Spring in America

The Varrones traveled in the American Continent this spring - Portland, Denver, New York, and Chicago - in various combinations. Here are some photos: Dad with Eric & Ruby in Portland. Emilia in Denver and with Baby Zain O. Dad with Sarah and John Butter in Chicago; and with Dan Gastel in New York; and with Grandma and Grandpa at Cousin Ann's First Holy Communion. Other highlights were skiing in Oregon with Charles; skiing in Vail & Breckenridge with Olivier, Lynn and Henry; breakfast at the Pancake House in Denver with Lorraine; visiting with Kate & her family at Stapleton; staying in Frisco at Steve's chalet; dinner in Little India with Gus, Dom, and Jackie; attending Caroline's 5th birthday party; going to the Cubs game (they won!) at Wrigley Field with the Butters... and much more! Wow - if Spring is this good, what will summer bring?

Christmas 2008

Happy Christmas to all!

We got Emilia home for Christmas after an incredible first semester (Dean's List, Crew, singing witWhimaways, etc) at Choate. Her advisor writes us: To say that Emilia has hit the ground running at Choate would be a vast understatement; she has taken the place by storm! Whether in the dorm, in the classroom, in the boats, in the recital hall - or just hanging around campus - she has settled in smoothly and gracefully, so much so that I can't remember when Emilia was not a part of our lives! Her gentle and kind spirit, her sparkling good humor, her infectious HAPPINESS - those are the things that come to mind when I think of this fall with Emilia.

Espen had an exciting Christmas, getting Guitar Hero World Tour for his Playstation 3, and immediately taking on all comers in guitar, drums and vocals. The whole family has really enjoyed this gift!

Elise also received a terrific visit from Santa Claus, who left an American Girls doll - Elizabeth - behind.

Kirsten celebrated her 40th (yes) with a tremendous feast - Babette's Feast one could say - at our home, with food provided by Morten Fenger and his wife Rosie. She is looking forward to a new role in nursing in March.

Chris is already enjoying his new role at Vestas, learning lots about wind turbines and power plants - and seeing _less_ of airports and taxicabs.

As the cold and darkness descended this fall, Chris and Espen found a new sport they could play together - SQUASH. In Chris's case, this is a rediscovered sport (some 25 years since Williams!).

We're all looking forward to a happy and healthy 2009!

Autumnal Changes

Lots of news this autumn - Emilia started Choate in September. Mom brought her over, and within weeks Emilia had started rowing crew 5x/week, and singing in two a cappella groups including the prestigious all-girls Whimaways. Dad and Espen visited for Parents Weekend - joined by Grandma and Grandpa, and met by Patricia Mooney and Gus Haracopos.

Emilia's latest: I got my solo - "We Belong" by Pat Benatar. Hope to see your version soon on YouTube!

Espen was excited to see Choate, and is starting to make his own plans. Meanwhile, he's playing soccer (outdoor and indoor), active with Scouts, and has taken up squash with Dad. Espen especially likes Horror - The Ring, The Shining, and The Night Stalker are recent favorites. He also loves Hitchcock, especially Rear Window - though he must be the first person to ever literally fall asleep in the middle of Psycho.

Elise loves First Grade and is busy learning to read and write in two languages! Right now we are reading about Josephina, an American Girl from the 1820s. Elise loves Audrey Hepburn movies - Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's were bit hits this week.

Kirsten has decided - after 3 years in Liver and Upper GI - to take a 6 month rotation and focus on Cardiac Nursing, starting in February.

Chris will leave SAP as of 30 November and join Vestas Wind Systems as Chief Strategist. His role will be to organize the development of the Annual Strategy (product/market strategy), and follow up on the approximately 60 projects per year that come out of that - globally, across all divisions. Dream Job for him, or so it would appear. His new office is nine minutes from home!

Summer in Italy

Two weeks in July found us all in the lemony sunshine of the Mediterranean - one week in Rome, one week on Sardinia. The cleanest, most beautiful water we've ever seen.

August - Elise has lost both of her two front teeth and looks ADORABLE as she starts First Grade.

Emilia is getting ready to start Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT in early September. The Danes have trouble with "Connecticut," so we just say a "state north of New York."

And Espen, now in seventh grade, continues to play soccer and guitar, and has started singing lessons.

Back to Work, Varrone!

All good things must come to an end, and my sabbatical draws to a close. I return to SAP, still based in Copenhagen, on Monday, June 2. Since the last post, Emilia has chosen to attend Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, where she will start ninth grade in September (see photo with fountain). She has also appeared in several plays here in Risskov, notably "Cry Baby," as well as traveling to Rouen, Paris, London, and Amsterdam.

Espen has also been performing, singing and playing guitar (see photo). He will start seventh grade here in August. Elise finished Kindergarten and will start First Grade in August.

Our house remodel is finally done, and looks great. There was a lot of construction along the way.The weather this winter was abysmal - over 100 days of freezing rain, sleet, etc. - but then turned suddenly terrific. Both April and May have been fantastic, even got to the beach several times already. See the difference a few weeks made:

Q1 2008 UPDATE

Chris has been on sabbatical since November 1, and enjoying spending time with family, traveling and noveling.
January - Chris and Elise went to New York, visited Grandma and Grandpa, took in The Lion King on Broadway, and visited American Girls Place in Manhattan, adopted "Julie" a lovely girl from San Francisco in the 1970s.
February - Whole family went skiing in Breckenridge and Vail -- terrific snow! Held brunch at Loews for lots of friends, great to see everyone.











Chris and Espen went to Newcastle to see Manchester United crush the locals 5-1, visited Fraser Birrell (friend from Cambridge who is, like Espen, a big Manchester United supporter), Zoë (not pictured), Niamh and Finn.
March - Emilia received acceptances from three schools: Phillips Exeter (NH), Choate Rosemary Hall (CT - pictured), and Lawrenceville (NJ). Trip to all 3 schools in April will help her decide where to go in September. Emilia not available to comment, as she is now off in Paris with her French class. (Ah, the responsibilities of a 14-year-old...)
Chris and Kirsten went to Rømø, an island off the west coast of Denmark, snug up against Germany. Spent 3 days on the widest beaches in the world, stayed at Roemoe Golf and Wellness (but didn't touch a golf club).

2007 Year In Review

2007 has been a great year. Emilia and Dad got to visit Milan and Riomaggiore in March. Emilia made her Confirmation in May. The whole family got to Barcelona and Languedoc in July. Espen made a 10-day trek on the frost-covered Norwegian plateau in July. Elise and Dad took a trip to Chicago to see the Butters and Iowa to help baptize Baby Johnny.
In September, Emilia and Dad toured Boarding Schools in the Northeast and on the way visited Little Man Elliott in Philadelphia, Grandma and Grandpa in NYC (photo), Prof Kurt Tauber at Williams, and Cousin Ann in Connecticut.

Elise is in school and has been learning to read and write in two languages! (Photo w Elizabeth Butter in Chicago) She especially likes to play with Bratz (the dolls, not the sausage) and Pets. Her favorite game is Buzz! which she wins at constantly, though we're not sure how.







Espen has been lead singer in a rock band called Bat Out of Hell (see photo). They've played four gigs already. He also plays guitar and got an electric guitar for Christmas (very cool).

Emilia made her confirmation this year (see photo), and has been singing and acting. She has applied to Boarding School in the US for Fall 2008. She scored in the 87th percentile on the SSAT - I mean Sorting Hat - so she's hoping for Gryffindor.

Kirsten loves her work in the Liver Dept at Hospital.

Chris has worked for SAP, traveling extensively, through the end of October when he started a 6-month Sabbatical, which he is enjoying immensely. Still working on that novel. (photo with Kurt Tauber in Williamstown)

Chris and Kis went a few rounds in the Sumo ring this year, but are emerging unscathed, and are looking forward to an even more exciting 2008!