Kate and William

What a beautiful wedding we had today!  Kate and William make a stunning couple.  Our celebration of their special day was also a success.  Not even a drop of rain but fantastic weather... what a great day!

Katen ja Williamin haat olivat upeat ja meidankin juhlintamme oli oikein onnistunut.  Valtyttiin sateelta ja wedding picnic vietettiin upeassa auringonpaisteessa lahikukkulalla.  Ihanaa!

Haahulinaa!

Perjantai on se suuri paiva jolloin Kate ja William saavat toisensa.  Ihanaa haahulinaa on nahtavissa kaikkialla ja paiva on ylimaarainen vapaapaiva kansalle.  Me emme aio menna keskustan tungokseen vaan vietamme juhlapaivaa omalla tavallamme.  Meidat on kutsuttu Nikkin ja Davidin kotiin seuraamaan haita heidan telkastaan ja samalla herkuttelemme tapaksilla ja nostamme lasit haaparin kunniaksi.  Nikki ja David ovat naapureitamme ja heille siis kokoontuvat kaikki meidan lahinaapurit.  Kun vihkiminen on ohi, suuntaamme kaikki yhdessa laheiselle kukkulalle haapiknikille, ja sinne tulee kai aika paljon porukkaa, silla kutsulistalla on koko laajempi naapurustomme.

Valitettavasti perjantaiksi on luvattu sadetta ja ukkosta, joten katsotaan joudutaanko piknik siirtamaan sisatiloihin, vaikka meidan olkkarin lattialle?!

Joka tapauksessa on kivaa olla mukana tassa haahulinassa.  Tassa muutama kuva Yorkshiren tyyliin koristelluista "haaikkunoista".  :-)

As you can see, one can see and feel the upcoming wedding of Kate and William everywhere.  These pictures are a few samples of the way shops and windows are decorated all over the country.  We are not going into the city for the wedding but get together at our neighbours house along with all of the closest neighbours we have.  We will watch the ceremony together and then head up to a hill nearby for a big wedding picnic. Unfortunately the weather forecast is threatening us with rain for Friday but nevertheless we are happy to join in on the celebration of the happy couple. :-)

Yorkshire Dales

Our trip took us to Yorkshire Dales and this was our second visit there.  This is an area we have fallen in love with and find the place so relaxing.  One can easily spend a whole day driving around with stops here and there, either to grab some fresh air or to have a picnic in the middle of nowhere.  People come to the dales to do mountain biking and trekking, and there are many camping areas for those that want to stay over for a night... or many nights.  :-)

One can stop by in lovely little villages as we did, enjoying ice cream on the terrace of a cosy cafe and walking around looking at various shops and buildings.  Everything is well taken care of and the atmosphere is magical.

Lunch on the Dales...

We all enjoyed our day...

... and some of us dipped ourselves in the water...

The Brits do it in style...

So beautiful!!!

Love, love, love England!!!

Liverpool

Walesista matkamme suuntautui Liverpooliin, silla lupasimme pojille nayttavamme heille Liverpoolin jalkapallojoukkueen stadionin.  Yksi Alexin parhaista kavereista on vannoutunut Liverpool-fani ja vaikka meidan perhe kannattaakin ManUa, oli Liverpoolin visiitti meille kovin mieluinen.  Onneksemme lauantai oli pelipaiva ja vaikka matsi olikin loppuunmyyty, Martin onnistui hankkimaan meille liput peliin!  Oi mika kokemus, Liverpoolilla on todella mahtava fanijoukko ja laulut raikasivat lapi matsin.  Tunnelma oli mieleton ja melu kova.  Siltikin Liam onnistui ottamaan nokoset keskella sita hardellia.  Ja wau, Liverpool voitti pelin (vastassa Birmingham City) 5-0!  Naimme siis aivan uskomattomia maaleja ja niita seuranneen juhlinnan!


From Wales we drove to Liverpool because we promised our boys to take them to see the Liverpool football club stadium.  It happened to be match day and even though the game was sold out Martin managed to fix us some tickets.  We saw an amazing game where Liverpool beat Birmingham City 5-0!  Liverpool has a superb fan group and they were singing loudly throughout the match.  The atmosphere was truly magnifient.  It was incredibly loud and when the home team scored the noise was something unbelievable.  We felt so lucky to be there and see five amazing goals!

Liverpoolin jalkeen ajelimme Blackpooliin.  Paikka ei koskaan ole kuulostanut kauhean houkuttelevalta, mutta halusimme tsekata sen kuitenkin, lahella kun olimme.  No, eipa tartte enaa menna, not our cup of tea.  Alla kuitenkin yksi kuva Blackpoolin Pleasure Walkilta.


After Liverpool we checked out Blackpool which has never been a place we've been longing to go to.  But since we were close by we decided to see if it was as bad as we thought it would be.  Quickly in and quickly out, I don't think we'll be returning... not our cup of tea.

North Wales

Home again after a fantastic trip that ended up taking us to various places.  The first bit was touring North Wales so in this post I'll share some cool pictures from that area.

Mahtava reissu takana ja taas ollaan nahty ja koettu monenmoista.  Matkan ensimmainen osuus vei meidat Pohjois-Walesiin joten tassa muistoja sielta.

Saw some amazing castles again...  This one is called Caernarfon castle.  Our boys are already used to climbing the steep, narrow staircases up to the highest towers...

Nahtiin taas upeita linnoja, kuten tama Caernarfon linna.  Onneksi pojat ovat jo tottuneita kiipeamaan korkeisiin torneihin jyrkkia ja kapeita portaita pitkin...

We found yummy places to eat in...

Beautiful views...  Kaunista...

Will be back for sure!

Huh helletta!

Englannissa on jo taysi kesa, aurinko porottaa paiva toisensa jalkeen ja lapsia saa kiusata aurinkovoiteella pitkin paivaa.  Aika ihanaa, olemme ulkona aamusta iltaan ja kahvittelemme puutarhassa.  Lounas syodaan ulkona puutarhapoydan aarella ja paivalliseksi kuumenee grilli melkein joka ilta.  :-)

It's summer here now, we have sunshine every day and it's super warm.  We spend loads of time outdoors and enjoy meals in our garden.  Bbq season is on and we use our grill almost every evening.

Tama Paasiainen sujuu meilla hieman normaalista juhlinnasta poikkeavilla suunnitelmilla, silla lahdemme parin paivan paasta pohjois-Walesiin lomalle.  Odotamme reissulta kauniita maisemia ja linnoja... aah!

This Easter will be spent in a non-traditional way as we will drive up to North Wales.  We are expecting to see some stunning views and of course castles.

Happy Easter everyone!!!

17.4.

What a Sunday!  We took the boys to London Sealife on the South Bank and then continued the day strolling around the area.  It was Marathon weekend but all the millions of people were on the other side of the Thames.  The roadblocks due to the race made it possible for us to enjoy a non-traffic Westminster Bridge which has amazing views over the river.

Ihana sunnuntai alkoi Sealifesta ja jatkui Thamesin varrella kopotellen.  Lontoon maratoonikaan ei hairinnyt meita ollenkaan, silla juoksijat olivat joen toisella puolella.  Kavimme kylla vahan heita kannustamassa ja samalla nappasimme muutaman upean kuvan mm. Big Benin juurella.

Liam waiting for his lunch... lots to see before the food arrived...

2011

Vuosi 2011 on alkanut muutamien mukavien juttujen merkeissa, ja tama vuosi tuo varmasti lisaa ihania matkoja ja kokemuksia perheellemme.  Tahan mennessa ollaan mm...

... kayty Manchesterissa kannustamassa ManU voittoon (vastassa Bolton).

... tutkailtu mystista Stonehengea.

... juhlittu kavereiden synttareita mita sopoimmissa paikoissa.

... pelattu futista beachilla Littlehamptonissa.


Kivaa!


Year 2011 has started nicely and we have some great memories already.  I'm sure there will be many more!