Today's the day...

...we pick up the keys to our new home. We are feverish with excitement and are packing up at Helen's this morning before heading down to my Dad's for lunch and to collect the winter clothes we have been storing there over the last few weeks. Then it's onto Hastings to the estate agents for the keys. We'll spend tonight at my sister's and then at 9am tomorrow the 20 foot container arrives. Because we're on a fairly busy road, very close to a set of lights, the council are putting out traffic cones tonight to stop anyone parking outside our house and are allowing the container to be parked on double yellow lines. We are amazed at this service, which also extends to the local traffic wardens in the area tomorrow being informed so we won't get into trouble. Brilliant! We've really enjoyed our last 3 weeks in Surrey. We went to another brilliant National trust property - Polesden Lacey. It was spectacular, not least because of its beautiful grounds, views across Surrey and kids craft area. Our old friends Giles and Lucy came to see us on Friday night with their kids Thom and Olivia, neither of whom we had met before. Giles and Lucy had met Scarlett as a baby in Umbria 6 years ago and again when I was pregnant with Flo. It was quite entertaining to watch the kids circle each other for a couple of hours before playing very loudly but happily together. Yesterday we took the girls to Hampton Court Palace. Their interest increased when I reminded them this was the location of one of their favourite Paddington bear stories and of course what child isn't fascinated by a king who had six wives, two of whom he dispatched via the chopping block when he got bored of them. How does the rhyme go, that helps you remember what happened to each of his wives - "Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived". We attempted an audio tour and chose the kids option but it was beyond dull (note to Hampton Court audio tour man, listen to the brilliant one at Battle Abbey), had a huge amount of fun in the maze (mainly by telling people who passed us in the opposite direction that we had come from a dead end), had a really long walk around the formal gardens, saw the famous grapevine (the world's oldest and longest) and took a horse and carriage ride around the grounds. We walked for miles so it was not surprising we all fell in to long, deep sleeps last night and enjoyed lie-ins this morning. can't wait to get the imac set up this week so I can finally put up some pictures from this Summer.