Price Family

Under The Atlantic

2010-08-17T17:00:00.000-06:00

Boy, how time flies! Just a few weeks ago, my parents rented a beast of a car (a VW diesel 8 seater van) so we could drive south to the beautiful coastal town of Ålesund. We took the scenic route and drove roughly 10 hours (with lots of stops, of course,) through breath taking mountain and fjord scenes.

A highlight of this trip was driving along The Atlantic Ocean Road. This is a unique road that takes you by, over, and under the Atlantic ocean. The road connects islands together - one such city, Kristiansund, is a city entirely made up of small islands, connected by bridges, ferries, and underwater tunnels.

The light at the end of the tunnel has never looked so bright.

The Atlantic Ocean Tunnel is 5.7 km long and goes 250 meters below sea level. It seemed to have steep decline and incline, with the deepest part of the tunnel having a bluish light. I did not take any pictures of this, but was able to find this picture from the opening of the tunnel. Most of the tunnel seemed dark and damp. A little freaky, but an exciting adventure.

These two pictures show exactly the placement of the tunnel and the islands it connects.

Then we went onto the Atlantic Ocean Road. This is was such a good picture of the road that I "borrowed" it to put on here.

One of many bridges connecting islands together.

OK, two more pictures that I "borrowed".

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. We drove through mountains, passed fjord's, and rode ferries truly enjoying the spectacular beauty around us. This was one the many fjords we passed.

The kids had so much fun on the ferries. Every possible minute was spent on deck looking for creatures in the ocean. They saw many jelly fish and once even spotted three small minke whales.

This road was right next to the fjord for several miles before cutting through a mountain.

Keikos, also known as "Free Willy", the killer whale, when retiring from his Hollywood career was released into the ocean up by Iceland. Probably due to his being in captivity most of his life, he found his way back to the the public and spent the remainder of his days in this fjord in Norway. He was quite the local celebrity and let the local children pet him, ride him and swim with him. It was a sad day when he eventually died, and the local town provided him with a burial. We passed his grave place and followed the signs for a while, but wasn't able to find the exact place of burial. But here's a picture of the road sign....

Ålesund, our destination. A beautiful city with a European charm to it. The yellow building in the back was our hotel. It used to be an old fishing industrial pier. Our room had apparently been the office of a fishery manager and had relics from that time in it. The kids were able to get a close look at the old typewriter, radio's and desk calculators that were still there.

Austrått Fort

2010-08-14T23:55:00.012-06:00

A WWII relic and an old medieval manor took us on a short drive and on a ferry across the Trondheim's Fjord

At the mouth of Tronheim's Fjord are some forts and large cannons left behind from the German occupation of Norway during WWII

This, the largest of the cannons, was originally one of three large turrets on a German battlecruiser. From this fort, they had full view of any ships entering into Trondheim.

Bestefar and the three oldest kids took a tour inside this gigantic war weapon.

The turret goes five stories down into the mountain. It housed 3 shifts of soldiers at a time. Each shift consisting of 120 soldiers. Because this fort wasn't finished until near the end of the war, it was never used in battle. The only time these canons ever fired were during testing. This provided the soldiers with enough spare time to carve this totem pole.

Close by was Austrått Manor, originally built around 1150 and added upon until aroun 1660. It was home to some of Norways elite nobles.
We got there right before closing time, so we only got a quick look around, but it made quite an impression!

The tower was originally from a chapel. The stone chapel on the lower floor is still there today. Upstairs is a coffin room which houses 4 coffins of the occupants from the 1600's - beautifully carved coffins.

Here is the arch entryway looking into the castle courtyards.

The history that has been preserved was magnificent. I wish more time could have been spent there and more pictures taken.

Nidaros Cathedral

2010-08-06T15:22:00.120-06:00

Last week, we were able to attend the St. Olav Festival in Trondheim. St. Olav was a viking from about the year 1030 that brought Catholicism/Christianity to Norway. For centuries, even his corpse was considered holy.

These Festivities provided many fun activities for us to witness and take part in. And, we finally took the opportunity to enter the famous Nidaros Cathedral, which dates back to the early 1012's.

The Nidaros Cathedral is a prominent land mark that can be seen from most places within city limits. I can only imagine how imposing it must have seemed a few hundred years ago, as pilgrims journeyed from far away places to seek penance.

The details, from the statutes of the Saints and the fierce gargoyles to the large stain glass windows are so fascinating! We could spend hours exploring this ancient cathedral.

We were able to make the climb to one of the tallest towers of the church. Guides warned us to reconsider the trip if we were prone to shortness of breath or claustrophobia. The 172 steps going up, twists narrowly in a tight spiral - not allowing room to go side by side or pass anyone.

Some places got a little dark, so we used the flash of the camera to shed some light on the very narrow steps.

We also had to pass through this narrow corridor. It was up high, close to the rafters. People were definitely smaller back in those days!

These narrow windows were our only source of light going up the spiral staircase.

The view up top proves to be a fitting reward from the long climb.

Entering the church courtyard, we were met with all sorts of interesting medieval characters; kings, princesses, knights, vikings, royal jests, flame throwers, moving statutes, and so on. It gave the children a chance to see where they would fit in in a medieval era. Blacksmiths, stone carver, nobility, princess or viking.

Can't quite decided between the two........

Trying on replica's of the Royal robes and crowns.

Jostling knights in armour.

Future stone carvers, hard at work.

Three princesses posing for a photographer

Our little princess was so besotted with this medieval costume that she battered her eyelids enough to make me give in and buy it. She immediately insisted on wearing it and became the object of much admiration, with passerbys saying "Oh, look at that little princess!"

Of course, she didn't mind one bit posing for pictures.

Birthday Celebrations

2010-08-02T01:46:00.019-06:00

Our second week in Norway, we had two very fun birthday celebrations. The first one involved Baby turning one. We spent the day in Selbu, and it was almost as though she knew it was her special day. From the time she got up she was into mischief. Here she is caught climbing up on a small chair in the pantry. This girl has no fear! Bestemor just would not stop spoiling her, and well, ....she wasn't going to object to it either. Here she is eating her very own ice-cream cone. tsk....tsk Here she is getting a small bowl of Chocolate

Mousse. I don't think a baby was ever loaded

up on sugar like she was.

Of course, there was also CAKE! A deliciously Norwegian cake....

Unwrapping presents. Such fun!

After such a day, it was only to be expected that she collapsed, absolutely spent, the first chance she got. Big sister didn't mind the extra cuddles though.

Our next birthday, was just a few days later. This one, we spent in town. Playing on the play ground close to my parent's place, and even going to Mc Donalds......(unfortunately those pictures did not turn out). The cousins from Alabama called on Skype with birthday greetings. It was so fun to chat with them again.

The Birthday Girl got to choose what kind of cake to have and I am happy to report, she chose Marzipan cake. YUMMMMM! Not one, but two.....

She also got to pick a new outfit for her Birthday. Here she is posing in her new clothes and shoes. These gladiator sandals are all the craze here. They suit her well.

We are so grateful we could celebrate these birthdays here in Norway. They could only have been made better had their daddy been able to be here too.

Selbu

2010-07-26T17:19:00.045-06:00

What I was most excited to come back to and for my kids to experience, was Selbu!

I LOVE SELBU

Selbu is a small, rural town a short hour drive from Trondheim. It is where my mother was born and raised and where, as a child, I spent many summers and weekend blissfully playing.

Since we don't all fit into my mother's car, I take the bus with a couple of the kids when we go up. Here, the bus has just let us of the main road and we are walking up the gravel path that leads to our old farm. It is the buildings to the right here.

The main farm buildings were erected in the early 1800's, while the smaller, older building to the far right, was built in 1730 and at one point, housed a family of 11.

It did not take long for the kids to feel at home there. Exploring the old buildings and seing the many things from my childhood felt like a treasure hunt for them. They literally found things to play with ALL day!

This is in the main courtyard. The building with the stone steps is the old food pantry/ storage building.

Not only is the baby wearing my old pajama's, but that is my old trike as well. I bet you could never guess what decade I was born in....

After playing so hard all day, it is not surprising to fall asleep at the dinner table.

Even in the rain there is fun to be had!
And rain it did.

Exploring the beatiful village by foot!

The kids were terrified of crossing this bridge because they could see the water far below.

The kids found one of the hammocks that used to be ours when I was a kid. It didn't take long for all sorts of dangerous play to take place.

This baby carrier is the same one I was carried in.

Using our old dolls and strollers and the small house from 1730 as a play house, the girls, especially had fun playing.

Here are some frequent visitors to the farm. They are not as grey as the squirells we are used to seeing.

The river, just down the hill from the farm, provided more hours of fun for us all. The water was cold and clear, but didn't stop us from diving in.

Here are some random pictures of the properity in general. I love this place!

After 14 years absence, it was amazing to return to the one spot where much of my childhood was centered. Even the smell of the wet dirt, mingled with the sweet smell of old wooden structures was exactly the same. I am so glad my kids are getting to experince this!

Islandic Ponies

2010-07-26T02:19:00.025-06:00

Close to the Swedish border, about a 2 hr drive South East from Trondheim, we got to experience a half a days horse ride on Islandic horses/ponies. It was a rich, exciting experience from start to finish.

The Hell Tunnel: There is a small town outside Trondheim named Hell (in Norwegian, Hell means good luck or good fortune). We pass through this town. Rather than build roads over and around mountains, Norwegians build their roads through the mountain. This is The Hell Tunnel. It is almost 3 miles long.

Instead of renting just a mini-van to get us there, my mom rented a NINE passanger monster. In a land of compact Saab's, Volvo's, Audi's, BMW's, Mercedes, and Opels, we really looked out of place. And, it was a FORD of all things!
It was SO roomy!

These horses, though they appear small in stature, were amazing. They are raised in a herd on Island. I was surprised time and again, as we crossed rivers and climbed steep rocky paths how steady they were on their feet. I honestly felt I could trust my horse 100% to get me safely through any passage. It was also interesting to see them interact with other's from the herd. The horses left behind were clearly concerned about the separation.

In the thick of the forest, with moss covering rocks, wild flowers littered between the plethera of trees, it was easy to picture the landscape that gave birth to hundreds of well known fairy tales and folk tales. I would not have been surprised to see a troll under the next mossy boulder.

Here as the landscape flattens out, we can see the mountains that separates Norway from Sweden.

Intertwined with our path was the historic route that medieval pilgrims would take on foot from all over the country to the then capital Trondheim and the great cathedral Nidaros Dommen (pictures to be posted later). It was touching to see old rocks mark this path and to think of the many pilgrims that wondered this path in search of forgiveness from whatever sins they may have comitted.

The helmets were a must - along with the rain boots. In Norway, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.

Although they were too young to come on the ride, the babies got to meet the horses when we returned.

After eating our lunch over a small fire, we took time to pose with our backs to Sweded.

Getting Out, Jet Lag, and The Midnight Sun

2010-07-18T14:46:00.011-06:00

So far, the weather has been great! Bestemor lives pretty much in the downtown area of Trondheim, just by the river/fjord ports. We can walk to most places from her condominium. This is about 5-10 minute walk from her place. There are plenty of good cafes and interesting stores along the way.

Here we are on our way to one of the neighborhood bakeries for a mid-morning snack.... hmmm.

Trondheim is over 1000 years old and is experiencing some growth. In an effort to reduce traffic on some of these old streets that have houses over a hundred years old, the city is building underground roads and tunnels that will by-pass these neighborhoods. This is pretty much right across from Bestemor's. They have borrowed a large crane from Belgium and are transporting the old houses worth preserving to a safe location while they complete the road project. When it is completed, they will move these houses back. We'll have to come back in 3 years to see how it turned out :)

The kids are having a tougher time getting over jet-lag than I thought. They often fall asleep in the middle of the day and we stay up much too late at night. Of course, it also may have something to do with The Midnight Sun.

I took these pictures as we were driving back from the country - it was after 10pm.

The picture above shows a barely visible

church spire. These old churches are found

in almost every country village or town.

Some of them dating back till 1700's. This

picture was just snapped from the car. I am

sure I will have some better close ups later.

This is our little Rascal! Wide awake at 3:00am.

I snapped some pictures of outside for you to see. This is how light it remained at 3:00 am.

It is so hard

to keep track of time,

before I know it, it is

past midnight!

The Journey

2010-07-16T16:31:00.024-06:00

+++

We made it! I can't believe that after 14 years, I am back here and that my kids will finaly see this country that I have been telling them all about.

+++

Check out the new sunglasses Bestemor had waiting for these two:

So, after sending Steve pictures from our trip.... I am informed that I am fired! This is the reason why I am fired (the two pictures I took from the trip itself):

Here are the kids Wednesday morning in Stockholm Sweeden:

And here they are on SAS flying from Chicago to Stockholm (a 9 hour flight):

Brutally absent, as it clearly has been pointed out to me, are pictures of the airplanes themselves, the wings, engines, view from the windows.... etc. It did not even occur to me to take those pictures and I realize I must repent before coming back home to face my aviation obsessed husband. :)

I must say how wholy impressed I was with the service of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). The kids watched movies or played video games almost the whole flight. The flight attendants went above and beyond. We received two meals, one snack, the kids received toys and candy, at one point a stuart in a chef's uniform presented me with a tray of baby food and formula to chose from, they brought me a quilted baby sleeping bag, and throughout the night walked up and down the aisles offering water to everyone. Being that it was Scandinavian airline, the flight attendants did, however, mostly speak Norwegian or Swedish to the passangers and the kids got a feel for the environment they would soon be in.

Before The Journey

2010-07-15T20:31:00.019-06:00

Before the BIG journey starts, the slow, bland drive to SLC must be traversed...

Somehow, the kids find a way to stay entertained! This is called: The Stinky Feet dance....

Awaiting us in SLC was a fun family party - to celebrate the July Birthdays

Baby time in the pool.

Don't they look quite comfortable?

And here: The Troublesome Trio

After a fun dip in the pool, it was time to do some celebrating. Here the baby get's her first taste of overly sweetened, refined, and artificial flavored, MEGA frosted, cup cakes.
But, ...Oh it was worth it!

YUMMIE!

Little cousin gets a chance to join the fun, since she will shortly turn one aswell...

We really had a good laugh watching them unabashed devour their cup cakes.

It was a perfect finish of the day and perfect lead up to the next day full of traveling!

July, August, and September... how the time flies :

2009-09-21T10:39:00.008-06:00

Baby is born

Adelaide Pearl Price joined our family on Tuesday July 21st, 2009 - weighing 7 lb's 4 oz and measuring 19 inches long. What an amazing joy she brought us.

Elisa celebrated her 8th birthday just 3 days later. Grandpa Price came down to see baby Adelaide and to celebrate Elisa's birthday.

On July 24th, Elisa's birthday, the kids got to march in the parade with Steve for the pilot school. Olivia rode inside the plane going down mainstreet as he kids threw candy out - while me and baby enjoyed a quiet morning at home. Later Aunt Stephanie and Ethan came down to visit and everyone went to the movies later that night.

Two weeks later, Grandma Price and Aunt Danielle and Uncle Kyle came to visit. The kids continued to have swim practice 5 days a week and have a few more swim meets. Life was a little crazy, but great!

Elisa's Birthday Party

In the end of August, Grandma, aunt Stephanie, Ashley and Ethan came for another visit. We managed to take a trip up to Navajo Lake while they were here.

Baptism
Because it was easier for all of us to travel up to SL than for the family to all travel down here, we decided to have Elisa's baptism and Adelaide's blessing up there where we could be close to family and friends.

It was great to be back. Elisa had a beautiful service - Katrina played a violin solo after the baptism.

After the baptism, we had a picnic at the park. Here Elisa is holding up her cake that the girls from Achievement Days made for her.

Blessing

Pictures in St. George
Since our weekend went by so fast, I felt I had really not had a good chance to take pictures of these very special occasions. So yesterday, after church, the kids and I drove to St. George to take some pictures on the temple grounds.

Richfield Swim Meet

2009-07-19T16:06:00.022-06:00

This last weekend Steve and the kids went to Richfield for yet another swim meet. Unfortunately, I was too pregnant to go, but Steve did a great job documenting the whole swim meet. The kids all did very good and placed well, but most importantly improved from all of their previous times. They are having such a good time swimming, but are also putting in some serious training. Olivia hopes to be in a "swimming video" like one of these next year......

Elisa swimming her favorite stroke - backstroke, she is in lane 3 (her coach wants her to try competing in an older age group next year)

Here is Michael's backstroke. He is in lane 1 wearing his favorite blue cap with the American flag on it.

Katrina had considerably tougher competition than the other two and she lost her goggles early on in the race which kept her head up higher. She did good and still beat her old time. She is in lane 2 wearing a silver swim cap.

Elisa swimming 25 m Butterfly

Michael swimming 25 m Butterfly, he is in lane 6. There is a slight exchange between him and the swimmer in lane 5 who informed Michael that he was going to "kick" his butt.... Oh well maybe next time...

Katrina's 50 m Butterfly. Lane 3 :)

Elisa swimming freestyle - lane 4

Michael's 50m freestyle - lane 1

Katrina 50m freestyle - lane 6

The IM's - Individual Medley's. Elisa was put in a heat with the boys and did fairly well, considering she had major trouble with her goggles. Michael remained in the lead until the breast stroke - which is his hardest stroke. Once he gets that down, he will be a tough competitor. Katrina did great and really made a big improvement on her time.

... I tried to updload the IM's, but because they were over 1 minute each, it took way too long.

On the Medals platform

Utah Summer Games

2009-06-21T16:37:00.018-06:00

This year the kids had the chance to participate in the Utah Summer Games. What a fun experience it has been for them!

From going to the opening social...

to marching with the athletes in the Opening Ceremony...

to the spectacular fireworks...

and of course, competing...
This was probably one of the only mid-competition shots that turned out. This is M competing in backstroke. All the other pictures (taken by Steve) were captured with the kids underwater...

They all did SO well! We are so proud of them, they all improved their previous times. At the end, we were left with one puzzling question...

How did this girl, who can't even walk a mile, ride her bike for very long, or exert herself physically at ALL
end up with THIS?....
That is 4 GOLD medals and 1 SILVER medal!
She was amazing to watch. Her favorite stroke is backstroke, and she was leading the way in the 100 M backstroke by 2/3 of the lenght of the pool. In two of her harder races, the 50 M Butterfly and the 200 M freestyle, she was the only girl in her age group competing, so they put her in a heat with the boys. Even then, she had a significant lead in the pool. She really has surprised us all with her ability to give it all in the pool!

Our next champion, had some tough competition...
and needed some time to realize he should be proud and happy about receiving 1 SILVER medal in the 100 M Butterfly and 1 BRONZE for the 100 M backstroke.

His greatest accomplishment was competing in the 400 M freestyle, by far the longest distance he has ever competed in. He swam a nice steady pace and finished a close 4th. We are SO proud of him!

Our other champion also faced some intense competition, but did well for her first Summer Games
After coming in a close 4th (or 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th) in many of her races, she took home 1 SILVER medal for the 200 M backstroke, 2 BRONZE medals for 50 M backstroke and 100 M backstroke.
Although these kids are definitely champions...
the real "GOOD SPORT" award goes to this one:
...She sat patiently at the poolside for 5-6 hours a day for 3 days, cheering on the other kids!
She even managed to snag some medals for herself when the other kids weren't looking.

Christmas came! Along with the snow...

2008-12-31T00:38:00.036-07:00

The build up to Christmas was full of some fun traditions!

Here is our annual gingerbread house making in progress

Another tradition is to eat all the candy that doesn't make it on the gingerbread house...

...until we feel sick, of course.

That night, M and O were simply too tired to make it to bed. Here they fell asleep in the middle of playing.

Our Family Day!
We pick one day before Christmas that we call our Family Day. We go out in the morning and spend all day doing fun stuff together.
This year, we went to breakfast at Denny's, where we drew names for presents to be purchased at some time throughout the day. Then we drove to St. George, where we went bowling. ...And, not to brag, ...but I really kicked some booty.

After that, we shopped at the outlet stores for our Christmas presents. But O, was really informative and told me straight away what they had bought for me.

We then went to the movies to see Tale of Desperaux and ate dinner at Olive Garden. That's when the snow really started to come down, so we thought it best to start heading back to CC. It was a good thing as I lost control of the car only going 25 mph and almost slid right into two parked troopers. We eventually made it safely back after stretching our ride home for an hour an half.

Christmas Eve
We had a full house. We invited two families over for dinner. Of course Santa was able to drop off some PJ's for the kids as he made is way around other parts of the world.

Christmas Day!

Another fun tradition!
Tearing down the fully edible gingerbread house...

The kids have had so much fun playing in the snow, and we have even discovered some great sledding hills.

Here the kids are playing right outside our house.
We had a great Christmas!

And now, to close this post, I end with some of our best talent!
Enjoy

This was filmed by the kids, so sorry for the bumps!

Christmas is almost here!!!

2008-12-07T01:09:00.026-07:00

With our Christmas tree and other decorations up, it's finally begining to feel like Christmas.

One tradition that we have is that the kids always get a chocolate Advent Calendar (where they open the small, paper doors for one chocolate every day until Christmas). Well, ...this is how I found O with her calendar - just on the second day...

24 pieces of Chocolates in two days :(

Yesterday we went to the annual Christmas Parade that C City hosts. I must say, I was impressed by their floats and even found it more entertaining than the 4th of July parade. The weather was also beautiful!

We had a great Thanksgiving up in SL. It was really fun to be back. On Thursday we had Thanksgiving with Sonja's family and my mom who was experiencing her first Thanksgiving. Saturday we had the Price Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera - but Helaman sent me this picture from Sunday which was baby A's blessing.

He is such a good baby - and cute too!

Since I have been such a slacker in updating our blog lately - I thought I would throw in just a few pictures from when my mom was here visiting (all taken from her camera - it seems I have really been a slacker with my own camera). It was her first visit to C City, she loved it and we had a great time.

Outside the Old Rock Church

At Lefty's Hideout - a shabby, but great Mexican resturant

O - celebrating her birthday with a birthday cake from Grandma Price. She did not leave that cake until it was time to eat it. By that time, several swabs of frosting were missing - and the evidence on O's face was indisputable. :)

Out for a morning stroll in our deserted neighborhood

Enjoying a day on the Temple grounds in St. G.

Heading up to Cedar Breaks.

E, climbing to new heights.

Wow - I am finally updating our blog!!!!

2008-11-26T01:47:00.023-07:00

Congratulations Steve!!!! Now a Commercial Pilot!

Steve flew down to St. George today and passed his FAA exam to get his Commercial Pilot License. He has had a fun few weeks flying around Southern Utah before the winter sets in.

flying over Lake Powell

Coming in for a smooth landing

Halloween
Three fairy princesses and one combat soldier

School

The kids are loving their new school and have adjusted quite well.

Learning basic math skills

Problem solving and botany

Putting on a play about ancient Egyptian civilization and learning the Egyptian alphabet

Swimming

The kids are getting better and better in swimming.

M's best stroke: the butterfly

K kicking some booty in the Butterfly - way to go!

SkyFest 2008

2008-09-15T14:47:00.021-06:00

This weekend, Cedar City hosted a sky fest. For 3 days, we got to wake up to the sight of hot air balloons invading the skies.The balloons would take off early in the morning

...and once they were safely on ground, radio controlled airplanes hit the skies.

Some of them even dropped candy from the skies!

Saturday evening was filled with "balloon glow", dancing and fun!

Even Henry got to come :)

It got pretty hot being so close......but we had a great time

Stars, galaxies and the Lake

2008-09-07T14:28:00.016-06:00

We finally made it up to Navajo Lake. It's only about 26 miles up the mountain and is beautiful. Now that we realize how close it is to us, we will definitely be making more trips up there.

Just a nice, relaxing afternoon - O eating the chips while the other kids are on the raft.

This is K and her friend J as they set of on an adventure - ...before realizing that they don't have oars or a rope. About this time, they were yelling at each other to kick and "go that way!" They were awfully afraid of falling off the small raft as they thought there might be a water snake in the water. But, ...they did fall, and went back in
the water again. No water snakes today.

K and I went to a Star Gazing Party at the Cedar Breaks National Monument. Although we were a little freaked out driving up the mountain, just the two of us at night, we had a great time. From professional star gazers with amazingly HUGE telescopes to self professed "star geaks" with home made, but still amazing, telescopes.

We got a good view of Jupiter and three of its moons, Uranus, nebula's, the Andromeda Galaxy and lots of old, new, and fabulous stars.

Steve has been working very hard

...doing what he loves

He passed his FAA exam's to be an Instrument Rated Pilot.
He now gets to wear some stripes on his shoulders...
He won't be mistaken as a missionary missing his companion anymore...

I've been trying to catch Steve in his "new" uniform... - but this is the best I could do...

Next up is his Commercial class. We can't believe how blessed he has been to move along so quickly.

Yearbook Yourself

2008-08-27T14:09:00.015-06:00

Ok, so we found this web site that lets you see what you would have looked like from 1950 - 2000. We laughed so hard! We just had to share some of these.

First off, here is Steve like you've never seen him

And... our favorite from 1998

Mine didn't turn out quite as funny as Steve's, but here it is....

And lastly, 1998...(I think I've had this hairdoo..)
We had such a good laugh.

Were does the time go...?

2008-08-26T09:20:00.019-06:00

M's favorite part about playing soccer are the games.

He would rather give it all on the field when there is an audience, than to over exert himself in practice .

Going for Goal!!!!

I think the other team is trying to get him...

Yeah... they got him...

"oh no! I can't watch this."

E: "I wonder if anyone will notice if I take a few pictures..."

.... Oh, busted! Me: "E, what are you doing with the camera?"

We couldn't live in C City without experiencing the Festival of Festivals here. Through getting to know the right people, we were able to get free tickets to go see Cyrano de Bergerac in the outdoor Shakespeare theater. It was such a great experience! It made me realize how many words we have lost in the English language. When Shakespeare describes something, you know exactly what he means, versus the standard "That's awsome!" we use today to describe anything good.

The play started at 8pm and ended after 11 pm - but it was a beautiful evening, the actors were fantastic and the crickets made a great back ground chorus.

After being out of school for almost 3 1/2 months (including the month or so of home schooling in May), the time has come to start again... This time, one year older and wiser.
Here they are dressed (minus K's shoes) in their very lax uniform / dress code. They are going to a brand new Montessori Charter School. Because the building still needed some finishing touches by the first day of school, the kids got to attend 3 days of school at SUU. They came home excited that they had gone to 'college', but tired, because they had to "walk for miles between each building".

The kids are swimming Monday - Thursday after school. M and E are now on the Pre - team level and are working hard to be able to compete in the next swim meet. M insists on wearing his cap over his goggles, just like Michael Phelps did in the Olympics. Most parents only take pictures at swim meets and I haven't wanted to stand out too much by being the only parent taking pictures at practices yet, so I will post some pic's of the kids swimming after their next swim meet.

But... I do have footage of the youngest Price swimmer, working on perfecting that free style stroke...

Steve flew to St. George early this morning. Hopefully, I can post that he is an instrument rated pilot soon.

Olympic Venues, Making Cookies, and Studying

2008-08-11T19:36:00.019-06:00

Thought I would just share the diversity of interests going on in our house right now.

While Steve was in his own zone ...studying for his test with the FAA (to get his instrument ratings), K, lacking things to do, thought she should fix my hair: .......

...in PIGGY TAILS???

The bad thing was that the Primary President came to our house, and I had forgotten how my hair looked and talked as if I didn't look like a "wanna bee" 1o year old ...-she did give me a strange look...

After watching some of the Women's Olympic Gymnastics, the kids decided to take some blankets and hold their own gymnastic venue in the drive way across the street (good thing those houses are still empty)

After all this fun, time to check on Steve - what is he still doing?...

Oh! Still studying...

So we decided to make some cookies and got busted in the act.

This morning I decided to make some zucchini bread and since O had already developed a taste for cooking, she insisted on helping me.

She wasn't counting on the noise of the wheat grinder though. She was yelling on the top of her lungs "turn it off, turn it off!!"

But we managed to grind a few cups of wheat anyway.

Grouse Creek, Birthday PartyFamily Reunion, Horse Riding, Back to school shopping and more....

2008-08-10T14:11:00.021-06:00

What a fun time we've had this past week!!!

It started with our Family Re-union... something the kids look forward to all year long. Since Steve was not able to take the time off from school, he flew up to West Jordan on Wednesday night with M. After a nice dinner out with the whole family, Steve flew back leaving Michael with grandma and grandpa, a day before I drove up with the girls.

The weather in Grouse Creek was unbearably hot during the day and uncomfortably cold at night. But, ...horse riding, playing with the cousins, good food, and ...did I mention horse riding?... made it all worth it.

One of my favorite things to do in Grouse Creek:

K

M and E and
O

And... of course, because Steve wasn't there, I had to get a flat tire. Luckily Steve's cousin Brian was there and very helpful (he did kind of owe us - since Steve and I set him up with his wife of over 10 years now). I didn't have to do much and someone in Grouse Creek patched my tire - free of charge. It was very nice service.

After the family reunion, the kids and I decided to stay a few extra days with grandma & grandpa in Riverton. It was wonderful to see old friends and neighbors again! I hadn't realized how much I missed it up there until I was there again.

Those few days went way too quick though. With school starting again on August 18th, I had lots of back-to-school shopping to do - that couldn't be done in Cedar City. So while the kids played with friends and cousins, Olivia, grandma and I ran errands. Our first stop... to get O some "sparkly earings" - she was actually really excited to do this.

Pretty earings!!!

Cousin E turned eight on our last day in Grouse Creek - so what could be better than a birthday party at Chuckie Cheese's on Monday?!

Ka and E also got to play a little at Sonja's house with the Escobar cousins. But our time was way to short!

E and Cousin M

Cousin A and O make cute fairies!

Fun on the tramp with J and A

We left Salt Lake on Wednesday morning, after a brief stop at IKEA - of course - and made it home in abt. 4 hours. It was so great to see everyone again - the time was too short. Hopefully we will be able to come up again - ...when the cost of gas goes down, and when Steve can come too!

Soccer, Swimming, Birthday Celebration and More...

2008-07-27T15:52:00.028-06:00

K has now been to two swim meets and is proudly showing off the ribbon's she has earned. At the last swim meet, her coach told her she was his 'secret weapon' because no one was expecting her. In these small town meets, all the coaches get to know who's who on each swim team - ...and here comes K, out of nowhere and leaves everyone high and dry on her backstroke.

M was able to attend a British Soccer Camp for 1 week. He loved it!

And of course there was JULY 24th!! - a Pioneer Day Holiday in Utah - but most importantly - E's Birthday!!

E awoke to German Pancakes for Breakfast

Where else would a 7 year old choose to have dinner?

We had our own Olympic Games in honor of E's Birthday. We made Olympic torch invitations, filling the base of the torch (an ice-cream cone) with candy.

As the athlete's checked in, they had to choose a country to represent, then color their map.

Before we could start the torch relay, however, we had to find the Olympic Torch - which had mysteriously disappeared, leaving a trail of clues behind.

After a long search, which took the kids all over the neighborhood, the final clue lead the kids to "The Throne" where they found the torch.

We could now proceed with the torch relay and other games we had planned.

After all the games, the kids all got to make their own pizza and watch a movie

Steve has started his Instrument Rating's Class. He does some class room stuff in the late afternoon, then flies in the evening when it is dark outside.

He has to wear a 'hood' over his eyes - so that all he can see are these instruments.

With the airline industry being so unstable right now, Steve is keeping all of his options open and is making friends with corporate, freight, and airline captains - ...a little networking never hurt.

More Updates!

2008-07-13T15:49:00.021-06:00

So much to do - so little time. The past two weeks have flown by.

Here is our champion swimmer! Who would have thought that somebody so clumsy on their feet could be so graceful in the water.

On Saturday K had her first swim meet - and she took us all by surprise. She had her first swimming lesson (ever) 6 weeks ago and now swims against kids who have had several years of swimming.

Here is her 50 meter free style - she got a little too excited and was the last one off the diving block and forgot to keep her head down. But she did GREAT.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Wednesday was Stephen's birthday. The kids were so excited to surprise him, but the day started out with some kinks.

On Tuesday, Steve set out for a flight to Carson City, Nevada. He stopped for gas in Tonopah, Nevada (probably only known for it's 'area 51' - where almost everyone in this small town work for the government and are sworn to secrecy).
He realized that because of the extreme heat and other weather conditions, he would have to stay grounded for a while. He eventually ended up staying the night there - sleeping on a couch in the hangar.

He didn't make it home until 4pm on his Birthday. This gave the kids plenty of time to wrap his present and decorate his cake - all by them selves.

In case you can't tell - this is a Blue Angels cake

Happy 4th of July

After a small parade, we went to a city park for some games and free food. Steve still had to fly, so was not able to come with us. He did fly over the park several times though.

Cedar City lit off it's fire works right off of runway 8 at the airport - which was great for us! We invited some friends, packed up our lawn chairs and got front row seats at the tarmac.

Last, but not least, M got to spend a whole week at SUU with their coaches at a soccer camp. He learned so much and had a blast. Unfortunately - the memory card that holds his pictures is MIA - so I will have to post them later.

Grandma & Grandpa!!! Yeah for more visitors!

2008-06-29T20:42:00.034-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Price came for a visit and brought cousin E with them. A lot of fun was packed into 3 short, but great days.

Steve flew up to Provo on Wednesday afternoon to pick up Grandpa and E while Grandma drove down to Cedar City. Ml, cousin E, and E were pretty much inseparable the whole time.

We found a great little fishing pond up the main canyon in Cedar City. It was only for kids.

Grandpa probably thought it would be a nice, relaxing day ..... but the kids kept catching fish after fish, so he was very busy the entire time, undoing hooks, and re-applying bait.

Of course, the rest of us had a nice, relaxing time.

And ...here is our Fashion
Diva... feeling very sorry
for the poor fish

Even O got to catch a fish. Unfortunately, my memory card was full, so the very best expression of the day did not make the film.

Since Grandma and Grandpa won't be here for E's birthday, E got to have a little birthday party a month early.

Look at that cake!! O was not very happy that it was E's.

Grandma even braved taking a flight with Steve.

Cedar Breaks for dinner - where we thought we were freezing to death in 65 degree weather.

On Saturday, Steve took his dad flying, while Grandma and I took the kids to St. George on a shopping excursion.

Here, the kids are modeling their matching outfits.

"Look at my new shoes!"

O was SO excited to get some flip flops.

She even had to cuddle with them in her bed that night.

With so much fun these past few days, I guess we will just go back to waiting around for more visitors to come.

Two days before our visitors arrived, M got to be the first in the family to visit the emergency room in C City. The glass shade on our bedside lamp was bumped off the stand and broke over his forehead. Because it was a nice, clean cut, they were able to use 'super glue' instead of stitches.

Here he is waiting to be glued up. I tried to get him to smile, but he reminded me that there wasn't anything to be happy about just then.

Of course this injury was quickly forgotten when cousin E arrived and with a gauze pad and some plastic wrap around his head, they were able to splash around in our back yard pool.

YEAH for VISITORS!! The cousins come for a visit

2008-06-22T21:33:00.021-06:00

Because Helaman was always taking great pictures, I now realize that I did not take very many pictures of this fun weekend at all. Hopefully, he will send us a copy of all his pictures, and I can post some better ones here.Hiking up Cedar Breaks - where we had a great dinner and of course - dutch oven cobler. MMmm

Here are the partner's in crime - there is no telling what was going on between the two of them.

This is Red Rock Recreation area near Leads. It was a 107 degrees that day.

Sad that the cousins have left - O patiently waits for more visitors.

A Week of Early Morning Flights

2008-06-15T14:01:00.018-06:00

US PILOT - Steve received his "wings" on Monday after passing his check flight with an FAA instructor. He is now in the time building portion of school. He has to log over 50 hours of 'cross country' flights before he can go on. This week, his time slot has been from 5am - 9am.

Since he is now a certified pilot he can take passengers up. The kids have loved going with him - even though it means going to bed early to be at the airport by 4:30 am.

K got to go first. Steve was scheduled to fly to Delta, UT, but after K had vomited three times, she made him land in Milford and turn around. So far, that has been our only incident of air-sickness, and she was able to take a friend up on Saturday without getting sick.

M has enjoyed sitting in the front next to Dad - especially with the dual controls. Once when Steve was flying over Kolob Canyon, the plane started swaying slightly from side to side for no apparent reason. Then Steve looked over at M and saw that he had grabbed the second controls and was doing exactly what he had seen Steve do.

A Future Pilot? Not only does she love getting up early for these Cross Country Flights, but she has a smile pasted on her face the whole time.

This is a great video - E is especially proud of herself.

Steve was even able to persuade me to go up with him. I can't say I wasn't nervous - but it turned out okay. We flew to Overton, Nevada.
Flying over Lake Mead was beautiful. He did a good job and his landings were smooth. However, realizing that I needed to use the rest-room before we were even out of Cidar City, made for a long two hours in a small plane.

Let the Festivities begin!!

2008-06-08T14:32:00.017-06:00

Summer's finally here... we hope. And, Cedar City is not called 'Festival City USA' for nothing. Last week, the first of many festivals started.

This week we had the Family Festival. Every day there were concerts, games and fun in the park. At night we watched movies in the park - it got a little cold once the sun went down, but the kids had a lot of fun.
We are very excited for some of the upcoming festivals this summer.

I'm especially curious about the Sheep Festival - where they parade over 800 sheep down main street.

There's not much new to report. The kids are slowly making some friends and they have all done well in swimming. K and Ml are now ready to move on to the Pre-Team swimming class, where they will learn to perfect their strokes and swim laps.

M is loving Cub Scouts. He went on his first Day Camp on Saturday. He had to meet his pack at 7:30 am, so Steve and I were up at 6:30 am to make sure he got breakfast and was ready. But he was not in his bed. He had gotten up sometime during the night, put on his scout uniform and fallen asleep on the couch - ready to go!

They had a lot of fun chasing lizards, learning archery and playing many other games.

We have also planted a garden. It is a garden 'by the square foot'. We planted corn, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, green onion, lettuce, beans, carrots, and pumkins. We're holding our breath to see what happens. We've seen a few small sprouts. The kids had fun helping to prepare the garden and deciding who got to plant what - even though we were using manure.

Even O has made a little friend - this is S.

Steve is just waiting to get his 'wings'. He has passed the ground school and the FAA written test for Private Pilot License and just needs to pass the Check flight with an FAA instructor. Hopefully that will happen in the next few days.

O reports on her day in Nursery

2008-05-25T19:52:00.003-06:00

Well, O still does not want to go to Nursery. Today, after Sacrament she was sobbing all the way down the hallway "I no wanna go to nusry, I no wanna....I no wanna". When we walked in she grabbed the door, and I had to pry her fingers off. But she eventually did alright and was all smiles when we picked her up. Here is her report: -

Our third week in Cedar City

2008-05-25T19:12:00.010-06:00

YIPPEE!! - We're going to St. George.

We still know very few people here and consider ourselves a bit isolated out in the country. So, when Steve came home a little early on Thursday and suggested we go to St. George - we were ecstatics - ...we were going to join civilization again!!

We went to Olive Garden (our favorite restaurant) and went to see the new Narnia movie. Michael said, as we were walking out of the movie theater, that he felt like we were back in Riverton again. Life sort of felt normal again for a few hours. Oh well, we really do like it here - it is just different and new.

Since we no longer visit grandma's house on Sunday, the kids are having to find other ways to stay entertained. Here is a small tea party in progress.

Steve's old uniform being put to good use ....

Steve and I both gave talks in our new ward today and K played a musical number on her violin.

Steve's Progress

2008-05-25T18:51:00.007-06:00

Steve would have already been done with his Private license if it were not for the weather. He has to complete two solo 'cross country' flights before he gets his license. He started his solo cross country flight to Mesquite, NE. on Friday, but due to terrible weather conditions he had to turn back when he got to St. George.

This is Steve flying over Lake Powell

Bryce Canyon - he really enjoyed these flights, but admitted he was nervous that there was no road nearby in case of an emergency landing.

Hurra for 17 Mai (May)

2008-05-19T00:11:00.008-06:00

Since there was no 17th of May Celebrations here, the girls wanted to wear their Norwegian national dress to church on Sunday. 17th of May, is Norway's independence day. We usually attend a celebration held in Salt Lake - but I have yet to run into another Nordsman here in Cedar City.

M was a little too shy about wearing his costume. But here is an older picture of him in his.

These were taken about 2 years ago.

Flying over Zion's National Park

2008-05-18T22:57:00.016-06:00

Steve took the camera on Saturday.

He came back with some great pictures.

Here is Cedar Breaks.

This is over the north-west part of Zion's.

This is Kolob Canyon, also known as Kolob's Fingers

Not to worry, some of these pictures his flight instructor took while Steve was doing the flying. Here is some footage of Steve landing, then taking off again.

FIRST SOLO FLIGHT

2008-05-16T21:29:00.012-06:00

Steve had his first solo flight today. I was a little nervous but he was not at all, saying "I'm actually quite comfortable with it". He did great though --- no need to worry.

He did three take-offs and landings, and some maneuvers over the airport itself. The kids and I were able to go out on the tarmac and watch all of this.

Waving to the kids standing just a few feet from the airplane. O was jumping up and down shouting "I scared! I scared!" as soon as the engine started.

Our lazy Sunday afternoon

2008-05-11T16:01:00.014-06:00

Before I get to the lazy Sunday part - thought I would post a picture of our Flyboy. Unbelievably, he is preparing for his first Solo flight next week - scary! Here he comes out after making a bumpy landing. Whenever he flies over the house, he flies real low, so the kids know it's him.

Here are the results of a lazy Sunday afternoon. While Steve and O take their usual Sunday nap, all sorts of 'goofy' is happening downstairs!

Don't we looks so cute - if you look closely, you can detect the traces of strawberry Sunny - D on the kids' face.

This is right after our trip to St. George on Friday. It was 88 Degrees! Naturally, we stopped for some ice-cream - the remainder still visible on O's face. She continues to be as clingy as ever.

As I am preparing this post, K is asking me to write: "Please call me! I am bored out of my mind!". So, there you have it. Anybody out there, please call K.

This is how we knew it was nap time:-

C City

2008-05-08T22:05:00.012-06:00

We're here! Steve started school today, from 7 am - 5 pm, with almost 4 hours of that time flying. He came back a little queasy, saying that it was hard to see all the motion change around him, keep his eyes on the instruments and not get motion sick. At one point he got so caught up watching the instruments, landmarks, and making his maneuvers, that he forgot all about maintaining his air speed. His instructor nervously reminded him of this as they were dropping altitude.

Too young to fly, but she's ready for take off!

Since we are in a very new sub-division, there are many vacant lots and houses. We have very few neighbors, and have not seen any other kids on the street yet. But, they are happy to get their summer toys out.

M and K having Jeep trouble.

O is my perpetual helper, where ever I am.
She has been sick for the past 4 days with some congestion and fever. This has made her cling to me even more. Here she is feeling a little better, trying to show me what a good helper she is in the kitchen.

I got the kids signed up for swimming lessons today, which will start Monday. They are very excited for that. M gets to try out for a soccer team Wednesday - hopefully all will go well. The team is one player short for the Utah Summer Games (which are held right here in Cedar). And while we were out and about today, we visited the new Cedar City library. I was very impressed! The kids got their own library cards and were able to check out some books. There are definitely lots for us to do and see here. We have found many beautiful parks and the drive up the canyons is never far. Tomorrow we head to St. George for a much needed Costco trip.

The down side so far: ...there's only Walmart to shop from, and the radio plays only country. (I like country music - in moderation).

We wake up to beautiful morning views of the mountains. It is amazing how clear the air is. Last night we had a pretty rough rain storm. This morning when we got up, the air smelled like lavender and the fields were a moss green as the sun climbed up over the mountains.

A BIG thanks to Grandma (Price) for driving down to C City with us. With just the three of us to unload and unpack that big truck, I am amazed she was still able to drive back 2 days later. Congratulations to Danielle, who went through her graduation ceremony from SUU on Saturday. The kids were very happy to see Uncle Kyle and Aunt Danielle again so soon. Her parents treated us all to ice-cream after. Thanks!

The packing and the goodbye's

2008-05-08T20:43:00.025-06:00

We've been here a week already! It has been an incredible 2 weeks packing up, and saying goodbye.
We enjoyed a nice family get-together at Kyle and Danielle's new apartment - it was the first nice weather we had enjoyed in a long time. The kids celebrated by putting on a nice show for us - mainly cousin E and E (they were born for show biz).

The older kids stayed inside playing games. For us, it was the end of a long tradition (at least for now) of going to "Grandma and Granpa's" (Steve's parent's) on Sunday's.

Then there were several other goodbye's from friends, neighbors , and more family. The night before our move, the girls got to spend the night with the Escobar cousins. Sonja even pulled her kids out of school so they could play longer.

Sonja making ice-cream shakes

None of the cousins were very happy about parting ways.

While the girls spent the day with cousins, M spent the day playing with two of his best buddies - together they are known as the troublesome three.

A Very Big Thank You to everyone for their great help! The dinners, taking the kids, packing, cleaning, and the biggest one ...loading the very HUGE moving truck. We really missed this help when we arrived in C City... tired and lonely. With just Steve, Steve's mom, and me to unload and unpack - it was back-breaking!

M sweeping up his old room.

Parental supervision is slipping

2008-04-21T17:21:00.002-06:00

With Steve and I busy packing up the house and trying to stay on top of the everyday things - something is sure to slip. "Yippee!! - Mom's not making us do our homework anymore." Here are our daughters, supposed to be finishing their homework, then packing up their toys. Oh, well - at least they are not fighting.

Some more random pictures

2008-04-14T08:58:00.008-06:00

Again, ...nothing new. We all gave talks in Church on Sunday.
I was sitting on the stand with E, and she kept leaning
over to me whispering "Mom, I have butterflies in my belly.
They won't stop flying around." It is much worse giving a talk
when your kids have to give one too. By the time they sat down
and I walked up to the podium, I was a nervous wreck!
Of course, Steve walked up there with barely a word written
and was just fine.

An unsorted collection of photos

2008-04-12T00:26:00.004-06:00

Nothing new to add today - other than we are starting to stress
out over how quickly the move is approaching. Thought I
would throw on a few of very many photos idling on my
computer. They are very random.

O - Happy in the Morning

2008-04-11T09:12:00.004-06:00

Our angel of the morning! Not exactly camera shy. She pointed to the camera and said "you take my pishure?" followed by a sweet smile.

Here we go!

2008-04-10T15:12:00.006-06:00

Well, as we are leaving this idyllic place in 2 weeks, 6 days (but who's really counting?), I thought I would start a blog so that our family and friends can know what is going on in our lives.
Just be patient with me as I get the hang of posting and adding photos and videos, as this is all very new to me.

As you can see, we are trading 5 acres off redwood road, for the peace and quiet of C City so that Steve can pursue his dream of becoming a pilot. I will post some photo's of our town house in C City when we move.

So, I filmed O dancing - I hope it posts. Sorry about the lateral view - I haven't figured out how to rotate a movie