Last Thursday we were able to make one last trip to England before we head to Africa in January. The four of us flew out on Thursday, a holiday in France (Toussaint), for which Poppy has two weeks off from school. This is our third time flying for free this year thanks to points we had saved up. Not bad, eh?

Here we are setting out in the morning, loaded down with carry-ons. Emily and I each are sporting new backpacks that we recently picked up for our upcoming travels. The backpacks are the exact maximum size allowable for a carry-on. We had considered getting rolley suitcases but decided to go for packs instead since they allow us to have our hands free for wrestling children or toting other bags. Poppy’s still got a rolley though…that she rides and we’re considering a rolley for Henry as his carry-on, but we’ll wait and see. As you might guess, thinking through luggage and packing strategically is sort of key for us right now.

Once in London, we were able to meet the newest member of our family, cute and cuddly Olivia. When the picture of us meeting her was posted to the Facebok, we had several people commenting wondering if we had had a another baby! Believe us, you’d hear about it long before a new baby popped out. Come on FB friends, you have more sense than that–OK, maybe not.

More installments on our trip to England coming over the next couple of days.