Welcome Home, Auntie Lauren!

Lauren had to leave Oslo because of visa issues, and now she’s back on a regular tourist visa trying to work up something more permanent. We sure are glad to have her back. She brought back some surprises for the kids, including a blow-up hot dog. I don’t really know how to say thank you for that …

It’s a little Hello Kitty music box key chain thing. You open it, and the kitties rock back and forth looking like they are playing the piano and singing. Now that I think about it, I don’t think there is actually any music, they just move back and forth.

Nothin’s funner than a blow up hot dog.

Mercedes gave this to me a while ago — rose quartz is associated with love and harmony and I think women somehow. I was pregnant with Ruby at the time, so I liked to wear it and it reminded me of me and Mercedes sharing so much of our pregnancy experiences. I stopped wearing it for a while, not really sure why. Then in September when I was packing for our trip, I found it again and remembered how awesome it is. I’ve been wearing it a lot lately.

I was probably laughing at something Lauren said or did. She’s so funny!

I love how he has his hand to his face in this picture, like he’s really thinking hard about his next move with the hot dog. Which of course they’ve been calling the pølse because that’s the Norwegian word for it.

C was trying to avoid the camera.

The kids really missed Lauren!

Lauren looks more interested than Ruby!

Jayne: (wearing ugly homemade hat) “How’s it sit? Pretty cunning, don’tchya think?”

Kaylee: “I think it’s the sweetest hat ever.”

Book: “Makes a statement.”

Jayne: “Yeah, yeah!”

Wash: “A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he’s not afraid of anything.”

Jayne: “Damn straight.”

I made this composite for this week, but I can’t believe I forgot to include this cute picture of Chris! It was from Julebord, and these pictures were from Auntie Lauren’s welcome home sausage fest. (Just kidding … though there was a blow-up weiner involved.)