When the sun is setting, between dusk and darkness, there is a moment when the light turns blue. And the world stops for a heartbeat.
With a long weekend of Vappu celebrations and sun behind us, no one plans a trip to amusement park on the Sunday when the forecast promises rain.
Except us.
And it came together perfectly: the weather stayed clear, the rides were practically empty and, best of all, the girls had finally passed the next height limit, which opened up a whole host of new rides.
To use girls’ own words: ” Everything was the best!”.
We have a huge glass terrace at the back our our house. During summer, it is the most-used “room” we have. It is our dining room, living room and outside patio – all wrapped into one. In fact, it was one of the main reasons we bought the house to start with.
The glass roof is fairly flat and keeping it clean(ish) of leaves, pine needles, pollen and dust is no small task. Not that I am too pedantic about it… And a good thing too. About five minutes after completing my task, a gust of wind brought down a fresh rain of rubbish.
Oh well.
You probably noticed I am cheating a bit in my 365 challenge here. This picture was taken by Kiara, not me. I guess the ones below should be my official entries, but who cares.
As said before, escape rooms are a thing in my family. The idea of going to Tallinn for an “escape trip” started off as a joke. But turning jokes into reality is also a thing in my family (e.g., annual the-most-useless-useful-Christmas-present competition).
One weekend, four rooms. Three of the rooms were actually hard, one was… an experience… We escaped three of the rooms, but are now trapped to a haunted orphanage for all eternity.
Luckily there was drinks after.
The Day was finally here. Harry Potter birthday!
The house was packed – at first with wands, owls, floating candles, Gryffindor colors and golden snitches. And later the chaos was completed by 127 excited little wizards and witches (or that is what it felt like).
The Herbology lesson (plant your owl pot) was popular, as was the Potions lesson (mix different color juices) and Levitation class (on the trampoline). But nothing was as eargerly anticipated as the opening of the Honeydukes candy shop after the other food was finished.
Our little witches loved the day – but I am happy it is a whole year to the next kids birthday!
Girls’ birthday party with friends is finally this Saturday. They are currently fascinated with Harry Potter world, so I promised to organize a Potter-themed party.
I wanted each of the little wizards and witches to have their own wand. Wooden chopsticks, some hot glue and spray paint can do magic.
Last year Santa brought the girls a trampoline. I was a bit worried it wouldn’t be used much, but I didn’t need to worry. Last summer, there was barely a day that girls didn’t go jumping, at least for a bit. Most days, there would be several friends bouncing with them.
We set the trampoline up again today (you have to take it into storage for winter). Thirty minutes later, you could already hear the laughter of four little girls.
Raking is pretty far down the list of my favourite things to do. But there is some satisfaction in having a tidy yard. At least it has been dry, which makes raking easy. Keeping girls at task was harder.
Our house is in a nice suburb just next to the seashore and several small forests. Therefore, there are nice walking, cycling, and adventuring routes all around us.
Now it just needs to stop raining.
The girls got new bicycles from Santa. They were delivered today amid huge excitement. Six gears!
In addition to just being great fun, the return of bicycle season adds volumes to girls’ independence. We have strict boundaries on how far they can go without adults or special permission – but even a distance of a kilometer or two is much faster on a bicycle.
Easier distance means more play, more friends, and more adventures, especially with the extended daylight hours.
For Stuart and me, it means fewer calls begging for a lift home.
The girls and I decorated the willow branches for Palm Sunday. The combination of bright colors and cheerful catkins make me happy – especially as we had fun decorating them together.
Projects like this can be hard to start after a full day at work, but once you get going (typically bacause you have to, like now, with no other opportunity before Sunday) they are well worth it!
Blue Moment 