England Trip - Summer 2015

Xander and I only spent 5 days in Norway between Texas and England. I was regretting the quick turn-around because I was VERY exhausted and was no where near recovered from jet-leg yet. But Xander was ready to go!

 We were honored to be a part of the celebration of our cousin's wedding.

 It was a beautiful day and the most fun wedding we've been a part of in a long time.

 After the marriage ceremony, all the close family and friends headed to the boardwalk in the little beach town for ice cream and a pint. Arthur enjoyed his Mr. Whippy very much!

 Our cousin Inzi looked like a total rock star with his blue lips!

 Then we headed to the reception. It was what us Texans would call pot-luck style so the food was amazing. There was wonderful live music and an adorable kids tent, which Xander loved!

The best part of the day was his cuddles with his Godmother, Aunt Kim. She knew it was rare and told me "hurry! get a picture of this!!!" :) 

 The celebrations kept coming...the next day was our cousin Otis's first birthday! We sang "Happy Birthday" and watched him blow out the candles on his adorable caterpillar chocolate cake. And then we all indulged...birthday cake for breakfast! :)

Unfortunately, Arthur had to leave that morning to head back to work in Norway. But I kept Xander distracted with sugar and sunglasses. I think it worked.

That afternoon we joined the rest of the family for a big birthday celebration. Xander found a buddy who spent the entire afternoon hanging out with him. It was nice for him because he was so happy! And nice for me because I could relax a bit without having to chase him all over the place!

 We took a family trip to the pub for dinner. Xander and Otis were back seat buddies.

 And Xander hit a major milestone while we were at that pub. He finally decided that he was going to walk! He took his first steps the night before his first birthday but had still been pretty hesitant to use that as his main form of transportation. I think spending so much time with Otis and Inzi made him realize that this walking thing was really the way to go!

 The next day we went to another pub out in the country with a beautiful view. Of all the delicious things we could have ordered Xander and I decided to share a bowl of french fries.

Check out that view!

 Our time in England passed far too quickly but we had such a blast with our incredible hosts, Nina and Martyn. A HUGE thank you to them for opening their home to us and letting us impose during our time in England. It was a circus with all those boys under one roof but it was delightfully crazy! I Somehow I didn't get any pictures of Nina...but let me say that we are so incredibly thankful that love joined our two families together. We had so much fun watching our boys play together and I hope we will all continue to make memories with each other in the future.

Xander and I decided we had spent way too much time on airplanes this summer and I think he was ready for us to keep our feet on the ground for a while. Next stop...Norway! 

VanEss Visit - April 2015

We were so very excited to have my best friend and her family come visit us in Norway this past April. Brannon was so excited to see his "best buddy" Xander!

 We spent a long weekend in a cabin and the kids loved the ferry ride on the way to the island where we stayed.

 Xander and I were up early before everyone else so we went to explore. I thought it was just jet-lag...little did I know it was the beginnings of all of us getting very sick for the next week. I guess that's what happens when you throw 3 kids together with germs from two continents and international airports :(

 Enjoying the sunny morning before the virus caught up with us!

 This was our favorite Norway cabin so far. Too bad we had to nickname it the Throw-up Cabin!

They finally made it up...a little worse for the wear, and we took some cute family pictures. 

 Anne Marie and I did our best to recreate this ridiculous senior picture we took 13 years ago sitting on a bridge looking into the water together at the Whitte Museum. This time we had our kiddos which made it a lot cuter!

 All of my favorite people in one picture! :) 

 Our little trouble makers!

 On the ferry back home from the cabin.

 My little buddy, Brannon. I think this was a morning that the rest of his family was sick so we had fun hanging out.

 Maci rocking her fine motor skills

 The kids were excited to take a trip to the beach...the ice cold water and gale force winds didn't seem to bother them at all.

 Maci the beach babe!

 Our crazy clan!

 Walking the kids through the streets of Stavanger.

 Fjord boat tour...not exactly the best place to take a baby but we still had fun.

Anne Marie's mom was able to join us in Norway after Peter went home. One their last day we took them to one of our favorite places, the candle factory. It was raining most of the day but the skies opened up just so we could take a group picture :)

 It was so amazing to have my best friend here in Norway. Things can get lonely so far away from home, it was nice to wake up to my favorite people in my house every morning for two weeks.

 Getting ready for the trip back home. Love you guys and hope you come back soon!!!

Texas Trip Part 2- Summer 2015

The rest of our Texas trip was all about spending quality time with family and friends. 

We were so honored and thankful to be able to attend my Opa's memorial at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. He would have absolutely loved it...there was an honor guard present, they folded and presented the American flag to my Oma, then there was a 3-shot firing squad followed by the playing of Taps. It was a mild, sunny day and the breeze blew the entire time and I felt so incredibly grateful for the man my Opa was, his legacy to our family, and his service in the Navy.

It was really moving and I'm so glad that Xander was able to experience that moment with me.

The next day was the 4th of July! This was Xander's first time experiencing it in the U.S. Unfortunately, we were both sick so we spent the majority of the day sleeping but we found some time to sneak outside and enjoy the family BBQ!

Xander loved playing in his very own swimming pool that his Papa set up for him!

Filling up the bucket to replenish all the water he splashed out!

We tried to hard to get a picture in front of the American flag but he wanted to roam!

But he looked so cute in the 4th of July duds!

The next day I satisfied another craving...Frozen Jack & Coke from ChaChos! You guys, I'm telling you now...you haven't lived until you've indulged in one of these babies!

Xander also enjoyed an entire bowl of queso and was much too busy for picture taking!

We spent a few fun afternoons at the pool with the VanEss clan (minus Peter)...it's always a blast to spent time with our BFFs! :)

Sadly, our trip was quickly coming to an end. My mom joined us in Houston for our last night before we flew back to Norway. Xander loved reading the cool new book from Brannon!

And just when we thought we were going to have a tearful goodbye before security my Mom charmed them into letting her through with us! That's right...she got some sort of family pass to come through security while we waited for our flight! If you know my mom this is not a surprise! :) Since our flight was delayed it was really nice to have the help in the airport before we set off on our own!

We had such an amazing time in Texas and our time went by MUCH too fast! We both gained weight from all the yummy food and went back full of love and great memories!

The flight back alone was a little rough. He did OK through the afternoon and dinner time and then fell asleep around 8pm Texas time. Unfortunately, our flight landed in Amsterdam around 1am Texas time so he only got about 3 hours of sleep and was SUPER cranky during our layover in Amsterdam.

I tried to keep him happy by finding an empty corner to let him roam but he was so tired that nothing at the point was really making him happy...I can't blame him because I pretty much felt the same way!

Finally...one last flight back home to Norway. Thankfully he passed out during our 50 minute flight and we were touching down before I knew it. I was SO happy to see Arthur as the doors opened from baggage claim...pretty sure Xander and I both shed a few tears of exhaustion and happiness!

Home at last...sleeping like a baby! Until next time Texas!