A funny thing happened, on the way down the hill...

On the first, really cold, day of winter, Teemu went tobagganing and his sled hit a hidden snow jump.




He flew up...over...and down, right into a tree.





Luckily, his foot(not his head) took the brunt of the hit, but...



sadly, it wasn't made of steel.

Long time, no see...

Maybe it just feels like its been a long time,


since we have seen the ones we love...but, maybe its true.



One person measures time with hours and days, when another...





measures it with memories made.


Sometimes we miss the ones that are closest to us,




and sometimes....




distance makes the heart grow fonder. Whatever the case may be,



we are certainly blessed with family and friends,



to miss and, make memories with.

örebro cup

Julia oli kesäkuussa joukkueensa kanssa pelaamassa ruotsissa. Ensimmäiset kuusi peliä sujuivat hyvin, 5-1, 3-1, 5-0, 1-0, 2-0. Ensimmäisen tiputus pelin Julian joukkue kuitenkin hävisi ja tippui turnauksesta. Joukkue tuli kuudensiksi kahdestatoista osallistuja joukkueesta.

Animal Farm / Eläintarha

Mökillä teimme pupuille aitauksen. Puput hyppelivät päivät pitkät iloisina, mutta yöllä pistimme ne häkkiin, ettei mikään peto tulisi syömään niitä. Niin kuin kuvassa näkyy, kyllä puput halusivat myös levätä päivisin.

We built a fence for the bunnies at our cabin. The bunnies jumped around happily. In the nights we locked them up in their cage to keep the safe from predators. As you can see, during the days the bunnies like to take it easy.


Mökillä ollessamme ankat kasvoivat hirvittävästi. Arvelimme, että ankoista kaksi olisi poikia ja kaksi tyttöjä heidän käytöksen perusteella, joten keksimme nimet Täplä, Tähkä, Roope ja Roosa. Ankkamme saavat olla mökillä päivät vapaana, mutta yöksi nekin menevät sisälle. Mökillä ollessamme kävimme ostamassa kanan ja kukon. Kukko herättelee meitä ärsyttävän aikaisin neljältä aamulla, ja kanalta saamme joka päivä kananmunia.

During our stay at the cabin the ducks grew tremendously. Judging on their behaviour two of them seem to be male and two female, so we named them Täplä, Tähkä, Roope and Roosa. Our ducks get to roam around freely during the days, but for the nights they too went in. We also bought a chicken and a rooster. The rooster wakes us up way too early, at four, but the chicken compensates with a daily egg.

Päivä Särkänniemiellä

Olimme Ylöjärven mökillä viikon. Päätimme käväistä samalla Särkänniemessä. Mukana olivat Jasu, Mari, Jan, Julia, Sini ja Teemu. Meidän urhea Teemu olisi uskaltanut laitteisiin, missä pituusrajoitus oli 140 cm, mutta olikin 2cm liian lyhyt.

We spent a week at our Ylöjärvi cabin. It is near Tampere, so we -- Jason, Mari, Jan, Julia, Sini and Teemu -- decided to spend the day at Särkänniemi, the amusement park. Our brave Teemu wanted to try the scariest rides, but was 2 cm too short for them.


Teemu, Jan, Jasu ja Mari kävivät katsomassa delfinaarion delfiinien esitystä. Valitettavasti Julia ja Sini myöhästyivät siitä pitkien jonojen takia, mutta se ei heitä pahemmin lannistanut, sillä he saivat lisää aikaa laitteissa olemiseen.

Teemu, Jan, Jason and Mari went to see the dolphin show at the aquarium. Unfortunately Julia and Sini missed it, because of the long lines, however they weren't too bothered as the park was full of fun stuff to do.


Päivän jälkeen kaikilla oli jalat kipeinä, mutta kaikilla oli mukava päivä Särkänniemessä.

At the end of the day everyone's feet hurt, but the smiles were wide.

A time of new birth

First we had the birth of the baby horse...

Then we had the birth of the baby ducks.....

Then we had the birth of the baby finches.....mommy bird made her nest behind my geraniums..


and then there was the finale! Welcome, Baby Rose.

These have been a long time coming so, in the words of Vaari...

Jan turned 17, at the end of June. He was gently wakened for cake, presents and his favortie magazine!


Cathy got the royal treatment, for her 26th birthday today!

June is almost over and, we are all hoping we will be able to put our winter coats away soon! Seriously, the weather has been the coldest in 60 years! We are hoping to get a few days, even weeks(hope maketh us not ashamed) of warm weather in, so we can spend some time at the cabin by the lake, in Tampere. We are looking forward to having the whole family together at the end of July and, welcoming the newest addition to our Poppoo.....if she/he would just only hurry up and get borned...anytime soon, like.

If you are in our direction, Helsinki, Tampere, or Siuntio, look us up and come for coffee!

The end of another school year and, the beginning of a great summer!

What would be a post without the antics of our cats, eh?




MacGyver is renowned for finding the most uncomfortable places to sleep in (or freshly washed and folded laundry clothes) and making it his own. Every once in a while, we just have to get it on camera to prove its true.
Slippers, on the other hand, is renowned for looking for the most comfortable places, in the most hidden areas of the house, and sleeping with one eye open....just in case someone makes a sound.

We couldn't find her, so you will just have to believe us.


'I can't believe I ate the whole bag.....'

Julia has finished elementary school. She graduated from the 6th grade.... on to the 7th. It was wonderful to see her perform at the kevät juhla ( the closing ceremonies) with her dance club and, to hear her sing the closing song. Though she sang with the entire graduating class, her voice was heard loud and clear above the rest. We were all able to attend, even Jan, who chose not to go to soccer practice, just to be there. Julia is a very special young lady, with many special gifts. Good job, Julia!


Teemu has finished grade 1! He has come a long way, this little fellow, and has learned many new things. Teemu is so happy with himself, that the first year went so well! On to grade 2.....one small step for Pitskun Poppoo...one giant step for Teemu!

Kissat ja muut eläimet

Jan, Teemu ja Julia
Mac Gyver heräsi juuri päiväunilta olohuoneen lattialta ja oli menossa ruokakupille.Slippers loikoilee aulan maton päällä ja odottelee, kunnes joku lapsista ottaa sen mukaan nukkumaan.

Spring in Siuntio is amazing!

A nice time of visiting, eating,

chilling out....

doing what we do best!

Recycled Arts and Gardening

I love my toilet flowers, don't you?

Joshua's loves balloons..

so much, he wears them now.

Teemu's 9th birthday parties!

Time flies, eh? Teemu had a wonderful time at his birthday parties. The first one with his family and...

and then with his friends!

Kitchen siblings

We have been trying to upload pictures onto our advertisement for, the Home for Exchange website. We didn't use this one. Heheheh.....

Spring is here!

The trampoline has been one of the favorite attractions of our backyard.

The trampoline died

It has been used so much, it gave up the ghost. Siis, it died. Vaari will be fixing it soon, welding it and all that....Gramma will be buying a new one.

Tervetuloa!

Uusi blogi on nyt avattu. Tässä on suuri perheemme ja muut apinat!

Our new blog is finally open! We will be posting new pictures, news and such about what is going on ;-)