Going to California

Mama and Daddy went to California a couple of weeks ago for a friend's wedding. They left us at home with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a good time, but from the pictures it looks like the scenery was better in California. The wedding was in Mendocino, a few hours north of San Francisco on the coast.

The day after Mama and Daddy came back, we bought a house. We've been moving in slowly over the past few days. More to come on that in future posts.

Gee

Daddy took us to the park a few days ago. Yes, we drove there.

It was the park where we had a run in with the geese last year. This time, we kept our distance and just played on the playground. I expressed my position on whether geese were welcome at the playground: "We don't want the geese to come to this place. We don't want anything to be in this place, especially bad things."

But I allowed for a few exceptions: "Turtles... they can be here."

"Snails." (We used to get snails on our back door in London after a good rainfall.)

"Dogs."

"Cats."

"Slides."

"Swings."

"Popcorn."

"Pinecones."

"But not geese."

Then, with my newfound appreciation for plural nouns, and noting that geese is plural: "If it's one, it's gee."

"Uh, it's goose," Daddy said, stifling a giggle.

"Oh."

Preschool

I just finished my first week of preschool. I go to school at a Methodist church down the street. They're going to teach me the alphabet. I haven't had the heart to tell them that I'm already reading (much less writing my own blog).

I admitted to Daddy today that I liked my school in London better.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Trains."

"They had toy trains at your school in London?" he followed, as if to make sure I didn't mean the real train tracks just a pitching wedge from the school there.

"Two."

I do like my new school, though, even if they don't have trains.

Just Keep Swimming

We've been hanging out a lot at Grandma and Grandpa's pool since we got back. McKenzie has taken to the water like McCain to Bush's tired policies. She keeps doing the same thing over and over. Check her out.

For a while I was content to just watch from the sidelines. I'm not that strong a swimmer. But with McKenzie showing me up, I sucked it up and went for it.

I'm planning to start jumping off the diving board the day after tomorrow.

We're Back

We made it back. After an hour taxi ride to Gatwick, a nine-hour flight to Atlanta, an hour-and-a-half getting through customs (you have to go through passport control, collect your luggage, go through customs, recheck your bags, go through security, and then re-collect your bags), and an hour drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house, we were pretty tired. We slept, went to church, then slept some more (after church... not during).

It's been fun to be back. I got to go to primary with my friend Riley (Benjamin was away on holiday... er, vacation). And I get to sleep in my old bed.

We're trying to get back into the lifestyle: driving everywhere, fast food on every corner, high fructose corn syrup. One thing I didn't miss when I was gone was political news coverage. Like this one, which was the "top story" on Daddy's My Yahoo! page: Election a Study in U.S. Patriotism. The story leads with this summary:

The U.S. presidential election presents a sharp contrast between two types of patriotism: John McCain stands as a war hero. His rival Barack Obama calls Americans back to the can-do spirit of the nation's founders. In November the candidates will find out which style appealed more to voters...

Huh? This election is about patriotism? Excuse me, but I think that's ridiculous. Shouldn't it be about whether everyone here has access to good healthcare, like our friends in other countries? Or about whether our country acts like a bully on the global playground or like the kid that everyone wants to have around? Or about whether we're going to stay addicted to petrol?

Is patriotism all you've been talking about while I've been gone?

Goodbye London

Tonight is our last night in London.

Last night, we ate at a noodles place called Wagamama near London Victoria station. The train ride there and back was my last train ride in London. Walking around the streets today, we realized that it would be the last time we would walk around these streets we've called home for the last nine months. This afternoon we went to the park near our house for the last time.

I'm excited to go back to Atlanta, but I'll miss London. I made a list of the things I think I'll miss the most.

5. The fresh air - It never gets too hot here. None of the houses even have (or need) air conditioning. On a nice day, we'd open the windows in the front and back of the house and just let the breeze flow through. It felt so nice. Even when it rained, we'd keep a few windows open a crack and listen to the rain tap dance on the pavement.

4. The food - You might not believe it (unless you've read The Omnivore's Dilemma) but the food tastes better here. The strawberries are better; the blueberries are better; the blackberries and raspberries are better; the eggs and the cheese are better. They taste like they came from the farm in your backyard.

3. The sites - There are so many great museums here (that are also free). And I loved seeing the London Eye whenever we took the train into London. I'd shout, "Look Mama! The London Eye!" loud enough for the whole train to hear. Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, the HMS Belfast... there's so much cool stuff to keep a kid busy and happy.

2. Cities and towns built for walking - We survived for nine whole months without ever driving a car. We walk to the library, to the grocery store, to school, to church, to the restaurants, to the train station. The cities are built for trains and walking (or for kids like me riding their scooters), and it feels so good to get out and walk every day. Not to mention that we've been completely oblivious to (and immune from) gas prices. In Atlanta, we'll have to drive to a park to be able to have a place to walk around.

1. My friends - I've made some good friends while I've been here: friends from school and friends from church and friends from a lot of different backgrounds and countries. It's been really fun.

There are things I've missed about the States that I'll be glad to have back, like my friends in Atlanta and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, but I'll write about those things some other time. For now, I'm saying goodbye to London.

My Toys Moved to Atlanta

Remember nine months ago when my toys moved to London? Well, yesterday they moved back to Atlanta. The movers came and packed up all our toys and stuff and sent it on its way. The house looks pretty bare now.

After all our stuff was gone, McKenzie turned to Mama and asked, "Is this our house?" It is for two more days.