Father Figures

I’m months behind on blogging about my trip to Washington (still!) and thought it was fitting that my next set of pictures were from time spent with my dad and my grandpa. Since I couldn’t celebrate Father’s Day in person, this will have to be the next best thing.

My dad is one of the hardest working people you will ever meet and I know that’s a grand proclamation but it’s true. I’ve always known him as Dr. John; he ran a chiropractic clinic with his dad and sister for over 30 years and I can remember many nights where he’d get home only to turn around again and make a house call for one of his elderly patients. I used to love visiting him at the office because he would let me call the patients down to the exam rooms and I felt very important. After I graduated from college, I was shocked to hear he was selling the clinic and becoming a correctional officer. I’m still not used to seeing him in uniform but he loves it and sometimes will work weeks on end without a day off.

While he was certainly an amazing chiropractor, Johnny Oscar excelled in many other areas as well. In his younger years, he was an accomplished athlete playing football, rugby and training as a long distance runner. He is also a gifted artist and no doubt has passed much of his drawing talent down to my brother, Stein. On top of running his chiropractic clinic and raising elementary aged children, he went to night school at Seattle Art Institute for a short time. This was before Photoshop and InDesign so he was creating pasteboards into the wee hours of the morning with unbelievable accuracy. His instructors even questioned some of his work because the level of perfection was so high. I’m not sure when the man slept but somehow he managed it all. I’m fairly confident the spray mount fumes and his nightly can of Rainier beer helped propel him along.

While all of those accomplishments are certainly noteworthy, they are not the greatest things about my dad. Ever since I can remember, he has told me two things: “you can be anything and do anything you want to do” and “Jesus loves you no matter what.” My dad is not perfect by any means and we’ve had our ups and downs just like any other family. But those two pieces of advice have never changed. And they have served me well over the past 30 years. So Daddy, thank you for believing in me and teaching me Truth; for always bringing home strange gifts for me from the thrift store; and for providing for us all these years. Even though you scared me into thinking our front door was being opened by the ghost of Grandpa Hans, I forgive you. Happy Father’s Day!

———————————————————————

Meet my mom’s dad; my Grandpa Robert. He is one suave fella and an outrageous smart aleck. Originally from a tiny island in Northern Norway, he left home at 16 and became a merchant marine. After WWII, he immigrated to the US with my grandma in tow. They landed at Ellis Island and all my grandma knew about America was that it was full of gangsters. So she was terrified and when they got to their little room, she checked under the bed and in all the closets, utterly convinced that someone was hiding in there waiting to kill her. Upon arriving in the States, my grandpa promptly stopped speaking Norwegian to my grandma and responded only in English because he felt she needed to learn the language. Years later, when she brought this up, he would get a smirk on his face that would have all of us cracking up.

Suffice it to say, Grandpa Robert is a bit of a stubborn punk and we all love him for it. Even though his body won’t form the words anymore, you can still tell when he’s making fun of you. I will never forget coming home to visit when I was five months pregnant. I looked like I was about to pop and my grandpa took one look at me, did his signature smirk then patted my belly and started laughing at me. The first time I introduced him to the Sarge, we were visiting him at the nursing home. He looked at Jason, then looked at me and said, “Han er ikke norske” (he’s not Norwegian). I said that no, he was Polish, not Norwegian. And my grandpa just shook his head in mock disapproval then laughed at us.

I could devote an entire blog to the life of my grandpa and never run out of stories to tell. He came to America with practically nothing and built an incredible legacy. An accomplished wood carver and a great man of God; I am so lucky to call Robert my grandpa. I’m grateful for his generosity over the years from help with music lessons to travels to Europe. His beautiful carved pieces are some of my most treasured decorations in my home. And every time my little monster of a toddler asserts her independence, I see a little glimpse of the old, stubborn Norwegian man she calls Oldefar. Happy Father’s Day and happy birthday, Bestefar. Gratulerer med dagen; jeg er så glad i deg!!

Point Defiance Zoo

Growing up, I really thought everyone was Scandinavian as all our family friends could trace their roots back to the motherland. When we weren’t participating in a Sons of Norway function (and sometimes when we were, even), we would hang out with our honorary cousins, the Christiansen’s. There were Christmas parties, cross-country ski trips and plenty of outings throughout our childhood. My dad even taught the four Christiansen kids how to put a kitten on their head to look like a Davey Crocket hat. This party trick backfired, however, when the girls tried it and ended up with cat poop all through their long blonde hair.

A few days before we flew back to England, my mom set up a playdate with some of the newest members of the Christiansen clan. We met up with Marit and her daughter Freyja at the Pt. Defiance Zoo for a drizzly day of animal gazing with our four kids. During college, Freyja and I played in a band based out Seattle and had a lot of fun performing at various bars and frat parties. She now has three kids – Odin, Leif and Anja – and is a successful physical therapist. I think her oldest son looks exactly like her but all three of her kids are really beautiful.

The kids seemed to like the aquarium the best so we spent the most time there. It was another typical PNW day with lots of rain so we made a quick run through the rest of the exhibits.

By the end of it, all of us were soaked and the kids were getting hungry, tired and cranky. Never a good combo. I think this picture of Marit and Odin is priceless. Bestemor is laying down the law.

Despite being a quick visit, it was really nice to see Freyja again. Hopefully we can get together again the next time I’m home!

Puyallup Fair and Playhouses

Going to the Puyallup Fair is a tradition for me and my aunt, Sheryl. So I was excited when she mentioned that the Spring Fair would be open while we were in Washington. We made the trek to Puyallup despite the drizzly weather and let Lena loose to check out all the animals. We saw camels, jumping dogs, and an overabundance of pygmy goats, to name a few.

David and Andrew were good sports and let me snap some photos of them in between checking out the sights. We rented a scooter for Sheryl and made the mistake of showing Lena how to beep the horn. It then became a game to see how long she could hold it down before we pulled her hand off of it. It’s possible that the scooter horn really IS the most annoying sound in the world.

You can’t go to the fair without eating some fair food and even though it was the Spring Fair, all the old standbys were still there. Hot dogs, hamburgers, elephant ears, scones. My inner fat kid was in heaven. We told Andrew that the elephant ear came from an actual elephant which was probably mean but is also a rite of passage in our family. Luckily, he’s pretty smart and didn’t believe us for long. While it looks like Lena is sampling some of the cinnamon goodness here, I don’t actually let her eat junk food so this picture lies. However, it was too cute not to include it here.

I also had a scone. And I put some serious effort into getting a shot that would do justice to the deliciousness that is a Puyallup Fair scone. There are no words. You just have to eat one. And you have to eat it at the fair. There’s something about the smell of carnies, wasted money and dirty rides that enhances the flavor of these morsels and it is not to be missed. I’m drooling just looking at this picture again. Yum.

After the fair, my mom and Lena had a little play date in the “hytte.” My parents built a cabin outside their back door and have decked it out in full-blown Norwegian style. We’re talking floor to ceiling pine, rosemaling, carving, weavings and trolls everywhere.

Most of the furniture and decor is handmade by family members. A lot of the weavings were made by my mom while my dad is incredible at distressing furniture to look antique. The large clock was carved by my grandpa and according to my mom, will be passed on to me “when she dies but not until then because [she] likes it too much.” So there’s that.

The hytte was built before Lena was born and I didn’t quite understand it’s use until my mom mentioned that it would be Lena’s special playhouse when she comes to visit. When I thought of it that way, I realized what a cool space it will be as Lena gets older.

My mom had all sorts of design details and meaningful touches all around the cabin and I could tell she loved sharing them with her granddaughter. The pewter pieces were collected over many trips to Norway from both my mom’s childhood as well as mine.

The rock in Lena’s hand is somewhat of a family legend. The surface is covered with moss (I think?) and is completely smooth after many, many years. You can’t see it in this picture, but the moss created the shape of a certain male body part. Since we’re all quite mature, we’ve named the rock after it’s signature image and the name has stood the test of time.

I know people say you gain a new perspective when you have kids but I never anticipated it to be this way. It’s really special for me to watch Lena experience things from my childhood with my family members. Perhaps it’s even sweeter because we live so far away and these interactions are few and far between. Even something as simple as eating scones or playing with a rock turn me into a giant sentimental blob! What a gift to have such rich (and sometimes strange) traditions to pass down to the next generation.

Barbies and Twins

The day I left for college, my mom started cleaning out my room so she could transform it into a guest room. The woman has an insatiable need to organize and purge her home. I am always surprised when I find she has held on to certain keepsakes especially when they’re toys as she loathes the clutter they cause. However, one toy that is surely safe from the donation pile is her original Barbie doll. I can remember playing with this set as a child when I’d visit my grandparents and it’s fun to think that Lena will carry on that tradition as well.

My grandparents immigrated from Norway in 1949 with just a handful of money and as a result, my grandma was very creative when it came to gifts for her daughters. For Christmas one year, she sewed new wardrobes for her daughter’s Barbie dolls. You can see them hanging in the case; evening gowns, gingham sets, corduroy jacket, knit sweaters… These are some of the sweetest keepsakes and I know my mom really treasures them.

Both the ‘rents had to work so we snapped some quick pics before driving up to Seattle for another playdate with Kristi and her sister, Amber.

Amber is a couple years younger than us so I’ve always thought of her like a younger sister. However, after seeing her with her twins, I am in absolute awe of her abilities as a mama. To begin with, her house looks like my Pinterest dream board – open, airy, full of light and beautifully decorated. Even the toys for the twins were trendy. Lena was enamored with this wooden puzzle tray and luckily, Colton and Julia were happy to share.

On top of having a beautiful home, will you please just look at these kids?! Colton is going to be a little heart breaker, no doubt. And Julia is going to be tall and pretty like her mama. The girls decided to hold hands up and down the hallway (we may have encouraged this with over-the-top gushing) and it went great until Colton got jealous that someone was stealing away his twin sister. He did not want them holding hands and kept breaking up the party. So they all decided to hug it out. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture it on camera because I was too busy clapping and squealing.

After their nap, we took the kids to a park near the house. The entire time I kept thinking of ways to either move in with Amber and her kids or find a way to convince Kristi to come live with us in England. Neither of those options are looking promising at this point which makes me quite sad.

The kids had a great time running all over the playground while we snapped pictures and tried not to laugh at Colton’s pitiful crying fit. I don’t even remember what had him so upset but he got over it pretty quickly.

After a dance party in the playhouse, it was time to head home for the day. Lena pretty much went into a sleep coma before I even pulled out of the driveway. I am so thankful for the friendship of these girls and hope our kids will grow up to be just as close. Judging by the hand holding and hugging, I’d say they’re off to a good start!

Touristing in Gig Harbor and Seattle

Here are some snapshots of our trip to Washington. Lena was a trooper and for the most part, was up for whatever.

We had some nice, relaxing mornings with my parents before they went to work/sleep. They’re on opposite work schedules so we had to get in our visits early in the day.

We met up with my younger brother, Stein, for dinner one night. Lena impressed him with her awesome dance skills and trendy fashion sense. Stein is an amazing illustrator and has done artwork for a number of famous artists and bands. Check out his website to see some of his incredible work: steinhansen.com

Gig Harbor has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. Every time I come home, it seems like there’s a new shopping center or large store that has come to town. I’m kind of sad to see it lose that small town feeling but I have to say, I am really impressed with the new businesses that have been established. My mom and I met up with Kristi, her mom and her sister, Amber plus her twins for some play time. There’s a great kids place called Discovery Village (http://www.discovery-village.com) and all the kids loved it. We also took this opportunity to photograph Lena and Colton as there’s a secret plan in place for these two to someday get married.

Kristi’s other sister has kiddos as well so we planned another playdate with her daughters. Amber’s twins are a month older than Lena and their cousin, Andi is one month younger. So Lena was set with built-in friends before we even arrived in Washington. We had a little girls night with spaghetti, garlic bread and some wild dancing. This is oddly reminiscent of how Kristi and I usually spend our time together – lots of eating, making a mess and dancing until we’re sweaty.

All my friends are suddenly having babies (I guess that happens as you approach 30). I finally got to meet baby Grayson who was a clone of his Grandpa Milton. He was deliciously chubby and I had to restrain myself from kissing his neck rolls. There is nothing better than a chunky baby! Tricia and I drove up to Seattle to have a slumber party with Alicia and her very pregnant belly. Alicia is a cross-fit fanatic so seeing her with a baby bump was surreal and I swore she had stuffed a pillow in her top. She kept complaining about having pelvic pain and cankles while Tricia and I just laughed at her and told her it would only get worse. That’s called support, my friends.

The babies needed a bath, so we decided to put them in together. However, Grayson decided he didn’t want to actually sit down and kept giving Tricia the stiff-leg every time she got him near the water. She kept trying and each time, he’d go completely stiff while Lena looked on in curiosity. Tricia was getting all hot and bothered which, in turn, made it even funnier to me. So Alicia came up with the idea of putting him in the Bumbo seat to see if that would help. It was a great plan until we realized that poor Grayson’s manly bits weren’t exactly fitting into the Bumbo and instead, were wedged at the top of the seat. I’ll never be able to look at a cherry tomato the same. I was crying from laughing so hard and Tricia made us swear to never tell her husband. Poor, poor Grayson. He may never be the same.

After the bath, we unsuccessfully tried to put Grayson and Lena to sleep in the same room. Big surprise there. So I laid Lena down in Alicia’s bed and decided it would work for us to sleep in the nursery on top of two crib mattresses. Don’t do this to yourself. It was an absolutely horrible idea and I didn’t sleep more than 5 minutes at a time. Also, Lena somehow peed all over Alicia’s bed in the hour she was sleeping there while Grayson cried non-stop in the other room. I’m pretty sure if I were faced with this same scenario while pregnant, I would have had a meltdown. Alicia did ask if the kids still woke up early on the weekends which was quite adorable of her.

We toured Pike Place Market and did a quick walk on the waterfront. Exhaustion had set in for me at this point and I had a mini meltdown with Lena. There are just so many times you can handle being hit in the face by your child before you lose your mind. However, it was a beautiful day so I got some really pretty photos. There really is nothing like the Puget Sound on a sunny day. It’s pretty much paradise. More photos to come!

My hetero life partner

Meet Kristi. She is one of my dearest friends, by far the most hilarious person you’ll ever meet, and has the mouth of a sailor. We’ve known each other since elementary school but really cemented our friendship in 7th grade health. We got partnered together to give a presentation on HPV or genital warts and the rest is pretty much history.

To put it mildly, Kristi has always had a large personality. Even during those awkward, formative middle school years, she never seemed dorky. She was the constantly-laughing athlete who also was popular and smart enough to get elected to student government. While I’ve never known Kristi to be mean, she did have some bullying tendencies thinly veiled as practical jokes. I will never forget (nor will I let Kristi forget) the time she embarrassed me in front of the entire school. It was the end of year and everyone was outside for Field Day. I happened to be sitting next to Kristi while we watched some sort of skit by our peers. I felt her hand on top of mine and before I could process what was happening, she yelled out, “No Tove! I do NOT want to hold hands with you!” She threw our interlocked hands in the air, then launched into her signature laugh which could be heard for miles around. It was straight out of a sitcom. My face turned bright red and I wanted the ground to open me up and swallow me whole. However, I was simultaneously cracking up as Kristi has a contagious laugh. Ah, middle school.

After our first year of college, Kristi transferred to Pacific Lutheran University and we decided to be roommates. Tingelstad Hall, room 925. If those walls could talk, I’m sure we both would be horribly embarrassed and not just because of the giant Eminem posters adorning our space. We ate a lot of pizza, danced until we were sweaty and tried, on a daily basis, to embarrass one another as much as possible (see photo of me duct taped to a chair below). We even got tattoos together – I drew the triple football tramp stamp adorning her lower back. It was one of the best times of my life.

After college, I moved to Arizona and then North Carolina. Even though we didn’t see each other daily, nothing really changed between us. Kristi is one of those special friends who picks up right where you left off once you see each other again. Despite being a vegetarian, she made the trek to the pork capital of the US not once, but twice. That is true friendship.

We were able to spend some time together while I was home in Gig Harbor and as usual, we laughed pretty much the entire time. As you can see from the photo, Lena was a bit cranky the first day we saw Kristi and proceeded to have a monster meltdown in the middle of town. True to form, Kristi just cracked up and snapped photos of the scene. These are probably my favorite pictures from our entire trip because they’re just so pitiful.

We didn’t get to have a proper celebration while I was home – having a kid has somewhat depleted my social life – so I’m dedicating this post to Kristi in honor of her 30th birthday. You can wish this crazy cat a happy birthday, too, in the comment section as she’s one of my internet stalkers blog subscribers.

Krust, happy birthday buddy! I am so thankful for your friendship and all the years of memories we have together. You are my hetero life partner and one of my most favorite people on this planet. Your laugh and sense of humor are such a gift to everyone you meet. And I’m pretty sure everyone who’s ever interacted with you has left feeling better for it. Thank you for always being your true, genuine self with me and allowing me to do the same. Here’s to 30 more years of embarrassing each other and our future kids. Love you long time!

(Attempted) Surprise Visit

My last minute trip to Washington was supposed to be a surprise but I had to tell my mom to make sure we’d have somewhere to stay as well as transportation to and from the airport. I’m pretty sure it’s physically impossible for her to keep a secret because by the time I arrived in the states, the entire family knew I was on my way. Communication in my family is like playing a really, really bad version of the game “Telephone.” My mom can’t keep anything from her twin sister and it all just trickles on down from there. So, my big surprise was foiled with the exception of my dad’s sister, Sheryl.

Sheryl is unintentionally hilarious as she cries at pretty much everything. I pulled up to her house and her oldest son, David, came outside to greet me (though he was expecting my dad). The look of confusion on his face was awesome! I motioned for him not to say anything and he just looked at me funny, then turned around and went back in the house. Sheryl came out next and gave an Oscar-worthy performance that only she could be capable of. There was crying, jumping, more crying, exclamations and clapping and then more crying. I could not stop laughing and really wished I’d had a way to record the entire scene.

 

We went inside where Lena was smothered in hugs and kisses in between showing off her signature dance moves. For some reason, this is her meet and greet strategy. She just starts cutting a rug anytime we meet new people. I kind of wish I could do the same though I doubt it would be as cute for a 30-year-old mom to two-step at strangers.

My aunt is an incredible mom and has, hands down, the most polite and thoughtful sons and teenagers you will ever meet. Truly, these kids are amazing. Both the boys were adopted from Russia as babies and Sheryl has raised them on her own ever since. Anyone who meets them is struck by their impeccable manners. As soon as we were inside, they offered me something to drink, refilled their mom’s coffee and got to work finding toys for Lena to play with. I think my aunt should write a parenting book because she’s got it down.

My younger cousin, Andrew, was interested in checking out my camera so I let him go to town taking pictures. David thought it would be fun to go outside and take Lena for a ride in the wheelbarrow. Again, I was so impressed by him. He cleaned out the wheelbarrow and put down a towel so Lena would be comfortable. I’m pretty sure these boys could teach me a thing or two about hospitality.

After visiting my aunt, we stopped in at my old alma mater, Pacific Lutheran University. My cousin, Laila Eva, is in her first year there and it was really surreal to walk around campus with her. I’d forgotten how pretty it is in the springtime with all the blooming trees and flowers. There’s a joke that while on campus, you’re in the LuteDome. As soon as you go off campus, you find yourself smack dab in America’s armpit; also known as Parkland, Washington. It has to be one of the scuzziest towns in the country. Meth heads and pawn shops abound and there’s a general lack of pride in the homes and buildings. I remember that one of my Parkland neighbors had a broken down airplane in their front yard the entire time I went to school there.

Our visit with Laila was quick since it was our first day on a new schedule and the jet lag was pretty rough. I’m not sure what inspired my outfit that particular day and I kept apologizing to Laila Eva that she had to be seen with me. The girl is gorgeous, always dressed super stylish and could probably be a model. This day was no exception. Meanwhile, I had a serious mom look going on and felt like I’d been run over by a truck.

Laila’s always been like a little sister to me and since she’s eleven years younger, it’s hard for me to think of her as a college student. For one thing, that means I’m a solid 11 years out of college which is a little bit depressing. Additionally, that time has absolutely flown by and it scares me to think that another 11 years could pass that fast and Lena’s childhood will be practically over. Wah! Why must we grow up?!