Feeling Excited!

Last week while checking out flight prices on a new EasyJet phone app I had downloaded to my iPhone, I discovered that flights for myself and the three school aged children were bargainously priced - the prices so attractive I immediately phoned Jeremy at work to tell him. "Just book it" he said - "but we don't even have passports" I protested. "It's only 6 weeks away until half term" (the time of the flights I had looked up out of curiosity). "Don't worry" said Jeremy, "we will apply for them now and and they will probably arrive in good time - after all, the passport office shouldn't be too busy in September"!
Jeremy wouldn't be available to travel with us due to work commitments. Gabrielle also would be working - and besides she has booked a trip in December with Josh.
So it would just be myself, Lily, Rowanne and Alfred travelling.

Well we were very excited at the flights being booked and paid for, but after a few days I began to worry - the children had not had a passport before. The post office lady Annette said that first time passports can take a little longer. My expired passport was from 1997 so my photos needed counter signing as did all the children's. Who was going to countersign all these passports?
Rowanne was on a residential school trip so we couldn't even get her photo taken until Saturday!
Annette at our local post office was really helpful and agreed to countersign everything as she's known me a number of years through me often posting eBay items there. She also advised I use the check and send service and when we posted all the items off this Monday she helpfully wrote "URGENT" in large letters on the envelopes.
I was planning on calling the passport office after 2 weeks to check on the progress of our applications...the passport office them self had advised around 3-4 weeks processing time.
I heard the clatter of our letterbox very early this morning and came downstairs to see what post had arrived. I found 4 neat envelopes on the doormat - I thought to myself; those must be all the returned identity documents - the passport office will by now have received our applications and are processing them.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I discovered that these were our passports - already!

We can now be truly excited about making the trip across to Norway to visit my Sister. Linda has lived there six years now and we've never been to her "new" house before!

There are birthdays to be celebrated and Halloween too during our visit so we will have a lot of fun! 

This is Linda's house.

Monday Funday!

First thing this morning I visited the post office to use their check and send service to apply for the children's first passports and my passport renewal. 

We have flights booked to Norway to visit my sister for the first time since she moved there six years ago. The flights are astonishingly reasonable in price - thanks to EasyJet and a new flight path from Gatwick London to Bergen.

It is only forty days until the planned trip so we are desperately hoping the passports arrive in time.

It will be Lily, Rowanne and Alfred's first ever flight. 

Gabrielle and her lovely boyfriend Josh have flights booked for December ensuring Hotel Tye of Tysnes is kept busy!

Gabi and Josh! ❤

This afternoon it was fun to come home to a big commotion...the kids were excited at a rodent the cat gave them as a present!

Lily had not been able to open the front door with her key and asked a neighbour to use their loo (which she had allowed but didn't seem pleased). 

The young man house-sitting next door passed by while the madness was occurring and got 101 questions from the kids including a "guess your name game" C - is your name "Cheese" then? Lol — feeling crazy.