Friends in Finland

I'm sorry, but I just have to apologize for elementary grammar and spelling errors in my previous post. I am too lazy to proofread anything and well, I know what I meant when I wrote it so I rarely see what's wrong with it. My sister is an English teacher so.....yeah I guess I have complex about the whole thing. Anyhoo, just bare with me:) 

There are just no words to describe the joy I feel when a familiar face comes through those terminal doors. It' surreal. I spend all day missing these people. Talking to them when the 10 hour time difference allows. Writing and reading lengthy emails. Or just creepily facebook stalking them just to keep in the loop. Sometimes I feel like they are just voices or characters in a show I watch and have become entirely to involved (which really does happen. Sad but true. Currently it's Dexter). So when the a real live person is here for me to hug and sniff (yes sniff, I have a weird thing with smells)....it's just really really great!

Lauren and I have been friends for about 8 years now. I lived with her my senior year of high school and we have been true blue pals ever since. Through good decisions and bad, break ups and break downs, a wedding, 4 babies (two for me, two for her), and now Finland. To say I owe her one is an understatement. Not to mention she made the 3 flight, 17 hour trip on her birthday! If I could had Bradley Cooper himself pick her up from the airport with a bouquet of flowers and Happy Birthday banner, I would have. She deserved it!

 Oh yes, and she came baring gifts from the good ole' US of A! These gems were just the tip of the iceberg.

 This beauty was a sight for some sore, SORE eyes

 Okay they do have mascara here, but this kind is my fave and it runs me about 14€ a pop (almost $20). I'm sorry, but that's just offensive. I'm a cheapskate, hence the Maybelline.

 Now the jet lag kind be kind of a doozy. You have to fight relentless nap urges, drink plenty of coffee during the day, melatonin at night and you'll be good as new in about 3 days. She handle it like a champ!

Our humble abode is just that, humble. It's a small one bedroom apartment and with there being 4 of....we're a pretty tight knit bunch. It only made sense to give the kids the bedroom, due to those life saving naps and early bedtimes, which left Josh and I sleeping in the living room. Our bed is pushed right against the back of the couch....it's classy. It does make for an awesome bouncy house type activity for Kam and Ray though! Ah thank goodness it's all just temporary. An entire post dedicated to all the stupid little things that bug me about living here will happen. Be ready. Anyway, the whole point of the small rant was to merely paint the picture of poor Lauren sleeping on our less than plush couch right next to Josh and I's heads fro 12 days. Every night was a slumber party! Poor Josh wold be trying to sleep while Lauren and I were up until 3 am giggling and knitting. There's nothing better than getting so goofy loopy tired that the word butter becomes funny.

Or.....

Helsinki is the capital of Finland and is a beautiful city with plenty to do, weather permitting. The family and I venture out quite offend, but can I just say, it was pure magic being out and about with no stroller or a very cute, but very slow and sometimes whiney little girl. We were free to go up and down escalators, bypassing that whole 5 minute hunt for the one elevator. No frequent potty/diaper changing breaks. No lunch date disruptions. No mommy stress. Just two gals exploring the city. I needed that adult girl time, I was WAY over due! That's one of the things I miss the most about being home. Long talks over a cup of coffee. So after the purchasing of two separate roundtrip plane tickets (I hate airlines, but I save that rant for another day) this was definitely the most expensive coffee date of all time, and worth every penny:)

 This pretty much sums it up

So at this point it is pretty safe to say that I am sick of the snow and cold. It was fun for the first few weeks, but quickly lost it's luster. I am over it. However, when you pick a day to just go out and play and enjoy it for what it is, it's not so bad. Even Lauren enjoyed it for the first 3 days.

Exploring....

Lauren and her little shadow

The zoo....in the wintery, snowy, cold.....surprisingly pleasant! My expectations weren't real high due to the weather situation, but the animals did not disappoint. However it was clear that we must have been bored or just plain crazy, because we had the entire zoo to ourselves. we saw maybe 3 other humans. The natives don't partake in outdoor leisures such as this this time of year (except for ice fishing). Probably smart, but we still had fun!

 The zoo is on an island right off the coast of Helsinki, it totally added to the charm

 Just some frozen ocean, no big deal

I would love to go back in the spring before we leave, because this is the best zoo I have ever been to. Even with all the snow there was a large variety of animals and all in plain sight.

 Not gonna lie, he looked miserable, poor guy

He loved the monkeys

About half way through we were forced to seek refuge in the Amazon exhibit. Monkeys, reptiles tropical birds, and warmth!

Our brownie intake was obscene. I hate to toot my own horn, but I am kind of a brownie master. Just one of my every other day guilty baking pleasures. My poor children never stood chance. I breed little chocoholics, super cute ones.

 I miss my baking dishes....

 Straightened Kam's hair and gave her some pigs...you know, slumber party stuff

Egg roll picnic. The discovery of an Asian food store was huge! 

The best part was that Lauren's trip intersected a very special day. Our little Ray baby's 1st Birthday! Holidays and special occasions are some of the hardest days for me. I am so thankful that my amazing friend was here to help us celebrate, and well let me be honest, pull my head out of my own butt! I get pretty pissy when I think about a party with family, friends, balloons and toys that we don't have to worry about fitting into a suitcase. He's just such a precious little boy that is so loved and I wanted that for him, Kam too. Anyways, thank heavens Lauren was here, I could not have made it through that onr with out her, because a happy mommy is what he deserves most:) Oh and don't worry, Ray's b day has a post all its own!

 Lauren's mad safety scissor skills

Not many would sacrifice their vacation, their hard earned money and time away from their children to come visit their long lost buddy halfway across the world in extreme cold. Then proceed to tolerate my "I've been in an isolating situation for too long and it's made me cooky" mood swings. I am so lucky to be so loved and have such a true friend. We love you Wohwo:)

Thanks again my dear

Happy New Year.....in February! Really?

For Christmas this year we decided to surprise my father with a trip to Israel for New Years. We figured if he is already coming this far and the team was giving Josh a few days off for the holidays, so why the heck not? I mean how many times in your life will you be just a short flight away from ISRAEL? I am up for just about anything these days and I am always up for experiencing a different country and culture. However, due to Israel’s less than harmonious past there were a few concerns, but wow wow WOW I am glad we went! My words would do it know justice and my pictures are just a sliver of it’s beauty. I would LOVE to go back (minus a couple of tiny people) and spend at least another week if not more and really get my hands dirty.

 DAY 1
This definitely wasn’t one of our smoothest trips. We had flight times from hell. Pergatory if you are by yourself. The real firey deal with two kids. We flew out of Budapest at 10:15pm and arrived in Tel Aviv at 3:00am.......

Clearly the before picture. The after does not exist.

Our ungodly arrival time then was followed by a solid hour wandering around the airport trying to find our rental car service, an angry taxi driver, and another 45 minutes at the car rental place (those things can never just be simple). So we finally arrived at the apartment at 6:30am and we were pooped, but the show must go on. A quick 5 hour power nap later we were ready to go explore. First stop Tel Aviv. First impression: it’s a city. It’s gritty, dirty and totally awesome. Bustling crowds, tons of graffiti, garbage (lots of garbage), outdoor markets, trendy shops, bums and (my favorite) delicious food!

Eggs Benedict...the truth.

Of course no city is complete without the main square entertainment. The guy in the back managed to do anything and everything imaginable while balancing a soccer ball on his head. The one on the beanbag claims to be the second Messiah, and clearly suffers from Jerusalem Syndrome....yes its a real diagnosis. Google it.

Oh and the cat situation was out of control! No offense to the kitty lovers, but I don’t like them, and the little creepers were everywhere! Those scavengers were crawling out from ever crack, vent and rock. Spay and neuter your pets.

My little love. He was having blast;) 

 DAY 2
Feeling a little more refreshed we got an early start and headed south. Destination: The Dead Sea. The drive was a long one, but it was amazing to see the scenery change. We had entered the desert. The landscape became rural, dry.....and CAMELS! I literally almost jumped out of the moving vehicle when I spotted these bad boys. Just a little backstory: Every time we are driving I obsessively scan the landscape hoping to spot something, ANYthing! I blame the watching of countless Sasquatch documentaries (we gotta stay entertained somehow). Either that or I think for some odd reason because we are in a foreign country, that there will be foreign animals? Regardless, I was stoked when these came across the radar. I failed to get a shot of this, but they were accompanied by a little shepherd boy on a donkey... Cross one off the ol' bucket list.

There was a pretty awesome viewpoint before we began the descent down to the Dead Sea. A few of the cliffs made me a bit squeamish, but it was beautiful.

However, before we went all the way down we went back up again, Masada. A plateaued cliff over looking the Dead Sea, Masada was a place of refuge, freedom and ultimately tragedy for the Jewish people escaping enslavement by the Romans. It was unbelievable.

There were cable cars that ran from the visitor center to the top. For someone that does not like heights, I did good.

Somewhere between the taking of these two pictures, I went to change Ray's diaper and was a bit disappointed to discover that we were fresh out....yep. Not one diaper. In the desert, on a cliff, no souvenir huggies in the gift shop.....Oh crap. Go ahead and nominate me now for mother of the year. I had a spit rag and a pair of Kam's panties and I went to work and made it work. So just so you know all the Dead Sea pics we were playing hot potato with the free ballin baby! 

Finally, we made our descent. Down to the lowest land elevation in the WORLD (1,388 ft below sea level to be exact) The Dead Sea. It was breath taking. The beautiful turquoise water against the white crystal shore was just awesome. As I had mentioned before, we DID NOT pack appropriately, so no bathing suits. I had brought mine but had left it back at the apartment due to the cool weather. However, you only live once, right? So as I am threatening to strip down right then and there, I tell my Dad and Josh to hurry up or I will. Being the self sacrificing mother that I am I stayed on shore with the munchkins and let the boys float, and boy was it a good thing that I sat this one out. Sheeeeesh was that thing salty!

It was pretty amazing watching them effortlessly lounge in the water like they were on pool floaties, but holy crap that water is salty! 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. Dangerously SALTY! So naturally while holding Ray, snapping some pics and trying to balance on the attractive yet painfully jagged mineral covered rocks, a wave splashed up.....mother of Uhhhhhh! I temporarily went blind and almost dropped both my babies. I opted to fall flat on but instead, no real harm done. However, just that splash of water was enough to ruin my jacket and cover my skin in this chalky filmy’ick. It’s pretty unexplainable, but if you have ever swam in the ocean and felt gross afterward, yeah just multiply that by 8.6. Good thing I didn’t get in because I would have whined the whole way home. Yes, I am that girl, I hate feeling dirty for extended periods of time. So what.

Note: Ray was dry when we finally made it back to the apartment. So as I am dancing around seeing the nakey baby praises, he peed all over the floor......Happy New Year!

 DAY 3
 Caesarea is an old Roman port city on the Mediterranean shore. Gorgeous homes and these amazing ruins just a walk away. If I ever move to Israel, this place has me written all over it. The coast weather cut our explorations short (we did NOT pack appropriately, I repeat, we DID NOT pack appropriately) but we still had fun!

Just doing our thang.....awesomeness is clearly genetic

My 1st and my last plank. I couldn't resist...it was an old Roman theatre in Isreal...how could I not?

After our morning on the coast we hopped back in the car and headed east to the Sea of Galilee. On the way we drove through the city of Nazareth....THE Nazareth....Jesus’s adolescent stopping ground!!! My mind was blown!

Carrots marinated in lemon and cilantro. So fresh. So delicious.

Kamryn, her Papa & The Sea of Galilee

"Hold me... like the River Jordan"  -We love MJ & Free Willy

They are such troopers.....SUCH troopers! 

 4th and Final Day
 Due to the lack of preparation in the wardrobe department, as well as just pure exhaustion, my sweet baby Ray came down with a bit of a cold. Which of course means little to no sleep for the Mama. The next day was rough, but I put on my big girl panties and sucked it up. There’s nothing a nice strong shot of espresso can’t fix, and come on it was Jerusalem day!

Jerusalem is a beautiful and extremely historical city with a bit of a modern flare. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and is sacred to some major religions. It has suffered attack after attack over centuries of turmoil and has been completed destroyed twice. Whether you consider yourself religious, spiritual, indifferent or just a history buff, you have to give respect where it is due. Jerusalem is the MAN!

 Old City Jerusalem is roughly divided into 4 separate parts. The Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter. It was interesting to see the changes as you walked from one to the other. My favorite thing about traveling is observing the people and the differences in our cultures. It never ceases to amaze me. I love it! We are all so different and it is so beautiful.

The Western Wall lines the back of a large open courtyard. The wall itself has a restricted entrance and is divided by a men side and a women side. To approach the wall you are required to have an appropriate head covering. There were tourists just like ourselves all over, it was a hoppin area. While one half of me wanted to get as close as I could to this magnificent piece of history, I was halted. I was absolutely blown away by these people and their devotion. What right did have to place myself in the middle of something that I don’t fully  appreciate or understand. This wall is sacred and I wanted to respect that.

 Now given that Ray was feeling a little under the weather and doped up on baby tylenol, he was a peach most of the day. We had him so tucked away and cozy in his stroller. I was jealous. It eventually started to rain, which forced the kids and I to take shelter in the mall.....darn. My dad explored the streets of Old Jerusalem for a little while longer, and I browsed the racks. Everybody wins! Unfortunately, it was short lived due to my son's projectile vomit. Thankfully we were in the GAP when he blew....that's my boy. A new shirt for me and some jammies for baby and we were ready to head home....check please!

Me and my travel buddy......it’s kind of our life. Pretty sweet huh?

Thanks to the careful planning of my two favorite men (they were so cute together) we covered a lot in a relatively short amount of time and did some serious memory makin. All in all the trip was a complete success and one for the books!

I'm gonna go ahead and end it with this mound of eatable gorgeousness from the Jerusalem Market. I want to inhale these, I'm hungry.....you know you were just thinking the same thing!

Phew....that was a biggy. Not gonna lie I am pretty proud right now! Hope you enjoyed it:)