We told the kids they can get a little wet.
They got soaked to the bone.
Best thing ever.
Day 181: Fountain
Category: Kiara
Day 180: Blue Fox called Katri Helena
Lotte is not a character I was familiar with. So we approached Lottemaa with some trepidation, especially as we knew everything would be in Estonian.
But children have an amazing ability to throw themselves into the parts of the story they understand – and just ignore the rest. The park had sufficient things to do, even beyond the story itself, especially as (totally out of character) I actually looked at the website beforehand and knew about the hidden adventure trail…
And everyone told us about the Finn in the village, the blue fox called Katri Helena.
The “quick stop” to cool ourselves off in Pärnu beach took a lot longer than expected. Mostly because even the girls had to walk about 100m in to the sea before the water reached their belly buttons. The shallow water felt above 30°C, though, so I didn’t mind a bit of splashing.
Day 176: Washing Rugs
Washing rugs on the summer cottage pier was fun as a child. Mum would throw buckets of water on my feet as I scrubbed as hard as I could. I still love the smell of Mäntysuopa (pine soap).
As we cleaned the wendy house today, the girls tried the traditional method of cleaning a rug.
Their comment was a dry, “Clearly kids in the old days had a different way of having fun”. Apparently, it was hard work.
Day 175: Little Big Adventure
The best purchase of the summer – if you ask the girls – has been the massive, almost 5m-long swimming mattress Ukki ordered.
It easily holds both girls standing up, so, wearing a life jackets, Alanna and Kiara have been allowed to push it almost to the middle of the lake by themselves. This is, of course, infinitely cooler than doing it with an adult. Ukki even towed the girls and the mattress all the way to the other side of the strait.
In the deep, the mattress becomes a platform for jumping, diving, kicking, pushing and generally messing around in the water. The best game, naturally, is trying to stay standing when the waves from a passing boat rock the mattress.
Great fun and a great way to build even more confidence in the water.
Now we just need to figure out where an earth to store a thick, 5m mattress for the winter.
Day 174: Stop And Smell The Mushrooms
In Finnish forests, the flowers tend to bloom early and only briefly. Season is short, so this time of the year, forest are mostly a sea of different greens.
Mushroom season is starting, tho, so it’s worth keeping your eyes on the ground!
Day 173: Life in the Old Days
Alanna and Kiara both love stories about how people used to live in the old days. The concept of “the old days” is still quite fluid – anything from the 12th century to the year before they were born. Anything earlier than that is simply ‘a very, very long time ago’.
We have never explicitly tried to teach them history, although we do enjoy a good museum. But if they grow up understanding that ‘right’ ideas and ‘proper’ behavior change over time, maybe they will be less likely to dismiss new ideas and different ways of doing things.
But mostly they just find old toilets funny.
.
All images from Urajärvi Manor and its beautiful gardens.
Day 168: Local Sights
When something is close to home, you rarely see it as anything special.
Pulkkilanharju is a narrow esker gormed during the Ice Age. It is surrounded by the open waters of lake Päijänne, with small green islands dotting the landscape. It is often listed as one of the most scenic drives in Finland.
But because it is so close to the summer cottage, years can pass without us visiting.
This year, we decided not only to drive across it, but also to walk the short nature trail in the national park. The girls insisted the terrain was so challenging they couldn’t possibly have finished the walk without the 1,5l of bilberries they ate along the way. It really wasn’t. But the bilberries were clearly excellent.
We finished the adventure with lunch and ice cream at Vääksy Lock. Another piece of Finland’s must-see scenery.
Day 166: The Art of a Holiday
As an adult, it takes me several days to settle into a holiday. The girls have been in a holiday for over five weeks and have no problem being incredibly busy doing absolutely nothing.
Day 156: Scateboards
Last summer Alanna and Kiara got excited about skateboards. Stuart and I, on the other hand, have absolutely no understanding of the fine art of skateboarding. We didn’t even know where to start.
The City of Espoo has been running a great initiative called Skateboard Containers, where more experienced skateboarders offer advice to younger or less experienced kids. The girls were bit young, but we took them to one of the containers in Matinkylä.
Rarely have I been as impressed by a city initiative. Two 14-year-old boys took the girls under their wing and patiently taught them for nearly two hours – held their hands coming down, gave advice and encouragement. The spark those boys lit in my girls lasted the whole summer.
This year we’ve had very little time to go practice and many of those skills have gotten rusty. But the excitement is still there.
Now I just need to find them a skateboarding course. As great as the container is, it can only take us so far.
Day 155: A Fox, A Snake And Other Encounters
When Alanna was just about to turn one, we took her to a small zoo. She was absolutely horrified of the goats, but determined to go and pet the tigers.
This popped to my head when we visited a small animal park just an hour from home. The bunnies, horses and wolly lambs were lovely, but nothing compared to the snakes, porcupines, giant tortoises, reindeer – and especially the foxes.
The place was thoughtfully designed – children could interact with many of the animals, but only if the animals chose to. And, since it was quite hot, not all of them did. I think it’s important for children to learn, that animals get to choose, too.
But I was practically giddy when we got to interract with a fox. I’d never been that close to one before.
Always a kid.
Blue Moment 