Travel to Ojai was likely to take a few hours so we got up in reasonable time and finished off what we left yesterday. Remarkably, the kids volunteered spontaneously to clear up, and even banned us from the RV while they did it. They did a cracking job, and by the time I'd done my necessary shop for toilet chemicals (oh yeah we're top campers now - at least while there are full hookups!) we were ready to go. A last dip for refreshment then we were OFF to see the duncans, with Finn's excitement growing by the mile.

We must have surprised them, because we were only half an hour later than we had promised, and the last time we'd seen them back in Northend & Loxley - about 3 years ago, our reputation for late arrivals must have been in full swing.

Now I have to be careful for the next few days' entries, since (it transpired) Sarah has been an avid reader and she'll be reading the entries about her & family - so apologies for any inaccuracies, errors, exaggerations, omissions or 'whoops, I forgot that was secret'!

As we pulled up on their rather large driveway, finn was in pieces and finally confessed that it was because he wasn't sure how he should say hi to Matt - hi 5, shake hands, full on snog, it's hard to know! But a cool 'hi' seemed to do the trick and the 2 longish lost mates kicked off what was to be a wonderful 9 days.

It's been such a busy time, we've had no quiet time to write this, and it's been a whirlwind of stuff, so we're going to have to précis and there may be some things we miss out over the coming three weeks.

Before we'd even managed to open our first bottle of wine, the kids had opened up the RV and all of them in 90 degree heat were running around inside, all 6 of them in the over cab bedroom, having a ball. It was lovely to see them straight away, having fun all together and playing so well. Our kids haven't seen izzy since she was a baby, but other than that it was almost as if they hadn't been apart. Charlie and Matt have developed some American intonation but still have core English accents - Izzy's accent is much more pronounced having been largely brought up there. It gave us some amusement, and managed to further Siena's developing American end of phrase rising!

It was too hot to sleep in the RV, however, but sleeping arrangements were quickly decided, with Finn sleeping in Matt's room, with izzy opting for kipping next to derry in the guest house. We immediately settled into the pattern for the next few nights - kids play together in either Izzy's or Charlie's room (depending on your age and gender) and the alleged grown-ups drink wine until the kids finally give in and sleep, whereupon we drink more wine. Sorted.

Tonight was slightly different, in that Colin was yet to return from Australia, so Alan had to play macho man with the biggest black widow spider sarah had ever seen (sounds like the rest of our trip, not sure it wasn't planted there!). A cricket bat seemed appropriate for dealing with it - it certainly evened up the odds, so a quick squeal, prod and overzealous bashing rendered it squashed, and me a hero.

Once the excitement had abated Suzanne and I had the first normal conversation we felt we'd had for 2 months - it was lovely to just chat.

The next day was designated chillout day (one of 9 !). Alan had to pop off to return the RV. Sounds simple but it meant driving into LA - luckily it was Saturday - eventually finding the El Monte site, then checking in - thankfully they missed the scratch on the side from the first day and some overhanging branches! Then it was a long wait until the shuttle bus to the airport, then a second shuttle to the car rental places. By the time I'd collected the car and returned to Ojai it was mid afternoon, and everyone was in or around the pool chilling out.

Colin had returned by now, so all dangerous animals were now his responsibility (coyotes, bears, chipmunks, big bugs one of which we caught). We adopted the normal evening routine.

We made one small error, however, which was to give all the children root beer to drink for the evening meal. Disgusting stuff, I'd tried it earlier and regretted it, but it has peculiar qualities which the marketers don't advertise.

Within half an hour of the end of the meal, our 6 kids had magically transformed from 3 boys and 3 girls into 5 girls and one boy. Charlie, Matt and Finn decided to try on some of Izzy's clothes, especially the swimwear section, and proceeded to pole dance and gyrate their way around the patio. Izzy, meanwhile, had turned into Ian. Ian plays geetar. Ian is cool. Ian is a rock star. Ian has no truck with boys in bikinis. The whole night turned into a hilarious romp where all the boys were stark naked running around the pool and hot tub. We don't have permission to show the naked shots but we do have some on special request! The adults maintained a discreet distance with much shaking of heads and wringing of hands as we consider our childrens' futures. Still, we were drinking wine so it was all OK. Even Ian joined in. He lost the guitar and hat and became Izzy again. The memories of that night will stay with us for a while, if only because we were slightly jealous of them, staying terribly sensible!

Sunday was an early start as Matt went off for a football competition with the boys in tow. The girls joined us a little later just as the final whistle went - and we headed off to the beach for the day. Lovely beaches, the big bay providing great conditions for body boarding which they all did for ages - except for Derry who had Lilly firmly under her control, throwing sticks and balls for her all day.

It took us a while but eventually we noticed that the tide was coming in and we weren't all that far from it. So we retreated just in time, all except for Siena who was not moving for anyone with her book firmly in hand sheltering under the sun umbrella.

Suitably sandy and salty we all left the beach to head for a charming Italian restaurant in Montecito where we had a lovely meal, and where the kids discovered Shirley Temples for the first time (soda/lemonade plus grenadine and a cherry - something new for the brits!) so they had a load.

The evening was a little quieter tonight with no repeat performance of the rain dance and cross dressing, but a segregation order officially imposed to prevent too much late night hilarity!

We're loving it here - beautiful climate, wonderful house and hosts, everything is delightful - you can even pick an orange from the orchard and eat it there and then!! We can totally understand why the guys decided to stay, it's a compelling proposition - returning home every day there has a real appeal. Wonder what the weather's like back home? It's still 80 degrees here at night - and the stars are something to behold.