Last night in France

Sadly, we packed the camera today, or else you would be bombarded with glorious pictures from our great outing this afternoon. It seemed fitting that we were, once again, pleasantly surprised when we arrived with a classmate of Jack`s (and her mom) as a small `children`s festival`and found painting, pottery, games, circus stunts to practice, and table upon table of beautiful art, jewelry, handcrafts, and more.

And, of course, we drove through hideous villages and horrendous countryside to get there. Ummm-huh. Yeah. Poor us, having to enjoy one last village outing on a sunny, blue-sky day.

I`ll post the pictures once we are settled in England -- it was (as I have written here so much these last months) just so very, very beautiful, and so much fun. Aside from the outing, though, it was a very unexciting day -- lots of packing, cleaning, packing, weighing bags, packing, organizing, and then a bit more packing. We are almost there -- just some computer stuff to add in the morning, and a pile of things to drop at Geraldine`s (more food, and a few extras that didn`t fit in our bags). And then we`re off!

When I took a bag of recycling out tonight, I stopped long enough to wander to the patio that looks out over the hills and down toward Magny-les-Villers. I can`t believe we got to be here. I can`t believe it all went so well. And I can`t believe we have to leave.

Thanks to all of you who have been following us in this journey. I feel like the only people who have to read the posts are our parents (and we are so grateful that they do!). But whenever anyone else reads it, it is such a thrill for me. For those who have written or sent in a comment, thank you for that added feedback too -- it means the world to me. I hope you will continue to follow along as we head into the next (shorter) chapter of our great adventure.

And if you are reading -- we`d be grateful if you sent good travel vibes from our village in France to our village in England throughout the day tomorrow. We`re leaving the house here in Villers-la-Faye at 10 a.m. France time, and should be arriving in Ely between 6 and 7 p.m. England time. Yes, I still have my fear of flying, and yes, there are sure to be some stressful moments along the way. But in addition to the six checked bags, five carry-ons, and no stroller (passed it on to a neighbor here in the village -- we`ve got grown up travel girls!), we`re taking three travel-wise kids and the most incredible memories with us.

A demain!