Snowstorm

We had a snowstorm covering half of Denmark in snow last night. When we came out in the morning. Drifts had formed huge hills in the back yard and on the roof.

School was out and Ellen and I was unable to go to work. We had a fun day playing with the kids in the snow.

Fastelavn er mit navn

The kids dressed up for Fastelavn the other day. This is what they looked like.

Branäs

We had a great time in Sweden. Everybody went skiing. Rita, Axel and Erik really got the hang of it. It didn't take them long to master the slopes. Ellen did her best to keep up with them. I didn't do any down hill but went cross country instead. The winter filled landscape was breathtaking.





In the unlikely case that the slide show doesn't work try this link. (has worked on the 4/5 of the computers tested) :-)

29-17

Way to go Colts. Superbowl XLI began 0.30 AM Danish time and ended 4 AM. We watched it and had a great time. Click on the picture to see more pictures. 

Fun stuff

What do you think if this? Try out Heritage.com. On one of the first tries Axel came up looking like Jesse Jackson and Snoop Dog!

Stormy weather

I must have overlooked this picture. It's from a couple of weeks ago when a tremendous storm roamed over Denmark. We went to the beach just for the experience. 

One Day

Finally winter - or almost. We had one day of snow. I didn't take long for Axel and Rita to get out and play. To day it rained. So basically it was one day of winter.

Still waiting for the last details in the bathroom, so no picture yet. 

Home from work

Took this picture when I walked to the metro after work yesterday. It was an awesome sunset over the harbor. Bathroom is still not done. Hopefully it will be tomorrow. 

While waiting

While waiting for the floor to dry Rita made this drawing at preschool. In Rita's words it shows how to fix the bathroom.

 

48 hours

Thursday, we put up new ceiling with inlaid lamps and laid tiles on the floor. The glue has to dry for 48 hours before we can walk and the floor, so it's going to be interesting to see if I get the toilet and zink in on Sunday.
In the beginning of the week I was certain I would be done by Wednesday! 

Young helper

A little help is always welcome. Wednesday we painted and Erik helped. He only had good clothes he argued, so he had to swing the roll topless. The main color is a greyish blue depending on the light. We will make a border around the room in a darker blue once the paint is done drying.

 

Patience

Things take time. Tuesday I only managed to put up wallpaper. It had to dry for 12 hours before painting! In the meantime I put up new outdoor lamps amongst other things. 

Small chores

I had an extra week of vacation which we decided should be spend doing "small" chores around the house. For one we really wanted to do something about the little restroom downstairs. This is how it has progressed so far.


Monday we stripped all the wallpaper and removed all the appliances. The kids panicked when I turned of the water in the house. I had to wait until they all had used the restroom at least once. The water is on now. But we only have the room upstairs. 

Beating them all

At church all the small children carried the gifts to the priest. There were so many that Rita didn't get to carry anything. She wasn't happy about it at all. So when it was time for Communion, Rita just had to be the first. She pushed Ellen to the side and made her way in to the alley and ran to Fr. Leo to get her blessing!

Thanks Uncle Paul

Uncle Paul gave Erik the Enterprise and 2 Klingon spaceships for Christmas. We've never had a model this challenging. It involves soldering and a higher degree in enginering. The spaceships are wired with microscopic fiber optic cables. The cables will light all the windows and engines on the spaceship. It's very cool. Hopefully we connect all the cables correctly. We will post a picture once far is done with the finer details :-)

Great gifts

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas. The tree was beautiful. The company great. We had wonderful food - both goose and roast pork. This year all the caramelised potatoes were eaten. I guess the children have come to like them like the rest of us. We all enjoyed our presents. There were plenty for all of us. Axel was quick to figure out his mobile phone and made this video of our dancing around the Christmas tree. You can see it here.

I know it's small - still searching for a good format for compression that all can view.

The finest Christmas tree ever

The trees at our usual plantation had grown. The trees that last year was 7 to 8 feet were now 10 to 12. After a lot of gazing in the air after the top of the trees, the Nordic lumber jacks got the finest tree ever.

Shoppinglist

We usually have a shopping list lying on the kitchen table. Yesterday we found an entry that was not from Ellen or me.

It turned out Rita was the author. She thought we needed "chocolate"!

Christmas traditions

It's not figgy pudding - but the setting of a great family tradition. Today we had Felicia, Edith, Merete and Farmor og Baba over to make Christmas candy. We rolled marcipan, dipped chocolates and mixed nuts. Ellen made her world famous bourbon balls. Yummy! 

Santa Lucia

In Ritas preschool they celebrated Santa Lucia last week. Rita was a very beautiful maiden. It was very special to see all the candles and hear their singing. We made a small video of the parade. You can see it here:
http://users.cybercity.dk/~dsl95374/NVEExport.0004.avi

Great visit

Conny and Elly-Britt visited us this weekend. The house now smells wonderfully of the gingerbread house Elly-Britt had made for the children. Let's see if it last until Christmas.

 

What a birthday

39! What a birthday. According to tradition the morning brought both birthday song, fresh baked bread rolls and gifts. Rita was the most excited of all of us. Erik had made me a coat hanger.


In the evening we had sushi! I've wanted to introduce the kids to it for a long time. The boys tasted and sampled it all. Rita just drank soda!

Book show

We went to visit the annual book show in Copenhagen yesterday. The show presents an opportunity to meet authors and view the newest titles on books in print.

The kids were really excited to meet the blind Danish story teller - Rune T. Kidde. He mesmerised all 3 with his new interpretation of The little red riding hood.

After the presentation Erik got the authors autograph!














At the museum workshop Erik, Rita and Axel had the opportunity to write with paper quill and ink. Rita is getting quite good to write her own name. 

Weekend activities

Axel on scout camp and Rita ready to do gymnastics for a group of Germans from our Danish friendship city.