What we do on Thursdays

As soon as school is done for the day, we like to take the boys out. Sometimes we go down to Drammen, like when we went to see the new library they'd opened. Other times we check out the local area here in Konnerud. Last night, we went to see Joakim play soccer and stayed for a while afterwards to kick the ball around with the boys. We also like going for walks in the forest, and occasionally we drop in and visit family. We do stay home some afternoons, and simply hang out and watch a movie, or jump on the trampoline with the kiddies.

Having these afternoons and evenings to do with what we please is such a change from last school year, when Christopher often had to spend hours on homework each afternoon and evening. Not to mention the lovely PowerPoint presentations that always seemed to be due on a Monday, meaning another weekend gone. I blame any wrinkles and grey hair solely on Christopher's workload last year, and the stress of fighting with him to complete it.

That is exactly why we are now trying to seize every opportunity to head out in the afternoon and early evening, and are truly relishing this new found freedom.

Except every other Thursday. On those days you will not find us venturing far from our house. No matter what might be happening elsewhere, we have to stay at home. In case of an emergency, only one person can go out, the other must stay home with the kids. "Why?" you might ask. Because every other Thursday night is Ice Cream night. That's when the ice cream truck comes to visit.

As soon as we hear that telltale bell, the kids and I rush out to stop the driver from leaving again. Not that we really need to worry. With our track record, the ice cream truck now stops directly in front of our house. Clearly, he knows where the VIP customers reside. You can almost see him rubbing his hands in gleeful delight as we come charging down the walkway towards him, money in hand.

We buy boxes and boxes of ice cream cones, ice cream sandwiches and popsicles in the hopes that they might last us the next fortnight. I prefer not to think about the amount of ice cream we actually consume in a week.

The very first Ice Cream Thursday we were here, we bought what I thought was a respectable amount of ice cream sure to last us the next two weeks. Boy, was I wrong! One visit from the cousins the next day, and we were almost out. The boys had gone to town in our freezer.

I lamented to my father about the ice cream shortage and my miscalculation, and that's when he confided in me that there is in fact ANOTHER ice cream truck, which comes every other Wednesday. "Why," I wondered, "had I not been told about this other ice cream truck previously?" Well, apparently not all ice cream manufacturers are equal, and my family has a favourite...

You probably know where I am going with this one already - not being connoisseurs of ice cream, we are happy to take any brand. Until one company offers us frequent buyer points or the volume discount we so clearly deserve, we are loyalty-less! That's why we now have ice cream trucks stopping in front of our house on Thursday one week and then on Wednesday the following week.