31.05.2015

EXTREME SPORTS

Hi!
 This week we all got a really good workout. Marko and Hanna went running, and on the weekend, we discovered Houghton's Pond in the Blue Hills Reservation, about a 15 minute drive from our house.
 Beach activities included swimming, serious hole-digging, and water-carrying.



Samu and Marko's hole in the sand got quite some attention.

 Sofia preferred small-scale projects like cakes and castles.
 Highlight of the day: Samu swam unassisted (but with water wings, of course) for most of the time. We are so proud (and so excited to only have to carry one child while in the water). Samu was ecstatic, not only about this new big piece of independence, but especially about overcoming his fear of swimming without our help in this new and kind of rough environment. Go Samu!








 Goodbye, Blue Hills Reservation. See you soon!
 Sofia also took a big step this week. She has completed Oma's alphabet puzzle all by herself several times. We are so proud of our little brain athlete!
 Samu continues to spell out his friends' names. (e.g. Ethan)

 And this is the most surprising piece of extreme sport news: Hanna played a soccer game for a local co-ed team. Big field, 80 minutes, way above her ability level. Despite a 3:5 defeat, it was fun, but it might be even more fun to play for an all girls team. Some men are just a bit too serious about sports.

 The best part of this week of extreme sports was a family soccer game in the pouring rain. Marko even played barefoot, and all of us got soaked. It was so much fun! Perfect family moment. Of course, after that it was time for a hot bath and warming up under the blanket by the fire.

All this exercise is so good for us, we were longing for it. We have big plans to keep moving! 
Love to you all!

25.05.2015

TREATS

Even though we still work more than we had hoped, the end of the official semester made it easier for us to skip work every now and then and treat ourselves to something special. Here is a highlight of our "week of treats".

We had lunch out in Dedham and discovered that it's a fantastic place for food and shopping.
Marko bought some fancy grilling equipment and we had grilled meals almost every day.
 We spent almost every evening in our backyard.



 (And Samu loves to wash his feet after playing in the mud for hours.)
 We had tapas at a lovely Spanish bar. First it was just the two of us ...


 but some of Hanna's students and Samu and Sofia joined us a bit later. Great people, great food!
 Thank you!
We had our own little song contest voting ...
although this will always be our favorite band.
 And our favorite treat: We spent a night with our French-American friends in Providence. We  enjoyed talking to these wonderful people so much, and sharing our worries and excitement about being in a multilingual and multinational family truly made a big difference.
 Thank you for a perfect evening to Nico, Karyn, Margo, and Alice!

The next day we treated the whole family to ...
 ... a pool!
 A pool?
 Yes! Everybody helped set it up and fill it with water.





 Then, while Samu was eating cherries, he spotted something ...

 Wow! Is that what I think it is ...?
 It certainly is!
 It's the bird family that lives in our bathroom vent, teaching the two babies to fly!
Shhh ... let's not disturb them!
 There they go, they are flying!
Yaaaay!
 Swimming, grilling, and bird watching made some people very, very tired.

 Thankfully our backyard oasis is not far from our beds - and offers plenty of opportunities to relax.

 And also our front yard has undergone some beautification.

Happy new week!