I'm all alone with a cup of tea. Bliss. I'm so glad we kept the kettle and two cups out. Sophie is playing next door and Bobby and the two older kids are at the mall, picking up some new shorts and sunglasses.

I'm exhausted. We only got about three hours sleep last night. But it was worth it, because, miraculously, we managed to have everything ready for the movers when they arrived at eight this morning. They've just left - a husband and wife team, along with their granddaughter, who's visiting them for the summer. They were remarkably efficient, I must say. Everything is neatly boxed (including, alas,our mattresses - I'd thought they'd leave those till tomorrow, but alas, not so. Hello, floor! Or, hello, hard, naked bed frame!) and labelled and signed for. Tomorrow morning the container arrives, and all our stuff should be loaded onto it within a couple of hours. And, touch wood, in six weeks' time we'll be unloading everything in our new home. Wherever that new home may be.

Here's what we'll be doing for the next while, in case I don't get a chance to check in very often :

Tonight : goodbye party at the climbing gym; lots of pizza and coke. Yum. I'm starving.

Tomorrow : the container gets loaded. We clean. Goodbye party at the church. Sniff.

Saturday night : our last book group meeting. Weep.

Sunday : last time we get to go to church. Sniffle. Evening barbeque with friends.

Monday : house closing; car selling; last visit to the Enzian.

Tuesday around 7am : we fly to Las Vegas

The details of our holiday are still a little sketchy. We know we want to climb at Red Rocks, and visit with Mama Bear, and see Bryce Canyon National Park, and Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon. We know we fly to Boston at midnight on the 28th. We know the kids' competition runs from the 30th to the 3rd, and Stephen's Coming-of-Age trip runs from the 7th to the 10th, and that we want to see Margot-who-doesn't-have-a-blog and Rachel while we're in Boston, as well as do a myriad of fun touristy things. And we know that we fly to London on the evening of the 10th. But we haven't planned our itinerary in any detail yet. We hope to do that on Sunday (we'll be spending Sunday and Monday nights with friends and will be able to use their computer.)

So, it should be a really fun and busy few weeks. I'm looking forward to it. So many new experiences coming up. I'm sad to be leaving everyone here though. We have met such wonderful people over the last four years ... We've been so lucky.