Grown-ups on the loose

Saturday was Seminary Appreciation Day - once a year the students can leave their children in the care of the church for a day. The kids were treated to games, crafts, movie + popcorn while parents had a day out on their own. We went to the Santa Monica Pier which is another one of those "must see" touristy places...very L.A! It was a very hot and colourful day.

We had lunch at a Forrest Gump themed Seafood Restaurant which was a real treat! If you know the movie, you'll be thrilled by all the detail they've put into the decor.

menus on pingpong bats


summoning a waiter by turning the plates to "stop forrest stop"

Everywhere you look there are people exercising, running , cycling, yoga-ing, training with and with-out personal trainers. They are body-image -obsessed and made us feel quite old, fat and lazy!

Rain and Pumpkins

Big news this week ....IT RAINED!! For someone who has lived in England for 11 years and saw rain very frequently, it was a huge happening to have our first rainfall since coming to the States nearly 3 months ago. The photo shows the Tujunga Wash flowing (it's always bone-dry) about 300 yards from our house.





October sees the shops and markets overtaken by pumpkins. They are everywhere! Most are sold to be carved and used as Halloween decorations.
The one I bought for our home's Autumn display is called a Fairy Tale pumpkin , although to us it looks like a brown version of a real "boerpampoen"!


All the crafts that the children do at school and playgroups are pumpkin-themed.

The only proper autumn leaf I could find - this is California after all, we still have temperatures well into the 30's and can only dream of crisp, cool autumn days...

High Treason to the Crown

I had no say in it , I'm innocent! At playgroup last week, Daniel was called up for his turn at a very American school tradition - pledging allegiance to the flag of the USA. I felt like clutching my throat just as little Jane is doing. Awful moment..


















The cats have made peace at last.
















Daniel, David and Jojo at the Skirball Cultural Centre where we went to see the Noah's Ark exhibit which was full of extraordinary animals made from recycled materials - very creative!

Look who joined our family

This is the new baby in the house! She was given to us by a Korean man in our Biblestudy group who had her a couple of weeks before his allergy got too bad. We named her "Bokkie" because she has the colouring of a Springbok and she likes to jump onto every moving thing!

She is a cutie although Snuggles is not that impressed by her presence. The two of them seem to be getting along better as the days go by.