Fall

I told you Fall was only around the corner!

In case you didn't know it's Halloween next week. You can't fail to miss it here. I have had several conversations with my friends about this celebration. I'm trying to understand it's huge appeal in California. Let me run it past you for clarity. Maybe it's just me.

We spend most of the year telling our children to avoid strangers, not to eat too many sweets, not go out after dark, or open the door to people we dont know. Bad dreams are the stuff of nightmares. And then we dress them up in scary outfits, send them into the neighborhood to knock on strange doors and ask them to shout 'trick or treat' at old people. In our local Safeway they are selling sacks for sweets. Giant bin bag sized sacks! We've been told by our neighbours that groups of eager revelers will drive specifically to our neighborhood to get free sweets, as lots of retired people live here and invest in quality candy. What, like a bus trip to the suburbs?

This is when I start frowning. And scratching the side of my head in a state of puzzlement. It's a family tradition you see! An annual event! Just a bit of fun! Yeah right, who are you kidding? I just don't get it.

Pumpkin Season! Look at that juicy one on the right! I could just eat it!

"This one Mummy?"

A 'Pumpkin Patch' - tractor rides, a maze, horse rides and of course pumpkins!

The tractor ride

This week we had our first rain since May. It was amusing to watch Tom gazing up at the sky, blinking into the raindrops, puzzled by it all. It smells fresh, like mornings back in England. And then after the downpour the sun comes out and temperatures climb to 20 degrees and we put our t-shirts and sunglasses on.

You always need your sunglasses in California. This is one of the things we've learnt. Even if it is cloudy in the morning, the sun always comes out eventually. And another thing we've noticed here is that the moon is always in the sky, every day. Annie thinks this is because it doesn't know how to say goodnight.

A quirky thing with the TV is that most of the adverts are for technology related products or services, and they dont dilute the jargon. This is the most hi tech place in the world so why should they? If you have this zip code you are just meant to know about cloud servers and VoIP technology! Dan and I dont understand most of the adverts. We've actually just cancelled our TV service. Too much money for too much 'trash'. (Subsequently, anyone wishing to post us the next series of Downton Abbey  on DVD will be top of the Christmas card list!)

A Sunday at the Bay Discovery Museum. http://www.baykidsmuseum.org/
When you've seen one bridge you've seen them all, right?

Tom in the 'toddler' section of the museum -
only in this part of the world would they invest millions into a museum for toddlers!

Annie in the gravel pit - digging for England?

Enjoying the view from the other side of the bridge

Annie had three weeks off from school this month for the Fall Vacation. It has been so lovely enjoying time with them both at home. I am making the most of this precious time. She 'got' reading recently, putting the sounds of letters together and wants to spell everything now. We ask Tom what colour a piece of Lego is and Annie spells 'R-E-D' to him, assuming if he puts the sounds together he will realise the colour!  It is so nice watching her thumb through reading books at the library,and read them at night with us. Her school report and teachers 'conference' was excellent, and she has clearly settled in well.

I insist on playing the Enid Blyton Famous Five DVD collection in the car on family drives, in a vain attempt to retain some kind of British accent in our family. All it has achieved so far is that Annie pronounces 'Golly Gosh!' with an American twang and keeps asking if we can get a dog like Timothy. Tom is starting to communicate more with us, pointing at 'trucks' and telling us the oven is 'hot'. They had their annual health checks at the doctors this month, incorporating eye and hearing tests for Annie, and developmental tests for both of them. Each of their appointments took 45 minutes (!), and was incredibly thorough. We need to get the Chicken Pox vaccine for Tom soon, which is standard here, and both children are due to have the Flu vaccine. Last night our doctor called me at home to talk me through the implications of the 'egg' element of the vaccine for Tom who has an egg allergy. The doctor talked for quite a while about it and offered to be there with us when we go in for our appointment. Insurance is expensive, but it is worth the price!

Pumpkin Carving

Woody at the playgroup costume party

Buzz and Woody

I had the Halloween chat with my friend Liz last night. She asked me to remind her about Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th. I explained it is just a British thing, how back in 1605 a chap tried and failed to blow up the House of Lords. Liz seemed confused at why we celebrate a failed treason attempt. She looked a little alarmed when I told her that some people even make a doll called Guy and carry it around in a wheelbarrow asking strangers for a penny towards it. I made a feeble attempt to defend bonfires and sparklers.

Liz starts frowning and scratching the side of her head in a state of puzzlement. Guy Fawkes was a kind of terrorist? And because of him you can buy fireworks in shops? It's a family tradition you see, I tell her. An annual event! Just a bit of fun!

Yeah, right, who are you kidding, she says.

OK. I get it. Let's leave it there shall we?