Pumpkin huntin'

Have you ever gone Pumpkin Huntin'? Neither have we!

Halloween is soon approaching so I wanted to do something fun for the kids. If we were in the States, we'd go to the Pumpkin Patch, on Hayrides, Haunted House (well, maybe not until they're bigger) and do lots of fun Halloween'ish stuff. Since we don't have any of that here, we have to be creative.

So today we went for a hike where all of a sudden we found pumpkins hanging in trees throughout the woods. The boys were beyond excited!!! They ran around, super eager to search for another pumpkin!
Deep into the woods, we arrived at our bonfire area. Mike and the boys built a lavvo, while Olivia and I grilled our dinner ;)

They continued to build and had a blast playing on their own "climbing projects"!

The boys in my life!!! Our kids are so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing dad!!! And home we go after our fun adventure in the woods... :)

Happy Birthday Mamma!

My mom had her birthday this weekend so to celebrate she brought our entire family to the new Rock 'n Roll museum in town. What a creative idea!!! The kids just LOVED going there to eat, run around, and do fun stuff with their favorite people. It was great!

We weren't allowed to take pictures there so I didn't get to capture the smiling faces sitting in old cars, wearing great hats and big sunglasses, while rocking to old classic music.

We had such a fun day and I shouldn't be surprised that my mom brought us here. She always keeps everyone else in mind when planning her days. She finds things that everyone will enjoy, no matter what age or who they are. She finds things that her grandkids absolutely love and brings us places where we can have fun together. She's simply amazing... Not just at planning days and activities like this, but at everything! I look up to her so incredibly much and am lucky to have her in my life, both as my mom and my best friend.

Happy birthday Mamma!

SNOW!!!

I was in shock when I looked outside the window this morning at 6am. The first snow of the year had fallen!!! I LOVED IT!!! I woke the kids up and we ran to look out the window together. Unfortunately (for me at least), it was a school day so we couldn't rush outside to play in the fresh snow!Although it wasn't much and didn't stay for long, it really put me in the Christmas mood. I'm so excited for more snow, shopping for Christmas, decorating, and everything else that goes along with Christmas spirit!!! Soon, soon, soooooon!!!!! :)

Old fashion mail

Remember back in the days when friends wrote letters and actually sent them by mail? I miss REAL mail! I love the simplicity of technology and how easy it is to keep in touch with family and friends so often, but I miss sitting down with paper and pen to write a note that will one day end up in my friend's mailbox.

Mike's dad is one of the few who is really good about still using the mail box. Besides bills, he may be the only one we receive anything from in our green box. Today we received anyother care-package from him. Inside the cardboard box with our address on top, we found a car each for the boys, a couple of gossip magazines for me (which I'm not embarrassed to admit that I love!), and a cute Halloween onesie for little Olivia. I think Mike received a car magazine of some sort but I got so excited about the stuff for me and my kids that I forgot to look - sorry! ;)

Thank you for all of the great things you send us, Grandpa Glenn!!!

Olivia at 5 weeks

Olivia is growing up so fast! She kept smiling and trying to make sounds today.

I was a little late with getting my camera in video mode so I missed her big smiles and trying to talk a lot, but I thought I'd post it anyway so you guys could see how cute she is and how big she's gotten.

Girls Day Out

Olivia and I were having a girls day out with a couple friends and their babies today. I don't dress Olivia up in dresses very often, but decided to today. We met a few friends for lunch, then went shopping for new clothes for her big brothers. I can't wait until she gets older and we can do more shopping together!
P.S. I've tried taking both Elliot and Aiden shopping with me, but they are such typical boys - they only enjoy it if they're bribed with buying a toy! haha

My smiley sunshine!

Olivia is such a little smiler these days! She smiles every time we make silly faces or sounds. It's so cute!!! They are REAL smiles too! :)

I attempted to take a picture while she was laying in my arms. The picture didn't quite turn out but at least you can see one of her little smiles!

Playground fun... or not...

Mike had some work to do so I decided to take the kids out. My mom was nice enough to offer to come along to help. I thanked her but explained that we would love her company but that she didn't have to if she had other stuff to do because the kids are always so nice and good to me when we go out anyway. Well, lets just say I'm glad she came with!!!

When I told the boys where we were going, I expected a shout of excitement. Instead they both said they were tired and didn't feel like playing at the playground today. WHAT? I didn't believe them! I knew they would have fun once we got there - like they always do! Boy was I wrong!

The first half hour was constant wining, arguing, falling, and complaining. Apparently they meant it when they said they were tired and didn't want to go there. Luckily, my mom was there to help motivate the boys to run around and have fun.

After a couple hours of playing, we went for a walk to the pond to look at the ducks before we headed home. Not all days start out as great but we ended up having fun eventually. And although I like to be stubborn and not accept help, it sure was nice to have my mom there when I was out alone with all three!

After our outing, we went back to my parents' house where my dad had his grillpit ready for grilling hotdogs with the kids.

What started out... well, not so great... ended up great after all ;)

Family Day at the Firestation

This week is Fire Awareness Week in Trondheim. To be honest, I haven't heard much about it or the activities that take place this week, but thanks to facebook statuses, I found out about a local event that was happening today: Open Day for All at the Firestation.

We loaded up our car and off we were to the firestation. Inside the station, they had a contest for the older kids. They had to walk through the station and answer 12 questions about fires, which Elliot mastered easily. A fireman was waiting at the last question. He congratulated Elliot, wrote his name on a diploma, and gave him a fireman cap as a prize. Aiden got one as well even though he was too excited to run around the station to listen to the questions.

They also had the hose from the firetruck out so the kids could try out. The water pressure was obviously very low, but the boys found it exciting anyway. When the long line finally calmed down, it was time to go up on the ladder. Elliot didn't care for a ride, but Aiden was very excited to jump at the offer.

It was a really eventful day for all! :)

Not bad for only 4 weeks