Chasing crocs and crossing town

 The weather has been windy but sunny for two days. Every summer we visit here, the kids go to a swimming pond with a sandy beach - it's good fun. This time we decided to not plan on swimming, but just go play on the playground and on the sand for a little bit. The place was empty, and the kids played on the swings and structures a good while. Just as we were getting ready to go, the kids got into some kind of argument, and as a result, one of Petra's crocs started sailing out towards the middle of the pond, propelled by the brisk breeze. Eventually it blew to the opposite side but remained a good distance away from the shore, stuck in some water plants growing on the surface. I managed to find a cut willow tree, straight and long, and waded out not quite waist deep until I could reach it and pull the renegade shoe back. My legs were covered in pond plant life and the hem of my t-shirt was wet, but the mission was successful, and Petra was glad to get the show back. And so the blue croc was returned and we could go home to dinner and blueberry pie.

The next day, Monday, was surprisingly warm and sunny. With warm we mean that it was not cold! The kids and I hopped on bikes and Petra decide we should go and bike to see the new school, and see what the route is like on the bikes. I timed our journey, and we reviewed the route, which mostly is no turns at all, more or less a straight shot through the town to the school. Although the kids have ridden bikes with Zandra across town back home, the environment here is a bit new, and Kai needs to practice both watching out for cars, and staying in the bike lane. But it feels like after some practice, they\ll get it. Petra practiced going home all by herself, Kai and I stopped at the post office to buy some stamps. 

The rest of the afternoon was sunny and warm. I did some work indoors, but then gave up and went outside to help in the garden, realizing how much I missed my own garden back home. Kai wanted to play outside, too, and even Petra stuck her nose out for a bit. Late summer weather like this won't last long -- there is some prediction of a storm, which will be followed by a cold weather front and possibly night frosts. I might need to go and do some jacket shopping for the kids, it seems! 

Finns seem to dress according to the calendar more than the actual temperature. We saw kids in practical outdoor jackets and pants, or in one-piece suits for toddlers, with thin cotton hats on, when the temperature did not warrant quite so much protection. Each country has its own peculiarities of beliefs that govern clothing choices (we had joked about taking the kids to school first day dressed in a puffer jacket, shorts and flip flops) and in Finland one such thing is hats on children. Nonetheless, when you spend time outdoors regardless of the weather, prioritizing staying dry makes perfect sense.