FARM ANIMALS

Who would have thought that a trip to a farm/zoo can be so enjoyable for both child and parents? Marko and Hanna really seem to get kicks out of watching animals, and Samu ... well, he was in heaven. Many of these pretty creatures he had only known from books before - and now they came alive! Thank you, Lieksan pikkukili!

"Hallo Hase!"

"Ente ankka quak quak swimmen gehen" 

"Alpakka! Alpakka! Alpakka!" 

 "possu - Swein"

 "gose Swein kleine Swein - 

 iso possu pieni possu"

 "Pony lieb nicht haun"

 "Henne Henne - kana kana"

 "Jentierbaby kleine kleine Baby - poro vauva pieni pieni vauva"

(We were really lucky with this one - the little one had been born a few hours before we came.)

 "Siiiege gehen noch amal Siiiege gehen! Siege essen kommen"

 "Saf! Bäääh!" 

 "Possu!"

 After all this excitement, a little fire and some grilling by the lake was just the perfect thing to do. Samu was waiting very patiently for his sausages ;-) 

What a great family trip! We are sure to hear some animal sounds for a very, very long time to come. Yay!

ON THE OTHER SIDE

... of the Atlantic, there are beautiful places and great adventures awaiting us. And even though we are all fighting a major jet lag and Hanna and Marko have to get quite some work done in the next month, spending the time we do have with our Finnish (now) and Austrian (later) families and friends is incredibly important and enjoyable to us.

The backyard season has officially started.

Playground is his middle name. (Check out the smooth landing!)

Walking home after saying good-bye to his best friend, the playground.

Always Hanna's favorite: Löpö

SAN FRANCISCO

Thank you, conference of the AERA, for being in San Francisco this year. Thank you also for letting Hanna present her dissertation-in-progress. And thank you, Marko and Samu, for coming along. It was so nice to interrupt our Minnesota routine for a while.

With Samu being so active and downtown so expensive, we decided to rent a little apartment in this pretty neighborhood. 

The hill we climbed several times a day - and also, the view we enjoyed several times a day. (Note the Golden Gate Bridge in the back!)

Alamo Square

Even Samu was impressed with the architecture.

There was also time for a trip to the Golden Gate Bridge.

There was time for being silly. 

And even time for an evening on the beach.