Hey guys, remember me?!
I used to be that blogger that would be able to write several blog posts a week and keep up to date with social media. Nowadays I am happy if I am able to write a blog post once a month and share a picture on Instagram once a week!
Oh how times have changed.
But, things are about to change yet again as this past weekend I just finished something that has consumed a large part of my free time these past two years.
I have finished my MBA classes!
Okay, technically I am not COMPLETELY done with my MBA. But, what I am done with is spending every other weekend at school as this past weekend was my last teaching weekend.
Woo hoo, hello freedom on my weekends again!
All that is left in my MBA is finishing off some final projects and enjoying a class trip to Boston next month.
But guys, the end is here, I can’t believe my Viking and I did it.
A throwback to our first day of the MBA. First day of school pictures are a must do tradition in my family so I made the Viking keep it alive with me.
A brief reflection back on these past two years of our MBA studies.
When H and I decided to try and start our family at the same time that we were starting our two year MBA program we definitely thought more than once that we might be a bit crazy taking on two major life changes at once.
Then, on the first day of school one of our professors said to not make any big life changes during our MBA studies…
The following day we got a positive pregnancy test.
Needless to say when we started the MBA program we knew we were in for a crazy two years. And what a crazy two years it has been!
But here we are in our final weeks of the MBA program, my Viking and I didn’t drive each other too crazy in the midst of all our chaos and we have our little Viking enjoying life with us.
We did it!!!
What most of our family picture attempts look like these days ha.
I am not going to sugar coat it though, there were definitely some rough times over these past two years. In fact, at one point H and I thought one of us was going to have to quit the MBA for a year as we struggled to sort out childcare for the few days a month we were in school.
Childcare in Iceland, it is very difficult to find (the waitlist for little H’s daycare he is starting in the Fall is over a year!) and with little family here it felt like our only option was for one of us quitting the MBA for a year. But, with the help of H’s family and my family flying over to babysit the Fall semester, and an incredibly lucky happening of finding a wonderful babysitter who came to our house for the Spring semester, we managed to both complete the MBA.
My grandma who flew all the way over to Iceland to babysit our little man during one of our school weekends. Best family ever!
H and I have been talking a lot lately about these past two years and are already finding ourselves laughing over all the little things that stressed us out.
Just to name a few:
// All the short breaks I spent rushing to the bathroom so I could pump. And the times my pump stopped working at school, those were some fun days. Working mama’s that pump everyday at work you are my heroes!
// Or the times we had to coordinate our MBA meeting’s so that one of us could entertain our little man outside the classroom before we did a switch and the other one rushed in for their meeting. By this point our little Viking has earned at least half an MBA degree himself ;)
// Not to mention the interesting twist it was of us doing the MBA program together, that itself had its ups and downs.
All the extra challenges we had though, it makes me that much more proud of the Viking and I for pushing through and finishing our MBA.
This blurry attempt at a family selfie at our school perfectly describes the crazy, but fun, chaos these past two years have been!
Another big thing is happening this week that I am both very excited, and slightly nervous about.
The little Viking and I are making our first solo adventure to Oregon!
It has been far too long since I have seen my family and I have been counting down the days for my visit since my visitors left me this past Fall.
But first, I have to survive the 8 hour flight with my little man, solo!
Little H’s first flight, back when he was just 6 weeks old! It was much easier then.
Any tips on ways to entertain a curious and busy 10 month old that won’t drive all the other passengers crazy are much appreciated!
To be honest though I am not as worried about how little H will be on the plane as I am on how he will do with the jet lag. It is a 7 hour time difference and we will be taking an evening flight, leaving at 5pm Iceland time and arriving in Oregon at 6pm (1 am Iceland time). Not really a red-eye flight, but definitely during some of the little man’s night time sleeping hours, so I really have no idea what to expect.
Anyone have experience traveling across time zones with their little ones???
Even though I find the idea of an 8 hour plane ride a bit daunting I know it will be all worth it when I am reunited with my family. I haven’t seen many of my family members since last summer, and those that did visit me in Iceland was in the Fall, so this visit is very needed.
I can’t wait for my little man to be reunited with my family, it will make all the hectic traveling worth it.
I am keeping my fingers crossed for some sunny spring weather in Oregon, little H and I are over winter!
So this post is full of random little life things but I just love writing these types of posts. I am so excited to have back some of my freetime to do what I really love, sitting down and writing my stories for my blog.
Hopefully we will see a lot more of each other around here:)
Question of the Day?
Any travel tips for flying across time zones with a 10 month old?? What are some activities to keep a little one entertained on a plane?
Quick side note: This is a post I wrote back in my first year of blogging in 2014, in fact I think this is my first every Iceland tips post! While it is over four years old I feel like it is more relevant than ever with the prices continuing to be on the ride, and some places that used to be free now charging entrance fees. This is an updated version of that post I wrote way back in those fun early days of blogging. Enjoy. 
You can learn more about the tours 
While no longer free the view from Perlan over the city is well worth the 490 ISK (aprx. $4USD) ticket. You can find further information about the observation deck and exhibits at Perlan 
While these ducks love visitors just remember to only say hello and not give them any food;)
Stroll around making your own interpretation of the unique sculptures before heading off to take a picture in front of Hallgrímskirkja church (it is a tourist must do!).
Visit the 
By day Harpa sparkles with reflecting light, and by night the Harpa is lit up with dancing lights. Wander around the building and take in the unique glass architecture while enjoying views overlooking the water and the city. 
If you are looking for a bit more fun while here take a 
Here you will find dozens of booths with a variety of items. From handmade Icelandic knitted wear to books and food, it is a sight to be seen. This is a great place to go look for handmade Icelandic gifts to bring home with you.
From cozy cafe’s to shops filled with beautiful Icelandic design goods you won’t want to miss spending a few hours strolling down Laugavegur. 
Make your picture here even more special and come during the early morning when there are few others around, the sea is nice and calm, and the city is just starting to wake up. It is my favorite time to walk in this area and take in the view!
These 7 places are all about getting somewhere off the beaten path in Iceland, which is becoming a difficult thing to do these days with so many tourist traveling here. If you are planning a trip to Iceland and looking for places to visit that won’t be overcrowded (south coast of Iceland I am talking about you!) add one of these below locations to your itinerary!
Fun fact, the Viking actually lived in northern Iceland for several years when he was little and has a lot of family in the area, even more reason to take our little guy up there for a trip.
Photo via 
When I look back on these past four years I have to admit, I remember a bumpy, bumpy road.
To celebrate these past four adventure filled years in this beautiful country I thought it would be fun to do a roundup of my favorite adventures thus far. 
Oh Brúarfoss, you blue beauty.
It’s gorgeous blue water is just an added bonus. 
Add in the fact that it was -10C outside, and the snow was thigh deep ( and covering the trail we were suppose to follow) and we had all the makings for an interesting adventure.
When I look back on this adventure I don’t remember being cold, or really how pretty the waterfall was, I just remember laughing until I had tears in my eyes and my Viking doing some ninja like moves on the ice trying to get the perfect shot of Kvernufoss.
My first St. Patrick’s Day in Iceland seems like it was just yesterday… 
The next few hours where spent running all over town taking in the Northern Lights from all of my favorite spots in the city. Everything about this night felt like a reminder of how lucky I was to be living in such a beautiful place, and to have met so many wonderful people in my new home. 
You can read the whole story about our experience 
The Westfjords are known for having some of the best hot springs in Iceland, and when we planned 
As my mom would say, H is good for me, he balances me and pushes me, and I have to agree.
I am so glad the Viking put the crazy idea into my head to go glacier hiking. It was an adrenaline rush yet peaceful at the same time as we walked around such a powerful part of nature. 
My Viking planned out an entire day in the Westman Islands with a schedule packed full of the best things this little island has to offer. 
Ya, I got to hold a puffin, and it was EVERYTHING!
Only in Iceland would I enthusiastically plan a 8 hour hiking adventure. 
Sore muscles and all this hike was as amazing as the Viking told me all those years ago. Who is the crazy one now?! 
This trip in a way felt like our last hurrah before we moved into a new phase of life. And we couldn’t of choose a better adventure for it!
Aside from the beauty of this part of Iceland one thing that really stands out to me on this trip is H and I driving around discussing possible baby names. I remember spending most of the trip trying to think of a boy’s name, only to have us give up because we couldn’t come up with any. This was our first sign that we would have a little boy on the way, and that it would take us the entire pregnancy to decide on a name;)
From the care I received during 
If you are anything like me choosing the best accommodation while your traveling can be a bit tricky. And when you have the time pressure added to the mix, well it can make things overwhelming. To help you out with your Iceland accommodation search here is an overview of the different accommodation options you can choose from in Iceland.
4-star countryside Hotel Rangá. Read more about the Viking and I’s stay at this 
Airbnb 
Where can you book summer houses in Iceland? 
The type of accommodation you will find at a farm stay varies from a dormitory style room to a fully furnished cabin. 
Where can you camp at?
The view from our tent on a camping trip in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Like I said, wide open spaces!
Our view from our camping spot in the 
Where can you book mountain huts? 
Let’s end this with the only really important thing you need to rememeber from this long post…
Yet again the fireworks on 
In addition to our NYE celebration these past few weeks have been packed full of holiday fun with our family and friends. It was just what I needed to give me the energy to get through these next few months of the dark winter days.
The Blue Lagoon is a place that I am asked frequently about on whether or not I would recommend visiting there. 
Side note: we had the hardest time getting a decent picture in the lagoon with our iPhones. Every picture we took had a bit of a blur to it, so after just a few minutes we decided to give up and put our phones away to just enjoy our time. Once our phone was away we quickly realized how almost everyone around us was on their phones the whole time trying to get a picture. Now I am all for capturing the moment (blogger here, I get it!) but just wanted to say a friendly reminder to not forget to put the phone away and enjoy the moment with those around you, and not your screen;) 
I think we will be more than busy next Christmas with him.
Like most people, I was really dreading the end of the holiday fun and the long month of January. 
I won’t break it to him just yet that he lives in Iceland and likely has months of winter to go before he will see signs of spring and the leaves will make an appearance;)
Little man was pretty into the reading if he got to hold the book, and he quickly became fixated on a little four year old girl who kept coming over to talk to him. I deemed our first new adventure of the year a success.