2008 Recap

I finally decided it was time to start the Sirota Family blog! Like many of you, Alex and I have Facebook and MySpace accounts but I like the idea of the blog much better. Since we are new to the blogging arena it seemed like a good idea to recap 2008 for you. So, here goes...

We rang in 2008 in Levi, Finland. In case anyone reading this is a winter sports fan, you'd love Levi. Check out the cities website at http://www.levi.fi/en/home.html. Levi is only a 2.5 hour drive from my house so let me know if you ever feel like hopping on a few flights to come for the winter. We had our spring break (or ski holiday as it's called here in Finland) also in Levi. Luckily for me we didn't take any pictures of me skiing. I've skied in the Alps, in the fells of Sweden and in Levi's Championship slopes but I've always hated it. I prefer cross-country skiing to downhill any day!

In late March through early April, we took the trip we've been dreaming about. We went to Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan. We travelled to lots of places but that was quite possibly one of my favorite trips of all times! Japan is an amazing country, from the architecture, technology, food to the people...it was just great! I had the best sushi of my life and saw some beautiful landmarks - we visited Mt. Fuji too. We also had the good fortune of being in the country during the one week of the year when Cherry Blossoms bloomed. Since we had exhausted ourselves with history and culture for most of the trip, we decided to spend one of our last days visiting something a little less Japanese, we went to Disneyland Tokyo. It was great but we didn't know that it was spring break across the entire country. As you can imagine, it seemed like every child in Japan was there. It was still really fun and really cute to see them get so excited about the rides and Mickey Mouse. I'll add a few pictures later but they're on Alex's laptop at the moment.

After a tough spring/summer at work we decided to take a little trip to the US to visit my family and to go to my 10 year High School Reunion. Unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to visit our friends since we decided to also visit Jamaica while we were there. On our first weekend at home we visited Holcomb High School for the reunion. I cannot believe it's already been 10 years! It was, for the most part, the first time I've seen most of my classmates since graduation. I had such a nice time getting caught up with all of my old and dear friends.

We celebrated Alex's birthday on the 25th of June while enjoying fantastic weather. It sure beats Finnish weather! Then we celebrated the 4th of July with my family in Tennessee. After a short, jam-packed trip to the US we had to head back to Finland. I'm already planning my next trip home.

Holcomb High School Class of 1998 - Yes, it was a small class

My dear old friends

4th of July, 2008: Dad bought Alex the t-shirt

Vacation time ended and it was time to start back to work. During the early summer my second nephew (& godson) was born, Lukas Alexander Thurman. That meant attending his christening ceremony. Birgitt, my sister-in-law, decided to spend some time in Germany with my nephews, Noah and Lukas, while my brother, Kyle, is in officer training for the Army. Birgitt was kind enough to arrange Lukas' christening for the weekend of my birthday and my Autumn Break at work. In October we were off to Germany. First we visited some dear friends of ours, Jan and Manfred, and had a nice drive through Germany and a nice stay in Nuremburg. From there we went to Neuhaus-Pegnitz for time with my nephews, Birgitt and her family. Alex and I became the godparents of Lukas and I got to spend time with my adorable, and very active other nephew, Noah. We had a great time but it was heartbreaking to leave. When children are involved it makes living such distances away from your loved ones even harder. It's definitely something to consider when we choose to move again.

Alex with Jan and Manfred in Germany

In case you're wondering why I'm wearing a puffer coat during the christening it's because it was really cold that day and I hadn't expected I'd need a coat in church so I didn't bring anything dressier. Too bad I didn't remember that the churches were built a few hundred years before our convenient heating systems were developed...

With Noah (in front) and baby Lukas

Of course many more things happened throughout 2008 but I don't want to bore you...any more than I already have. We ended the year again in Levi, Finland since Alex's company receives most of it's business in that resort town and this is the high tourism season. I'm starting to think of it as a home away from home. I'll add some pictures of Levi later.