Happy Halloween!

A very social October = FUN!

Hey - long time no see on this blog! Have been kind of busy catching up with our friends here in Cinci, and also hosting our Finnish and Swedish friends and family. My sister Kati with her son Nooa came for a week, we had a good time, and what a great kid Nooa is! You all should know that he aims to be the President one day:)
Kati and Nooa arrived on a hot (+30 C) October day, and our first touch of the American culture was on a Pumpkin Patch with a Hay Ride and a Corn Maze. Actually, first time for our family, too!




The next week the Holm family (except Emilia!) honored us with their visit. Loads and loads of Cincinnati sightseeing, which is always a nice change from the everyday routines (as a mad housefwife).
Happy Birthday to Mari! ...was the reason they travelled, and since she wanted it to keep it low key, we only took her to a couple of head shakers at Kings Island on her Big Day.



The same day Jenny's family left we drove to Chicago to see Becky's family who had driven down from MN. We had a nice dinner at the Grand De Luxe Cafe and did the usual tourist stuff (this time we even went to the American Girl Place - see the hairdressers!). Benke and I went for a beautiful Sunday morning run on the Lake Shore.

There is a specially warm place in our hearts for Becky, Brodie, Calder and Quinn and I hope the story is to be continued! I can't stop telling everyone that Becky had just received a grant worth 1 million dollars from the State of MN for the new homeless shelter they are going to build in Bemidji - fully and totally thanks to the hard work, enthusiasm and intelligence she possesses as the director of the shelter and a writer of the grant application. Needless to say, we are very proud of you! (Came to think of Nooa's presidental ambitions - how about Becky??).







Now, I'm back in business doing the laundry, driving the kids to their activities and trying to run some errands and soon start packing for our fall vacation to the Grand Canyon National Park...and the Halloween night in Las Vegas!

//Hanna

Running!

Thanks to my great supporters Maja, Johanna, Jonte and Benke, and my local running group, Mojo Runners, for a good run at the State To State Half Marathon in Oxford, OH, this weekend. My time was 1:35:38 being the 10th overall woman and 2nd in my age group.

And thank you, Benke, for the wonderful evening at downtown Cincinnati, Sept. 27, 2008 - our 11th wedding anniversary. We had a absolutely world class dining experience at Jeff Ruby's. Maybe the three course dinner plus a beer with nachos as starters and a creme brulé at the end was the secret recipe for the running success the day after? Have to try it again!

//Hanna

Ike strikes West Chester

Back in Ohio. Whoooaaa! A pretty windy day this past Sunday, Sept. 14. 35 m/s (80 mph) over our little corner of the world. I don't think anyone really thought Ike would bother to come all the way this North! We'd just arrived on our little field trip with the neighbors when the wind was getting a little bit too heavy; cracking tree branches and your eyes and ears buried in dirt. Half of the corn fields were flying in the air... Benke had the time of his life on the windy patio (there is no bad weather, just bad clothes!).

Besides the damage on the property (The Landings was badly hit!), about 700.000 people in this part of the US was out of electricity for 1-4 (at least) days. We've been very fortunate to only be out of power for 2 days, but the schools are still cancelled to this day, it's hard to find gas, the shells on the grocery stores are half empty, people buy huge sacks of ice and I don't think it's only for the Coke this time. We've had some nice and cozy moments in candle light and neighborhood get-togethers over the barbecue.

See Ike in action: http://picasaweb.google.com/Sandelowskyalbum/Ike#

Summer is over. Ready for school?

What a wonderful summer we've had! A perfect mix of play, work and lazy days; friends, family and own time; sun and rain; city, suburb and country. A little bit of a shock because the prices here - how are we ever going to get used to paying $9 for a gallon of gas, $9-10 for a pound of chicken or $5 for a loaf of bread... Good thing we mainly walked, biked or took the bus to different places. Benke finally came from OH, was happy to see us but also shocked because of the prices and the weather - well, let's just call it a prolonged jet lag with a little touch of culture shock (and forget all about it, shall we, honey?)

Maja was well taken care of by her cousins Helena and Christina while I was working. Johanna celebrated her birthday with the family. Jonte had a fun birthday party for his best friends, Johanna went on a Scout Camp for 9 days, and the last week we managed to fit in Ola & Anna's wedding, sailing outside of Stockholm, a family party and Johanna's Sleep Over Party with 8 girlfriends (wanna see Johanna's party pics? Go to http://picasaweb.google.com/Sandelowskyalbum/JohannasPyjamasParty#). The schools already started in Sweden and Johanna and Jonte visited their old classes. Both kids got to join the classroom activities, the teachers had them do some assignments, they had lunch and PE and recess with their old class mates. A wonderful day for preparing them to get back to their old school later in January 2009. "Welcome back, you're still one of us!" - what a great last day in Sweden. After that we cleaned our house, packed our things, said farewells and left again.

Another ferry over the Baltic Sea, and we're now in my childhood's Finland again. Benke and I are officially on vacation, even though it feels a bit strange when everyone else seems to have gotten back to business, the fall routines with school and work are felt everywhere. It helps to have been able to spend time at Susanna's brand new summer house (beautiful!) in Karelia just a couple of miles from the Russian border. Or at my parents' country house in Somero (precious!), with grandpa and grandma and my sister Minna who is visiting from Nepal. We're having sauna every night, we're fed with sour bread, salmon and potatoes and we've driving small cars again. There will be a Härkönen Family Gettogether later this week - just before Benke and the big kids will return to Ohio, work and school.

Check out the summer pics at: http://picasaweb.google.com/Sandelowskyalbum/FinlandAugust2008#







Maja and I will enjoy another week here visiting friends, family and the surroundings. We're ready to get back to Ohio for antoher fall!


//Hanna

Happy Birthday Jonatan 8 years Aug. 2!

Antoher year has gone - another blog on Jonte's birthday! Have a happy one, darling!!

//Mom and Dad

Fun in the Sun in Sweden

Hooray! These past days have shown the best of the Nordic summer. Warm, pleasant, sunny, beach, good friends, family, beer, BBQ, strawberries, biking in the countryside, kids playing. Not one single second of computer games or Mom-I'm-bored. Have a look at: http://picasaweb.google.com/Sandelowskyalbum/FunInTheSunInSweden

//Hanna