God Bless America

Here's a question you've probably never asked yourself. So let me ask it and answer it so you can broaden your horizons:

Question: How does one celebrate the Fourth of July in Norway?

Answer: One gets silly-drunk down by the lake and one loses one's footing on the uneven rocks that line the shore. Consequently, one tumbles ass-over-teakettle into the lake, fully clothed, of course. One then begins to laugh so hard that rescue is almost necessary.

I, of course, am the one who celebrated thus. And once I was in, there was no sense in not enjoying it to the fullest. It took very little urging at that point to get Jamie onboard, er....actually......overboard, and the out-of-control laughing began in earnest. The kids weren't far behind, also fully clothed. Daniel and Torbjørn stayed dry, smiled indulgently, and gave the evening some small sense of dignity. I don't know how much fun they had, but we girls had a ball. The crowning moment was a tipsy duet by mother-and-daughter singing "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "God Bless America" at the top of our lungs.

So that's the full answer to the question "How does one celebate the Fourth of July in Norway?" Aren't you glad you asked?

Visual Aides

Just a few pictures of the fun and frivolity. Very patriotic stuff here. We've never been so proud to be Americans.
Just after the initial tumble. All I wanted to do was show Daniel my mad rock-skipping skills. Honest.

It's a very steep slope, just under the water there, so climbing out again can be a bitch. Emma was glad to help.

Jamie and I after both of us had been in and climbed out. Again, two of America's finest. Note how our hair isn't even wet. How clever are we?

We hadn't been out more than 2 minutes before we both decided we just had to jump in again (much to Torbjørn's dismay). Emma and Amanda joined us, which left no one on shore to help drag our asses back out again. That asshole Torbjørn refused to help.