G * R * E * A * T

P-DAY.....

We started the day off by meeting up with the Michie's, Groberg's and Mäkinen's and heading down to SEURASAARI OPEN-AIR MUSEUM about 20 minutes from Espoo.......

What a great place it is! This was our third time there....but the first for everyone else. We felt like their personal tour guide. We did not have time to stay for the English Tour because Veli Michie had the Asuntola Desk Duty and had to be back by about 3:30 p.m. Plus we had Veli Vorimo's birthday party at their home this evening as well!! Just not enough hours on a P-Day!

We had a little 'group' picture taken not long after we entered the park.....we were under a 'food house'.....called such so the animals would not get the food stored inside! Clever folks....

Small world story about the folks who took the pictures (pictured above)......the one in the middle is a Finn with the couple on either side of her being from Mexico. They asked where we were all from.....Washington D.C. (people know where that is quicker than Maryland!), Utah and Idaho. They had all lived in Utah while attending college! Where?? BYU!!! NO way!! YES WAY!! They were all three there on athletic scholarships and were NOT members of the church! Hard to believe!! How fun to talk with them.....Of course we invited them to come see us at the Helsinki Temple in Espoo!!!

Onward and Upward to see the sights around.....

The church above is the OLDEST building on the Island.....built in the mid-1600's. It is just a beautiful church and still in really good condition.....

Could NOT believe this little cookout going on!!! Some Finn had caught a fish and was cooking it 'up' while he went 'somewhere'........with his sausage cooking on top of the fish......and who on earth put the cigarette in the fish's mouth!! This was right along side of the lake.

THEN.......IN THE AFTERNOON IT WAS ON TO THE VORMIO'S HOME FOR A BIRTHDAY DINNER FOR VELI VORMIO!!

And who did we find cooking his very own Birthday Dinner!!! Kyllä... Veli Vormio himself!

The food was EXCELLENT......Sisar Vorimo is a great cook! And it shows with the great variety of foods she had.....

The day was absolutely PERFECT......albeit warm......

Sisar Vormio was showing me some of the foods she has growing in her garden. She is quite the little 'green thumb' as well!!

And the desserts were just as good as the main dinner!

Got home about 8:30 p.m. and the sun was just right for a picture with the beautiful flowers just outside the asuntola main door.....

And look who 'found' me as soon as I walked in the door.....KATYA SVIRIDOVA from Barnaul, Russia. She is here to receive her own endowment and she has asked me to be her escort!!! I feel very privileged to have been asked. Her mother is unable to come because of 'things' at home. We got to know her last fall when she came to participate in baptisms. She is so wonderful.....you will hear more about her throughout the week!!! And there are SO many other wonderful friends here with the ROSTOV group this week.....this will be a HARD week because we have to say GOOD-BYE at the end of the week. They will be off to the Kiev Temple next month! Not Fun!! :-(