Paasiainen auringossa/ Easter in the sun

Paasiainen tana vuonna sattui osumaan meidan reissun aikaan. Ei se meita haitannut. Vahan tuli ennen reissua ja sen jalkeen haikeus ettei paasiaiskoristeita oikein kannattanut ottaa esille. Meilla oli kuitenkin upea paasiainen. Ihana ystavani Sennie (jonka blogit Our Mothership Adventures ja Kotiin Kolmesta Kolkasta ovat verratonta luettavaa) perheineen oli kutsunut meidat luokseen paasiaiseksi kylaan, viettamaan paivaa yhdessa. 

Easter happened to be during our trip to Florida. It didn't really matter. I had a bit wistful feeling before the trip and after we got back as there was no sense of taking any Easter decorations out. However, we had fantastic Easter. My wonderful friend Sennie (whose blogs Our Mothership Adventures and Kotiin Kolmesta Kolkasta are great reading) and her family had invited us to come and celebrate Easter and spending the day with them. 

Koska omat paasiaiskoristeet kotona jai laittamatta oli ihanaa kun Senniella oli poydalla rairuohoa ja paasiaismunia ja tipuja. Tytot saivat myos Kindermunat. Sekos se vasta olikin ihana yllatys.

As my own Easter decor was all packed in our basement it was wonderful to see that Sennie had rairuoho (traditional Easter grass) growing and some chicks as well. Girls got Kinder eggs as well. That was fantastic surprise. 

Tytot ja Sennien nuorimmainen tulivat kivasti juttuun keskenaan ja he pelasivat Afrikan tahtea innoissaan. Pikkuneitikin niin vakavana ja tosissaan mukana isompien avustuksella. 

Our girls and Sennie's youngest got along very nicely and they played Star of Africa (a Finnish board game). Little Miss was very serious and played with the help of bigger children. 

Saimme syoda herkullista intialaista ruokaa ja ihania jalkiruokia. Juttua riitti. Lentokoneista ja niiden rakentamisesta puhuttiin paljon seka siihen liittyvista kokemuksista. Ja olihan se pikkuneidin pakko paasta "lentamaan" myos kun kaikki siita kerran puhui. :D 

We had a delicious lunch of Indian food and fabulous desserts. Lots of talk all around. Planes, and building them was the main topics. And as everyone was talking about planes Little Miss just had to "fly" too. :D 

Lasten mielesta parasta paivassa taisi kuitenkin olla rannalle paaseminen. Sennien kotoota kavelee vajaa viisi minuuttia rannalle eli neidit varustautuivat kotona jo asianmukaisesti. 

I think the children thought going to the beach was the best part of the day. You walk under 5 minutes to the beach from Sennie's house so the misses all geared up appropriately already before heading to the beach.

Me molemmat Sennien kanssa ollaan vahan hurahtaneita valokuvaukseen. Kamerat oli tietysti mukana molemmilla kun rannalle mentiin.

Both Sennie and I are a bit nuts over photography. Of course we both had out cameras with us.

Lapset aloittivat heti linnoituksen rakentamisen rannalla. Oli vallihautaa ja muuria. Valilla isomman aallon jalkeen piti tehda korjailuja ja taas jatkui rakentaminen.

The children started to build a fort immediately. They had a moat and high walls. Sometimes after a bit bigger wave they had to do repairs and then continue the building.

Pikkuneiti mulskahti rantatyrskyissa veteen kun hiekka lahtikin vahan voimallisemmin jalkojen alta karkuun. Vahan pelastyi muttei pahasti. Hymy oli pian taas huulilla. Ja hiekkaa oli ihan joka paikassa ja PALJON. Seuraavana aamuna sangysta loytyi viela puoli hiekkalaatikollista hiekkaa vaikka rannaltatulon jalkeen kavivatkin suihkussa hiekat pesemassa pois. 

Little Miss fell in the surf when the sand shifted away from under her feet with a bit more power than anticipated. She got scared a little but not badly as her smile was plastered back on soon enough. And she had sand everywhere and LOTS of it. Next morning we found half a sandbox in the bed even though the girls had a shower to get rid of the sand after we got back from the beach. 

Minun ihana ystavani! 

My lovely friend!

Miehillakin rittii juttua. Teknologian alalla molemmat eli yhteiset kiinnostuksenaiheet loytyi nopeasti.

Our husbands got on well too. Both in the technology field so there were plenty of similar interests.

Lahtiessamme rannalta nappasein viela kuvan lasten rakentamasta linnoituksesta, jonka vesi oli valtaamassa omakseen. Tassa vaiheessa muistikortista loppui tila ja varakortti oli tietysti laukussa, joka ei ollut rannalla mukana. Ihanat auringonlaskukuvat jaivat siis minulta ottamatta. Sennien blogissa TAALTA loydat hanen ottamat kuvat samalta paivalta. :D

When we were leaving the beach I took a picture of the fort the children had been building. The water was taking over it. At this point I had filled my memorycard with absolutely no more space and the spare card in the bag which I didn't have with me at the beach. The beautiful sunset pictures would have to wait until next time.  You can find the pictures Sennie took in her blog HERE. :D

Project 365 week 13

Tahdon takaisin lampoon / I want to go back to warmth

 Blogi on ollut aikasen hiljainen ja syystakin. Kaksi reissua takana ja pyykkivuorten selattamista siina valissa ja jalkeen. Suuret suunnitelmat paivityksista loman aikana jaivat todellakin vaan suunnitelmiksi. Eihan siita mitaan tullut, kuten huomaatte. Paivat mentiin ja viipotettiin ja tehtiin kaikkea kivaa ja illalla oltiin niin sippeja kaikki etta sangyn houkutukset voitti aina. Valokuvia sentaan otin, mutta en kuitenkaan niin paljon kuin olisin olettanut. :) Kylla niita kuitenkin ihan tarpeeksi on eli ei hata. Saatte osanne. HAH

The blog has been quiet and for a reason. Two trips behind us and conquering the laundry mountains in between and after has occupied my time wholly. My big plans about updating the blog while on holiday were just that, big plans. Absolutely nothing came of it as you can see. Days were full of fun things to do, places to go and see and in the evening we were so tired that lure of the bed won over pretty easily. However, I did take photos. Not quite as many as I thought I would take but enough still so you don't have to worry. :) You'll get your share. HAH

Ilmat oli ihanat koko Floridan loman ajan. Suorastaan taydelliset. Lampotilat pyori koko ajan +30C asteen paikkeilla. Yksi iltapaiva ukkoskuuro ja pari iltaukkosta. Muuten aurinko paistoi ja me kaikki nautittiin siita. Ei ollut kosteaa eli +30C ei tuntunut ollenkaan pahalta.

The weather was gorgeous during the whole Florida holiday. Almost perfect. Temperatures were around +30C degrees. We had one afternoon thunderstorm and few evening thunders. Otherwise the sun was shining and we all enjoyed it. It was not humid either so +30C didn't feel bad at all.

Meilla oli Orlando tukikohtana ja sielta tehtiin paivan reissuja. Yksi niista oli vahan Tampan pohjoispuolella olevalle Clearwater:ssa olevaan Honeymoon Island ostavaltion puistoon. Paikalle on sisaanpaasymaksu mutta se ei ollut paha $8 autolta jos autossa on 2-8 henkea. Paikka on ihan selkeasti paikallisten suosiossa mutta ei ollut taynna ihmisia. Rantoja on parikin ja parkkipaikkoja reilusti. Suihkut ja vessatkin loytyy, seka kahvila. Me kaytiin taalla ensimmaisella Floridan reissulla nelja vuotta sitten. 

Orlando was our base and from there we did day trips. One of them was to Honeymoon State Park in Clearwater, just north from Tampa. You have to pay a fee to get to the park but it was not bad at all: $8 per car with 2-8 people. The place is clearly a favourite amongst the locals but the beaches were not packed in any way. There are few beaches, plenty of parking. You have showers and toilets as well as a little cafe. We came here on our first Florida trip four years ago.

Ranta, jolla me olimme ei ollut niin hirvean hiekkainen. Paaasiassa oli kivea ja simpukoita. Luulen etta hiekkakin oli paaasiassa simpukoista muodostunut. Tytot kerailivat aarteita, kahlasivat lampoisessa Meksikonlahden vedessa ja isompi neiti rakensi jonkinalaisen kiviroykkion, jonka peitti sitten hiekalla. Mina osallistuin rakennustarvikkeiden keraykseen ja tietysti kuvien napsimiseen seka istuin nauttien auringosta. Ei sentaan poltettu itseamme, mutta hyvin olisi voinut sekin tapahtua. Merituulen puhaltaessa ei auringonpaahdetta tunne. Koko ajan pidettiin silmalla ihon punaisuutta ja rasvan kanssa lotrattiin. Tykkaan muuten todella paljon niista suihkutettavista rasvoista, joita ei tarvitse sitten hieroa ihoon. Homma hoituu nopeasti ja vaivattomasti.

The beach we were on was not terribly sandy. Mainly stones and sea shells. I think the sand was also made of shells. The girls were looking for treasures, were wading in the warm waters of Gulf of Mexico and Big Miss built some kind of stone structure which she then covered with sand. I took part in collecting the building materials for this structure and of course taking photos as well as sitting down and enjoying the sun. We didn't burn ourselves, but we could have done so very easily. Because of the sea breeze you do not feel the strength of the sun. We were monitoring constantly how pink/red our skin was and added sun screen several times. I really like the spray sun screens that you do not have to rub in. Makes the task quick and easy.

Kuten sanoin, rannalla oli paljon paikallisia. He toivat mukanaa tuolit, kirjat, evaat, joillain oli aurinkovarjo ja he istuivat ja lukivat ja nauttivat hekin auringosta ja lammosta. 

As I already mentioned, there were lot of locals on the beach. They had brought their chairs, books, snacks and some even their big parasols. They were sitting down, reading their books and enjoyed the sun as well.

Mies puhui useampaankin otteeseen etta voitaisiin muuttaa Floridaan tai ainakin sitten elakkeelle jaataessa muutettaisiin jonnekin missa on lamminta. Lunta ei saisi enaa olla. Tai kylmaa. Mina en sanonut viela aiheeseen yhtaan mitaan. Vahan sita mietin. Merenrannat ovat ihania. Ovat aina olleet. Ne houkuttaa. Eli jos joskus elakkeelle lampoiseen muutetaan niin merenranta on pakko olla ihan lahella. Nyt kuitenkin toivoisin vaan etta paasisin takaisin lampoon. Taalla lampotilat ei ole lahellakaan +30C. Tanaan hyva jos paastaan puoleen siita ja kylma tuuli puhaltaa. Villasukat jalassa on hyva olla.

My husband was talking on several occasions about moving to Florida or at least when it was time to retire we would move somewhere where it was warm. No more snow wanted. Nor cold. I didn't say a thing to this matter yet. I did think about it though. Beaches are lovely. They've always been to me. So if we do move to somewhere warm to retire, a beach is a must. Now however, I wish I could go back to the warmth. Here back home the temperatures are nowhere near +30C. We'll be lucky if we get to half of that today, with a cold wind blowing. Woollen socks are a must.