After our last race in Lahti, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (we call her Aikku) from the Finnish team had the girls over to her new house to hang out and relax. It was so awesome! She came to one of our training camps last summer and we got to know her really well, and was actually picking out final touches to her house while we were in camp. So it was super fun to see the designs she and her husband picked!
Having not been home since before Christmas, being in a cozy house with friends and being able to really relax and feel at home was the nicest thing ever. We all tried out Aikku’s wooden sauna, and I even made a snow-angel outside (it was REALLY cold that weekend so the snow angel was a speedy one!)
The US crew and Aikku! (photo from Holly)
Now that the season is almost over, there’s a sense of “spring skiing” in the air and everyone’s feeling more relaxed, I think. I get to fly back to Minnesota in exactly a month, and the homesickness hit me like a ton of bricks last weekend. So I taped all the cards I’ve been keeping from friends this season on my wall! It looked a little overwhelming but it sure helped a lot 🙂
My side of the room - taking pieces of home with me!
Yesterday we flew from Helsinki to Oslo, but we’re actually staying outside Oslo in Fornebu right now. It’s really nice to be in Norway, and I love where we’re staying because there’s a great running path along the water that lights up really nice at night. Or maybe I love all the seafood here. Or maybe it’s the way people sound like they’re singing when they talk. Whatever it is, I know it’ll be a fun week, because on the way up to our first training session at the venue we all rocked out to the Shania Twain CD the driver just happened to have! And of course, we got a clip of the van ride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r57jUtfx1Yc&list=UUCRyeHKrnXVF1ssvEuaNs5Q&index=1
Getting ready for spring break soon! (photo from Kikkan)
