Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent

For a long time, I've been waiting to get my own piano again. I used to play growing up and would love to both play myself but also let the children learn to play. And finally this December my dream came true.

'Tis The Season

December is always a busy month, but in a good way. This year I enjoyed watching Melissa and all her excitement as she was counting down days till Christmas. She did the classical things: wanted to open the whole calendar the first day, cheered for red cheeks and freckles and the joy of decorating the Christmas tree and playing with all our decorations. To be a child again!

Road Trip to Stockholm

In November, Tonje, Julie and I went on a road trip to Stockholm. It was wonderful to spend time with good friends, laugh and reminisce about when we were young(er) and also work at the temple. We ate a lot of candy! 

Michael is 14

We enjoyed celebrating Michael's 14th birthday! He was excited to see the opening of Skyfall, the new James Bond movie, and so we went with a Casino Royale theme for his birthday.
The boys enjoyed hanging out, watching Bond movies and did their best on the James Bond quiz. 

trying to catch up

Almost the end of the year and I want to update my blog before the year runs out.
So a lot of updates the next 24 h, I guess........

SongPop

Most popular game in the Nystad residence this fall. Kids are getting pretty good. iPhone. iPad. iPod. iPad Mini. SongPop, Wordfeud  and Draw something challenges all the time. Mom joined the Instagram community. Still a noob, though. We love technology! ;-)

Off With Their Heads

Natalie was the only one that went trick or treating this year for Halloween.
We went all out with the make up. Doesn't she make a lovely Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland? :)

Stand Ye in Holy Places and Be Not Moved

Natalie did an effort to prepare for the transition from Primary to YW in church.
Michael started Seminary in August and is studying the New Testament.
Another uplifting and historical event this fall was the first stake conference for our new Drammen stake. 

Glitter Party

Such a fun event! The girls were invited to a glitter birthday party! Red carpet, limo drive. Karaoke. The girls are growing up! Natalie has some wonderful friends.

Dorthe by Natalie

Natalie knitted her first sweater during fall break. The sweater is designed by a TV personality in Norway called Dorthe Skappel. Dorthe knitted this sweater for her daughter Maria Skappel, who through her blog  introduced this sweater to the Norwegian people and started a knitting trend like no other. The demand for yarn exploded and the selection was very limited when we decided to make this our fall break project. 

Mirror, mirror on The Wall

The girls room project...has been an ongoing adventure....and still is since we haven't finished upstairs yet. Natalie and I like to look at Pinterest for new ideas and DIY-projects for her new room. This frame from IKEA is one of our favorites. 

One School Week at Knattholmen

In October, Natalie spent one week with her school class at a maritime school called Knattholmen. She was a little anxious before she left as she hasn't been away from her family for such a long period of time. But when she got home she was sad it was all over and missed the place and all the fun they had.

Knattholmen offers varied activities. Like climbing and boating, learning about life along the shoreline, going on a longboat voyage, fishing, building a fleet, and the huge sling shot. The class also went to Sandefjord to the Whaling museum. The girls looked forward to go shopping that day. Natalie brought a camera and took some nice photos and shared her experience with us. We sure missed her the week she was gone!

A Splash of Color

We came home with full suitcases from the US. I bought some fabric at Michaels and enjoyed making new pillows for our living room. Melissa likes to build her own house with them! :)

See you later, alligator

After awhile, crocodile
Bye-bye, butterfly
Give a hug, ladybug
Toodle-ee-oo, kangaroo
See you soon, raccoon
Time to go, buffalo
Can’t stay, blue jay
Mañana, iguana
The end, my friend!

Everything comes to an end! Time to go home. Natalie had such a hard time saying good-bye to her grandma. She is a very loving and emotional girl. We're glad it is not a definite good bye - but a so long! See you soon.

Art City

Springville is Art City and Bestemor Grandma took Natalie to the Art museum one day. The enjoyed the Quilt exhibit and got to spend some time together just the two of them. Natalie took a lot of pictures. :)

Michael

Michael received his patriarchal blessing.

How far is Heaven?

It’s not very far.

When you live close to God,

It’s right where you are.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

We have so many wonderful and fun memories of eating out. We eat homemade food almost every day at home with a rare exception of a kebab once in a while. So going to restaurants is not something our kids are accustomed to.

Some places we had to go to because we've been there before, like IHOP, Los Hermanos, Olive Garden, Brick Oven, Chuckarama, Sizzler, KFC, Pizza Hut etc. But we also tried some new that we really enjoyed, like Outback Steakhouse, Panda Express, Five Guys burgers.

And you're never too full to pick up a chili and a Monterey Crispy Chicken from Wendy's.
Yummy!

Get Set to Get Wet

Ruthann brought her kids down for a few days and stayed with aunt Janice. The girls got to spend some time together again. They played Just dance on the Wii, made a cardholder for crafts, had a sleep over. We played at the pool and went to see Brave at the movie theater. It was the first time Melissa went to the movies. 

Playground Pals

We love to hang out with Mike and it was fun to meet his kids. We spent an afternoon at the playground in Lehi and had some pizza. 

Brigham City

On the way back to Springville, we stopped in Brigham and walked around the grounds of the new Brigham City Temple. We also drove around to see if we could find Adalynn's house to say hi. It was late and dark, so sadly we didn't get the chance to stop by. Late night snack at Wendy's before we headed "home".

Big J's

You can't go to Preston without stopping at Big J's for a burger and a shake. Michael got some tater tots. Melissa was delighted when they brought us the burgers in a cowboy hat.

Glenn + Napoleon Dynamite = Preston High School

 Glenns Alma Mater

Napoleon Dynamite

High School 

A Fistful Of Dollars

Sweet Moments

Playtime

We enjoyed visiting the Rigert family, playing outside and shooting with the BB-guns. 

Red, White & Blue

Happy July4th! Uncle Arild was leaving back for Norway, so we went to pick up a smaller rental car. Look at Glenn all smiling. Can you tell he likes the Dodge Avenger?

The boy scouts had put out flags on the street and we were all ready for a celebration!

So how do you celebrate Independence day?

4th of July picnic in a park. KFC chicken. Playground. Quilts. Nice!!

Los Hermanos

On top of our favorite's list is definetely Los Hermanos in Provo. Their chips and salsa are yummy!

Shuffle and play

It was nice to see Grandma again. And with new decks of cards from the casino, the kids were eager to play some card games. Michael wanted to learn to shuffle and practiced and practiced. We learned some new games as well. 

On The Road Again

 Time to head back to Utah! And roadtrips are fun! 

Lots of candy. Wendy's in Cedar City. Country blasting on the radio. Card games. The only sad part was driving by the mountain fires. Melissa got her Beauty and the beast magnet dolls, she loves it! Friends in low places, probably the most played song on the trip.

Walking down the Strip

Oh my! It is hot in Vegas. Still, we headed for the Strip with bottles of water and plenty of pit stops in the shade. 

So far, so good!

Meet and greet. Lots of fun characters. Super Mario, MM's, Jack Sparrow, The Mad Hatter, Hello Kitty. We also did some shopping at The Hard Rock Cafè.

It felt so good to cool down! 

We made it all the way up to Caesars Palace. But then we gave in. We got at taxi and went back to The Excalibur. Arild volunteered to walk back as the taxi wouldn't fit all of us. Hero of the day! 

The whole crowd was really wasted!

Natalie came to the rescue with her foot massage skills.

 New deck of playing cards.

Casino Fun

Smokey and noisy casino. Supposedly fun. Well, the kids enjoyed the arcade at The Excalibur. And uncle Arild helped winning tickets. You know, the ones you need to get crappy prizes... And bling!