Happy Happy Birthday

Momma had a birthday back on the 13th so we had a nice dinner on the main drag while Angi and her kids kept a watch over their new toy - Harris.  Stacy had a really good filet and I took the opportunity to eat a reindeer steak.  We never would have thought that we would be celebrating a birthday in Finland this time last year!

The 18th marked the second year that Harris has been in the crew.  We were so excited about the big day that we celebrated it twice!  The Pauly's threw a birthday party for Harris and all the other ex-pats from the mill came by to celebrate.  It was a great turnout and Harris had a blast.  We had another mini-party at the apartment so Momma could dress him up properly.  As expected the outfit was covered with chocolate within the first ten minutes.  Mommy and Daddy settled on a bicycle for the big day.  Thank you to all of those who helped celebrate and sent gifts or well wishes.



And It Estoned Me

The posts have been fast and furious and will surely slow down at some point, but we are having a really good time keeping track of things with this blog.

We hopped on a ferry this weekend with the Pauly's and spent a night in Tallinn, Estonia.  What a place!  It is a little out of the way for those going on a European vacation, but it is easy to make your way around, packed with great sights, and pretty cheap.  Stacy was pretty excited about their wool, linen and baltic amber goods.  Don't think she didn't get a little of each.  Here is a link to our flickr page if you want to see all of our pictures from the trip.  http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewhigh/sets/72157631036219470/

 

Still sorting out some details...

We had to go to Helsinki again to get additional passport pages since I was down to only one blank page because of the border crossing every day.  At least we got to hang out in a cool city all day.

Waking up at 5:30 for the 6:12 train can be a bit of a bummer

Found a nice cafe in the design capital of the world

Harris tried to tell me that whoever smelt it dealt it.  I argued my point vigorously.

He finally fessed up but didn't seem too phased about getting busted

Back on the train to Imatra after a long day....

First week in...

We had a great weekend! Now that we're back in Imatra, there was more time to get settled in and stock up on groceries. Laura was so kind to offer to show me the ropes at one of our local markets. She is very familiar with Finnish food labels so it was a big help in getting our first big load. Saturday night we were invited to have dinner with the Paulys. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal they prepared and visiting with Mike, Angi, and their two kids Lane and Alaina! Harris had big fun with Lane and Alaina as they entertained him so well and were very sweet with him! It was great getting to know them more and they too have been so helpful with familiarizing us with Imatra's customs.

Harris and I went to the library with the Paulys on Monday. They were so sweet to show us around and get a library card. We went to the square playground twice...trying to take advantage of this nice weather while we have it!!

Our introduction to the "euro" lifestyle has been fascinating to see, yet we miss some of the US "ways of life" too! A few observations we have made so far...Fins love ice cream, most everybody owns a bike, there is no such thing as ice makers, most bathrooms have a bidet, and they love their sauna time (our apartment has one in the basement and we've signed up for Wednesday nights!)

Harris is doing well with adjusting to the move. He is taking in all the new just as we are. Our favorite word of his now is motorcycle (mo-er-saw). He knows primary colors along with purple. He tries to count now especially when going up/down stairs. It's usually two, two, and two...our favorite number right now with his second birthday coming up!

We went to Helsinki today to add more pages to Matt's passport. Post and pics from Matt to come!

Miss everyone,
Stacy

Back From the Brink

We have finally returned to Finland after what seemed like a month in Russia.  Stacy and Harris were incredibly patient while we lived in an apartment the size of a typical American master bathroom while our visas were getting processed.  Stacy was the model Mom taking care of Harris while he endured a cold, a fall off the bed, a twisted ankle and the beginning stages of the terrible two's.

Don't get me wrong.  Some fun times were still had.

Rural Russia

We were only in our apartment long enough to put some things away and make a needs list when we had to pack a bag yet again for more travels...to Russia for five nights.  In order to complete our Russian visas we must stay within their borders until our passports return from St. Petersburg.  Thank goodness for expedited services!!

The rural parts of Russia are definitely what you would expect or have seen on TV or in pictures.  They are not as fortunate as us spoiled Americans, but they don't seem to mind.  I guess it's all they know.  It is very interesting to see and be immersed in for this short while.  I will say they could work on some better food choices!  Oh, but they would probably say the same about our food.  Matt and I have been ordering the same thing on the hotel menu every day, and lets just say I may wait a few months before eating salmon again.  Harris and I have been going to their park in the mornings and sometimes in the afternoons.  Definitely not the Little Tykes sets that we have back home.  Very functional though with some grafiti here and there.  Yesterday we took a trip to the Svetogorsk hospital for a "clinic" visit.  Harris had a croupy cough the night before last and to prevent a hospital trip without a translator in the middle of the night, we took him as a precautionary measure during the day so that an IP admin assisstant could help us with translation.  No more croupy cough, but he is now developing a cold it seems like.  Ugh!  On another note, I've got a great idea for a mission trip for those of you interested...build a new hospital in Svetogorsk, Russia!!

We have connected with two IP American families who have been extremely kind and have taken us under their wings.  Laura and George live here in Svetogorsk during the week and Imatra on the weekends.  Angi and Mike live in Imatra with their two children.  Many many thanks to them for taking care of us this week!!  They have been lifesavers!

                  If you look in front of the white car you can see Russia's border control station.

                 We went to the park after dinner yesterday.  The sun is still beaming at 7pm here!

           Harris loves all of the animal figures scattered throughout the park and can name them all.

                                    Harris found him a little Russian that was sweet on him!

                                This is a typical apartment building.  Not many houses here.

This is a view outside our hotel window.  Hard to see but the little glob at the bottom is a group of young girls with sleeping bags and umbrellas.  Guess they wanted to picnic or sleep in the rain??  Thought it was pretty cute!  There is a small circle of dirt around a tree in the back left...there are two rope swings that the kids play on in the afternoons.  Laura and George live in the apartment building behind the swing.

Love to all,
Stacy