The Oslo Eight - Our
big trip overseas for more photos follow the
links on our photo page
The big news for all of us this
year was
our amazing opportunity to travel overseas with Kristen's parents (Mike
and Kay), her sister, Karin, and her sister's son, Michael. The trip
was
occasioned by the relatively recent discovery of Kay's Norwegian
relatives (her maternal grandmother emigrated to America around 1900)
and their desire to meet the American relatives.
Our trip started with a flight into Oslo, where we spent one day
checking out the sites including the Opera House, the ship Fram and the
famous Kon Tiki raft.
The bulk of our trip was spent in the southern town of Flekkefjord,
where Kay's second cousin is a mail carrier. It is 20 minutes from the
farm where Kay's grandmother was born and most of the relatives still
live very close by, so we were able to be part of a big reunion and to
see the farm, which is still in the family. We were there at the end of
June, so the weather was fabulous.
The Town of Flekkefjord
The Farm at Berghoyden - where Kristen's great grandmother was born
On our way home we stopped in
London for two days of tourist craziness
including the British Museum, The Tower of London, The Greenwich
Observatory and, of course, Abbey Road.
The Tower of London
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The Prime Meridian
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Abbey Road Studios
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 Sydney - Sydney continues to do well in school.
This fall she received an award for scoring "advanced" on the state
tests in both English and math, and her teacher pointed out that she
was the only student to do so three years in a row.
She says she loved everything about our vacation, but if she had to
pick one thing it would be seeing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of
London.
Sydney Turned 10 this year and started
some orthodontia, but is adjusting well. She still loves her
gymnastics, watching tv, and playing hide-and-go-seek with her friends.
This summer Sydney had the opportunity to be a camper at Arrowbear
Music Camp where she specialized in bass drum and got to learn on a
drum once owned by the Grateful Dead. The conductors say she had a very
solid 1 and 3!
Sierra
Don't Panic - That is a
picture of Sierra jumping from the loft into a pile of hay in the barn
at the farm at Berghoyden. She and the other kids had a BLAST!
Sierra's favorite this about our vacation was the Tower of London,
which she calls "The London Castle."
Sierra speciallizes in fun and toys and enjoys engaging her family in
shops, games, and forts! She is also doing fine in school and was
student of the month from her class in November. 2010 will also forever
be remembered as teh year that Sierra lost her first tooth (not
counting those that had to be pulled).
Last February Sierra starting taking ballet class and had her first
recital in June. She loves it lots and her Aunt Beverly (a
professional dancer) was very complimentary to her on a recent visit.
 Kristen's
hard
work and perseverance at the Irvine Company were rewarded this year
with a title promotion to Senior Director of Marketing! Unfortunately,
her year ends with Kristen doing physical therapy for an injury to her
knee in late October. She is expected to recover fully with no need for
surgery.
Besides
time spent with her family, Kristen's favorite experience on the
vacation was the day spent at the ancestral farms and spending time
with all the new found family during the "grill party."
Of course her greatest
joys in life are her family and her dog, Copper. But this year she
learned the joy of the iPad. Favorite TV show of late -
"Modern Family." Frickin' hilarious!!!
 "I don't always drink in Norway,
but when I do, I prefer Villa."
Ross is still
doing all the usual stuff: teaching science at Rancho Alamitos High
School, working at Arrowbear Music Camp, and doing what music he can in
a variety of online locations.
Ross' Work at Rancho is especially busy since he is serving as a
co-coordinator for the school's accreditation process.
Ross was excited to share the camp experience with his daughters this
summer. Sydney was a camper, but Sierra also stayed the entire week of
elementary session. Ross' life was, however deeply touched by the loss
of his friend Carol, part of the family that owns and operates the camp
and a second family for some 25 years.
In music news, Ross keeps writing and recording and even had a couple
of wins at songfight.org this year. Most of the latest can usually be
found at his website.
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