Faetter Guf!

A Day in the City with Maja

Axel and I took the train into Copenhagen to hang out with my friend Maja

We found an outdoor playground near the city center

They are doing construction in the middle of town - building a new metro stop

Axel was into the cranes; I marveled at the huge hole in the ground at such a densely populated area

This is about as "bling" as it gets in term of Christmas lights . . .  

(the Danes are a little behind compared to the American when it comes being tacky and over the top)

At Nyhavn

Ice Skating at Christmastime

YAY I finally convinced Axel to skate (though admittedly it was on ice skates not on wheels).  

Thilde was the inspiration.

After a few laps Axel took a "break" so Thilde could give him a ride - super fun!

Watching the Game with Farmor

Farmor and Axel watching the women's handball final

Discussing the plays . . .

GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!

Live Handball

I went to my first live handball game featuring our cousin Anders and - WOW - it was incredible to watch such impressive athleticism!

The game moves really fast and the players jump high into the air to score goals

The score was close - it was a nail biter!

After the game we were greeted by the big star (to us at least)

Axel wasn't as impressed as me, he fell asleep on the floor after five minutes and slept the entire game (blame it on jetlag)

Rollergirl

We tried to take Axel roller skating with the family in Austin but (as usual) he refused to even put on the skates - must to the annoyance his mother.  However, the day was not lost because his cousin Tillie, who was trying out skates for the first time, absolutely fell in love with roller skating

Clearly a new rollergirl was born . . . 

Cousin Love

Axel had THE BEST time with his cousins in Austin when we visited for Thanksgiving

 Building marble shoots

Sharing movies at restaurants

Building toolboxes at the Home Depot workshop

and posing with Santa 

T-Day

Axel completed his annual 1K race on Thanksgiving day, aka the "Turkey Trot". Always worried about race nutrition, he ran the entire race clutching a peanut butter sandwich.

Here he is proudly sporting his "Champion" bracelet. Far was down with a hip injury so he and Axel waited for Mom, Honus, Violet and Molly to finish the 5 mile Turkey Trot.

The app of the day was Temple Run.

After all that activity and pigging out, the day ended with some quality couch time

Jocks Like Us

Getting the family out of the house so that Jackie could make pies turned out to be a very sporty day.  

 Honus challenged Karsten to a tennis match . . . and he made him sweat!

Axel's big goal was to actually hit the ball with the tennis racket - not easy for some of us!

Violet, Honus and Tillie showed off some nice footwork as we all kicked the soccer ball around

And Molly and Tillie tossed the football

Bowling with Cuzzies

Axel demonstrates strength and confidence as he prepares to face his cousins in the family's 2nd annual bowling showdown (never mind the special lightweight ball he was assigned at the counter . . )

Don't let the bumpers fool you - bowling at this level requires firm concentration . . .

With precision focus, and a very cute hat, Tillie winds up for the big one . . .

 . . . and she made it!!

After bowling we went out for brunch - and the teenagers ordered Lattes to "unwind".

Niko-mania

My cousin Amanda from Indiana visited us in San Diego with her son Niko who is exactly Axel's age.  Axel bonded immediately with him, he loved having another kid in the house, and they did so many fun things together that when Niko left, Axel literally cried.

in line at the zoo

riding on the Skyfari (gondala)

poking their heads through the holes at the polar bear exhibit 

Eirelyn, Niko and Axel giving an ape impression

running around in circles together (literally)

taking a bath together

you wash my back, I'll wash yours!  

Balance Bike Skills

Working on those balance bike skills, we will soon be ready for the big bike with pedals . . .

Pizza + Pub = Friday Night

Axel and his buddies out for pizza at the pub on a Friday night:

Pirate Ship Building

Molly has been telling me about the free Home Depot workshops for years and we finally went to one.  Axel had a blast building a toy ship.

 Step One: hammer the nails.

(PS. One important lesson learned: remember to keep looking at the hammer and nail while you work, even though there is a cool forklift machine operating in the background restocking the lumber.)

Step Two: apply generous amounts of paint to the ships masts

Step Three: Assemble the sails, and then, set sail into the open waters!

Trick or Treating

There were a TON of great costumes at our trick-or-treating party this year.  

Karsten made a real effort this year with a homemade ghost costume

Sebastian and Arial were goofing off 

(not pictured was evil Ursula the mom - how did we fall into this theme that moms are the bad guys?).

Peyton's Dragon costume was homemade - wow!

Grandma, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Big Bad Wolf were incredible

 After showing off all our costumes, we got down to business: GET THE CANDY!!

The negotiations become serious and tense during the after-party candy swap . . .  but in the end it all turned out OK and everyone got a sugar high.  

Axel even got a FULL SIZE CANDY BAR (which I thought was a myth - but its true!) 

Angry Bird and Bad Piggy

Meet our hero: the Angry Bird whose eggs have been stolen.  He is out for revenge . . 

Here lies the enemy: the Bad Piggy has stolen the eggs

Now Angry Bird prepares to launch himself at Bad Piggy to create a wake of destruction. . . 

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.