Tallinn....again in '08!

Hi All,
Easter break was great. We rode on a ship, perused a dog show and reviewed some ancient coins.
First off, we sailed on the SS Romantika to Tallinn, Estonia.


This is Rowan enthralled with the ship. There was dancing and lots of play for the kids.

Saniya is watching a clown show.

When in Tallinn we just cruised around. We went to a great cafe that Jessica and I found. It feels like you are in a hobbit hole when there. Here is Rowan thinking he is grand by this grand door.

Saniya ran up the steps to this church and asked me to take a pic of her. Asking for us to take pictures of her? There is a turn of events. This is the Russian Orthodox church up on the hill.

Note the name of the street? "Laboratooriumi" meaning I assume, "Laboratory" street. Science geek that Rob is, he was loving this.

Saniya and I along the wall around the old town area.

Another picture Saniya staged for herself. She is really into taking pictures herself with the camera and staging the ones we take of her.

Rob and Rowan cruising. Our umbrella stroller died while there. We kind of felt like it was a passing of time where Rowan is almost out of a stroller and those days are numbered. So, the death of the stroller and the need to not replace it felt very symbolic.

While on the ship returning to Stockholm, there was a funny game of bingo in the "Starlight Lounge". Also, there was dancing later on, and a really funny hair and beauty fair. Classic!

Saniya and Rowan peering out as we are going through the archipelago into Stockholm.

Saniya on the top deck of the ship. It snowed overnight and was fun to be playing in the snow while sailing. We were able to go sledding by our house after we got in so that was fun too.

The rest of the weekend. We relaxed. One day we went to the International Dog Show! There were about 4000 dogs. Saniya is really into chiwawas. I feel the days are coming when we will get a dog. I do not think Rob and I are so excited for this, but it feels inevitable. The dog show was hilarious. What a subculture. I did not realize what a big deal it is.

Another day we went to the Coin Museum or the Royal MyntKabinet, as they call it here. It is next to the palace in Gamla Stan (Old Town) and is a nice walk from our house. As we walked, there was a light falling of snow that gave us a beautiful Stockholm feel. We saw the Nobel prize emblems and some great medieval coins. There are a cool play area for the kids. The was part of a ship that they made seem like a sunken pirate ship. So, that was engaging as I am sure you can imagine. Also, there is this set of characters here called "Lilla Spoket", or Little Ghost, that Saniya is obsessed with. The movie theatre in the Coin Museum, had that movie showing for the kids for the Easter break. So, that was a nice tangent and kind of made the journey worthwhile for Saniya and Rowan.

Ok, I hope everyone else is good and feeling the effects of Spring. We have our time change this weekend. We are really looking forward to it. It will be dark at 7:30 when this happens. Yeah!

Yasmiene

More pixs?....you got it, with an Easter twist!

First off, I want to wish everyone Happy Easter. In Sweden, it is call "Glad Påsk". This interesting "tree", in the picture above, is an Easter tradition here. They take a bushel of branches and tie colored or white feathers to the end. This is our rendition. Sooooo lovely! Easter is a major holiday in Sweden. It is similar to Thanksgiving in that everything is closed for at least four days and most people take the entire week off. This break is called, "Påsklov".

Here is my birthday party! I just turned 39. Rob, Saniya and Rowan made a fabulous german chocolate cake from scratch. Yum, yum! Happy Birthday in Swedish is "Glad Fogelsdagen!"

Saniya skating a Kungstragården, downtown Stockholm. It is the last week before they removed the skating rinks around the city. This is on one of our Thursday outings where I pick up Saniya from "dagis", or daycare, early and we do something together for the afternoon.

Rowan going for a swim with Saniya's goggles that she got for her birthday. Rowan has chicken pox on his face. Such a beautiful little frog!



Hanging out by the lake last weekend. It was a beautiful day and we biked into the park and played by, with and in the water.

Stockholm subway or "tunnelbana", in Swedish.

Two kids on that subway...

Rowan outside at Odenplan, the subway station near our house. We were waiting for the bus.

Ahhh, and the bus to go to our house. Oh, our house is in the background... the big tower?!

Ok, back at home again, hanging out.

I think Saniya looks so beautiful in this picture. This is the same day that we went ice skating.

So, that is the last couple of weeks for us. We are off to Tallinn, Estonia on a ship tomorrow. Should be a hoot. We will fill you in on the flip side of that escapade!

Again Happy Easter...hop, hop, hop....

Yasmiene

Spring is here...

I am feeling a turn of events in the air. The tulips are starting to bud and they are in all of the florists and shops in the city. We just booked two fun trips for the Spring. We have a long holiday weekend for Easter. So, we decided to go to Tallinn on the SS Romantika for a few days. Both kids were so into "the ship" going to Riga that we decided to just give it another whirl. So, I am returning to my haunt I had with Jessica. It will be nice to go and know what to expect and do. So, that will be a fun couple of days.

The other trip we just booked yesterday is to Sardinia for a week in April. It is random that we decided to go. There were some ridiculously cheap airfares, we had a whimsical "why not" discussion, and then bought the tickets really fast. Now, after researching it a bit more, it looks beautiful and will be relaxing and a great time of year to be there. It is an Italian island in the Mediterranean, just above Sicily. We are thinking we will rent a car and maybe camp on the beaches. Here are some photos:

http://www.reise-photografie.de/cala-gonone/cala-gonone-09.htm

Rob's job search continues. He is interested in a government position in Colorado. He just applied for it today, so we will see about that. We are both feeling optomistic of late.

Also, Rob and I were able to have a night date last night. What a treat. Amazing how normal you feel to get out and just interact as a couple without offspring.

Saniya and Rowan are well. We went swimming this weekend. We watched "Sleeping Beauty" today. Saniya is going on field trips to the "Museum of Technology" this week and a different museum next week.

Rowan had the chicken pox last week, but is returning to daycare tomorrow. Yeah!

Take care, Yasmiene