Foggy, Misty Island Evening/Sumuinen saari-ilta

After a hot and muggy week, today's fog and drizzly rain felt very refreshing and inviting. After dinner the kiddos and I bundled up in our rain gear, and off we went in search of some much needed exercise and fresh air.







There is something quite beautiful and mysterious about being surrounded by the island fog. I love how it mutes the already gray colors of this island, and draws out the warm lights, making the scenery look very much like a Thomas Kinkade painting.



On our way back home we stop to listen the Cobbletones singing a cappella. We were pretty soaked already so we only stayed for one song (I hope this link works to listen to them sing, my video turned out pretty quiet because of the rain. If it doesn't, just click on their Facebook page and check out their videos there.)



The library had closed (much to Missy's disappointment), so we turned our way home up India Street, ready for some dry warm clothes and a cup of hot cocoa.

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Kuvia sumuiselta iltakävelyltä Nantucketin saarelta. Koko viikon on ollut tuskaisen kuumaa ja kosteaa, joten tämän päivän viileä sumu ja sade ilahdutti ja virkistytti! Lähdimme kovin märälle iltakävelylle napsien näitä kuvia. Keskustassa pysähdyimme kuuntelemaan Cobblestones- a cappella laulua, mutta vain hetkeksi - olimme jo aika märkiä ja oli aika kääntyä takaisin kotiin kuivien vaatteiden ja kuuman kaakaon luokse. Ihastuttava saari - jopa sadepäivänä!

Joseph Conrad Sailing Camp/Purjehdusleiri

One of our Summer activities was an overnight sailing camp for our big kids. It was held at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, and the campers got to sleep aboard Joseph Conrad. You can read more about the camp at the Mystic Seaport website. We highly recommend this fantastic camp to all tweens and teens!

Also, a plug for our RV readers (and others too): We picked up the kids in the Mothership, which turned out great. The parking lot had several bus/RV parking spots near the main entrance with free parking. (Members get free admission also.) After we hauled all their gear into the RV, we were able to freshen up, get cold drinks, use our own bathroom, take a break, then went back into the museum area to take a wander around a bit more. If you are in the area, definitely stop in for a day or two to tour this interesting 19th-century coastal village with their historic ships. (And no, we don't get paid for this advertisement :)



The collage above is made of photos from last year's camp (click larger). It was the first time our kids had gone to an overnight camp, and we, the controlling overprotecting concerned parents actually returned to camp midweek to spy check our kids were alive ok. We altered our looks to blend in with the Mystic Seaport visitors, so our kids wouldn't notice us. And they didn't! They had no clue we were there, tee hee. (Ok, ok, I admit the Captain was a draggee (sp?) on this endeavor.)




This year I didn't even go to drop the kids off, and had to write notes to remember to think about pray for them. Forget about sending them mail - well, did send letters to everyone, but they didn't make it on time... The kids did great! Mama did great! We'll plan to be there again next year! (Or some of us will.)

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Yksi kesämme ohjelmista oli purjehdusleiri isommille lapsille. Viime vuonna he olivat samalla leirillä ensimmäistä kertaa, mikä oli myös heidän ensimmäinen kerta olla öitä leirillä myös. Ylläolevasta kollaasista näkee kuvia viime vuodelta, me vanhemmat kävimme vakoilemassa loppuviikosta kuinka leiriläiset jaksoivat. Tänä vuonna en mennyt edes mukaan viemään lapsia leirille (piti siivota taloa) ja piti muistutella itseään rukoilemaan lasten puolesta. Kaikki meni hyvin, jokaisella oli hauskaa, joten yritämme mennä samalle leirille myös ensi kesänä!

Making Waves/Aaltojen tekemistä

My nutty creative in-law family has started a crazy fantastic tradition on Nantucket Island. When friends and family leave the island, the remaining crew waves good-bye from Brandt Point Lighthouse. (A perfect spot as departing travelers come to the deck to throw their pennies as the boat rounds the lighthouse - a penny thrown at the right spot ensures a return to the island. And then they see The Wave too!)



Yesterday Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt, Uncle & cousins left the island and it was our turn to kiss and hug everyone, wave good-bye and then race to the lighthouse. We had to practice a little at first. Down! Up! Down! Up! Wave to the right! Wave to the left! (Wiggle the fingers!) Wave to the right! Wave to the left! Down! Up! Again!! I sure hope we looked a bit better than in this pic when the boat actually was passing.



Waiting... Waiting.. Here comes the boat!!!



And they see us!! I can spy my brother-in-law with a camera, so maybe we can get a photo of our perfectly synchronized wave from the boat and add it here later.

Good-Bye!!! We already miss you!!!!!

And we had five moping children return to the house, so very sad their cousins left.

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Mieheni perhe on aloittanut hauskan tradition Nantucketin saarella. Kun ystävät ja sukulaiset lähtevät saarelta, taaksejäävät heiluttavat Brandt Point-majakalta heille. Eilen lähtivät mieheni vanhemmat ja sisko perheineen pois saarelta, joten meidän perhe kiiruhti satamasta majakalle heiluttamaan. Eikä vain heiluttamaan, vaan me teemme aaltoja: Alas! Ylös! Heiluta oikealle! Heiluta Vasemmalle! Heiluta oikealle! Heiluta Vasemmalle! Alas! Ylös! Toista miljoona kertaa! Miehen siskon mies otti kuvia lautalta, ehkäpä saamme häneltä kuvan meistä majakan kivillä heiluttamassa. Jos saamme, niin laitan sen sitten tänne.

Nyt meiltä löytyy viisi surullista lasta, ikävöiden serkkujaan.

Eating Like An Animal (Post By The Captain)

We try to stress the importance of table manners, but during 4th of July watermelon eating contest, manners often take a back seat as one of our children is transformed into a total watermelon eating machine. You won't believe which one.

Each contestant gets a full half slice of watermelon about 2 inches thick. Our contestant is quite a bit smaller than the rest, but when the eating starts, juice flies as our 11 year old Missy claws and scrapes her way to victory. The big muscle guys in the final round don't even know that they have no chance of winning.

How does she do it? Using both hands she attacks the melon, compressing the red part and stuffs it down her throat in about 15 seconds. Kids, don't try this at home with mom or dad watching.

Most years since she was 6 she brought home the first place watermelon to share with the rest of us.


She has talent




Each year the towns people take the antique fire engines out of the museums to meet the fire department for a water battle at high-noon.

Photos courtesy of Robert Peek Photography

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July to Everyone! It has been quite strange to have our family split on a Holiday weekend, I think our first ever.

Living in a house with a For Sale sign in the front, we have been keeping the house very tidy, in case there is a showing. Today, being the Independence Day of USA, was the first morning I didn't put my jammies away or clean up Little Miss' books, thinking Who Would Be Looking At Houses On 4th of July???. But wouldn't you know it, it was the first time this week there actually was a showing! And since our realtor's office thought we were on Nantucket, they didn't call first.

Graciously our realtor and her client offered to come back in two weeks, but all we needed was 10 minutes, so the they waited for us to madly dash our belongings inside dressers and cabinets and to evacuate the house. As Little Miss was putting her flip-flops on, I quickly took a look at the basement to make sure all was ok. The door was open to the porch (where the prospective buyer was waiting with our realtor) when Little Miss yells down to the basement: "Are you checking on the stinky room?"

There may or may not have been a stinky issue in the basement. But even if there had been, it would have definitely been taken care of this week. I can just imagine the sniffing that went on for the rest of the house showing...!



Gardens are looking great! This was another huge accomplishment as 5ennie does not care for yard work. Especially in a yard that will hopefully soon belong to a new owner. Also, the flowers were really expensive! We could have added a lot more, but this will do for now, and it all looks much better.



So that was our 4th of July, represented by the foreign side of our family. (I can't wait for the action pics from Nantucket, possibly even a blog post by The Captain! Stay tuned...). We had my mom, a Finn on a vacation here in the US, my Chinese born daughter with an American citizenship, and I - a resident alien from outer space Finland, here, celebrating the Independence Day of this great country. And waiting for news of a little niece/cousin/granddaughter being born. Looks like it won't be the 4th - that would have been a cool day to be born ;-)

What A Week/Mikä viikko!!!

We received an unexpected blessing last Friday: my mom came from Finland to help my sister with her new baby (& two toddlers). Except the baby (still!) hasn't been born, so my mom flew North to help me with our house cleaning project! This past week we have been working on our basement every day, and finally, today, we are as done as we can be. There is a half a wall left for The Captain to go through work-related stuff, but my mom & I have gone through everything else. (There won't be any before-pictures, just imagine the space without being able to see the floor or the walls. Walking to the end of the room required some major acrobatics also.)

Our last move was when our big kids were toddlers and I finally went through those boxes too. (Sad, I know.) We've also remodeled the house in various stages, so a lot of stuff ended 'temporarily' in the basement to clear an area for remodeling. We discovered wonderful little treasures and mementos, and were happy to pass pretty much everything else to a friend who will find new homes for stuff that has sat in storage for years (clearly very important & needed at our house!).

Now we have a tidy storage area & a basement sitting area (many thanks to Grandma too, who helped with rearranging furniture & hanging pictures!), ready to be shown to prospective buyers! Our next project is adding some color to our garden beds and doing a little touch-up painting in the kids' bathroom.



After that, my little niece can be born, my mom can fly to my sister's house, and Little Miss & I will head to Nantucket Island to be with the rest of the family!

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Äitini tuli Usaan auttamaan siskoani hänen poikiensa ja vastasyntyneen kanssa, mutta vauvalla ei ole ollutkaan mitään kiirettä syntyä tähän maailmaan (toisin kuin molemmilla veljillänsä!). Niinpä äiti lensi meille tänne pohjoiseen auttamaan taloprojektimme kanssa, ja koko viime viikon urakoimme kellarissa. Säilytyshuone on nyt organisoitu ja kellarin olohuone järjestetty uuteen uskoon. Melkein joka ilta yksi ystävistäni tuli hakemaan autolastillisia kamaa, joka lähti kiertoon, ja eilen toinen ystävä haki peräkärryllisen roskapusseja kaatopaikalle. Ah, mikä tunne kun tänään saimme kellarin valmiiksi! (Mieheni vielä pitää käydä puoli seinää kamaa läpi, mutta me äidin kanssa saimme muuten kaikki valmiiksi!) Seuraava projekti on kukkien istuttaminen puutarhaan, ja pieni maalausprojekti lasten vessassa. Sitten saisi siskontyttö syntyä, äiti lentää siskon luokse, ja me pikkuneidin kanssa seuraamme isää ja isoja lapsiamme Nantucketin saarelle. Tiistaina todennäköisesti.

Missing Child And Other Tales/Kadonnut lapsi jne.

Today has been one of those days. My plans to tackle the pantry, kitchen cupboards & linen closet (I know, I know, I meant to do the linen closet yesterday, but conquered the towel closet, laundry room, guest room closet, basement toy closet & one closet in my room instead - it's a full time job, I tell you!) went awry this morning when I started having a vibrating zigzag pattern on the left side of my vision after stepping out of the shower.

I knew it was a matter of minutes before the pounding, paralyzing migraine pain would come. So I took two loopy pills, grabbed an ice pack and coffee, set breakfast ready for the sleeping Little Miss, and went straight back to bed. The big kids are away at camp this week (making my house cleaning project a lot easier - especially when it comes to the kids' rooms), but we have a friend staying at our house so I wasn't too concerned about Little Miss.

After she had woken up she quietly played on my bed while I slept the migraine off for a couple of hours. I got up to have lunch with Little Miss, thinking I was feeling much better, ready to organize those closets when the zigzagging started again. Here we go again! I grabbed a new ice pack, a coke and put a movie on for Little Miss, then disappeared under the darkness of the covers again.

So that has been my day. When I woke up again sometime this afternoon (not sure when - just a moment ago I thought it was about 4 pm when my sister confirmed on the phone it's almost 7 pm), Little Miss was happily making homemade lemonade with our friend (thanks, M!).
I have now given up on the closets and just has been resting on the couch.

At one point I had to run upstairs, got sidetracked, and came downstairs maybe 15-30 minutes later. A few minutes later our friend came down too and we realized Little Miss wasn't with either one of us. No worries, she is into hide and seek, so we figured she was hiding in a laundry basket or in a clean closet or something. But after looking everywhere and calling out saying we needed her to come out of her hiding spot, we just could not find her. She was nowhere! I started to panic a little, I had visions of telling the police officers I hadn't seen my 4-year old in about 10, no 20, no 45 minutes, but that I really am a great mom!

Trying not to hyperventilate I continued calling her and looking for her, when I finally spotted some toes, and then our missing child:


(This photo is staged, while I remembered to take a picture of our sleeping fairy, I forgot to take a pic of her toes, so had to have her go back to her hiding spot to get this pic.)



Sound asleep.

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Tänään jäi suunnitellut komerot siivoamatta harvinaisen sitkeän migreenin takia. Nukuin suurimman osan päivää ja iltapäivä on mennyt vähän sekalaisessa olotilassa. Jossain vaiheessa huomasin ettei pikkuneiti ollutkaan ystävämme (joka asuu meillä tällä hetkellä) kanssa, joten aloimme etsimään tyttöä. Ensin olimme varmoja että hän leikki piilosta, mutta pian alkoi nousta paniikki kun neitiä ei löytynyt mistään vaikka kuinka etsimme ja huhuilimme. Vihdoin näin varpaat kaapin ja seinän välissä, ja sieltä nurkasta löytyi pikkuinen - nukkumasta.

House For Sale/Talo myynnissä

If anyone is looking to buy a house in New England, we know this amazing house for sale. In fact, it is so perfect and wonderful (especially after most of the closets have been cleared and extra furniture removed), we are not really sure it is for sale...



And while we contemplate the wisdom of selling this beloved place, I will continue to tackle more closets and storage areas. So off to the linen closets this morning, march march!

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Jos kukaan etsii taloa Uudesta Englannista, täältä löytyisi upea talo. Se on niin täydellisen ihana ettemme ole varmoja että haluamme myydä sen... Samalla kun ajatukset kulkevat tätä samaa rataa, jatkamme talon raivausta, etenkin komeroiden ja varastotilojen. Tämän aamun ohjelma on liinavaatekaapit!

Mothershipping

We have done it again. Instead of the slow unhurried trip, making stops here and there, enjoying the journey, we are racing across country, barely making time for driver pit stops. It is only our third time doing this in a year. Every time we say: "Next trip we'll surely do it different!" (Yeah, right.)
The redeeming part of this trip is we got to stay at my sister's house for a brief visit (thanks for the meals, showers, bedding, laundry & the great company!). We miss you already!!!

I think my Twitter updates from the last two days will nicely sum up our travels:

Mad packing and cleaning!!! 10:03 AM Jun 15th via TweetDeck

@jforbush Yes, we start our journey North today - in the Mothership! 10:04 AM Jun 15th via TweetDeck in reply to jforbush

Where did all this STUFF come from??? 10:27 AM Jun 15th via TweetDeck

Uh-oh, are we having some RV issues?? Air conditioner quit, what else?? 11:04 AM Jun 15th via TweetDeck

Mothership loaded and we are finally ready to go. Even A/C works. My kids say they are suffering from scrub-itis :) 5:14 PM Jun 15th via TweetDeck

I am wiped beyond being wiped. Fortunately my trusty crockpot is making dinner for us. Tue Jun 15 17:16:46 2010 via TweetDeck

Rusty at mothershipping: forgot the crockpot liner & had to use our precious water for dishes (at Publix parking lot). Tue Jun 15 20:28:59 2010 via TweetDeck

Little Miss says: "Come on, Daddy, let's get a move on!" Ready to leave Publix, getting back on the road - still in FL.. Tue Jun 15 20:32:44 2010 via TweetDeck

In Georgia! Tue Jun 15 22:20:47 2010 via TweetDeck

Woke up in South Carolina! Wed Jun 16 08:14:36 2010 via TweetDeck

Headed to see my sister & her family tonight!! Maybe even new niece?? Come on, Sis - great day to give birth ;-) Wed Jun 16 08:39:02 2010 via TweetDeck

I am the Mothership Stewardess! Wed Jun 16 09:00:36 2010 via TweetDeck

Btw, Sis - we all need showers and your washing machine. I know we just left yesterday, but there's 7 of us! Wed Jun 16 10:26:01 2010 via TweetDeck

In North Carolina with 7 hrs of driving until we get to my sister's house! (Hopefully our SuperDriver doesn't need too many stops!) Wed Jun 16 10:43:39 2010 via TweetDeck

Office on wheels: SuperDriver is also troubleshooting customer issues. Wed Jun 16 10:56:09 2010 via TweetDeck

Taking a break in NC, pic 1: http://tweetphoto.com/27520832 Wed Jun 16 13:32:49 2010 via TweetDeck

Pic 2: http://tweetphoto.com/27521337 Wed Jun 16 13:35:53 2010 via TweetDeck

Pic 3: http://tweetphoto.com/27521461 Wed Jun 16 13:36:57 2010 via TweetDeck

Stuck in traffic south of Virginia border. Wed Jun 16 14:17:22 2010 via TweetDeck

In Virginia, traffic is moving again, but heavy rain! Wed Jun 16 15:17:59 2010 via TweetDeck

Kids r getting weary of traveling. I told if we hopped out of the RV & started walking it would take us 19 hrs (gotta love the iPhone gps). about 23 hours ago via TweetDeck

Little Miss has had it: she keeps yelling: "Boring, boring, boring!" at the top of her lungs. about 23 hours ago via TweetDeck

WooHoo, we are in Maryland!!' about 22 hours ago via TweetDeck

Almost to my sister's!!! about 22 hours ago via TweetDeck

Today I am a traveling personal secretary. about 5 hours ago via TweetDeck

My Twitter handle is 5ennie, if you'd like to follow my tweets, click here.

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Lähdimme matkaan tiistai-iltapäivällä, kaahaten hullun lailla (taas) läpi Amerikan itärannikkoa. Yllä Twitter-päivitykset viimeisiltä päiviltä.

Taking Off/Matkaan lähdössä

It's here!! Time for our departure! I can't believe tomorrow morning we will pack up and start driving North. It is very exciting to see all our loved ones in New England, yet we are a little sad to leave Florida. We have really enjoyed our time here, and will definitely be back again :)

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Ihan uskomatonta - huomenna on aika lähteä ajamaan pohjoista kohti. Me olemme todella nauttineet asua täällä Floridassa, on surullista lähteä, mutta ihana tietysti nähdä perhettä ja ystäviä pohjoisessa. Tänne kuitenkin aiomme palata :)

Ice Skating... In Florida/Luistelua... Floridassa!!

We were invited to go ice skating with our local homeschooling group today. They meet once a week for lessons and/or open skating. We decided to check it out today and it was a huge hit!! Had to wear just about everything warm we brought with us to South!



Missy <3 Ice Skating!!!



Little Miss on real ice skates for the first time, needing some support. In New England we have a pair of double-bladed skates for her.



Yay, Mama's arms & back got some relief!! The arena brought out these gliders (sliders?) for Little Miss to push on the ice.



And push she did! She was a wild woman on ice!!!!!!! We are definitely going to make ice skating one of our hobbies in Florida!

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Menimme tänään kotikouluryhmän kanssa luistelemaan. Vajaan puolen tunnin ajomatkan päästä löytyi luisteluhalli, jossa saimme luistella kaksi tuntia vapaasti (muistaakseni $7 per nuppi, hintaan kuului mukaan myös luistimien vuokraus, me kun jätimme omamme pohjoiseen). Pikkuisemme sai oikeat luistimet alleen ekaa kertaa, pohjoisessa on käytössä tuplateräiset. Avuksi saimme onneksi telineen, jota sai työnnellä jäällä, ja hui sentään mitä vauhtia pikkuneiti hurjasteli! Peto! Oli kivaa löytää uusi harrastus täältä etelästä!

First Homeschool Year Finished!

Look at that - same shirt in both pics, on a different kiddo though. We have three of those shirts. Really. And look at Mr. T wearing yellow and Little Miss wearing pink both times. Are we a bit too predictable, folks?!

Now accepting applications: Family seeking fun-loving, godly homeschool teacher. Applicant will be responsible for providing total educational development and daily personal care for children of multiple ages. Applicant will assume the following roles: cook, housemaid, nurse, taxi driver, administrative assistant, accountant, athletic coach, social director, computer technician, household and automotive repairman, gardener, course instructor in multiple subject areas and grade levels, and various other responsibilities. This is a full-time position — approximately 120 hours or more per week. Qualified candidates must be able to work well under pressure, multi-task, and prioritize work loads while maintaining a friendly, enthusiastic attitude. Quick thinking, good memory, and a varied background in extensive subject matter are a must. Promising candidates will be resourceful, adjust easily to distractions, and display creative, hard-working leadership abilities. Organizational and problem solving skills are a plus. Previous teaching experience and/or college preferred, but is not required. If you're interested in working in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, this is the position for you! For more information on this exciting opportunity to earn fulfilling, one-of-a-kind rewards, please apply in person today.

This was a part of a devotional sent to me by Alpha Omega Publishing, the company whose curriculum we used for our homeschooling. You can read the entire devotional here.

These were a lot of my thoughts (fears, really!) last year as we were considering homeschooling, and I strongly felt opposed to it. In fact, I fought against it with all I had! I honestly didn't think I could do it (especially as I finally reluctantly agreed to give it a try, without much enthusiasm and motivation). But here we are, done with the first year. The accomplishment feels great - it wasn't easy, but it was amazing. We had our horrible, terrible, very bad days, but the goodness and the benefits of homeschooling made it all so worth it. We did it. It was good. We'll homeschool again next year!

It is hard to believe we are done - I'm so used to doing school in the morning that I think I will actually miss that routine. The kids seem to already know exactly how to fill that morning school time: sleeping in, staying in bed and reading books :) Hey, nothing wrong with that, at least the first week of vacation!



When we got to St. Pete, we got involved with a local homeschooling group almost immediately. Tonight, in perfect timing, was their end of the school year beach party, and it was awesome! Especially since we had finished our year about three hours earlier!




You can click the poster larger. Not sure where I found this (last year) online, but it has proved to be great encouragement. And I'll leave everyone with this thought: if I can homeschool, so can you...

*** Edit: I interviewed the kids about their first year of homeschooling. For this blog. Did I remember to add it to this post? Nope!! Stay tuned for the part II of this post. If I can find my notes from the interview.