Alanna – Page 5 – Blue Moment

Day 114: Räyh!

June 9, 2026June 9, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Helsinki, KiaraTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Food, Helsinki, KiaraLeave a comment

Girls’s night out.

For dinner, Alanna and Kiara chose a sushi – one of their all-time favourites.

After dinner, we headed to a Hevisaurus Musical. I think Hevisaurus is a concept that could really only exist in Finland… Its a band dressed up as dinosaurs, playing heavy metal for kids. And they are pretty good too!

Alanna especially was into every song. She knew the words to half of them and danced passionately to the rest.

As did most of the audience.

I am not sure if I’ve ever seen that many 5-8 year olds headbanging before.

Räyh! is their best song. Or the ballad, ‘Goodnight, Last of the Mammoths’ (Hyvää yötä, viimeinen mammutti). Both are worth a listen.

Day 110: Summer Cottage

June 5, 2026June 5, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Asikkala, Family, Finland, Kiara, Nature, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, family, Finland, Kiara, Nature, Outdoors, Summer, Summer CottageLeave a comment

Swimming, boating, fire-cooked crepes, sauna, bbq, hammering, hand-picked wildflowers, ice cream – long days outside and never-ending bedtime giggles.

A perfect day for little people.

Day 98: A Year’s Worth of Circus

May 17, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Family, Kiara, People, TraditionsTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Espoo, Kiara, Learning, SpringLeave a comment

Every spring, the circus school Alanna and Kiara go to puts together a final performance. The performers vary in age from 3 to 20+, and in skill from total beginners to the performing group, but the energy and enthusiasm are always there.

Unfortunately, the lighting looked great live but was less kind to photography. Any presentable picture required at least a fraction of a second of stillness, and there wasn’t much of that.

Day 96: Gentle Walk

May 16, 2026May 16, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, Espoo, Nature, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Espoo, Finland, Nature, OutdoorsLeave a comment

Alanna is still recovering from her cold. And I am still working long hours.

Luckily this time of the year means the sun is still high when I end my day. Good time for a gentle walk to the seashore.

Day 94: When the cat is away, the mice get sick

May 14, 2026May 14, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, HomeTagged 365 Project, Alanna, family, HomeLeave a comment

Stuart flew to Kenya for business today and, to no-one’s surprise, Alanna is now sick.

Luckily, she is already pretty independent. But even when I shorten my workday and work from home, she still ends up entertaining herself for most of the day.

A boring day for my little one!

Day 92: Queens of the Carousel

May 11, 2026May 11, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Family, Helsinki, Kiara, Outdoors, StuartTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, family, Helsinki, Holidays, Kiara, Outdoors, StuartLeave a comment

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!”.

Day 81: A Day For Just Alanna

April 28, 2026April 28, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Alanna, TraditionsTagged 365 Project, AlannaLeave a comment

When you are a twin, you share everything: attention, toys, clothes, most experiences – and birthdays.

In Finland, tho, there is an age-old tradition of celebrating name days. A few years ago, we picked up the idea and started small-scale celebrations to make sure Alanna and Kiara both have their own day.

Alanna’s name day was today. Alanna, as a name, is very rare in Finland (fewer than 60 in the whole country), so it doesn’t appear in the name calendar. Alina and Aida were the closest matches I could find.

As a treat, Alanna got a few small presents in the morning and chose a restaurant for the evening: Korean BBQ (smart kid!)

Day 76: Snitches, cauldrons and skateboards

April 22, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Festivals, Kiara, TraditionsTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Children, Home, KiaraLeave a comment

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!

Day 71: Jumping up, up, up…

April 16, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Home, Kiara, OutdoorsTagged 365 Project, Alanna, Children, Espoo, Home, Kiara, Outdoors, SpringLeave a comment

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.

Day 70: Raking

April 15, 2026April 15, 2026Posted in 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Home, Outdoors, StuartTagged 365 Project, Activities, Alanna, Espoo, Home, Outdoors, SpringLeave a comment

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.