Helsinki

It has been a little while since I posted an update, so by means of recap, I had a nice, productive business trip to Finland. Lucky for us, they were experiencing the warmest weather ever recorded in Helsinki in March. The high one day was a whopping 17 degrees celsius. Just a smidge cooler than it was in Los Angeles, California that same week! Nothing puts a smile on the face of Finn than the sun shining, let me tell you. Each evening after work in the suburb of Espoo, we'd head into the city center for dinner and walking around. The picture here is of the cathedral in the city center. In front of it stands the only remaining statue in the world of a Russian Czar. I forget how close Finland is to Russia and of their intermingled past.

So, I didn't bring back Douglas a hamster. I did bring him a stuffed animal reindeer (only seemed appropriate) and a package of Skittles that were in the tube shape. And, of course, an "I Love Mommy" shirt for Claire. :)