47 St. Davids Drive, Wentworth Gate, Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0BA

Big Ben…Parliament!

That we’re moving to London is no longer a secret so I’m sure it’s also not a secret that our lives are feeling a bit topsy turvy these days.  I’m blogging from a Sky Club in the Atlanta airport during a layover between our house-finding trip in the London area and our annual AGS trip to Cancun.  You might ask why we would consider staying away from the kids for 2 straight weeks when I just got back from a long trip away from them in January and it would be a fair question.  85 sunny degrees, turquoise ocean and free.  That’s my answer.
We flew from Seattle to Wausau a week ago to drop the boys off with my parents.  We spent Monday night together before our 2pm flight to London Heathrow the following day.  Unfortunately all did not go as planned.  Graham’s cat allergy (just recently discovered during an allergist appointment to check up on the peanut problem, which of course is in full effect) is worse than we thought and even though my mom dropped her cat off at my sister’s before we got there and laundered and cleaned the house top to bottom, Graham had trouble breathing in less than a day and after a visit to the ER, a steroid and breathing treatment, my parents and the boys are having fun/living in a hotel down the road from their house.  And when I say having fun, I’m not kidding.  They swim every day. Chuck E Cheese, the movie theater and light saber fights are the norm.  The boys will be in for a rude awakening when we pick them up as life at home isn’t nearly as exciting.  To say we are grateful to my mom and dad for their help doesn’t do it justice but THANK YOU!!
After a week in London, Mike is excited to make the move.  Our relocation agent on the UK side drove us around the areas we had researched and we’re happy to report that we found a house.  We were prepared for very small and very expensive and we got both of those but we are pleasantly surprised by the light and the space given our expectations.  We have a full guest suite plus a bit of extra room so we’re looking forward to hosting friends and family. (The below is a pic of the living room)

While in town, we also toured the schools that were recommended by friends and colleagues and aside from the expense (Ripon College tuition, anyone?), we are very confident that Greyson is going to be happy at ACS Egham International School.  We looked at the TASIS American school along with a couple of British schools and ACS Egham rose above.  They can also take Graham into their “Pre Scramblers” program for as many half days as we feel comfortable leaving him.  We can walk to the school from our house and Windor’s “Great Park” is nearly across the street with Windsor Castle and the famous Ascot race course just a short 5 minute drive away.  After crossing off the home and school to-dos off of our list, we spent the weekend touring the city of London and eating its amazing food (including a wonderful Gordon Ramsey restaurant).

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March means packing, marking large furniture for storage and selling a number of items including our cars before we head to Hawaii with Mike’s family- something everyone is very much looking forward to before we make the official move.
Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this journey.  We are optimistic, a bit anxious and mostly excited about the next chapter.  Mike is planning to join the Facebook world and he tells me he may take a stab at blogging as well so stay tuned for that!