Looooooong Overdue Christmas Recap

Okay. I understand I haven't posted in who knows how long (well, 14 days...yikes!) but so much has happened that I don't know how to begin. It seems like a lame excuse, but trust me, the drama has just been unfolding and unfolding. I'll start at the beginning.



We were supposed to leave as a family for Norway on the 20th. That day, my mom had a really really terrible headache, so my dad brought her to the doctor while us kids were at school. The doctor suggested she take the medicine he gave her and rest, so my dad booked her a ticket to Iceland for the next day, thinking that he'd take us to Iceland and she'd follow 24 hours later. So we left, leaving her home.



Well, she got 100 times worse. She was actually brought to the ER, where she stayed for four days, to make a long story short...so she didn't come to Norway at all. She had planned to come after she was released, but she then found out her father passed away. Talk about a merry Christmas.



I'm not going to go into more detail, but we enjoyed ourselves in Norway to the extent we could. The family loved Sasha, and she was definetely her cute self, but the entire situation was a bit off with my mom's absence. We still managed to have a pleasant time though, as you can see by the pictures!



This past weekend we all attended my grandfather's funeral in Michigan. I'm so happy Sasha had the chance to meet him twice in the few months between her homecoming and his death. As ill as he was, he was able to play little games with Sasha that she really enjoyed, and I can't count how many times he said, "Oh, she's such a doll." I'm grateful they had that time together.



I'll go into more detail about the trip later, but school's sending me for a loop this month. Mid-term exams are this week, which puts a strain on me especially since I had to miss two days of review last week to fly to Michigan. I'll promise to update later, because there's so much to tell!



On top of all this, another big (but happy!) event is happening tomorrow. A very special little girl will be celebrating her second birthday...I'll leave you guessing as to who she could be! :-)


Here are some pictures from Iceland/Norway. I'll add more amusing captions next time!

Walking up the long hill to Perlan (The Pearl), a restaurant/Icelandic cultural center in Reykjavik

View of our Iceland hotel from Perlan

Going crazy in the extreme wind

Having fun with a Santa Claus figure in Perlan's gift shop

Being a goofball in Perlan's cafe

Sasha in awe of a wax figure

Wax Viking statue outside Perlan's Icelandic heritage museum

The famous Perlan (view from our hotel room- sorry it's fuzzy!)

Waiting for our taxi in Reykjavik

Caruso, the restaurant in Reykjavik center we always eat at

Reykjavik by night

Holiday street musicians

She's a hamster! (Keflavik International Airport)

Putting on a smile in church!

Sitting pretty with her big brother

O Christmas tree!

Kristian took this one (the only picture of his I kept...the others were terrible.) I think this looks almost professional though!

Cozying up to Carsten

I don't know what to say about this except for that it appears Sasha had one drink too many...

A doll!!

Trying desperately to comprehend the concept of Santa...

Sasha scares me a little in this picture...

Getting overly excited by a game of air hockey

Preparing for the walk into town center