Denmark + Grandma > Mom

Dan and I went to Denmark. Just the two of us. Those kids who keep following us around and racking up our grocery bill and leaving all of the doors open and all of the hot air inside and who can never find a single shoe were not allowed to come. We broke away like bandits, and we almost never came back. 

Aside from one 48-hour trip, we have never left our kids. And this was for a full week. Grandma Sandy came because she is brave and strong and too nice for her own good.

Some of the things we saw:

The Denmark Copenhagen Temple. It. Was. Closed. The whole time we were there. I was devastated. Dan and I both have ancestors from Denmark and how cool would it have been to do temple work in the land of our ancestors. But alas, it wasn't meant to be. 

We stumbled across Kierkegaard's grave, totally by accident.

We biked an hour to find one of the Forgotten Giants on the outskirts of Copenhagen. 

I'm sure you think the Giant is amazing, but the part of that sentence that should have really shocked you is that we biked for an hour. Everyone bikes in Copenhagen, and it was scary! So many bikes AND so many cars. Dan rode a bike on his mission, so he was fine. I wanted to ding my bell the entire time I was riding--HERE I AM COME GET OUT OF MY WAY I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING! I fell once and knocked over a construction barrier. Dan was way ahead of me and heard the crash and tried to come back to help me, but a nice Danish man got to me first and kept asking if I were okay. 

Dan reassured me that "everyone falls when riding a bike--everyone!!" I wanted to believe him. And then I felt better when I saw another woman fall later that day. But then she started speaking--and she was an American too. Danes do not fall. I saw a woman scrolling through her Insta while riding through a busy intersection like it was nothing. It was amazing.

We met up with a Danish elder who served in Romania, and we had such a grand time catching up. He took us to the Vor Frue chapel where the original Thorvaldsen Christus statue is. Also at this chapel are statues of the 12 apostles, including Peter holding the keys to the priesthood. If you want to read a cool story about this statue, go HERE.

We went to castles and cathedrals. We learned a lot about Christian IV, whose statue Dan poses with below. Dan doesn't understand my desire to travel. Then I get him to finally go, and he won't stop learning and asking questions the whole time. The man loves history. The man loves bugging tour guides. 

At Roskilde Cathedral, where all of the Danish royals are buried.

Cronus eating one of his babies. Dan is grossed out that he didn't at least use some ketchup. Dan loves ketchup.

The Viking Museum. I felt a leeetle bad that the kids and I studied Vikings this year, and they were way more into it than I was, and then I was able to go to the Viking Museum and see actual Viking ships, and the kids didn't. But not really that bad. Neener, neener kiddos!

We are on top of Kronberg, or castle setting of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Look at this close-up. I am a Far Side character.

We ate lots, slept lots, walked lots, biked lots (perhaps too much, in my opinion), and talked lots. It was so nice to be with my husband and to just have fun. No budget talks, no disciplining children, no alarms. 

Meanwhile, my mom had her full share of kids and fighting to deal with, and she handled it in her saintly way. When we arrived back home, I asked Gwen how the boys were while we were gone. She gave me a thumbs-down, which is how I figured it would be. Poor Grandma Sandy!

The kids had the time of their lives. Ice cream outings every day! Trips to the park and library! Movies with Grandma. They didn't miss us one bit and barely looked up at us when we got back. However, when Grandma Sandy left the next day, there were major tears. And when they were reunited with Gilbert (who had been staying with a friend), they were so excited. Dan and I know where we stand. 

Pics from time with Grandma Sandy:

When we got back, Harris asked me the very serious question-

"Mom, why are grandmas so much more fun than moms?"

I know, Harris, I know.

Other stuff:

Gwen had her big recital a couple of days ago, and she did well! No more practicing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!" Hurray!

She received two awards--one for practicing 200 consecutive days and one for passing off a Suzuki book within a year.

Nerds Unite!

By the way, when we got back to the Newark airport, there was our car with a flat tire. We get more flat tires than anyone I know. We met over a flat tire. I tell myself that it is heaven's way of reminding us our sweet meeting. Why couldn't we have met over something like tons of money or on a plane to Hawaii or in a chocolate store?

The End.