mothership adventures

Why I Love My Snowmobile

2012-02-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

The Captain and I started snowmobiling on our honeymoon in Northern Finland, above the Arctic Circle, in January (what, you didn't honeymoon in - 40 F arctic weather?) over 18 years ago, and snowmobiling has been our favorite sport ever since.

Things have changed some, since then, though. The Captain likes to tell stories of how I would signal him to slow down if he went faster than 15 miles per hour. That may be so (although I think it was more like faster than 30 mph), however, I was squeezed behind him on a one person sled, and had to hold on to the Captain or I would fly off the machine. Which I did, a few times. So going fast on that old snowmobile wasn't really possible, at least when I was sitting behind him.

Fast forward 15 - 18 years and we can actually push our sleds to go a bit faster. I have my own sled now, and both of ours have nice suspensions and bigger engines. On the lake when the trail is smooth and visibility is awesome you can get these babies go 100 mph, or faster. Not that I, responsible mother of five, would ever go that fast. I may, or may not have made mine go 95 mph on the lake one day riding without kids, but if I did, I would never confess to that. Craziness!

The speed on smooth trails, and nice suspension on bumpy trails, are really really nice to have, but not my favorite on my snowmobile. I think my snowmobile is pretty (well, as pretty as a machine can be), and it kind of matches my outfit - accidentally, but that isn't my favorite part, either. This sled is a little higher up from the ground too, making it more comfortable to ride as I'm tall, but that isn't my favorite part, either. Having studs in the track of the snowmobile is nice too, helping my machine not to slide on hills, but - you guessed it - not my favorite.

In fact, there is a lot to love on my snowmobile, and snowmobiling in general. I enjoy being with my amazing husband, doing together something he loves. Well, we both love it - but he maybe a bit more than I do. He works so hard every day, and it is nice to forget phones and computers for a few hours to do something completely different, and do it together. We often snowmobile with the Captain's parents, or with our friends, which is great fun, too.

We love going out as a family, also. When we do, I usually have one of our bigger kids sitting behind me. It's special and fun to do things as a family, and I'm thankful to have a bigger sled that can carry two. But that isn't my favorite part, either.

I love going out in the beautiful winter wonderland and taking in the gorgeous scenery, stopping to freeze my fingers to snap some iPhone pics (some of the trails can be too rough for me to risk taking our Nikon along). But even if my fingers freeze while taking pics, my snowmobile has hand warmers! Yes! Isn't that sweet? That is almost my favorite part of my snowmobile.

Which does bring me to my absolute favorite part of my snowmobile. My Arctic Cat TZ1 Touring has something I always used to wish all snowmobiles had. The company finally heard my silent lamenting, and made a snowmobile with a seat warmer! Yes! That is my favorite part of my snowmobile - having a nice warm seat to sit on as we venture out in the chilling winter weather. Having a warm behind makes snowmobiling a lot more enjoyable ;-)

The visuals:

The closest picture from the olden days, probably taken on a snowmobile trip during our first year of marriage

My sled these days looks a lot different than our first one in the 1990's

When I wear my outer layer I match my machine even better :) Friday was a little too warm for all layers.

Lake riding is fun! (That is photo editing, not me taking pictures while driving a snowmobile.)

Awww, so romantic!

On top of a mountain with Grandma, Grandpa, Captain and Mr. T

Beautiful Maine mountains!

Hand warmer controls!

What makes me happy

And this snowmobiling, my dear readers, is the main reason why our family comes to Northern Maine for winter, and flies south for the spring (when snow melts).

Quiet Maine Days/Hiljaisia Mainen päiviä

2012-02-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

Mothership Adventures is enjoying a nice lull in our travels, as we are wintering in Maine. Our camp renovations are on full force, but the kids and I are appreciating quiet and peaceful days. Missy has dance on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and on Thursdays we all head to town to spend time at the library/laundromat/post office/grocery store, but those are only hobbies at the moment, which is so nice...

We homeschool during the mornings, and either take outside play breaks mid-morning, or after lunch and school. Or both. Every day. The kids need to play outside a good part of the day or mama goes nuts from all of us being squeezed like sardines in our little cabin.

Enjoy our outdoor pics, most on the lake or by the lake.

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Tässä talvikuvia Mainestä, melkein kaikki järveltä tai järven läheltä. Olemme nauttineet hiljaisista ja rauhallisista arkipäivistä ilman kiireitä - tällä hetkellä ainoa harrastus kodin ulkopuolella on Missyn tanssitunnit keskiviikkoisin ja torstaisin, ja torstaisin koko porukka suuntaamme kaupunkiin, ja tanssitunnin aikana olemme kirjastossa, pesulassa, postissa, kaupassa.. Aamuisin pidämme kotikoulua, ja koko aamupäivällä tai iltapäivällä lapset leikkivät ulkona - tai molempina. Mama tulee hulluksi täällä pienessä mökissä elleivät lapset ole ulkona osaa päivästä:)

MOST

2012-02-01T11:56:00.000-05:00

Who is who?:)

I am the guest blogger today on MOST - Mothers of SuperTwins blog. Hop on over there to read my post about becoming a mom. (I originally wrote it on Mother's Day 2011, here on Mothership Adventures.)

MOST is a fantastic resource for anyone expecting or raising multiples. I often think back on the time when we were expecting and had young quadruplets - I am so thankful to have had folks over at MOST help us along the way, and to have our family and volunteers help us survive the first years. And since then, too :) My coffee chats with another quadmom Beth always helped me realize I am not alone in what I was dealing with with our quadruplets. For sure, raising multiple children the same age bring on challenges the 'normal' family doesn't necessarily have. But joys, also:)

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MOST - Mothers of SuperTwins on amerikkalainen organisaatio ja tukiryhmä monikkoperheille. Olen tänään heidän vierasbloggaaja, mutta kirjoitukseni on vanha postaus täältä Mothership-blogista, kirjoitin sen viime vuoden äitienpäivänä. Voit lukea kirjoitukseni täällä.

Homeschool Winter PE/Kotikoulun talviurheilutunnit

2012-01-31T14:30:00.000-05:00

Today has been one of those arrgghhh-sort of homeschool days. If you homeschool, I'm sure you know what I mean. If you don't, I'm sure you can imagine one.

Instead of dwelling on our arrgghh-day, here are pictures of yesterday's homeschool PE, as yesterday's school day was much, much better.

Aaah... I feel a little better, already!

After reading, writing, and arithmetic (and history & geography, Bible, and science) work was done, the girls did ice skating, and the boys went sledding. It was too cold for me. I decided to pick up some groceries during PE. As we started it was 19 F, and when we were done, the temps had dropped to 13 F. Brrrr!!!!!

Oh, I already forgot. Little Miss had a miserable time yesterday on ice. Poor thing. She learned to ice skate in Florida, and even though we reminded her it might take a little practice to remember all the lessons, she got discouraged (and cold) very quickly. I think she lasted five minutes.

Thank you, big sis - this is more fun :)

The afternoons up here are so beautiful! These pics were taken 4:30-ish and the colors were breathtaking.

So cold no one asked for extra time :)

Our frozen students. After I snapped Missy's pic, I unwrapped my scarf and gave it to her. Looking at Mr. T's red ear it almost hurts. (Time to buy some bigger hats??) Brrr!!! Good thing these kids love winter!

Linking up to Hip Homeschool Hop.

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Eilen tytöt kävivät luistelemassa ja pojat pulkkamäessä - kotikoulun urheilutunteja, tietenkin:)
Oli todella kylmä, ihan yllätyin kun juuri laskin mitä lämpöasteet olivat celciuksissa: vain -11C kylmimmillään. Vaikea uskoa! Olikohan tuuli vai kosteus ilmassa en tiedä, mutta minä olisin ollut ihan tyytyväinen mökissä sisällä koko päivän... Lapsilla oli kivaa, tosin Pikkuneiti harmistui kun oli unohtanut Floridassa opitut luistelutaidot. Noh, eiköhän ne pian palaudu, pitää vaan mennä harjoittelemaan uudestaan:)

First Snowmobiling of 2012/Vuoden eka moottorikelkkailu

2012-01-30T21:59:00.000-05:00

Sunday afternoon we got our snowmobiles out for a short run for the first time this winter.

We love being right on the trail (the lake) so we can just take off without having to pack up the car with all the gear, hook up the trailer, and first drive somewhere in the car in order to snowmobile. That's a lot of gear for seven people, folks! Our snowmobile outfits are a lot bulkier and warmer than the usual snow pants and jackets. The kids usually do sledding or ice skating in regular snow clothes, but for snowmobiling (or frigid ski temps) they wear these super warm outfits. The boots need to be rated for -40F/C, and you need good helmets, something for your neck, and warm mittens or gloves, too.

We have dreamed (and prayed) of having a place on a lake for about 18 years, and are so thankful God blessed us with this place in Maine. In the past snowmobile outings were always long days, and I think some of our kids started disliking the cold and long trips. We think being here will allow them to enjoy snowmobiling in a new way since we can take shorter trips or longer trips, whatever they feel like. Sunday's outing was a success!

Our first outing was very beautiful, but definitely one of these short ones: to get gas for our machines. We got maybe 3-4 inches of new snow on Friday, so the ice was covered with snow, and riding was pretty smooth. The town trails, however, were very bumpy. We'll be praying for more snow, for sure!

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Sunnuntaina menimme moottorikelkkailemaan ensimmäistä kertaa tänä talvena. Ihan vaan lyhyelle reissulle tankkaamaan kelkat. On uskomattoman ihanaa ja helppoa olla tässä moottorikelkkareitin (järven) rannalla, ei tarvitse pakata autoa ja moottorikelkkaperäkärryä, ja ensin ajaa jonnekin, että voi mennä moottorikelkkailemaan. Itse asiassa Kapteeni ja minä olemme rukoilleet omaa mökkiä järven rannalla niin kauan kuin olemme olleet yhdessä - olemme niin kiitollisia, että viime vuonna saimme tämän paikan Mainessä!

Happy Birthday, Nanny!!

2012-01-29T18:53:00.009-05:00

Nanny, Captain's wonderful Grandmother, turned 95 this month, and on Saturday family gathered around to celebrate this happy day. Grandpa (Captain's Dad) started the day with stacks and stacks of pancakes, Grandma (Captain's Mom) cooked an incredible birthday meal, and Uncle J brought his famous whipped cream chocolate cake, yum! Presents too - some of the great grandchildren have been working on a gorgeous quilt, with personalized squares. So sweet!

What a special day celebrating our cherished Nanny! Happy Birthday!!

(PS. Happy Birthday to Uncle B and the Captain, too! We actually had three birthdays to celebrate this week:)

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Hyvää syntymäpäivää Kapteenin 95-vuotiaalle isoäidille! (Sekä sedälle ja Kapteenille, kaikilla kolmella synttärit viikon sisällä!) Lauantaina juhlimme ihanaa isoäitiä perheen kesken.

Winter in Maine/Talvi Mainessä

2012-01-27T22:41:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to post these pictures this week from Maine, but the internet has been quite flaky at our cabin, and I had to wait until we came to visit family in Southern Maine for the pictures to upload.

Our "Virginia crew" flew back to New England a week ago on Saturday, and we spent the first night here at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Two of the children decided to stay here for the week, so just the five of us drove up North the next day.

We had a nice few days getting settled, and yesterday we drove back here for a birthday party (more on that later), and to pick up Missy and Mr. T.

These pictures are from our cabin. The lake is frozen over, and since we don't have a ton of snow you can really see the ice. The tracks are from snowmobiles.

Looking through our bedroom window one morning.

A beautiful cold day! Below our lodgings. The main house is still going through renovations, so we are living in a small cabin on our property. Hey, it's bigger than the Mothership! And very cozy :)

Homeschool PE at the cabin:

The kids discovered if you start sledding from the top of the driveway you can actually make it all the way down to the lake.

We could use a bit more snow...

Mr. D & Mr. A think winter is their favorite season!

Our plan is to be in Maine for the winter months. Then, in the spring we'll head South. Isn't that what all snowbirds do?

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Noin viikko sitten palasimme takaisin Maineen. Pysähdyimme isovanhempien luona, ja kaksi lapsista jäi heille vielä, joten vain viisi meistä vietti muutaman päivän pohjoisessa mökillämme. Päärakennusta rempataan edelleen, joten asumme tontillamme olevassa pienessä mökissä. Eilen tulimme takaisin isovanhempien luokse synttäreille (lisää myöhemmin), ja huomenna suuntaamme pohjoiseen ihan koko perheellä. Pohjoisessa ei ole kovin paljon lunta vielä, mutta tarpeeksi pulkalla laskemiseen. Jos aloittaa pihatien yläpäästä pystyy laskemaan järven jäälle saakka. Hui!
Aiomme olla täällä Mainessä nämä tavikuukaudet, ja kevään tullen suuntaamme kohti etelää. Eikös kaikki muutkin tee niin?:)

Xin Nian Kuai Le/Happy New Year!

2012-01-22T23:21:00.000-05:00


Happy Chinese New Year! Hyvää kiinalaista uutta vuotta! PS. To pronounce the greetings, click here.

More Kindergarten/Lisää eskarijuttuja

2012-01-21T11:01:00.002-05:00

A few more collages from our visit to my sister's. You can find our earlier ones about short words and snowmen crafts here.

We had all kinds of school fun with our two 5-year olds, a 4-year old and a toddler. Well, the toddler didn't exactly help with school, but with her cuteness she made everything fun - even messes and mayhem ;-)

Art projects were a big hit, as well a wooden Bingo game, and Melissa & Doug word puzzles and magnetic pattern blocks. So many ways to have fun and learn at the same time!

Almost every day Little Miss asks to do school on the computer, too. Her newest favorite is K5Learning, and she also enjoys Starfall.com and PBSkids.org. We used Explode the Code online for a little while, and while I thought it was excellent, sadly Little Miss has lost her interest in it.

I have started looking into various first grade curricula for next year, and would love input and suggestions - it would be excellent if our curriculum traveled well, as we plan to be on the road again half the year. Thank you!!

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Lisää näitä eskarijuttuja siskon luota - siskolla on upeita kouluaskareita. Kuten kollaaseista näkee, meidän pikku koululaisilla oli oikein hauskaa leikkiessään ja oppiessaan samalla:)

Teacher Certification Degrees

2012-01-20T10:33:00.002-05:00

Teacher Certification Degrees is an informational website for people interested in advancing their education by earning a college degree in education or learning about careers in the education field. Definitely a great resource for anyone interested in becoming a teacher, or working in education.

They have compiled of lists of great teaching blogs (I plan on following a lot of these, for sure!), and one is Top 100 Homeschool Blogs. To my great amazement Our Mothership Adventures made the list. It is quite ironic for me, as I never wanted to homeschool, and honestly don't have a great passion for it. Which I guess might be one reason why our blog made it - there is a place for those of us, who started homeschooling out of necessity - not because we are so good at it ;-)
(You can read more about how we got started here.)

Thanks to a great online curriculum, AOP's Monarch, homeschooling works for us, it allows us to travel, it has been a fantastic experience for our family, and our family has drawn closer because of it. In fact, our family is thriving because of homeschooling! If you are thinking about homeschooling, but don't think you can do it, I'd like to encourage you to give it a try - if we can do it, so can you. Check out the many programs that encourage independent learning, Monarch and Switched-On-Schoolhouse being two.

This is what Teacher Certification Degrees wrote about our blog:

Homeschooling with a curriculum geared to independent learning fits the mobile lifestyle of a family that includes decidedly different quads and an adopted daughter; first-mate Sennie and the Captain prove that this educational approach works for almost any situation as they take their crew on the road in a 20-year-old Airstream, the title craft of “Our Mothership Adventures”.

I like it. That is us.

My bloggy friends Jessy's and Mary's blogs were included also, as well as Linda & Arby's - without Linda and my friend Paula's encouragement, wisdom, and help our family would not be homeschooling ((thank you!!!)). The list of 100 blogs looks good - I'll be checking every single one out, and encourage you to, also.

To conclude this post, I'll leave you with a funny video clip, made by a homeschooler in college - check it out - I really got a kick about the part of living an hour away from Walmart - that is us when we live in Maine:)

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Meidän matka-ja kotikoulublogimme pääsi mukaan listalle 100 parasta kotikoulublogia, opettajakoulutuksen infosivuille. (Ironiaa.) Hassua myös se, etten koskaan halunnut aloittaa kotikoulun pitämistä, ja tappelin vastaan kynsin ja hampain. Onneksi kokeilimme, se on ollut yksi parhaimmista päätöksistämme - hyvä ratkaisu meidän perheelle, ja on antanut mahdollisuuden matkusteluun. Miksi varmaankin blogimme pääsi listalle - meilläkin on paikka kotikoululaisten keskuudessa - meillä, joille kotikoulu ei ole elämän kutsumus, vaan aloitimme pakon edessä... Onneksi löysimme mahtavan kotikoulumatskun netistä, jonka kautta kotikoulu onnistuu! Minun sanomani onkin muille - jos me pystymme pitämään kotikoulua, pystyt sinäkin!

Bowling/Keilaamassa

2012-01-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Today, in honor of my sister's 30th birthday (feel free to wish her a happy birthday here on my blog), we took a birthday outing to a bowling alley. My sister, her husband, their three kids, three of my kids and I all had a really fun time with bumper lanes up (of course). Check out our different bowling styles from the collage ;-)

Happy Birthday, Sis!! I love you! It has been so wonderful to spend time with you and your family..

(The next blog post will probably come from Maine - we are headed North this week.)

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Siskoni täytti tänään 30 vuotta (onnittelutervehdykset menevät perille tämän blogin kautta:), ja päivällä teimme synttärireissun keilahalliin. Kolme aikuista, kaksi teiniä, kolme isompaa lasta ja taapero, ja hauskaa riitti. Tsekatkaa upeat keilaustyylimme:)

(Seuraava postaus tulee varmaankin pohjoisesta, suuntaamme sinne tällä viikolla.)

Manatee Springs and Crystal River, Florida

2012-01-13T16:00:00.003-05:00

Our Florida Christmas in the Mothership was so wonderful and free of busyness and the normal holiday hustle and bustle we even got to take a mini-trip to Manatee Springs and Crystal River, just a few days before Christmas. No stress!

We hadn't really done our homework, just decided to hit the road in search of manatees, and drove to Manatee Springs State Park. We paid the state park overnight admission, found our campsite, and decided... to make this a day trip. The park was pretty enough, but trying to work through our road trips requires at least cell coverage, if not internet access. There was a pay phone, but outgoing 1-800-calls were blocked. The sites were also small, on dirt road, and it was really buggy. I didn't use the bathroom facilities, but was told by family members they weren't all that impressive (read clean).

What was impressive though, was the spring - can you see the clear turquoise water in the third photo in the top collage? Three of our kids enjoyed a dip in the 72F waters. There was also a neat boardwalk through the woods to Suwannee River where we the manatees were hanging out. Other visitors told us the manatees will come near the dock in the morning and you can see a large group of them. We could see them underwater a little ways from us, and occasionally would see one come up to the surface to breathe.

On our way out of the park we discovered the Catfish Hotel Sink - a yucky looking round pond, covered in green goo (?) on the surface. Apparently an amazing spot for cave scuba diving! The park has underwater caves you could explore. The Captain and our teens might need to come back one day...

After a 2-3 hour visit to Manatee Springs we drove South to Crystal River area. We found a private campground Lake Rousseau RV Park, which turned out to be perfect for us for a two day stay. We got a good size pull-though waterfront site, everybody there was super friendly and the facilities were very clean. They even had a heated pool, which the kids loved. We spent one day {my birthday} of doing absolutely nothing (except laundry - which you have to do whenever there is a laundry machine when you are traveling with seven people in an RV). Bliss!

On our way back to Fort Desoto Campground where we stayed for Christmas we stopped at Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park. This was a neat park, and worth a visit if you are in the area. There's an underwater observatory in the main spring you could see the manatees very close. We didn't - the manatees had been blocked from that area earlier (they had had to do a manatee rescue, if I remember correctly), but we enjoyed seeing hundreds, if not thousands of fish swim near the observatory. We did see manatees being fed (see middle of collage where the lettuce is floating), but it was hard to get good pictures of them.

The wildlife park had many native Florida animals, including alligators, pink flamingos, river otters etc. And Lu - the honorary hippopotamus who was left behind by previous owners - 6000 lbs of hippopotamus can be challenging to move, perhaps? We could have spent a lot more time at the park, there was quite a bit to see and do, but we enjoyed the time we had. We didn't get a whole lot of school done during Christmas, so it was bonus to have these trips as our homeschool field trips:)

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Joulu asuntoautossa oli niin rauhallinen, että perheemme jopa teki minireissun merilehmiä katsomaan jouluviikolla. Kahdessa eri puistossa piti käydä, että näimme näitä hitaita rentoja eläimiä läheltä, enkä silti saanut hyviä kuvia otettua. Tokassa puistossa oli kaikenlaisia floridalaisia elämiä, alligaattoreista pinkkeihin flamingoihin, sekä virtahepo Lu, edellisten omistajien jättämä jättiläinen.

Wait No More

2012-01-11T00:33:00.003-05:00

********* Thank you for participating in the giveaway - pikkuthti is our winner!

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, it shouldn't come as a surprise adoption is near and dear to my heart. As is reading. So this past Fall when Focus on the Family was looking for bloggers to review a new adoption book, I happily signed up. The book arrived in November, and I actually read it right away, but with the busy holidays and being on the road I didn't get to do the book review until now.

"Wait No More" by Kelly & John Rosati is a story of their family and how it grew through adoption. The Rosatis adopted their four children through the domestic foster care system. The book is written from Kelly's viewpoint. It is a Focus on the Family book, published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. in 2011.

The book starts dramatically in the middle of having their first foster child, a very challenging time for Kelly and John. Many would turn away from foster care adoption after such rocky first experience, yet the Rosatis realized the great need foster care children have, and opened their hearts and their home to children waiting for a family. I was hooked to their story from page one.

Even though our family has also grown via adoption, I have to admit I didn't know a whole lot about the foster care system before reading this book. It was definitely an eye-opener, and I would say this book is a must-read for anyone considering adoption, especially through domestic foster care. The Rosatis share openly and honestly the challenges and joys in their adoption journey.

And there are many. Both challenges, and joys and blessings. Wait No More is a well-written, beautiful story of God's call and His faithfulness as the Rosatis pursued to follow His plan. Kelly writes:

"You see, John and I have learned that God's plan for us through adoption was even better than we could have imagined. We've learned personally about God's faithfulness through the dark times. We know He'll be there no matter what else comes our way. What a gift that is!

We want to encourage folks who are feeling that urge, that gentle pushing of the Lord's hand at your back, to get involved with foster care or adoption. Don't be afraid to go for it. There could be a child out there who needs you desperately. You could make a difference in his or her life. God may have a new adventure in store for your family. Be open. Follow where God leads."

You can buy the book here.

As our family is still in transit stage (not really homeless, but...!), I would like to bless one of my readers by sending my (gently read) copy of Wait No More to them. Leave a comment with this post, and on January 18th I will let the True Random Number Generator pick a winner. Make sure to include a way for me to contact you, if I can't get a hold of you I have to pick a new winner. Good luck!

Kindergarten Work/Eskarijuttuja

2012-01-10T15:22:00.001-05:00

Staying with my sister's family has been great for many reasons, one being the fact that my nephew is also five years old, like Little Miss. My sister just started homeschool Kindergarten using My Father's World curriculum, which looks awesome! Little Miss hasn't wanted to join in on their school work, but we've been able to do some school work together.

We found the snowman craft (and other neat art projects) online at Mrs. Brown's Art Class. Somewhere (in storage) in my childhood photos I have a picture of my snowman I made - looks a lot like the ones my nephew and Little Miss did.

While we are getting some Kindergarten work done, we heavily concentrate on play. These two, and 4-year old brother are being very creative coming up with new games and playing inside and outside. Which, I believe, is most important at Kindergarten level.

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Siskoni vanhin poika on myös 5-vuotias, kuten Pikkuneiti. Molemmat tekevät kotikoulussa eskarijuttuja. Tässä pari kollaasia koulujutuistamme, tosin aika vähäistä varsinainen koulutyö vielä on, minusta tärkeintä on leikki näille viisivuotiaille. Siskoni keskimmäinen on 4-vuotias, ja näillä kolmella on mitä ihanimmat (ja luovimmat!) leikit niin sisällä kuin ulkona.

18 Years/18 vuotta!

2012-01-09T18:26:00.000-05:00

Eighteen years ago yesterday the Captain said "I Do." And I said "Tahdon."

We still do.

We celebrated the big day by going to church.

And sledding. Just like we did the night before our wedding in Seinäjoki, Finland. We actually went sledding. It was crazy. And the ride has been crazy ever since. But fun! Never dull :)

Oh yes, we had the slight problem yesterday of the Captain being in Maine, and I am in Virginia. Still had fun celebrating ;-)

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Eilen Kapteenin kanssa vietimme 18. hääpäiväämme. Eikä menoa hidastanut ollenkaan se, että Kapteeni oli Mainessä ja minä Virginiassa. Kävimme kirkossa, ja kirkon jälkeen pulkkamäessä. Aivan kuten 18 vuotta sitten Seinäjoella ennen häitä. Kaheleja olimme silloin, ja edelleen olemme, mutta hullut ovat mukavia eikä elämä ainakaan käy tylsäksi :)

Temperature Difference/Lämpötilaeroja

2012-01-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

While this is happening in Maine (in frigid, frigid temps - negative seven degrees (F) this week..!), managed by the Captain and two of our children...

.... This is what is happening in Virginia at my sister's house:

Fifty-one bags worth of leaves!

As you can see, some of us worked harder than others... ;-)

Please notice the lack of winter gear: 69 F was a sweet January temperature!

And yes, as our family said good-byes to Florida, half the family flew all the way to New England, and half returned to Virginia. We left our beloved Mothership in storage in Florida, and are counting days (months) until our next adventure!

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Sillä välin kun Kapteeni kahden lapsen kanssa hoitaa Mainen projektiamme, kylmässä kylmässä pakkasessa, Virginiassa siskoni luona haravoitiinn 51 pussia lehtiä. Mainessä oli asteita tällä viikolla -21C, kun taas täällä etelämässä tänään oli noin +21 C.
Kuten kuvista näkee, osa porukasta teki töitä vähän ahkerammin kuin toiset:)
Ja tosiaan, Floridasta puoli perhettä lensi pohjoiseen, ja puolet takaisin siskoni luokse. Asuntoauto jäi Floridaan odottamaan seuraavaa seikkailuamme.

Year 2011

2011-12-31T23:56:00.002-05:00

Our Mothership Adventures had a full year of 2011. In fact it was so busy it was hard to pick just a one photo for each month. The collage above is made of twelve months, with January being the first one on top, and December being the last one on the bottom right.

We spent JANUARY in New Hampshire, enjoying homeschool activities like Nerf Club, and our ice skating rink the Captain built next to our house.

In FEBRUARY we took a fun trip to Maine with friends and parents to do snowmobiling. The kids also started homeschool skiing lessons and archery.

In MARCH we continued enjoying all the snow and snow sports in New Hampshire. Took out our snowshoes, also. Little Miss turned five years old!

We found ourselves in Maine for the month of APRIL. We purchased an old summer camp, and shivered through a snowy and wintery month without any insulation, having lake water come out of faucets and having adventures in just washing our laundry.

In MAY some of us took a quick trip to Florida. On our way up North the Mothership broke down in Virginia, delaying our return, but all ended well.

We spent most of JUNE in Maine, although I returned to Virginia to attend a homeschool convention with my sister, and to pick up Little Miss who spent a week or so with cousins.

In JULY we spent time on Nantucket Island with family and friends, and some time in New Hampshire, as well. One of July's highlights was Nanny winning a watermelon eating contest on Nantucket Main Street 4th of July celebrations. Go, Nanny!!!

AUGUST was very difficult. One of our children had surgery, and recovery wasn't easy. We packed our belongings and said good-bye to our beloved New Hampshire home. We stored our furniture and boxes in my in-law's basement (where they still are). Mr. A & Missy got to to Finland with my sister's family, and missed the whole moving circus. Recap here.

We returned to Maine in SEPTEMBER. We tried to live in our camp, but the rebuilding process (and the fact we didn't have a kitchen) made it so challenging we ended up renting a house up the street. We enjoyed picking apples and blueberries and making a ton of pies.

OCTOBER was a quiet month in Maine for us. We got a lot of homeschool done, did a gold panning field trip and went on a lot of hikes.

We left Maine in NOVEMBER with a bang. Or a slide. On our way out of town the Mothership became a 35 foot toboggan and slid off the road. Fortunately no one and nothing got hurt, and after being towed out, and spending the night on the side of the road we continued our travels. We spent most of November in Virginia, parked next to my sister's house and spending time with family.

Most of DECEMBER we enjoyed Florida. Aah... Such a special time living in our RV, and visiting Orlando, St. Pete, Manatee Springs, and celebrating Gotcha Day, Adoption Day, five birthdays and Christmas. Simple times, good times..

Thank you so much for being part of Our Mothership Adventures!! Happy New Year 2012!!!

Glimpses of Christmas in an RV/Kurkistus jouluun asuntoautossa

2011-12-25T23:34:00.000-05:00

Getting ready for Christmas.
Jouluun valmistautumista.

Christmas Eve - the day our family celebrates Christmas.
Jouluaatto - päivä jolloin meidän perheemme viettää joulua.

Christmas Day - day of playing, relaxing, fun and eating (eating too much!!)..
Joulupäivä - päivä täynnä leikkejä, lepoa, hauskanpitoa ja syömistä (liikaa syömistä!!)..

While our Christmas was very different from our usual Christmas celebrations, it was wonderful. It is sweet to realize it is not the beloved traditions that make Christmas Christmas, but rather the message: Christ, the Savior, is born.

At Christmas Eve service at our church we got to witness a friend give his life to Jesus - which, as one of our sons said after presents, was the best gift of this Christmas. Amen, yes, indeed! Thank you, Jesus!!! (If you'd like to listen to our Christmas Eve service online, please click here.)

I can't believe I'm writing this, but this Christmas in our motorhome, in Florida at a campground, may have been one of our most special Christmas' ever... One we will never forget, at least:)

Linking this post to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot.

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Vaikka joulumme oli kovin erilainen normaalista joulustamme, se oli ihana. Oli upeaa huomata ettei se ole meidän rakkaat traditiomme, jotka tekevät joulusta joulun, vaan joulun sanoma: Vapahtajamme on syntynyt. Kirkkomme jouluaaton jumalanpalveluksessa ystävämme antoi elämänsä Jeesukselle, ja kuten yksi pojistamme sanoi lahjojen antamisen jälkeen, se oli tämän joulun paras lahja. Aamen! Kiitos, Jeesus!! (Kirkkomme jouluaaton jumiksen voi katsoa netistä täältä.)

Vaikea uskoa, että olen kirjoittamassa tämän, mutta tämä joulu asuntoautossamme, leirintäalueella Floridassa, saattoi olla yksi ihanistamme jouluista - tai ainakin yksi mitä emme tule unohtamaan:)

Merry Christmas/Hyvää joulua 2011

2011-12-23T23:13:00.000-05:00

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:10-14

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Mutta enkeli sanoi heille: "Älkää peljätkö; sillä katso, minä ilmoitan teille suuren ilon, joka on tuleva kaikelle kansalle: teille on tänä päivänä syntynyt Vapahtaja, joka on Kristus, Herra, Daavidin kaupungissa." Ja tämä on teille merkkinä: te löydätte lapsen kapaloituna ja seimessä makaamassa." Ja yhtäkkiä oli enkelin kanssa suuri joukko taivaallista sotaväkeä, ja he ylistivät Jumalaa ja sanoivat "Kunnia Jumalalle korkeuksissa, ja maassa rauha ihmisten kesken, joita kohtaan hänellä on hyvä tahto!" Luuk. 2:10-14

Hyvää joulua 2011!

Celebrations/Juhlaa

2011-12-20T19:53:00.000-05:00

Gotcha Day started our week of celebrations.
Thursday night we had a yummy family dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Friday we squeezed in a homeschool Gingerbread House Decorating Party, although we decorated and ate gingerbread men (found at Publix:)

Saturday we celebrated our last day of No Teenagers.

As on Sunday we went from No Teenagers to Four Teenagers as our quadruplets turned thirteen.
We had a fun family birthday party that started at Fort Desoto campground and ended at Medieval Times in Orlando. (Still pinching myself here - how did our little babies turn into teenagers!!??)

Sunday was also Little Miss' Adoption Day. Five years ago on the 18th, on our babies' 8th birthday, we signed the adoption papers in China. Of course we had to celebrate that, too! It's our Family Day:)

A couple of times we managed to ~~go cry~~ hang out at the beach, loving the sand, sun, shells, waves and swimming. We love Florida!!

Monday we spent traveling to Manatee Springs to see the manatees. We saw some pretty far away, but some of the kids enjoyed swimming at the springs. Our first campground didn't work out so well, so we drove down to Crystal River to stay at another.

Today we have had a lazy day, celebrating my birthday. It has been perfect! Sleeping in, taking kids for a long swim at the heated pool, doing some ~~house~~ motorhome work aka laundry, making the Captain grill hamburgers, just staying put. Heaven.

Especially since tomorrow we plan to get back on the road. We are hoping to get settled at Fort Desoto again, decorate The Mothership for Christmas, and get some meal planning done. Our Christmas this year will be very different, our first in the motorhome & in Florida, but the message of CHRISTmas will be the same.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:11

Linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Tämä viikko on ollut yhtä juhlaa. Torstaina menimme kiinalaiseen ravintolaan juhlimaan Pikkuneidin Gotcha-päivää, kun saimme hänet syliimme viisi vuotta sitten Kiinassa. Perjantaina menimme kotikoululaisten Piparitalojen koristelujuhlaan, jossa me koristelimme kaupasta ostetut pipariukot :)

Lauantaina juhlimme viimeistä päivää ilman teini-ikäisiä, koska sunnuntaina neloset täyttivät kolmetoista vuotta! Sunnuntai oli myös Pikkuneidin adoptiopäivä, viisi vuotta sitten Kiinassa allekirjoitimme adoptiopaperit ja virallisesti Pikkuneidistä tuli tyttäremme, ainakin Kiinan viranomaisten silmissä.

Maanantaina matkustimme katsomaan manatee-merilehmiä, ja jouduimme vaihtamaan leirintäaluetta, ja tänään olemme viettäneet minun syntymäpäivääni, laiskotellen. Aah - ihana päivä ollut!!! Huomenna jatkamme matkaa taas, mutta toiveena on päästä takaisin Fort Desoto-leirintäalueelle, jossa aiomme viipyä joulun yli. Aika koristella asuntoauto joulua varten ja suunnitella jouluateria. Meillä on tulossa ensimmäinen joulu Floridassa, asuntoautossa, mutta onneksi joulun sanoma on sama:

Tänään on teille Daavidin kaupungissa syntynyt Vapahtaja. Hän on Kristus, Herra. Luuk. 2:11

Thankful Thursday, Part 2

2011-12-15T23:19:00.000-05:00

Five years ago today, we met our beautiful daughter Little Miss for the first time, in Guangzhou, China. We are so thankful. Adoption starts with a loss, and our little girl had already endured heart-breaking losses in her short life, yet we will always thank our God for bringing her into our family, and marvel at how our Heavenly Father brings beauty from ashes.

I loved reading Gayly's post today, I hope you pop over to quilt-n-mama, too. Adoption truly is a miracle. Happy Gotcha Day to Gayly's family, and also to all the families who traveled with us to China five years ago!

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families. Psalm 68: 5-6

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Viisi vuotta sitten tänään saimme Pikkuneidin syliimme ensimmäisen kerran. Olemme niin kiitollisia! Vaikka adoptio alkaakin menetyksellä ja pikkuisemme joutui kokemaan monet menetykset lyhyen elämänsä aikana, olemme niin kiitollisia, että Taivaan Isä toi hänet meidän perheeseemme. Vain Jumala pystyy luomaan kaunista surusta ja tuskasta...

Hän on orpojen isä ja leskien puolustaja, Jumala pyhässä asunnossansa,

Jumala, joka antaa hyljätyille kodin. Psalmi 68: 5-6

Thankful Thursday/Kiitollisuuden torstai

2011-12-14T00:46:00.001-05:00

We are so thankful for:

- Safe travels from Maine to Virginia to Florida
- Being able to spend some time in beautiful St. Pete
- A beautiful campsite on Fort De Soto campground
- Seeing our Florida friends
- Warm days and cool nights
- Clean bathroom & laundry facilities at the campground
- Getting used to living in such a tiny space again
- Being together as a family, making memories
- Finding new, meaningful ways to celebrate our Savior's birth..

Linking up with Thankful Thursdays at Three Thinking Mothers. On a Wednesday. Kind of on a Tuesday night (I'm up really late).

While we are working and homeschooling (roadschooling), we are sort of on vacation time. I need that clock that counts the days, not hours, while RV'ing :)
I think I will go ahead and publish this, a day early. On Thursday we have another reason to be thankful, but I hope to write more then:)

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Olemme tänään kovin kiitollisia turvallisesta matkasta Floridaan, mahdollisuudesta viettää joulukuu rakkaassa St. Peten kaupungissa, kauniilla leirintäalueella (missä puhtaat pesu-ja pyykkitilat), lämpöisistä päivistä ja viileistä öistä, ystävien tapaamisista, pienissä tiloissa asumiseen tottumisesta, yhdessäolosta, sekä Vapahtajan syntymän juhlimisesta..

Ja juu, huomasin juuri ettei vielä ole torstai. Noh, menkööt postaus nyt jo, torstaina on erityinen syy olla kiitollinen myös, mutta siitä lisää myöhemmin:)

Colonial Williamsburg & Christmas Town, Take II

2011-12-14T00:18:00.001-05:00

On Thursday we returned to Williamsburg, Virginia, this time with the Captain's parents and Grandmother. My sister and her three kids also met us at Colonial Williamsburg, but couldn't make it to Christmas Town this time (wisdom teeth surgery, eek!).

We really appreciated having a second day at both places, and were able to see and do things we missed the first time around. At Colonial Williamsburg we really enjoyed walking through the palace and wig shop, and at Busch Gardens Christmas Town our absolute favorite was the show Gloria. (Well, not sure if the boys enjoyed it as much as Alpengeist-roller coaster, but it was an excellent show retelling the Christmas story of Jesus' birth.)

The best part of Thursday, Friday & Saturday though, was spending time with Grandma, Grandpa & Nanny. They decided not to come to Florida with us, and by now must be back in Maine, so we really treasured our time with them in Virginia. Thank you for meeting us, we had a wonderful time!

Grandpa's pancakes were the best part of Saturday!

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Meillä oli oikein mukava toka vierailu Virginian Williamsburgiin viime viikolla. Oli ihana viettää 2 -3 päivää Kapteenin vanhempien ja isoäidin kanssa ja näyttää heille Colonial Williamsburg ja Christmas Town. Molempiin paikkoihin tarvitsi ainakin kaksi päivää, että näki kaiken haluamansa, joten oli kiva mennä uudestaan niin ulkomuseoalueelle, kuin Joulukyläänkin. Kapteenin vanhemmat päättivätkin lähteä takaisin pohjoiseen, ja me lähdimme lauantaina ajamaan etelää kohti.

Trial Run/Koelähtö

2011-12-07T14:17:00.001-05:00

The Mothership Adventures is ready to take off again!

Sort of.

We leave today, but come back tomorrow night. (Will my sister's family ever get rid of us???)

The reason for our trial run is my sister's wisdom teeth surgery on Friday morning. Since we'll be in the area (we plan to visit Colonial Williamsburg tomorrow and Christmas Town again on Friday, this time with the Captain's parents and (his grandmother) Nanny, who left Maine on Monday), we are coming back to watch my niece and nephews for Friday morning. Then on Saturday morning we start our engines (with Grandma, Grandpa & Nanny in their RV) and head toward Florida!

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Mothership-asuntoauto on valmis lähtemään matkaan. Tai ainakin koereissulle. Lähdemme siskoni luota tänään, mutta palaamme huomenna takaisin. Huomenna menemme Kapteenin vanhempien ja isoäidin kanssa Colonial Williamsburgiin, perjantaiaamulla palaamme hoitamaan siskoni lapsia hänen viisaudenhammasleikkauksen ajaksi, sitten käymme Joulukylässä uudestaan, ja vasta lauantaiaamulla starttaamme kohti Floridaa.

Busch Gardens Christmas Town, VA

2011-11-28T22:49:00.001-05:00

The Mothership Adventures crew is still in Virginia. The Mothership is parked on the curb of my sister's house, and the neighbors are probably wondering when the MotherBeast is moving on. Since Thanksgiving is over and all. Not quite sure yet, but soon-ish, we think.

We had a great (second) Thanksgiving with my sister's family, and for the most part have been laying low (well, as low as you can with a crew of thirteen and being way outnumbered by the kids) and enjoying time visiting each other.

Yesterday, however, we visited had a wonderful outing to Busch Gardens for the first time. We even bumped into some friends from New Hampshire, and my sister saw local friends as well as friends from Maryland in there. (Hi Linda!!!)

The full park wasn't open. The day after Thanksgiving Busch Gardens Christmas Town opens with rides, attractions, shopping and shows. It is only open on the weekends, from 3 pm until 9 or 10 pm, depending on the night. Which worked great for us, we were able to go to church first, come home for lunch, and then head to Williamsburg.

Our half of the crew traveled in the RV and got a great RV parking spot near the England entrance. We even had turkey soup in our crockpot in the RV, but didn't want to leave the park even for an hour to go eat. The soup was a nice midnight snack before bedtime ;-) Dining at the park wasn't cheap, but it wasn't too much either.

We had four adults, one 17-year old, four 12-year olds, two 5-year olds, one 4-year old and a toddler in our crew. And everyone had a fantastic time. We got to the gate right before the park opened and stayed until they closed. My little niece was wrapped to my sister for almost the whole time, but everyone else walked and explored the park without any meltdowns or issues. There was so much to see and do for all ages. For the older kids the Alpengeist-roller coaster was probably the highlight of the park. The little boys enjoyed the train and Jr. Bumper cars.

For the adults the lights and beautiful Christmas music made our time really special (at least for me, I skipped Alpengeist:). I didn't bring our camera since we kept our carry-on to a minimum at the park, so all these pics were snapped with my iPhone - some turned out great, others.. not so much.

We highly recommend stopping and visiting Christmas Town in your travels, and you could even make it a field trip and study the various countries Christmas Town represents. We didn't. We decided to just enjoy ourselves and not call this an official field trip, this time.

One day wasn't quite enough (at least for our size crew) to see everything, but we certainly had a full and fun day. And thank You, Busch Gardens, for keeping Christ in CHRISTmas!

I am linking this post to Sunday Snapshot and Hip Homeschool Hop.

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Olemme vieläkin siskoni luona Virginiassa, nauttien ajasta yhdessä. Eilen menimme Busch Gardens-huvipuiston Joulukylään koko sakilla. Ihan koko puisto ei ollut auki, mutta ihan tarpeeksi riitti vempaimia ja näkemistä kaiken ikäisille. Ihania jouluvaloja ja lauluja, etenkin pimeällä oli upeaa kävellä ympäriinsä. Suosittelemme!

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!

2011-11-23T22:04:00.002-05:00

We wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Mothership Adventures!

This year we have the most turkeys ever. Sixteen, so far. The Captain says they are sugatarian turkeys.

We have so much to be thankful for. Tonight I am grateful for:

- family, both my own, and for the extended family (near and far)
- fun times of playing games, cooking together & hanging out
- yummy Thanksgiving meal
- and that we are cooking it in my sister's kitchen & not the RV:)
- the break in our travels (I so appreciate my sister's washer & dryer!)
- God's plan for each of our lives (both for these next weeks as well as for years to come)
- God's grace

I am linking this post conveniently to Thankful Thursdays at Three Thinking Mothers:)

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Torstaina Yhdysvalloissa vietetään Kiitospäivää. Voit lukea juhlasta lisää täällä. Meillä on kalkkunoita enemmän kuin koskaan:) Kuusitoista tähän mennessä! Tänä iltana olen kiitollinen perheestäni ja suvustani (lähellä ja kaukaa), hauskasta yhdessäolossa täällä siskoni luona, kokkaamisesta (siskon keittiössä eikä asuntoautossa, heh) ja hyvästä ruoasta, tauosta reissaamisesta, sekä Jumalan suunnitelmasta elämäämme varten. Ja Jumalan armosta.

Hyvää Kiitospäivää sitä viettäville!

Thank You/Kiitos!!!

2011-11-21T22:12:00.002-05:00

Thank You so much, my dear readers, for voting for Mothership Adventures on the Homeschool Blog Awards! I was quite surprised, amazed and honored our little blog was nominated.

Tonight the winners were announced, and to my great shock Mothership Adventures won Best Photos Award!! I am so grateful for each one of you who voted us - Thank You!

Check out other winners here.

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Suurkiitos teille rakkaille lukijoillenne äänistänne!!! Mothership Adventures-blogi voitti parhaan valokuvablogikategorian kotikoulublogien äänestyksessä. Ihan uskomatonta... Olin niin otettu, että joku oli ehdottanut tätä meidän blogia kisaan mukaan, ja kun tänään voittajat julistettiin, olen nipistellyt käsivarttani - niin vaikea uskoa. Kiitos teille jokaiselle - ilman teitä minulla ei olisi ollut mitään mahiksia!!

Colonial Williamsburg

2011-11-19T23:05:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving from Virginia!

Despite this picture we are really enjoying our time in Virginia. Today we visited Colonial Williamsburg with my sister & her family, and our nephew from Finland.

The Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg stretches over 301 acres, and includes 88 original 18th-century structures. Hundreds of houses, shops and public outbuildings are reconstructed on their original foundations...

Don't just walk the same streets as Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Patrick Henry— walk alongside them. Costumed interpreters undertake years of study to render the founding fathers in first person every day. See them in Revolutionary City's street-theater scenes, or ask your questions during "Conversation With a Founding Father" programs.

Alongside these giants of American history, meet people whose faces you won't find on coins or bills. The everyday people you'll encounter in the Historic Area made contributions as momentous as the founding fathers'. Without money, title, property or power, many remarkable individuals influenced the course of America's experiment in self-governance. Meet these preachers, servants, farmers, and craftsmen and hear their stories.

(Copied from their website.)

It was a full day of walking and learning and having a wonderful time together.

A perfect homeschool field trip - and a very friendly place for homeschoolers. Even though Colonial Williamsburg's website didn't offer pricing for homeschooling families, we got there and only had to pay $7.50 for kids 7-17 (6 & under was free), and adults were $15 - a huge discount from their regular prices. At gift shops we were given 15% off, also.

One afternoon was not enough to even see our top ten list, so we need to go back sometime soon. There were some hands-on learning spots, and you could interact with tradespeople and ask questions.

Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center had great RV parking, too, which made it easy to arrive there in the Mothership. We were able to have sandwiches in the RV before our outing and we had lasagna cooking in the crockpot for later. There were some great looking Taverns to eat at the village, but with our crew of thirteen people we chose to bring our own food.

Such a fun day!

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot and Hip Homeschool Hop.

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Tänään kiersimme Colonial Williamsburg-kylää siskoni perheen ja Suomesta tulleen siskonpoikamme kanssa. Päivän reissusta tuli kotikoululuokkaretki, etenkin kun saimme selville paikan päällä, että kotikoululaisille on alennusliput. Kävelimme paljon, opimme paljon elämästä 1700-luvulla, nautimme yhdessäolosta, ja päätimme palata takaisin joku päivä - toivottavasti pian!

Hyvää Kiitospäivää Mothership-blogin väeltä!

From Maine to Virginia/Mainestä Virginiaan

2011-11-14T11:47:00.003-05:00

The Mothership started the trip with a crash landing on Friday.

By the time we were done with our packing/organizing/cleaning it was late, dark, and snowing. The only thought I had was "we are leaving just in time" as the Mothership is not designed for snow. We were only headed about 2 1/2 hrs South to visit family for a day.

Shortly after we left town, this happened:

Then this:

Then this:

And then we were pulled out. Basically what happened was there was a car that had stopped in front of the Mothership. The Captain tried to stop the RV, but as he applied the breaks on the snowy & icy road, the Mothership decided to slide into a ditch. No one was hurt and no damage was done, so we are very grateful.

We decided to stay put with our "40 foot toboggan" as the guy doing our foundation said as he pulled over to check on us. So we slept on the side of the road in our RV, then continued driving in the morning.

The morning after look.

Since then we had a wonderful day visiting family, enjoyed an early Thanksgiving feast, and drove to New Hampshire. We spent half a day running errands and had quick visits with friends, before driving through Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey into Delaware.

This morning we arrived in Virginia, and as I type this we are almost to my sister's house where will stay for awhile.

So thankful for safe travels, despite our bumpy start.

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot and Hip Homeschool Moms.

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Mothership-asuntoautomme aloitti pitkän matkan etelään liukumalla tieltä ojaan. Oli pimeää, lumista ja liukasta. Hinaajan avulla pääsimme ojasta pois, mutta päätimme jäädä yöksi tien sivuun, ja jatkoimme aamulla matkaa. Vietimme yhden päivän anoppilassa, sitten puoli päivää New Hampshiressä ystävien luona. Sunnuntaina ajoimme New Hampshirestä itärannikkoa pitkin Delawaren osavaltioon saakka, ja tänä aamulla saavuimme Virginiaan. Pian olemme siskoni luona, jee!!

Dramaattisesta lähdöstä huolimatta matka on mennyt todella hyvin.

Thankful Thursday/Kiitollisuuden torstai

2011-11-09T23:04:00.002-05:00

Yes, we do live a life of adventure.

Yes, it is fun to move around so much. To go on adventures and see new places.

Life is never dull with our crew. {Especially with the Captain, the brainstormer of all our schemes.}

I know we are blessed to be able to travel.

In many ways our family has grown closer over the last two years.

And I know my faith in God has stretched and grown in huge ways.

Good times, good times.

But, there is a flip side, too. (Yes, really:) Here is one little snippet into The Not-So-Glamorous-Life-of-Adventure. {And there may be more confessions to come, as we hit the road this week.}

Yes, these would be pictures of coke cans that had exploded in our RV fridge. Apparently there had been some temperature changes in the fridge as The Mothership has been patiently waiting for our next adventure. (Well, we have had everything from snow to sunny skies in Maine these past weeks!)

Yes, I was the lucky one, who got to scrub a fridge today.

There was a lot of counting my blessings going on:
- So thankful this was coke, not mold or something more disgusting.
- So thankful this happened inside the fridge instead of outside the fridge. I'd rather clean the small fridge than deal with sticky coke on floors, upholstery, walls & ceilings.
- So thankful I discovered it before we left, not on the road..

- Also, I guess I can be thankful I discovered mouse droppings in The Mothership before we left. I have had the joy of washing all kitchen drawers and items in them, plus all the linens in the RV this week. Last year we had to pull over to a laundromat after finding some discoveries on our bed..

And YOU can be thankful I didn't photograph the mouse evidence for the blog!!!

I'd say this post qualifies for Thankful Thursdays on Three Thinking Mothers. I will be quite busy tomorrow as we empty our rental house & take all extra belongings from the RV to our camp. Almost time to leave!

PS. I am still so amazed my little blog was nominated for Best Photos Blog at Homeschool Blog Awards! If you haven't voted yet, go here to vote for Mothership Adventures, of course:) Thank you so much!!

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Ei meidän seikkailijoiden elämä ole pelkkää hohtoa ja hienoutta, vaikka onhan se upeaa matkustaa paljon, nähdä ja kokea uusia paikkoja ja elämyksiä. Viimeiset kaksi vuotta ovat olleet rikkaita ja olemme kasvaneet perheenä lähemmäksi toisiamme, ehdottomasti. Myös usko ja luottamus Jumalaan on venynyt ja kasvanut.

Mutta tänään sain kokea sitä kolikon toista puolta: kokispurkit olivat räjähtäneet asuntoauton jääkaapin sisällä, eli ei kun jynssäämään. Eilen sain myös putsata Mothership'in keittiön laatikoita hiirenkakoista, tänään pesin kaikki astiat ja keittiötarvikkeet. Lakanat ja pyyhkeet myös. Kaikenlaista.

Voi hyvin olla että näitä kolikon-toinen-puoli-paljastuksia tulee lisää blogiin, lähdemme nimittäin matkaan tällä viikolla!

PS. Vielä ehtii äänestää pientä Mothership Adventures-blogiani kotikouluäänestyksessä! Kiitos:)

New Adventures/Uudet seikkailut

2011-11-08T18:47:00.001-05:00

We are leaving Maine this week. My To-Do list (and the Honey-To-Do list) is long.

We are organizing our belongings (well, not the ones in my in-law's basement, which would be most of our earthly belongings), but the ones we've needed/accumulated this Fall, packing up for our next adventure, and cleaning out our rental house where we've lived for the past two months.

I am cleaning and organizing our Mothership RV, which includes cleaning mouse droppings from kitchen drawers (aren't you glad I didn't take photos of that mess?!?), washing everything in the RV kitchen, cleaning the fridge from an exploded coke can (didn't get to it yet), and bringing in new and clean supplies. We need to find a spot for all this stuff we won't be bringing South with us.

The Captain's family agreed to an early Thanksgiving this weekend, so I am hoping we'll have time to bake some pies too, this week.

But there is one more item on my To-Do list, which I started today: taking 7th grade (and Kindergarten) homeschool photos on the shore of our favorite Maine lake before we leave on our adventures. Here is Mr. T, my first ~~victim~~ subject.

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Lähdemme matkaan tällä viikolla. On aika lähteä Mainen osavaltiosta etelää kohti. Tekemisen puutetta ei ole, meidän pitää muuttaa pois vuokrakodista, organisoida asuntoauto, ja pakata tarvittavat kamat mukaan, sekä valmistella aikaista Kiitospäivää varten (ainakin leipoa piirakoita). Sekä yksi tärkeä tehtävä: haluan ottaa 7. luokkalaisten (sekä yhden eskarilaisen) kotikoulukuvat täällä järven rannalla ennen lähtöä. Tänään aloitin Mr. T: kanssa. Ihanaa vaihtelua työn keskelle, tänään jouduin mm. siivoamaan hiirenkakkaa asuntoauton keittiön laatikoista, ugh.

Flabbergasted/Puulla päähän lyöty!!!

2011-11-07T22:07:00.003-05:00

I am so shocked! I went to vote for my bloggy friend Our Side of the Mountain at the Homeschool Blog Awards (did that, friend:), and found Mothership Adventures nominated for the Best Photo Blogs!! I don't know how long the Blog Awards have been going on, or who nominated me, but it totally made my day. {Thank you, dear reader, whoever you are!}

Soooo, please head over to Homeschool Blog Awards and vote for Mothership Adventures! You can vote once, and up to five people in your household can vote. Thank you so much!!!

And to leave you with some iPhone photo love, here's the sunset from our lake last night.

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Olen ihan puulla päähän lyöty. Joku lukijani ilmeisesti (?) oli nimennyt Mothership Adventures blogin kotikoululaisten Homeschool Blog Awards yhdeksi parhaimmaksi valokuvablogiksi. Minun pieni tuntematon blogini siellä, vau. Löysin vasta tänään kun menin äänestämään blogitutun blogia eri katergoriassa. Kovin ei-suomalaisittain kerjään ääniä, menettehän sinne äänestään, jos ei mistään muusta syystä kuin laitetaan (puoli)suomalainen blogi esille, heh heh. Oikeasti olen niin yllättynyt ja otettu. Rakastan ottaa valokuvia, muttei minulla ole minkäänlaista koulutusta tai tietoa, kunhan omaksi iloksi kuvia nappailen. Tässä vielä linkki missä voi äänestää, ja yhdestä kodista saa äänestää viisi kertaa, jos tietokone vaan sallii ja siis asukkaita on ainakin sen verran :)

Orphan Sunday/Adoption Month

2011-11-04T16:06:00.002-04:00

The Lord cares for the orphans and widows. Psalm 146:9

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows. James 1:27

They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. Romans 9:4

November is Adoption Month, and this Sunday is Orphan Sunday. Since our family has been touched by adoption, I wanted to promote adoption and orphan awareness, and to share some resources here. God has given us all a command to care for orphans and widows. To love them, as He has loved us. He adopted us into His family! (And if you are not sure if you are God's child, click here to read more.)

The numbers are staggering. At the moment 162 million orphans around the world. 162 million children waiting for their forever families - for someone to love them, for someone to tuck them in at night and kiss them good-night. Waiting for someone to call them their own, waiting to say "Mommy. Daddy."

Would you pray and ask God if He would have you adopt a child? 

I fully believe that is a prayer God delights to answer! He cares for the orphan. He loves us. If He gives you that stirring, that desire to adopt, He is able to move any mountains in the way. Whether it is financial concerns, a spouse or family member who is against the idea, or whatever it is. We serve a mighty God!

Here are some resources to look into when considering adoption:

- Adoption.com

- Show Hope

- Orphan Sunday

- Children Who Wait (from No Hands But Ours - go to Children Who Wait)

- Rainbow Kids - a great resource on adoption, also has a photolisting available after you register (free)

If God is not calling you to adopt - or to adopt at this point, you can still help. Pray! Pray for orphans to find homes, pray for adoptive families. You can give - there are great organizations who promote adoption and care for orphans. You can give one time gifts or sponsor children monthly. 

Here's a partial listing to get you started:

- Love Without Boundaries

- An Orphan's Wish
- No Hands But Ours

- Half the Sky 
- Cry of the Orphan 

- New Day Foster Home

- Morning Star Family Home

*Edit: Tonight we watched Answer the Cry: Faces of Hope DVD by Focus on the Family, Hope for Orphans and Show Hope. There was not a dry eye in the room. It was so well done, very moving. You can watch it online by clicking here.

A little more reading, three family blogs (also promoting adoption), and as you click on these links, you'll find many more, so grab a cup of coffee, turn your phone off and enjoy:

- Ni Hao Ya'll

- No Greater Joy Mom

- A Place Called Simplicity

You can read our family adoption story here.

Then, an orphan.

Now, our daughter.

Thank you, God! 

PS. Please feel free to leave other questions and/or links in the comments or email them to us. I realize my resources here are just a drop in the bucket. Also, most of my contacts are for China adoption, yet the need is great elsewhere, too.

PS2. Should I add a linky? Anyone else interested in sharing about adoption? 

Thankful Thursday

2011-11-03T22:40:00.001-04:00

Three Thinking Mothers started a new feature called Thankful Thursdays on their blog. What a great idea! Of course Mothership Adventures needs to join in, today I am thankful for...

1. The phone call we received five years ago yesterday, telling us we have a little girl in China, waiting for us..

2. And I am so thankful Little Miss is our little girl - can not imagine life without her.

3. Oh, and our big kids, too :)

4. Today we found out a little girl with a serious heart defect we had been praying for has found a forever family - such wonderful news! An orphan less in this world!

5. We had a good school day today.

6. Little Miss made a new friend at the library story hour - huge progress for her!

7. Missy had a great dance class today - so glad we've found some activities for the kids this Fall here in Maine.

8. The weather has been beautiful (snow almost gone), and a lot of progress has been made on our camp.

9. After a very long break the Captain and I attended a Bible study tonight. Such wonderful fellowship!

10. For God's grace.

Camp Progress/Raksapäivitys

2011-10-30T20:34:00.000-04:00

We may be ~~way way~~ little behind in our camp renovation schedule, but big progress has been made in October. The two parts of the main house have been joined together again, with a new kitchen being built in the middle. Some of the windows have been replaced, insulation added, some of the roof is redone, and foundation is coming along.

In the Sneak Peek blog post I promised an indoor photo of the 'red cabin'. There are two rooms in the cabin, but the living room/kitchen isn't ready yet. So here's a second sneak peek - the bedroom. Very cute, we think!

And yes, we got snow in Maine, too. Not as much as Southern New Hampshire (24" we hear!), but our four inches made it very pretty to wake up this October morning. Makes me think of October 1992 when I left snowy Finland to come to United States for the first time...

Our family loves snow and we actually do the reverse snowbirding where we spend winters in Maine and go to Florida other times of the year (not summer, though), but we have to admit we aren't really super thrilled about this October snow. It sure would be nice to get our camp rebuilding progress further along before the snow comes to stay.

Plus, where is all our winter gear??

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Mökkimme uudelleen rakentaminen on pahasti aikataulusta jäljessä, mutta onneksi edistystäkin on tapahtunut lokakuun aikana. Päärakennuksen kaksi osaa on yhdistetty jälleen, keittiö on tulossa keskelle, ikkunoita on uusittu, katto osittain valmis, eristystä laitettu ja kivijalka edistyy. 'Punaisen' mökin makuuhuone on valmis, olohuone/keittiö tarvitsee vielä viimeistelyä, joten laitoin vain makuuhuoneesta kuvan keskelle.

Ja mekin saimme lunta viime yönä noin 10 cm - ei yhtä paljon kuin edellinen asuinpaikkamme (yli puoli metriä). Normaalisti iloitsisimme lumesta - tykkäämme talvesta niin paljon että tulemme Floridasta pohjoiseen talvea viettämään, mutta tänä vuonna pitäisi saada mökkimme remontti parempaan pisteeseen ennen kuin talvi tulee.

Enkä edes tiedä missä meidän talvikamppeet ovat!

Little Raccoon/Pieni pesukarhu

2011-10-28T15:13:00.002-04:00

Little Miss had a Halloween party at the library yesterday. We've known about the party (and Halloween) for a little while now, but didn't have any costume ideas. We have some assorted costumes from Missy & the brothers, but yes - everything is packed in boxes, stored in my in-law's basement. No worries though - Missy is super creative and a great big sister!

Without instructions, using only a stuffed animal raccoon as a model, this is what Missy created with some face paint, grey clothes, a sock & a headband. Well done, Missy!!

And as the cute little raccoon requested: a group picture was taken before we left for the library.
(Mommy fail - I forgot to take pictures at the library!)

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot, hosted by Stefanie at Ni Hao Ya'll.

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Meiltä löytyi eilen suloinen pieni pesukarhu. Pikkuneidillä oli kirjastossa Halloween-juhla, ja vaikka kaikki naamiaisasumme ovat laatikoissa anoppilan kellarissa, kekseliäs ja ihana isosisko Missy laittoi kokoon tämän asun, sekä maalasi Pikkuneidin kasvot. Äiti unohti ottaa kirjastossa kuvia, mutta Pikkuneidin pyynnöstä saimme sentään ryhmäkuvan sisaruksista.

Adventures In Gold Panning/Kullanhuuhdontaseikkailuja

2011-10-23T19:30:00.000-04:00

This week we went on an unusual homeschool field trip: gold panning!

This sign was hanging outside the building. Hmmm...

Even though we showed up unannounced, we were able to get a free lesson on gold panning.

We could have purchased all kinds of gold panning equipment, but only ended up renting a shovel and two pans, and bought a vial to hold all the gold we were going to find.

Here's our gold prospectors, ready to strike it rich...!

The peek foliage is past in this part of Maine, but it was still very pretty at the river.

And did we find any gold?

Only fool's gold, but made a ton of fun memories, and a promise to return again. Homeschool field trips are a lot of fun!

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot and Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Tällä viikolla menimme erikoiselle kotikoulureissulle - huuhtomaan kultaa! Vuokrasimme pari pannua ja lapion, saimme ilmaisen opetuksen kuinka kultaa huuhdotaan, ja niin vietimme pari tuntia joella. Kaikki kokeilimme, meillä kaikilla oli todella hauskaa, kukaan ei kastunut ihan kokonaan, ja kaikki haluamme mennä uudestaan joku päivä. Ainoa kulta mitä saimme oli katinkulta, mutta päätimme että ensi kerralla paremmalla onnella. Kiva reissu oli, ja vaikka hehkein ruska oli jo mennyt ohi, oli silti todella kaunista.

Fall Decor As Seen In Maine

2011-10-22T20:37:00.000-04:00

The best scarecrow we've seen so far!!!

Happy Fall Days from Mothership Adventures :)

Sneak Peek/Kurkistus

2011-10-14T23:56:00.000-04:00

I am in love! These are the new colors of our former red cabin. Cuteness!! Just need to find a new name, can't exactly keep calling this cabin "the red cabin" anymore. As soon as we get the inside finished too, I will be sharing more pictures.

This is what the red cabin looked like before.

The main camp is still torn apart, so no update on that yet. Stay tuned :)

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Vielä ei enempää kuvia pikkumökeistä, mutta tässä yksi - olen niin ihastunut punaisen mökin uuteen väriskaalaan - suloinen! Sisällä riittää vielä työtä, joten ei kuvia vielä. Ei myöskään päärakennuksesta - se on edelleen kahtena osana. Jatkuu seuraavassa numerossa :)

Up, Up And Away/Yläilmoissa

2011-10-12T23:12:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we did something that made me tremble in my hiking boots. Literally and figuratively.

I don't like heights, and I don't like ski lifts.

We took the chair lift up to the top of the mountain. See the white knuckles, gripping the bar tightly?

What can I say? I needed to get foliage pictures for the blog. {You're welcome.}

It definitely was worth the lift ride to the top! Breathtaking!!

Especially since we made it up, alive. Including mama. Trembling legs and all.

But there was no way we were going to take the ski lift down. No way.

So we hiked down.

It was a long, long way. So long we almost wished we had taken the chair lift down.

See the miniscule building in the middle on the left? That's how far we still had to go. Our legs were jell-o, already. Going down is hard work!

The view was absolutely worth every aching muscle. I'd say it was peak foliage last weekend.

And we made it. All of us.

Headed straight for the car, drove home and crashed.

The End.

{Except our muscles are still hurting.}

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Lauantaina suuntasimme suuren laskettelukeskuksen huipulle, tuolihissillä. Tällä mamalla on korkeanpaikankammo, eikä nämä lasketteluhissit auta asiaa ollenkaan. Mutta ylös mentiin, mamakin. Ja onneksi menimme - näköalat olivat ihan uskomattomat!

Ei tullut kuuloonkaan, että olisimme menneet tuolihissillä alas (vatsasta kouraisee vieläkin, kun ajattelen asiaa), eli piti kävellä alas. Mikä oli pitkä, pitkä matka. Joka tuntuu jaloissa, vieläkin. Mutta onneksi menimme - upea reissu!

Renewed/Uudistunut

2011-10-07T23:29:00.001-04:00

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5

That is how I have been feeling lately. Not fun.

Today's devotional from Jesus Calling (by Sarah Young) was just what I needed. It started:

"In order to hear my voice, you must release all your worries into My care."

So I did. I actually wrote down a list of my worries.

I am not usually one to worry. It has been so tiresome to carry a burden. No matter how much I have prayed, I have been feeling down. I've recalled God's blessings and answers to our prayers, how he has never forsaken us. And yet I have felt so tired and down.

Somehow, writing down my worries did something. It finally released the worry from my heart. God met me there, between my prayer journal pages. And even though this blog is mainly our travel blog, I have to share this victory - my heart is too full to keep his blessings quiet! Thank you, Jesus!!

He filled my heart with gladness and joy! Yippee, Jesus!! (As Linny would say, and if you haven't discovered A Place Called Simplicity - you need to check out this wonderful blog - I just did, a couple of days ago, and have been blessed.).

God is good! All the time!!

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Miksi murehdit, minun sieluni, ja olet minussa niin levoton? Odota Jumalaa. Sillä vielä minä saan häntä kiittää hänen kasvojensa avusta. Ps. 42:5

Huolet ovat painaneet minua viime päivinä (mm. missä tulemme asumaan ensi kuussa, missä asumme talven), ja vaikka kuinka olen rukoillut, olo on silti ollut alakuloinen. Tiedän, että kyllä Herra meistä huolen pitää - niin kuin aina on, mutta jostain syystä en ole saanut rauhaa sydämeeni.

Kunnes tänään luin Jesus Calling-kirjasta (vapaasti käännettynä): "Jotta kuulisit ääneni, sinun tulee antaa kaikki huolesi minun haltuuni."

Ja sen tein. Ihan kirjoitin rukouspäiväkirjaani kaikki huoleni. En tiedä miksi, mutta se auttoi. Ihan tunsin vapautuneeni huolistani, ja niiden tilalle Jeesus antoi ilon ja rauhan. Kiitos, Jeesus!!!

Beautiful Maine Fall/Mainen kaunis syksy

2011-10-03T21:31:00.000-04:00

A week ago, the girls and I took a leaf-peeping drive around the beautiful mountains of Maine. We are so glad we did, as it has rained just about every single day since then. Today it was supposed to rain too, but when we saw the sunshine Little Miss and I decided to drive around to snap a few more pictures.

Since it is supposed to rain again tomorrow. And the rest of the week, pretty much.

Enjoy the pictures, Maine is so beautiful, and the colors magnificent this time of the year!

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot and Hip Homeschool Hop.

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Viikko sitten tyttöjen kanssa ajelimme ihailemaan ruskaa, onneksi, sillä siitä lähtien on satanut. Tällekin päivälle luvattiin sadetta, ja loppuviikoksi myös. Onneksi kuitenkin aurinko paistoi tänään, ja Pikkuneidin kanssa postinhakureissulla jatkoimme matkaa ihaillaksemme Mainen kaunista syksyä.

Magical Morning in Maine/Taianomainen aamu

2011-09-28T11:17:00.001-04:00

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:16-19

Homeschool Update

2011-09-27T15:18:00.007-04:00

Photo from June

Our Fall has not just been full of blueberry picking, baking and hiking, we actually did start homeschooling, too. I guess we can consider our outings field trips or PE, right!? ;-)

Our four older kids are in 7th grade and Little Miss is in Kindergarten. I haven't taken an official beginning of the school year photo yet {mom fail}.

MONARCH

You can click on the logo to view Monarch.

We are still mostly a Monarch-family. Mr. T does all five subjects (Language Arts, Math, Science, Bible and History & Geography) plus a Health elective on his computer. He works very independently, and wanted everything to be Monarch. We respected his wishes, and he is doing great.

Monarch is great for the independent learner - the lessons are all together, the program is easy to use, and even though it is a new program, we rarely come across any bugs any more (an issue in the first months last year). Monarch grades most of the problems for you, so that is a major plus for a busy mom. I check my student's daily work report every day, and any time they didn't get 100% A, I check why. I don't expect them t get perfect scores, but I want to check if the computer made a mistake, or if my student didn't learn the concept. Sometimes I need to mark problems to be reworked.

Missy uses Monarch for everything except Bible and Art. She has been doing very well in her studies (much better than she did when our children attended a Christian school - I think school then was mainly a social activity for her).

Missy's, Mr. A's and Mr. D's elective this year is Family and Consumer Science. It is a fantastic elective on basic life skills like housekeeping, cooking, finances etc. Mr. T is planning to take it in the Spring - I want him to, this is so excellent. As a teacher, I decided to take quizzes and tests out, I want my students to have fun with this class.

BIBLE

Click on the photo to view Apologia

Our Bible curriculum this year is Apologia's Who Is God? And Can I Really Know Him?
I am perfectly happy with Monarch's Bible Curriculum, and highly recommend it, but we won this book last year in a giveaway, and it also looks very good, so this year we are going with it. Some days we read the lesson together, and some days my students do the lesson independently. We have notebooks for everyone, and practice handwriting by writing Bible verses down. We also have a Who Is God coloring book for Little Miss to follow along (which at the moment she isn't too interested in).

SCIENCE

Mr. D and Mr. A were not enjoying science last year, so I started reviewing various science curricula for them. Missy and Mr. T chose to stick with Monarch, which was fine with me. It looks like we will be doing a mix of science programs this year. Today they started Science Jim's Live Web Class on Newton's Laws. They missed the first two live classes, but were able to watch them online. This is what the description says on Science Jim's website:

Join Science Jim and explore Newton’s groundbreaking discoveries as we discuss gravity, momentum, acceleration and all three of Newton’s laws of motion. What does Newton’s first law have to do with getting ketchup out of a bottle? Why should all amusement parks be called NewtonLand? What do Newton’s laws have to do with me riding my skateboard (and wearing my helmet)? This class will make you realize how key Newton’s laws are to everyday life and will have you seeing them everywhere! The lessons in the free Bite-Size Physics: Mechanics eBook accompany each online class and are packed with experiments and activities that the students are encouraged to do as "lab work" after each class. We will discuss the "lab findings" the following week. Each class is recorded so you can watch them whenever, and as often as, you’d like.

This is a 9 week class, meeting once a week until November 8th. The students are able to communicate with Science Jim during the class via chat, and ask questions. Mr. A & Mr. D loved it!! Missy decided to join in also, and all three of them reported they participated in the class. Yay! I'm sure Mr. Science Jim can teach Newton's Laws way better than this homeschooling mom... We'll most likely continue Science Jim's classes in the Spring, too. Mr. A has his eye on the Physics of Flight classes. It is wonderful to see the boys excited about science again!

Before we found out about Science Jim, we did one month of Supercharged Science. There are great videos and lessons available, but we did find it a little confusing what to do when. We'll still use some of their material, there is a free live tele-class next week on sound and sonic vibrations we signed up for.

We also signed up to access Robert Krampf's The Happy Scientist videos and experiments. Via Homeschool Buyers Co-Op the fee was only $10. These videos are short, and the kids have found them interesting.

ART

The girls are using Atelier for their art classes. I discovered Atelier at a homeschool convention in Virginia this summer, and purchased a trial size curriculum. It had six lessons, and the girls finished them in a week. I was thrilled to buy a full curriculum for this year with a discount through Homeschool Buyers Co-Op. I gave the boys an option to participate, but they weren't interested. Atelier is a dvd-based curriculum where you watch the teacher give an art lesson, and step-by-step instructions, and you watch, listen, then pause the dvd to do the steps yourself. It is designed to be used at home or at a homeschool co-op. We think it's fantastic!

Click on the image to read about Acorn or to purchase

The boys have been interested in graphic arts for a while, and we have been looking at various photo or image-editing programs that wouldn't break the bank or be too difficult to use. This past weekend we purchased Acorn, and the boys are all learning how it works.

PE

This Fall we didn't come up to Maine early enough to sign up for soccer, so they are not involved in sports at the moment. Mr. T is bummed about that, but is hoping to sign up later in the year for basketball or something else. We know all five of our kids will be skiing this winter, we were able to buy very inexpensive season passes for them. Plus we all enjoy snowmobiling, sledding & ice skating.

Missy started both Tap classes and Jazz classes, both for the first time. She is very excited, and is hoping to make friends through these dance classes. (We are still pretty new in this area - bought our camp in April, but traveled most of the summer.)

At the moment our PE consists daily walks from our rental house to the red cabin at our camp - and back. Some days twice or three times. Our camp is going through major rebuilding and is not fit for living (we tried). The small red cabin is almost ready, and has better internet than our rental house, so after breakfast and morning chores my four older students take their lap top computers and head to the red cabin to do school. It is also the Captain's office. It's maybe a 10 minute walk downhill to the cabin, but a rigorous 20-30 minute hike back up. Little Miss and Mama make the trek daily too (trying to get in shape here!). Plus we are really trying to go hiking most weeks until the snow flies. Which, we hear, could be as early as October.

KINDERGARTEN

Little Miss got her first bike this Fall!

I feel quite unorganized with Little Miss' Kindergarten Curriculum, but once I sat down to write down things we do, I realized she is actually doing quite a bit. At the moment we work together after breakfast, some days she wants to do school for an hour, some days only 10 minutes. We might do something later that day too, but not necessarily. I am trying to keep it fun and go at her pace.

In addition to PE, Bible and Art, we all visit the library, usually once a week, but sometimes more often. Little Miss loves books, so we read to her every day - usually at bedtime. Her favorite books at the moment are Berenstain Bears.

Image Link to B&N

We have three Kindergarten books we are working on: Phonics, Reading and Math. They are by Active Minds, but must be discontinued as I couldn't find them online anymore. The picture above is from the same series, but our books are Kindergarten ones.

Little Miss enjoys working on the computer, just like the big siblings. Our favorite Kindergarten (we used some of these for preschool, too) websites are Starfall and Explode the Code. She also goes on Pbskids.org, Nickjr.com and Disney websites. Most of them have educational games.

SUMMARY

Overall I think our year has started well. After our stressful move from New Hampshire I felt weary to start our year, but homeschooling has brought discipline and routine to our days. We are starting to get into a good rhythm, and each child has daily chores around the house. As this is our third year of homeschooling I feel more confident than when we first started. An occasional horrible, terrible, very bad day doesn't mean the whole year is doomed (or even a few of them). Those are the days when a field trip is the best thing for all of us, or a pajama day.

And because we homeschool - we can plan another family trip in the Mothership - after all, we've been staying put now for almost a month :)

PS. I am not being compensated for mentioning any of these homeschooling products. I am just sharing what we are using and what works for us. None of the links benefit our family in any way.

Fall Drive in Maine/Ruskaa

2011-09-26T17:47:00.008-04:00

It is starting to be peak Fall foliage in Northern Maine.
(I think a whole month ahead of Southern New Hampshire! Am I right?)

I have been itching to go for a Sunday drive with my camera.

Today, after (home)school, the girls and I headed out.
(On a Monday afternoon drive.)

There may or may not have been an incentive to go out for ice cream afterward.

I am so glad we were able to go.

The world was glorious today!

The colors vibrant and and overwhelmingly beautiful!

I love Fall.

Especially in New England.

We stopped by a farm stand.

Admired all the flowers.

Bought ~~ice cream~~ vegetables.

And drove home.

The end.

Linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Ruska on kauneimmillaan pohjois-Mainessä juuri nyt! Tyttöjen kanssa lähdimme ajelulle kameran kanssa. Mahdollisesti pysähdyimme jäätelölle reissulla. Maisemat olivat henkeäsalpaavan kauniit! Onneksi menimme.

Sunday Snapshot {Family Hike}

2011-09-25T22:20:00.003-04:00

Sunday Highlights:

- Great little village church to attend.
- A beautiful Fall Sunday in Maine.
- The Captain safely home from his trip to Canada.
- So many hiking trails to explore - this one became a favorite so far.
- Family time all together!

All Those Blueberries/Kaikki mustikat?

2011-09-20T20:26:00.005-04:00

So what do we do with all the blueberries we've picked?

The first batch we just ate raw. With cereal, with oatmeal, with ice cream, with nothing at all. Yum. Just pure yumminess. Wild Maine blueberries are the best! (Unless you are a Finnish reader, in which case Finnish blueberries are the best! Truly, mother!! :)

And from yesterday's blueberries we decided to make a blueberry pie. We've made blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, but I can't remember if we've ever made a blueberry pie before. So I googled "blueberry pie" and found this recipe.

For our apple and pumpkin pies, we always use our never-fail-pie-crust-recipe. It's called Pillsbury Pie Crust. I decided to stick with the same recipe today, also.

Since we bake with honey, not sugar, I had to tweak the recipe quite a bit.

The Mothership Adventures Amazing Blueberry Pie

2 pie crusts
4 cups of fresh wild Maine blueberries
1/2 cup honey
6 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 T butter
egg white
vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 400F/200 C. Mix honey, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon. Pour over blueberries.
Line one pie crust in pie plate, pour cinnamon mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Cut remaining pastry into 3/4 inch wide strips, and make lattice top. Crimp and flute edges. Paste with egg white (or milk). Bake 50 minutes. Make a foil tent over pie if starting to brown too soon (I had to do that). Let it sit for an hour before cutting into, otherwise filling can be too watery. Serve with vanilla ice cream and pinch yourself - you haven't died and gone to heaven yet - this pie really is that good!

And here's the proof. Yum. (That was the seventh pie in less than a week. And I'm planning to make another one for lunch tomorrow as the Captain's parents and Nanny are coming over for a visit. Shhh!!!!)

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Ekan mustikkareissun mustikat söimme sellaisenaan, tai murojen, puuron tai jäätelön kanssa. Eilisistä mustikoista tein mustikkapiirakan, yllä resepti (jos kukaan haluaa reseptin suomeksi, laittakaa sanaa kommenttilootaan - pohja oli ostopohja). Taivaallista piirakkaa, suosittelen!!

Two Lessons/Kaksi opetusta

2011-09-19T19:14:00.004-04:00

We learned two things today while blueberry picking.

1) Going blueberry picking with boys is a whole different experience than with girls.

2) Never, ever, wear crocks to blueberry picking.

So now you know.

Linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Opimme tänään kaksi uutta asiaa mustikkareissullamme. 1) Mustikkareissu poikien kanssa on ihan erilainen kokemus kuin tyttöjen kanssa. 2) Älä koskaan, koskaan mene mustikkaan crocs'it jalassa. Nyt tiedät sinäkin.

Yummy Fall Goodies/Syksyherkkuja

2011-09-19T15:19:00.005-04:00

Fall is in Northern Maine, for sure. The leaves are turning, the weather is cooler, and our rental house kitchen is producing all kinds of yummy Fall goodies.

So thankful to have a real kitchen again! The RV kitchen (without an oven) just didn't invite us to do any baking (and not much cooking, either). I will share an apple sauce recipe though, that would be as easy to do in the RV as in any kitchen.

This weekend we made four apple pies, two pumpkin pies, and a big pot of apple sauce. The apples came from our own trees at the camp, we think they might be macintosh apples, but not sure. Very tart!

Crockpot Honey Applesauce

15-20 Apples
1/2 cup Honey
1/2 cup Water
1 tsp Cinnamon

Peel, core and slice apples. Fill crockpot 3/4 full of apples, add honey, water and cinnamon. Cook about 7 hours on low or 4 hours on high. Mix well and serve warm.

PS. We have one pie left, and a small bowl of apple sauce. Time to pick more apples :)

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Ya'll.

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Syksy on tullut pohjois-Maineen - ilmat viilenevät, ruska värittää metsät kauniiksi, ja keittiöstä tulee oikein syksyisiä tuoksuja.

Teimme neljä omenapiirakkaa, kaksi kurpitsapiirakkaa, sekä ison kulhollisen omenahilloa, jota söimme amerikkalaisittain välipalaksi lusikalla kulhosta. Yksi piirakka jäljellä, ja ihan vähän hilloa - aika hakea lisää omenia :)

Thankful Heart/Kiitolllisena

2011-09-15T21:39:00.003-04:00

After two weeks of camping out, the girls and I headed out to civilization (aka town of the closest Walmart - an hour drive, seriously). We had fun, and now have a stocked fridge and pantry.

We desperately needed to make the trip for more provisions, but a) the weather up here had been so beautiful last week I didn't want to spend the day in the car and shopping and b) at the camp we had no space for any food. Cooking, eating & cleaning up had been a major chore. We had been surviving on pizza, ~~canned~~ soup and sandwiches. Pretty much on paper plates, taking turns eating at the teeny RV table (while our camp is being rebuilt).

But as of last night, God provided. SO clearly. He arranged a house for us to rent. On our road. It takes about five minutes to walk from this house to our camp. This house is large enough for our family, everyone actually has a real bed. We have a kitchen! We have a dining room table big enough to seat all seven of us, a living room, a bath tub, laundry. And as of tonight, hot water and heat too.

God is good. All the time. (And this mama is so thankful.)

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Kiitollisin mielin kirjoitan, että kaksi viikkoa leirielämää on vihdoin päättynyt. Taivaan Isä järjesti meille ison vuokrakodin samalta tieltä, missä meidän mökkimme on. Kapteeni voi kävellä aamuisin työmaalle seuraamaan mökin uudelleen rakentamista, ja me muut voimme pitää kotikoulua ja normaalia arkea kauniissa, isossa, mukavassa talossa. Tänään tyttöjen kanssa jopa ajoimme viereiseen kaupunkiin supermarketiin (tunnin ajomatka) hakemaan ruokaa ja tarvikkeita - leiriarjessa kun elettiin paljon pizzan ja nakkien avulla.. Kiva reissu, ja tämä mama on kiitollinen kun sai taas toimivan ja mukavan pesän ympärilleen :)

Blueberry Picking/Mustikassa

2011-09-12T21:24:00.004-04:00

What would you do on a homeschool day when the internet doesn't work and your school is online based and the library is closed and you live too far away from free public wi-fi spots?

This is what we did:

1) First we read through our Apologia Who Is God? Bible lesson, which is the only subject (other than PE) not online, then notebooked a little about the lesson (which is our handwriting practice).

2) For an hour or so, our 7th graders picked up their laptop computers and joined our neighbor on her porch. When she heard we didn't have internet she graciously invited the children over to use her connection. They each worked on about 1.5 lessons.

3) After lunch the boys joined the Captain in picking up loose siding and roof shingles from around the camp. PE? After two plus hours they went swimming. A little more PE?

4) Us girls joined our neighbor in blueberry picking! And as we are kind and generous souls we shared our bounty with the boys. Next time we'll all go! Wild Maine blueberries are yummy :)

What a GREAT homeschool day today turned out to be!

Linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop - come check out other GREAT homeschoolers and their blogs:

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Meillä ei toiminut internet tänään, mikä voisi tehdä kotikoulupäivästä hankalan, meidän kotikouluohjelmamme kun on netissä. Mutta me keksimme keinot: Pidimme ensin uskontotunnin (ainoa koulukirja, joka meillä on), sitten 7. luokkalaiset saivat käyttää noin tunnin ajan naapurin internet-yhteyttä heidän kuistillaan. Lounaan jälkeen pojat auttoivat Kapteenia remonttisiivouksessa pihalla, ja me tytöt lähdimme naapuritädin kanssa mustikkaan. Mainen villit mustikat olivat samanlaisia kuin suomalaiset, mutta kasvoivat pellolla, ei metsässä. (Tosin saattaahan niitä metsissäkin kasvaa, tämä oli meidän eka kertamme Mainen mustikoita poimimassa.) Nam, olivat ihania, saimme niin paljon että annoimme poikienkin syödä vatsat ja suut täyteen. Pian uudestaan :)

We Remember/Me muistamme

2011-09-11T11:08:00.003-04:00

Photo credit

9/11/2001 We will never forget. Emme koskaan unohda.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see what the LORD has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields[d] with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

The LORD Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 46
(Suomeksi/In Finnish)

Photo credit

These Days/Näinä päivinä

2011-09-09T23:10:00.002-04:00

Running a household is a bit.... challenging these days. We have had to escape to the library to homeschool as our camp has been turned upside down and sideways, and the clanging and banging is enough to drive a saint mad. I'll spare you all the details, just trust me when I say it is not pretty.

But what IS pretty is turning our backs on the camp and looking out to the lake. Peaceful, perfect, beautiful, soul-soothing.

At least after the construction crew has gone home.

I remember now why we are here.

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Arki Mainen mökillämme on näinä päivinä todella hankalaa. Viime päivinä olemme lasten kanssa karanneet kirjastoon kotikoulua pitämään, äänekäs remontti saisi pyhimyksenkin tulemaan hulluksi. Mutta iltaisin voi kääntää selän remonttisotkulle, mennä laiturille viinilasin kanssa istumaan ja nauttimaan. Ja muistamaan miksi olemme täällä.

Hiking Bald Mountain/Patikoimassa

2011-09-06T23:39:00.005-04:00

On a wet, wet Labor Day, we ventured out on a family hike to Bald Mountain. Our trail map said 1.3 miles to the top, a moderate hike. The Captain and I disagree - this was way harder than Mount Monadnock (1.9 miles to the top) in New Hampshire where we got engaged. It may have been the wet trail conditions that made it so challenging. (Yes, that's it, at least that is the story I am sticking with!)

I told the Captain this was such a hard trail I hope it wasn't the last hike of the season with the kids. Soon after that, while we were still climbing up, our older kiddos skipped and hopped back toward us and said the top was ways and ways away still, and how they took nice long 10 minute breaks and finally decided to start their way down.

At the bottom one of the kids said it was so much fun he wants to go it again tomorrow!

If only mom & dad can still climb out of bed...

And yes, today I can definitely feel the hike in my old body :) And no, we didn't go hiking again today. We started school and worked on organizing our bedrooms!

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Kävimme eilen koko perhe patikoimassa, vaikka oli sateinen ja märkä päivä. Reitti vuoren huipulle oli kaksi kilometriä pitkä, ja vitsailin alussa että no kyllä me ainakin se jaksetaan patikoida. Huipulla pitikin kerätä kaikki voimanrippeet että jaksoimme patikoida takaisin alas - tai siis Kapteenin ja minun piti - lapsilla ei ollut mitään hätää, ja hyppelehtivät edellämme niin että heidän piti ihan alkaa kiipeämään takaisin ylös kun meitä ei alkanut kuulumaan, heh heh. Kivaa oli kuitenkin kaikilla, ja kunhan kroppa tästä toipuu niin uudestaan uudelle reitille!

Last Weeks, Recapped/Viime viikot

2011-09-05T21:38:00.004-04:00

Most of August was spent packing up our New Hampshire house.

Hurricane Irene weekend was our actual moving weekend. Yes, great timing.

We moved our belongings to Maine, to the Captain's parents' basement (and attic). By the time we got there we were barely functioning.

In Maine Irene brought rain, and the power was out for about 24 hrs - so glad my in-laws have a generator! In New Hampshire we needed to hire someone to go clean all the debris from our yard, and the house had been without power for a few days, but no one was there.

Next the Captain and two of our boys headed up North to our camp to find no hurricane damage at our property, so they decided to create some of their own ;-)

The camp was cut in half so we can put in a foundation and a basement.

Meanwhile Little Miss and I headed back to New Hampshire to clean our house, pick up the last of our belongings, to close on the house and to....

... pick up Missy and Mr. A from the airport!!! They had had a great time in Finland (and had wanted to stay longer), but it was soooo nice to see them again {hearts}. We even got to visit with my sister and her family a few minutes before they continued on to their next flight.

And a few days later our whole family was together again!!!! I think the boys missed each other :)

Late Saturday night we all drove back to our camp in Maine.

The house is still cut in half. We have had a lot of thunder and lightning storms, and rain. Rain both outside and inside... We are still trying to figure out if we can make this work in the next few weeks. The goal is to have all the outside work done before winter, and our little red two room cabin is almost ready, so we could move in there.

But for now we are sleeping in the main camp bedrooms (untouched at this point), and using the Mothership as our living room and kitchen. It's a bit rough. Kind of like camping.

But the view is incredible.... :)

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Ya'll (I wonder how the move went with Stefanie's crew :)

And to Hip Homeschool Hop (even though we still haven't officially started our homeschool year - this week, me thinks).

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Viime viikot toivat mukanaan paljon pakkaamista ja muuttoviikonlopun juuri hurrikaani Irenen aikaan. Onneksi selvisimme vähillä vahingoilla joka paikassa (New Hampshiressä piti siivota piha, Kapteenin vanhemmilla katkesi sähköt n. 24h ajaksi ja pohjoisen mökillä ei ollut tuhoja ollenkaan). Mutta Kapteeni palasi mökille, ja sai aloitettua omat hurrikaanituhot: talo on nyt leikattu kahtia, että saamme kivijalan ja kellarin rakennuksen alle.

Samaan aikaan sain tyhjättyä (kaikesta mitä vielä taloon oli jäänyt) ja siivottua New Hampshiren talomme, kauppakirjat kirjoitettua, ja hain lentokentältä Missyn ja Mr. A:n - heillä oli ollut mahtava kuukausi Suomessa! Lauantaina saimme koko perheen kokoon taas {sydämiä} ja suuntasimme pohjoisen kaaokseen.

En tiedä vielä voimmeko asua täällä seuraavat viikot. Käytämme päärakennuksen makuuhuoneita ja vessoja nukkumiseen (niihin ei ole remontti yltänyt vielä), mutta siellä ei ole keittiötä tai olohuonetta, joten asuntoauto on käytössä myös. Mahdollisesti muutamme viereiseen kahden huoneen punaiseen mökkiin, joka on melkein valmis, tai voi olla että pitää keksiä muita vaihtoehtoja.. Tänä viikonloppuna on satanut paljon, myös sisällä. Eli aika lailla leirintäelämää täällä...

Mutta järvinäköala on upea....!

Disappearing Beaker

2011-08-23T23:08:00.003-04:00

Confession: Even though we haven't officially started homeschooling yet this year, three of my students are doing some schoolwork in the mornings if they are not helping me pack. (Moving vans are arriving this weekend, so we will probably forget about school again.)

Mr. D is evaluating a new science curriculum this month: Supercharged Science. He is working on the first unit on Mechanics, but also looking around the website for an overview of the material. He came across this light experiment on Disappearing Beaker, and decided to try it one morning (since we had all three ingredients needed: a pyrex dish, a bigger see-through dish and cooking oil.)

(If you look around, you can see how the rooms are getting empty and you might spot a box or two, although I do try to block messy backgrounds when I can :)

Very cool!!! Mr. D was able to bend the light to make the beaker disappear (harder to tell in the photo). Aurora from Supercharged Science writes:

"Pyrex has the same index of refraction as the oil, which means your eye can’t tell the difference between the two visually because passes through both the same way...

As the index of refraction value increases, the optical density increases, and the speed of light in that material decreases. For a vacuum, the index of refraction is 1.0000 (lowest optical density), and this is where light travels fastest. The index of refraction values give us a way to measure of the relative speed of a light wave in a particular material or medium. If we know the relative speeds, we can predict which way light bends when moving from one medium to another."

So far Mr. D has enjoyed his Supercharged Science lessons, we'll see if this is what we'll use for his 7th grade science!

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I'm linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop - over 100 links are already up, come on and join us!!

Sunday Snapshot {Love}

2011-08-21T17:39:00.005-04:00

This is what love looks like!

Grandma and Grandpa came yesterday to pick up a huge load of our belongings - filled up their RV and trailer and brought it to their home. There might be light at end of this tunnel..

Thank you, Grandma & Grandpa! Enjoy the furniture - pretty good trade for letting our us store our stuff in your basement :)

This post is linked to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot at Ni Hao Y'All.

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Kapteenin vanhemmat kävivät meillä eilen ja täyttivät asuntoautonsa ja peräkärrynsä ihan täyteen meidän laatikoita ja pienempiä huonekaluja, viedäkseen oman kotinsa kellariin. Ehdottomasti rakkautta!!

Moments of Summer/Kesänhetkiä

2011-08-15T20:09:00.004-04:00

I don't know about you, but I am just not ready to say good-bye to Summer yet. Even though there is definitely a hint of Fall in the air. (Rain today, all day!)

And even though we have started to do some school work (only half of my students doing half days at best), we are not going to admit summer vacation is over.

This weekend I found myself having special time with only two of my children: Mr. T & Little Miss. (Mr. A & Missy are still in Finland, Mr. D got invited to spend the weekend with friends & the Captain took a trip to Maine to restart renovations up there.)

There really was just one thing to do.

We headed out to our neighborhood ice cream farm! The place we'll miss most in New Hampshire after we leave in September. I will so miss ~~my malted milk ice cream~~ this wonderful state!

I'm linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop - click the image to visit other homeschool blogs!

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Suomessa taisi alkaa koulut jo tällä viikolla, ja monessa osavaltiossa täälläkin. Vaikka mekin olemme tehneet puolikkaita koulupäiviä puolella perheellä, emme ole vielä valmiita myöntämään, että kesäloma on ohi.
Viikonloppuna sain viettää aikaa Mr. T:n ja Pikkuneidin kanssa (Mr. A & Missy ovat edelleen Suomessa, Mr. D vietti viikonlopun kaverin luona ja Kapteeni kävi aloittamassa remontin Mainen mökillämme), joten minne muualle suuntasimme kuin naapuriston jätskifarmille! Minun tulee niin ikävä ~~suosikkijätskiäni (jota ei saa muualta kuin New Hampshirestä tietyistä jätskipaikoista)~~ tätä ihanaa osavaltiota kun muutamme pois!

I Wish I Was In Finland/Olisinpa Suomessa!

2011-08-13T18:17:00.005-04:00

I'm sure you all know how much us Finns love our sauna (I am SO going to miss my sauna from this house - less than a month here now), but what you think about my sister's hot tub? We've all decided Mr. A & Missy are so lucky to spending a month in Finland.

It has been two years since our last visit to Finland. This amazing hot tub wasn't there then.

37 C equals about 99 F! Which isn't as hot as the sauna would be :)

I think Mr. A is liking it!

I wouldn't want to get out either. Enjoy it, Missy & Mr. A!!

Linking to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot, come check out all the other fantastic entries!

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Olisimmepa Suomessa! Kateellisena katsomme Suomi-kuvia: meidän kaikkien mielestä Mr. A ja Missy ovat onnenlapsia, kun saavat viettää kuukauden Suomessa!! Kaksi vuotta sitten viimeisellä reissullamme, mökillä ei ollut vielä siskon ja hänen miehensä uutta vesipaljua... Huomenna on myös rippilapsemme konfirmaatio.. Miksemme ole siellä??

Random Photos/Erinäisiä kuvia

2011-08-12T22:27:00.007-04:00

Random photos in random order. All from today. Amidst packing we actually stopped to smell the roses. And the Mothership is doubling up as a moving truck/plumbing supply van ;-)

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Sekalaisia kuvia sekalaisessa järjestyksessä, kaikki tänään otettuja. Pakkaamisen keskellä itse asiassa pysähdyimme ihastelemaan kukkia. Ja Mothership-asuntoautomme toimi muuttoautona ja putkimiehen rekkana ;-)

Sunday Snapshot {Finland Photos}

2011-08-07T23:03:00.001-04:00

Missy and Mr. A seem pretty happy in Finland, don't you think? Photos sent by my parents.
Missy ja Mr. A näyttävät aika onnellisilta Suomessa, eikös? Kuvat vanhemmiltani (kiitos!).

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Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot, hosted by Stefanie at Ni Hao Ya'll.

Memory Lane/Muistojen tie

2011-08-05T21:21:00.006-04:00

I realized this week I need to get in high gear and start packing up our belongings. After the house inspection on Wednesday selling our house became a little more real. Today I accomplished going through one hutch, three kids' closets, and carried a bunch of boxes from the basement to the garage. (So glad I spent a few weeks last summer going through all our stuff!)

What slowed things down was the stop at Memory Lane... Gosh, how ~~dorky~~ cute did we look way back when before kids???

Maybe four months pregnant with quads? Honestly, I have no idea how far along I was..

Summer 1999 on Nantucket Island.

There were many many more photos that I just may have to upload to facebook tonight ;-)

With Grandpa's help we filled up the trailer and Grandpa's car - the first of many many loads before our house is empty... If this blog quiets down for the next 1.5 months, you'll know what we are doing. And in case you are wondering where our belongings are going - for now to the Captain's parents' basement. Our camp in Maine is going to go through major renovations and isn't ready for a houseload of stuff.

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Tällä viikolla tajusin, että meidän pitää aloittaa talon pakkaaminen. Onneksi saimme tehtyä ison osan jo vuosi sitten, mutta nyt näyttää siltä, että talollemme on oikeasti löytyneet ostajat. Kymmenen päivän kuluttua pitäisi varmasti tietää, ja kauppakirjat kirjoitetaan syyskuun alussa, eli eipä tässä ole kauheasti aikaa saada omaisuus laatikoihin. Tänään aloitin, mutta työtä hidasti pysäkki Muistojen tiellä :) Saimme kuitenkin peräkärryllisen lähetettyä isoisän mukaan - heidän kellariinsa, koska mökkimme Mainessä tarvitsee isoa remonttia, emmekä voi viedä talollista tavaramäärää sinne. Jos blogi hiljenee, tiedätte mitä me olemme tekemässä...

Two To Finland/Kaksi Suomeen

2011-08-03T22:32:00.004-04:00

Our traveling summer continues.. At least for part of our family. We said goodbyes to Missy and Mr. A today, as they joined my sister (and her three little ones) in Boston, and are on their way to Finland at the moment. They were so excited to go, and we are happy they get to go visit Muori and Vaari (their Finnish grandparents), but it sure feels empty at our house tonight. They will be gone all of August...

I must be getting rusty at blogging. I never even thought to take a picture of them when they left, nor ask the Captain to take a picture at the airport.. Oops!! I guess I was too busy holding them a moment longer... I did send messages to my sister to take some pics, and hope she gets internet at the Amsterdam airport, where they have a layover tonight. The photo above from my parents' cabin in Finland is from years ago when our big kids were not so big yet. Hopefully my sister (or mom) will send some pictures I can add here tomorrow.

Kiitos, äiti, kuvasta!!

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Tällä hetkellä kaksi lapsistamme on matkalla Suomeen!! He treffasivat Bostonissa siskoni ja hänen kolme lastaan, ja yhdessä jatkoivat matkaa. Yöllä on vaihto Amsterdamissa, ja huomenaamulla pääsevät perille Helsinkiin. Lasten lähtiessä minulle ei tullut mieleenkään ottaa heistä kuvaa, eikä Kapteenikaan huomannut ottaa lentokentällä. Toivottavasti sisko tai äiti lähettää huomenna kuvia, joita voin laittaa tänne. Tuo yllä oleva on otettu vuosia sitten, kun koululaiset eivät olleet vielä niin isoja... Kuva vanhempieni mökiltä Suomessa.

Sunday Snapshot {A Week on Nantucket}

2011-07-31T20:44:00.004-04:00

We had another busy, wonderful week on beautiful Nantucket Island:

- catching turtles when trying to catch crabs
- going to eel point and discovering a fun sandbar
- pulling out a stuck jeep from the way to surfside - turns out grandpa had done some work on this jeep!! (small world)
- having fun at surfside
- seeing the 'zoo animals' on the way to 'sconset
- fishing
- sankaty head lighthouse
- having crabs for dinner
- the old windmill
- dinner prep with and for fifteen people - every day :)
- scrabble and other games
- the shipwreck and life saving museum
- pretty walk in 'sconset
- brandt point lighthouse
- downtown walks and shopping
- rides in the grand wagoneer
- bike rides
- naps
- visits to library
- reading
- shocking gas prices...
- not so much computer time
- fun fellowship

Joining Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot. Check out Stefanie's blog posts about picking up sweet Poppy from China!

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Vietimme kivan, kiireisen viikon Nantucketin saarella, tällä kertaa ystäviemme kanssa. Neljä pariskuntaa, eli yhteensä viisitoista henkeä, niistä lapsia seitsemän. Teimme rantareissuja, paljon kävelyitä keskustaan, pyöräilyreissuja, kalastusta, ravustusta, päiväunia, yhdessä kokkaamista ja hengailua. Yllättävän rentouttavaa, todella hauskaa, ja toivottavasti ensi vuonna saadaan uusia samalla porukalla!

Off to Brandt Point

2011-07-25T23:45:00.005-04:00

Big kids' camp is over - they had a great time - and we spent a day to unpack, do laundry, repack, clean house and we were off again. Back to Nantucket Island! Our first morning here we headed to Brandt Point Lighthouse.

What are the Captain, kids and friends doing here???

The boat is coming! Quick, quick - everyone get in place!

Down....

Up....! Down... up!

To the right!

To the left! To the right! To the left!

Repeat. And again!

Why, we were doing the wave! Grandma, Grandpa and Nanny were leaving the island, and so we packed our crew of thirteen to give them the wave-off: "Make sure to throw your pennies at Brandt Point Lighthouse." That is what Grandma & Grandpa tell their visitors leaving the island (a tradition leaving the island, ensuing your return back someday), then the remaining guests race to the lighthouse to do the wave. Of course we had to say good-bye to Grandma, Grandpa & Nanny in a proper way, too :)

Linking this to Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Koululaiset palasivat leiriltään - kiva viikko oli ollut - ja yhdessä päivässä tyhjäsimme laukut, pesimme pyykkiä, pakkasimme uudestaan, siivosimme talon ja lähdimme takaisin Nantucketin saarelle. Ensimmäisenä aamunamme suuntasimme Brandt Point'in majakalle heiluttamaan hyvästit Kapteenin vanhemmille ja isoäidille: Meitä oli kolmetoista vierasta tekemässä aalto-heilutusta. Kiva traditio, jonka Kapteenin vanhemmat aloittivat, joten pitihän meidän tehdä sama heille :)

Story Walk/Tarinakävely

2011-07-20T22:36:00.007-04:00

Since this week we have a mini family of three (instead of our usual seven), you might wonder how Little Miss & I have been spending our days while the big kids have been at camp. (The Captain is good at making any place his office and continuing work.)

Well, mainly doing boring stuff: unpacking, laundry (although a lot less than usual!), gardening, organizing & cleaning in the house, book keeping, some shopping and errands, and a whole lot of mundane. But today Little Miss and I decided to do something fun and went on a Story Walk (a free outing provided by the town library).

We walked and read the story of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes, by Eric Litwin, illustrated by James Dean.

Little Miss reading the word 'RED' out loud.

The book was quite catchy - a new book to us, we hadn't read it before. "I love my brown shoes, I love my brown shoes, I love my brown shoes."

Little Miss checking out the number behind the 'page'.

Awww, mom.........! Enough with the camera, already!! Can we stop at the playground now?

We sure love our town library and our children's librarian. (In fact, our town is great, too! And there is a fantastic house for sale in this town (ours) ;-)

Interested? :)

What a fun outing for some mommy & me time. And in my homeschool mom's book this qualified as a homeschool summer field trip :)

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Mitä meidän miniperheemme on oikein tehnyt tällä viikolla, isojen lasten ollessa leirillä? Enimmäkseen arkitouhuja: laukkujen tyhjäämistä, pyykinpesua (tosin vähemmän kuin normaalisti :), puutarhatöitä, siivousta ja organisoimista, kirjanpitoa, jonkin verran asioiden hoitamista kaupungilla ja shoppailua, ja paljon kaikkea tavallista.

Tänään kuitenkin lähdin Pikkuneidin kanssa kirjaston järjestämälle Tarinakävelylle. Kävelimme kirjaston takana olevaa kävelyreittiä lukien kirjaa Pete-kissan valkoisista kengistä. Uusi kirja meille, ihan hauska, ja meillä oli kivaa niin kävelyllä, kuin leikkipuistossa kävelyn jälkeen. Kivaa äiti-lapsiaikaa tai kotikoulun kesäinen luokkaretki :)

This Week In NH/Tämä viikko New Hampshiressä

2011-07-17T20:46:00.005-04:00

This week is going to be so strange! We dropped our four older kids off at camp today, and returned to a very quiet house with just Little Miss.

Our four have already been away to camp for the last two summers, and spent a weekend at this particular camp this winter. They have each other, and we had planned for two friends to be there this week. Today we also counted four other friends they know from their old school or church!

I know they all will have such a wonderful time, and might not even remember their parents and little sister this week. There is so much to do at camp, and they will enjoy being with their friends too.

It's the mama again, who will do all the missing. And Little Miss & the Captain, too. It will be a strange, quiet week, that's for sure.

But Saturday will be here in no time. And with it, four loads of dirty laundry, all the noise and laughter, too :)

I am linking this post to Stefanie's Sunday Snapshot & Hip Homeschool Hop.

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Veimme koululaiset tänään viikon kesäleirille, ja palasimme Pikkuneidin kanssa tyhjään hiljaiseen taloon. Tästä viikosta tulee outo ilman koululaisiamme! Mutta isoilla lapsilla tulee olemaan hauskaa, tämä on jo kolmas leirikesä heille, ja talvella he olivat juuri tässä leiripaikassa viikonlopun. Lisäksi kaksi heidän ystävistään tulivat samalle leirille, ja perillä törmäsimme myös kolmeen vanhaan ystävään edellisestä koulusta (ja kirkosta)! Koululaiset tulevat tuskin muistamaan vanhempiaan ja pikkusiskoaan, heillä tulee olemaan niin kiva leiri, näin uskomme. Minun on heitä jo nyt ikävä, ja Pikkuneiti ja Kapteeni tulevat ikävöimään nelosia myös.

Mutta lauantai tulee kuitenkin oikein pian. Ja sen myötä neljä isoa kasaa pyykkiä, melua ja naurua taasen :)

Beached Whale/Valas rannalla

2011-07-16T22:24:00.003-04:00

So sad! Today a dead humpback whale had washed up on shore at Smith Point on Nantucket. Yes, the same Smith Point we were at last week! Read more here.

Niin surullista. Tänään kuollut ryhävalas oli ajelehtinut Smith Point'in rannalle Nantucketiin. Samalle rannalle, missä olimme viime viikolla! Englanniksi voi lukea lisää täältä.

Goodbye Nantucket!

2011-07-15T22:33:00.005-04:00

Goodbye Grandma, Grandpa & Nanny, goodbye family visiting from Ohio, goodbye Brandt Point lighthouse, goodbye beaches and downtown, goodbye foggy evenings and fog horn, goodbye Atheneum library, goodbye old grey houses with white trim, goodbye rose-covered cottages on 'Sconset, goodbye harbor and goodbye Nantucket Island! We threw our pennies and will be back soon :)

Great Point

2011-07-14T15:54:00.003-04:00

Even though the best area of Great Point was closed again, this year, like it was last year too, we took a trip there yesterday. Usually you can drive all the way to the most Northern tip of the island past the lighthouse, but apparently the beach was closed due to nesting piping plovers.

Maybe just as well. There had been a great white shark sighting off Great Point last week, so we decided we'd rather not be shark bait.

What fun!! Eating, swimming (very close to the shore), boogie boarding (very close to the shore), water fights, resting, reading, collecting rocks and shells, building castles and digging holes. We didn't spot any sharks, but saw a few seals swimming by.

Filling the tires again after letting off air before driving on the sand. Great Point was great. To a point. As the Captain would say ;-)

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Eilinen seikkailu saarella oli Great Point-rannalle, saaren pohjoisimpaan osaan. Paras alue, niemen pää, oli taas suljettu (kuten viime vuonna) lintujen pesimisen takia, eli harmi kyllä emme päässeet edes majakalle asti. Mutta ihan kiva rantakeikka oli puolessa välissäkin. Viime viikolla oli nähty valkohai saaren päässä, joten ehkä ihan hyvä ettemme sinne asti menneet. Ja tosi varovasti kaikki uivatkin, ihan rannan lähellä. Hylkeitä näimme, mutta onneksi emme niitä haita :)

Viimeisessä kuvassa isoisä lisää ilmaa renkaisiin, ennen kuin ajoimme hiekalla piti päästää ilmaan renkaista pois. Olen ihan kiitollinen ettei minun yleensä tarvitse ajaa näillä rannoilla tai kapeilla saaren teillä, mutta toki osaan ja pystyn, jos pakko.

Boys Will Be Boys/Pojat ovat poikia

2011-07-13T15:41:00.001-04:00

(Click larger to really appreciate the pictures :)

The boys joined the Captain & I on a walk one evening. We like to walk to the docks to look at all the boats. The downtown looks so pretty in the evenings, too, and on this particular night the Captain stopped to talk to his friend J, while I very nicely asked the boys for one pictures of them together. Simple request?

Yeah, right. :)

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Olimme iltakävelyllä tällä viikolla, ja Kapteeni pysähtyi juttelemaan ystävänsä J:n kanssa. Pyysin pojilta, että saisin ottaa heistä yhden kuvan yhdessä. Yksinkertainen ja helppo pyyntö?

Aivan. :)

Smith Point

2011-07-11T15:31:00.001-04:00

One day when the cousins were still on the island, we packed up two cars and took a trip to Smith Point.

Love all Grandpa's cars - especially the Willy's!!

Grandpa giving out instructions before the brave ones ventures into big waves.

Some of the big kids actually did go swimming here! With several sets on eyes peeled on them, counting heads constantly...!

But some of the kids decided to chill and read..

Or walk to the other side where the water was still.

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Yksi päivä kun serkut olivat vielä saarella, pakkasimme kaksi autoa ja lähdimme Smith Point rannalle. Toisella puolella oli julmat aallot, toisella peilityyni rauhallinen ranta. Kaikille kaikkea, oli se sitten aalloissa pyörimistä, hiekkalinnan rakentamista tai vain lukemista.

Laying Low/Matalalentoa

2011-07-10T11:17:00.002-04:00

Little Miss has been sick for a few days with a bad cough and fever, and various family members have had trouble with their tummies or heads, so we have been laying low. Hopefully everyone starts feeling better before it's time to leave Nantucket island (in less than a week).

Pikkuneidillä on ollut kuumetta ja yskää muutaman päivän, ja eri perheenjäsenillä on ollut joko vatsapöpöä tai päänsärkyä/migreeniä, joten olemme olleet aika hiljaisia viime päivät. Toivottavasti kaikkien olo paranee ennen kuin on aika lähteä Nantucketin saarelta (vajaan viikon kuluttua).

Surfside

2011-07-06T23:26:00.002-04:00

Seven out of our eight kids (including cousins) hopped in Grandpa's Grand Willy's today, our destination Surfside.

On the South shore the waves are bigger, and boogie boarding is great.

First some tag. Probably to warm up, brrrr!!!!!

Then braving the cold seas with boogie boards.

Fun!!!! (You have to believe the kids - none of the adults got in :)

All the kids went in the water, even Little Miss. I think she actually lost her balance and got a surprise swim, but hey - that counts too!

Since it wasn't a really hot day - quite foggy with a cool breeze, actually - we didn't stay out too long.

So glad Grandpa's Nantucket Edition came with an attached shower to wash all the sandy feet.

(The Nantucket Edition is really the Grandpa Edition - this truck is one of a kind!)

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Tänään lounaan jälkeen lähdimme Surfside-rannalle, saaren eteläosaan. Oli sumuista ja viileää, mutta lapsilla oli silti niin hauskaa lautailla isoissa aalloissa. Tietyille rannoille saarella saa ajaa autoilla, jos on ostanut luvan sitä varten. Kätevää lapsilauman ja rantakaman kanssa!

Fourth Of July, 2011

2011-07-05T15:22:00.004-04:00

Fourth of July, 2011, is going to be one of the most memorable Holidays in our family history. We can already hear it: "Remember the year when Nanny won the watermelon eating contest?"

Yes, the Captain's 94-year old grandmother joined the contest and won the "18 and older" category in watermelon eating!! We are so proud of her! Our Nanny rules!!!

Nanny wasn't the only one who brought home a watermelon. Missy didn't disappoint this year either: she won her age category and the finals, and can be now called The Machine. Here is a blog post The Captain wrote about her last year. We actually have great video footage (very short, obviously) of her ~~murdering~~ devouring one of her watermelon pieces, but due to trade secrets we cannot release it to public viewing, regretfully.

After pie eating and the watermelon eating contests, the firetrucks came out. One of the highlights on Nantucket Island during the 4th of July festivities is definitely The Great Main Street Water Fight. Here the fight is just getting started - you cannot be on Main Street and not get wet. Little Miss wasn't feeling well, so we headed back home for a few hours of respite before more contests started. All the big kids (and some of the adults) stayed back to fight. (If others got any pictures of that, I'll add them here later.) Such great fun!!!

A few other people had decided to spend the holiday on the island, as well... This is a picture of Main Street, closed for vehicles (except for firetrucks).

After lunch and some napping, we took our crew (18 of us celebrating this year; 9 adults and 9 kids) to the Children's Beach for running races, sack races three-legged races, wheelbarrow races and tug of war. Our nine children brought home quite the collection of ribbons, and everyone had a wonderful time. After much encouragement Little Miss agreed to join in a couple of her age categories (earlier in the day she would not participate in anything), which was a huge step for her - even with daddy being her partner. Maybe next year she'll do all the races, too?

Our last activity of the day was going to to dock after dinner to watch the fireworks. As tired as we all were by then, it was worth it, and everyone was ready for bed immediately afterwards.

Such a great day of celebrating this nation's independence - and a great reason for having a Grand Party! Below is a slideshow sampler of some of our photos (I would like to know how many pictures were taken by the three papas, the Captain alone too almost 300 :)

Our Paparazzis

"FourthOfJuly"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

I am linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop.

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Yhdysvalloissa osataan juhlia itsenäisyyspäivää kunnolla (Suomessa juhla on arvokas ja hillitty, täällä raisu ja hulvaton). Me vietimme juhlaa Nantucketin saarella Kapteenin perheen kanssa.

Tämän vuoden kohokohta oli 94-vuotiaan isoisoäidin osallistuminen vesimelonin syöntikisaan, ja kisan voittaminen! Nanny toi kotiin vesimelonin palkinnoksi, aivan kuten Missykin. Missy jälleen voitti oman ikäluokkansa (muistaakseni 11-14-vuotiaat), päihittäen myös veljensä ja serkkunsa. Minulla on lyhyt, todella lyhyt videopätkäkin hänestä, mutta se paljastaa Missyn voittojen salaisuuden, joten en valittavasti voi liittää videota tähän julkiseen postaukseen :)

Syöntikisojen jälkeen Main Street'llä oli jokavuotinen Suuri Vesisota, jonne kaikki kahdeksan isoa lasta jäi taistelemaan. Pikkuneiti ja mama lähdimme kotiin vesisodan alkaessa, Pikkuneiti oli saanut auringosta ja väenpaljoudesta jo tarpeekseen.

Iltapäivällä lastenrannalla oli lisää kisoja, joihin kaikki lapset ottivat osaa. Hauskoja kunnon pihaleikkejä: säkkihyppelyä, 3-jalkajuoksua, kottikärryjuoksua ja köydenvetoa. Päivän päätteeksi menimme satamaan katsomaan vielä ilotulitusta, minkä jälkeen me kaikki 18 juhlijaa olimme valmiit kaatumaan sänkyyn. Onnistunut juhlapäivä!

Sunday Snapshot {Nantucket Island}

2011-07-03T22:41:00.003-04:00

It's that time again! Every summer we pack up our crew and belongings, and head to Hyannis to catch the ferry to Nantucket Island off of Cape Cod. It's our family time with Grandma & Grandpa, Nanny (Captain's grandma), Aunt & Uncle, cousins, family members and often friends of the family.

Almost always during the 4th of July holiday.

Sometimes we take the fast ferry, but there is something special about taking the slow boat (especially if mama has remembered to take the dramamine early enough). We pull out snacks and games, and get comfortable for the 2+ hour ferry ride.

The ferry ride gives time to unwind from the long car ride, usually accompanied by heavy Cape Cod traffic.

It gives time to be excited about getting to a special place and being with loved ones.

Plus it's fun to be on the ferry!

The sunset was gorgeous, naturally.

We made it! Grandma & Grandpa were waiting for us, and good thing Grandpa brought the Grand Willy's!! We all fit in with our luggage, too.

Since we arrived I haven't really taken pictures yet, but will definitely take plenty tomorrow, of all the festivities. Nantucket is a really great place to celebrate the 4th. Wait until you see what happens to this fairly calm looking Main Street tomorrow :)

Happy Independence Day!!!!!

Linking to Sunday Snapshot on Stefanie's blog Ni Hao Ya'll.

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Saavuimme eilen Nantucketin saarelle Cape Cod'in rannikolla. Joka kesä vietämme aikaa täällä isovanhempien, tädin, sedän, serkkujen, muiden sukulaisten ja usein perheystävien kanssa, yleensä näin Amerikan itsenäisyyspäivän aikaan. Ajoimme useamman tunnin New Hampshirestä liikenneruuhkissa Hyannis'iin, josta tulimme autolautalla (tosin ilman omaa autoa - jätämme auton parkkiin) saarelle. Isovanhemmat olivat meitä vastassa, ja heidän kesäkodissaan odotti myös täti, setä, isoisoäiti ja serkut. Tänään saapui myös Kapteenin setä pienperheensä kanssa (isommat lapset eivät tulleet). Huomenna suuri itsenäisyyspäiväjuhlinta saarella, kuvia tulossa illalla tai tiistaina :)

Summer Days/Kesäpäiviä

2011-06-28T09:42:00.005-04:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying! We are now enjoying our last days in Maine (for now), and the computer has been off for the most part. There is a lot of play and a lot of work that needs to be done. We leave Maine on Friday, and we'll be gone for about seven weeks.
No pictures of work for now, but a few of playing:

Red light/Green light game.

One of many, many water fights.

See what's about to happen here?

Yup! And the water is so cold (neighbors told us lower 60's) your arms and legs feel to shocked and numb to move.

We officially wrapped up 6th grade (Little Miss joining in the pic, of course) yesterday when we had our online portfolio interviews. There is nothing else to do now! Next homeschooling step is to register with our county for next year, which we won't do until end of summer.

More serious play: Mr. T is almost done with baseball! We had our first Little League tournament game last night, and even though it started dramatically: Mr. T got hit in the face by a wicked fastball and had quite the welt on his cheek, the game got a lot better when he sent the ball flying and scored a home run!! Yay, Mr. T!! We won the game, which means we'll play again on Wednesday. If we win, our championship game is on Friday.

Linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Vietämme viimeisiä päiviä täällä Mainessä (mikä on ollut kuin lapsuuden kesät mökillä Suomessa). Haikeana lähdemme perjantaina pois - noin seitsemäksi viikoksi...! Olemme yrittäneet ottaa joka hetkestä irti leikkien ja nauttien, mutta paljon on ollut töitäkin, ja edessä vielä. Nyt saimme kaikki kuudennen luokan kotikoulutyöt tehtyä, eikä tarvitse enää tehdä yhtään mitään sen eteen, helpotuksen huokaus...!

Vesileikit ja pihaleikit ovat olleet päivien kohokohtia, ja pesäpallo tietenkin, Mr. T:lle. Eilinen peli alkoi dramaattisesti - pallo osui pojan poskeen, mutta pian sen jälkeen hän sai kunniajuoksun (google käänsi home run näin?), ja peli parani siitä. Voitto tuli kotiin, ja keskiviikkona taas uusi peli.

Before The Rain/Ennen sadetta

2011-06-25T00:11:00.002-04:00

Just a few photos from this week before it started raining.

The joys of a summer day at the camp: having a popsicle on the dock wearing pajamas.

These days are gifts..

Visitors coming by to say hello. And that mama was keeping track! Nine ducklings!
That's what I'd be doing too.. :)

Looking for interesting treasures under the rocks...

My kids are braver than I am...!

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Kuvia alkuviikolta ennen kuin alkoi satamaan. Onneksi nautimme ulkonaolosta, nyt olemme saaneet kaikki rästiin jääneet sisähommat tehtyä sateen aikana.

Hyvää juhannusta Suomeen!

Portfolio Time/Kotikoulukansiot

2011-06-24T16:37:00.003-04:00

Two cold and rainy days here in Maine have provided this homeschool mama (finally) some extra time to put together four homeschool portfolios. As we are residents in Florida, we have a few options how to wrap up our homeschool year. One of them is to have a certified teacher/evaluator in Florida take a look at our homeschool portfolios (which we are required to keep by law anyway) and write up a Certificate of Review which will be mailed to our county homeschool office to show we meet all the Florida homeschooling requirements.

I would definitely recommend all homeschool families to start on their portfolios as soon as they start homeschooling. That way special projects and samples of work can be added throughout the year, and when it is time to do the evaluations, you can just pull out your beautiful work and show off all you did that year. Even if your state doesn't require it, these portfolios would be wonderful keepsakes for you and your children.

It would be a lot of work to start from scratch right before the portfolio evaluations are due.

I know this from experience. Yes, I had to start from the beginning yesterday, and I'm sure I left out a lot of special events and outings we did as a homeschool family this year. Yes, it was a ton of work. I spent about six hours on the first portfolio, and then 2-3 hours on the next ones. Yes, I still had all the housework and cooking and everything else to do, too. No, I don't recommend this way. However, some people just work best under pressure :)

Being a techie traveling homeschool family we are going to do this a little differently. We found an evaluator in Florida who is willing to do an online evaluation! Instead of making pretty portfolio binders, I made portfolio emails and sent them off to Florida. Our evaluator is going to go through all the info, and we made appointments with her this Monday to have our interviews via video iChat. Works great, since we are in New England for the summer!

What I included in each of the portfolio emails (bare bones, since I was short on time):

1) a digital photo of our our letter of registration from our county
2) 2010 - 2011 Curriculum List (including our Monarch curriculum and co-op + extra classes)
3) a couple of digital photos of certificates earned this year
4) a link to more info about Monarch and our online classes, as well as a link to our homeschool co-op
5) curriculum samples (three from each subject: from the beginning, middle and the end). These I attached as pdf-prints from online showing the students lessons, quizzes and tests and their answers. (Very time consuming! But so glad I can pull these off Monarch easily.)
6) I also added a report card produced by Monarch (not required)
7) Daily Activities Log, which is required by law. I attached two pdf's from our travels that I had kept online, but I still need to scan a couple of pages from my handwritten notebook I have kept (but forgot in New Hampshire during our last travel). So thankful I did keep the daily log!!!
8) Lastly, a sample list of books read during last school year. Unfortunately we didn't keep a list. Fortunately my kids read a ton, so it was fairly easy to put together a list of 20-30 books for each.

Overall, I have to say the homeschooling requirements were easier in New Hampshire (where we finished our first year). I have done a little research on Maine requirements, and I think we'll stick to homeschooling in Florida ;-)

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Viimeiset kaksi päivää olen puurtanut hullun lailla kotikoulukansioiden parissa. Floridan osavaltio vaatii meitä pitämään kansioita jokaisesta oppilaasta, ja vuoden lopulla meidän pitää täyttää osavaltion vaatimukset, ennen kuin voimme jatkaa tulevana vuonna. Floridassa on muistaakseni neljä eri tapaa saada kotikouluvuosi valmiiksi, me valitsimme tavan, jossa opettaja arvioi ja käy läpi meidän kansiot, ja kirjoittaa todistuksen, että on käynyt läpi meidän materiaalimme. Onneksi löysimme arvioijan, jolle voin lähettää meidän kansiot sähköpostina, ja maanantaina hän haastattelee koululaisia video iChatin kautta. Pian on saatu 6. luokka purkkiin! Yllä englanniksi listaa mitä minun piti koota kokoon.

Kayaking/Melomassa

2011-06-21T22:14:00.008-04:00

Mr. D, Mr. A, Little Miss and I decided to go kayaking today (such a gorgeous day!).

Our destination was a cove nearby with beaver dams.

Such fun to explore!

Mr. D bravely going ahead (are there mad beavers? big spiders? snakes?? swarms of mosquitoes?).

Nope, nothing of the sort. (At least where we could see.) Only extremely shallow waters and a few black flies. Our trail stopped shortly after this, and with a little difficulty (the shallow waters) we turned our kayaks around and headed back home.

Linking this post to Hip Homeschool Hop!

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Kaksi pojista ja Pikkuneiti lähtivät tänään kanssani melontareissulle. Meillä oli oikein kunnon tutkimusreissu läheiseen lahdenpoukamaan, jossa oli majavanpesiä. Emme tienneet mitä muuta sieltä löytyy (vihaisia majavia, käärmeitä, hämähäkkejä tai ötökkäparvia?), mutta emme löytäneet muuta kuin umpikujan ja matalikkoa, joten käännyimme ympäri. Kivaa oli silti :)

Sunday Snapshot {Happy Father's Day!!!}

2011-06-19T22:45:00.004-04:00

We had major fighting today. War, in fact.

Boys vs. The Captain and Little Miss (Missy & I were busy in the kitchen).

Grandpa - which team would you have been on?? :)

Full gear was required.

There are two versions of which team won.

But everyone agreed a fun time was had by all :)

Happy Father's Day to the Captain and Grandpa! (Vaari too, although Father's Day in Finland is in November.) We are so blessed to have such wonderful men and role models in our life. Thank You!!

Linking this post to Sunday Snapshot:

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Usassa vietetään tänään Isänpäivää. Meillä oli kunnon vesisota pojat vastaan Kapteeni ja Pikkuneiti (Missy ja minä leivoimme kakkua keittiössä). Ihana päivä oli, ja kohokohta ehdottomasti aamun taistelut :)

Even More/Vielä enemmän

2011-06-17T21:30:00.002-04:00

So gorgeous!

So chaotic!

Eeek!!! Even on the lakeside!!

Question: And how can I get the groceries in the house??
Answer: Passing them to a person on the other side of the "moat", then jumping over. Repeat.

I'm not complaining, though.
It is good to get a well. And a septic system.
And a swim in the freezing water. Ok, that was unrelated, but after the initial shock wore off I actually swam for a while. Instead of the split-second dip. A milestone for me. (Captain, do add a sauna on the list, please? I am a Finn, after all :)

Happiness.

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Pihatyömaa kasvoi vaan tänään. Kaivuri alkoi kaivamaan jopa järvenpuoleista pihaa, nyyh. Ruokaostosten tuominen sisälle vaati mielenkiintoisia akrobaattitemppuja ja hyppyjä. Mutta en valita, on hyvä saada kaivo ja jätevesisysteemi. Ja nii-iin kylymä uintireissu myös. Ok, ei liity asiaan, mutta tänään pysyin vedessä niin kauan kunnes shokki meni ohi ja uin aika kauan. Oli aika ihanaa :) Sauna olisi kyllä piste iin päälle täällä....!

Bliss/Autuus?

2011-06-16T23:31:00.003-04:00

We are back in Maine, and plan to stay put for the rest of the month. One side of the house is pure bliss - serene and beautiful. Loons calling. Boys fishing and kayaking. So peaceful. Unless you start listening. Or just walk to the other side of the house. When you do, you see this:

Digging with the excavator and little bobcat, people working on the well, septic system and little cabins. Trucks coming and going. Busyness. Noise.

I still think it is pure bliss.

At least it will be once the black flies go away.

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Olemme Mainessa taas. Järven puolella taloa elämä on yhtä autuutta. Niin rauhallista ja kaunista. Mutta ei tarvitse kävellä kuin toiselle puolelle taloa niin löytää kunnon raksan koneineen ja meluineen.

Silti autuutta.

Ainakin tulee olemaan kunhan mäkäräiset katoavat.