogging any more. Is it the 15 year ennui? (Ennui = a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.) Yeah, it’s been almost 15 years, if you start countingRead more
[Appointment on 27 May 2015, put online 08 June 2015.]
The US passports of our US citizens (Anna and Bjarki) have expired, so we decided to get them new ones. This marks the first time we apply for passports at the US Embassy here in Iceland, so I figured we should document the occasion. (3 images total)
This is what the US Embassy in Iceland looks like. The have big stone blocks in front of it so there is no parking (it’s a very narrow street) and nobody enters without having an appointment and going through a security check.
[Happened on 25 May 2015, posted on 29 May 2015. I hope.]
Nökkvi and Jóhanna’s newest was Christened this past Monday. It was a public holiday (second in Whitsunday), so downtown by Fríkirkjan was quiet.
Finnur and the big kids were in an airplane, returning from England, so they missed the whole shebang. Finnur was also in possession of both the new camera (70D) and the wide lens, so I was stuck with the 50 mm lens, and the old camera (40D… slow! loud! no video!). Hence the slightly weird photos.
Now, the name was a secret until the priest said it out loud, and it was…
Breki Jarl it is! Jóhanna did a beautiful job decorating!
Breki Jarl is an amalgamation of the middle names of two of my brothers, Pétur Breki and Nökkvi Jarl. This completes the naming of Nökkvi’s children after his and his siblings’ middle names (Ylfa Marín and Hrefna Marín, Iðunn Heiður and Bjarni Heiðar).
But, back to the pictures. ALL OF THESE PHOTOS AND MORE ARE HERE! CLICK! (If you don’t click, you’ll find 43 images total on this page)
[We departed on Saturday afternoon 23 May, and returned around noon on Monday 25 May 2015. Photos posted on 30 May 2015. Just missed the 29th by minutes! ]
Since I didn’t feel like scowling at my big ToDo list at home while Finnur was away with the big kiddos in England, I decided to avoid doing a darn useful thing, and fled the house with Emma to Laugarvatn, where Finnur’s parents were staying.
Also, I always feel a little better when I have more eyes available to track what she’s up to!
Here are some photos from the trip. (43 images total)
Saturday 23 May 2015
Emma uses every opportunity to climb into the driver’s seat these days.
[Happened on Friday 22 May 2015. Posted on 30 May 2015. Which is a Saturday.]
Finnur and the big kids left for the airport for their trip to England shortly after 7 am. At 8 am, Finnur calls me to ask if one of the bags got left behind. This is what ended up being posted on Facebook:
Fun times this morning. My dearly beloved (aka Finnur) took it upon himself to educate the older kiddos in the ways of football (aka soccer) by taking them on a weekend trip to the hallowed grounds of Goodison Park to see a Premier League game. Except, as he was parking the car at the airport (35-40 min driving distance) he realized he’d forgotten the bag with the passports (and the computers and tablets and the…). Operation Bag Transfer was initiated, which involved jettisoning Ms. Last Born off at daycare, and then doing furious mental calculations to see if the electric car would make it there and back again on a 80% charge. Lo and behold, by initiating the eco+ mode (no air conditioning or fast accelerations), I made it to work with 20 km to spare, which should get me home easily. Phew!
So yes, exciting! Also educational that the km-meter is pretty on the dot in the eco+ mode, especially in pretty flat terrain. (10 images total)
After fetching Emma at daycare and driving home, I still had a whopping 15 km/9 miles left on the battery.