Tanaan...

... olemme yrittaneet pitaa asiat joille emme voi mitaan pois ajatuksista ulkoilemalla kauniissa ja vaihteeksi lampimassa syyssaassa.  Upea lahipuistomme tarjoaa siihen hyvat puitteet.  Ihmisia oli ulkona sankoin joukoin, mutta tama puisto on niin iso etta kaikille riittaa tilaa.  Me kavimme leikkipuistossa ja futaamassa, sain itse hengittaa syvaan puistonpenkilla.  Monet olivat ottaneet mukaan piknikin tai istuivat ulkosalla kahvittelemassa.  Tallainen hyvin vaihteleva saa, eilen jaadyttiin ja tanaan ulkoiltiin melkein t-paidoissa, on hyvin tyypillista taalla Isossa-Britanniassa.

Illalla hiljennymme kotosalla.

Hyvaa huomenta...

...jalkapallokentan laidalta!  Kirpea, kaunis syysaamu valkeni meille aika aikaisin, silla seka Alexilla etta Colinilla oli harkat heti aamusta.  Ne olivat eri paikoissa, joten tana aamuna mina suuntasin kylan toiselle laidalle Alexin kanssa.  Ihastelimme kauniita taloja ja Alex sai holkata lammittelyholkkaa ihanaa, rauhallista katua edestakaisin ennenkuin valmentaja saapui paikalle kentan porttia avaamaan.  Meilla oli niin kivaa kaksin.  <3

Pojilla oli mielettoman hyvat treenit, he nauttivat taas kerran taysin rinnoin.  Minustakin oli mukavaa katsella kentan laidalla, ilma oli kaunis ja mikas sen parempaa kuin nahda oma pieni muru iloisena harrastuksessaan.  :-)

Alex and Colin both had their football training quite early this morning, in different places.  I went with Alex this time.  Before the practice we enjoyed looking at some pretty houses and Alex got to warm up by running back and forth on a lovely, quiet street.  It was wonderful to spend some time with him alone. <3

The boys enjoyed their practice and I enjoyed watching.  The weather was beautiful and seeing the happy smile on Alex's face during footie made me so happy.  :-)

Zorro and Dracula

Today is the last day of school before a week-long half-term break.  We are so looking forward to it!  Because Halloween is approaching and because this week's been "creativity week" at school everyone dressed up for today.  The theme was "a book (character) made into a movie".  My boys were excited about the theme.  Alex decided to dress up as Dracula and Colin as Zorro... good choices I thought!  Liam's nursery did not participate in this so Lee did not dress up and luckily didn't mind.

At school we saw many cool characters and it was nice to see that people had made an effort to make this day special for the children!

Lontoon hulinaa

Lontoossa on kivaa katsella ihmisia ja katujen hulinaa.  Napsin huvikseni yksi paiva oikein kuviakin, joten tassa tallaista Lontoon normaalielamaa.  Kuvat ovat siis todella vaan rapsittyja, joten eivat mitaan huippuotoksia, mutta kylla niista silti nakee, mika kiireinen, kiva kaupunki tama on.  :-)

Took some shots of London life.  It's fun to watch people and see the busy streets here.  :-)

Busy but lovely London town. <3

Charity shops

This country and every village here is filled with various charity shops.  I love them!  I tend to visit them weekly and almost every time I find something cool to buy.  People donate great things and the items are in superb condition.  The shops charge very little for the stuff so one can really find treasures in them.  I've bought everything from furniture to clothing and nothing makes me happier than spending money in support of a worthy cause such as cancer research for example.

I also donate things to be sold in the charity shops, children's clothing and toys in particular.  It's so easy as they bring donation bags to your door, you fill them up and then leave them outside your door to be collected on a particular collection day.  You can also take your items directly to the shops.  It works so well.  :-)

Today I'm happy about the vintage Postman Pat bag I found for Liam in one of the charity shops.  :-)

Kaipuu

Elama Englannissa on kaikinpuolin ihanaa, olemme viihtyneet taalla hirmuisen hyvin.  Olemme asuneet ulkomailla pian kuusi vuotta putkeen, ensin nelja Dubaissa ja kohta kaksi taalla Suur-Lontoon alueella.  Tama aika on ollut todella antoisaa, ja kylla on kannattanut lahtea silloin joskus.  Ulkomailla asumisen varjopuoli on ehdottomasti perheen ja sukulaisten kaipuu, meidan tapauksessamme kahden paikan jatkuva ikavointi.  Osa perheesta asuu Suomessa, osa Ruotsissa.  Onneksi olemme aina paasseet kaymaan rakkaiden luona, ja on ihanaa, etta ihmiset ovat tulleet myos meidan luoksemme.  Vaikka juuri asken jouduin lahettamaan siskoni (seka ihanan ystavani K:n) takaisin Suomeen, tiedan, etta pian naemme taas.  Ja silla valin meilla on Facebook.  ;-)

Arki Englannissa jatkuu, viikon paahdamme viela koulussa ja sitten on viikon syysloma.  Talla kertaa emme paase Suomeen tai Ruotsiin sukuloimaan, mutta yritamme tehda kaikkea kivaa taalla.  Tiedossa on ainakin jalkapalloleiria.  :-)

Talla tekstilla ei sinansa ollut mitaan merkitysta, kuhan raapustin sunnuntain rennon kotipaivan ajatuksia ylos.  Viereisessa huoneessa lapset leikkivat keskenaan englanniksi...

Kuvat viime kesan Ruotsin reissulta.  <3

This lazy Sunday has been spent mainly at home.  The kids have had loads of time to play with their toys at home, and M and I have been surfing the net.  Like I said, a lazy day!

I was looking at some pictures taken during the past year or so and ran across some from Sweden.  That made me miss all the people there.  Living abroad for the past six years (four in Dubai, and almost two here) has been great, we've had such amazing experiences so far, but the expat life definitely makes one miss family back home so much.  Our families live in Finland and Sweden and we miss both.  Luckily people visit us here and we go home, too, to spend time with them.  <3

Now we have one week of school before a one week half-term break.  Unfortunately this time we will not travel to Finland or Sweden for our vacation.  However, we will have some fun here in the lovely UK.  At least a football camp for the boys will take place during their time off from school.

The pics are from Sweden where we spent some fab time this summer.  Miss you all!

Parliament square

Parliament squarella Lontoossa tapahtuu aina.  Paitsi etta sen ymparilla ovat Houses of Parliament ja Westminster Abbey on kyseinen kohta aina myos mielenosoittajien valtaama.  Ihmisia on aina valtavasti.  Houses of Parliament ja Westminster Abbey ovat aivan upeita rakennuksia, joten mekin kavimme taas niita ihailemassa ennenkuin istahdimme italialaiseen ravintolaan lounaalle.  :-)

Parliament square in London is a busy place.  Besides cornering two stunning places, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, the square is always filled with demonstrators.  This place is always packed with people.  We walked to Parliament square to admire the beautiful buildings before heading for lunch.  Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey never stop to amaze me... they are incredible.

London is yummy!