We moved to Oulu, Finland in January of this year. Moving was such a sudden decision. This brought on a lot of stress the few weeks before we moved on top of recovering from the birth of Leah.
We had to pack up our house and move out while trying to fit everything we needed for six months into a few suitcases. You would be surprised how hard it is to decide what to bring and what to leave behind. I was worried how the kids would react to moving and leaving their friends and family that I tried to bring everything familiar to them such as toys and games, etc. Turns out all they needed was the computer and a few cars and blocks. I plan on leaving a lot of toys here with friends. You can't get the same selection of toys here as in the US and the price is about twice as much for the toys you can get.
Anyways, the trip over on the airplane was something I would rather forget due to the kids behavior and the overall length of the trip. I was ready to turn around and come home as soon as we started driving from the Oulu airport and seeing all the Finnish signs, stores, and scenery. Everything seemed so unfamiliar and I was pretty shell shocked.
When we got to our house though, the Relief Society had already come and brought home made rolls, spaghetti sauce, and cereal. That has been the tone since we got here. Everyone has been very welcoming and concerned about our well being.
We went out the next day to explore our front yard and our part of the neighborhood. The boys loved to snow toys that were awaiting us in the front yard. It turns out the house we are renting is from a family who is living in the US for awhile getting their pilot's license and they have two kids the same age as ours. So there are lots of snow toys around for them to play with. We also went to the park that is really close to our house. The boys loved going on this tire pendulum swing that they have there. All in all we had an eventful trip over here and are enjoying our stay.
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