The First Post of 2010

Our New Year rang in quite well as more fireworks than we could ever have imagined were fired off around us. As we stood on our front and back balconies, we could see fireworks literally everywhere. There seemed to be a mix of individuals and semi-professional displays. There was even one really nice set going off right outside our building!











One other thing that has been nice in the recent nights has been watching the moon. The moon was full on New Year's Eve, and it comes up over the mountains across the fjord. It gives a striking lighting and background as it shimmers on the water.

We have a stable and horse pasture near our apartment which we can see from our dining room. Kimber runs by there during the summer, and we often walk by and say hello to the horses. Kimber's favorite horse is a beige horse with a black stripe down the middle of his mane. She nicknamed him "Fat Boy" but we found out his real name today - Obelix. We like Fat Boy better. He is a very large horse, and is so relaxed he seems lazy. His owner invited Sidney to ride on a sled behind him today. She enjoyed the ride, and he was kind enough not to drop any horse apples on her.

Kimber is back at work tomorrow in the new office. Many of her coworkers have not been there yet as they were away for the holidays, so we will see how it goes. Sidney and I start back to school on Tuesday, so we will be getting a little bit more housework done tomorrow. We still have to take down the Christmas tree, but we will get that done tonight.

One more thing on Sidney's sliding on our little hill. Two days ago she went down and managed to hit her face on the ground. So a little sled rash. Then she went down again and hit her head. So a little headache. She went again on Sunday with more success managing to have fun again. Oh the trials of growing up.

Happy New Year!

Wow, what a year it has been! Our end-of-the-year letters still have not arrived in the U.S., but when they do, you all will be able to see what a crazy year it has been for us. If you want even more detail, just go back through the blog.




We ended the year this evening with a little bit of fun, as we found yet another use for the one piece snowsuits the kids here all wear. There is a hill close to our apartment I figured would make a good sledding hill, and I was right! There is enough ice and packed snow that you can easily go from top to bottom and also not worry about ending up in the street. We didn't bring Sidney's sled (she had pretty much outgrown it), so we just slid her down in her snowsuit. About a third of the way down, she sort of went sideways, but she enjoyed it anyway. Kimber and I also gave it a try, but without snowsuits we got a lot of snow in our pants.

We enjoyed a traditional German meal of jaeger schnitzel, raw fried potatoes, and brussel sprouts for dinner. Our lunch was a bit more eclectic - smoked salmon, reindeer cold cuts, pastrami, French sausages and cheese, crackers and bread, and a Norwegian caviar that is really quite good. Sidney likes it as well.

We also did a little travel planning for next year. Our current event schedule is as follows -

January - Ski trip with school
February - Dog Mushing in Tromso and the Northern Lights (hopefully)
March - Ski trip with Kimber's work
June - Svalbard cruise

For those that may not know about Svalbard, it is probably one of the furthest northern locations you can go to for a cruise. We will actually sail as far north as the polar ice sheet (above the 80th parallel.) We are really looking forward to getting to actually see polar bears in the wild!




The little island out in front of our apartment took on many personalities today. This is partly because the fjord (saltwater, by the way) is warmer than the air, and it steams. (It is also freezing in the areas where the water sits still, such as our marina.) The other thing that gave the island a different character was the full moon this evening.

We will probably sleep through the actual new year, if we can get to sleep with all the fireworks going off. They are pretty much constant and everywhere around us. Oh, well, at least they are pretty!