Happenings in the Latvanen Family: August 2009

...and it was the last days of summer, again. The annual routines and ceremonies are there but it feels a bit different this year, because of the long summer out of the country.

The annual blackcurrant day. This year the yield was the best so far, and with Annu such a fast picker, the berryfest continued late into the night with jams and purees and stuff... There's also a few litres of blackcurrant liqueur in the making - now there's a good reason to wait for the xmas holidays :)

With the start of the school year Reko has come to face the fact that the Finnish 3rd grade is a leap forward from the 2nd. Homework must really be worked with, there's no casual "just taking care of it" anymore. And the school days are longer, too, which is not a bad thing - less time to get bored ;-) His first foreign language at school turned out to be English after all. Reko's own choice was French but there were too few kids to get a group started. He was disappointed at first but got over it fast and says he now enjoys English a lot.

Atte still has it easier this year, and plays with other kids a lot. He hasn't touched the drums a lot after we came back but spends time with his synthesizer instead. Atte retraces our American travels in Google Earth and shows his friends pics and videos of the huge American rollercoasters (not that he actually rode them all...).

The first morning of the school year, with the boys modeling T-shirt styles from across the ocean.

With Annu back at work it's basically full steam ahead for the whole bunch. In Canada we decided to become better people (us adults at least). Consequently, Annu has now promised both to run a half marathon and yell less to the kids, while Make has enrolled in an all-male yoga class; the "yoga for geezers" thing is getting bigger year by year.

The boys will try their sporting selves again, this time with floorball, which is pretty big in Europe. Time will tell if they want to stick with it.

Time flies and we all have lots to do. We have started making more detailed plans for North America 2011, and if everything works out right, we all may be in for a few things worth waiting for... but that's for later.

The cats were so well taken care of by our friends & neighbors during summer that they hardly noticed our return. They are doing great and send a big purr to everyone who helped!

So yeah, right...

...we all got one of those neo-retro hippie tie dyes. We are so, like, peace and love and everything, anyway, eh ;-)

So we're home - well, in Finland at least. The drive from Toronto to NYC took about 12 hours with all the stops included, but it didn't feel that long. Actually, we got to New York itself in about 10,5 hrs but it took us more than an hour to do the final few miles from the Washington Bridge to JFK! In any case, the stunning scenery of upstate New York definitely was worth the trouble!

Annu's long-distance driving didn't end there either: she and the boys are now in Kuopio for a few days before she goes to work on Friday. Marko is at home instead of work: a respiratory infection got him just as we were returning to Finland. Quite a flight for him, trying not to cough for 7 hours straight... Btw, it's not H1N1, that's confirmed. We've been both amused and bemused at the level of hysteria that swine flu seems to generate in this tiny country's media. Ho-hum.

The jet lag is really awful when you travel this way; from east to west it's nothing because you save a few hours, but this... oh jeez. Only Reko slept at all on the plane, so Saturday went in a haze. On Sunday Annu was surprisingly perky and got all our many bags unpacked and the contents sorted out (you'd never believe how many books we bought on the trip - we didn't!) but Marko was feeling the full blast of the lung infection. The jet lag and the indoor air on the plane definitely made it worse than it would otherwise have been. The boys are still sleeping long hours but they will recover. They loved seeing their neighborhood friends, and we loved seeing how much the other kids like having them back :)

We had a proper scare when the jack adapter piece for the boys' brand new US-bought Nintendo DSi refused to work here! Thankfully, Sterling's assumption that the device can probably handle different currents by itself proved to be true: we only needed to buy a regular European DS charger and it works without any current conversion adapters or such, just plug it right in and charge.

Because we didn't have a computer with a broadband connection at our place in Toronto, the latter entries of the blog have been, as you've noticed, without pictures. Well, we will fix that problem right away, so here's our Greatest Pix for late June and all of July!

NOTE: Just click on the picture to see it in full size! For some reason the very first picture doesn't seem to work but the others do.

WASHINGTON D.C. (June 20-23)

Annu sets up camp in Adam's Inn, a b&b we heartily recommend if you happen to travel that way :)

Freedom and democracy! Reko decides Lafayette's a pretty good role model to follow.

"...and that's our new summer home you see in the background. Mowing the lawn does take a few hours but otherwise it's very peaceful."

Our appointment with Mr. Lincoln - we made it!

Sun sets over the National Mall and the Washington Monument, view from the upper stairs of the Lincoln Memorial.

Little spacemen! Reko and Atte by the real Apollo 11 command module at the National Air and Space Museum.

Annu and the boys get cooler after a very hot day. The beautiful fountain is by the National Archives main building.

Adam's Inn from the outside.

Been there, done that :)

MICHIGAN (June 23 - July 1)

Back at the screenhouse...

...and back on Jack's fourwheeler. But would you trust a guy looking like that doing the driving?

A Michigan breakfast pancake - Reko is in heaven!

Watching Allison doing great in her softball game, Annu and Reko realize they like this sport! Atte is busy figuring out the score...

TORONTO (July 1-13)

Hello Toronto - it's great to be back!

An appropriate outfit for celebrating Canada Day...

No, it's not Shanghai or Beijing. That's Spadina Avenue, just a couple of blocks from out T.O. home.

Far from the madding crowd, even if the crowd is a metre away. Give Reko a superhero comic book and he's gone...

"Hey, that's our house!" Yes, you could see it from the CN Tower: just a little to the left of the big buildings with a big chimney (that's West Toronto Hospital, actually) in the center of the picture.

Ontario Place had great water slides and Annu and Reko wasted no time to go splashing about!

Casa Loma's annual Renaissance Fair was great fun! Our family was under protection of noble Sir Alan so we didn't need to worry about highwaymen or other villains :)

Marko on steps that look somehow familiar to some people. Hint: there was a picture-moving operation going on this very spot back in 1981. The location is old Ontario Parliament at Queen's Park.

Annu created an artwork on one of the Toronto Beaches...

...which happens to be one of the places we could gladly live in!

But we would not mind the Peace and Love neighborhood of Kensington either, we stayed close by to this area too! Incidentally, you can see the Toronto garbage strike in this picture: notice the overflowing blue trash can!

Well, ok, Cabbagetown would be ideal, too! Annu thought about setting up our own b&b here - now there's a thought...

Splash! After a long hesitation, Atte conquered himself and braved a water slide in Brampton's Wild Water Kingdom. Hooray!

OTTAWA (July 14-17)

The boys admiring the view from Parliament Hill. That's Quebec on the left and Ontario on the right of the bridges across the Ottawa river.

Annu took a photo of the Government building complex while Marko was actually in there meeting his Canadian colleagues.

One of the views from the Ottawa River cruise: lodgings of the rich and well-off by the river. Just hop on your own boat and off to work...

Ottawa Locks at the end of the Rideau Canal; Alexandra Bridge and Gatineau in the background.

...and Annu decidely agrees!

Who's afraid of giant spiders? Not Reko - that's him under "Maman", a landmark sculpture by the National Art Gallery.

Annu and the boys doing some time travel window shopping: Canada's past times are alive in the Museum of Civilization.

MONTREAL (July 17-19)

"Explorez le Quebec"? OK, we'll try :)

A beautiful park somewhere in Central Eur... no, sorry, that's Montreal. Hard to realize you're in North America.

On weekend the major shopping street was closed from traffic and turned into a miles-long outdoor market.

Taking a time-out from walking by the Bonsecours Market.

Wind, finally! The crowd of people on the street are waiting to enter the Bell Centre for a Green Day concert.

Spotting nature wonders in the Montreal Biodome.

Sunset on King's Highway 401, driving from Montreal back to Toronto.

LONDON & SURROUNDINGS (July 21-23)

Look who's riding in the back! We got a surprise treat when our new friends Donna and Andy took us to see how the London, Ontario fire department works.

Camping days: Andy took us fishing on a beautiful little river near the campground.

Annu and Atte at the camper with Chester the dog, the second big and friendly dog we met on the trip.

TORONTO and farewell (July 24-31)

Who's into baseball now?! Our former "Definite NO to spectator sports" Annu had a change of heart with the American national sport, and Atte was into it all the way...