6 days remain...

So today more boxes were packed. Chinese visas collected - weirdly they don't accept credit cards so there was a minor panic as David had to find £350 ish and had to do all sorts of bank transfers etc. However the passports are now stamped.

      

          The girls' cuddlies now also have their passports. 

Hurray! Nicole now has shoes! The replacements arrived from Amazon and like a Cinderella moment... I shall get on the plane! Another "interesting" supper prepared with bits and pieces left in the cupboards and freezer. I think Rowan is pleased that she is at a friends for tea tomorrow so she doesnt have to eat another bizarre combination!

Gradually some rooms are being emptied, cleaned and closed off! But there is still a mammoth amount to do.

7 days, only a week left.

Today Nicole had hoped to tackle what she is going to take with her in the way of clothing, following from the girls' example yesterday! However, dismantled Tiegan's bed and more packing and cleaning got in the way. Will try again tomorrow. Not posting too much as very, very busy trying to pack up the house!

8 days to go....

The hunt for shoes continues...
Nicole has realised that apart from flip flops she doesnt have any shoes (which are suitable) to take on our trip.
Having ordered a pair from Amazon in desparation and found them to be too big, she now has the job of trudging around the hiking, trekking and camping shops within easy reach to try and find something. Oh joy!

More boxes have been packed today and the girls went through their clothes, systematically! With our help of course! They now have enough stuff to last them ( plus washing a bit) until we go, and the following for packing...

• 1 x trainers
• 1 x flip flops
• 3 knickers
• 1 pair long pjs
• 1 pair short pjs
• 3 pairs of socks
• 2 trousers
• 2 shorts
• 1 skirt
• 1 dress
• 2 long sleeved t shirts
• 3 short sleeved t shirts
• 1 bikini
• 1 swimming costume and goggles
• 1 hat
• 1 sarong/scarf thing
• 1 fleece
• 1 pair jogging bottoms and hoodie for planes trains and other long travelling sections
• 1 pair thick socks for planes

It still looks like shedloads! Will post a picture when it is folded neatly ready to go in the packs! They were very decisive about what they wanted to take and also ruthless about what they wanted to donate and not need on our return. A lesson learned!

More furniture is downstairs awaiting collection and rooms are slowly emptying.

Single figures... 9 days to go

Today, our lovely friend has entertained Tiegan and Rowan for the day. This has been a godsend and has meant that David and I have had a chance to think, make phone calls, complete paperwork and do a bit more packing.

Finally all the glass and china is packed and most of our cupboards look like this....

In an endeavour to cut down on the time spent by the removal men in trundling furniture we are moving as much as we can downstairs. This means our hall now looks like a furniture warehouse.... like this.....

The cats are obviously not going into storage... but are singularly unimpressed with the disruption to their peaceful lives!

Nicole has had her last day at school and said some goodbyes to the staff and children of Beech Class - although she is going back to show them her rucksack before we go. David is getting slightly concerned that the amount of "stuff" we have outweighs the amount of available space! 

Birthday and Farewell Party pictures

The Hobby Horses in progress!

The finished Hobby Horses!

 

Working on the bracelets!                            

Party food! An eclectic mix - as chosen by the birthday girls!

Cupcakes and sparklers!

Some of the early evening grown up party guests enjoying the fantastic weather!

2 weeks to go!

14 days until we go... it seems to have taken a long time to get to this point... but I think we are nearly there!

The girls are almost in single figures for school days and the grown ups aren't counting (much!).

Another progress update...

Indian Visas are nearly done. After a series of false starts David spent a frustrating morning dashing between the Visa office and work copying documents and waiting in line. Fingers crossed we are almost there with this. Lots of red tape and confusing forms to fill in and a very obscure size of photo needed (50mm x 50mm) to satisfy the entry requirements.

Dogs have had a 2 night sleepover at their holiday house and, apart from consuming their brand new bed bought half an hour before they arrived, seem to have got through the visit with no problems. This is an enormous relief! Well done boys!




We have celebrated Tiegan's 9th and Rowan's (early) 7th birthdays with a lovely party and hosted a farewell party for the grown ups! We were blessed with the weather and also are very lucky to have such lovely, generous friends who came to share our goodbyes. The "international" food and drink was plentiful, delicious and eclectic and much appreciated. Thankyou everyone! Pictures to follow!

Packing continues apace and we now have a definitive date to move out so have a deadline to work to. Our house will be looked after by a lovely family while they are waiting for their new house to be built. David has finally relented and agreed to Kwik Stix to come and move the furniture into Big Box storage for us. Steph and Mark had kindly offered the use of their horse box but this is a sweeter smelling and more efficient alternative!

3 weeks to go....

It is official! This time in 3 weeks we will be at the Travelodge at Heathrow Airport! It will be the eve of our big adventure!


We have got a bit more done since the last post - but still lots more to do.

Bamboo Backpackers Resort, Fiji

• The house is (fingers crossed) rented. This is a big relief. Still lots of packing up to so.
• We have bought a netbook, but have purchased the wrong sort of extra memory so this will need sorting.
• The first 3 nights in Nadi, Fiji are now book at the Bamboo Backpackers Resort.
• Air Asia flights for the transits between Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu (Borneo), back to Kuala Lumpur and then to Chennai, India are bought and paid for ( lots of hidden extras on the Air Asia website - and a hefty % administration charge at the very last stage of confirmation of the booking.
• Dogs have been for an accompanied walk and a playdate in their temporary home and are going for a sleepover next weekend.
• Chinese and Indian visas are in the process of being applied for. This is proving to be a VERY long and drawn out experience! David spent 3 hours this morning trying to negotiate the respective websites - only to find we have the wrong size photos and we will have to get more done. This, as with everything, has a cost £240 for India and £175 for China!