A big day

Our oldest turned 8 on April 24th, and the next day she was baptized. She had been looking forward to her baptism for so long and was really excited. It was a great day and I was a proud Momma! We had a lot of family and friends join us which made the day even more special.

Of course our 3 year old had to make her special mark on the day by throwing a fit from out of this world when she was told that no, she was not going to be baptized today, too. She sat by the door to the baptismal font and screamed. I honestly thought she would just open the door and jump in the water in the midst of her frustration, disappointment and anger. Crazy kid! Luckily my sweet sister-in-law came to the rescue and eventually got her out of the bathroom. I wish I would have recorded the whole episode for future blackmail opportunities.

As you can see, I did get a cute picture of The Star of the day and my Dad, who baptized her, though.

Catching up

Hello, Loewen News readers, I am still here. I don't want you to think that my life is so boring that I have nothing to blog about. It has been busy around here lately and no time for blogging. I know, I know, where are my priorities?

I'll give you the quick version of the past 3 weeks:

1. We FINALLY moved in to our apartment. And we L-O-V-E it! It is quite grand! All our stuff made it all the way from the States, and nothing even broke. So I'm a happy camper.

2. During the moving process, I got sick, of course. Laryngitis, as a matter of fact. It was hard to boss people around with no voice. Hard to yell at your kids, too. And not to mention your husband. I think they enjoyed the 3 days of whispering.

3. We celebrated our baby's 3rd birthday. She is crazier than ever. Hard to believe, but it's the fact. Her favorite phrases lately seem to be "Don't look at me" or "Don't talk to me" or "Leave me alone" or something along those lines. It's so refreshing and motivating.

4. We also celebrated Easter. Easter in Norway is the best. We get 5 days off in a row. We stayed true to the family tradition and went to Sweden. We came home with a lot less money then when we left, but on a positive note, we came home with a lot more food and candy.

5. We welcomed the chicken pox into our household. Our 3 year old is the poor victim. Our oldest has already had them (and so have I and my hubby.) It would suck to get the chicken pox at the age of 36. My husband was 19 when he got them, just in case you wanted to know, and it sucked (according to him).

So that pretty much sums it up, folks. More action to come this weekend as our oldest daughter turns 8!!

Winter memories.

I'm not really a big fan of winter. Kind of a shame really considering I live fairly close to the North Pole. I guess I technically don't really mind it, but it's one of those things I would be totally fine without. Wouldn't really miss it, to be honest. I'm more of a beach bum kind of person, as opposed to the ski bum trend here.

That being said, and since I really can't do anything about the weather conditions here up north, I must admit that I'm relieved that my kids haven't inherited my dislike for snow and cold weather. Here are a few pictures of my cute winter kids.

We had so much snow this winter. But that doesn't stop a detirmened 2 year old heading for the playground.

This was her first time skiing. I was impressed that she even wanted to try. I personally will not put those thin things on my feet.

The fashion police has spoken

I'm in no way, shape or form a credible member of the fashion police. I will admit that I like cute clothes, but I never really have a clue about what's hot in the fashion industry.

And here is a big HOWEVER....... There are some fashion styles that I don't care much for. Before I elaborate, I would like to point out that I don't wish to offend anyone. You are allowed to disagree with my dislikes and I will not hold it against you. I will just laugh at you if I catch you wearing any of these.

First of all, I never understood the hype about crocs. I just don't get it. The only people that can wear crocs and still look cute, are kids. But, for some reason, crocs on big people makes me think about hobbits. It must be the rubbery material or something, I don't know.

I also don't care much for potato sack tunics. Know what I mean? Those HUGE looking things that just hang straight down and make you look 20 lbs bigger? (I don't need to look 20 lbs bigger, thank you very much!) I'm all for clothes that make you look smaller. (And by that I don't mean tiny clothes.....)

Then there's the issue of pink shirts on guys. I'm just not a fan. I guess there's technically nothing wrong with it, I just don't find it very manly. Kind of like guys wearing capris pants. Not my cup of tea.

Here's a fashion statement that just completely CRACKS ME UP: The combination of jeans and rubber bands around the ankles. What's up with this? I guess I'm getting old and just don't understand the cooleness of it. I just think it's hideous!

In closure, just a few tips: Please don't wear white socks with black shoes. And please, please, PLEASE don't wear socks at all with open toed sandals! I don't care if archaeologists have uncovered evidence that strongly suggests that manly Roman soldiers wore socks with open-toed sandals.

Quirky

Did you know that:

• I can only eat a banana if it's sliced?
• I always have to slice off and throw away the top layer of a new block of cheese?
• I always have to rinse my glass before pouring something in to it?
• I always have to go through my "get ready" routine in the morning in the same order?
• I always have to eat the bottom of the Reece's peanut butter cup first?

This may sound like OCD tendencies, but I prefer to call them little quirks. We all have them. Let me ask you: Do you have to sort M&Ms before you eat them? Do you count the steps while going up or down a flight of stairs? Does the volume on the TV have to be on an even number? Or maybe an odd number? Do you park in the same spot? Do all your blinds have to be closed in the same direction? Do you check and re-check the doors after locking them? Do you organize your clothes by color? Do you end your gas charges on an even cent?

Well, like I said we're all quirky. Isn't it wonderful? I think it makes for a much more interesting world.

Such is life

My deepest sympathy goes out to all the Metallica fans who were in the Globen concert arena in Stockholm, Sweden, last Sunday. Imagine being able to get your hands on a very valuable ticket to a sold-out-in-30-minutes concert with Metallica. Imagine the anticipation, the excitement, the thrill. (I know what I'm talking about here as I was able to get a hold of 2 tickets to their concert in Copenhagen.) Now, imagine this: You go to the concert arena, ready to rock on and I'd say almost ready to burst. Then you get the following message: "Sorry, folks, the concert has been cancelled because James Hetfield is sick." Yeah, he's sick alright, putting all these fans through the greatest misery of their lives! (I guess it's only fair to mention that he actually had to go to the hospital because of some stomach issues.)

I know exactly how this slap in the face feels. While visiting Salt Lake City sometime in the early 90s, I was going to a Bon Jovi concert with a friend of mine. (I realize you can't compare Bon Jovi to Metallica, but nonetheless, I was quite a fan back then.) As we approached the venue, we found it really strange that there were no cars in the parking lot. After a few minutes of confusion, the Radio DJ announced that the scheduled Bon Jovi concert had indeed been cancelled because Jon Bon Jovi had lost his voice. I guess all the other concert attendees had managed to catch on to this important newsflash, but somehow we had missed it. Disappointed doesn't even come close to describing how I felt.

It's like craving pistachio ice cream. You go to the store, manage to find some green ice cream, go home and dish it all up in a huge bowl. Then you sit down to enjoy it, expect it to taste like pistachio, only to discover that it's not pistachio at all, but MINT!!!

Or it's like searching high and low for what seems like an eternity for your favorite cd such as "The Joshua Tree", and when you finally find the case, it's empty!!!

Or it's like finding the perfect shoes online, and when you finally get through the whole ordeal of adding all your information and get ready to pay, you discover a quite significant message that says "not available".

All I can say is such is life.

Oh, I just remembered one more thing. It's like going to see the Piano Man himself, Mr. Billy Joel, one of my absolute all time favorites, in concert with Elton John in Gothenburg, Sweden. Coming all the way from Oslo, you show up behaving like a bouncing ball, ready to worship your hero, only to find out that the Piano Man is sick and Elton John will be doing a solo concert.

Ode to Odin.

I mentioned in a previous blog post that I'm not much of an animal lover. I don't hate animals, but I don't necessarily like having them in my house. That's why we have farms and zoos.

Anyhow, I came across a couple of pictures Julie R took of our oldest daughter and our faithful family dog, Odin, a few years ago. I must admit that he was a cute dog. Yes, he drove me nuts with his high energy level, dog hair everywhere, slobber and stupidity, but he really was a great dog. He was so patient and loved the kids. The funniest thing about him was that he really thought of himself as a cute, little lap dog. That crazy Odin. One time we came home from church and found him sitting in our drive way waiting for us. He had knocked down the gate to the back yard. But he was so loyal and just sat there waiting. So here's to Odin and all the crazy and wonderful memories!