Maisie's home!

Maisie is home from Salolampi!

She had a great time, and definitely plans on going back last year. So far, I've figured out that she managed to lose a dress (!), a hat, a small makeup bag that had her earrings in it, sunscreen, bug spray, and a bug bite anti-itch stick. I'm not yet sure what else is missing!

There are some pictures of her on the Salolampi Facebook page, and even more can be found on their Google+ page. This one above is from their Google+ page. Their photos are great, and looking through them really helped Maisie tell us about her time at camp.

We're so happy to have her home!

Salolampi summer, and Ella's 6th birthday!

Like last year, Maisie has headed up north to Salolampi, the Concordia Finnish Language Village. Unlike last year, though, this year she went for a two-week session!

The day before she left, we had "Maisie day" where she got to choose our activity. She said she wanted to go hiking, so we headed down to Minnehaha falls! We actually started the day by renting a surrey, which was exhausting (for me and Aaron, who had to do all the work) but still a really fun way to take a family bike ride!

After that it was time for an ice cream break at Sea Salt...

before starting the hike! You can see the falls in the background here. We paused for a quick picture then kept going...

all the way down to the pools at the bottom. There were a TON of people there, as you can see! The weather was warm and sunny so it was perfect for splashing in the shallow, cool water.

While Maisie's been gone, Ella turned 6! We didn't have a party - yet - we're saving that for when Maisie gets back. But we did have a really fun day! We started with breakfast with Gramma Liisa and her friend Jim at Ella's favorite restaurant, Tiny Diner. Then we picked up Dylan and headed to the Mall of America!

Our first activity (as chosen by Ella) was to visit the aquarium, which name I can never remember. I still call it Underwater World, the same way the park in the middle of the MOA will forever be Camp Snoopy. Anyway! we spent a LOT of time looking at the rays in the touch pool.

Ella got splashed by a couple of curious cow-nosed rays. We got some shrimp to feed them, but Dylan was the only one of us brave enough to do it!

After the aquarium, we went to ride rides!

What you don't see is that these goofballs made me ride some roller coasters that I NEVER would've ridden on my own! But Ella wanted to go, and Dylan wasn't old enough to be her chaperone, so it was roller coaster time for me. He kept joking that he was going to make me ride the roller coaster that corkscrews and goes upside down... no thank you!

We had a late lunch at Skydeck, which is a restaurant that has games where you win tickets. Kind of like a Dave & Buster's, or Chuck-E-Cheese, I guess? It's a lot of fun to go play skee ball and air hockey, anyway. After lunch it was back for more rides!

Maisie comes home tomorrow (June 27) and we're having Ella's birthday party then. I miss Maisie a TON and can't wait to see her! Ella is so excited to get her sister back, and to see all her friends at her birthday party. It's going to be a great day!

MSP ComiCon

Sunday (yesterday) we woke up to thunderstorms. I wanted to do something fun, but being outdoors was not an option! So after a quick Google, we decided to take the girls and Dylan to MSP ComiCon!

 Put on by the Midwest Comic Book Association, MSP ComiCon is an annual event held at the State Fair grandstand. There were a bunch of tables with comic book dealers, publishers, writers, and illustrators selling their merchandise. In addition there were some kids' activities, a costume contest (and a bunch of awesome cosplay!), and cool Lego displays!

I loved this cosplay! (Deathstroke and Black Canary, from Green Arrow. And if you don't watch Arrow, I highly recommend it!!! Past seasons are on Netflix!)

Maisie and Dylan spent what seemed like hours looking at Pokemon cards, trying to decide which ones to buy. The prices ranged from $0.50 to $30 per card!!!!! which seems insane to me.

They picked out a couple of cards that were more reasonably-priced, and were very happy with their purchases, which is what counts.

At one point the rain let up and we stepped outside for some ice cream, and saw a photoshoot!

I believe these folks are part of MN Superheroes United, but I'm not 100% sure. What I AM sure about is that I love the Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel cosplay happening on the left of the group there. Also, it was pretty windy, which made all the capes look awesome!

It was a very fun event! It was less interactive and more shopping-focused than CONvergence, but still a really good time. We'll definitely be returning!

Orlando pictures, part 2!

A lot less narrative, a lot more pictures on this post :)

Early morning flight out of Minneapolis

Day 1: let's swim in the pool!

Day 2, at the park!

In Diagon Alley... a bunch of muggles outside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

Looking down Diagon Alley towards Gringott's

Inside Gringott's

Knight bus!

enjoying ice cream from Florian Fortescue's outside the Three Broomsticks

Peeking into the windows of Honeyduke's... so many choices!

Then back to the hotel for more swimming!

Park, Day 3 - the Hogwarts Express

We tried pumpkin juice... it was really good!

Rawr!!!!!

Day 4... heading for home.

So much fun! We can't wait to go back.

Orlando vacation & picture dump (part 1 of 2)

Oh my gosh you guys. My sister Laura and I took our kids to Universal Studios Orlando and it was So. Much. Fun.

This is going to be the recap post with pictures from my phone. I also brought my camera but can't find my sim card reader! So, once I either find it or buy a new one, there will be a post with better-quality pictures. But I didn't want to wait any longer to write up our AMAZING vacation!

We started with an 8 a.m. Sun Country flight on Thursday May 7, which meant getting up even earlier than we do on a normal weekday! It was an easy, direct flight and by 1:00...

Sistercation!

we were poolside with Laura and Dylan!

We stayed at a Doubletree near Seaworld, and it was beautiful! We'd talked about heading over to Universal on Thursday afternoon, but Laura convinced me not too. Everyone was having too much fun swimming and running around in the sun after an early morning and a three-hour flight!

As you can see, the pool (pools, actually - there were 3 of them!) were outside. What you can't tell is that they were salt water! It made for a really pleasant swimming experience, without the super-dry skin and gross chemical smell you get from a chlorine pool.

We swam, played, relaxed, and chased little geckos in a futile effort to catch one. Ella said she wanted to grab one by the tail so it'd drop its tail, which she could then bring home! I am glad she didn't succeed!! Dylan managed to catch a few of them - he has faster hands than the rest of us!

Pretty soon the early morning, hot sun (it was 85 and sunny!), and exercise took its toll, and deck chair naps were had.

The next day it was time to head to the park, bright and early!! It was great going early, and on a Friday - the crowds were very light, and we hardly had to wait at all, even for very popular rides like Minion Madness. (That one was a particular favorite for some of us!)

I had to get it for her! It had her name on it!

The rides were very cool. Most of them were 4D, where there's a screen in front of you (sometimes 3D) that shows some kind of wild ride, and then your seat moves like you're bouncing around on a roller coaster or zooming through space. It was a LOT of fun!

After a few rides, we went to DIAGON ALLEY!!!!!!!!!!!! The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a huge draw for me (and the girls, but let's be realistic, mostly me) and it did NOT disappoint! When we walked through the brick wall hiding it from Muggle eyes, my jaw dropped. It was like walking on to the movie set!

Inside Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Edible Dark Marks, Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Fainting Fancies...

We also caught the Hogwarts Express over to Hogsmeade, which was ALSO amazing! The castle was beautiful and the attention to detail was astonishing. I could've hung out in the Three Broomsticks all day!!

All the employees working in the park were 100% in character the whole time, which I was not expecting but really enjoyed. Whenever I'd buy something they'd say, "On the Muggle plastic" when I gave them my card. And when I bought the girls animals at the Magical Menagerie, they told me my total as "your adoption fees today come to $42.50..." It really added to the whole immersive feel of the experience!

Also, butterbeer is delicious. They served it hot, cold, or frozen like a slushee. Cold was good - it was like a butterscotchy cream soda - but frozen was AMAZING and totally worth the extra $1, especially given the heat!

After a full, fun day at the park it was back to the hotel for dinner, swimming, movies, and a solid night's sleep. On to Saturday!

Purple minion on the loose in King's Cross Station!

Ella'd gotten a bit of a sunburn on her shoulders on Thursday/Friday. She wore a tanktop to the park on Saturday, but the sun was pretty quickly hurting her shoulders, so I let her pick out this shirt. And we HAD to get the minion goggles to match!

Saturday was more of the same... Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, and a few favorite rides from Friday that we wanted to go on again. The Simpsons, E.T., and (one of my favorite movies) Men in Black! It was a "training exercise" for new recruits - you had a laser gun to shoot aliens that'd escaped from a prison transport. The line was longish but it went past some cool things. like the MiB break room, featuring some of my favorite characters from the movie!

After a full day at the park and a delicious dinner, it was time to head back to the hotel for our last night. Because in the morning...

Airplane nap

back to the airport to head back home.

It was an absolutely amazing trip and I cannot WAIT to go back! There are so many things I want to see that I missed, and so many things I want to do again!!

And, a very special thank you Laura and Dylan for being such completely awesome travel companions!! We will go on vacation with you again any time.

Salolampi weekend 2015

After missing a year due to scheduling issues, Minnesotan Suomi-koulu returned to Salolampi, Concordia Language Village's Finnish village, for a relaxing family weekend!

Last time we visited, which was two years ago, there was tons of snow on the ground. This year, the weather was more cooperative - it was in the 60s and sunny during the day, and not too cold even at night. It was perfect!

We arrived on Friday evening and got situated in our cabin, Savo.

Maisie was excited that this was where we'd be staying, because it was one of the boys' cabins last summer when she was a Salolampi camper!

She was also excited in general to be returning. She took a lot of pride in showing us around - this was my cabin, this was where we hung up our swimsuits to dry, this is where I had class. It was great to see how excited she was about Salolampi!

Friday night was pretty laid back - we just hung out and played games in the main dining hall as we waited for the families to arrive. There was fresh-baked pulla and lots of coffee and tea, so the adults chatted and snacked, and the kids played outside.

Saturday morning was sunny and warm! After breakfast, some of us decided to check out the hiking trails.

The trails are well-maintained, nice and flat, and made for a beautiful walk through the woods - even for little legs! Ella and I were joined on our hike by her B.F.F. Lillian, Lillian's little brother Oliver, their mom and dad Tonya and Reid, and Reid's mom Roxy.

Roxy is a member of the Minnesota Mycological society, and a naturalist, so she knew a lot about all the different things we were seeing in the woods! Ella especially enjoyed learning about some of the different kinds of mushrooms that were growing out there.

Roxy found a lot of a kind called "chaga" that grows on birch trees. It looks like it's charred on the outside, but when you break it off it's orangey-yellow. She said you use it to make a very healthful tea - just pour hot water over it. We all learned a lot from her!

There was time for a few photo ops...

And then we were back at camp. Time for some Finnish schoolyard games!

Maisie, it turns out, is aces at kyykkä!

Check out the arm on her!

While Maisie and I played, Ella and her friends (with parental guidance) went down to the beach.

They found all kinds of cool shells, and generally had a good time until someone threw a rock at someone else, which put an end to the beachy fun. Lunch, naps, and sauna followed.

Later in the evening, Maisie and I headed down to the beach with some of the older kids.

We found shells, driftwood, and even some bleached bones that we thought might be from a deer. When it started to get dark, we headed back up to the main dining hall for dessert, tea, and silly selfies.

Soon the little ones went to bed, while the older kids stayed up and watched movies.

Sunday morning it was time to hit the road and head back to real life. Sad! We had a wonderful, relaxing weekend at Salolampi. Maisie's more excited than ever for her next summer session (two weeks!) and Ella wants to go now, too!

We can't wait to go back!