mormor & morfar besok

these are out of sequence - the eilertsens were here about a month ago. i thought i'd already posted it.

one day they all went to the zoo in central park

the night before they left, they took us out to eat at Minnow in park slope. we had a great time and the girls were very well behaved.

memorial day

we were comfortable enough with the deck to have Jack & Rebecca with the kids over on Monday. David came too, and we bar-b-qued chicken, burgers & dogs. hege made a perfect potato salad, and david brought a beautiful mixed green salad with mango dressing. it was hot and sunny, so hennie and i started the day by making mango ice-cream, which was ready right on time for dessert, with fresh blackberries, blueberries, strawberries & banannas poured over the top. the girls swam most of the day in a kiddie pool and the adults, with our beverages, actually got to sit on the deck and talk like teenagers.

it was a great day.

more deck

some more deck photos... its further along than these show, but its raining cats and dogs the last several days and i don't have photos. i've also gotten the stainless steel cable in the mail now and should be able to get installed before too long.

i'm ripping down the remaining cedar decking to 2.5" slats for the side-rails.

this is a detail of the built-in planter boxes under construction. they are finished now, with a layer of white pea gravel for drainage at the wire mesh, and some tomatoes, ground cover, and hanging ivy taking root very nicely.

training

we found a bike on the sidewalk which was perfect for hennie, but for a missing training wheel. so last weekend we finally got a new set bolted on and she went on her first ride in the backyard. we've actually found another one for Mette, which she loves to sit on, but its missing one foot pedal that I haven't had time to find a replacement for yet.

bounce

after the bath, bouncing on the bed before turning in

hangover

we were invited, with jack & rebecca, and another couple, to Perch to taste-test potential new entrees for deirdre. they are trying to settle on a broader dinner menu and want feedback on how things tasted. So we all took off work early a couple friday's ago and, with the kids (theres a new kids menu as well), arrived in a very good mood. and the good mood just never stopped. it got bigger and bigger and took over the table. the kids were angels, the food was excellent (a sparerib stew, bbq'd shrimp over grits, a grilled chicken skewer. the kids had cocktail weiners wrapped in biscuits with dipping sauces), and, there were martinis and a couple bottles of syrah. all gratis! and none of us had really been 'out' in so very long. so we were just ecstatic. and jack and i had the great idea that it didn't have to end with dinner. so we took the kids back to their house (a few blocks from perch), and got the girls ready for their first sleepover. there was an electric excitement in the air as they all cuddled up in Sophia's bed (hennie) and Sabine's crib (mette) and went back downstairs to toast our youthful brilliance. Jack recently had his 40th birthday and still has several? cases of wine they're drinking. In his excitement he filled the table with all our options and we sat down, put the iPod on shuffle and started babbling. there was port. there was bourbon.

anyway, hege and i finally pulled away at about 3am and got the kids snuggled down in the stroller for the the 20 block walk home. they handled it well, but the next day for us was almost indescribable. Rebecca called a couple of days later to say she thew up 8 times and would never NEVER do it again. Hege simply couldn't or wouldn't move all day. she went out in the backyard about noon and lay down and went to sleep and thats about all that happened. she was out there for hours, and the girls and i tinkered around with little outside projects. I was in much better shape, but did notice a tendency to sort of wake up in the middle of a task, the power drill running at nothing in mid-air.

we mocked the god of parenthood and suffered his wrath.

hennie and i snuck some photos of 'sick mamma':