Green Cards

This month we celebrated the arrival of our long awaited Green Cards, which really are green! We are four of one million people who will be approved for a Green Card this year so that's something to celebrate!

Our life is no longer reliant on Dan's current employment contract which eases the pressure when he has a bad day at the office. Permanent residency means we can live and work anywhere in the US and can breeze through airport security without breaking into a sweat every time they ask for our finger prints.

This Thursday the UK public take to the polls to elect a new Prime Minister. Having retained our right to vote I have watched the televised debates and listen with interest to the issues surrounding UK immigration because we have spent two and a half years presenting our case for residency to the US Department of Homeland Security. It's interesting to see it from a different perspective. There is an economic clout to the notion of immigration here. Almost 40% of the Californian workforce are immigrants. Our permanent residency doesn't mean financial benefit. We get to live here, work here and can only claim state benefit - if we were to qualify - once we have been paying tax for ten years.

Several people have asked if this means we are now American. For the avoidance of any doubt, Dan will always be English and I will always be Welsh. Isn't that enough of a cultural challenge at the best of times?

A few weeks ago we welcomed my parents into the country in true Welsh style; dressed as daffodils!

I was so proud of the children when one of the BA Cabin Crew yelled over to us in the Arrivals Hall 'Ogi, Ogi, Ogi' and  both children yelled back unprompted 'Oi, Oi, Oi!' They passed the cultural test with flying colours!

Cycling around Redwood Shores

We flew down to Point Loma in San Diego for four nights and stayed near the beautiful America's Cup Harbor (pictured above). We spent time at a hotel called Humphreys which had a small outside concert venue. Casually scrolling through the list of artists due to play there, we were amazed by some of the forthcoming bands due to play! Noel Gallagher, David Gray, Spandau Ballet, the B52s. Click here to see the full list. Dad was thrilled he got to sit in a hot tub the Beach Boys have probably sat in!

I love this photo of Mum laughing at how my Dad got seated between both children on the flight  and had to spend the journey entertaining them and taking them to the loo whilst Mum, Dan and I sat sipping wine together.  We referred to him as 'Nanny Pete' for the rest of the holiday.

We spent a day at Legoland in San Diego

Some gentle rides...

Some wet rides...

Some terrifying rides... (look at Mum, haha!)

Spending the afternoon sitting on Ocean Beach watching waves and burying our feet.

We spent a morning touring USS Midway, the aircraft carrier that served for 47 years during WW2, Vietnam and Desert Storm - the longest serving aircraft carrier of all time. Since being decommissioned in 1992 it serves as a museum and place for private events. Whilst we were there they were setting up the flight deck for a corporate dinner where Sheryl Crow would later be playing - bizarre.

Despite being huge - almost 1000ft long and as high as a 20 story building - I was amazed at how aircraft would have had to land on it, and take off from it - at night, in fog, an airport in the middle of the sea....amazing piloting and captaining skills. 

Whilst we were there we got to tie onto the ship a couple of the 58,300 ribbons of remembrance for those who lost their lives fighting in Vietnam 40 years ago this month.

I love this photo of Annie!

Since getting back from San Diego Annie and Tom have started yoga classes.

It's great being able to watch them both enjoy yoga because I am obsessed by it, taking three classes a week and determined to improve, lean a bit further and hold those poses for longer! 

During her yoga class Annie drew a cat on the yoga mirror. Sitting upright with two front droopy paws and a long tail between its leg, I thought it looked rather like the world's first transvestite cat. Brilliant!

Dan has also been limbering up. Following in the giant golf shoes of Rory Mcllroy the day after he won the World Match Play at Harding Park in San Francisco, Dan got to play the 18 hole course himself. He tells me pin placement was wild and he got a birdie on the 15th. I have no idea what that means, but he seemed happy.

And finally, we are so happy that four of our good friends have had babies in the last few weeks. At one point I was counting five pregnant friends and then remembered that one of those people was Kate Middleton, who is actually not a good friend at all! Gutted as we are not to have new born cuddles with UK based Cameron and Rosie, we are so happy to be in the lives of new babies Ada and Harry, on this side of the pond.

What a great month!