Glad Fettisdagen (kan man saya så?)

Tomorrow, Tuesday, is Fettisdagen or Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Tuesday). Whatever your tradition enjoy your pancakes, semlor etc. We actually honored our Irish and English traditions on Sunday morning with pancakes and then yesterday we were invited over to Kaisa's for Semlor. A Semla, or Semlor (plural), are Swedish cakes that are eaten on Fettisdagen. Thanks Kaisa for the treats and for dinner (I had two semlor yesterday, they were very nice). Of course here in the USA, tomorrow is Mardi Gras (or Fat Tuesday). Hope everyone has a good day.

Shown below are Carina and Björn, with their three children, Oliva, Dorris and Rufus. They are our good friends, also from Sweden. Hope you all also have a Glad Fettisdagen.

 

Not much to report......

We don't really have much to report from this weeks activities. Lynne was away for two nights, an overnight trip to The University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. That was the highlight of the week.

The skiing trip was a big success last weekend. I've no pictures yet, I'm waiting to get some from others. The drive up there was long and necessary. The hotel was great, a very family friendly place and we'd certainly recommend it. The skiing was OK, Anja thoroughly enjoyed it though so mission accomplished. She wants to know when we are going back. The drive back was terrible, snow and screaming kids...

The weather here in West Lafayette has taken a nose dive south again this weekend. We had snow again yesterday and today the temperature is back in the teens. It's currently -10C so we are bundled up inside, reading books, painting, playing dress-up, reading books, watching Disney movies, you get the picture. We are waiting for Spring to save our sanity.....Of course it doesn't help looking at both Jonathan and Davey's blogs, both are down under and cannot seem to stop torturing us with pictures and tales of beach trips...nice!!

Anyhow, enjoy the week everybody.

 

 

 

We are away Skiing......

For the first time in six years, Lynne and I will be going skiing....well maybe. Last time we went it was to The Three Valleys Ski resort in the French Alps for some of the best skiing in the world. This weekend, to get ourselves back into the swing of things and more importantly to introduce Anja and Isabel to skis, we are off to Bittersweet, a small ski resort in Michigan. We are all pretty excited, particularly Anja, who has not stopped talking about it in weeks. Little does she probably realize that after one hour she will be freezing, tired and having fallen several times, she will no longer think it's that entertaining. We'll have to see.....

In total, we are traveling as a group, four families, each with small children skiing for the first time so we're all in the same boat. We are all also staying at Bay Pointe Inn, a small local resort. Don't let the term resort lull you into thinking it's exotic. I'm sure it will be basic but adequate. It has an indoor pool so it will be a hit with many of our party. Anyhow, enjoy the rest of your week and weekend. We leave first thing Friday morning, should be a lot of fun.

 

Sleepy Weekend!

We're having a rather relaxed weekend here on this end!!

Our night out in Indianapolis at the theatre went very well. The show was not the best but the whole night out and away on our own with adult company was perfect. We made a short trip to Trader Joe's on the way home, it's this really cool food shop where one can find all sorts of delights, anyway we picked up lots of goodies. Last night we had Kaisa, Kevin & girls over to dinner for a fun night.

This morning we had a chance to catch up with my brother Clive and Tracey about the plans for their wedding later this year. We will shortly be booking flights.

Today we went to Michah's birthday party, she is Kristina's four year old niece. We got back and all had a little nap, the girls are still asleep.

Shown below are two pictures of the girls that I really like. They are both playing very nice for the camera (Kristina took the picture of Anja). Then there is the picture of what they are like most of the day, a mess, playing with each other and generally having fun!

 

 

 

Night at the Theatre

Tomorrow night we have another night off!! Randy and Lorraine are taking their grandchildren to a children's show at the Lafayette Symphony (Instrument Petting Zoo) and wanted to also take the girls. That includes a sleep over... yippee (Thank You !)

We are taking advantage with an adult night out in Indianapolis. We are going to meet a colleague of mine from work for dinner at a place called The Elements (yum) followed by a show at the Phoenix Theatre called The Seafarer. Here is their synopsis which I thought sounded interesting indeed. Have a nice weekend all...

It’s Christmas Eve in Dublin. In the rundown house where Sharky cares for his blind brother, old acquaintances gather for a card game—joined by an ominous stranger. As the booze flows and the game intensifies, Sharky discovers he is playing for his soul. In this Faustian, darkly humorous tale frought with suspense, celebrated playwright Conor McPherson examines how we face the demons of our past as we struggle to find redemption.

Pictures from Kristina

Kristina recently took a few pictures of the girls which turned out great. She is quite the artist. I've mentioned this previously but you can check out some of her work at her website. She also keeps a blog and recently posted an account of a rather tough day......shivers ran down my spine when I saw the picture of her torn up knee.

Anyhow, a few of my favourite pictures from her recent shoot are shown below.

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Håkan

This Friday, Håkan, our good friend from Sweden turns over another year. Happy Birthday, we'll be thinking of you. Relax and have some fun.

You will remember that we met and knew Håkan when we lived in Sweden but he moved here with us and studied at Purdue under Lynne's direction. He now lives in Sweden again with Eva-Lotta and their daughter, Tindra (shown). Håkan is actually on parental leave right now and as I understand it, loving every moment. Have an enjoyable day.

Your Friends!

 

 

Still Icy Here

It has been bitterly cold here over the last few weeks. Well below freezing and the remains of several inches of snow are still hanging on. We even had some new snow this morning which caught everybody by surprise, particularly in Indianapolis where 4-6 inches fell and sadly some people lost their lives in a traffic accident.

We're all doing well here. Lynne has been away in sunny Puerto Rico since Sunday morning. She returns late tonight. Although she claims that she didn't get to enjoy the 80F weather down there, she did manage a little swim in the sea!! That's nice work in February if you can get it...:) Anyhow, I'm sure she will be exhausted when she returns, not much fun travelling 12 hours each way for a 1.5 day meeting.

The girls are doing great, they have so much energy. I must type for the record that it's simply hysterical to watch them both interact right now. Typically, Anja is buzzing around doing something or other, generally oblivious to Isabel. Isabel on the other hand is in constant eye contact and continually mimicking her, absolutely every action, sound, run, jump, skip and hop....

A few pictures posted below from January....arts and crafts, painting, drawing, scribbling etc is the favored activity these days!