Party Down in Imatra Town

Today was our first chance to take in a little of the town square and get some grocery shopping done. We took in a street hockey tournament which afforded us the opportunity to see some sweet Euro mullets. Those things are spreading like a virus over here.  

Unfortunately we were subject to the vile side effects of the continuing border war between Finland and Russia.  As you can see in the next slide there was a walk-by floating at the local picnic spot.  So tragic.

IP is really taking care of us, but we thought the castle was just a bit much.  We told them that we were ok with the apartment, but if we don't get wi-fi soon than we may have to reopen negotiations.  This place is actually a hotel and spa in Imatra.  It is quite nice.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Last night was rough!  Matt and I were having flashbacks of our first 8 weeks or so with Harris.  We were up at 3 am with him screaming, "See Man!!!!", over and over.  He saw a man's face in the sculpture across the street and was convinced that it was alive.  Anyways, we kept trying to throw him off by watching Finding Nemo then squeezed a few hours of sleep in before heading to the train station.  Oh well, I guess we bragged a little too much yesterday and certainly can't have expectations of a perfect two year old. 

Thank goodness for kid friendly travels!  Harris spent most of the 2.5 hour train ride in the play area.  I think he went down the slide about 50 times.  He played so well with the other kids too!  We arrived in Imatra (our new hometown) at 12:45.  Our taxi was waiting at the train platform right next to the polka band.  What a riot!  We scurried around the town taking in a few sights.

Thank the Lord we didn't have too many turns.  I think the conductor was a little worn out.

This was after he put the train on auto pilot

Test driving the slides in his new hood.

Here is the dam in Imatra.

Man these Fins love to walk



We were able to get out for a while after taking a nap. Our hotel is in downtown Helsinki so it was a really cool tour that we did. It seems like most people walk or they ride a bike to get around...well, downtown anyway. Harris seemed intrigued by just the crowd in general, the trolley, tall buildings, and the water/boats. There was an outside market next to the water mostly selling fresh produce but handmade things as well. They had the best looking strawberries that smelled scrumptious!! Kind of regretting not getting any. There are tons of quaint little restaurants with outside seating. It's really all just as its shown in the movies. We went through the train station just to be familiar with it tomorrow and for Harris to see. It was a fun afternoon but we are exhausted and hoping for a good long sleep!

We Made It

So we arrived in Helsinki at 8:15am. You all are probably sound asleep since midnight there. The almost 9 hour flight is pretty brutal...not gonna sugar coat that one! We were lucky though in that Harris did fantastic! We gave him Benadryl with dinner and he watched a movie until it kicked in. He had a good four hour stretch of sleep. Matt and I weren't so fortunate to get some zzz's. We took a cab straight to our hotel which is very nice. Harris and I are staying at the hotel while Matt goes to the embassy to add more passport pages.

My impression on Finland so far is great! People are nice and seems like most everyone knows English. Helsinki is pretty and lots of people are outside enjoying the perfect temperature of 68. Lots of bikes with baskets! Very modern!

Spending one night here in Helsinki then taking the train tomorrow morning to Imatra. Hopefully it won't take us long to get adjusted to the time change!

Love to all!!
Stacy

Taking Flight

Well, today is the day we set out for our relocation! Goodbye US...Hei Finland! It was extremely difficult to say goodbye to our families this morning! They were so sweet to come to the airport to see us off. We are already missing everyone!!

Our journey began at 9:20 this morning leaving Memphis to hang out in Chicago for a few hours. We were nervous about how Harris would do in flight and he actually did just fine! Hoping all goes well with round two! He was so excited about the airplane ride experience...still pointing and saying "airplane" every time we turn around. We strolled in the airport for a while, got some lunch at Chilis 2 (our last taste of Mexican for a while, played in the children's area (thank you Chicago airport), and now resting at the gate.

We thank our families again for allowing us to come in and out of their homes during the "waiting period". We enjoyed every minute of the time spent with them!

Last bit...Matt received wonderful news yesterday that he passed level 2 of the CFA exam!!! We are so proud of him and congratulate him on this huge accomplishment!!!

Summertime Fun

Oh goodness! Has it really been 2 weeks since the last post? We have been so busy spending time with great friends and family. Despite the heat, we have had such a fun summer! From birthday parties, the children's museum of Memphis, water parks, play dates, Matt and I celebrating our fifth anniversary to being spoiled by grandparents, fourth of July parade, swimming & jumping into pool now, and Harris' first boat ride. That pretty much sums up our last two weeks! Loads of fun!

Update on our departure date...well there was a slight delay due to some paperwork getting lost in the mail. All is good now. Matt got what he needed last Wednesday and we are now looking at the middle to end of July before leaving for Finland. I'm a little worried that we are missing out on their nice weather! Just a couple more months and it's getting cold and dark again! Oh well...will get there when we get there!

Harris is saying so many new words and almost repeating everything we say. My favorite lately is "whew it's hot". He loves to jump, do anything that involves water, read "the little engine that could", play with any ball, and eat. We are enjoying him so much and thankful every single day that he is ours!!