The Move

The New House - Wayland Avenue

Now that the hectic Christmas holiday has come and gone, it is time to try to catch up on the blog.  It looks like we need to go back to the beginning of November to fill you in on our big move.

As most of you know, we loved the house on Coventry Street that we had been living in for the past year.  The house was a Victorian terraced house, and it was so different from what we were used to back in the States.  For those of you who don't know what a terraced house is, it is a row of houses that are right next to each other, and you share a wall with your neighbor.  Our house was narrow and tall (4 levels).  All of our rooms were pretty small, and we didn't have much storage.  On the plus side, we loved our neighbors (thankfully because we were so close), and we were close enough to walk into town and work.

Coventry Street

Unfortunately, in August our landlord informed us that he needed us to move out because he lost his job and needed to move back into the house.  We had just signed a year extension on our lease and could have held him to it, but we decided to do the right thing and look for another place to live.  The rental market in Brighton is tight and we had a narrow area to look in because of the girls' schools, so our search seemed pretty gloomy for a while.

I guess it only takes one right house to change everything, and thankfully, we found a house that we all agreed on and the landlord agreed on us (and Lucy!).   Here is a link to a map that shows you where our new house (point B) is in relation to our old house (point A): Map.

Our new house is on a wide, quiet street that is a little further from town.  All of the houses are larger and detached with garages and large gardens.  It feels a little more "American" and similar to what we are used to.  In fact, this house reminds me of our house in Waco when Sutton was a baby.

Here are some of the things we like most about our new home:

• A Big Garden
• Quiet Street
• Free and Ample Parking
• A Garage (Lucy's Kennel Doesn't Have to Be in Our Living Room Anymore)
• Separate Laundry Area
• Nice Neighbors (including a 10-year-old girl next door)
• Heating and Windows that Work

Here are some pictures:

The Front of the House

Entry

Living Room

Another View of the Living Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Sutton's Room

Girls' "Party Room" (Off of Sutton's Room)

Sloane's Room

Laundry Area

Garage (It's Not Much to Look At, but It is Nice to Have)

Back Yard



Now I don't want to make you all jealous, but our new house has an extraordinary feature that I am guessing NONE of you have at your house.  It is very European...

Our "Salmon" Bidet
You Can't Really Appreciate Just How Strange a Color
This Is, and Yes, Our Whole Bathroom is This Color



Nana and Grampy's Brighton Visit

Now that we have made it through our big move and Thanksgiving, I thought it was time to update the blog.  We have to go all the way back to October for our last big event - my parent's visit to Brighton.  My mom and dad came to visit us during the girls' Autumn Half-Term break.

My parents flew into Heathrow on Thursday, 20 October, and they took the coach from London to Brighton.  I picked them up and we had quite a time fitting the three of us plus all of their luggage into our tiny car.  Luckily, the girls were still in school, and I was the only one who came to meet them.  After flying all night and arriving in London early in the morning, it was a challenge keeping my parents awake until Sutton got home from school.  Sloane was on a school trip that week, so she didn't get home until Friday.

On Friday, I took my parents into town to see a little bit of Brighton.  We went to the Royal Pavilion, King George IV's pleasure palace, and even my dad enjoyed it.  He did go through it so fast that my mom and I lost him, but somehow he got all of the information because he quizzed us all afternoon.  After our tour of the palace, we met Keith for lunch at Bill's in town.

On Friday evening, our church had a church social at Gloucester Place.  The hall was transformed into a "youth club" for everyone, and there was ping-pong, pool, board games, wii, and even a tuck shop (candy and sodas).  It was a great time for my parents to get to meet lots of our friends from church.

We decided to do a little exploring on Saturday, but we also realized that all five of us would not be able to drive anywhere because we couldn't all fit in our car.  Based on the bus availability, we decided to go to Seven Sisters Country Park which is on the coast and situated in the South Downs National Park.  It took us about an hour to get to Seven Sisters on the bus from Brighton, but it was worth the trip.  The park is named for the chalk cliffs that run along the coast, and they are amazing.  The cliffs at Seven Sisters have actually been used in some (false) advertising for the Cliffs of Dover because they look so similar, and they might even be more beautiful.  It was quite a hike down to the sea and the cliffs, but everyone persevered (it helped that we had a little picnic halfway). 

On Sunday, we of course went to church at One Church, and my parents  got to hear Dave preach.  They were really impressed and were happy to get to worship with us and our new church family.  After church we took them across the street to the Open House Pub to get a proper Sunday Roast.

Monday we sort of hung around the neighborhood because Sutton had a birthday party we had to work around.  On Monday evening, we had our church small group at our house, and my parents got to join us for that.  It was a nice time for them to get to know some of our closest friends.

On Tuesday we woke up early for our road trip to Hampton Court Castle.  Keith had to work, so I drove my parents and the girls to Hampton Court which is just south-west of London.  It was the furthest I have driven since we have been here in England, but thanks to our sat-nav, we made it.  We spent the entire day exploring the castle that was most famously once the home to King Henry VIII.  

Keith took the day off work on Wednesday, and we all went down to the Brighton Pier.  The girls love to go to the pier, and they couldn't wait to show Nana and Grampy all the fun games and rides.  They were also excited to get the "best" fried rice in Brighton, but somehow it wasn't quite as good as they remembered.  After hanging out at the pier for a while, we took Nana and Grampy to do some shopping in The Lanes. 

It would be a major understatement to say we were sad to see Nana and Grampy leave on Thursday morning.  We love living in England, but the one thing we will never get used to is living so far away from family.  It was so fun having Nana and Grampy visit us, and it was really special to get to share with them what our new life in England is really like. 



School Update

A couple of weeks ago I went with Sloane' class on a field trip to London to visit the Imperial War Museum.  I have to say, it was a little sureal taking a coach to London for a field trip.  I thought going with Sutton to the Alamo in 5th grade was pretty neat, but it is hard to beat a day trip to London. 

Sloane and her buddies.

Imperial War Museum

Sloane's class went to the War Museum to learn more about WWII.  They have been learning about kids in England during WWII.  Several weeks ago, they all were supposed to dress up like kids during the time of WWII.  They had a day where they learned what it would have been like to be one of the children who was sent from the cities to the country during the Blitz.  They had to make boxes to hang around their necks for their "gas masks", and they had identification tags made just like the kids then had.  They also got to go into the bomb shelter at their school that was used during the war (thier school was actually used as a hospital during WWII).

Sloane dressed as a girl during the Blitz.

Sloane's class in the schoolyard preparing to be "evacuated during the Blitz".

Sutton's move to Cardinal Newman has been great.  She is settling in nicely and making new friends pretty easily.  Sutton likes her classes, and has even been excited to have more homework. 

The timing of Sutton's school move could not have come at a better time for Sloane.  We are in the process of applying for secondary schools for Sloane for next year.  In the UK kids go to primary school until Year 6 (5th grade), and then they go on to secondary school for years 7-11 (6th-10th grades). 

In Brighton secondary schools are allocated based on catchment areas where you live.  Everyone is allowed to give their top 3 school preferences, and then the kids are allocated school spots by the council in the Spring.  After assigning kids with special circumstances and kids with sibling links, the council assigns the rest of the places based on catchment area.  If a school has more requests than places, the council uses a lottery for those spaces. 

Cardinal Newman is a little different because it is a church-aided school.  It is still a public school, but because it is a church school, its governors are allowed to do thier own admissions.  That means they take Catholic children first, and then move down to siblings and kids from church primary schools.  Luckily, Sloane has a sibling at Cardinal Newman now, so she should be able to get in next year.

Cardinal Newman Catholic School.

Sloane wasn't very excited about going to Cardinal Newman at first because she didn't think any of her friends were going to be going there (and school is all about friends for Sloane).  We went to an open evening at Cardinal Newman last week, and there were lots of other kids from her school there.  She also realized that one of her good friends has a sister at Cardinal Newman also, so she will be going there too.  After our visit to the school (Sloane had never been there before), Sloane is now excited about going to Cardinal Newman.  She told us it wasn't as "churchy" as she thought it would be.  I am not sure if she was expecting nuns walking around hitting people with rulers or what (there are no nuns by the way). 

Sloane's Birthday

Sloane turned 11 on 15th September, and since her birthday fell on a Thursday, she had to go to school.  To celebrate that night Sloane chose to eat our our local pub down the street, the Chimney House.  She really loves that place because that is the same place she chose to eat last year for her birthday.  The Chimney House actually has a really nice burger that Sloane loves, and it was quite a treat for the rest of us too (especially me because I didn't have to cook!).  After dinner we came back home and ate the Lemon Drizzle cake Sloane requested I make for her, and she opened all of her presents.

Because we moved right before her birthday last year and she didn't get to have a birthday party, Sloane was determined to have a big party this year.  She and Sutton had been talking about it for ages, and they finally came up with the idea of having a carnival party.  I always try to talk my kids into having small parties that involve inviting a couple of friends out for pizza and a movie, but Sloane wasn't going for that this year.  She was determined to make up for no party last year.

We had Sloane's party our church at Florence Road where we had Sutton's party last May.  She invited about 15 of her friends from school, and the invitation told them to dress colorful and fun.  Sloane of course, proceeded to tell everyone that really meant to dress crazy.

When the girls arrived they were able to go downstairs and play games on the wii or the Xbox Kinect.  After everyone got there, we took the girls upstairs to the "carnival".  Sutton invited her friend Ellie (whose little sister was at the party) to help us, and we couldn't have done it without them.  We had game booths that included a ring toss, tin can alley, stand the bottle, guess the number of Starbursts in a jar and a photo booth.  The girls won prizes at all of the games, and they were able to put them in the goody bag Sloane gave them.  The craziest dressed girl also won a giant candy necklace as a prize.

After the carnival we went downstairs for pizza, gifts and cake.  Then the girls were able to go back upstairs to win some more prizes at the carnival, or they could stay downstairs and play video games, ping-pong or pool.

Sloane has really great friends, and the party ended up being really fun.  It was worth all the planning because Sloane had the time of her life.  I think it may have even made up for her getting ripped off last year.  I am just hoping it will get me off the hook for having to have a big party next year.  I know, who am I kidding?

First Day of School

The girls started school a couple of weeks ago.  Sloane returned to Stanford Junior School, and she is in year 6 (5th grade) this year.  It is her last year at junior school, so she is in the oldest group on campus.  She loves her new teacher, and she is in class with all of her friends (her class from last year all stayed together when they moved up).  Also, this week Sloane was elected Head of House of the Unicorns.  The whole school is divided into four house groups (it is very Harry Potter).

Sutton has been first on the waiting list at Cardinal Newman since we moved to Brighton, so we were hoping that she might get in this year.  Cardinal Newman was our first choice for secondary schools because it is a really good school and it is close to our house, but it is almost impossible to get in if you are not catholic.  Despite a lot of e-mails and a visit to the admissions office before school started, there still wasn't a place for Sutton at Cardinal Newman, so she returned to Hove Park.  Sutton is in Year 9 (8th grade) this year, and because her school is split into a lower and upper campus, she is the oldest on her campus also.

Last Thursday we were surprised to receive an e-mail from the admissions officer at Cardinal Newman asking if we could come in for a meeting with one of the school's deputy head teachers.  We scheduled the meeting the next day and took Sutton in on Friday.  The deputy head informed us that there was an open place they were offering Sutton.  He said it was a place they didn't really have to fill because they were actually oversubscribed.  A few of the places were held by kids who had moved in last year and the council made the school take them but didn't count them against their numbers.  He said that since Sutton had been waiting on the waiting list for so long and there would be no other way she would get in because we are not Catholic, they decided to go ahead and give her a spot.  It probably didn't hurt that she is a good student and we were driving the admissions lady crazy.  Sometimes persistence pays off. 

Sutton went to school at Hove Park on Monday to say goodbye to her friends and teachers.  Her friends baked her a cake and made her a giant card that everyone signed.  It was really sweet.  After school we went and bought Sutton's new uniform for Cardinal Newman.  It was quite the expenditure, but it really is a nice looking uniform. 

Today was Sutton's first day at Cardinal Newman, and she had a great day.  They put her in the same form as the only person she knows in her year, Will, so at least she saw a friendly face.  Will goes to our church and his parents are in our small group.  She didn't really have her own schedule yet, so she just followed another girl today.  It sounds like everyone was really nice, and Sutton already feels like it is going to be a better fit academically.

This is just another example of God's provision for us on this journey we are on in the UK.  It really is quite a miracle that Sutton got into this school at all, and now Sloane has a lot better chance of getting in also.  I am reminded that God's timing is not always my timing, but I know He has perfect timing.

End of Summer Festivities

The summer went by quickly for us this year.  The girls didn't get as long a summer vacation as we are used to in the States, and we were gone to Texas for 3 weeks of their break.  At the end of the summer, the British have a bank holiday.  For those of you who don't know, bank holidays are public holidays in the UK that occur throughout the year. 

The Summer Bank Holiday is a little like our Labor Day.  To celebrate the day we went to the beach with a big group from One Church.  I am still trying to get used to going to the beach when it is not really hot (much less very warm).  Despite the chill, we had really great day kayaking, eating and hanging out with good friends.

"Chilling" at the beach.  Notice the wind barriers.

These nut jobs actually got in the freezing water.  Crazy!

Sloane and the Maskells.

Keith and Sloane kayaking.

On the Sunday before school started, our street had a Street Party.  A British Street Party is a little bit like our block parties at home, but because it is so densely populated here and there are so many people who live on our street, it was a huge event.  The organizers got permission from the council to close down our street, and everyone moved their cars off the street the night before.  Everyone was encouraged to come outside and eat, drink and be merry all day long.  People hung bunting and decorated their houses.  Some people even organized events like a dress-up stall for kids, a book exchange, tug-o-war, face painting, tea and cakes and there was even a bar and a DJ at the end of the street.

Our festive street.

Eating lunch on the street.

Sutton and I enjoying the party.

The roller derby girls.

Me and our next-door neighbor Rose.

The Street Party was one of our favorite events, and it made us feel a real part of the community.  It was a little bittersweet for us though because we are having to move house in November.  Unfortunately, our landlord lost his job and wants to move back into the house.  Even though we had just renewed our lease for another year, we are trying to do the right thing by moving and allowing him to have the house back.  We love our street, neighborhood and neighbors, and we are going to miss everyone very much (especially after this great party)!