Christmas Cometh Caroling

:) Well, hello everybody! :)

Haha, I don't know if people still read this, since I haven't updated in... well, a really long time. But, just so that I'm satisfied with myself at the end of the year, I'll write a new post. :)

It's the end of another term: this week is finals. Lucky me, I only have a math final tomorrow, and that's it, then Christmas Break! Yay!

I'm thinking of taking a swedish class next term, just so that I might be able to understand a little of what everyone is saying when they switch languages on me. :P blah. I'll also be taking two spanish classes (it was my mom's idea.. thanks, mom). I'll continue with math, yipee. Let's see. I'm going to see if I can take another art class. Love art. A+++++. :D

Other than school, I'm just really excited for Christmas. We'll be spending a few days in Helsinki with the rest of the fam. My grandmother rented a photo studio, therefore.. we will have a professional family photo. The colors are red, and a creamy white, and we all have to wear jeans. It'll be adorable.

Last Saturday, Merinda and I walked to a nearby park, and took some fabulous winter pictures.

We had a Christmas concert at church last Sunday, where I played in a trio of "Carol of the Bells". It was fantastic. Merinda played the recorder to Silent Night, and Jonathan sang "Holy Night" and "Homeless", as a solo, then "Homeless" with an a cappella group.

Yesterday, no school, so I spent a few hours at the shopping center, then I went to pick up Mikaela from school, in the -20*C (-4*F) Let's just say, that I was REALLY REALLY COLD!!

That's how I'm doing in this cold country. Hope all of you are having a wonderful winter!!

October Boos

Well... October.. new month. This blogging is harder than you might think. ;)

School continues, though this week, we enjoy Fall Break.

I've stayed mostly in Jyväskylä, except for last weekend, when I went with my dearest mother to Helsinki. We went to this noodle restaurant with my aunt, then we saw Julie and Julia. It was ... cute. I think it could've been better, or maybe it's just not completely my type of movie.

We came back on Sunday.

Yesterday, I went with my sister to Halonen, a store, and we tried on a bunch of clothes, then we found a gift for her friend. Today, I went to a friend's house to take pictures for the slideshow for New Year's Conference. We got quite a few pictures taken... but it took quite a while for the Young Women's leader to approve of positions, expressions, and so on. :)

Now, we're back home, and I'm on the computer... again.

I have to--no, no, I get to plan a Halloween Party for the Young women and men. yay me.

I just wish that I could get my hands on some really good books--in English. I was only able to bring 5 books with me, and now I'm really missing my collection I had to leave at home. :(

I've been listening to EFY songs on youtube, and I found this one that I really like. It's called "More." If you have time, you should youtube it. Ah. Love it.

... and that's about it. I don't have much to tell. I'd rather hear what you guys have been up to. Have a great day!

Finnish Fancies

Okey-dokey, since I haven't updated in...*ahem* a while, I thought I would show you the world that I've been living in. :D Ready?

<-- Merinda pretending to do her homework.

Our mailbox. :)Me getting the mail. :D

Me on one of our balconies, with the "berry" tree in the background. :D

The swing that belongs to the apartment building.

Me on the swing, looking thoughtful.

...and the SANDBOX!!!!!! :D

Other than that, I've just been going to school everyday, trying to understand what people are saying at me, and then I come home, occasionally do my homework, play floor hockey on Tuesdays, watch tv, and sleep.... Oh! and I eat....every now and then. ;)

Let me know how you guys are doing!! Miss you all! :D

Super Saturday

Friday:

On Friday I finished my first week of school. That same day, the young women had a picnic. It was so much fun!! Annu, Pihla, and I practiced batting a bit. Then Annu, Erika, Kerttu, and I went to play on the playground. It's kind of hilarious to go down slides when they are the same length as your legs. :) Anyways, we ate some yummies, talked, laughed, and had a great time. :)

Saturday:

Then yesterday was the stake activity. First we went to a school soccer field, and some guys played soccer, while my mom, Pihla, and I (and all the other girls) sat on a railing. hehe. When I sat next to my mom, she freaked because the railing sank a bit. When Pihla came next to us, she gasped again. Mom showed us how fragile it was by bouncing once on it. It didn't break, just bounce with her, so we continued watching the game. Then Mia came over next to us, and sat down, and ...*CRACK* I was in the middle, right where it split, and we all fell to the ground. .....well, that was fun. ...We didn't trust ourselves to sit on the rails again, so we sat on the steps. ..they were made of concrete. :)

Following the game, everyone went to a cottage by the sea (haha, that sounds poetic, and it really was: there were apple trees, and it was by the ocean.... beautiful!!) There was swimming, sauna, volleyball, darts, and places to chill. We ate soup, then had a seminary talk, sort of, then we listened to two more lessons.

After all of that greatness, we ended the day with a 2 and 1/2 hour dance. =) haha. what more is to be said?! :) Let's see, okay, no one asked my friends or me to dance the first couple of slow songs, so when the fast songs came up, I grabbed my friends, and a few other girls sitting on a bench, and made them dance. What were we missing? guys. Problem easily solved. I went back and grabbed a guy from our ward, and some guy that was standing next to him. Then I grabbed my cousin, Jusa.

Since the floor seemed to clear out soon after, the guys had to put their shoes in the middle, and girls took a shoe to find a partner. I was partnered with a quiet guy. I felt kind of bad. He was terrified. He wouldn't look at me other than a few quick glances when he was asking me questions.

After the first dance, he asked me to dance for the next song, so we ended up dancing for two songs, and then he escorted me off the floor.

My next dance was with a guy that my mom and aunt had been talking about all night, about how gorgeous he was. And, yeah, I guess he was pretty good-looking, so I told Mom and auntie that I was going to ask him to dance. Silly me. I actually did ask him. We danced for the rest of the first song that was playing, then the next one, and then he suggested we dance the next song too. ...yeah. I was tired. :) (he escorted me off the dance floor too...)

By then, the dance hall was really hot, so I went outside and played darts with Pihla. A couple of guys came over and threw darts with us too, and of course, I won. (well, sort of)

I heard a good song come on, so I ran back to dance with Jonathan.

That was when they announced that the final two songs were going to be played. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't get to dance the last two, but relieved that I could sit with my friends. Annu then wanted to go sit on the benches by the dance floor, so we did. And then, this guy from our ward asked me to dance, and I did get to dance the last two dances!! :)

The activity was then over, and I had a three-hour drive to look forward to.

I tried to sleep on the way back, the result, terrible neck pain. We got back at 1:30 this morning, and went to church at 9:50 a.m.

School With a Pants-full of Sauce

Today was my first day at Normaalikoulu.

I woke up at 6:30 a.m. to take a shower, get dressed, eat, and brush my teeth. When it was finally time, my mom wanted to walk with me. So, of course, I let her come so that she wouldn't feel so bad. You know... :)

We got to the school, said our goodbyes as inconspicuously as possible, and I met my friends, Suvi-Sofia and Pihla. We went to the gym, and were divided into classes. All three of us ended up in different classes.

When I walked into my new homeroom class, I took a seat in the second row, next to a girl who looked friendly. My teacher seems really nice. She talked for about 40 minutes, then we went to a different gym to get our pictures taken. Yay.

After that, the teacher talked for another two hours, at least, I think it was two hours.

Finally, we were allowed to go get some lunch. Just outside of the door to the cafeteria, I saw Pihla. So we waited for Suvi-Sofia, then we all went to lunch.

Now, school lunches in Finland are different than school lunches in America. First of all, they are free, and the cooks actually make them, not reheat.

Today lunch consisted of potatoes and a meat sauce. We found a place to seat, and we began to eat. Before I could get the first bite into my mouth, it fell into my lap, staining my kaki pants. Way to go me.

And so went my first day at the lukio (like a high school).

All Girls are Princesses

Assumption: All little girls want to be princesses. FALSE.

The assumption may be false, but only because some female infants are brainwashed to think they want to be something else, such as: spies, policemen, mailmen, or dolphins....

Fortunately for you, not only did I want to be a princess, I am.

So, like what any fifteen-year-old princess would do when trapped in a city of foreigners, I took refuge in what princesses love most: clothes. =)

I went to the shopping center today with my two new friends, Pihla, and Annu. We spent four hours going store-to-store, making fun of ridiculous clothing, finding some wow outfits, and ultimately buying a grill flipper, but leaving the lobster hat to be claimed by someone whose need was even greater. How kind. =)

....So the next time you hear a little girl say that she doesn't want to be a princess, you know something is wrong, and you should begin looking for the jar (the one they're keeping her brain in....) for every girl wants to be a princess.

Confession: I googled.

Rainy Day Tellings

The last couple of days we were invited to members' houses for lunch! =) Thursday, we went blueberry picking with the family too. Yesterday, with the other family, we had root beer floats! =)

Last night, I was the last one (in my room of Merinda, mikaela, and our little cousin) to go to sleep. I noticed that the window wasn't open, and it gets really hot in our room, so I opened the door to the balcony. During the night, it started raining, not like sprinkling either. RAINING. So I had to get out of bed and close the balcony door because of the noisy rain.

This morning, my dad, grandmother, mom, and sister went to a bakery and got us munkki (s), a sort of doughnut pastry, with jam inside, and covered in sugar! =)

After eating these yummies, I tried to write some more, but I got distracted, talking to Tirosh... No, actually, I was looking at the pictures on our computer, and I found this cute one....well, it is kind of hard to be cute at midnight, but still. =)

...So, we were supposed to go to Lehtisaari (an island) today, but because of the weather, I'm not so sure that we're going.

Hope you guys are having a sunny summer.

Oh, so the school that I'm going to go to is Lyseon Lukio. Well, that's the one that I'm thinking I'm going to, at the moment.

Hey, it's yellow. Who wouldn't want to go there? =)

Copper-Haired and Harry

Copper-haired me:

My dear, loving, kind mother, graciously cut and dyed my hair for the fourth time.

...and then when I took these pictures for my blog, Jonathan, oh-so-lovingly made fun of me.

In Black and White
And my favorite B&W picture

Yesterday, Jonathan and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

It was fantastic! ...though I don't know why it was only rated PG. ..?

Anyways, my favorite part was just before the above picture, when Harry has just taken the "liquid luck." =) Love it!!!

If you haven't seen it, see it ASAP!!

Missing you guys bunches!

p.s. mom, no more correcting my blogs: you're the foreigner, remember?

Hannah's Final Finnish Photos

Greetings from Finland! Sorry I haven't been writing much, but in a house of six people, it's kind of hard to find a time when the computer is free. =)

So, these are the pictures that I haven't been able to put on my blog yet.

The beginning of the Finland adventure.

Myrskykallio-- =)

It's sort of like the beach, if the beach were made out of boulders, and were on an island.

Hannah and I walked the grounds of the temple while my mom and her friend were in a session. The temple is beautiful!!

Our new ward had a crepe party. The crepes were delicious, the weather was a bit rainy, and the bugs were all over us!!

So, Hannah and I had the crazy idea to cover our faces, but we only had our scarves...

When we finally arrived in Jyväskylä, we found a park a block or two away from the apartment. Mikaela named it the "train park", for obvious enough reasons.

Hannah left yesterday, the 17th.

Harry Potter came out yesterday. I haven't seen it yet.

My grandmother and aunt from the U.S. arrive in Finland today.

They come to Jyväskylä next Wednesday.

Today is karkkipäivä, or "candy day."

I haven't been to a bookstore yet.

I'm not sure why.

I have a library card! =)

Last summer, I read 14 books all the way through.

This summer, I have read one whole book, My Sister's Keeper.

I'm slipping.

I'm missing my home,

my friends,

my Kimmi,

my room,

the library,

the movie theater,

the church building,

and all my church friends.

The youth in this ward sort of keep to themselves,

so of course I feel great.

Hope you all are having a fantastic summer.

Missing you all,

Matilda

Poll for Hiukset

Hello fellow friends!! Sorry I haven't been on for a while, but we didn't have internet for almost a week. ... I know. It was just as hard as you think it would be. =)

Anywho. I've been writing more. I actually think that I have the beginnings to a new story, so I'm excited! I've also been debating what to do with my hair. As you can see in the below picture, it's getting... "out of control," as hannah puts it. So, I will think about it a little more, and if any of you have any suggestions, questions, or warnings (such as I shouldn't dye my hair purple....actually, not a bad idea. =)) then I will take suggestions for...hm. maybe a week, and then I'll try to get something done to my hair.

Hope you all are having a FANTASTIC summer vacation!!! Love you all!

. oh, by the way, "hiukset" is "hair" in Finnish

Catching Up

Okay, so I don't really remember what I posted last time, so I'll just give a brief summary over the past week.
Thursday-- We swam in the Baltic Sea. So COLD!! Then my mom, Han, and I went to the temple. It was beautfiul. I absolutely love it!
Oh, at the beach, my legs burned a lovely shade of pink.
Friday-- We went to a lake with my aunt, then went to her work with her.
Saturday--Was my cousin's baptism. It was just our family, but it was nice.
Today--We went to church. A lady came up to me and spoke in English. She had noticed how we had the same shoes! =) Then Han and I saw her a few more times after that! It was fun. She was from the States, visiting her parents who were here.
We just ate, and now we're watching a movie--Mansfield Park.
Okay, that's all. We go to Jyväskylä on Thursday. I'm excited.
Love you guys!

Lazy and Absolutely Lovin' It!

Good...evening friends!
So today, I really didn't do much. Hannah and I watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (which I've already seen, and hate the ending by the way, but we watched it anyways), we read a bit, and Hannah finished her book, My Sister's Keeper. She said it was good, but then she cried a little, so I'm not sure...
We did go outside though. There's this bench swingy thingy outside, and we were there for like 40-50 minutes, and it was really nice outside.
And that's all about today, so I'll tell you what we did yesterday.
The day before yesterday Hannah said that she really wanted to go to the mall, so we decided that we would go yesterday (Monday).
We took the metro, or the subway--however you prefer-- to the center. We shopped for about 4 hours. Hannah found three different things: two dresses, and a skirt. I found a matching summer dress as her, but a different color. I think it's pretty cute. =)
During our shopping time, we ate at Kebab Palace in the mall. (It's not really a palace, so don't let it fool you.) We split one plate 'cause it was HUGE, and we ended up each only paying about 3.25 euros for it.
Shopping was fun, and the mall was insanely filled with stores, but we were soon tired out, so we decided to restock on candy and head home.
Getting back was fairly easy. It was the same as getting there, only opposite. Also the fact that we accidentally went onto the wrong platform threw me off. No worries, though--I knew you were worried--I read the signs as soon as we went down to the platform, and noticed immediately, and we made it to the right one before the metro came.

And so, that was our adventure. It was rather...great. I guess I'll keep you posted if anything else exciting happens. =) Here's the picture of the dresses! Post again soon! Love you guys!!

Loss or Gain?

I know the feeling of loss. Ever since I was in elementary school, I have steadily lost friends each year, whether it was because they moved away or because we found we were no longer interested in the same things. It was the hardest when we changed schools.
But even then, I made friends. First I found someone who despised the same things that I did--Science and Social Studies. =) (Science hasn't exactly gotten better, has it Em?) Then, I met all of the friends--yes, you guys, Abs, Meelim, and Anne-- and it helped that I knew Alane already.
Transition was easier to High School. I wasn't losing anybody.
Even now, I don't feel I've lost anybody.
I know that I can't see you guys, but I want you to know how much you all have affected me and my life. I can now do things, face challenges that I probably wouldn't have been able to do without the help from friends.
As the song in Lion King sings, ¨the circle of life,¨ as it is. Life goes on--high school will be different when I come back, and I'm a bit scared, but it will all be all right-- we continue to lose people, but we never quite forget them. They always leave a part of themselves with us. From each of you I've found a strength (that will hopefully stay with me for a while). I've learned patience, though I still continue to perfect it. I've also found that in this world of preps, and nerds, geeks, and loners, that nobody's opinion matters more than your own. So, I hope that as you continue your journey of life, you don't worry about what others think, and start doing what you love.
And I love you guys, so I will continue filling you in on what you are missing.. =)

Dangers, Hotties, and Records

Before I start, I just have to say that I have 2 followers, and even though they may be the same person, I am super excited. Okay, here we go!

Hey guys!! Yesterday was Juhannuus (maybe not spelled that way?), a holiday, and we went to this grill party thing. It was pretty fun. Let's see: we got there around fourish, only getting there was rather interesting. My mom and I were going to switch seats, she was getting into a different car, and I was going to move to the front. My mom got out, and I put my leg out of the car, only I didn't get a chance to get out. My grandma pushed on the accelerator, and I completely flipped out of the car. Now I know what you're thinking, Matilda being flipped out of a car with her balance, oh dear! But, no worries. I'm alive!...for now.
When we were almost there, we took a wrong turn, and when my grandmother tried to turn around, she hit a tree. ...I survived that one too.
Okay, at the party, I bonded a bit with my cousin while he tried to fish, and while Hannah was in the sauna (a sort of hot room). We ate food, we swang on tire swings--which I pretty much love now!
Oh, okay. So, my brother went to a friend's house after the party. His friend (who, by the way rides a motorcycle) and his parents came to the party so that Jonathan could go with them afterwards. Anyways, this guy is totally gorgeous (Anne, that's one for you... =)) and my friend Hannah was soo into him--well, actually she wasn't, but I did keep teasing her about him. It was rather entertaining, sorry hannah.
After this gathering, my mother, Hannah, grandmother, and I went to this vacation-type island, and Han., mom, and I walked to the other side of the island, to Myrskykallio, and we got some great shots (I'll put the pictures up soon...the computer doesn't like my camera).
ATTENTION: SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM MATILDA
For all of you who think that I fall asleep really early, I have news for you. I didn't go to sleep until 2:30 in the A.M. =) hehe. Well, that is also because we didn't get home until just before two.
Also, Hannah and I slept until noon, which is a record I'm not particularly proud of, but now I can say that I have slept until noon.
And that brings us to today. My sister had two meltdowns, and wishes she were back in Ohio. It's REALLY cold and super windy, and the computer doesn't like me.
So, I hope I didn't bore you too much with this, and if you actually did read the whole thing, then you are an absolute saint, and deserve...a prize, which I will get back to you on...later...
Hope you guys are all having the best summer, and not worrying too much about summer reading.
Love you guys,
Matilda

p.s. By the way, I do have pictures, and I will get them on here as soon as I can (or as soon as jonathan brings back the other computer! =))

Finally in Finland

Hello!! We have made it safely! (actually, we got here yesterday. I'm just a bum and didn't write yesterday, sorry... ) We had an 11-hour layover in Boston. Guess what we did! We reserved a room at this amazing hotel, except when we got there we were redirected downstairs.. it was kind of a shock. Anyways, there was a pool, and we swam for an hour or two.. then we went to UNO a chicago grill, and we got a pizza! Typical, right? Go to a different state, and get a pizza. Aah.. I love it!
Okay, then we went back to the airport, flew to Iceland, then flew to Finland, and here we are. Pa*chow!
Now we've already seen our cousins, two of our aunts, and my grandma. I'd say we're on a roll... haha, which brings us to this morning. =)
Hannah and I went to sleep close to eleven at night, and didn't wake up (mind you, with a lot of help from my mother) at quarter to noon. Let's just say that mommy's not the happiest, but hey- is it really our fault? I don't think so... =)
So I hope all of you are having a great summer, whether you are in California, Ohio, or somwhere lost in your own little world, and that I will be seeing you in...about a year!
Love you guys mucho!

By The Rush of the Wrong Pond

=) I have to admit: I didn't actually think that we would do something before I left, but you guys proved me wrong. =) It was really fun, so Thank You! Here are the pictures from the "wrong pond" (alane...or was it the right pond?). 

The fake pond

...  and Alane's foot by the fake pond.    

They found us!

  Anne and Alane. =) 

hehehe...Tirosh        

 Aww...we're so cute. =D

 Haha..I love how the guy's like "Okay, now a funny one", and only a few of us do it...well, Tirosh got a little too much into it... watch out Katie!

EMILIE's ready for a swim..anyone else up for it?

 ...why did everyone else leave?

Aw, guys! That was so much fun! 

Emilie, sorry I didn't get out the camera at the park...I forgot. =(  But how awesome would those pictures have been... =)

  I'm going to miss you guys soooo soooo sooo much!! At least I can get on the computer and look at pictures of us everyday all year long!!! =) 

Thanks for being awesome friends, and have a very-nearly-awesome sophomore year! 

Love you guys!