relaxing at the lake

After sleeping in and a delectable breakfast- we were excited to swim in the lake!

 It was cold at first, but really nice to cool off from the unusually hot weather Finland 

was having. We were so lucky to have sunny hot days almost our entire stay!

 I think a cabin on a lake will be our next family vacation- it was so much fun!

 Cute Linc liked swimming in the lake and the kiddie pool. But he 

especially loved throwing things into the lake... including shoes!

 hillbilly

 The boys dug up these clams from the lake and we were excited to see if there were any pearls! But after forcing them all open (and Adam and I both cutting our thumbs on sharp shell shards!) we didn't find any. Adam was excited to cook them up, but nobody does that there I guess. 

 This old stove in the house was amazing! Even cooler than the ones we saw later in the museum.

 another pretty stove

 4 large suitcases and carry-ons and five people can sure make a room cluttery. 

 The boys got to go in the boat with Uncle Kalevi to put out nets in the morning and pick 

them up in the afternoon AND Uncle Ari took them for a row for a little exercise. Lucky boys.

 more swimming

 The sauna in the cabin was so much fun because we would get super hot and then jump in the cold lake. It was bliss. See the leaves in the water on the right? We were sure to use them. 

 Hopping in the cold! You can see Adam's hot back and leaves stuck to it. You can also see in this photo that Ollie is about to land on my head- he thought I said jump when I was still getting ready for him. Yeeowch!

 Ari's leafy back.

 Someone grilled up some giant hotdogs aka makara to eat. 

 Maija's husband, Jarkka and Adam got along nicely. He said he learned his English 

so well by watching television, since a lot of it is English with Finnish subtitles.

 Cute Mister Samuel- 1 week younger than Linc.

 Marketta also spoiled us absolutely rotten! Here she is after cleaning out their cabin by the lake for Eric and Tagen to sleep in. She put all these rugs on the floors to make it more homey for them.

 Linds and I decided to wash the babies' blankies in a bucket with water and shampoo... and somehow after hanging on the line they were not so fresh smelling. So my mom rewashed them in her load (in the washer) the next day. Linc's wondering why his "bet" is up there instead of in his arms like usual.

 We had a full house... or a full bunch of cabins I guess. 21 people in all. 

It was so fun hanging out with my cousins and their families!

 I loved that it was filled with toys. So did the boys.

 I might have a pic of me in this same chair when I was 5?

 Since Finns usually have their big meal earlier in the day, we just had a light meal 

in the evening. (I couldn't get enough of the rice bread. I ate it every meal I could!)

 I took a little solo walk down to the lake at 11:30 PM. It was so calm and peaceful. Except for the honking birds out in the lake. I think it was a swan calling- the national bird of Finland.

 This is the little pond right off the house. Marketta found a duck nest 

in the grasses with 9 eggs in it while we were there, although we 

might have scared off the mommy since we never saw her.

 Jarkka and Maija heading back to their cabin around midnight. You can't even 

tell she's 8 months pregnant from the back! And she is much taller than I remember her at 15!

sleeping pojat (boys)