puijo tower!

we drove up to kuopio to visit henna and antti yesterday, and what a fun day it has been today! we have been chilling (=watching the olympics like crazy), enjoying the great weather, and tonight we went up to the puijo tower to see some pretty views of kuopio. it was fun, and windy - as you can see in the prego belly pictures. too bad henna's the only one of us who will actually have one of those in a few months ;) hihi, that has been one of the biggest surprises of the summer! oh boy!

these visits to henna's place always remind me (in mari's words) of the beauty of a lifelong friendship. henna and i have been friends since diapers, and we have one of those rare relationships where we can go months without talking with each other, and still feel like we just hung out the day before when we finally do talk or meet. we always understand each other, and now our hubbies just laugh at how similiar we are. especially being in utah has made me appreciate the gift of this kind of friendship so much - there i have learned that it is not everyday when people get to experience something like this. i can honestly say that i have the most amazing people around me. i feel so blessed. 

tomorrow we'll go and visit my grandpa & uncle. it's always fascinating to go there, since grandpa loves to tell his stories to thomas - and of course he doesn't know a word of english. i try my best to keep up with his stories and translate all sorts of war words. i love ukki, and i am so glad that we get to still go and visit him while we're here. i am also glad that my uncle is still doing alright - he was diagnosed with a brain tumor when we came here, and now he has patiently been waiting for a call to go and get it removed. he and his family are such champs for holding up during this time. thinking death and sickness makes me feel worried when i know that we are so far away from our families. but at this point, i am so glad we get to be here, close to my family, for this summer.

now it's time to go to bed! good night!