Vinter & Vår i Norge

Sorry for the briefness in this first update...I will put more information into some of our trips/excursions.

The winter here in Stavanger was unique for both of us. There was very little snow, lots of ice, rain, and wind, and fairly warm.

For Christmas we just stayed here in Stavanger by ourselves. We had a very funny tree, nice and full at the bottom and top with a bare spot in the middle. I loved it and Megan made fun of it! Not having family here with us was weird but we made up for it, in a way, with the wonderful application called Skype.

For New Years we went to Hovden, Norway for a weekend of skiing with some friends. The skiing here is completely different then what I was used to… Here you have shorter runs and predominately t-bars, with very few if any chair lifts at a ski resort. With that being said, skiing here is still just as fun and you get a better leg work out!

After skiing Erica and Thad (our friends) and us went back to the cabin we rented ate some chili, drank some beer, and then found a place in town to drink more beer before midnight. Well at about an hour before midnight all the celebrations started. The only to describe the amount of fireworks that we saw is to take a 4^th of July Celebration and multiply it by at least 10. Everywhere you looked fireworks where going off. What an unbelievable sight!!!!

As for the spring…well it was nice and very busy for us. I was working on finishing my degree while teaching swim lessons and Megan was busy working away. The weather during this time was extremely unpredictable…snow one day and sun and warm the next followed by heavy fog. You never knew what to expect!