What we love and what we don't love

I have been making this list in my head for quite some time now. I can't help but compare this assignment to all of our other ones. I needed to get this down on paper...and I thought...why not put it on my blog? We have been having fun at school activities, birthday parties, base events and just being a family here in this kick ass house. I usually post the pics of all that everyday stuff on FB lately. Thought I could give you all an idea of what it is like to live here...not just visit.... ENJOY!

Pros of living in Norway:

-Absolutely beautiful, nature all around you, everyday. Water, trees, animals, doesn’t get nicer than here. God's country for sure.
-Our house, and its view of Hafrsfjord is just beautiful. The size of this house really helps me to organize and to simplify...we got rid of a lot of stuff both before and after the move. So much easier to find things. Kids can roll on their push cars across the floor, run around, skip...they love the space.
-New friends...we have some great friends, who like to laugh loudly, who do not get embarrassed easily and who are just a hoot to be around. Our kind of people!! The social events are fun, I am getting out with the girls a lot more, which is good for my sanity!
-Avery’s school is really unbelieveable. I volunteered to be a room mom (had no idea how much work that is....rookie) and the parent involvement is amazing. She is in Kindergarten without being in Kindergarten yet and to Avery....that is a great thing...she was made for a program like this.
-Very low crime rate, little kids walk to school alone! You can leave more than a 4 foot radius from your child, kids are taught to be very independent here because they CAN BE. Nothing really happens around here. The walking & bike trails are so extensive, you can literally walk EVERYWHERE if you really wanted to. School buses all have seatbelts and are the huge touring buses. The drivers are always dressed up in ties and all blue collar workers here actually take their jobs very seriously. I have yet to really see any deadbeats, or druggies, or homeless or shady people. They are NOT here and if they are, they are NOT where you can see them, even downtown.
-Close to the beach, Tahoe is happy. So am I. We can see the North Sea from our house, past the fjord. What a view!
-Being in Europe, need I say more?
-Excellent quality of food, meat, dairy, bakery, produce. Food shopping variety is less than the USA but the quality and laws made to protect the consumer are incredible. Gorgeous meats, fruits, veggies WOW. I love to go food shopping but I leave a LOT of money there. That is ok because I will invest in quality food and my family's health any day.
-Excellent medical care & access to care. They use alternative & traditional medicine. They care a lot about nutrition and exercise. They try to solve your problems naturally or alternatively first, rather than just writing out a Rx. They practice functional medicine...they don't try to put a label on everything....I LOVE THAT! Plus their vaccine schedule is completely different than ours. Norway gives only HALF of the shots the USA gives before the age of 5, yet their kids are healthier....and as a whole has decreased infant/child mortality rates. Norway is #5 in the world with the healthiest kids. USA is #35. We need to take note...Norway has a lot to teach us.
-Excellent job benefits. I am in the process of getting my dental license and it won’t take a lot of paperwork to do it. Plus after 6 months of working, I become “Norwegian” in a sense and start benefitting from their socialized work benefits. More to come on that, as I learn more.
-Excellent outdoor sports, activities. Norwegians go out in any weather and have the most excellent cold weather gear ($$$$ but it's worth it). These kids are conditioned from birth to withstand the cold & rain. Their preschools get them OUT every single day for 1-2 hours EACH DAY regardless of the weather. Heavy downpour in winter or snowstorm....these kids are OUTSIDE. Except in lightning storms, they are OUT. Avery’s school they go out 3 times a day. The opportunites to get in shape and be athletic are endless.
-Our Norwegian neighbors are great, fun, kind. Surprisingly we lucked out. Our street is awesome and we have already been invited to parties.
-Norway could really care less about the USA and their “stuff”. They have no desire to be Americanized and do not think the USA has all the answers (unlike most Americans & other countries in Europe & beyond). This is a good thing....Norwegians have their own identity and are VERY proud of it.

Things we don't necessarily LOVE about living in Norway (better than the word CONS):

-Cost of living is very high, very expensive. If you knew what we paid in rent you would spit out your coffee. Hopefully our COLA (cost of living allowance) is increased soon. There are rumors that it will be.
-25% VAT is killing us. With one full-time income, shopping is NO FUN. Things are so expensive, then the 25% tax on top of that. We get reimbursed for the VAT because we are NATO (the oil company people do not) but only on non-consumable products. If you can't ship it home, you can't get your VAT back. I hope to be working by January (part-time).
-Not a lot of variety for shopping. If you need something there is probably only 1 or 2 stores in the area that MAY carry it. I have become pretty internet savvy and purchase lots online (always free shipping, and the American PO Box is key here, I'm so good at that)...and it takes up to 2 weeks to get here using the US Postal Service and the Military Postal Service. In general, I love shopping for discounts (Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, factory outlets, garage sales) and “thrill of the hunt” shopping makes me gleeful. Nothing like that here. Except for that one day I went with my landlady. Very few USA businesses are allowed here. We have no Walmart, Costco, Starbucks, Target or anything like that at all. If you need to go shopping you have to travel to a few stores to find everything you need or do without because Norway just doesn't have it. Shopping = no fun.
-Not connected to mainland Europe, makes traveling south difficult and expensive.
-Very slow speed limit, speeding tickets are called SHOCK tickets because only a 5 mph over and you get upwards of a $300 ticket. They are serious about driving safely and have a zero tolerance for drinking & driving. (that is why you don’t see any bars).
-Norwegians can be very reserved and seem “cold”. They just are. Not very animated, not talkative.....I think it’s because they are so literally cold all the time ha ha. They are not showy or into the bling. They all drive expensive cars though and all are very wealthy (cars, multiple homes, land, quality beautiful clothes). This region especially because of all the oil here. They do all of their work on their houses, cars, landscaping themselves because to hire it out is too expensive and the Norwegians really can do it all. Nice people once you get to know them, and when they drink alcohol....watch out!! So fun!
-The language is difficult to discern & learn. It is not the prettiest of languages and I don't really have a desire to learn it. I try to pick out the words when someone is speaking with me but it just sounds very jumbled and harsh sounding with sounds that I don't think my mouth can even make! EVERYONE speaks perfect English here and there really is no need to speak Norsk. No one gets mad either that you are not speaking their language. I'd rather continue my Italian studies and get the kids in Italian lessons at school. Hopefully Logan will be accepted in the Norwegian school system, he probably will be the only one who can speak it after 3 years here.
-No bars, piazzas for social gatherings. No coffee bars. Norwegians don’t eat out very much because of the prices. The only meeting place is the mall and there are only 2 restaurants there and a McDonalds. THAT’S IT.
-No good chinese food or other types of restaurants. We love to eat out and it’s just not happening here. Expect to spend $100 minimum per person for a pretty good restaurant with wine. Not an EXCELLENT restaurant, a pretty good one. They have McD's, Subway and a few 7-11s but are set up differently. I saw one Burger King. There aren't a lot of restaurants here in general.
-Obsessive recycling program. Norwegians are out to save the world. They are amazing, they recycle everything...but it is a pain in the ass.
-The time difference with friends & family in the US makes SKYPING difficult. The distance from the US is far. I liked being a short drive away from our friends...we are a bit far to make birthday parties and weddings.
-Norway is a relatively new country. No real antiquity here. Architecture, both residential & commercial is modern & industrial looking. Nothing really is OLD OLD OLD and I like that about mainland Europe especially Italy. Yes, the vikings were from here but everyone built in wood since then and all have been replaced with modernity. A few stone houses exist but not many.
-The weather. I am doing fine so far but Jan & Feb are my worst months. Hoping we all do well with our new gear and our beautiful view. Our house really has made this assignment what it is! :-)
-TROLLS...they are everywhere...are they good or bad trolls? Nice, or mischevious? We caught one once, but then he got away.

We love the USA, but we love Norway too and we are surprised how much we like it here. Neither of us are Norwegian so we had no idea what to expect when we got this assignment. All is good!

We are always open for visitors and are excited that we will be spending Thanksgiving with our good friends Mica, Sarah & Scott Ashmore who will be visiting from their new assignment in TURKEY! I ordered my holiday meats and can't wait to start celebrating!

Lysefjord and the move

Again, NATO sponsored an excellent day trip to tour the most beautiful Lysefjord by boat. The weather did NOT cooperate but our family had a great time on the boat chartered just for the NATO families. The kids had a blast playing with all of the other kids that they see EVERYWHERE (at school, on base, at events) and everyone just had a great family day. Lysefjord is home to the famous Pretekolien or Pulpit Rock. The fjord walls are sheer cliffs and the expanse of green is truly amazing. Norway really is a natural wonder. We splashed in natural water falls, fed mountain sheep right from the boat and traveled 2 hours into the fjord that day. We took a bus ride back home after the tour and stopped at a candle factory in a resort town and had a quick snack before heading home.

The move is going a little slowly. Aaron returned from Germany to find the house completely full with boxes. I am trying so hard to organize our things. Our house has plenty of room to have everything in place. I am getting rid of a lot of items that we just don't need here or have out grown. The base has a thrift shop that I am definitely keeping in business.

This week the American wives club "Northern Lights" is sponsoring a Luau at the Jatta International Women's Club meeting that I joined and attend monthly. Right now I am thawing 30 lbs of pork shoulder to make my famous "luau pork" we had at Logan's Luau a few years ago. Our committee is decorating and cooking and dressing up it really should be a hoot!

Avery continues to excel in school. She really loves it but is really tired when she gets home. She is in no extracurricular activites right now (the school already has a ton of enrichment programs weaved in the day. It really is the best school I have seen). She is happy and gets excellent reports on her progress and her behavior. We are getting ready to go to a pumpkin patch, march in a United Nations Day parade and search for autumn signs and trolls at Troll Woods. So proud of her!

Logan is loving his gymnastics class and is talking up a storm. He and I go everywhere together and I definitely wear him out every day! He is still napping and still working on the potty training...ha ha he is a BLAST! We are on a waiting list for him to attend a Norwegian preschool that is just down the street. Every time we drive past he yells..."Hello Logan's School!". I hope we can get him in there soon. Although I am not ready to drop him off...he really is ready. It's obvious now.

Otherwise, nothing is truly new here the past few weeks. The weather is starting to turn wet and dark. I am looking to buy a happy light to help me through the winter. We are excited to have visitors coming for Thanksgiving! And we are setting up a holiday vacation during Christmas week. Can't wait to take pictures of the house when it is finished. Almost there! xoxo

Moving Day

Aaron was away for two weeks for NATO Training in Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany so we've been on our own here when I got the phone call. ALL OF OUR HOUSEHOLD GOODS CRATES HAVE ARRIVED! I thought about waiting until Aaron returned, but I decided to accept the goods myself. Some military spouses probably just gasped in horror reading this....but I really need our clothing. I am still living out of one suitcase with summer clothes, the kids have a bit more because I went shopping for them here, but the rain! We need our rain slickers, wellies and warmer jackets. The summer is definitely gone and autumn just rushed in.

SO, I asked a few of my new friends to come over for the moving days for moral support and a show of force. This is probably my 10th move in 15 years and it NEVER goes well, on either end. The move from DC was definitely one of the worst, so I prepared myself. Word must have gotten out that I was accepting the goods alone because the day the movers arrived, I had a quite a few military & civilian employees from the base drive to the house to check on me both in the morning and afternoon. They all said to me...just watch. Norwegian moving companies are the best and they will treat you well. I told them that I didn't believe them as it NEVER goes well....and they kept saying...give them a chance, they will change your thinking. So I exhaled a little....

The movers arrived and there were 6 men. I found out that they were all from POLAND except one. I never had THAT many movers before and was so happy. They all spoke perfect English and were so kind and polite to me. This house is pretty big and I had an idea where I wanted almost everything so as they pulled my items off the truck, I just sent them to the rooms where they needed to go. It was going so smoothly, almost TOO smoothly. I had friends Ingerlise and her daughter Solveig here to help with Logan and to keep me company. In the afternoon, my friend Tiffany came and helped me unpack a few things. SO THANKFUL that they were here. The movers ended in the afternoon with about 12 crates completed, and I was left with the weekend to unpack. The kids did great with all of the mess, played in boxes, had paper throwing fights and did the best they could do to live in the chaos.

Monday the movers were back, and so were my friends. Another friend Ruth came to stay with me and watch Logan. She has lived all over the world (her house shows it, it is amazing) and has moved a lot more than I have, so she just started unwrapping things, keeping me company and helped me with the inventory. She brought us food and brownies and stayed with me all day and is just so lovely to talk with. Another new friend Trish tried to help but she couldn't find parking there were so many cars. I am so thankful for my new NATO family. The movers emptied out the final 7 crates except the last one which was the Harley Davidson. It was packed on a crate on the truck, and the movers had NO ramp to drive it off. They were all standing around the crate when I walked out there to hear them all talking fast in Polish. I knew something was up! I told them they had to speak in English and tell me what was going on. They were calculating the weight of the crate with the amount of the men because they were going to pick up the crate and place it on the ground. THAT WAS NOT the WAY to GET THE BIKE OFF THE TRUCK! I explained to them that we needed a ramp, and that the bike was too heavy, and if anything happened to it, WE'D ALL BE DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! I kept repeating it...and repeating it.... ha ha They started talking in Polish again and turned to me and said "you need to trust us, and maybe you shouldn't watch us".....Hmmmmm....they had treated me so well and were so careful with all of my stuff, they put EVERYTHING together again in record time like beds, the armoires, without complaint. They unpacked most of my big stuff already and removed the debris. I had to trust them...and I walked away!!!!
Ingerlise stayed to watch....................................and said that they did a great job and it was lowered softly and perfectly! A perfect ending to the best move yet!

Ruth returned the next day to help me get the house in a little bit of order before Aaron got back from Germany...she worked hard all day, went food shopping for me, and helped me put so many things together. My friend Tiffany stopped by again to check on me, too. And the rain stayed away. Happy me!

So we've been unpacking ever since. Still unpacking a week later. Still have boxes everywhere. It is not easy to set up a house with little ones but we are getting closer to being finished. Avery has had homework projects during all of this, and I won't sit Logan in front of the TV babysitter all day either, and I have had school meetings at ISS, so we are working slowly. I have a great babysitter right across the street. Elisabeth is Norwegian, is 26 years old and a university student. The kids love her and she refuses to talk to the kids in English (ha ha, she makes them repeat everything in Norwegian). And Avery is in love with her dog Topsy...so help is literally a few steps away.

All in all the move was almost perfect. Just one big problem....the vacuum is missing!!!

**On a side note: We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on 15 Sep!! Love you Big A!

Kongeparken & Sirdal

We had a fun week and it was all about the kids (at least that is what we are saying). On Sunday we went to a local amusement park called KONGEPARKEN. NATO families were invited for a day and we all headed there on a big bus. The kids were thrilled just to ride the bus! But when we got there.....it was awesome. It is sort of like Sesame Place without the water rides. The kids are the perfect age to enjoy almost every ride. And if they weren't tall enough, usually they let the kids ride with one of us so we all had fun together instead of taking turns. The rides were great, many of them had the kids climbing and jumping on their own which I expected being here in Norway. These Norwegians are so sporty and athletic. At lunch, the park sponsored a lunch for all of the NATO members with a great spread, face painting and a visit from Brume & Brumeline the park's teddy bear mascots. When our kids saw them though....they both ran in opposite directions. ha ha. This is why we haven't gone to Disney yet! LOL Not sure if any of our friends are reading this who went to Oktoberfest with us 10 years ago....but do you all remember the ride "THE ROLLERSKATE" in Munich? You know the one that we all went on really drunk and was so rough that we all had trouble breathing afterwards? They had that one there and Aaron went on it twice. ha ha but I don't think it was as rough, and Aaron wasn't drinking this time LOL. The kids really had an amazing day and the weather was just perfect. Logan was big enough this time to go on many of the rides. He is a little more hesitant to try new things than Avery. But when he saw his sister going on so many, he really found some confidence to try too. By the look of his face sometimes, we weren't sure if he was liking the ride until it was over. Then he either yelled YAY! or AGAIN, MAMMA! We are definitely going back next summer.

On Wednesday, I attended my first "wives" meeting of the Jatta International Women's Club (JIWC) associated with the Joint Warfare Center. I went with my neighbor Tiffany, whose AF husband is a new Services Commander on base. There were over 75 women there from over 20 countries and we got to learn about this club and the many social activities they have during the year. Some women there speak 5 languages while others have lived in over 7 countries during their husband's military career! Some women have newborns while some have children who are 38 years old! Some families are new to the military, some have been in their country's military for 35 years. So there was lots to learn and lots to talk about. The American wives, aka the NORTHERN LIGHTS, are sponsoring the next JIWC social event in October. We voted on a LUAU (ha ha I have lots of stuff from Logan's party) so our next meeting will be lots of fun. Each country sponsors a month's event, so I am looking forward to the other meetings as well. There are many mini groups within this big group, runners, walkers, supper club, book club, travel club etc. so there is lots to do together. I even won a raffle prize...right after telling Tiffany that I always win at raffles!!

On Saturday we headed to Sirdal, a mountain town about 60 miles away on a winding country road. There was a festival there commemorating the herding of sheep off the mountains and sending them away for the traditional Norwegian Christmas dinner. :-( The kids LOVED seeing hundreds of sheep on the mountains and walking in the street. They had fun calling to them and watching the cowboys round them up for the truck. We tried bbq lamb and it was fantastic. Although we are in Norway, I have NO IDEA how to cook lamb so we are going to stick to the Christmas ham. The sheep were too cute to cook.

Aaron left on Sunday for two weeks in Bavaria at a NATO conference. Just in time for OKTOBERFEST??

Our household goods are scheduled to arrive this week, but I have heard from NO ONE yet, so I am just going to stop thinking about it. I have a few friends here who have volunteered to accept the shipment with me so I won't be too overwhelmed. This is why I love the military....instant family no matter where you are in the world.

On a totally random note, Avery has been coming up with some real doozies lately. On the way home from school, she is always so tired, so I either let her fall asleep or just let her veg on the way home. But on Tuesday, out of the blue she said, "Hey mamma, remember last week when you thought Tahoe ran away? Why did you yell OH SHIT!!!!!!?" Ha ha ha so it begins!! I was hoping she missed that. Not a chance. Miss you all xoxo

Aaron's BACK!

Aaron was gone for the week for a training trip to Szczecin, Poland & Berlin, Germany. He flew there with 50 other NATO officers & civilians for official business but also found a little time to see the sights. He hung out with two colleagues in particular, one from Poland and one from Germany who work with him at his office. The stories these two men had to tell, really changed Aaron's perspective on life and enhanced his trip. Christian, the German, told of his childhood in East Berlin (he is Aaron's age) and how his father smuggled him (age 4) and his infant sister (sedated) in the trunk of a car to get through the Berlin Wall checkpoint. His father got a hold of some counterfeit official paperwork that made him look like a diplomat, which allowed him across. His father then ditched his car, got Christian and his sister on a plane to Frankfurt and defected. I don't do the story justice, it really had me on the edge of my seat. Jersey from Poland told Aaron of his time there during the Solidarity movement. He was one of the confidants of Lech Walesa and helped him get to power. Jersey had to spend time in the Communist party support his family (the only way he could survive during those dark times), but the entire time, was working against them. Even when ordered to kill his own people, he and his men made a pact to shoot over their heads, instead of shooting to kill. He wrote a book about his efforts, his experiences and his relationship with Walesa and gave Aaron a signed copy. Makes you thankful to be an American, and really makes your own problems pretty trivial. These are just two of the amazing stories & European history tales he learned about during this trip. Aaron visited the Brandenberg Gate, Potsdam (where Truman, Stalin & Churchill met to plan post war Europe), inside the German Parliament and of course, the seaside town of Szczecin. Being back to Germany made Aaron sooooooo happy (you may remember his time in Munich for Oktoberfest back in the day....ha ha or you may not remember, we don't remember much) but Aaron said he gorged himself on German food and beer again which made the trip WORTH EVERY MINUTE! LOL. At one point during the trip, all 50 officers lined up under a military war monument, and had an official group photo taken. All of a sudden hoardes of tourists saw this and started taking pics...Aaron said it was a pretty spectacular site, to see all of these international officers in full Class A service dress with Aaron's 3-star German general at the front. Afterwards, some tourists came up to Aaron to take photos with the "American" one...so that was pretty darn cool.

Avery started school full time this week. In the beginning, I was not thrilled to learn that her school is full time but to be honest, she loves it, and is showing no signs of distress. She did well for her first day, but when I picked her up and put her in the car at 3:15, she immediately fell asleep. It was a LONG DAY!! During the day they do have a "rest" time, and Avery and I worked together this weekend to make her a special pillow for that. We had fun picking out the colors and button. We got an IKEA small pillow and made a washable cover with a pretty pink towel and a friend's sewing machine. (For some reason IKEA doesn't sell covers for this small pillow?) Easy project, but Avery showed EVERYONE at school her work. Too cute. I am still deciding if she will stay all day all week, I have the ability to choose her schedule if I want...she will let ME KNOW how she is doing...I'm keeping a close eye. I really miss her.

Tahoe left our yard again this weekend. Aaron let him out without his collar (a big no-no) and we both forgot he was out there. There is a partial fence and a hedge, but Tahoe barrels through the hedge sometimes when he sees a cat or just wants to follow a scented trail. Aaron left to walk to the market when I realized Tahoe was NOT in the house or in the yard! I literally threw the kids in the car, and jumped in with my pajamas on and starting driving through the neighborhood on Sunday morning (early). Avery, Logan & I all were yelling for TAHOE!!!!!!!!!!! So now all of the Grannes neighborhood knows I am the loud American nut. I couldn't find him, or Aaron at the store (I stopped there too and ran up & down the aisles) so I drove home to find Aaron looking very confused, and Tahoe standing next to him. Apparently Tahoe had come home on his own because he hadn't eaten breakfast yet. I love that blonde boy SOOOO MUCH but he is making me gray.

Our car & household goods are almost here. In fact, probably both will be here in two days. I CAN'T WAIT to get our stuff here...although there is something to be said for living simply, it's been really great and relatively easy. But 3 months is enough...I want my shit.

*UPDATE* Our car is here, and can be picked up in a day or two. Our household goods shipment is NOT here yet, and was actually split up in two. So only 10 crates are close to being here (early Sept). We have 18 total. But which crates? The beds? The clothes? The toys? Who knows.......*sigh*

School Days

Well, this week starts the school year for the greater Stavanger area, and we started our week at the International School of Stavanger. Aaron is on a business trip this week to Poland & Berlin, so I am flying solo right now.

All I have to say is wow, what a school! ISS has a beautiful campus and consists of students from pre-K to 12th grade, about 700 students from over 40 countries. Americans make up many of the students, with Great Britain having the most students attending there. Avery doesn't make the cut-off for Kindergarten, so she is starting her third year of preschool (she should earn a degree for this!). There are two pre-K classes each with about 18 kids.

Monday was "Meet the Teacher" day and I took her to meet Miss Anthea Demos, her lead teacher. Miss Anthea is from Austin, TX and taught Kindergarten for the past 6 years there. She also attended the ISS as a child as her father was in the oil industry here when she was about 8 years old. She is adorable, sweet, very smart & organized and right away Avery warmed up to her. I was so nervous that day but Avery walked right in, introduced herself, sat down at the table and started telling her all about herself, her brother, her dog, horses, unicorns, dogs, cats, our new house, etc. There was not one ounce of hesitation or anxiety coming from this little big girl. I was such a proud mama. The classroom is gorgeous, and there are two other helper teachers, Miss Lizzie & Mrs. Alison there to help teach the 4B "Busy Bees". I was handed a huge welcome packet and had to fill out some forms. We went on a quick tour of the school and that was it....for the first day.

On Tuesday, we had to wake up early because her school day starts at 0830. We headed out to the school with Logan at around 0815...it's about 3 miles away on a country road, driving right along Hafrsfjord. Our house is absolutely in the perfect location for so many things!! She had her lunch, her backpack, her rain gear (they go out 2 times a day in all weather) and I had all of the paperwork to get her registered. We found her cubby & coat hook outside her classroom and she gave me a big hug. And that was it....that's when it happened....ugh I completely started sobbing!!! The thing is about this kid, she understands that mommies sometimes cry when we are happy, not always sad. She recognized this, hugged me, patted me on the back a few times and whispered to me "it's ok mama, I'm gonna be fine, this is gonna be great". And then of course I REALLY LOST IT THEN!! Miss Lizzie saw the whole thing and rushed over with a box of tissues for me. HA HA so embarrassing! Parents could stay for the morning if we wanted to, but I didn't feel the need. Avery was doing great, talking to the other kids at the table, and besides...I had Logan with me. I started to leave when Logan finally realized he was leaving his sister behind....HE then completely lost it! He went face down like a big "X" in the middle of the carpet, screaming "Avery! Avery! I stay with Avery!" and pointing at her. These two have spent every single moment together for the past 3 months and have bonded so wonderfully...and Logan liked it exactly that way!! Poor thing, it took us another 30 minutes to get out of the building...step by step. Which turned out to be a good thing because on the way out I met a woman named Heidi...

Heidi has lived here in Norway for 5 years and has two boys (Fraser & Ewan) about 6 months behind each of our kids. She is a beautiful blond New Yorker who is married to a Scot who works for one of the oil companies here. She speaks Norwegian too, and talked with me for about an hour outside (the little ones played on the playground) about all things Stavanger, Norway. I was lucky to meet her. My Norwegian friend Ingerlise, from our first week here at the hotel, joined us with her little one and she & Heidi hit it off immediately, too. And then...then they started talking!!! Whew I was like a sponge taking in all of the information these two were passing...so despite all of the emotion & tears, the morning turned out super great.

Well Logan finally let me put him in the car and we headed home. I am keeping Logan home a few months as I research Norwegian preschools for him. He is too young to attend ISS and there are SO MANY options for attending Norwegian programs...I just have to pick a school and get him on the waiting list. I am NOT ready to drop him off ANYWHERE!!! LOL. Half days only this week for Avery, I pick her up at noon. Next week is FULL DAY, 5-days a week! I wonder how I am going to handle THAT!? I know one thing for sure though...my girl will be just fine! xoxo

*UPDATE* I picked Avery up at noon and she ran out of the classroom to give me a big hug. She said she was really good and didn't cry! She told me about her new friends April, Jack & Elizabeth.... (I told ya!)

Now it's a HOME, not just a house

We moved into our house on Monday and we couldn't be happier. I was really tired of living out of suitcases for the past 2 months and really needed some room to spread out. The kids could not be more thrilled either, they have a gymnasium size living room to race cars, color, and to roll coins the farthest (you'd be amazed at the games these two make up when they have hardly any toys). They play horsey on top of each other, wrestle, and tag, who-can-find-the-biggest-slugs, who-can-tear-down-the-neighbors-driveway-on-the-tricycle-fastest, and hide & seek but we can never find Logan. We always have to call out and have him answer LOL.

Our household goods don't arrive for another 3 weeks, so we have loaner furniture and I've been to IKEA quite a bit buying rugs, linens for the loaner beds and toys. I've been cooking every day and I am starting to enjoy it for once. I found the best grocery store just a 5 minute drive away. We also have a small store only a 5 minute walk away through a forested trail and we've strolled there with Tahoe a few times this week for fresh produce. Remember that baguette we talked about at the hotel? We found out which bakery it was from, and that too is only a 5 minute drive away. We went there on Sunday and it was a MADHOUSE...they were pulling the breads & danish right out of the ovens and into the baskets, people were wall to wall trying to get the freshest breads...it was AWESOME!

Tahoe has walked himself around the neighborhood a few times. Not sure if he is looking for Arlington, Virginia or not, but we found him sniffing someone's garden on our way home from the store the other day. He got out through an unlocked door. I freaked and slammed on the brakes! He is not the runaway type, he is just curious and he came over to the car right away. He would NEVER leave me! We have a few resident cats (which European city doesn't?) and Tahoe is not so tolerant of them any longer. He darts after them now and we are always yelling for him to COME HOME! There are minimal cars here on our secluded street so the kids & Tahoe can play right outside our house. It's a great location for SO many reasons. We can walk out our front door and down the hill right to the edge of the fjord. A short km walk to the right and we are at the THREE SWORDS monument & beach where Tahoe dives into the salt water. He gets that puppy face every time he swims. All of our neighbors have come right up to us to meet us all. Who says Norwegians aren't friendly??

I also have my European husband back. He has stripped his DC persona and is back to the Aaron I knew 10 years ago. He's always been super great but the Pentagon can change even Ghandi I tell ya! Mr. Mayor talks to EVERYONE he sees and shakes hands, and smiles so brightly, he is definitely in his element. He can mountain bike to work and is outside most of the day with the kids. He worked so incredibly hard to get us here, it was definitely our worst move yet. He moved us all on short notice too, he was one stressed puppy but now.....He is one happy CAMPER!

I am meeting a few of the wives at the base and everyone is welcoming. There are many spouses groups: the Northern Lights for Americans, Jatta for all of NATO, then there are OIL COMPANY women's groups also. Then there are subgroups like a fitness/running club, quilting, shopping, cooking, hiking, drinking (just kidding). So the first meeting of all of these groups is in September where I will meet all the women and hopefully connect with a club or two. There is a change of command for the new USAF Brig Gen arriving and the ceremony is Thursday so most of the base will be present. This is a geographically separated unit so the base population is really small, but hopefully we will all be one big happy military family. Because when you are so far from home, your military family is all you've got....xoxo

Norwegian FOOD

If I hear Aaron say "Everything tastes better in Europe" ONE MORE TIME! He loves the food and really enjoys being in Norway....every minute. It's like Alaska & Europe in one, two of his favorite places.

Breakfast is at the main hotel and is included in the room. We walk about 10 minutes every morning through downtown Stavanger. The kids know this route all by themselves since most of the time they are running there every single day. Our hotel is so great for kids. Every morning the staff dresses up in animal ears or tiaras, and they transformed their lobby into a giant playroom for the summer with IKEA toys & movies playing on a loop. They have step ladder at the front desk so the kids can climb up & see over the top and talk to the staff too. There is a "kids only" breakfast bar, all at kid height so they can get their own drinks and pancakes. Logan loves these Norwegian cookies and when the staff sees him, they bring the cookies out. They also bring him straws to drink his smoothie, I don't see them doing that for any other kid. (part of it is that we are still that LOUD family, can't miss us LOL) Avery & Logan know all the breakfast staff and it's like Norm at Cheers...."GOD (goo) MORGEN" when they walk in...so great.

Norwegian breakfast is like the best SPA FOOD, fresh fruits, vegetables, Norwegian pancakes that are flat and folded like crepes, housemade jams, three kinds of eggs, meats, cheeses, best baked bread, tons of fresh juices & milks. Aaron's eyes *sparkle* when he walks in...its so great. Aaron had a baguette the other morning and told me it was the best ever, and that he has been searching for a perfect baguette in DC for three years, blah blah blah. Of course I looked at him with a doubtful face, rolled my eyes and tried it. OMG IT WAS THE BEST BAGUETTE EVER!!!!! Seriously was THE BEST...And as you walk out the door of the restaurant, you get complimentary Omega-3 chewables!? I mean who does that? The healthy Norwegians do! The kids gobble them up. We move to our house on Monday which means we have only 3 more hotel breakfasts left! We are not happy about this. At all.

We don't eat out much for lunch or dinner. It is way too expensive here to eat out. We went to a pizzeria and had a medium pizza, a large salad, and waters. It cost us $45. SOOOO we go food shopping on base (a 7-11 sized BX/Commissary combined) and I cook in our apartment. A new friend here lent us her crockpot so we make quite a few great meals.

This weekend is GLADMAT, the largest food festival in Scandinavia. It's literally out our front door along the harbor. Gordon Ramsay is here but I have not seen him yet. We've gone everyday so far. We have really no idea what we are eating or how to pronounce it but Aaron had some good meals like deer, raw fish, lamb. It is packed, can't get the stroller through the crowds. But to the Norwegians credit, it is the calmest, quietest festival I have ever been to. They just don't really get rowdy or too drunk. Everyone always seems to be on their best behavior. That's a good thing....

I can't help but compare Norwegians to Italians in all aspects...but especially the food. In general, the food to me here doesn't stand up to food in Italy. But if I were raised in a Norwegian home, I'd probably feel differently. All in all, Europeans have a way about them that I envy. They are so into quality of food & quality of life rather than quantity and I am so glad to be back in this European environment again. Life has gotten a lot simpler for me and our family and this is the MAIN reason I wanted to move back here. So far, my heart is happy here.

Oh...and Norwegians use a fork & knife like the rest of Europe. They keep the knife in the right hand, the fork in the left and never put them down. Americans usually put the knife down & switch the fork into their right hand to eat. I can't help it, I notice details...part of my DNA....

Like I mentioned earlier, we are moving into our beautiful house on Monday! We won't have internet for a while (what am I going to do without my FB!) We are ramping up for Avery's school that starts Aug 16th. Aaron is going on some training to some really great places soon too. His job is really exciting to me. We are almost done with this move! It's been a long road but we are almost back in the Team Allgeyer routine...and I for one can't wait for that!

**Cute story....Avery likes to make us all toast with our juice glasses at breakfast, and this morning, she said at the top of her lungs...."LONG LIVE STAVANGER!" then "TEAM ALLGEYER IS TOGETHER AND WE ARE LIVING IN NORWAY NOW......FOREVER!"

Things are Looking UP!

This week has been really an exciting one. We had lots of good news and our life just got a bit easier.

After dragging these kids to so many houses, we finally got word that the house we really wanted was ours. It originally was a little out of our budget, and we were told by numerous people here that Norwegians don't negotiate rent. They just don't have to, the market is so hot right now. But Aaron didn't listen and went ahead and discussed our issue with the realtor & owner and after a few days we got word that the house was ours at a lower price. And the owner said "your dog is also welcome" so as you can imagine...we are so thrilled and I am so thankful that Aaron has courage to break the rules sometimes! (I was going to use another term...ha ha) LOL. This is the house I wanted...and its location, view, space & light will help us through those cold & dark winters. Great job Big A! We move in Aug 2nd. Our stuff doesn't arrive until the end of August but we are getting loaner furniture for 30 days which will be great.

The base had its mandatory Newcomers Briefing this week and we all went. We were the only couple with small kids and the commanders secretary actually watched them for the entire morning in her office while we were in the briefing...she was so good to them. We sat through a few hours of briefings (legal, host nation laws, medical/dental, chaplain services, and Morale/Welfare/Recreation) ending with the dreaded drivers test for all of the international street signs. I was studying the sheet all morning during the briefs...because Aaron kept telling me that I couldn't fail LOL....but lucky us, the teacher was on vacation and because everyone in the room had lived in Europe before, we were all exempt from the test! Now I just have to drive...one of these days......

We have made a few friends, there is a Navy couple living in the hotel with us...Chip is a pilot from Ridgewood, NJ, of all places. His grandfather was a Paterson, NJ Police Officer in the 60s. (small world) His wife Ingelissa is a native Norwegian. They hope to retire here in 3 years after their tour. Ingerlise has been such a good travel guide, she tells us where all the good museums, playgrounds, restaurants are for kids. She translates and is just such a wonderful friend to us so far. They have two little girls Hanna & Solveig and they are fluent in Norske. They have lived all over the US but you would think those girls have lived here all of their lives. They are blonde beauties and Logan & Avery love them so much...we see them everyday at breakfast and go over the plan for the day. I really love military families...always looking out for each other.

The weather has been just beautiful. Sunny, warm and most importantly NO RAIN. I had to order rain jackets & pants for the kids. Norwegians do not let the weather stop them. So our kids will be the same! Next weekend is Stavanger's Food Festival. Gordon Ramsay of HELLS KITCHEN is the host and I hope to meet the SOB...we watch his show all the time here...they don't bleep out the curse words here so it is a blast to watch. I want to meet him...

Thanks for all of the great posts on FB with the pictures of the house. We are so excited. I am trying to add photos on the blog but having trouble...still working on it. Have a great week...we miss all of you. Thanks for thinking of us. xoxo

Our First Week of Norwegian Life

It has been a week since our arrival and we are doing great. The kids are almost on Europe time, and I am too...we are about 2 hours off of our regular routine but we are making progress. Our apartment is right in the middle of the old historic part of town and the location couldn't be more perfect. Steps to the old harbor, the swan pond, the Children's museum, playgrounds, restaurants, movie theatre (in English) all on cobblestone streets. Most (if not all) Norwegians speak PERFECT English so communication has been easy. Reading Norwegian has been really tough...but we have figured out that if you sound out many words syllable by syllable, slowly, it sort of sounds like an English, Dutch or German equivalent. The words look more intimidating than they really are.

Norwegians are nice, not overly friendly or easy to smile. Don't get me wrong, they are not unfriendly either, just quiet and reserved. So when the Allgeyer family (aka the LOUD family) walks or skips to breakfast which is at the main hotel we do get stared at a little but that's ok. That is just who we are! But Aaron and I do strike up conversations with the locals easily and then the Norwegians open up! They are so helpful, informative and LOVE kids. There is so much to do here for kids and it is obvious Norwegians value their children so much. These Norwegian kids are adorable...their white platinum blond silky hair is so gorgeous, you just want to touch it! Many of the parents we talk to say that foreigners do touch their kids hair a lot because they can't believe how beautiful it is LOL. Of course I had to touch it too!

As usual Avery talks to everyone and makes friends quickly. Logan follows her everywhere and they have a great time together. They are really bonding on this move. (And Logan is talking up a storm...must be his survival instinct kicking in) She & Logan were playing with Polish, Swedish & German kids who did not speak English. (Their parents did) It didn't matter...they all had a blast.

We have been busy in-processing the NATO base and house hunting. When we finally do find a potential house to rent, we pull up to look at it and people are moving in! The house hunt has been difficult so far. These houses rent fast and we are competing with other military families both US & NATO and families in the oil industry. We check the listings every morning at breakfast then call the realtor. They are a little slow getting back to us, but we are going to see two more houses today. We are hoping for some luck!

I am not allowed to drive yet until I take the Norwegian drivers test at the end of July so I am truly a military "dependent" at this point. That's ok with me...I am not a fan of all of the traffic circles. Aaron is a pro at them already...I still have to figure out who yields when...yikes! Aaron bought an old old old Mercedes (we call it the pimp mobile) to use as a commuter car as we wait for our SUV to arrive in September.

The weather changes by the hour...sun, rain, wind and cooler temperatures are the norm right now. Everyone says this is not a typical Norway summer. We carry jackets & sweaters at all times. There is water all around us, the harbor is right in town, the beach on the North Sea is a 10 minute car ride so it gets pretty windy. We hope to find a house on a fjord...I can handle the wind if I get to see the water everyday!

We are looking forward to school in early August for Avery. Logan will stay home with me a few more months as we get more settled here. Aaron's Norwegian physician attended Avery's school (the International School of Stavanger) as a child and said it has always been the best school, so we are excited we got her a place in the pre-K class.

Tahoe is doing great...he loves hanging out with us by the harbor and just being with his family. Boy did I miss him!! xoxo

Leaving for Norway

Aaron & Tahoe have made it safely to Norway, and now it was my turn with the kids. Aaron and I chose to travel separately in case Tahoe had trouble clearing customs here in Norway. Aaron would have shipped him back to me instead of the 4 month quarantine in Oslo (6 hours away from our new city). Happily Tahoe made it through and Aaron was getting things ready for our arrival in a week.

We are all ready to go…and I am not too nervous about the move in general. I really don’t like flying but our flight was an overnight one so I hoped that the kids slept during the 9 hour journey. I was a little concerned that Logan would have a hard time, since he just turned 2.5 but he was just great. Avery was awesome as his big sister and my little helper. She is a traveling pro, loves her new rolling pony luggage, and literally led me through all of the airports rolling along. They both slept on the plane a little and didn’t truly complain much at all. And if they did, it usually was because they were tired or hungry, and they got over it quickly.

The problems I had during the transatlantic journey were not from my munchkins…they were from everyone else! For example, the airport shuttle driver sat in the drivers seat as I packed his van, didn’t lift a finger to help me at my hotel or at the airport. We were authorized 2 bags per person so I had 6 pieces of luggage, a double stroller, 2 carseats & 3 carry-ons. I had asked him for help but he pointed to the sign that read “Passengers are Responsible for Their Own Luggage". A mom traveling alone and you can’t even get out of the drivers seat to help just a little? grrrrrr (I filed a complaint) I did have wonderful friends who offered to drive me to the airport, but I had already said goodbye and just wanted to pay for a shuttle since the government picked up the tab and because we had a lot of luggage. Big mistake…

After I checked in and dragged all the checked bags to the Xray machine at check in, (grrrrr) A TSA agent at security took over 15 minutes to swab my double stroller and test any residue with me helplessly looking on. Of course I couldn’t make any snarky comments, or I’d be delayed even more….but seriously, do I look like a terrorist to you? Traveling on military orders with State Dept passports, two children under the age of 5 and rolling Avery’s pony & Logan’s fishy luggage? A female TSA agent came to my defense and scolded the agent, but that made the male TSA agent work EVEN MORE SLOWLY, as to antagonize her. At one point, he found a chapstick in my stroller and put it in a cup and went to the Xray machine and scanned just the damn chapstick…before he would release my stroller to me. (I filed a formal complaint.) I won’t talk about the items taken from me at security by the same agent, I am working to get those back. grrrrr. It also didn't help that I was being paged by the airline "Allgeyer Party of 3, we are waiting for Allgeyer Party of 3...FINAL BOARDING CALL". Apparently this international flight finished boarding 30 minutes before takeoff. Mama was NOT HAPPY. grrrrr

We got to Frankfurt and had about 30 minutes to get used to the sunlight (it was 3am EST) and these kids were great. Avery & Logan found a friend and played with her until our flight boarded. All was well.

Next, at Stavanger airport, the Lufthansa personnel at the gate said she couldn’t find my gate-checked stroller and told me to go complain about it at baggage claim. She then walked away…huh? But how was I going to get there with two small children, 3 carry-ons, a purse and one carseat? The stroller was my kid & carry-on cart! At this point, I had had enough and loudly complained to any Lufthansa staff in the area within earshot….and miraculously, within minutes, my stroller was found and brought to me! grrrrrr

Needless to say we arrived in Stavanger safely, and as soon as I saw Aaron I burst into tears…I don't know why, maybe because I missed him, or the complete lack of sleep for me, or because we finally had made it. I just wanted everyone safe and together…and I delivered. But whew what a trip! I moved overseas 13 years ago for the Air Force, but it was just me, minimal furniture, no tears, no money and no clue....and it was great! It was much harder this time, with two little people counting on me…I was very cautious, concerned and so many events made me crazy. Boy how times have changed!

But we are here in Norway! Together and excited for the next THREE years! We are living in an apartment for the next two months, hopefully finding a suitable house to live in before 60 days of apartment living are up. We’ll see how that goes! Off to sleep for the next 3 days, which I am sure will help me shake the negativity... LOL!!!