The Stafford Family: Here we are, Norway!

We arrived at my uncle's house in Blommenholm (a suburb of Oslo) on August 1st after a gorgeous ride from Stockholm. I hadn't seen him since 1991 and his wife, my mother's sister, had just passed away a year and a half earlier. I was so sad to have missed her. I completely melted when my uncle, who speaks only a few words of English, and Karina exchanged "I love yous" verbally, but felt such a loving connection through the barrier of spoken language.

This was my fifth trip to Norway (and obviously Karina's first). My last visit was in 1982 (I attended school for four months). I missed it SOOO much, and was SOOO happy to be there! I have so many wonderful memories from childhood and from when I was 18. Too much time had gone by, but when I was with my relatives, it certainly didn't feel like it had been 26 years since I had seen most of them! Some of them hadn't even been born yet, so I met them for the first time. It was a bit surreal.

Karina loved climbing his tree and picking fresh raspberries in my uncle's backyard (one of MY favorite childhood memories).

The country is SO beautiful and it was so great for Karina to get to interact with nature in such an open setting. It was fun to be so close to these cows.

I love this picture of Karina at my cousin's farm.

Oh, the places you'll go...

We drove through a SPIRAL tunnel built in a mountain to experience this *unbelievable* view of Hokksund, which is where one of my cousins lives.

Here is a PERFECT example of why I gained weight over there. YUM!!!

We went to see the Holmenkollen ski jump. Spectacular.

This is one of my FAVORITE shots from our entire trip. My mom caught it in the Holmenkollen gift shop. I'm sure those of you who received a Christmas card from us will recognize it. :-) My mom and I regret not buying that hat...

Outside the gift shop. It wouldn't be Norway if there weren't trolls!

I don't come from a very big family (three kids), but I sure have a lot of relatives in Norway! What a GREAT reunion!! Such phenomenal people (if I do say so, myself...).

My cousin Jon and his wife Elisabet have a *gorgeous* sailboat and were kind enough to take us out on the fjord! One of the best experiences I've had. It took my breath away...

Karina loved helping her cousin and pretending that she was Diego's assistant rescuing animals overboard with a rope. :-)

We stopped at an island in the fjord for a cook out! The water was surprisingly warmer than the air! There were wild sheep on the island, but they must have been frightened of us and didn't come out. Karina had a BLAST playing in the water with her FUN cousin, Jon!

Second mate?

We toured the famous Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, which is home to 192 sculptures and more than 600 figures! It's gorgeous and this is my favorite one (I imagine this is how people with many children feel). I also saw an eclipse of the moon here (with special glasses, a large screen and crowd)!

This is the Royal Palace in Oslo and home to the current King of Norway. I especially enjoyed watching the ceremony of the changing of the guards! Very impressive.

Downtown Oslo's Hard Rock Cafe. :-)

Norway is known for its famous (and breathtaking) Stave (pronounced "Stahv") churches. They are filled with so much history and architectural wonder. On the way to my uncle's cabin, we stopped and toured this one. Ironically, I met a transplant outside from Chicago. :-)

Another place FILLED with wonderful childhood memories (with the exception of the outhouse to the left) is my aunt and uncle's cabin that my uncle built. It was so wonderful to be back there.

This shot was taken from the drive to the cabin ("hytta"). Pictures NEVER do justice to live and in person, but we do what we can. :-)

We took a *breathtaking* 7-hour train ride up to the west coast of Norway to Trondheim. We were picked up by relatives, took a ferry to the other side of the fjord and drove for an hour to one of the most beautiful, rural, towns I've ever seen... Råkvåg.

At my first cousin Anna's house. What a view!

Anna and Karina picking berries. We later ate them with vanilla sauce. YUM!!

Karina and Mormor ("mother's mother") having a cuddle at Anna's house.

I could've stayed in that spot for hours...

We then met up with other relatives and drove a few hours to Lund, my mother's (SMALL) hometown. We girls had never been there before! We climbed up on this massive rock where my mother played as a child. It was an incredible journey connecting with our roots and my mother's childhood.

My grandfather was the local teacher and the home in which my mother grew up was also the school house (half school, half home). There's only land there now where it used to stand, but a new school house was built in 1964 beside it. We were all in awe to see pictures from so long ago posted on the wall of the entry way. My mother, Liv, and her twin sisters (top right) are in this shot. My grandfather's name (Øystein) is at the very bottom as the teacher ("Lære" in Norwegian).

We stayed in our cousins' amazing cabin right on a fjord in Lund. It was one of the most gorgeous places I've been. I am so amazed by what hard workers the Norwegians are.

We were pretty far north and the sun did not completely set until after midnight. It was SO peaceful.

In addition to building the cabin, my cousin also built this great kids' playhouse (which, needless to say, Karina LOVED). These are very common in Norway and their craftsmanship is very impressive!

Karina and her cousin Shannon walking near the shoreline preparing to pick up shells and rocks. The only place I've ever seen green rocks.

Enjoying a boat ride with Nina (my sister) and Kayla (her daughter)!

My cousin and nieces went fishing and Karina had the time of her life playing with this poor dead fish for three hours! When it finally started to come apart, she was ready to put it back in the water. When the seagulls came and started to nibble on it, she said "my fish is flying all over the place!" ;-) It was a good nature, science, and biology lesson for her. She was SO fascinated and proud.

Being her loving self and probably showing her gratitude to Ole for the fish. :-)

My sisters and me at our beautiful bonfire.

Once we left the cabin in Lund, we had a gorgeous one-hour ride back to Namsos where my cousins live. Luckily, Karina is a good traveler and adaptable!

Kids from different countries seem to share the universal language of laughter and a love for whipped cream. :-) Karina and cousin Siri at Marie's house.

My "northern" relatives at Marie's house (in the blue next to my mom in the green). Not everyone in my extended family relocated and built a life in the Oslo area.

Karina really missed (and loves) her American cousins... Annika giving the thumbs up that it's "lights out".