November 2008

Week 6/7

So what have we been up too? I’ve been to my first ‘coffee morning’ which was very interesting in an American way…I was a bit nervous & my first instinct was to say no thank you very politely, when I was invited but I made myself go & even tho I felt like the ‘new girl’ they made me feel very welcome. But I must admit I felt like I was playing with the grown up’s a little bit!

The girls have made friends with some local kids which is great, there’s Montana & Jacob who are 9, and Rachel & Cole who are 6. The gardens are all open plan it’s great to watch them all running around out there & playing on each other’s play frames & Cole has even been trying to teach Nyah how to snowboard down the hill at the back of the garden as only 6 year old boys can in an inch of old snow…I think Cole has a fan in Nyah, she thought his board skills very impressive! We have also experienced something we’ve been warned about where they all play together in a group & move from house to house to play if they get too cold or bored! We’ve also had our first experience of what is called a ‘snow day’ where if the weather is deemed too bad or dangerous for the school buses, school is cancelled! Only problem is that they have to make it up later on in the term at some point!

It’s been all about the dreaded ‘Driving Tests’ recently too… if you’re here on holiday or visiting you can drive on your license from home for as long as you like but as soon as you become a resident in the state you have to take the test & then get an American license! We were both dreading doing it but knew we had no choice…our relocation lady had got us the ‘book’, the US version of the highway code which I’m not sure many of the Americans we’ve actually seen out driving have read or at least not the same one we have! We’ve been swatting up on the book…I was reading it before we went to sleep, found it was a bit too efficient at getting me off to sleep actually! Anyway one day I hadn’t quite finished the book but the thought of the test was hanging over me like a little black car-cloud over my head…so I skim read the end & set off to the test centre with the pile of papers to prove I was a ‘legal alien’!!!! But of course I didn’t have the right letter which had to say that G worked in the state of Missouri, honestly the red tape sometimes is a meter wide!!! I went back the following day with the correct letter & a can of Heinz beans as a bribe (joke!) & after the formalities, sat to take the first part of the test…you take a multiple choice written test of 25 questions & if you get 6 wrong you fail….mine were all pretty easy, we found they were either ‘silly easy’ or ‘stupid hard’…the good thing is the tests are all free & you only pay for your license! Then onto the road sign test & then a quick vision test & then you wait for your examiner to come & take you for the actual driving test….I didn’t realise all the examiners were police/patrol officers…eeek! I get scared seeing police driving the other way on the roads let alone driving in my car with one sat next to me!!!!! My mouth was so dry I swear my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth…he also took G’s test & said ‘Oh the one with the very English accent’ when G asked him if he remembered me, No...that was my tongue stuck to the back of my teeth!! (**,) We both passed, thank god that’s over!

G had a couple of days off to help with the Christmas shopping, first time he’s done that since before we were married! We only had to girls to buy for so it wasn’t too bad & he was actually happy to stay out for longer than I was!

We’ve also been to our local high school to watch a basketball game which was really cool! The school was pretty impressive inside, it had the usual couple of gym’s & indoor full size swimming pool just like we all do(!)….it was huge with corridors you couldn’t see the ends of & lockers just like Troy & Gabriella’s…you won’t know who I mean unless you’ve seen the High School Musical films & if you haven’t seen them yet why on earth not, you DO NOT know what you’re missing…stop reading now & go watch the films!!!!

This week I’m loving… My big red bow I bought to hang on the front door which is a big as a small car (the bow is big you understand? Not the door, well the door is big too but you know what I mean… I’m waffling now aren’t I?!)

This week I’m not loving… The pizza! The pizza is weird & not yummy like our pizza!!! We’ve only tried two places but its not nice so far…will continue the search however!

Bye for now….Happy Holidays…….HHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA….ONLY JOKING!! I hate Happy Holidays…GGGRRRRRRRRR….HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!!!!!

XXXX