Day 11-Alex prepares for the trip to Reykir

   January 15-The kids got up before us this morning and immediately cranked up the electronics. 

   It turned out to be a nice day, meaning that it was only mostly overcast with no snow or rain (we could even kind of see the mountains east of Bogarnes some 20 miles down valley, as you can see in the picture), so we finally kicked the kids out and they went sledding on svnínbrakka (pig hill) behind the store.  They kept at it for a couple hours or so, before finally coming home.  While they were gone, a girl in Spencer's kindergarten class, who lives below us, came over and asked if Spence would come play with her.  Spencer ran into her on the way back and they took off playing before going back to her apartment to watch some kid TV in Icelandic.
   Once Spencer was back we Facetimed (is that a proper verb?) my folks, who had invited over most of the family for breakfast to celebrate my grandparents' 67th wedding anniversary.  It is sometimes stunning to think about the changes in communication they have seen, going from the old-style, operator-dependent telephone system of the 1920s (if you even had a phone in the house) to the ability to videoconference across the Atlantic for essentially free!  We all wished them a happy anniversary and then our kids spent some time talking to my sister's kids who were also down.  After that, we ate supper.

   We received an e-mail from Þóra, Alex's teacher, that included a list of items she should bring on her class's week-long trip to Reykir, so we translated it into English and she got her stuff around.  Before you start thinking that we have become remarkably proficient at written Icelandic, I must admit that we are now avid users of Google Translate.  If you have never used it, go check it out.  I won't say it is perfect, but we can almost always figure out what the text says.  It has made our lives here a whole lot easier!  Anyhow, Alex packed her bag fuller than it was when she used it to bring her stuff to Iceland!  To be fair, she had to include a sleeping bag and a pillow for this trip, so it's not like she overpacked.
   One of the knitting projects got finished this evening.  Joslyn had started a scarf that she intended to use with one of her Webkinz, but Sally started working on it and realized that its thin look and pliable nature actually made it an ideal scarf for Joslyn, so she has spent the past couple days concentrating on it.  Once the scarf was a little taller than Joslyn, she decided it was done.
   One last point of interest: I don't think I have heard Spencer ask anyone if they speak Icelandic these past few day.  When we first got here, he asked everyone he met if they spoke Icelandic.  I think that he finally understands that everyone here speaks the language!