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!