Bonfire Night...

Today, November 5th, is a British holiday known as GuyFawkes' Day or simply "Bonfire Night." The story goes that in 1605 Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the British Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder. He, and his band of fellow conspirators, were caught after one of the group sent a letter to King James of England warning him to stay away from Parliament. Guy Fawkes was imprisoned and eventually put to death for his trouble, although modern British people remember him as "the only man ever to enter Parliament with honest intentions!"

The day is celebrated with bonfires and fireworks making it feel a little like the 4th of July in November. In our little neighborhood, fireworks have been going off all weekend and Bella has become quite accustomed to the "boom" but is finding it a little difficult to fall asleep.

We also enjoyed our other fall holidays...Halloween and All Saints Day. Bella and Christina dressed up for a Halloween party but decided to wait another year for trick- or- treating. We did, however, get lots of trick-or-treaters this year and Bella enjoyed handing out candy and eating her own pop pop (lolly pop). She wasn't too excited about some of the scary costumes and insisted that Christina hold her every time the doorbell rang. The highlight of the evening was a little boy who held out his pail saying, "can I have some sweets, please," in the cutest little British accent. Bella looked pretty cute herself as a "little peanut." She tolerated the peanut costume, which was a last resort since she didn't want to wear her kitty ears that matched Christina's black cat costume. We also did some pumpkin carving and Bella loved taking on and off their "hats." Bella and Christina missed Paul during this time especially, but look forward to seeing him on the 6th....yeah!


With Paul gone, Bella and Christina have been venturing out , meeting new people and making new friends. But Bella's favorite guy is still her best friend Kyle (pictured with Bella to the right) who is a couple months younger than her, but not any smaller. Fortunately, Christina and Paul get along really well with Kyle's Mom and Dad, so we get to spend a lot of time together. It has been nice to have close friends here, especially as the holiday season approaches and we find ourselves away from family and friends back "home."



Finally, Bella is very excited to welcome another cousin, born to her aunt and uncle, Jon and Duquesa Lamers, on November 2nd. Elliot is welcomed with love by his big brother Jerome and all his family near and far. Congratulations and we look forward to meeting you in January.