Winter already?

During our early morning Skype sessions with family we have been surprised to see how dark it has been by mid afternoon in the UK. We have heard about cold temperatures and frosty mornings. Despite the welcome sight of rain here, temperatures have remained quite warm - around 15 degrees. We certainly don't miss British winters!

We took full advantage of the warm sunshine in October to travel to San Diego for a family holiday.

San Diego is California's second largest city, around 25 miles north of the Mexican border, and around 500 miles south from our home. Annie did a brilliant job road cycling over some of the many bridges that connect the waterways of the Mission Bay lagoon, where we stayed. And Tom loved his Weehoo!

This was our second trip to San Diego, the first being last Christmas when we didn't venture out of our lovely hotel. So this time we hired a 'car' and explored as much of the city as possible.

One of the highlights of our trip was a visit to the world famous San Diego Zoo. Over the 100 acre site you can see 3,700 animals, including this spectacular leopard. Annie took her sketch pad with her and settled down to draw some spots!

Since we moved here I have developed a fear of Mountain Lions. We heard that one surfaced in the street we used to live in, wandering around the front gardens...eek....here I am facing my fear at the zoo.

The zoo is a world pioneer in cageless exhibits, and there is a gondola lift that gives an ariel view of the animals. The views of pandas and gorillas was pretty awesome! 

We visited Legoland - our first family trip to a theme park.

We hadn't realized the need to take towels with us, so got completely soaked on several rides, including the Pirate Reef. The children and I stripped off into our underwear before the roller coaster took us up high - all too aware of how wet we might get on the way down! Dan stayed in his t-shirt and shorts only to find himself ringing them out afterwards and having to step back into sodden clothes....

Tom running around in underpants.

By far the best part of our week was playing in the sea at Mission Bay every afternoon. The photos don't do it justice - the 70 mile San Diego coastline is breathtaking. It was so much fun jumping over waves and trying to keep standing holding each other's hands as the waves came crashing in.

In other news, winter has been a long time coming for my brother and his girlfriend. It has taken more than ten months for Andrea's visa to be processed to allow her re-entry into the UK from her home in Colombia. She was studying for her Masters in London when she met Mike and it's been a challenging time waiting for confirmation that they can be together. Being able to be with the person you love is something we can so easily take for granted, and because our life here is visa dependent we are all too aware of the restraints of immigration red tape! Knowing that they can marry and start a life together is the best news we've had this year!

Mike and beautiful Andrea just after she landed in the UK last month. They will marry on Valentine's Day next year.

We still remain reluctant to give huge celebration for Halloween but did dress the children up for their school party, and hosted a dinner at home with some friends, dressing up as the Royal Family to knock on a few neighbors doors!

Did you hear that Tom Jones came to play a concert a few miles from my home? Just for me! The children and I spent time with friends at Shoreline Amphitheater celebrating Tom's Welshness, even if everyone else thought he was American! See here for his real motive: Why Tom Jones Really Came to Palo Alto

A perfect winter's evening watching Tom Jones, and other great bands including Brian Wilson - who I suspect by his performance died a few years ago and is just wheeled out in an anorak to play California Girls every now and again.

Annie is still loving art. She took a few sheets of colored paper and told me she was going to make something to surprise me, later appearing in an entire paper outfit - including belt and shoes! When I told her she should take it into school to show her art teacher she turned and said 'but it's December Mummy, I don't go to school in December!' Nice try Annie.

Dan went to his first Tailgate party before one of the 49ers games at their new Levi stadium. He was surprised by how much alcohol people were drinking before the game. This surprised me because I have yet to see any evidence of the British drinking culture here. When someone invites you out for a drink they mean a drink. A single glass. Naturally, three years in and I'm still acclimatizing to this. 

The tailgate party at the Levi Stadium parking lot

The seven friends Dan went with had bought the RV between them and removed the bathroom and beds, converting it into a pub on wheels basically! There was a flat screen TV with satellite hooked up behind the driver so they all watched soccer on the journey down. Dan said it was a bit surreal sitting in a stadium parking lot, eating BBQ'd ribs, watching people getting into drunken fights and be arrested whilst enjoying Spurs on the TV. He claimed it reminded him of a night out in Bridgend.

Thanksgiving with some Brits - including one family who just moved here from our old stoping ground in Berkshire. Our community midwife Jacqui, who I stay in touch with, connected us when she heard that Jo and her family were moving here.

Minutes after Thanksgiving ended, it was all about Black Friday. Most people I know went to the beach to avoid shopping malls, but we see that the crazy tradition has spread across the Atlantic. And without much notice Christmas is suddenly here. A smaller tree for us this year to accommodate our tighter living space, but still covered in things that remind us of family and happiness and the children - the way a real tree should be decorated! 

The Elf on the Shelf has joined us this year, hiding himself every morning for us to find. One morning he was sunk down into the box of cornflakes, with only his head showing, and another time he had pulled all the toilet roll off and was hiding underneath a pile of it in the bathroom!

And there it is - Christmas is here!

Perhaps my favourite hiding place was when we discovered him wearing swimming goggles and hanging out with Barbie and her mates in the pool of her cruise ship. See - even the Elf on the Shelf is trying to avoid winter!