Hall-o-ween

I don't even need to try for Halloween, but the kids need some help to make themselves scary.

New wheels

Maud has out grown the bike she got not so very long ago, must be all the sun this year. So time for new one, and since the bike sale was on in town.... and I was feeling generous.

Somebody has (finally) got a proper big bed to sleep in tonight. Not that he looks so excited about it.

Paris leaves the house

So after the hottest summer for the last 5 million years, the summer when we had to have all the doors closed so the cat didn't escape, he was finally allowed to leave the building. He had already escaped once last week and survived to tell the tale and seemed to want more, he was crazy to get out. I thought an afternoon on the balcony would suffice but he thought otherwise and escaped over the side. A 3 meter drop.
Luckily Maud wasn't home.
So off he disappeared for an hour or so, scrabbling around in the bushes and climbing trees.

He came back of course, phew.

Seems like he really needed the toilet and hadn't really grasped the idea that outside is OK for that kind of thing.

So our youngest has now flow the nest to battle the world on his own.

After a long period uncertainty Maud finally came round and joined him in his new adventure.

Paris leaves the nest from matt on Vimeo.


He was pretty exhausted after tearing up and down the garden chasing Maud and her stick for half an hour, panting like a dog.

All good things come in THREE

Little Spudster, despite never actually eating anything, has managed to survive his way through three earth years, this was obviously rewarded with cake and pop like all good birthdays. He's not such a big cake fan though either, so the grown ups scoffed that.

A bit of a cheat by starting the celebrations a day early, our second Sunday on the bounce celebrating a birthday in the household  munching cake.

Photos, photos everybody wants photos, if google ever get around to fixing all the bugs they have added to Picasa / Blogger in the past 5 years I would post more,   Grrrrrrrr.

Cake, who ordered cake?

Selma shares Brands enthusiasm for a train set.

FFwd, one day to today, and here is the B'day boy modelling this years nursery crown

First day at school for Henny

Hennys big day finally arrived, her first day of school.

Not too keen on the photo session before leaving but she put up with it.

Not the weather we were hoping for so the welcome from the headmaster was a cut a bit short, not that Henny minded that very much. Roll call to gather the class together.

She found her place in the cloakroom.....

and then the classroom.

Luckily she got sit next to Emilie, her best friend from nursery, I think they were both a bit nervous.

Her teacher Hilde lays down the law.

so your easy translation homework for today....

Summer was here

So summer was with us for a good while before we got to get some days off work, late for Norway, most people had already been on hols for a couple of weeks, ahh the restrictions of work :-(

Still can't really complain has been a magnificent summer, a good honest long hot summer.

Firstt up was a visit from G'ma and Auntie Sarah. 

Photo is, amazingly, taken on our balcony at home about 9 ish in the evening. Spoilt, us, maybe a bit. 

Silje fights the wine box.

Henny's official b'day party, a joint celebration with Henrik (9) and Selma (2). Much cake to be had.

Just a boy pushing his baby in a wheelbarrow.

Auntie Sarah entertains the troops herself while waiting for food.

A badly taken self timer shot, what i needed here was a tripod more skill. Still a nice end to a lovely day.

A trip to the theme park is always a winner, especially when

•  the weather is better than forecast
• there aren't that many people there (always a bonus for the Conibears)
• everybody gets to go on lots of rides
• the day is ended with an ice cream

Our own intrepid crash test dummy


MVI 6681 from matt on Vimeo.

Henny admires her ice cream from afar.

Another trip (for me) on the excellent Flekkefjordbanen, pretty tough going on the way out again, but much free wheeling on the way back.

Henny's new dress, thanks G'ma.

so good we need to see it twice.

More kite flying, mostly because I like it. I could stand flying a kite for hours, the kids, meh, 5 minutes.

more swimming, it looks colder than it was, not that I swam on this particular occasion mind you.

post swim debrief.

Catching some early evening rays at a friend summer house on Ågerøya (zoom in and out to see how
 a m a z i n g   this place is. Spent a wonderful few days here, perfect.

Maud, Ingeborg, Henny

Doesn't get much better than this.

Unless there is ice cream involved

Pretty much wherever you end up on the south coast of Norway there will be a view waiting for you.

Holidays are all to much for some. Probably too much bouncing.

MVI 6770 from matt on Vimeo.


The last of the days sun

Brand discovered fishing was an excellent pastime. Not all the little fishes agreed.

About all that he usually manages to eat at meal times anyway.

Sleeping off his enormous dinner, probably.

Nothing doing for me though, of course i did have one that got away.

Fish for tea, sadly none that we caught ourselves.

So that was the summer that was, 2014 will go down as maybe not the longest we have spent together for our holidays and we didn't travel more than about 100 km from home, but it didn't make it any less enjoyable.