1st day of school here in our town.
The 4 oldest happily hopped in the car this morning for their drive to their bilingual school. (Finnish/English)
It felt good to see them all happy and excited about going. Excited about seeing their friends again after a busy summer. Our oldest is starting 7th grade, meaning she's going to a different school for kids grade 7 to 9. It's smart to keep those ages separate from the rest of the world, I think (age 13 to 16), as this might be some of the hardest years in a kids life. She'll be with all the same kids from her old class, so everything isn't new, but many things will be different, and some new subjects will be added to her schedule. Good luck #1, you get to try everything 1st!!
A year ago they were a lot more nervous going to a new school in a new country for the 1st time. Now they know a lot more of the language, they have friends and things have become familiar. My hubby stuck around for a bit when he dropped them off, to see if anyone needed help finding their way, but after a few minutes he realized he had been left in the dust as the 4 of them all went on their merry way!
Good luck to all of you! Have a great 2nd year of school in this new country of ours...
For the 3 at home I have some plans too. Our youngest will be at home with me for now, he's not even 2 and I can't imagine leaving him with some stranger :( but for the 2 girls, who are 5½ and almost 4, I really feel they need to learn Finnish. And it won't come from me!! So, we have signed them up for ½ days, alternating 2 or 3 days a week, starting in a month or so, at a daycare nearby! They are very excited, and I'm excited for them! 1st time for both of them to do anything away from home and mom! At their ages I bet they'll catch on fast with the language, which will make it so much easier for them to get to know new friends in various situations! (and then they can teach me a word or two!!) Good luck to them as well!
Hubby is keeping busy around our house, trying to get the outside done, as well as some attic stuff. He's also working with his brothers, and they have many things going on, so he won't be bored any time soon!!
Little Guy LOVES being outside with my husband, watching him work. How can a dad get any cooler than working with loud tools, climbing on ladders and building things with his hands?
So what am I doing?? The same as usual. Keeping the fort down. Making sure everything is in order at home and at school. I'm getting more and more boxes out of the way, and soon I can get started on the boxes that we haven't touched since moving overseas last year! I bet a lot will end up in my donation stash, as I after a year in an apartment have come to realize how little you need to "survive"! Of course there are many neat things I will want to keep as well, so it might be kind of fun going through it all! A trip to IKEA is definitely a must. I need more bookshelves and cabinets in order for me to properly organize anything from outdoor clothes, games and books and art stuff as well as our nice china... What else? I'm considering continuing Finn class in the fall, but we'll see how it fits in with our busy schedule!!
Well, I did get a new camera too btw, so soon I'll post some more pictures as well! Tudelu till then!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Our town!!
Summer is pretty much done around here. The kids are going back to school on Tuesday after enjoying a summer break that started in early June. It's been busy and the time has most definitely gone in fast forward speed. We have enjoyed a lot of visitors. Our oldest daughter got to try her wings when she went to Sweden by herself for a month in June-July. We moved. We are getting organized. We became catowners of 2 sweet kittens. Our last summer visitor left yesterday, and for the 1st time in a LONG time we sat down for a family dinner consisting of just us!!
I feel a bit "sadish" about saying farewell to our 2nd summer here in Finland. We might still have some warm days, but when school starts, things go back to normal, and hitting the beach won't be as easy. I'm thankful that we took the opportunities to go to the beach as often as we could thou!! We have enjoyed the lakes, saunas, nature, berrypicking, park and harbor visits, and many visits to the "Hiekkalinna" = "Sandcastle". This is an annual tradition that this city is becoming known for. They rebuild the sandsculptures each year, each time showing a different theme. This year it's "Circus" (I feel at home there). There are lots of things to do there; sandsculptures to look at, a huge sandbox for the little ones to play in, a mini town to play in, free rides and little snack and ice-cream booths to go to for refreshments. This year they also had the obstacle course that our 3 oldest went on. Well you have to move forward by your own strength and balance and courage, and they really liked it!! Big Guy went too, and it was funny to see him balancing his way across the obstacles right after our 3rd daughter who's about half his size!!
I'm becoming a big fan of our town. It's a family friendly place, and there are many things to do, for free, in an uncrowded, safe environment. Here are some pictures from this summer that show you some of the fun we have had!
I feel a bit "sadish" about saying farewell to our 2nd summer here in Finland. We might still have some warm days, but when school starts, things go back to normal, and hitting the beach won't be as easy. I'm thankful that we took the opportunities to go to the beach as often as we could thou!! We have enjoyed the lakes, saunas, nature, berrypicking, park and harbor visits, and many visits to the "Hiekkalinna" = "Sandcastle". This is an annual tradition that this city is becoming known for. They rebuild the sandsculptures each year, each time showing a different theme. This year it's "Circus" (I feel at home there). There are lots of things to do there; sandsculptures to look at, a huge sandbox for the little ones to play in, a mini town to play in, free rides and little snack and ice-cream booths to go to for refreshments. This year they also had the obstacle course that our 3 oldest went on. Well you have to move forward by your own strength and balance and courage, and they really liked it!! Big Guy went too, and it was funny to see him balancing his way across the obstacles right after our 3rd daughter who's about half his size!!
I'm becoming a big fan of our town. It's a family friendly place, and there are many things to do, for free, in an uncrowded, safe environment. Here are some pictures from this summer that show you some of the fun we have had!
Here's Big Guy balancing his way across the 1st part of the course.
Our oldest is slipping on the barrels!
Sandsculpture
#4 on one of the free rides!!
More sculptures....
Part of the little play town, the little kids have so much fun playing in all these houses. There's coloring stuff, play kitchen toys, and in one there are a bunch of those balls that kids love to roll around in.
Making their way across!! Many meters above ground.
I don't know how they dare...
Big Guy getting a good work out! He said he was beat after finishing the course!!
At our friends cottage where we had saunas and jumped in the lake!! Our kids LOVE this activity!
Sauna, lake, sauna, lake....
At our beautiful harbor downtown.
At the downtown beach. Across the lake is the harbor and sandcastle park.
The greatest part of this beach is the super nice playground that's situated right on it!!
Big Guy and #3 on the obstacle course!! A bit of a size difference!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Visitors, Birthday and Getting organized
Today our overseas visitors left to head back home. It's with sad hearts we saw them leave, but with happy memories sharing the space. We had such a great time together, and got to do many fun things. Our 2nd oldest and her BFF had a packed schedule, including shopping, swimming in the lake, taking saunas, picking berries, visiting with friends, going through an obstacle course and last but not least, the highlight of the trip, "Horsebackriding!!" They even got to try galloping a bit! After a few hours on the horsebacks, they came home with huge smiles on their faces. I'm so happy everything went so well, and now we wish them a safe trip back home to Michigan! A special thank you to BFF's aunt who made this trip possible. It was a pleasure to have you here, and our door will always remain open for you! Thanks for all the help as well, our Little Guy talked about you this morning! We will miss you both for a long time!
Our 4th girl turned 8!!!
Happy B-day dear "S"!! I'm looking back to the day you were born, and I still marvel over the fact that you decided to enter this world 10 days early, and not the same amount of days past due, like your older sisters did!! This made my pregnancy 3 weeks shorter, and I'm still thankful for that. My water broke at midnight, after an evening spent with lots of friends over at our house. I had seen my Dr the same day, and he figured this baby would follow my previous babies patteren, so he was pretty surprised to see me in the hospital hall about 12 hours after my appointment!! At 6.13 am our 4th little girl was born, weighing 6.13!! She was born on my older sisters 30th birthday, so we named her after my sister. This new addition was a quiet and content little soul, and that sure made our lives easier when our 3rd daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, only 3 months after our baby's birth. Our lives became increadibly busy, it felt like we had twins!!
The 1st year of #4's life is a blur to me, but from all the pictures we have saved, I can see "S" smiling, looking content and happy. She could sit, or lay, and play with toys for long stretches, this I do remember, since she was our 1st baby to do that! By 10 months she still didn't show any interest in crawling or walking, so I figured she'd be a bit later than average, but soon I discovered that when this lady puts her mind to something, she gets stuff done!!! So shortly after her 1st birthday she was walking.
She was the same way when it was time to learn how to talk. At 21 months she didn't say much, but by 2 years old, she spoke in scentences!! And that's the way she is. She's not in a hurry to be 1st, but when she wants to do or learn something, she gets the job done fast! We love having her as a part of our loud gang, just like all the rest of them, and I wish her a blessed year as an 8 year old! We all love you so much! xoxo
What else?? Well, this house is getting more and more livable for each day. My hubby and I have both been busy cleaning and organizing. Today I'm tackling some windows in the foyer, there are 8 of them, but they are tall and skinny so they go pretty fast. I WILL get a camera soon.... then I'll post some pictures. Here are a few that our visitor downloaded on our computer....
Our 4th girl turned 8!!!
Happy B-day dear "S"!! I'm looking back to the day you were born, and I still marvel over the fact that you decided to enter this world 10 days early, and not the same amount of days past due, like your older sisters did!! This made my pregnancy 3 weeks shorter, and I'm still thankful for that. My water broke at midnight, after an evening spent with lots of friends over at our house. I had seen my Dr the same day, and he figured this baby would follow my previous babies patteren, so he was pretty surprised to see me in the hospital hall about 12 hours after my appointment!! At 6.13 am our 4th little girl was born, weighing 6.13!! She was born on my older sisters 30th birthday, so we named her after my sister. This new addition was a quiet and content little soul, and that sure made our lives easier when our 3rd daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, only 3 months after our baby's birth. Our lives became increadibly busy, it felt like we had twins!!
The 1st year of #4's life is a blur to me, but from all the pictures we have saved, I can see "S" smiling, looking content and happy. She could sit, or lay, and play with toys for long stretches, this I do remember, since she was our 1st baby to do that! By 10 months she still didn't show any interest in crawling or walking, so I figured she'd be a bit later than average, but soon I discovered that when this lady puts her mind to something, she gets stuff done!!! So shortly after her 1st birthday she was walking.
She was the same way when it was time to learn how to talk. At 21 months she didn't say much, but by 2 years old, she spoke in scentences!! And that's the way she is. She's not in a hurry to be 1st, but when she wants to do or learn something, she gets the job done fast! We love having her as a part of our loud gang, just like all the rest of them, and I wish her a blessed year as an 8 year old! We all love you so much! xoxo
What else?? Well, this house is getting more and more livable for each day. My hubby and I have both been busy cleaning and organizing. Today I'm tackling some windows in the foyer, there are 8 of them, but they are tall and skinny so they go pretty fast. I WILL get a camera soon.... then I'll post some pictures. Here are a few that our visitor downloaded on our computer....
BFF's in the woods
A beautiful evening spent at our friends cottage. Swimming, sauna and good food.
Making a birthday cake!
Pink marzipane for the birthday girl!
(Good job big sister who made the cake!)
Obstacle course
This is high up in the air!
Our lovely kitchen (messy as usual...)
Livingroom
Horseback riding!
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thankful
I'm sitting up late as usual, letting my thoughts trail in whatever directions they decide to take off. During the day my mind is so occupied with the busyness of running this show as smoothly as possible... so it's nice to have some alonetime to think and reflect.
I don't feel that I have had enough time to reflect for a while now... like for the last 15 years?? Being a mom of 1, 2 or more kids changes your life, and my mind is most of the time cought up in the care of our 7. We plan, we prepare, we act. In small ways and big ways.
This last year has been so increadilby full of happenings, that I truly feel I could write a book about it! And as I take a second to look back, I realize how good it's been, and how much I have to be thankful for. It's so easy to take for granted all the good in life, but every now and then something reminds you of how much you have to be thankful for.
The fact that me and my whole famliy is reasonable healthy, that we are safe and happy. How easy to take it all for granted.
This past week many, many young people lost their lives at the hands of a sick man, in Oslo, Norway. My niece was a very short distance away from where the bomb went off in down-town Oslo. She is unharmed and made it back to her hometown safe and sound, but severly shocked.
I'm thankful that she's OK, and also that I live in a safe country where on a regular basis I should have nothing to fear. It's scary though how these attacks are becoming more common, also in areas of the world where you normally don't have to worry. I pray that I will always will be prepared, and never unprepared to face whatever might come, that way I don't have to be scared or live in fear.
We are all enjoying our new house so much, and tomorrow my brother with wife and little son are coming for a visit all the way from the US westcoast! Also our 2nd oldest daughter's BFF and her great aunt will be arriving from Michigan!! How wonderful to have family and friends come to visit us from way over there! I'm excited to show our house to them all, but mostly I'm excited to let them see how well we are doing and how happy we are here! Moving across the ocean and starting all over is a huge step, and to hop on the next flight back is not an option, so being happy and content here is something we are very thankful for.
I'm looking forward to spend another year here, and to see what excitement it will bring! My personal goal is to strengthen my Finnish! I feel like my brain has finally landed and that I have a bit more energy to focus on the language, compared to last year when everything was new and so much needed to be done in such a short amount of time!! Wish me luck! and yeah... I still need to get a camera so that I can take some pictures of our house, that I can post for you all to see! Tudelu for now!
I don't feel that I have had enough time to reflect for a while now... like for the last 15 years?? Being a mom of 1, 2 or more kids changes your life, and my mind is most of the time cought up in the care of our 7. We plan, we prepare, we act. In small ways and big ways.
This last year has been so increadilby full of happenings, that I truly feel I could write a book about it! And as I take a second to look back, I realize how good it's been, and how much I have to be thankful for. It's so easy to take for granted all the good in life, but every now and then something reminds you of how much you have to be thankful for.
The fact that me and my whole famliy is reasonable healthy, that we are safe and happy. How easy to take it all for granted.
This past week many, many young people lost their lives at the hands of a sick man, in Oslo, Norway. My niece was a very short distance away from where the bomb went off in down-town Oslo. She is unharmed and made it back to her hometown safe and sound, but severly shocked.
I'm thankful that she's OK, and also that I live in a safe country where on a regular basis I should have nothing to fear. It's scary though how these attacks are becoming more common, also in areas of the world where you normally don't have to worry. I pray that I will always will be prepared, and never unprepared to face whatever might come, that way I don't have to be scared or live in fear.
We are all enjoying our new house so much, and tomorrow my brother with wife and little son are coming for a visit all the way from the US westcoast! Also our 2nd oldest daughter's BFF and her great aunt will be arriving from Michigan!! How wonderful to have family and friends come to visit us from way over there! I'm excited to show our house to them all, but mostly I'm excited to let them see how well we are doing and how happy we are here! Moving across the ocean and starting all over is a huge step, and to hop on the next flight back is not an option, so being happy and content here is something we are very thankful for.
I'm looking forward to spend another year here, and to see what excitement it will bring! My personal goal is to strengthen my Finnish! I feel like my brain has finally landed and that I have a bit more energy to focus on the language, compared to last year when everything was new and so much needed to be done in such a short amount of time!! Wish me luck! and yeah... I still need to get a camera so that I can take some pictures of our house, that I can post for you all to see! Tudelu for now!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
We moved!!!
This is my 4th attempt at this post... I keep getting interrupted, so let's see how this goes!
We are finally out of the apartment and in our new house!!
Wednesday was a blur of crazyness... with 7 kids, as well as the kid's cousin from overseas, AND 2 kittens!!! added to the mix, we somehow manage to pack up and transfer our belongings from apartment to house. Our oldest girls and their cousin were of great help, while our 2 youngest were not exactly useful. The kittens added some stress too, we had to make sure they didn't get lost or stepped on in the commotion!
Thanks to my wonderful in-laws who also helped out a lot!! (they are here from overseas, and sacrificed their time on a very hot and muggy day helping us out!)
What's up with the kittens?? Well... we have sort of promised our kids that we would get a cat when we finally moved in to our house. I happened to see an ad for kittens for sale a week and a half ago, and we went to see them. Of course we ended up with 2 kittens... and we couldn't wait to get them till after we moved (how do you argure with 7 kids wanting the same thing??), so there they were in the middle of the moving madness.
Now we've spent 3 nights here, and I have my appliances all working! Big help to keep this place running smoothly. I'm already enjoying our kitchen immensely!! It feels like I'm visiting someone who has a super nice (although still rather messy) house, full of our stuff! I don't have a working camera for the moment, but as soon as I do, I'm gonna post some pictures!!
The week coming up will be busy (nothing too unusual around here, it's a chronic condition!!).
My dear brother from USA is coming to pay us a visit along with his wife and little boy! Our 2nd oldest daughter's BFF from USA is also coming, together with her great-aunt!! So things are going on, and we don't have a dull moment!
Well, I'm gonna post this now, before something else interrupts me!
We are finally out of the apartment and in our new house!!
Wednesday was a blur of crazyness... with 7 kids, as well as the kid's cousin from overseas, AND 2 kittens!!! added to the mix, we somehow manage to pack up and transfer our belongings from apartment to house. Our oldest girls and their cousin were of great help, while our 2 youngest were not exactly useful. The kittens added some stress too, we had to make sure they didn't get lost or stepped on in the commotion!
Thanks to my wonderful in-laws who also helped out a lot!! (they are here from overseas, and sacrificed their time on a very hot and muggy day helping us out!)
What's up with the kittens?? Well... we have sort of promised our kids that we would get a cat when we finally moved in to our house. I happened to see an ad for kittens for sale a week and a half ago, and we went to see them. Of course we ended up with 2 kittens... and we couldn't wait to get them till after we moved (how do you argure with 7 kids wanting the same thing??), so there they were in the middle of the moving madness.
Now we've spent 3 nights here, and I have my appliances all working! Big help to keep this place running smoothly. I'm already enjoying our kitchen immensely!! It feels like I'm visiting someone who has a super nice (although still rather messy) house, full of our stuff! I don't have a working camera for the moment, but as soon as I do, I'm gonna post some pictures!!
The week coming up will be busy (nothing too unusual around here, it's a chronic condition!!).
My dear brother from USA is coming to pay us a visit along with his wife and little boy! Our 2nd oldest daughter's BFF from USA is also coming, together with her great-aunt!! So things are going on, and we don't have a dull moment!
Well, I'm gonna post this now, before something else interrupts me!
Monday, July 11, 2011
It's like being pregnant!!
Building a house that is. I've been pregnant 7 times, and there are some parts of each pregnancy that seem to repeat itself each time. At least for me. Remember that I'm really patient... or maybe that was my sister?? Anyway.
When I 1st find out that I'm pregnant, I feel excited, a bit overwhelmed, and I ask myself if I have what it takes to deal with another pregnancy.... When we decided to start building our house here in Finland, we were still finishing up our house that we built in Canada!!, so I had to ask myself if I was ready to do this allover again! There were trim pieces missing and of course, when you own a house, there are things you want to change and improve along the way.
When I'm pregnant I always try to think of new ways to make the pregnancy go faster, make it more fun, trying to look and feel my best... And each time I like to follow the baby's growth inside me. It's always fascinating! It's a miracle actually.
With our house, I keep making lists, writing things down, I kept changing things on the plans till I couldn't change it anymore... I talk to people about the progress, and then I get a bit stressed about feeling that people are on my back (even thou they are only curious) House or Pregnancy = same thing.
(when are you due? when are you moving in? Are you done yet? - Am I done yet???? Oh YES!!! I'm usually "done" waaaay before I'm supposed to be done... doesn't really matter what it is)
I guess one difference is that the baby I want OUT and with our house I want IN!! he, he...
Well. I have gone overdue 4 out of 7 times, and I can safely say that I feel "overdue" with our house! I get to a point when I really start to think that "It will NEVER happen!!!" "This baby will neeever come out!" Then I have a reasonable Hubby at my side, that reminds me that "I never heard of a baby that didn't come out!" And I sense that he really feels that "I never knew a family that moved over the ocean and built a house and never moved in to it!" (although that is far more likely to occur than the baby not coming out...)
All in all, I'm excited, stresses, tired... ready!!! I keep tossing and turning at night (as if I'm waiting for labour to start), and I feel like I can't settle down before we move!! Nesting instinct alright!! I'm so excited to start making our house our HOME!
Our kitchen is ..... NICE!!! Gotta get some pix and show it off. :)
well.... sooon I will announce "WE MOVED" and rest assured that there will be a happy dance following that announcement!
When I 1st find out that I'm pregnant, I feel excited, a bit overwhelmed, and I ask myself if I have what it takes to deal with another pregnancy.... When we decided to start building our house here in Finland, we were still finishing up our house that we built in Canada!!, so I had to ask myself if I was ready to do this allover again! There were trim pieces missing and of course, when you own a house, there are things you want to change and improve along the way.
When I'm pregnant I always try to think of new ways to make the pregnancy go faster, make it more fun, trying to look and feel my best... And each time I like to follow the baby's growth inside me. It's always fascinating! It's a miracle actually.
With our house, I keep making lists, writing things down, I kept changing things on the plans till I couldn't change it anymore... I talk to people about the progress, and then I get a bit stressed about feeling that people are on my back (even thou they are only curious) House or Pregnancy = same thing.
(when are you due? when are you moving in? Are you done yet? - Am I done yet???? Oh YES!!! I'm usually "done" waaaay before I'm supposed to be done... doesn't really matter what it is)
I guess one difference is that the baby I want OUT and with our house I want IN!! he, he...
Well. I have gone overdue 4 out of 7 times, and I can safely say that I feel "overdue" with our house! I get to a point when I really start to think that "It will NEVER happen!!!" "This baby will neeever come out!" Then I have a reasonable Hubby at my side, that reminds me that "I never heard of a baby that didn't come out!" And I sense that he really feels that "I never knew a family that moved over the ocean and built a house and never moved in to it!" (although that is far more likely to occur than the baby not coming out...)
All in all, I'm excited, stresses, tired... ready!!! I keep tossing and turning at night (as if I'm waiting for labour to start), and I feel like I can't settle down before we move!! Nesting instinct alright!! I'm so excited to start making our house our HOME!
Our kitchen is ..... NICE!!! Gotta get some pix and show it off. :)
well.... sooon I will announce "WE MOVED" and rest assured that there will be a happy dance following that announcement!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Greetings from Tallin!
So... totally randomly I went for a mini-vacation with 3 really fun single friends of mine.
These 3 gals had planned this trip a while back, and before they went to Estonia, they visited us for a few days. Hearing about their upcoming SPA/Hotel vacation, made me drool a bit... and then I popped the question and asked if there would be room for me! They were gracious enough to let me join them, so on Friday morning we got up at 3.30 am, and hit the road just past 4 am. We drove to Helsinki to catch the early ferry to Tallin at 7.30. The boatride is 2 hrs, so by 10 o'clock we were already checking in to the hotel!
The hotel is a conference and SPA hotel, so even if the visitors weren't hanging out wearing white robes and slippers 24/7, there were many neat SPA like features. You could lounge in the SPA area and sip teas or different waters whenever you wanted. There were many neat treatments to choose from, and I tried the chocolate wrap (AWESOME!!!), a foot/pedicure treatment and a facial. The estheticians were very professional and did a great job. All products were amazing and all natural!
The 1st day the 4 of us were ultra giggly from lack of sleep and excitement, so we took a great long walk touring this old Hansa town. There are so many old buildings, and we climbed up some seriously tall and steep rock stairs to reach a "balcony walkway" that was running along the old city wall. From up there we had a beautiful view of the city. The wall was built almost 800 years ago! We enjoyed some great food and had a fun, fun time together. It was neat hanging out with single girls, since the topics of our conversations varied a lot more than they usually do when a bunch of moms hang out! Neat.
In the afternoon we split up to attend various treatments, and then we had a light supper before chillaxing in the pool area. There were several pools, hot tubs, an aroma sauna,(the lights keep changing colour as different aromas are released into the sauna) a salt sauna (you rub seasalt on your body as you sit in there, and the skin gets really really clean!), heated mosaic recliners!! (they were actually concrete recliners covered with small white tile) SO cool!, jetshowers... etc. It was nice.
On Saturday we enjoyed a large buffee breakfast, before again splitting up for more treatments. After some lunch, we took a taxi to Pirina beach, a 10 min ride from the Hotel. We had amazing weather, and I think everybody in Tallin had the same idea that day. The beach was packed! But we still enjoyed the sun, sand and saltwater. Sipping a cool strawberry smoothie is never boring either...
Back at the hotel we showered and had dinner, and after that me and one of the girls had to head back to the ferry... the fun had to end. The other 2 girls stayed another night and flew home to Norway the next day.
This getaway was so sudden, but I truly enjoyed it! Thanks girls for taking me along, you are a great gang! Besides some trips with my hubby in the past, I can't remember having this much fun in a long time! My stomach feels "toned" from all that laughing! (can you tone a marshmallow??) And it was truly relaxing. I feel very thankful and fortunate, and I hope this break will give me the energy I need to "hang in there" as we are adding the last few touches before moving in to our house... More on that later!
http://www.meritonhotels.com/Kuvagalleria/id/434/# Here's a link to the SPA photo gallery if you want to "check it out"!!
These 3 gals had planned this trip a while back, and before they went to Estonia, they visited us for a few days. Hearing about their upcoming SPA/Hotel vacation, made me drool a bit... and then I popped the question and asked if there would be room for me! They were gracious enough to let me join them, so on Friday morning we got up at 3.30 am, and hit the road just past 4 am. We drove to Helsinki to catch the early ferry to Tallin at 7.30. The boatride is 2 hrs, so by 10 o'clock we were already checking in to the hotel!
The hotel is a conference and SPA hotel, so even if the visitors weren't hanging out wearing white robes and slippers 24/7, there were many neat SPA like features. You could lounge in the SPA area and sip teas or different waters whenever you wanted. There were many neat treatments to choose from, and I tried the chocolate wrap (AWESOME!!!), a foot/pedicure treatment and a facial. The estheticians were very professional and did a great job. All products were amazing and all natural!
The 1st day the 4 of us were ultra giggly from lack of sleep and excitement, so we took a great long walk touring this old Hansa town. There are so many old buildings, and we climbed up some seriously tall and steep rock stairs to reach a "balcony walkway" that was running along the old city wall. From up there we had a beautiful view of the city. The wall was built almost 800 years ago! We enjoyed some great food and had a fun, fun time together. It was neat hanging out with single girls, since the topics of our conversations varied a lot more than they usually do when a bunch of moms hang out! Neat.
In the afternoon we split up to attend various treatments, and then we had a light supper before chillaxing in the pool area. There were several pools, hot tubs, an aroma sauna,(the lights keep changing colour as different aromas are released into the sauna) a salt sauna (you rub seasalt on your body as you sit in there, and the skin gets really really clean!), heated mosaic recliners!! (they were actually concrete recliners covered with small white tile) SO cool!, jetshowers... etc. It was nice.
On Saturday we enjoyed a large buffee breakfast, before again splitting up for more treatments. After some lunch, we took a taxi to Pirina beach, a 10 min ride from the Hotel. We had amazing weather, and I think everybody in Tallin had the same idea that day. The beach was packed! But we still enjoyed the sun, sand and saltwater. Sipping a cool strawberry smoothie is never boring either...
Back at the hotel we showered and had dinner, and after that me and one of the girls had to head back to the ferry... the fun had to end. The other 2 girls stayed another night and flew home to Norway the next day.
This getaway was so sudden, but I truly enjoyed it! Thanks girls for taking me along, you are a great gang! Besides some trips with my hubby in the past, I can't remember having this much fun in a long time! My stomach feels "toned" from all that laughing! (can you tone a marshmallow??) And it was truly relaxing. I feel very thankful and fortunate, and I hope this break will give me the energy I need to "hang in there" as we are adding the last few touches before moving in to our house... More on that later!
http://www.meritonhotels.com/Kuvagalleria/id/434/# Here's a link to the SPA photo gallery if you want to "check it out"!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)