tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140068202011-07-28T11:23:51.153-01:00We have moved again! See blog entry below.Jennoreply@blogger.comBlogger471100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-44777834296944357312010-02-08T04:11:00.000-01:002010-02-08T04:12:22.937-01:00

to move back to Blogger, I am still having technical difficulties. Our current blog is still at www.dinoiafamily.typepad.com until further notice. Hope to see you there!

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-74449555625499297972009-12-10T04:04:00.000-01:002009-12-10T04:06:54.468-01:00

Oops, I mean wardrobe. Caitlin's class studied this book (among other things) during the past two months, and Cait is definitely hooked. All of the students had to design their own wardrobe and then write a story about it. Caitlin definitely had an interesting story, which involved characters named Caity, Rock Star and some sort of cat.We learned of this tonight at parents' night. I had actually

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1132699088697151102005-11-22T21:36:00.000-01:002006-08-26T12:00:51.903-01:00

Well, not exactly, only to a new blog site. We are now located at www.dinoiafamily.typepad.com.Thanks!JPCK

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1131121070347359602005-11-01T15:12:00.000-01:002005-11-04T15:17:50.346-01:00

On Tuesday afternoon Aidan came over for a playdate. Caitlin let him know that we hadn't yet carved the pumpkin and they both decided that would be a good activity for them (translation: me) to do that afternoon. Since Aidan was the guest that day, he picked out the design for the pumpkin.Cait and Aidan then played an interesting game of Kids Trivial Pursuit while I was reminded of just how

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1131120671911684612005-10-31T15:05:00.000-01:002005-11-04T15:11:11.913-01:00

On Monday night we remembered that we had not carved the pumpkin. Unfortunately, we forgot about it until dinner-time (which was after swim lessons) and by then probably about 7 p.m. So, we decided just to clean the pumpkin and carve it the next day.In the pictures above, Caitlin is removing the 'guts' of the pumpkin. Most of the guts went to the compost heap and then we adjourned to "Baking the

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1131120206658128522005-10-31T14:55:00.000-01:002005-11-04T15:12:26.483-01:00

As you may or may not know, Halloween is not celebrated in Iceland. However, since RIS is an international school with some American students, the children do participate in Halloween festivities.Today, the children from RIS, the teachers and the teachers' children (who were on vacation this week), spent an hour at the Embassy entertaining the staff and enjoying some sweet treats. I decorated

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1130794554579721782005-10-29T20:27:00.000-01:002005-10-31T20:39:10.350-01:00

Just a few of the attendees!Did I mention we hosted a Halloween party today? It started out as a small party for the mum's group and then I decided to include Caitlin's classmates (only 10 kids in the whole school).After I thought about it, I realized I should probably also include children from the Embassy, whether their parents are FSOs or FSNs. However, one cannot simply invite the kids, so

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1130794066637827062005-10-29T20:24:00.000-01:002005-10-31T20:40:47.476-01:00

Okay, these pictures may not seem too different from last week. However, what one cannot see is that Caitlin is actually riding bareback.Not only that, in the second picture, they are actually trotting around the ring. All of the students had two turns in the ring, and Caitlin was too scared to go fast on her first try. On the second try, she rode with her hands in the air, on her head, rode

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1130793825353698592005-10-29T20:16:00.000-01:002005-11-14T23:32:02.590-01:00

Here is a picture of Caitlin thoughtfully shoveling the snow in our driveway. Unfortunately, not too much headway was made as the bottom layer had started to turn to ice. Wonder how we are going to get it clear for the Halloween party this afternoon?!Above left is our house the day after the first snowstorm of the year!

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1130030257936367812005-10-22T23:54:00.000-01:002005-10-23T00:25:46.736-01:00

Here she is! They mounted the horses, rode to a larger ring and walked around that ring for about an hour. You can't tell from the pictures, but most of us were absolutely freezing. Apparently, the horses are even calmer in colder weather.They were pretty quiet today (except the one who got left behind!), so I am guessing the 30 degree F weather agreed with them. OH, and in case, you didn't guess

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1130028886441860502005-10-22T23:43:00.000-01:002005-10-22T23:54:46.446-01:00

Each week before they ride, they comb their horse. Caitlin wanted company while combing, so I got to feed the horse her carrot. Despite the fact that Peter was bitten (not badly) by one of the horses last week, Icelandic horses are known to be some of most gentle in the world.

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1130027552391581772005-10-22T23:11:00.000-01:002005-10-22T23:32:32.396-01:00

Here she is! It's Sandita Bandita's twin! There would be more pictures, but like her 'sister', this little doggy is extremely fast.

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1129822364536404442005-10-20T14:25:00.000-01:002005-10-20T14:32:44.536-01:00

Or in our case packages. Since the price of children's clothing here is generally astronomical, we tend to buy a lot of things on-line. This can be beneficial, since by going through www.upromise.com, we (and friends and family) are boosting the kids college accounts. Or we use www.mypoints.com for those Starbucks cards. Mmm, missing that gingerbread mocha!So, we get mail twice a week (in a good

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1129821900547185892005-10-17T14:15:00.000-01:002005-10-20T14:25:00.553-01:00

Today was Kelsey's first day at Njalsborg, her new preschool. Here is her pre-departure picture. She is a little sad, but not because she is going to school. The 'driver' was anxious to get going and tried to get her into the car. She wanted to wait for me and burst into tears.Unfortunately, no time to get into a happy mood before the picture. Suffice it to say, she definitely brightened up at

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1128968005263296412005-10-09T17:08:00.000-01:002005-10-10T19:54:33.466-01:00

"It was my twin! Spanokopita?"No, I didn't find my twin in my head. However, yesterday we did find someone else's twin where we least expected it!When we arrived at the stable on Saturday, we didn't notice the little dog jumping around at first. Then as we neared the ring, the dog ran towards us. We looked at the pup and were shocked as we thought perhaps we had been transported to Edgewater,

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1128902017973980542005-10-08T22:29:00.000-01:002005-10-10T19:45:47.346-01:00

In light of yet more disasters in the world, I thought I would add a spot of light. It may not cheer everyone up, but we are estatic that Caitlin is now a little bit happier in Iceland.Why? She is learning a new, well, sport? Today, in the very cold weather (maybe 40 F?), she started horseback riding lessons. Ever since she saw photos of Icelandic horses back in February, she has been extremely

Jennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1128472136846433282005-10-04T23:20:00.000-01:002005-10-04T23:34:25.690-01:00

If you go to http://www.vikurskoli.is/RIS/meetthestudents/index.htm, you will find more pictures of Caitlin and her friends. She really seems to be enjoying the school and her vocabulary (already large) has grown tremendously.She will create projects for herself at home based on things they learned at school and never seems to need help. The other night while making dinner I realized I had not

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1128307309205866112005-10-02T11:34:00.000-01:002005-10-03T01:41:49.210-01:00

This afternoon I found Kelsey in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open. As I looked more closely, I realized she was in the midst of a deep conversation: with the condiments.I knew she was lacking for friends (I will spare you the diatribe on the dearth of English speaking children here or that the waiting list for preschools has over 600 children on it), but had no idea the situation was

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1128193802165450322005-10-01T17:53:00.000-01:002005-10-01T18:10:02.180-01:00

is to have them ram your car from behind. After leaving the base today, we decided to stop at Kaffitar, the coffee shop on the highway to Reykjavik. We were in the left lane when Pete started looking around like crazy, tried to swerve, possibly said some wordy-dirds and ultimately (through no fault of his own) could not avoid being rear-ended.For whatever reason, a person two cars behind us did

Jennoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1128104786876006792005-09-28T22:22:00.000-01:002005-09-30T17:26:26.876-01:00

These pictures were taken tonight at Caitlin's swim lesson. She is still a little nervous about the idea of swimming with her head under the water, but is making progress. Yes, I know, where did she get this fear??

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1127867137314591202005-09-26T23:10:00.000-01:002005-09-27T23:29:24.673-01:00

Sunday afternoon we had a lovely visit with another Embassy family. I worry that we didn't have enough "boy toys" for their older son, but the kids still had a good time being bossed around by Caitlin. Her quote of the day when the family arrived? As she put a hand to her forehead and tossed her hair, "OH, I spent the whole day cooking for you!"Well, now she did make quite a tasty cherry loaf.

Jennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1127606414591221852005-09-24T22:15:00.001-01:002005-09-24T23:14:40.070-01:00

Just on the off chance that anyone thinks that the previous message was just me being annoyed at Pete about gas, fear not! It was more of a statement to differentiate between living in the States and living (anywhere) overseas.We have learned that one cannot simply go out for the day. If you don't have your gas bought, lunches packed and clothes laid out the night before, you will end up losing a

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1126564135744445902005-09-11T21:16:00.000-01:002005-09-12T21:47:05.890-01:00

Breaking news: Last Wednesday we hosted our first dinner guest! I was so exhausted from cleaning Wednesday afternoon that I was grateful to "take a break" by cooking! However, I learned a lesson: never make a huge veggie tray for one guest. No way it will be eaten and then half of it will be forgotten back in the fridge (by mistake, of course).Thursday afternoon we ventured out to playgroup and

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1125698672550549522005-09-02T20:59:00.000-01:002005-09-02T21:05:40.336-01:00

Here she is, pretty in pink, thanks to Uncle Mark & Aunty Shannon. Caitlin received a bright pink Razor scooter from them for her birthday. OH, and Sandy contributed too, of course. Most likely she is relieved the scooter is now here and not anywhere near her tail!Actual birthday pics will be posted soon, but backdated. Oh, and yes, this is the garage, and it isn't really that messy, just still

Jennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1125624100092912552005-09-01T23:55:00.000-01:002005-09-02T00:21:40.096-01:00

So, in the midst of all the bad news in the world, the stampede in Iraq, Katrina and the havoc she wrought, I read that a certain person (who I shall not name as this is not a political forum) has offered some sage advice: Don't buy gas if you don't need it.Now, really, all of these years that we have been torturing ourselves and the purity of our environment with tons of pollution and in the

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1125179541519418542005-08-27T20:45:00.000-01:002005-08-28T01:03:06.186-01:00

Yet another chance to win a free stay at Casa Dinoia in fashionable 101 Reykjavik: Correctly pronounce the above name the first time! Oh, heck, we still probably say it incorrectly.Here is another one: Snaefellsjokull! This is the glacier we visited today. We didn't actually climb it, as Kelsey fell asleep and Caitlin was "too freezing cold", however we may take some future visitors (if they come

Jennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1124974335637560932005-08-25T11:44:00.000-01:002005-08-25T11:52:54.146-01:00

Yes, we finally made it to a swimming pool yesterday. There are only 8 in the city and with the "settling in" we have been trying to do, simply hadn't gotten to one yet.Okay, and there is something weird about having to fully shower before you go outside while it is pouring rain to go swimming, but that is just me. I am sure after a few times, the whole thing will seem perfectly normal.So, we got

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1124734905035723472005-08-22T17:21:00.000-01:002005-08-22T17:28:02.296-01:00

as my baby started second grade today, but all I can think of is just how much I will be able to get done. Well, should I choose to do it. Of course, I am referring to house-hold chores which will never get done as this house is just too big and my helpers are too small!In theory, I could get tons done except the dishwasher doesn't always clean the dishes and the washing machine takes 1.5 hours

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1124232439509936472005-08-16T21:23:00.000-01:002005-08-16T22:03:25.253-01:00

Yes, last night Caitlin lost her other top front tooth. We had to "page" the tooth fairy at midnight. Frankly, I was glad she lost it then as opposed to the middle of the night, as I can only imagine the horror of her either losing it or swallowing it.So, here is a before pic (look closely and you can see the tooth hanging by a thread) and an after pic. The Tooth Fairy managed to get the message

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1123978403722320762005-08-13T22:48:00.000-01:002005-08-13T23:28:47.783-01:00

Older, that is, at least for Jen. Yes, as of 6:32 a.m. EST, I (Jen) am now 33 years old. As Pete would say, I am now almost a third of a century old! OH, whatever.So, no pics of today as we didn't do anything too terribly exciting, just had a yummy chocolate cake and opened a few gifts. "The Birthday" excitement will be extended this year as apparently quite a few of my gifts did not arrive! I

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1123863052056175932005-08-12T14:54:00.000-01:002005-08-12T16:59:14.550-01:00

Our boxes, that is. Yes, the mysterious HHE that no one believed would ever show, has finally arrived. And we have the boxes to prove it!I am really hoping they re-use the boxes and paper in some way as it is just amazing how much paper they use to wrap the unbreakable thingamajig that you might use once 12 years from now. Granted, yes, we will use most everything we brought with us and the

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1123861997834127012005-08-11T14:48:00.000-01:002005-08-12T17:11:36.696-01:00

they end up playing in the box that shipped your the Goo-Gone and Dyson attachments!Yes, I got a care package the other day with several large bottles of Goo-Gone (they only sell the tiny ones on base), attachments for the vacuum and Method products. Talk about a care package! It's funny how you get older and realize that care packages of oxi-clean wipes and your favorite toothpaste are just as

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1123468708783995382005-08-08T01:17:00.000-01:002005-08-08T01:38:28.803-01:00

It's two kids stuffed into a tiny Nemo blow-up paddle pool which is stuffed into their parents bathroom shower. Odd as it may sound, this provided two hours of fun for our kids tonight. They are now officially prunes, however, they have had their first bath in two weeks and thus are excited!Okay, call off Children's Protective Services, I didn't say they hadn't bathed, simply that they hadn't had

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1123197235460239652005-08-04T21:58:00.000-01:002005-08-04T22:13:55.466-01:00

So, Caitlin experienced her own bit of culture shock today, but almost sort of a reversal. We went to the library on the base, which is quite extensive and has a huge children's section. They are running a summer reading program and each Thursday the participants gather together to do a related craft project.We got there a few minutes late (we did have a 45 minute commute) so the craft had

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1122851924219644462005-07-31T23:17:00.000-01:002005-07-31T22:18:44.226-01:00

Keflavik is known to many primarily as it is the location of the airport, as well as the Navy/NATO base. In fact, the base and airport actually share the airfield. There is a sign at the automobile entrance to the airfield that reads, "Aircraft has the right of way". Yep, definitely not something to challenge here with the remarkable amount of air traffic.I digress, sorry! So, today we decided

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1122681137841992552005-07-28T22:40:00.000-01:002005-07-29T22:52:17.846-01:00

Today (well, yesterday) was the last day of our Icelandic classes. We took a 'test' and although it wasn't graded, I felt I did pretty well overall. And I will continue to do fine so long as I don't speak with anyone over the age of 7 - I have found out that young children are extremely to easy to understand. They are still learning and thus tend to pronunciate words correctly and don't slur

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1122681773136264602005-07-21T22:53:00.000-01:002005-07-29T23:03:37.356-01:00

Yes, we have finally moved into the yellow house! Today was the big day. Caitlin, Kelsey and I went to school while Pete went back to the house to pack up and clean up. Unfortunately, due to road repaving crews, it took Pete forever to get back and he hardly got anything done.So, he picked us up, we ate lunch at Grilhusid (LOVE their fish and chips!) . We then went to the yellow house and started

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1121908185891106502005-07-20T23:54:00.000-01:002005-07-21T00:10:22.453-01:00

I have been terrible about updating the blog, as I have been working on the web-site and trying to prepare for our next move! At any rate, last week was very, very good for us!On Wednesday, I went out with the spouse of another FSO and we investigated a local mall. Not for shopping, really, as you won't find the neat Icelandic handicrafts in a mall, but to check out the produce at the Hagkaup and

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1121179377653826482005-07-12T13:27:00.000-01:002005-07-12T13:42:57.660-01:00

The Talbott Family! Yes, they correctly guessed the quote from yesterday as Rick Moranis in the movie Parenthood. A classic for anyone who has ever had or been a parent! Okay, so those of you who didn't answer (or answered "Shakespeare") may still have an opportunity: simply send us some sunshine and summer-like warm weather and you, too, can stay with us. No, just kidding about the staying

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1121104943258613362005-07-11T18:00:00.000-01:002005-07-12T13:27:16.703-01:00

Yes, we started school today. Caitlin went to her class, I went to mine and Kelsey went to daycare. She was not too pleased at first, but decided it would be okay as long as I was "just down the hall".Caitlin enjoyed her class and even made a friend named Tora. There are few and far between English speaking children here, so this is a welcome discovery. Caitlin and I can now say our names and a

Jennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1120500033795263562005-07-04T16:42:00.000-01:002005-07-09T02:53:13.750-01:00

Yesterday we finally had the chance to visit the Blue Lagoon. It can be found between Reykjavik and Keflavik or at www.bluelagoon.com (for the English version). It is pretty much everything that it appears to be.After walking through the front door and bypassing the groups of tourists (okay, other tourists), we paid for two adults (both girls were free!), two towels and two lockers. We then

Jennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1120149023520773982005-06-30T16:22:00.000-01:002005-06-30T15:33:37.756-01:00

Yes, Caitlin and I start school on July 11! This is very exciting as the class consists of us both taking Icelandic in the morning and then Caitlin will stay for a fun camp in the afternoon. It is only for two weeks, but that will certainly help.What about Kelsey you ask? Why she will attend day-care specifically designed for those in this course! The best part is that while I have to pay a small

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1120347554968099842005-06-29T22:28:00.000-01:002005-07-04T16:40:44.463-01:00

I will, of course, spare you the brutal details but anyone who knows me well knows that I should know better than to sit in the back seat of a car OR anywhere on a medium-size boat without taking Bonine, Dramamine or simply thinking twice and staying home.Well, we had stayed home on Tuesday, so on Wednesday, I really wanted to be a good mom and show the kids the city and have some touristy fun!

Jennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1119911242058001042005-06-27T10:24:00.000-01:002005-06-30T15:40:15.546-01:00

Yes, we have been here for almost 3 weeks and are just now starting up a web-site! Sorry for the delay, but internet took forever to get and then there are just too many things one can do internet wise. Do we do a blog or web-site and how many photos do we really want to put up??While this is technically the first entry, we will 'go back in time' and do a storyline of our time in Reykjavik. We

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1120086815303909782005-06-09T22:00:00.000-01:002005-07-09T02:54:38.906-01:00

Our first visit to NASKEF Keflavik was today, thanks to a gracious co-worker of Pete's who accompanied us and gave us a tour ofthe Nex and commissary. If you have checked out the exchange rate between the U.S. Dollar and the Icelandic Kronur (http://www.xe.com/ucc/), you will instantly know why we are so grateful.It is outrageous (most of the time) what one pays for items on the local economy.

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1119917424913191562005-06-08T07:01:00.000-01:002005-06-30T15:39:16.053-01:00

Yes, this is our front yard and those are lava rocks. You will find them all around us in Reykjavik and, no, as Caitlin feared, they are not hot. They have been cool for quite some time and make quite the playtoys, yard decorations, you name it!These are two of the first photos we took in Iceland. Let's face it, you didn't want to see pics of us after the plane ride nor later the first day. These

Jennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14006820.post-1119912226074922332005-06-07T01:30:00.000-01:002005-07-09T03:06:34.336-01:00

Our arrival almost wasn't! Granted some of it was our fault (will we ever get this moving thing together?), however, the massive thunderstorm and many accidents that hampered traffic on the evening of June 6 was most definitely not our doing.We made it to the Avis rental car return approximately, oh, one hour and fifteen minutes prior to departure? While not so bad if the return is next to the

Jennoreply@blogger.com2