Squeezing It In

Annie and Tom normally get to enjoy a two month summer holiday from school. Since we took them out of school a month early to travel to the UK this year it meant we have been able to enjoy a mammoth three month break from school this summer!

So, having spent eight weeks apart, and then enjoying two weeks with Dan's sister, we got to squeeze in another month of family summer time!

And this is some of what we have got up to:

We tried ice skating with friends - you could quickly identify the Canadians!

I have tried bouldering. It's a kind of rock climbing but without ropes or a harness. 

This is the moment we discovered chalk! The first time I tried bouldering my arms ached so much I struggled to undress. I'm told it's all about using 'core strength' - if you have any!

After buying Annie a bike for her birthday we also bought one for me - hooray! And have been enjoying the beautiful flat Redwood Shores trails ever since. 

We cycle to the local shops, and I take Tom to his weekly football class on my bike. One weekend the four of us managed to cycle 18 miles - an amazing achievement for little Annie (and me to be honest!)

I squeezed into a friends cocktail dress for a wedding on the East Bay last month. Unfortunately as I bent down to do up my shoes I burst out of it again. Eternally grateful for a back up dress in the suitcase, we enjoyed celebrating the marriage of Dan's colleague at sunset in amongst the peach farms at Easley Family Farm. 

This is a ballet outfit of mine that I can clearly no longer squeeze into! Thirty years since it was last worn by me at Danceworks, Bridgend, it now belongs to Annie who wears it to her weekly ballet and tap classes.

September is always one of the warmest summer months and this year the heatwave has spilled into October. We have experienced the warmest year on record for California - temperatures of up to 100 degrees (almost 38 degrees celsius). Whilst we shouldn't complain, those kind of temperatures day after day in a top floor apartment without air conditioning are not pleasant. And neither do they help the devastating drought conditions.

Annie and I cycling through the 'grass' trails in Redwood Shores; it's shockingly scorched.

A state of emergency has been declared, and our current imported water supply will be cut back in the next 12 months. Fruit farmers are seeing their trees wither away, enormous amounts of farmland remains unplanted. If you buy Californian fruit or nuts expect prices to rise considerably! The drought - which shows no sign of ending soon - is expected to cost the economy $2.2 billion and could see around 17,000 people lose their jobs. It's truly devastating, and we are doing all we can to save water every day. Including opting out of ice bucket challenges!

Annie and Tom have both enjoyed the start of school. Tom attends a home based Montessori pre school and is enjoying his three mornings a week. Annie is in first grade and finally gets to stay in school for lunch!  Annie's teacher is wonderful, and has given Annie an enthusiasm for reading which has already improved her skills. It's not all plain sailing; last month Annie told us that she had done a deal with a boy to give him some of her lunch in return for his 'crew' not being mean to her anymore. It was such a shock for us to hear Annie talking this way. When we explained to Annie that she shouldn't be forced to give away food or do deals for friendship she refused to allow us or her teacher to step in and asked if she could sort it out herself.

She explained to the boy that he wouldn't be getting any more food and he had to decide whether to be her friend or not. She was very clear to him that he had been wrong. He hung his head in shame and went home to think about it.

It transpires that the boys family have since relocated out of the area. He actually never returned to the school. Annie is now the class hero who 'disposed' of the class gang leader with her choice words! She has legendary status!

Tom walking into school on his first day.

Annie on her first day - claiming to want to be a metal work artist and spy when she grows up. Nice and discreet.

We watched with bated breath to see whether Scotland would achieve independent status. Annie seemed to appreciate the process and implications. Having recently read about the Garden of Eden at Sunday School she asked us whether a vote for independence would see all Scottish people replaced with Adam and Eve. Get rid of all the Scots and start again? Some might argue that could have been part of a campaign plan!

We have recently made the decision to squeeze ourselves into our small apartment for a bit longer. Despite it being a fast growing property market these over inflated prices mean that what we can afford to buy probably won't work for us. Although our deposit seems huge to us, many people are moving here as cash buyers making it incredibly competitive. We have been advised not only to have a 20% deposit and associated buying costs, but to budget to pay for the sellers to live in the property for a few months after purchase. The market is moving so quickly that sellers don't have time to find a place to move to. We were also advised that some buyers don't undertake all the required surveys on a property since it can slow the process down and you need your sealed bid to 'stand out'. Crazy.

A few weeks into our mortgage application, Visa announced another restructure. Some staff were given 30 minutes to leave the office which is so sad (no European employment rights here!) Thankfully, Dan's job is secure, but it was an unsettling time. Despite our 'green card' status being approved, the paperwork process is on-going with biometric testing due soon. If Dan's employment was terminated on our current L1 and L2 visa status, there is no grace period; we would have to leave the country immediately. That's the kind of worry that keeps you awake at night, which is never good. Right now, it makes sense to keep life flexible.

Having recently had all our stored furniture delivered to us we have had to downsize considerably. We have moved from 3000 square ft into 900 square ft. The process has been really liberating! We haven't missed most of what we stored anyway, and we really love our apartment and the Redwood Shores area. The truth is, we have never lived in such a small space before (well, not since Dans grand London palace in 'St. Reatham') but we have never been happier. Since moving to California our focus has become less on what we live in, and more on how we live. We are now making some exciting plans for the next year, continuing to make the most of our life here - squeezing in as much fun as we can whilst this amazing life lasts!