DON'T LAUGH IF YOU LIVE IN FINLAND...

...or Utah, Idaho, Alaska...or anywhere else were it snows regularly. 

But...

This morning  it was snowing! 

 It is a BIG DEAL when it snows here...because it almost never does.

It was 43F/6C so the snow did not stick...but at least we got to see it momentarily and catch it in our mouths :)

It only lasted few minutes, but Niko and Maija got out of the bed super fast when they found out. 

Maija was hoping that school would get cancelled :)

 

HOME MADE STRAWBERRY JAM

This Saturday I picked up my Bountiful Basket and got a case of strawberries.
 

The kids woke up to home made freezer jam, 

waffles with home made strawberry sauce, and strawberry "kiisseli".  Finnish strawberry soup. 

Hmmmm....

 

 

 

LOVE TIMES FOUR

This is the heart of our family. 

The never ending energy filling every imaginable space. 

Full of surprises. 

They make every day to be different and unpredictable. 

Awsomeness!

 

Courtesy of Jen White Photography.

SAUNA: FRAMING

"The sauna builders" were in our house all week long.  After lots of banging and dust our sauna is now framed.

We combined couple of storage closets, a bathroom, and a space underneath the stairs, as well as moved a wall about a foot and a half toward our big family room.  Here is what we have so far.

 

 

Here is the sauna, and a storage area for blankets and linens.

 

 

You will be able to get to the bathroom and sauna from the family room as well as from an existing door in Kai's and Niko's hallway.The toilet will be in the space under the stairs and in front of it will be a built-in book case/storage area with a door...door/no door...we have not decided yet.

 

 

The plumbing will have to be redone, because we are adding a drain to the sauna...and because the toilet got moved to other area.

 

 

We have the best contractor in the whole world.  Every time I add something or change something, he just looks at us, smiles and says..."Yeah, we can do that"  And then he proceeds to explain how it can be done.

 

I do have to include one funny story from last week. 

The demolishion group was cutting down the concrete to add space for new plumbing.  It was super loud and dusty. I had to go to kitchen for something and found it filled with smoke.  The whole kitchen was all smelly and hazy...infact I noticed that the whole main level had the same problem.  And it looked like smoke was coming out of the cabinet under the range.  The workers were right under tke kitchen.  I panicked and thought that they had severed the propane line.  I called the propane company to find out how to shut off the propane to the house.  I called Jason to come home from work and had him call our contractor who rushed here from who knows where.

We came to find out..it was not a propane leak, but concrete dust coming through from the basement.  I felt like an idiot, but our kind contractor assured me that I had done the right thing.

 

At least I learned how and where to turn off the propane in the case of emergency....

 

MOURNING OUR TREE

If you have ever lived, or even visited the Vegas area you may know that trees do not just pop up and randomly grow here.

You have to plant a tree, which involves digging a big hole - quite a challenge with our rock hard soil and then you have install a watering system.  You have to nurture the tree, make sure it gets enough water every week, fertilize it, prune it...and love it :)

We are fortunate to have some big, lush trees in our yard, thanks to the previous owners.  In fact I have heard people describe our house with words like "the house with all the trees".

While getting a permit to build a sauna and to add one more drain, we came to find out that we were in a violation with a code pertaining to our septic tank in our back yard.  One of our trees was too close to the septic tank and the leach lines.  In order to get a permit, we had to promise to cut down the tree within 30 days.

I was heart broken.  This tree not only provides much needed shade in the summer time, but it is one of the trees that holds up our outdoor movie screen during our summer movie nights.

In the other hand...if the roots mess up the septic tank, that would be a bad thing as well...toilet water floating all over our yard...

We will be sensible people and cut down the tree, but...

...we will morn over the loss of it...

 

 

SHOPPING

What did you buy last time you went grocery shopping?

 

Was it 150 pounds of dog food?

 

I have to admit that I hate buying dog food.  The process of getting it to the cart, and then from the cart to the car can be guite a challenge for a person of my size. 

 

Fortunately Costco has a loading service.

LARGE vs. SMALL

I love our house...there is room for everybody to spread out. 

It is filled with action by our children, and their friends. 

Piano practises, nerf gun wars, video game battles, scripture reading, family prayers. 

 

This is where our life happens, and where the memories are made.

 

Sometimes I wonder...would it be better to have a smaller house. 

This past week, due to construction, the kids have been sleeping upstairs in our living room/music room.  They have had great time going to sleep together. 

We hear them talking, laughing and pillow fighting. 

I love those sounds.

 

The house is somewhat of a mess, and it is hard to walk around in the room..

.but somehow I don't care. 

I wonder if it is because it has become more of a reality that soon they will all be gone...moving on with their lives...having their own places to sleep, having their own family noises surround them...

 

I will enjoy it as long as it will last...

 

 

 

 

DOOR DECOR

I saw this somewhere online, and since I had a pair of my old skates in my closet...and since I don't really do ice skating here in Vegas area...ever..

I thought this would be a perfect way to use my skates.

SAUNA

For years we have been dreaming about having our own sauna.  It is a Finnish thing :).

Finally, after lots of research, studying and pondering, we have decided to proceed with our dream.

We are combining one of the bathrooms in the basement with storage room, and our Harry Potter room under the stairs.  Last two days the demolition crew has been hard at work in our basement.  It smells, it is dusty and has a big mess. Our kids have moved upstairs to sleep and for the horror of our kids; tv, xbox and Wii is not usable in the basement.  Everything is taped under the plastic.  But we are all excited over the prospect of a sauna in the near future.

No pain...no gain.

 

I will keep you posted.

Here are some before...and in the process pictures...

 

Here are pictures of our "Harry Potter" room.  It also is our graffiti room. I loved to go and check out the latest writings of our kids, and their friends. I am really going to miss this crazy room.

 

 

 

Here is our wonderful closet, which we will sacrifice to get a sauna.

 

 

This bathroom will soon be much bigger...and better :)

 

 

And the shower area will be wider and have two shower heads.

 

 

And this closet will be part of sauna.  Sad to loose the storage area, but happy to get a sauna.

 

 

Here are some pictures of the old bathroom, shower and closets.  The only recognizable area is the Harry Potter room.

 

 

Hallways are a mess....

 

 

I just had to take a picture of this...because soon it will be part of sauna.  The story behind is as follows.  One night we had just finished our scripture reading.  Jason told the kids to go to brush their teeth, and then go to bed.  Kai took one more shot with the nerf basketball to a hoop which was hanging from the closet door.  Niko run to block it, fell, and his bottom went through the wall!  Boys!

 

 

Here is our family room in our basement right now.  No hanging out there playing xbox.  Boys are having withdrawls.

 

 

 

Because of all the dust and smell, the kids are camping upstairs in our living room.

 

 

 

 

 

HELLO SUNSHINE

It was another beautiful sunrise this morning.  Jason had just returned home from taking Markus to seminary.  I was ready to go sit down to my comfy, soft chair and read a talk from the conference Ensign.

 

I glanced out and saw the most beautiful sunrise.  I ran to get my camera...and once again...sporting my rope, I was taking photos outside in our front yard.

 

While admiring the painted sky, a thought came to my mind. 

 

God gave us the most beautiful sunrises, since we got the brown, ugly deseret. 

 

Now,  I know some people find the deseret beautiful, but I can not help but miss the blue lakes and green forests...grass that grows without sprinklers, and flowers that bloom without drip line.

 

But we do have the sunrises!

 

 

 

While snapping pictures this song by Mercy River came to my mind.  I have not heard it for months, if not for a year...but there it was...Hello Sunshine.

 

Hello Sunshine

Hello sunshine
it’s been too long since I felt your warmth upon my face
And how much have I missed
‘Cause I’ve been focused on everything wrong
This road just felt so long
I forgot to lift my head to see you

Chorus

Oh my lovely shining for me
Let my eyes see all the beauty
Oh-oh

Hello sunshine since the moment
That I felt your beautiful warmth
I knew that I’d do anything
To keep this feeling of you
My heart comes alive
Oh who could add a day to this life
By drowning every dark sky

Fill my dark skies
Make me see the light
Life is fine so bring in the sunshine
Oh-oh
Whoa-oh let in the sunshine
Whoa-oh let in the sunshine
Whoa-oh let in the sunshine
Let in the sunshine

I LOVE COLOR

 

Few weeks ago I was reading my acquaintance's blog.

She had resurrected her old crocheing project.

 I was inspired! 

I have not really crochet since middle school...so about 25 years, give or take some ...but

 why not relearn the skil?

 

This past week I spent few hours in front of my computer screen, watching and reading tutorials.

Crocheing hook on my hand.

 

 I did lots of crocheing, lots of undoing what I had done, and more crocheing.

 

 I dug up all my old yearn (I used to knit quite a lot), and I am determined to make a nice, colorful, crazy blanket.

I have still ways to go, but I am excited what I have done these past few days already.

 

 

This is the other blog which I found facinating. This blog will keep me croching for next ten years...

it has so many projects I can not wait to try.