Emily's Trip to Copenhagen

Emily got quite the Christmas gift this year, and it was finally time for her adventure to Europe with Brian! One of her favorite artists, Laufey, was playing in Copenhagen, Denmark, so we splurged on a quick trip for her to go! In true Beach style fashion, they packed A LOT into their 4 day trip and had a blast!

Jet lag is real when you catch an overnight flight to Paris for a long layover and you have to hit the ground running!

Some quick croissants for a pick me up! 

First stop was to check out the Louvre...

Time to travel to the Eiffel tower...

It was a beautiful day (the best weather on the whole trip), and the views were amazing!

There were quite a few McDonald's stops on this trip, but nothing beats the McCafe in Paris!

Next stop was to see the massive Arc de Triomphe before heading back to the airport... 

One last stop for some French creme brulee before catching their flight to Denmark...

Finally at their destination and off to explore Denmark! It was quite a bit more chilly there, but even covered in snow and ice, it looked beautiful!

The ice bath and sauna set-up was a new one for them!

Fueled up with boba and ready to go!

They went to check out the winter views of the popular "King's Garden"... Google makes it sound like quite the place in the summer!

Rosenborg Castle Gardens (Danish: Kongens Have; literally The King's Garden) is the oldest and most visited park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Established in the early 17th century as the private gardens of King Christian IV's Rosenborg Castle, the park also contains several other historical buildings, including Rosenborg Barracks, home to the Royal Guards, as well as a high number of statues and monuments. The park also holds art exhibitions and other events such as concerts in the summer.

Another coffee stop to rest and warm up!

Nyhavn (New Harbor) is a 17th-century waterfront, canal, and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark, famous for its brightly colored townhouses, bars, cafes, and historic wooden ships. Built by King Christian V between 1670 and 1673, it now serves as a major tourist attraction, featuring canal tours and former homes of author Hans Christian Andersen.

Whatever this was, it looked AMAZING!!!!

Located on Slotsholmen in Copenhagen, Christiansborg Palace is the historic center of Danish power, housing the Parliament (Folketing), the Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme Court. Visitors can explore the Royal Reception Rooms, ruins, and the 106-meter tower—Copenhagen's highest—which offers free, panoramic city views.

It was finally time to head to the Royal Arena for the reason for the trip... 

Laufey's, "A Matter of Time" concert! 

The day after the concert, there was no time to rest, as they were off to explore Sweden for the day!

First stop was to fuel with MORE coffee....

Stortorget ("The Big Square") is the oldest public square in Stockholm, located in the heart of GamlaStan (Old Town). Famed for its iconic colorful merchant houses—particularly red, yellow, and orange—it is a central tourist hub hosting the Nobel Prize Museum, the historic Stortorgsbrunnen well, and a renowned Christmas market.

Lilla Torg ("Little Square") is a square in Gamla Staden (the Old Town) in central Malmö, Sweden. It is located right next to Stortorget. There are a number of restaurants around the square and in the summer it is full of people on the outdoor terraces. The municipality used to build a skating rink on the square, but this has now been moved to Stortorget.

Founded in 1841 (185 years ago), the Malmö Art Museum is one of the leading art museums in Scandinavia. The museum building, built in 1937 (89 years ago), is located in the Malmö Castle complex in Malmö, Scania, in southern Sweden. 

A fun trip to the aquarium is always a great way to round out a wonderful trip!

Their last dinner was amazing ramen, and then it was off to start the long journey home the next morning...

This trip was full of amazing memories, and I'm so glad they had an awesome time together!

Ice Storm in the South?!?!?!?

After our non-snow event, it was followed right up with an ice storm, causing school to be cancelled AGAIN... and this time for days! They actually got our forecast right this time...

You know it's a bad ice storm when you can actually skate in the street!!!!

Who knew this ice skater would have the opportunity to enjoy the ice right outside her front door?!?!?!

Winter Fun

Abby had a long winter break, and didn't have to go back to school until mid-January, so we found some fun things to do together... including a day out of eating and shopping in our mini "Paris" village we found near home! It wasn't as big as we thought, but it made a fun memory!

It's hard to say goodbye moving back into the dorm after a month at home...

Emily's desire to learn some Texas Hold 'Em made for some fun poker nights with friends!

I started the new year with some subbing in first grade, and got to be in Bryce's class again!

One of my favorite things about the younger classes is the beautiful artwork and appreciation I get from them! 

Abby came back to celebrate her birthday weekend with her good friend Ellie, whose birthday was just one week later, so we enjoyed celebrating them together...

Abby & Ellie stayed a bit longer than they had planned because we were due for a record snowstorm, and school was cancelled ahead of the event...

However, something weird happened, and the Raleigh area barely got a dusting while the rest of the state got dumped on! It made for some good memes though!

Even Ozzy was ready to get out and play in it :(

We did finally get a little dusting, but it was definitely no record-breaking storm!