Post 3: Oz minus 5 days and counting....

Where have the last three weeks gone?

We are now all packed up, out of our house and living like Nomads, out of bags, with minimal clothes until we fly on Monday at 21.30 (ish!). There isn't much to update you all with really, just that the kids are finding all of this incredibly hard and don't understand what on earth is going on. I think, once we all get there, we will sleep for a week!

Our plans this week include staying with friends tomorrow, out for dinner on Friday with Auntie Jan and Uncle Kevin, out for dinner on Saturday with The Watsons, back to Auntie Lel's on Sunday and a mad haircut and visit to the bank on Monday before leaving Dorking at about 5.30pm!

Post 2: Oz minus 14 days and counting....

Well, technically, 13 days, 23 hours and 15 minutes until we fly... ish! Not that we're counting!!!

So, the house is packed up - completely! We have a double bed, mattress for Bella, air-bed for Lucas, 42 inch TV and two camping chairs! Most of our belongings are currently in 21 boxes and three suitcases, leaving a few clothes and bits 'n' bobs. You know, ESSENTIALS!

Gemma has finished college, Nick has 9 more days at work and Lucas finishes school on Friday. Bella, quite frankly, hasn't got a clue what is happening :(

It is all beginning to seem VERY real now, but it a strange way it feels UNREAL too! Like we know we're going but can't quite believe it :o)

This week is a mish-mash of packing, shopping, re-packing to accommodate the shopping, shifting the odd bits and pieces on Ebay/Freecycle and saying goodbye to friends and family before we ship out of Ash Vale over to Dorking for our final seven day in the UK.

Anyway, this blog is sure to get a lot more interesting once we are in Oz - we promise!!!

Post 1: Oz minus 23 days and counting....

Here we are! A two year dream, finally coming into fruition!

How did we get here?

Nick and I first dreamed of joining my sister in Australia a while back and after a failed attempt in May last year decided that 2010 would be our year and we WOULD make our dream happen! Especially after Gemma's Brother and Parents made the move too!

So, earlier this year I [Gemma] put my Recruitment hat on and emailed over 300 Sign companies in Western Australia and perseverance paid off as, in the early Spring, Nick was offered a lovely job in Perth (well, THREE actually!). Then came the stressful part!

We applied for our visa on 23rd March 2010 and after a stressful 9 week and four day wait, we got the news we had waited for..... VISA GRANTED!

We have a four year visa, which we can convert to Permanent Residency during our stay.

Now the 'fun' starts!

After much discussion between us and Nicks new employer it was decided that we need to be in Oz ASAP, so our flight were booked for 28th June 2010, giving me us less than a month to get packed up!

We have arranged shipping of our goods, allowing only 20 Tea-Cartons (60x48x41) and 8 smaller boxes, plus the all important 42' Flat Screen Telly! ALL our worldly goods have to be slimmed into these boxes!

So, today is DAY ONE OF THE GREAT PACKING MARATHON! Eeeeek! The house looks like a mini tornado has gone off in it and there is, as yet, nothing in a box.... loads on the floor though!

Now....... must stop typing and get packing!