There are seasons here!

I wondered what the seasons would be like in southern California: does it get cold, do the leaves change, is it dark by 5:00? The answer to all of those questions is yes. It gets cold at night (meaning the high 40's, low 50's) but still in the 70's during the day. I laugh that all the department stores change their clothing just like in Ohio. Everyone is selling sweaters and winter coats although I'm not sure who is buying! I love going running in the morning and crunching on dry leaves on the sidewalks. I was able to enjoy fall in Ohio and now it looks like I get it all winter here!

After that great weather report, here's the rest of the news:

I'm happy to report that we accomplished the 3 things I ended our last blog entry hoping to do.

The Beach

It's great having a neighbor who has access to one of the nicest private beaches in the area. And since they have 7 kids, there's a friend for everyone! Plus, he remembers to bring his camera and takes pictures of our kids.

Jumping off a cliff onto the sand and since you can't see how high it is, we'll say it was 20 feet!

Brooke had the flu but still wanted to "go beach" so she and I just watched and prayed that she wouldn't throw up again. Brigham was still recovering from having it the previous week.

Disneyland

It's so fun to get to see how they decorate the theme parks for each holiday and add some special effects for Halloween. We are so happy that Brooke is overcoming her fear of dressed-up characters. She will now tolerate them at a distance. It's interesting how the tame rides like Winnie the Pooh and Snow White terrified her, but she actually did OK on the scary ones like Thunder Mountain Railroad, the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Of course she really didn't have a choice since we just dragged her with us. She would say "all done" and "go home" during the entire wait, but luckily it wasn't crowded and the lines were short!

Even the carousel horses are a little too much for her!















I didn't want one more sword in the house anyway.

Unpacking

As far as the 3rd goal...I did clear enough room in the garage to park the van, at least for a few weeks. Then I bought a new dining room set before selling our old one. So we'll just say we can eat dinner now in the garage if we want to, but I'm parking in the driveway again!

Brittany found me like this after a long day of unpacking.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of year, but as I get older, I find I like it less and less. The whole coming up with costumes thing is becoming more of a challenge. This year was especially hard for me since I thought I was doing good by even finding the Halloween boxes. I could have kissed Brittany's new friends when they asked her to be a nerd with them. How easy is that? And Brigham was a good sport to just wear his costume from last year (and I think the year before that!).

Barr's Jesus wig came in handy for a quick hippie costume 5 minutes before a Halloween dance we "forced" Ben to attend.

Our neighborhood had a block party before trick-or-treating with fun activities and yummy food. Ben almost won the pumpkin seed spitting contest and Brittany helped me with the mummy wrap game.

November flew by. The kids enjoyed a week off of school for Thanksgiving break so we tried out California Adventure one of the days.

We're glad to have one of my aunts and her family living close by, and were grateful they came over for Thanksgiving. I was also grateful they didn't seem to mind the lumpy gravy and hard potatoes. Brittany was determined to have all 13 of us fit around one table (she hates having a kids table since she misses out on all of the adult conversation), and after an hour of rearranging seats, she did it. She also did such a beautiful job setting the table and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of it until it was all cleared off! That's why I need a grandma or a sister here: to take the pictures, make the gravy, and go shopping with me on black Friday! When I told Brittany I wasn't going to go this year, she excitedly said she would go with me. For years she has watched me pour over the ads and strategically plan out our course for the much anticipated yearly ritual of madness. I couldn't disappoint her, so at 4:30 am we grabbed our bananas, chocolate and ads and headed out for what was a very fun and productive 6 hour shopping spree.

Kid update:

Ben and Brittany are adjusting well to their new schools. Brigham appreciates the concern many of you have shown for his difficult class situation. After many discussions with the principal and teacher, he has decided to stick it out and try to make the best of it. The tears are coming less frequently and he is starting to make some friends. We're trying to be optimistic about the future.

Brooke enjoyed 6 weeks in a preschool program. After Thanksgiving break, on the recommendation of the school, we switched her to a special needs kindergarten class. They want her to be with kids her own age. It's been a big adjustment for her since they follow the academic curriculum of the typical kindergarten class. It's still hard for me to say goodbye to her every morning seeing how nervous she is. I'm still not convinced this is the correct place for her. Most of the kids are reading and they have homework every day. Brooke just learned how to say "homework" but she thinks it just means Brigham crying. Her second day the teacher called me and said Brooke had an accident. I started getting nervous thinking she fell or was hurt. By "accident" the teacher meant she needed her diaper changed. I don't consider it an accident when she's not potty trained yet. The bus takes her home which is nice for me, but when I get her off, she just hugs me in the driveway for a long time. I wish I could explain to her why we're doing this...it is for her own good, right? We're doing a 45-day trial placement and then we can reevaluate our options.

Now it's December. The lights are up, the elves have arrived easing Brigham's concern that they couldn't find us, and I can't wait to write my next blog. It's the most wonderful time of the year.....