An update on the boathouse project...

Tim's been hard at work this last week on the boathouse project. So, Lexi and I took a quick trip to visit Friday night to Saturday night. We came home tonight since we have some church committments in the morning and are meeting some friends for dinner tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the pics. We are really excited about the way it is shaping up.

Here is a pic taken from the opposite side of Feda river.

You now see the little boathouse (adjoining) to the left. This is where our little 14ft fishing boat will go.

Here is a pic taken from the entry road side. The painters have put the first coat of white paint on, but it rained last week and they couldn't continue. So, it is really just a base coat as the wood really soaked it in.

Again, you see the little boathouse that is adjoining (right hand side).

Sorry, the pics uploaded in a strange order. Here is a pic of the loft. It is now completed with ceiling and wall paneling and flooring. It lacks trimwork (baseboards, ceiling trim, window trim, etc.) and electrical. This is Lexi's playroom :)

Here is a pic of the loft taken in the opposite direction of above. The two windows overlook the living / dining room. The window in the above picture looks out at the road/entry. The stairs aren't installed yet - hence, the ladder sticking up.

Here is a pic of the living room / dining area looking out towards the river. (2nd floor)

Here is a pic of the hallway looking towards the living room / dining area. The doorway opening at the right is a bedroom and the doorway opening on the left is the bathroom. (2nd floor)

Here is a pic of what will be the kitchen on the 2nd floor. (gray area on the right) The bottom of the two windows in the upper left of the pic are the loft windows. The doorway on the left leads to the stairs down to the first floor and stair/ladder up to the loft. Neither are installed yet.

Here is a pic from the living room looking down the hallway. The three doorways are three bedrooms. (2nd floor)

Here is a pic on the first floor. The double doors on the left are looking at the river and the door at the right (where Lexi is standing) opens up to the little boathouse. The first floor is where some of the original ceiling beams and supports have been preserved as you see in the pic.

This pic is also on the first floor with my back to the doors (as seen above).

So, as you see, it is definitely shaping up, but there is plenty of work left. It is hard to take pics of the 1st floor entry, 1st floor bathroom/utility room and the bathroom & bedrooms on the 2nd floor - there is too much construction material blocking the views.

Luna's Birthday and the 17th of May - Hurray!

The weekend was a special weekend as we helped Cousin Luna celebrate her 13th birthday on Saturday afternoon and then celebrated the 17th of May (Norway's Constitution Day) on Sunday. Enjoy!

London, here we come again!

Well, Lexi is not quite 2-1/2 years old and this was her third trip to London. Not too bad! She is now a super traveler on the airplane (of course, it is only a 1.5 hour flight instead of 9 hours...). The reason for this trip to London was to celebrate Cousin Jen finishing her semester at Regent's College and to meet-up with Grammy, Grandpa and Aunt Brenda. It was a quick 4 day trip for us, but it was different from any other Allen family vacation I have been on.... the pace was nice and relaxing! Unfortunately, many of the pics are on Mom's camera - so, here are a few of the good ones (the ones that didn't have Mom's thumb in the upper left-hand corner) from my camera. Enjoy!

Jenny's Confirmation in Arendal

In Norway, the State church is Lutheran and the "average Norwegian" gets baptised at birth (before the age of 3 months) and gets Confirmed around age 15. Tim's cousin, Jenny, went through her confirmation classes this last year and had her confirmation ceremony on Saturday 2.may in Barbu Church. It is a very important event and there is usually a gathering of family/friends afterwards. Here are some pics of Jenny's confirmation day in Arendal.

Lexi and her second cousin Emma who is 3.

Jenny in her bunad (national dress for Norway)

A pic showing the traditional male and female bunad for the Arendal area.

We love the zoo!

Even though we had just recently visited the London Zoo, Lexi, Tim, Luna and I visited the zoo in Kristiansand on Friday 1.may. 1.may is Norway's Labor Day holiday and we were en-route to Arendal for Tim's cousin's confirmation ceremony on Saturday. So, we made the most of the gorgeous weather and stopped in at the zoo on the way.

P.S. I'll also add that it is more that a zoo, it is super child-friendly with loads of play areas and plenty of rides as well. Lexi didn't much care for the log ride :)