Sakhalin International School Swimming Gala

Yesterday, Mike participated in the SIS Swimming Gala and it was so fun to watch him. He has come such a long way with swimming. I am hopeful that by the end of the summer he will be able to swim without floats :-) The Gala included P1, P2, and P3 classes and they were split up into three teams with mixed grades. Mike was on the green team. The floats he was using I am told keep him up but it still requires effort on his part to stay up and swim.  

Mike getting ready for his first race! Some of the bigger kids who are more advanced swimmers, swam the full 25 meter length. There were only a handful of these races. All the rest swam the width of the pool in the shallow end.

Mike and Bryan were pitted against each other but still cheered each other on. Hehe they raced for last place :-) The confidence that Mike had in the pool was incredible. He is usually very nervous without his full blown U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation device. He's come a long way. SO proud of this kid! 

Go Mike Go!

He took last (6th place) in his heat. But... I was so proud of his number 6! He go out of the pool and came running up to me screaming "I got 6 mom! I got 6! I did good!"

Next race was backwards. Mike had a bit of difficulty with this one as he kept heading straight for the side of the pool. Lucky for his the older kids were there to steer them back on course!

He used to be so nervous on his back. SO much growth in this kid!

Again, holding down last place but he was all smiles

Next race was a fun one in that they had to sit on the noodle and bounce across the pool

Mike did indeed get 4th ~ However, 3 kids took 3rd so Mike again held down last place :-)

The last race was a team relay race. The little ones sat on a board and the others swam them across. I think this was his favorite race of the day!

They tallied all the races and the Green Team came out on top with more 1st place wins earning the team the coveted Gold Medal! 

Yay Mike!

He was so proud of his 1st place medal.

And here is the prize winning team! Look at these all stars!

This was such a cool event and every swimmer, big and small, did fantastic!

Helsinki, Finland ~City Sites and The Zoo

We booked an city tour through the ship because we didn't know any better. After reading the section on Helsinki in the book, and finding out what port we pier (there are several in each city) I realized that we could easily do this city on our own and did not need go on an organized tour. That's exactly what we did. We cancelled our tour and just got of the ship on our own and took to the city. I immediately fell in love with Helsinki. It was clean, hardly anyone was walking around smoking, people traveled on bikes most places. It was just beautiful. Weather was gorgeous but it was rather hot.  

Kids wanted a picture by this fountain and a passerby felt that we needed a family shot as well :-)

One of the main areas I wanted to see was Market Square. So many local vendors selling everything from fruits and vegetables, to meat on sticks, felting creations, handmade jewelry, knit hats, fur hats... It was great! I wanted to by everything :-)

My sweet CJ was just too cool in his glasses!!! He was a bit cranky because he wanted ice cream. 

Market Square was right on the harbor where we caught a ferry over to the Zoo Island. Zoo did not open until 10am and we had an hour to kill. We walked around the area looking at churches and old buildings.

Much of the architecture reminded me of St. Petersburg. Very similar and same color scheme. 

Uspenski Cathedral ~ Largest Eastern Orthodox church in Western Europe

Next we ventured over to Helsinki Senate Square. This is the Helsinki Cathedral. It was built in honor of the Grand Duke of Finland, which at the time was Czar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known at St. Nicholas Church until Finland gained independence in 1917 when the Russian Dynasty was overthrown 

The University of Helsinki main building located in Senate Square along with a statue dedicated to Emperor Alexander II of Russia

Helsinki Government Palace on the other side of Senate Square

After almost 2 weeks of walking around cities with us, we felt we needed to do something fun for the kids. Helsinki Zoo received lots of good reviews on Trip Advisor, Visit Helsinki, and other blogs I had found on the city. We took the ferry over and enjoyed a little while at the zoo. 

Red Panda's!!!! My favorite!!

It was very warm so many of the animals were not out which was a shame. 

This warthog was happy with life sitting in his mud rolling around

Ahh yes.... Here is my child who, like me, LOVES the Reptile House!!!! She could have sat with this Alligator all day

Ok... Please do not laugh but I am pretty sure this was the first time I have EVER seen a Peacock in real life! I was blown away. I kept following the males around hoping they would fluff up their tail. 

Little female on the bottom. Mike kept asking why some were very beautiful and this one was very ugly. Made for an interesting conversation about beauty and attracting a mate :-)

Clearly someone was THRILLED about the zoo!

Good Bye zoo! Time for some lunch and back to the boat. 

As per usual.... Hard Rock Cafe! I'm on a mission to eat at one in every city we visit throughout our lives. I missed Berlin (It was too far) so I guess that means we have to go back!

Time for some Kid's Club action after dinner for the Pirate Parade. This little dude looks AMAZING!!

Kids really got a kick out of the towel animals!

So long Helsinki! On to Stockholm, Sweden!