A kayaker on the Oslo fjord at sunset.
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Hilary Clinton has been in the news a lot lately, and while I am not a political person it seems reasonable for me to post two pictures of her with a group of kids while she was in Oslo back in June of 2012. She was the US Secretary of State at the time. I was one of the photographers at her stop at the US ambassador's residence. And while she was oh so professional and smart and on topic during her public comments, she was just laughing and really enjoying meeting a bunch of children ahead of all that. This was unscripted stuff and she seemed to have a really good time. 
Hilary Clinton talking, and laughing, with the kids
Secretary Clinton shakes hands with Connor Christenson
Her visit was important, and she covered a lot of key issues while in Norway, but I found her to be fun with the kids and that does make her worthy of a blog post outside of my usual stuff.
In the US, we shoot off fireworks on the 4th of July. In Norway, and most other European countries, they shoot off fireworks on New Year's Eve. Here is a photo from the 2010 New Year's Eve in Oslo, Happy New Year!!!
We have now lived in Norway for just shy of three years, and it is time to move on. We have said goodbye to many good friends and will miss so many things about Oslo and Norway. Tomorrow we fly off to our next adventures in the United States, where we will live near Washington, DC for the next couple years. 
Goodbye to our wonderful house in Ullern, on the outskirts of Oslo.
US ambassador Barry White playing catch with a football with John Grimes at the US Independence Day celebration in Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway.
Every year, around the 4th of July, a big bunch of Americans get together at Frogner Park and celebrate the American Independence Day (known as the 4th of July in the US). This is a really fun event, and I will put up more photos soon, but for now just a shot from the day. Of the US embassy booth. 
US embassy booth at the US Independence Day party in Frogner Park.
I can identify a number of the wildflowers in Norway, but not this one.
Bogstad Gard is a historical farm that is now more a museum with interactive bits like friendly sheep.
The sheep are friendly and seem to enjoy the attention.
The gardens and grounds around Bogstad Gard are quite nice, but this is the classic view of the place.
And it is a farm, so there is big equipment around. The kid in the photo is 5 feet tall.
And have to end with another baby bird. This is a just-fledged white wag-tail.
Smestaddammen is just a little pond, but it always has a lot of birds. Today we hiked by the pond and there were lots of birds, as expected. 
A mute swan with its babies.
A cute, fluffy, baby swan.
There were some baby mallard ducks there as well.
Tufted ducks were there, but didn't see any babies from them.
So with just a half-day left of school tomorrow, the OIS decided to throw a party for the graduating Year 6 class. Most might assume this meant some cupcakes and free time in the classrooms with maybe a balloon or two... But nooooo, the party was a full-on bash. Dance videos on the big screen, burgers on the grill, ice cream in giant cups with chocolate bits on top. How could it get any better? Well... It would seem that Karen Rowe, one of the teachers at the OIS and a known instigator of fun, organized a huge waterfight for the kids. Here are some pics from the mayhem.  Karen Rowe, the instigator  The inflatable pool was a place for everyone to refill their water guns. Karen got hers filled first and made the first hit. And I should note, this water was COLD!  Most of the kids were still dry and unarmed, as Karen found Kei to be a nice target.  Nina get the first good hit back on Karen.  And finally Karen gets taken down with a splashing shot to the head.  About this time it all went crazy, with water going everywhere and anyone trying to refill their water gun risked getting a full dunk in the pool by a push from behind (many kids were so dunked).  Hard not to notice that all the kids are smiling as the water flies.  So it was a massive waterfight at the OIS this afternoon, and toward the end everyone was totally soaked and, well, just look at all those smiling faces. Today was nice out it Oslo, but I didn't have time to wander around. But a number of bees and similar have been at the roses, and the first baby birds have been fledged.  A bee on a rose flower.  A different bee on the same rose bush.  The great tits seem to have bred somewhere up on our roof, but now the young are fledged and flying about. |
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