ExtraordiNorway

Norway was an extraordinary trip for us. Of course, it's Norway, which is more than enough, all on its own, to warrant a blog post, but it was even more extraordinary than that. You see, we went there because Scout's team was in The Norway Cup, the largest youth soccer tournament in the world. More than 1,700 teams, both boys and girls, between the ages of 10-19, participate. But what really excites me, looking back on the soccer tournament now, was that Scout finally landed in a #22 jersey.

My father, my brother, and I--oh, Jack and River, Sophia, too, all wear 22, and now Scout has jumped on board (--mainly because they did not have #47, which is still her first choice for some strange reason involving a Rudolph). But that's not the main reason Norway was extraordinary either. Since we planned to head up there with Scout as a family, we contacted Charlie and Kiefer's good friend Haakon back in Littleton. Haakon and Charlie, actually, have been in the same class every year since kindergarten. Now, as you might guess by his name, Haakon's mother is from Norway, and his family, the Propernicks, once or twice a year, make their way back to the farm where she was raised. Suzy and Kari, Haakon's mom, have for many years now dreamt about getting the boys together in Norway, and, well, amazingly, here was their chance. So, yeah, the Propernicks not only coordinated their trip with us, they put us up, which was a real delight--and a totally unique way to see another European country.

So I dropped Scout off at the airport

the day before the rest of us flew to Norway. Then she stayed with her team in a gymnasium on some mountain in Oslo (Ekeberg), seeing us only now and again--usually at her games. What a great first team trip!

The boys, Suzy and I, meanwhile, found our way up to the farm to stay with Haakon, his kid sister Kaia,

his mother Kari

(--who, by the way, is much taller than Suzy, and is standing in a hole here, and stooping a bit just so as not to create too great a contrast with her friend) and his grandmother Ingar Lise (also taller than Suzy, and a total crack-up--we loved her!!!), who somehow avoided our camera the whole trip. At the farm, we chilled out, played at a lake,

played hide and go seek, found this jolly forest gnome on a run,

and went berry picking. At first, the kids were not too into it,

but a few mouthfuls later, and they went wild.

Oh, and Ingar Lise and Kari introduced us to Yahtzy--Norwegian style.

But let's not talk about those first few games (--I think I came in last every time, and Ingar Lise showed me no more mercy than Suzy's mother would have. No, actually, the main difference between Norwegian- and Kiefer-style Yahtzy is that in Norway, you actually root for each other.). Anyway, we next headed into Oslo, so we could see Scouty's games, and take in some of the more typical sights: the stunning Operahouse with a roof that slants right down into the harbor water,

the newly built Munch Museum just beyond it,

and we had some good eats--Norwegian Salmon, anyone.

That was definitely a top-ten meal for me, and easily the best salmon I have had here in Europe. And we went to the Frogner Park with the Vigeland Sculptures, too.

These were so cool: over 200 sculptures, all celebrating life--in all it's various stages.

I know I am only 48, and that my children are just 14 (almost), but, especially with an assist from literature, I felt I could personally relate to almost every sculpture, like this one:

and this one:

Ha, the boys and I might as well have been the models for the sculpture behind us. How many times did I carry them like so?

Now, I can hardly hold one of them up with two hands, nor would either of them let me try. But I hold them in other ways--and always will.

Man, do I love watching them grow up... But the real highlight, without a question, was Lindoya, one of many little islands just off from the mainland. Haakon's family had a cabin here and this is where we ended our Norway adventure.

Haakon's father and older brother had arrived and joined us with the rest of their family--and we even met some of Haakon's extended family. Scout was able to join us, too. It was a wonderful way to see Norway, and a good break from our usual tourist blitz. We swam in the North Sea,

and the boys fished for crabs,

and built complete ecosystems in buckets,

and, of course, we played Yahtzy right into the night.

I actually did much better this time round, though Kari won the Yahtzy championship. Wouldn't you know it, I found the game for sale in the airport on our way home, and we have been playing it ever since.

Thanks Propernicks, and thank you Scout for a wonderful last summer trip.