I arrived back in Oslo from the U.S. just in time to celebrate the 17th of May, which is the Norwegian national holiday. I was ridiculously jet lagged and barely functioning, so I was pretty lame that day. Ken enjoyed himself, however, and I stole these pics from Kara, so she deserves photo props here.
Ken borrowing a bunad jacket on Jeremy's roof overlooking the Oslofjord. (Since posting this, I've actually been informed that this is not a bunad jacket, but Justine's coat from Australia. Oops.)
Connie, Ken, and Anders.
Hide and seek.
Pretty ladies Connie, Inger, and Kara.
After the 17th of May, the prestigious Lux club ran a marathon (the guys) and a half marathon (the ladies). Congrats on the excellent work, Lux Club!
The Lux Club at the finish line. Success!
Also in May: Eurovision - a phenomenon to which we've been introduced here in Europe. The songs leave a lot to be desired, but the costume opportunities abound.
Sporting double denim and neon for Eurovision 2012 at Connie's apartment.
The whole crew. Kudos to everyone for the fantastic costumes.
We ended May with one of my favorite adventures we've been on in Oslo: biking up to a pretty lake in Nordmarka, and canoeing around the lake for the afternoon. We got approximately five days of nice weather in May, and we used the last day of it for these good times!
With our fun buds, Kara and Anders.
So pretty. Reminded me of something you'd see on Mt. Hood.
Ken and I both turned the big 3-0 in early June. So, we threw ourselves a party, and made our friends wear party hats and take pics in our photo booth. Thanks to our friends for celebrating with us! As you can see in these pics, they're pretty awesome.
We don't feel 30.
Hal, Alison, and sweet little Astrid.
Anne, Daan, Sara, and Pien.
Tore and Abbey.
Silje and Pierre, those crazy kids.
Kara and Anders.
Jeremy and Kim-André, with a homemade pølse.
Jeremy wins MVP of the photo booth for his solo series.
Frans and Marcus.
Oscar and Therese.
Pushing the boundaries of the photo booth: Anders, Oscar, Fredrik, and Ken near the end of the night. Surprisingly, no injuries resulted from this photo.
The fellas holding down the fort in our living room. Henrik and John managed to escape the evening without partaking in the photo booth, as well as Vier and Brigita, who escaped the camera altogether.
Needless to say, it was a fun way to ring in the 30's! Thanks to our friends.
After we recovered from the birthdays, our lovely friends Holger and Annett visited us in Oslo. We visited them in Germany when we first moved to Norway (you can read about it here), and had a fun time with them again here in Oslo. We're glad you visited, Holger and Annett! And the photo credits here go to Annett - thanks for letting me steal your pics :)
With a Norwegian troll.
At the viking ship museum.
A stroll around Hovedøya.
We finished off June with a trip to Stockholm for Midsummer, which is a big Swedish holiday for the summer solstice. Our neighbor and good friend Henrik is from Stockholm, and he generously invited a crew of us to celebrate Midsummer with his nice family at Nämdö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago. It was gorgeous out there, and we had fun dancing around the Midsummer pole and playing games.
Photo credits here go to Kara, Angus and Justine, and Jeremy - I stole again. Thanks y'all.
Lunch time.
Snaps and aquavit...they both taste like medicine.
A dance around the Midsummer pole.
Jeremy and Angus demonstrating.
Björnen Sover a.k.a. "The Bear is Sleeping" song. We foolishly awakened the bears, and they chased us. Our favorites were this and Lilla Grodan (Little Frog).
Sack races.
Sean picking flowers to put under his pillow.
Or maybe to give to Linda?
Ken, covered in an unknown substance, and Connie, working on her sunburn.
Heja Sverige!
Duster, such a sweet old chap.
He's been to more than enough Midsummer parties to know where the goodies are.
Pretty Nämdö. Not pictured: the gazillion mosquitoes that come out at night.
As declared by Jeremy, this is "the devil's nectar" that provided much entertainment.
We took the ferry into Stockholm for a night after Midsummer. Here the crew is enjoying drinks and the view from Södra Teatern in Södermalm.
Shenanigans on the walk back to the hotel.
Moment of Zen: The fact that I was able to condense all of this action into a single blog post.
