We are Now Official Finland Residents… We have a Sauna in our New Place

by Christine M.August 16, 2013

Saunas were invented in Finland and are a very important part of the culture here. There are only around 5 million people in the entire country (there are around 20 million just in the state of Florida where we just moved from). We have heard that there are over 2 million saunas here in Finland. That’s a lot of saunas for only 5 million people! And I know what you are wondering… and the answer is YES, they do go naked here in their saunas!! We have also heard that sometimes after a sauna they also go jump in a hole in the ice into the freezing water of a lake or ocean… and yes, still naked!! Yikes! I wouldn’t mind trying this, but only if I had a wetsuit on!

When we were looking for an apartment here, we were very surprised that pretty much all of them included a sauna. When we came to look at our apartment, I remember us looking at the sauna and thinking that it could be another bedroom or a walk-in-closet! The apartments are much more expensive here and a lot smaller, so we were thinking of other uses for the space at first!

Well, we moved into our place about 2 weeks ago, and decided to give this sauna thing a try. We were also battling a cold that we picked up from our London trip and thought that maybe the sauna would help a little. Our first evening trying it out ended up with me at one point coughing like crazy and having to run out of it!!! I think we were way too excited about pouring the water from our wooden spoon and bucket into the sauna heater with the rocks! All that steam just about killed me!! Lol

We have used our sauna about 5 times so far and have learned not to pour so much water into it anymore and are beginning to love the experience now! I am starting to wonder how we ever lived without one!! No wonder Finland has saunas everywhere. The Finns love their saunas, am I am finally understanding why. You feel so relaxed after the sauna, and are able to go right to bed afterwards and sleep like a baby. This is great for me since I have always been a night owl and now I am finally able to get to bed earlier!

Here are a few photos from our sauna:

Our sauna heater with the cool rocks… still not too sure if we are using this thing correctly.

Eukalyptus mix that we used while we were battling our colds and our wooden spoon and bucket.

Eucalyptus mix that we used while we were battling our colds and our wooden spoon and bucket.

Starting to heat up the sauna… this is our temperature gauge.

Our sauna has two platforms to lay on and a moveable bench on the floor.

I’m sure this Florida girl we will be hibernating in our sauna this winter! I’m not going to want to leave the apartment once it starts snowing here, but at least I will have our sauna to thaw out in! 🙂

London, England: Part Three – Tips and Photos of Architecture & Icons

by Christine M.August 10, 2013

Mia and I in front of two classic London Icons (black cab & a red double-decker bus)!

Mia and I in front of two classic London Icons (a black cab & a red double-decker bus). I love that one of the cab drivers has an Old Guys Rule shirts on!

This is part three of a three-part series of our London, England Adventure. This post will include some of the remaining photos that we took while touring London. I hope that you have enjoyed my posts from England!

Here are a few photos of London Icons:

Mia sitting on one of the green & white relaxing chairs at St. James’s Park. It was so nice to just stop and relax for about 20 minutes to take a break from exploring.

The London Bridge Sign.

A classic red telephone booth close to St. Paul’s Cathedral.

“Hahn/Cock” sculpture by Katharina Fritsch at Trafalgar Square.

Mia and I in front of classic red telephone booths. Mia asked, “What’s a telephone booth?!” Boy, did that make us feel old! This was the first time she has ever seen one. 🙂

The Ghost Bus Tours

London Tip #7: Check closing times for all attractions as many close earlier than you might expect. After living in Central Florida for the past 25 years, we have been used to places staying open pretty late for tourists especially in the summer. However, it seems that places in Europe close much earlier. Therefore, you must plan accordingly to make sure that you fit as much in as possible especially if you only have a few days in London.

London has to have some of the most beautifully designed architecture in the world. Many of the buildings have such detail that you cannot help wanting to stop and just look around and enjoy all of it. St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower Bridge really stood out to me and were truly breathtaking. Here are a few more photos from our adventure:

St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The amazing detail of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Columns at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The beautiful Tower Bridge taken from the London Bridge.

Tower Bridge taken from the top of a double-decker bus.

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge.

Mia and Danny at Trafalgar Square.

Mia and I at Trafalgar Square.

Nelson’s Column at Trafalgar Square.

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square.

One of the many lion statues in London.

Clock on Fleet Street.

Statue of Queen Elizabeth on Fleet Street.

Sunday Post building on Fleet Street.

The Royal Courts of Justice.

Banners along Regent St. to celebrate 60 years since the coronation of The Queen.

Saying goodbye to London! We hope to visit again one day!

Our next planned adventure in Europe will be our first trip to Paris! It is already time for me to start researching where and what we should explore there. Please let me know if anyone has any tips or suggestions on must sees there!

London, England: Part Two – Tips and Photos of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, & the London Eye (redpinadventures.com)
London, England: Tips and Photos of Buckingham Palace, Hamleys and Madame Tussauds! (redpinadventures.com)

London, England: Part Two – Tips and Photos of Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, & the London Eye

by Christine M.August 5, 2013

One of my favorite photos from our trip: Big Ben and a red double-decker bus which I took while riding on the top of a double-decker bus. A must-see at least once in your lifetime!

I am finally continuing with my London posts. It has been a very busy time for us as we were moving to a little bigger place the last couple of days. Mia has her own bedroom now, so she was very happy to unpack her toys that have been in storage. She also started her first day of 1st grade today and had a great day which was a big relief for us! I couldn’t sleep last night and was so nervous for her, but it all turned out fine and we are very happy with her new teacher!

This is post number two in a three-part series from our recent adventure in London, England. In this post, I will feature Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, & the London Eye. All but Westminster Abbey have an amazing view along the Thames River and were a short walk from our hotel.

Continuing from my last post, this is London Tip #5: The Golden Jubilee Bridge that is right next to Big Ben and the one you cross over to get to the London Eye gets unbelievably crowded! However, you can get some of the best photos in this area, so you may want to visit it earlier in the day or right before sunset to avoid a million people in your photos with you!

Big Ben has to be one of the most recognizable structures in the world. It was so impressive to see in person and reminded me of one of my favorite movies, Hook. It is one of those places when you see it for the first time in real life, you just say “Wow, that is amazing!” Here are a few photos of Big Ben & The Palace of Westminster (click on photos for a larger image):

Big Ben at night.

Mia and I in front of the Thames River with Big Ben and The Palace of Westminster in the background.

The beautiful Big Ben Clock Tower.

Me in front of the Thames River with Big Ben in the background.

Mia in front of the Thames River with Big Ben in the background.

Mia and Danny in front of the Thames River with Big Ben in the background.

For more information about touring the Houses of Parliament, please visit: Houses of Parliament Please note: Only permanent UK residents are allowed to tour Elizabeth Tower and Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey was my favorite place that we toured while in London. This is certainly worth the price of admission and has many surprises inside! It is not just an old gothic church, but a place filled with rich history (founded in 960) and also has an impressive collection of artwork. It is the coronation church and also the final resting place and memorial site of many significant people. King Edward’s Chair, the throne which is used for coronations is also housed here.

London Tip #6: Do not pass up touring the inside of Westminster Abbey! If you only have one day, I would suggest taking the time to tour this church. Also, do not be intimidated by the line to get it. It moved very quickly for us and was worth the 20-30 minutes we waited in line. I would also recommend the Cellarium Cafe which is perfect for a nice break with afternoon tea and light snacks.

Here are a few photos from Westminster Abbey (please note: photography and filming are not allowed while you are touring the inside of the Abbey):

The beautiful entrance to Westminster Abbey.

Mia enjoying the view at Westminster Abbey.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Celebrating 60 years!

The beautiful view at Westminster Abbey.

One of the beautiful windows at Westminster Abbey.

The Cellarium Cafe located at Westminster Abbey.

Enjoying afternoon tea at Cellarium Cafe.

Mia and I at Westminster Abbey.

Front View of Westminster Abbey

St. Margaret’s Church

For more information about touring Westminster Abbey, please visit: Westminster Abbey

The London Eye was within walking distance to where we stayed and was of course one of those things in London that you just have to do! It is located in the South Bank right along the Thames River. We were able to see so much of London from the top and you get to see out for a distance of about 25 miles from the top. The views from the London Eye are absolutely breathtaking and was definitely something that we are glad that we were able to experience. I would love to experience it at night the next time we visit as I am sure it would be very beautiful with all of the city lights on.

Here are a few photos from our experience on the London Eye:

The London Eye and the Thames River.

Mia and I having fun on the London Eye!

The amazing view from the London Eye!

Mia enjoying the London Eye!

For more information about the London Eye, please visit: London Eye

You can read part 1 of this series at the following link: London Part 1

London, England: Part One – Tips and Photos of Buckingham Palace, Hamleys and Madame Tussauds

by Christine M.July 30, 2013

Mia and I in front of Buckingham Palace!

As a girl who loves to take photos, I was totally in awe with London! Everywhere I turned, there was something that I wanted to take a photo of. I guess that’s why I ended up taking over 400 photos in 4 days! Our family really enjoyed our first visit to London together, and I will be making three posts to cover our adventure. I will try to include around 20-30 photos for each posting which should cover a lot of the London sights that you can accomplish if you plan a 3-4 day trip there (we scheduled 4 full days in London and 1 half day for travel). There are so many other places that we did not explore during our first trip, but I believe another 3-4 days should cover most of the other places that we would like to see. I will also include a few helpful tips that we learned along the way. We are very happy that the flight from Helsinki is only around 2.5 hours and will hopefully bring us to London again while we are living in Europe!

London Tip #1: If you want to see as many sights as possible, I would suggest seeing them via one of the classic double-decker red buses. May not be the cheapest way to get around, but it was something you should do at least once in your life and certainly a lot of fun for our daughter! We were able to hop-on and off at many of the top sights and take us much time as we wanted at each location. Ours also included a Thames River Cruise which we did not have time to do. The night before our trip, we booked The Original Tour and were quite happy with their services.

London Tip #2: Book the additional 24 hours at the time of purchase for only 7 or 8 additional pounds (not sure the exact amount that they quoted us when we picked up our tickets). We didn’t do this, but really wish that we had since we were not able to accomplish all of the sights in the 24 hour time for our tickets and this would have been much cheaper than taxis and a lot less exhausting than all the walking we did! We are still learning to get around via public transportation as well and were not brave enough yet to try it in London. The yellow line provided you with a live English commentary guide and the red line offered you headsets to listen to the commentary and also provided a channel for kids. However, we did notice that there seemed to be more of the Big Bus Tour buses running and therefore may enable you to see more sights if you are restricted on time.

London Tip #3: Bring cash if you need to take a taxi!!! We noticed that it was much harder to find a taxi that would accept credit cards. Therefore, bring cash (pounds) just in case you need it!

Our visit to Buckingham Palace and The Changing of The Guard (click on photos for a larger view):

Mia and I in front of the Buckingham Palace Gates!

Mia having fun at The Queen’s Gift Shop!

The Victoria Memorial

The Mall

The Royal Standard Flag flying at Buckingham Palace. The Queen was home!

The Queen’s Guards Marching

Mia in front of one of The Queen’s Guards

The Queen’s Guard

In front of Buckingham Palace

Changing of The Guard

For more information on Buckingham Palace and tours, please visit: Buckingham Palace

A historic toy shop that has been around since 1780 (over 250 years) in London is Hamleys. Thanks to a tip from my friend Kim, Mia had a lot of fun visiting Hamleys and we were all exhausted after visiting all seven floors of this mega toy shop!

It’s A Boy! The future King arrived the same week we were in London!

Entrance to Hamleys

Mia with the Queen and her dog made out of Legos!

Guards made out of Legos!

Mia with pirates at Hamleys!

Mia with a stuffed Bear Guard!

Stuffed toys at Hamleys!

This was our first visit to a Madame Tussauds. Wow, what a cool place to visit in London!! We really enjoyed this attraction and were very impressed with their wax figures and many were specific to England including the Royal Family. This was one of Mia’s favorite parts of the trip since she is a big superhero fan. Included with our tickets was an amazing 4D Marvel Superheroes Movie at the end of the attraction!

Our family with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip!

Mia and I with Princess Diana!

Mia and I with the Beatles!

Mia and I with James Bond (Daniel Craig)!

Mia and I with Johnny Depp!

Mia and Danny with Bruce Willis!

Mia and I with Einstein!

Me with Steven Spielberg!

Mia with E.T.

Mia and I with Madonna. Vogue!

Mia and I with Elvis!

Our family with President Obama!

Mia and I with Michael Jackson!

Mia with Iron Man!

Mia with The Hulk!

Mia with Captain America!

London Tip #4: Expect to wait in line for a long time (one to two hours) during the summer when visiting Madame Tussauds! I would definitely consider purchasing their priority access tickets (click on the link above) for this attraction if you are pressed for time!

We can now cross our first Europe Red Pin Adventure outside of Finland off our list!
~~London, England~~
I would love to hear your comments and more London tips for our next adventure there!

You can read part 2 of this series at the following link: London Part Two

We made it to London! Double-decker red bus here we come!

by Christine M.July 24, 2013

Mia and I in front of Big Ben!

We made it to London and we are staying very close to Big Ben! This is our first trip to London and our first trip to anywhere else in Europe other than Helsinki, Finland. We are very excited to tour the area over the next couple of days! We are too tired to explore tonight after an early flight this morning and barely any sleep last evening, but we are looking forward to getting some rest and to start touring early tomorrow. Mia is super excited to get on a double-decker red bus while we are here! I will post the photos from our adventure here in London in my next post. Please let me know if anyone has any tips or must sees while we are here. Cheers!!

The Tall Ships Races 2013 in Helsinki, Finland

by Christine M.July 21, 2013

Above photo: The breathtaking Mexican Tall Ship, Cuauhtemoc!

Above photo: My favorite photo I took from the event, the breathtaking Mexican Tall Ship, Cuauhtemoc!

What an exciting time to arrive in Finland! We were very excited to be able to experience The Tall Ships Races right here in the neighborhood that we just moved to!

Over 100 vessels were here this weekend for the races which began on July 17th and continued until July 20th. The event ended with the Parade of Sails, when the ships go onto the next Tall Ships Races location, the Port of Riga, Latvia. The races will later end in Szczecin, Poland the first week of August, 2013.

We enjoyed viewing all of the beautiful ships on Thursday, July 17th after they were all docked:

The highlight of the event was watching the departure of all of the beautiful ships during the Parade of Sails event on Saturday, July 20th:

Mia enjoying the Parade of Sails!

Mia and I having a great time on Saturday!

We were a little sad to have to say goodbye to all of the ships. What an amazing experience it was to see so many beautiful vessels in one weekend/location:

For more information on this event, please visit:
http://www.tallshipsraceshelsinki.fi/

Our Visit to the Office

by Christine M.July 9, 2013

Mia and I were finally able to see where her daddy has been working since November. We had a great time visiting the office on Friday and meeting some of his co-workers. Many were on their summer holiday, so we will try to visit again after the summer is over. Mia thought that her daddy’s office was a very cool place to work!!

Mia and I at the entrance to the office.

A cool display in the lobby.

Mia and I sitting on one of the chairs in the store.

One of the cool work spaces!

Mia and her daddy at the cool slingshot display.

A fun work/play area.

Mia and I having fun at one of the little break areas.

One of the cool meeting rooms. Mia loved this room!

Mia had a lot of fun writing on one of the creative boards.

Mia and I in the Mighty Eagle room! These two girls are ready for business! 😉

One of the drink coolers at the office.

Mia was checking out the beautiful view at the office!

Happy 4th of July from Finland!

by Christine M.July 4, 2013

We decided to take our first journey on the train today and made it downtown. We celebrated the 4th of July at the Hard Rock Cafe Helsinki. They were giving 20% off to anyone from the U.S.A. today!
We also went across the street to check out their big department store called Stockmann. It was really nice and we ran into a reindeer!

They were celebrating the 4th of July at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown today!

They were celebrating the 4th of July at the Hard Rock Cafe today!

Made it to the Stockman Dept. Store Downtown today and found a reindeer!

Made it to the Stockmann Dept. Store downtown today and found a reindeer!

We made it! Our first few days in Finland… Wow, there’s so much daylight!!!

by Christine M.July 2, 2013

We arrived safely in Helsinki late Saturday afternoon, and have been busy unpacking and exploring all of the different areas around us. After the first day, we knew we needed to find Mia something to help her get around. We have been doing so much walking, so we found her a cute little scooter to easily keep up with us. She is really getting around great now and having a lot of fun with it!

The time zone difference (7 hours ahead of Orlando) has really been tough on us these first couple of days. It is also daylight out most of the time. The sun set on our first night around 11:00 p.m. and then sunrise was at 3:58 a.m.!!! We have to wear sleep masks just to try to keep some of the light out to sleep (we have blackout shades on some of the windows too). On our second night, we were wide awake from 2 a.m. to around 6 a.m. We went out for a walk/scooter ride at 3 a.m. and made it over to Mia’s school so she could see it. Not one soul was out! I was a little surprised since this is the capital city of Finland! We have been here for almost 4 days now, and I have yet to see a police car or officer and have not heard any sirens from ambulance or police. Seems very strange for a big city. I heard at least two or three a day in Central Florida! It is certainly a nice peaceful change. It is also refreshing to see so many people out with their families, walking their dogs, bike riding, and just simply enjoying this beautiful weather!

Danny was back to work Monday morning and we start to look at new places tomorrow. However, we are really enjoying the simplicity of going from a 4 bedroom home to a cute little studio apartment with a view of the beautiful canal…. Not sure if we really need a little bigger place anymore! We’ll see how tomorrow goes. 🙂

Last photo of Mia and her dog, Audrey before we left. My parents are watching our two dogs while we are away. Not a day goes by that Mia is not talking about her dog. :(

Photo of Mia and her amazing dog, Audrey before we left. She was originally my parent’s dog, but quickly grew attached to Mia after she was born. Grateful that my parents are watching our two dogs while we are away. Not a day goes by that Mia is not talking about her dog. They are like two peas in a pod! 😥

Made it to the Airport with all 15 of our bags! Thanks to my brother, Richard for getting us there. Whew!!

Made it to the Airport with all 15 of our bags! A big thanks to my brother, Richard for getting us there. Whew!!

In Orlando, getting ready to board our flight to Manchester.

On the plane, ready to go!! Not sure why Mia wanted to show off her toothbrush they gave her! Lol Total travel time was about 14 hours from Orlando to Finland.

First part of our flight was from Orlando to Manchester. 2 hour layover, then to Helsinki! Whew… it was a long journey!

Ready to explore! We hit the ground running (and scootering)! Mia on one of our journeys out to explore the area!

Our cute little studio apartment. Love it!

View from our apartment! So peaceful!

Mia having fun on her new scooter at 3 a.m. We were wide awake (it was only 8 p.m. Florida time)!

A cool sculpture on one of our many walks. Hope someone can tell me the name of this beautiful sculpture!

I will end with a glimpse of the perfect weather and the sunrise/sunset times!

All packed and ready to go!! Less than 20 hours until our big move…. Finland here we come!

by Christine M.June 28, 2013

Here we go!!!! We are finally all packed and ready to go! Moving to Finland in less than 20 hours!!!! Our master bedroom turned into packing central this past week. Only moving with suitcases and donated about 3/4 of all of our belongings to various charities and friends in need. Whew…. It feels great to simplify our lives and we are now ready for our adventure in Europe!! We will miss you all!! ♥

The beginning of all the packing! Moving with only suitcases!

A bunch of our furniture went to the Salvation Army today. This was the 2nd truck to visit our home for the move. Feeling great! 🙂

Finally all packed and ready to go!!

After 30 years… Our trip back to my homeland: The Beautiful Island of Okinawa, Japan!

by Christine M.June 27, 2013

The big day is almost here… We will be flying to Finland tomorrow!!! It has been a very busy week getting everything packed, but we are looking forward to starting our new adventure! I am finally posting the photos from our trip back to my homeland. It was an amazing experience and also a very emotional one. It was so nice to see all of our family in Japan after so many years and also to meet many of them who were not born until after we moved away. I had forgotten how beautiful it was… It felt like we were in paradise!!

First evening in Okinawa. Dinner with some of our family!
June 5, 2013. — at Okinawa｜沖縄.

Our first evening together with our family!

What an amazing view! at Itoman-Shi, Okinawa.

Such a peaceful place! — in Itoman-shi, Okinawa.

My mom at the WWII memorial site. She is pointing out her uncle and great grandfather.

The Cornerstone of Peace Memorial.

Mia and her daddy enjoying some beach time at sunset. — at Araha Beach Okinawa Japan.

So cool… meeting my Aunt for the first time at the airport and her purse matched my wallet! I gave it to her as a gift before we left! 🙂

Mia and her cousin feeding Koi fish.

This is a cave that I visited 30 years ago on a school field trip! It was amazing! — at Gyokusendou Caves.

Mia and I with our cousin — at Gyokusendou Caves.

At Gyokusendou Caves.

A beautiful waterfall in the cave. — at Gyokusendou Caves.

Being brave at the Habu Snake show! — at Habu Museum Park, Okinawa.

Having fun on our last full day in Okinawa! — at Okinawa world.

Mia and I having fun in front of the beautiful Shisa dogs. — at Okinawa world.

At my Aunt’s home for an amazing family dinner!

Our family butsudan at my Aunt’s house.

Mia and her cousin having fun!

Danny enjoying some good food and drink!

Mia and I on the balcony where we are staying in Okinawa... very close to where I was born! June 9, 2013. — at Okinawa｜沖縄.

Mia and I on the balcony where we stayed in Okinawa… very close to where I was born! June 9, 2013. — at Okinawa｜沖縄.

Danny and I at the beach where we stayed. We are very happy to be back together again! ♥

Mia having fun at the playground close to where we are staying... June 9, 2013. — at Pirate Ship Park, Araha Beach.

Mia having fun at the playground close to where we stayed… June 9, 2013. — at Pirate Ship Park, Araha Beach.

Our family at my Aunt’s house.

Mia and her cousin enjoying the yummy dinner my Aunt's family prepared for us. It was amazing!!

Mia and her cousin enjoying the yummy dinner my family prepared for us. It was amazing!!

Mia playing with all of her cousins! They had a blast together!

Mia and her cousin. They are the same age and only one day apart! March 15th and March 16th. 🙂

Mia trying on her cousin’s cool school backpack.

At Camp Lester… where I was born!

My mom and I in front of the hospital where my older brother and I were born in the same room, by the same doctor, and exactly two years apart!

Where it all began… My mom and I in front of the hospital where my older brother and I were born in the same room, by the same doctor, and exactly two years apart! We were told that this hospital would be torn down later this year. So glad that we made it back when we did!

The glass bottom boat tour to see all of the beautiful coral and fish. It was unbelievable!

We had a lot of fun on a glass bottom boat tour to see all of the beautiful coral and fish. It was unbelievable!

Having fun on the glass bottom boat ride!

Mia and I on the beach. Mia and her daddy drew a note in the sand for me. :)

Mia and I on the beach. Mia and her daddy made a note in the sand for me. 🙂

My family enjoying an afternoon together at the beautiful aquarium…. — at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

Entrance to the Churaumi Aquarium.

Mia and I enjoying the beautiful view… — at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

An amazing tank at the Aquarium!

Mia posing with a cool fish at the aquarium.

At my family gravesite. Reunited with my mom’s Uncle and his wife. We had to cut through the jungle behind us to get to it…. Luckily, there were about 12 of us to hike through it together. Yikes!!!

We made it through the jungle to my family’s gravesite.

Danny introduced my Great Aunt to Angry Birds! Now all of my family in Okinawa are playing the game!

This was on the drive to Motobu to visit my family’s gravesite.

Grocery shopping… Holy Daikon! — at Okinawa｜沖縄.

Our last dinner in Okinawa. We miss all of the yummy food!

I will end with my favorite photo from our trip. Mia couldn't stop laughing from these Doctor Fish! ;)

I will end with one of my favorite photos from our trip. Mia couldn’t stop laughing from these Doctor Fish! 😉

Our exciting adventure in Tokyo, Japan

by Christine M.June 25, 2013

This post will include some of the photos from the Tokyo area of our trip and the next post will include photos from our visit to my homeland: the beautiful Island of Okinawa, Japan. We really enjoyed our trip to the Tokyo area of Japan and were able to experience many beautiful sights as well as some amazing food! Visiting the Tokyo area was a first for all of us and the most exciting part was our ride on a bullet train! Wow, what an amazing experience that was!! I’m sure the look on all of our faces after the first one flew by us while we were waiting for our train was priceless! The sound of them flying by will certainly make you jump and say, “Wow!!!!!” right afterwards!

The highlight of our trip for Mia was when we visited the location of the Hachiko statue from her favorite movie, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale.

Mia in front of the Hachi statue! The highlight of her trip to Tokyo! at Shibuya Station.

My mom, Mia and Mayu at the Hachiko Statue!

A cool building in Atami!

Mia feeding Koi fish at a restaurant in Tokyo.

My mom and her family at Atami Station.

View of Atami.

Our cool room for a night… sleeping the traditional way (on a tatame)!

One of the many amazing meals from our trip!

My cousin and I having fun at dinner!

Mia and I getting ready for a hot bath (onsen) in the robes they gave us at check-in!

A beautiful butterfly near Mt. Fuji.

On a side road near Mt. Fuji. Not going to say why we are on a side road… that was a whole other adventure all by itself! 😉

My mom and her two brothers finally reunited after 30 years!

Enjoying some sake! Kampai!

Mia relaxing after the bullet train ride! at Atami Station

My family in front of the Sensoji Temple in Tokyo.

Mia and I at the Sensoji Temple.

Sensoji Temple.

Mia with her fortune and her Godzilla toy she picked out! Lol

Mia and I at the Sensoji Temple.

Mia and her daddy at the Sensoji Temple.

My mom and I at the Sensoji Temple.

Peaceful… at Sensoji Temple.

Tokyo Skytree.

We enjoyed way too much sushi!

Holy Wasabi!! Ask the chef and you shall receive....

Holy Wasabi!! Ask the sushi chef and you shall receive….

My cousin enjoying a tall mug of Asahi beer! Love her! 😉

On the bullet train!

The Bullet Train! So cool!!!

Our view of Mt. Fuji from the plane ride to Okinawa! Wow!!

I will end with a photo Mt. Fuji that I took from the plane ride to Okinawa! I felt so lucky to get this shot. Amazing!!!

I will end with a photo of Mt. Fuji that I took from the plane ride to Okinawa! I felt so lucky to get this shot. Amazing!!!

Our family is finally reunited and our VERY long awaited family reunion in Japan!

by Christine M.June 21, 2013

Word on the street is that I need to update my blog!! So sorry, I am a little behind…. things have been crazy here!!! We are very busy packing up the house and are down to only one week until our move to Finland! Wow! It has been a great couple of weeks of family reunions for us. The first photos are from Danny’s return home from Finland and the rest are the airport pics from our trip to Japan. It had been 30 years since my mom and I had been home to Okinawa, so it was a VERY long awaited family reunion! I will post the rest of our photos from our trip in my next two blog posts.

Tears of Joy! Sorry this photos is blurry... mom was too excited to hold the camera straight! Lol

Tears of Joy! Sorry this photo is blurry… mom was too excited to hold the camera straight! Lol

At the airport in Orlando… getting ready to leave for our Japan trip!

At the airport in Tokyo…. Reunited with one of my mom’s brothers and meeting his daughter for the first time!

At the airport… Greeted by some of our family. We made it to Okinawa!

My mom and her Aunt reunited at the airport!

Less than 24 hours and our family will FINALLY be reunited!!! Yippeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by Christine M.May 29, 2013

We are FINALLY down to only hours until our family is reunited!!! Danny will be boarding a plane in Finland in about 5 hours and will be on his way home to Orlando! Mia will finally get to finish her bike riding lessons with her daddy and I will get to sleep in for my b-day on Friday (Mia’s an early bird like her daddy and I am a night owl so I could really use some sleep)!!! We are so excited that the day is almost here and have a very busy month ahead…

We will be leaving on Saturday for our long awaited trip home to Japan. We will spend a few days in Tokyo visiting family as well as Mt. Fuji and then we are off to Okinawa (where I was born). We are very excited to finally be reunited with our family in Okinawa which we have not seen in almost 30 years! We will then return home for a short period and will be off to Finland for our big move on the 28th of June!

It was an amazing morning in my backyard… Two Barred Owls came to visit!

by Christine M.May 16, 2013

Two Barred Owls came to visit my backyard this morning! There is a family of them that live in the woods behind the house and they have been here for a few years now. I hear them pretty often, but rarely see them and always get excited when they allow me to get close to them to take a few photos. This morning was amazing since I spotted two of them on our mimosa tree. One even hung out on a limb right outside of my window for about two hours to sleep. At one point, he actually laid down with his head facing the ground while sleeping. I had no idea that they could sleep that way and not sitting up like you normally see them. I will miss seeing these beautiful owls when we move away to Finland in about six weeks. It was such an amazing and peaceful morning here in Florida!

After several days of rain… Finally a beautiful day in Florida!

by Christine M.May 5, 2013

Mia is enjoying this beautiful day here in Florida! We had several days of rain, so it was so nice to finally wake up to a beautiful sunny day! She decided to splash around in my mom’s koi pond to cool off… and always seems to know how to have fun! Love our little free spirit! ♥

Mia having fun on this beautiful Sunday in Florida!

It’s finally almost here…. Only 30 Days until we are reunited as a family again!!

by Christine M.May 1, 2013

Mia and I are so happy that we are finally down to only 30 Days until our family is reunited!!! We also only have 59 days until we all depart for our big move to Finland! I received our flight confirmations today…. Wow, the time was going by so slowly and is now suddenly flying by…hope we are ready for this!

Our family in front of the White House on our trip to D.C. to apply for residency in Finland.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

by Christine M.April 5, 2013

Our family enjoyed a nice weekend getaway during Mia’s Spring Break. This was the first time for all of us to visit the Great Smoky Mountains. It has to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. We all felt so relaxed and enjoying having our family together again. The pictures below show how peaceful and beautiful this area is. It was breathtaking! I hope that we will have the chance one day to spend more time there and see the rest of the Smoky Mountains National Park.

On our last morning there right before leaving to catch our plane back to Orlando, it started to snow… We thought the first time that Mia would see snow would be after we moved to Finland. She screamed with such excitement when she saw the snow coming down out the window. She had the time of her life trying to catch all of the snowflakes. Such a special memory that we will never forget! ♥

Mia and I at the John Oliver cabin (Cades Cove).

The view from the John Oliver cabin. Such a beautiful sight!

Mia and her daddy having fun at the John Oliver cabin property.

Mia and I at the John Oliver cabin. I’m ready to move in… so relaxing!

Me in front of the John Oliver cabin. It was a nice long walk up an unpaved driveway before getting to the cabin.

Mia and I sitting on the porch at the John Oliver cabin.

Mia and I in front of a pretty little waterfall on the drive through the Smoky Mountain National Park.

Mia and I in front of a pretty little waterfall on the drive through the Smoky Mountains National Park.

Mia looking at all of the cool rocks at a river on the drive.

Mia and her daddy having fun skipping rocks on the river.

Mia in front of the beautiful river.

Mia and I at one of the stops along the drive through the Smoky Mountain National Park.

Mia and I at one of the stops along the drive through the Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Gatlinburg sign on the drive to the Smoky Mountain National Park.

The beautiful place we stayed at. It snowed the last morning we were there.

Mia catching snowflakes!

Mia in front of the place we stayed… loving the snow coming down!

Mia catching snowflakes with her hat. This is the back of the place that we stayed.

Mia getting ready for our first snowball fight! 🙂

Mia and I at the Titanic Museum. What an amazing place!

Mia getting her cookie signed at the Lumberjack Feud show!

Mia at the Ripley's Aquarium. One of her favorite things are sharks, so she loved this place!

Mia at the Ripley’s Aquarium. She loves sharks, so she had a blast here!

A beautiful deer on the drive through Cades Cove.

I will end with a beautiful sight on the drive through Cades Cove!

I will end with a shot of the beautiful Smoky Mountains on the drive through Cades Cove!

Central Florida Bucket List… Monster Truck Jam!!!

by Christine M.January 28, 2013

Mia and I were invited by my brother and his girlfriend to attend the Monster Jam on Saturday evening at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando. I have heard about this event, but never actually went to one until this weekend. It was a very exciting experience and Mia had a blast! She has always loved trucks, trains, and superheroes… so the Monster Jam was a perfect event for her to see.

I believe that the Citrus Bowl holds over 60,000 people and the event was sold out. I was so surprised to see so many people at this event and so many families that brought their kids along. Luckily, I was warned by one of my friends right before the event to bring earplugs. It was very loud and the earplugs were a must have. Overall, it was a great time and certainly something to see at least once in your lifetime!

Mia and Christine watching the Monster Trucks!

Richard (my brother), Mia, and Christine having fun watching the Monster Jam!

Richard and Babs enjoying the show!

Mia getting reading for the Monster Jam to start!

Mia getting ready for the Monster Jam to start!

One of the amazing Monster Trucks (Iron Man)!

Wow! The Iron Man Monster Truck!

The amazing Monster Truck girl driver (Madusa)!

I was surprised to see a girl Monster Truck driver (Madusa). She did a great job during the freestyle event!

The Amazing Spiderman Monster Truck!

Central Florida Bucket List… before we move to Finland!

by Christine M.January 6, 2013

Christmas morning ~ 2012

We are slowly working on our Central Florida bucket list before our move to Finland this summer! Danny and I have both lived in the Central Florida area for about 25 years and we wanted to make sure that we visited a few places that we have never made it to in the area. One of the places that all three of us had never been to was Gatorland. We were very surprised at how much we enjoyed the park and really wished that we had visited sooner. Mia was thrilled to see all of the gators, crocs, and wildlife at the park! Mia had never been to Kennedy Space Center and her daddy had to attend a meeting there, so it was great that she was able to experience it. We also made a trip out to the House of Blues this past week and had a great time at their Gospel Brunch. We really enjoyed all of the yummy southern food!

We had a great time spending time with our friends and families this past week. 2013 is going to be a big year for us with many changes and lots of new challenges to overcome. Danny and I are both grateful to have each other and our amazing daughter to experience it all with. We will be together 17 years next month and it is truly amazing all that we have been through and all of the wonderful places and people that we have met over the years! We wish everyone a great 2013! ♥

Being brave at gatorland… What an exciting experience!

Mia and Christine at the entrance to Gatorland!

Gators lounging and a beautiful crane walking by in the background.

A beautiful parrot at Gatorland.

Mia and Danny having fun with the birds at Gatorland!

Our family at Kennedy Space Center.

Mia and Christine at the House of Blues Gospel Brunch.

New Year’s Eve Party/Show at the Cavallo’s.

Mia and her friends on New Year’s Eve.

Bowling night out!

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

by Christine M.November 22, 2012

Mia and her Grandma are getting ready for the big day! We are very sad that Mia’s daddy is in Finland this year, but we are excited that we will be celebrating turkey day in Finland next year. This will be the first Thanksgiving that we will not be together in 17 years and we miss him so much already! Wishing Jimmy, Kelly, Richard, and Babs safe travels this week! We are grateful to be spending Thanksgiving with my parents and enjoying a relaxing couple of days with them! Wishing everyone a great time with their families tomorrow! ♥

The beginning of our journey to Finland!

by Christine M.November 15, 2012

We flew to Washington, D.C. earlier this month to apply for residency in Finland! Danny will be working with Rovio Entertainment and our family will be moving to the beautiful city of Helsinki, Finland! We are very excited about this new adventure that our family will be taking in the upcoming months. We plan to make the final move over to Helsinki in the summer of 2013.

Hello world!

by Christine M.November 15, 2012

Welcome to my blog! I am very excited to be starting my very first blog. I plan to post as often as possible and will use this site so that my family and friends can follow along and be a part of our new adventures! I am really looking forward to this new experience of blogging! 🙂