[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.
[Departed on 9 and returned on 17 May 2015. Blogged on 03 June 2015.]
I traveled to the Edmonton area (specifically Spruce Grove) for a week-long work-trip this past May. Since the area is a flatland, and could be pretty much Anywhere North America, we didn’t go any specific tourist trips – except to the local mall, which happens to be the largest shopping mall in North America!
Some photos from the week that sped by (40 images total)
Good old Keilir, we meet again! Turns out Keilir has a wifi, which I neglected to buy into until very late. It did make up for the fact that Icelandair has barely updated the contents of their entertainment system in a very long time.
[Photos and post from 07 May 2015. Because he’s worth it! 🙂]
I went and saw my newest nephew for the first time tonight! He’s the third child of my oldest brother, Nökkvi, and his wife, Jóhanna. He just turned 11 days old, and he was wide awake and super alert pretty much the whole time I was there. Such a cutie!!
Here are a six pics, but THERE ARE MORE PHOTOS HERE.
Well, hello there!
[Easter Sunday was on 05 April this year. This is being posted on 30 April 2015. Praise dark chocolate! ]
We had yet another classic Easter Sunday. The kids got up at their usual 7 am time, and dragged us a along downstairs for breakfast. After they’d put on some clothes, all the big people searched for their big chocolate egg. Most of the eggs got demolished and partially eaten. Around lunchtime we went over to Finnur’s parents’ place, where we met most of Finnur’s siblings and their families, and ate excellent easter lamb.
Post-lunch, and egg-hunting we played 12 rounds of social whist and Finnur and I came in first and second! It was Finnur’s first time winning the family tournament (I’ve never won, boohoo) and he got a cup to take home!
Afterwards, we had ice-cream for late dessert, before heading home and shooing the kids to bed. Good times! (56 images total!)
The kiddos with their chocolate easter eggs. The big kids got #5, while Emma had to make do with a smaller #2.
[Photo from 04 April 2015, posted online 30 April 2015. Still April!] This photos is to document that on 04 April 2015, the sandbox outside our house was NOT FROZEN, and there was no snow around it. Could this be spring??!Read more
[Event happened on Thursday 02 April 2015, but this post was created on April 26 2015.] We’ve now reached the stage where the oldest kids of our friends are getting ‘confirmed‘ (either in church or not). Hard to believe it’ll be our turn in two years!! I was asked to come and take photos, which IRead more