Wimpy Canadians

When Maddy was in daycare in London, they had the rule that they would not take the kids outside if it was any colder than -10 degrees.

Here in Finland, the kids go outside twice a day, no matter what. Last week, for instance, it was -25 plus the windchill and they were still out twice per day.

I love the atmosphere in Finland, the kids are so outdoorsy and tough. The biggest difference is that the Finnish people have learned how to dress their children properly.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to my dear family and friends. It was our first V-Day celebrated in Finland, but Finnish people actually call it "Ystavanpaiva" which means "Friend's Day". It is recognized as a day of romance, but some Finnish people send cards and gifts to their close friends as well.

Andrew's clients were here from the US for the past two days, which meant that his Valentine's Day evening was spent wining and dining at a Russian restaurant of luxury until the wee hours of the morning. I'm still waiting for my little blue box with white ribbon to appear :)

Saturday night I took Maddy to Helsinki for the "Disney on Ice" show. It was spectacular watching her full of awe and excitement, it was absolutely worth every penny. And the boys stayed home and had some bonding time of their own.

It came as no surprise that Maddy was Andrew's Valentine, since she's always had a soft spot for her daddy. Luckily for me, Charlie is too young to protest, so he was my Valentine yesterday. I hope I will stay as his favourite for at least a while longer.

It's a chilly chilly day here in Finland but a beautiful one.

xoxo

Kim

Skating and Snow

Finland has too much snow. Or so they say. Instead of just letting it all melt, the city of Espoo likes to haul the snow out of the parking lots and move it to ....somewhere. There have been trucks and dozers in the lots of the townhouses down the road for three days now, hauling the snow out of the parking lots. Why don't they just let it melt?

On another note, we found a beautiful outdoor skating rink just a few minutes' drive from our place.