We're Off!

This is what 5 eatburns are allowed to take for two years in Eritrea. We've squished and we've weeded out and we're crossing our fingers that British Airways will let us go with this, otherwise it will be more weeding out and readjusting at the airport.
It's hard to believe that the day has finally come for us to take off on our adventure. The past few months have gone by in one big blur of visiting family and friends and packing, packing and more packing. The packing side of things has definitely taken up way more of our time than we would have like and if we were to do it again it would be one day of putting it all in a big dumpster and it's done with! A big thanks to our friends in Cranbrook who helped us out over those last few weeks.
We've spent the last week in Vancouver, buying last minute "necessities" (just to help make packing more challenging) and visiting with friends and family. It has been great seeing my sister's family and connecting with my brother's family for the first time in too many years. Our kids really enjoyed getting to know their up until then unknown cousins! We also got a chance to visit with a few special friends here, which was great, and are now armed with a little book which will help us to survive any conceivable disaster, thanks to Margie and Peter! We hope not to have to put it to use! A special thanks to my parents who put up with our mess and helped with hems, zippers and computer related stuff and kept us very well fed . We may be living off reserves from our stay here at least for the first few months of our time in Eritrea.
I wanted to include a thank you to all those who have helped us out along the way in making this adventure possible. To our friends, co-workers, staff at VSO and families, we thank you for your help and for your moral support even though you may have been thinking, "what are they thinking taking three kids to Africa????"
A special thanks goes to those who helped out with a financial contribution to VSO. We have almost met our goal of $4000 and we have you to thank for this. So thanks to everyone. If we haven't thanked you individually yet, it may be because you may have sent your donation directly to VSO and we never got your name. We would really like to thank you now, so please do let us know if you donated (by email, if possible).
We've got a few last things to do before we go to the airport this afternoon. Then it's two nights in London before we head off for Asmara on September 10. It may be a while before we have access to a computer and the internet, so until then, take care, and thanks for all your support!

Ma esalamy! (Goodbye in Arabic, we think) or my (Kim's) favourite - Wain mahuta til hayjaz? (Where is the Hayjaz train station?). We are not yet quite fluent in Arabic!!!