Team Building Trips and Super Best Tour

http://www.superbest.dk/

Yesterday, I met with 30 other women from the PTA at CIS (Copenhagen International School). The New Comers group had organized a tour at the Hellerup Super Best, a grocery store similar to a Harris Teeter or Kroger. Although I have been in Denmark for 8 months now and can get around pretty well in the grocery stores, it was still very informative and I learned many new things about the food products here. An hour before the tour, all of us ladies met for a coffee and got to know one another, which was really nice.

The grocery store manager, Rasmus (I had a cat with the same name years ago), spoke to us about food locations and availability but also told us that his store offers the most American products. I already knew that as I had stopped in months ago and found Betty Crocker cake mixes and Pop Tarts...something that made my family very happy!! It's the little things, the familiar things, that keep us from being too homesick. I left there with 2 very nice goodie bags full of food: 2 loaves of fresh baked bread, smoothies, crackers, apples, granola bars and other items as well as a 50 DKK gift certificate for the next shopping trip and a bottle of wine!! Hello!! The Danes are extremely generous with their goodie bags! I also filled up 2 more bags with things I needed plus several cake, brownie and cookie mixes...the boys ought to be happy!

This morning both Corey and Cameron left for an over night trip to different places to work on team building skills, cooperation, and mutual respect among their peers, as well as it being a learning adventure. Corey's class traveled to Kalundborg and will be doing a ropes course at Kragerup Gods in Ruds Veby. It looks like tons of FUN! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lLDU0oEgtg&feature=youtu.be


Cameron went in another direction, towards Malmo, Sweden to Foteviken in Höllviken. His class will be staying at the Viking Reserve where they will dress, eat and sleep like the Vikings. I would love to be secretly watching from afar as I can only imagine how tough the life of a Viking will be for some, even for just over night!! Here is a video from youtube showing the area. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlT8tIQ9Qjo&feature=youtu.be
The location looks fabulous and I bet they both have a great time!! I will use this time to create and sew my crafts!!

Sand Sculpture Festival at Ofelia Beach

Last week was a busy week with the start of school underway. Both Corey and Cameron are enjoying their classes, teachers and their classmates this year. Both of the boys are taking Spanish and Danish so we will be a multilingual family soon! Corey is a freshman at the senior high campus in Østerbro, in central Copenhagen while Cameron is in 7th grade at the Hellerup campus. Even though they are at different campuses they still ride the train together part of the way.

The PTA had the Back to School coffee last week and invited me to set up a table to sell the reusable lunch bags that I have been making. Since Denmark is a very environmentally conscious country, I wanted to make something to replace the use of the plastic and ziploc bags that fill up landfills and are expensive to use. I took orders during the coffee and did very well. I have been sewing just about every day as well as crafting many things to sell on my website and at a Christmas fair that I was invited to. Keeping busy!!

However, as busy as we have been, we managed to squeeze in a fun afternoon at Ofelia Beach where many sand sculptures were on display. The Ofelia Beach Sand-sculpture event is among the biggest in Europe. Amalienborg Palace (where the Royal Family lives, sometimes) and the Opera House were the setting of some impressive sand-sculptures, up to 50 meters long. They were beautiful!! The following pictures were taken there...enjoy!!

Life: The Beginning...

Cellular DNA --- life in the sea

Life in the Sea---Birth of Man

Prehistoric times

His facial features were amazing!! 

When dinosaurs roamed the land

Egyptian times...

Old Greece

When there were God's...

The Middle Ages

The discovery that the Earth wasn't flat but round...

The chains?? Meaning the battle over and acceptance that the Earth was round??

Growth-from the earliest of civilizations living in caves and huts to the building of sky scrapers...

 Amalienborg Palace is in the background and to the left in this photo. This is where the royal family lives in the fall and winter months. More on that later...

The Industrial Revolution

Bicycles, trains, planes, and the invention on the Model T and mass production...

Not sure what the meaning of this sculpture was, but I loved the mermaid and the man's detailed facial features!

50 Shades of Grey??

Randell is telling the boys to cover their eyes...LOL

Loved this Viking sculpture!!

His face was amazing!

People had thrown coins into this sculpture...

Soccer is extremely popular here!! The Opera House in the background.

This little girl wanted to be in the picture...LOL 

Randell and I playing in the sand!!

We Celebrated our Wedding Anniversary Copenhagen Style

Randell and I celebrated our anniversary this week, our first, here in Denmark. We decided that instead of the usual cards and gifts, we would surprise each other in the activities we chose to do. We took the train into the city, where my surprises awaited....

We started with a delicious and very romantic Italian dinner at the oldest Italian restaurant in Copenhagen. It is the Ristorante Italiano with both indoor and outdoor seating. I chose the outdoor seating as it reminded me of the outdoor cafes that one would see along the streets of Italy. 

We had a lovely dinner and sipped some wine all the while enjoying the guitar, singers and accordion players. The waiters were wonderful and very attentive. At the end of dinner, the waiters wished us a Happy Anniversary by bringing us 3 complimentary fresh made sorbets for dessert. Yummy...they were light and very refreshing.

When we finished, it was on to the next surprise, one that I had been excited about experiencing and seeing Randell's reaction to it!! Fish Kiss is a brand new spa in Copenhagen and one that uses tiny carp in fish tanks to give pedicures and manicures. The day that I discovered Fish Kiss, I was with my friend Micki and we saw several men in the front window with their feet in fish tanks...we had to go in and find out what it was all about.

You sit in a chair and immerse your feet into the tank for 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.

The little carp eat your dead skin cells and leave your feet silky smooth!!

My feet and legs :o)

Randell was surprised to say the least. We laughed as the fish tickled us and after getting used to it, relaxed and enjoyed this very odd style of pampering!! I have to confess, as strange as it was, I would do it all over again, even on a weekly basis. It wasn't expensive and those little fish made my skin and feet so soft!! Randell loved my surprises but now it was time for him to surprise me!!

We took the train to Tivoli, the amusement park in the city of Copenhagen. Using our season passes, we entered and went to this place called "Simply Chocolate Sticks". The concept was really interesting and the results were delicious. First you choose 5 pieces of fruit that are put on a stick. The choices are strawberries, banannas, marshmallows and licorice(LOL...not fruits), pineapple, mango, and papaya. Secondly, you decide which kind of chocolate you want the stick dipped into. The choices are dark, milk, and white chocolates. Finally, you decide what you want to top the stick with. There were about 6-8 choices, from hazelnuts, to plain coconut flakes and many different flavored coconut flakes. Once your masterpiece is created, it is set under a cold fan that cools and hardens the chocolate. 

When the sticks were ready to eat, we took them to the gardens and took a beautiful stroll as the day faded away and the lights in the gardens lit everything up...Beautiful!! We rode the roller coaster and the Golden Tower which is one of those "drop zone" kind of rides :o) I have a terrible fear of heights and Randell has been asking me to ride the Golden Tower with him ever since moving here. I finally decided to do it and surprised him by leading him over to the ride. It was fantastic and we had a fabulous anniversary!!

Fish Kisses

I met my friend Micki in Copenhagen today at our favorite coffee shop. We met for lunch and coffee and had a lot to catch up on since we hadn't talked since before we left for the US!!

I had a hen salad sandwich, and veggies. Danish sandwiches are usually open-faced and eaten with a fork and knife. They do make the best vanilla lattes...sorry Starbucks!!

Afterwards, we walked around the streets and checked out some of the shops. We passed little street cafes, one, an Italian cafe had the best smelling aromas, little candles on the outdoor tables and a man playing lovely music on his guitar...it was very romantic. 

I mentioned to Micki that Randell and I will be celebrating our anniversary on the 14th and what a lovely way it would be to spend our "date night" at a little romantic cafe...then, we saw THIS!!! 

The name in itself was intriguing....We had to go in and investigate...it is a unique spa treatment where you soak your feet in the pool of water and tiny carp fishes "clean" your tootsies. They say it is better than a pedicure treatment as the little fish can get in places that a pedicure scrub can't. Personally, I think it would be fun to have my toes tickled by little fish!!

Soooo...now I have the perfect surprise for my anniversary gift to Randell...a gift like no other...Fish Kisses!!

Summer Fun in the States: South Carolina & New Mexico Bound

Towards the end of June, Randell headed back to Denmark after having enjoyed his 10 day visit to the states. 

The first few days of July were spent with friends in the beautiful state of South Carolina. Cameron and I made the trip while Corey headed out to New Mexico for his Philmont Boy Scout trek.

 Cameron and I visited my friend Holly and arrived at her farm where she had organized a small cookout with some of our SC girlfriends (letterboxing friends). It was so nice to see everyone and have the time to visit and catch up and of course there was some letterboxing to do. Afterwards, we relaxed in the river, soaking our feet on a very hot afternoon while the boys tubed, splashed and played in the water.

These guys were funny to watch & they were always hanging out together!

Joy and Holly

Joy, Holly, Paula and Amy~chillin' in the river

Sean and Cameron floating down the river

It was so HOT...everyone was cooling off!!

Lou is looking for pretty river rocks

"...but Mom, mud baths are good for the complexion!!"

Cameron and Sean settling in for some late night TV...

While the boys watched TV, there was more letterboxing to do...this time, night boxing!!!

Holly and Renee

The following day, we letterboxed all around Pickens and Greeneville SC before heading back to NC. It was a short visit but a great one, packed with fun friends and fun times. Cameron and Sean had a great time together too. Thanks for the down home, country hospitality Holly, Sean and Glen. You all are awesome!!