Lazy Day

We had a lazy day today. The weather as a bit windy and chilly so for most of the day we stayed inside. Nic of course went to the office (making coffee before he left). I did my daily load of laundry and the kids worked on homework. Even Ethan did some in his kindergarten Singapore Math book. I convinced Gwyneth and Ethan to take a shower (we have no bathtub) and Gwyneth took care of her brother, helping to wash his hair and keep the soap out of his eyes. All I had to do was supply the towels!

Nic came home a bit early 3:30-4PM and we hopped the bus to check out the Trondheim Torg (the shopping mall!) in the center of town. The kids enjoyed the toy store which had many of the same things that you see in the states. We (the parents) were surprised to see that children's clothing seemed cheaper than what you would pay at home for a mall store. I think that we'll be making a trip back to pick up a few things for the kids. One thing that we have noticed while being here is many people wearing traditional Norwegian dress for different occasions. The Name It (the childrens' store) was selling children's traditional costume in preparation for the upcoming Constitution Day (May 17th). Gwyneth wasn't interested in wearing one.

After shopping we loitered in the center around the statue of Olav Tryggvason (the founder of Trondheim). In the photo at the top you might be able to make out Ethan, Nic and Gwyneth. Chris was telling us the story of his red hat. And as far we can gather it has something to do with the univeristy students. Many have been walking around wearing white lab type coats decorated in various ways, red overalls with the front flap folded down usually revealing a Norwegian flag, and the same hat that Olav sports in the picture. The students apparently get the hat on top of the statue - how they do it we don't know, but it looks like an impressive feat. Chris mentionned that another group will put a blue hat, and another a green hat, but we didn't catch the significance of of the different colors.

After loitering, we caught the bus home around 6PM for some "hamburgers". Again the item looked like one thing and tasted like another. Nic likened it to meatloaf in a hamburger shape. I actually liked it, but when I asked Nic if he would get it again he said he wasn't sure. After dinner we watched some Disney channel, some shows were dubbed in Norwegian (Hannah Montana) and others were not (Corey in the House or something like that). Now it is 10:30PM. Gwyneth and Nic went to bed and Ethan is behind me doing something on Nic's computer. I just finished obessessing about Bejeweled Blitz because I topped Alvaro's score (by a little, but it was still better). So I can rest tonight knowing I'm the champ, but I won't be surprised to see him on top again tomorrow. Mom - watch out I'm coming for you!