Our week so far...

Good morning! It is a beautiful sunny day in Denmark! The breeze is blowing, the flowers are blooming in the yard...it's lovely. :)


We have had an awesome week so far. On Monday, Joseph and I rode our bikes to the grocery store for the first time. It was really neat. Joseph is learning how to ride in traffic and he has become quite good at maneuvering tight corners. We used our baskets to bring home our loot. We got lots done around the house while the children bounced and bounced on the trampoline.


On Tuesday we took Joseph and Emma to visit their school. They are open all summer with SFO, which is the after school care program. It was really great for the kids to go in and see things. When you go into the school you have to put little blue plastic booties over your shoes to keep the floors clean. The children don't wear shoes inside! It's a really neat and cozy thing for them I think, and of course, the kids think that's super swell. Emma's paedaegog (teacher's assistant) was there working SFO. He took time to show the children around the school and talk to Emma and Joseph. Two little girls, one of which will be in Emma's class, followed us around on our walking tour. They were super cute and seemed quite interested in us. I was unsure of what the kids really thought about it and I still am to a certain extent. But when they both asked on Wednesday when school started and moaned when I said August 9th, I felt pretty good about it. :)

Wednesday we woke up, packed a picnic lunch and the camera, and headed to Sweden for the day. You have no idea how much the idea of traveling to another country in a matter of 40 minutes excites me!!! It was such a thrill! We parked our car at the S-train station and took two different trains to Sweden. The kids nor I have ever been on a train like that before, so that was fun in and of itself! Kasper and I planned a little the night before taking note of the things that we all like to do the best. We learned a lot from our trip to Disney in March/April. The kids were at the most amazing theme park and they wanted to play on the playground. A playground can make our kids' day! Kasper and I love being outside, love to people/culture watch and we love to play too. So, we planned our trip around playgrounds and parks. It was perfect for us!

As soon as we arrived we, of course, had to find the nearest potty. What a shock to have to pay 10 kroner per adult (almost$2 per person) to use the facilities! Kasper was not too pleased, but I, although a little irritated, was amused! We walked through the city of Malmo to a park they had downtown. On the way we saw the shopping and cafe district, the canals, and a cemetery garden that is also a park. So beautiful! We were so impressed when we came to the first playground. It was really big and so nice. There were swings, a slide shaped like a rainbow, rubbery molehills in the ground, climbing ropes with pretend trees, mushroom houses, a tower to climb up inside, a huge sand area with toys provided, lots of kids, and a great spot for our picnic lunch. After we left this awesome park, we walked to another park which was simply gorgeous. It had trails with huge trees, ponds with little bridges and ducks, and a playground of course. We brought old bread from home just in case we found ducks, so it was perfect. The playground at this park was not nearly as cool as the first playground, but the kids still had a blast. It was a neat set up of little houses arranged around a wavy boardwalk. The kids had fun playing games with that for a little while. After hunger set in for the kids (again!), we left there to walk back to the shopping district for ice cream and candy. The kids were quite tired at this point, so we skipped the last playground (which I think was supposed to be the coolest... so, we'll just have to go back!). We headed home on a super busy train where I met people from Seattle and Los Angeles. Neato. Emma and Sam took naps on the train and once we were home, they were geared back up for the trampoline! It was a great day and I loved how incredibly family focused it was. We had no agenda, no need for a rush to or from, and we didn't guilt ourselves even though we didn't get to everything. It was a perfect outing tailored to our needs. Ready for more of these days!
Today we went out to Holbaek to spend the afternoon with Kasper's family. It was so nice and really relaxing. It is a great place to practice my Danish too. Katja is a great teacher! I also feel pretty safe trying to speak it and knowing they won't look at me like I'm an idiot! :) The kids had a blast playing with farmor and farfar's toys (farmor even had new toys!) and they also got to play with their little cousin.
We have some nice plans for the weekend, including a trip to the beach and celebrating a friend's birthday.
But, for now, I need some rest. Good night all. :)