(I have had several requests for pictures and stories of our time in New Zealand. As I work on our New Zealand family scrapbook, I thought it would be fun to post some pictures and journaling of our adventure every week. Thanks for asking!)
Why New Zealand? A FAQ, that is always fun to answer. My Dad took all of us to visit his birthplace in Jan. of 2004, and from the second we landed we knew we were coming back to live in New Zealand with our children, it just called to us and felt like home. We dreamed and planned and schemed, but we really didn’t know how or when we would go. The summer of 2006 Steve was dissatisfied with work and had decided to go back to school for a PhD and a career change. We felt good about making a change, but kept hitting a brick wall on timing and resources. We were driving to Idaho to visit Steve’s brother and his family and rehashing all the same roadblocks. Getting a little frustrated I flippantly said, “Let’s just sell the house and move to New Zealand!” Then we just stared at each other wide eyed and silent for a moment. That was the answer, and we both knew it! The timing was perfect, since Steve wanted to make a job change anyway and the kids were just the right age and stage for an adventure. For the rest of the vacation we excited planned our adventure.
We quickly put the house on the market, filled out mountains of paperwork for my citizenship and Visa’s for everyone, got physical exams and started packing to move overseas. The blessings and miracles during those few months were too numerous to list, but Steve gave notice at work and on Dec. 6th 2008 we finally boarded the plane with 5 kids, 17 boxes and 7 carry-ons. It was a lot to carry, but not much when you consider we were moving for over a year.
The trip over went fast and all the children traveled like pros. When we finally got on the flight from LA to Auckland a great cheer arose from all of us. Thank goodness for in-flight, on demand, personal entertainment. The boys must have played Space Invaders for three hours straight as soon as we took off. I sat in a side row between the two little girls who delighted in watching Clifford’s Big Movie twice. Steve had the foresight to order special kids meals on the flight, so they were served first, before the regular meal service. By the time our meals came they were finished and we were able to eat our meals peacefully. The food was delicious, nothing like American airplane food and everyone slept well! The only drama on the trip was Ellie (age 2) had a diaper explosion (and I mean explosion) in the morning. My wipes were too buried in my overhead carry on, so I had to do my best. By the time I had her undressed in the two by two airplane bathroom I noticed that this stall was out of paper towels and the captain announced our descent into Auckland. AHHH! I grabbed some towels from the next stall over and hurried as fast as I could, but they were still banging on my door to get seated before I finished.
I am happy to report that all of our 17 pieces of baggage arrived at the other end. It took us three hours from landing to loading the rental trailer and 12 seater van. We had 5 Smartcarts loaded with luggage to take through security. They are so careful about what comes into the country, that they made us unpack our hiking boots and they cleaned a few of them just in case. Daniel’s carry-on ended up being searched at every turn because he had packed his metal army tank and a Ziplock bag filled with misc. junk, some of it metal. It was comical to see them stressing over a toy tank, but it made you feel a little more secure at the same time.
Why New Zealand? A FAQ, that is always fun to answer. My Dad took all of us to visit his birthplace in Jan. of 2004, and from the second we landed we knew we were coming back to live in New Zealand with our children, it just called to us and felt like home. We dreamed and planned and schemed, but we really didn’t know how or when we would go. The summer of 2006 Steve was dissatisfied with work and had decided to go back to school for a PhD and a career change. We felt good about making a change, but kept hitting a brick wall on timing and resources. We were driving to Idaho to visit Steve’s brother and his family and rehashing all the same roadblocks. Getting a little frustrated I flippantly said, “Let’s just sell the house and move to New Zealand!” Then we just stared at each other wide eyed and silent for a moment. That was the answer, and we both knew it! The timing was perfect, since Steve wanted to make a job change anyway and the kids were just the right age and stage for an adventure. For the rest of the vacation we excited planned our adventure.
We quickly put the house on the market, filled out mountains of paperwork for my citizenship and Visa’s for everyone, got physical exams and started packing to move overseas. The blessings and miracles during those few months were too numerous to list, but Steve gave notice at work and on Dec. 6th 2008 we finally boarded the plane with 5 kids, 17 boxes and 7 carry-ons. It was a lot to carry, but not much when you consider we were moving for over a year.
The trip over went fast and all the children traveled like pros. When we finally got on the flight from LA to Auckland a great cheer arose from all of us. Thank goodness for in-flight, on demand, personal entertainment. The boys must have played Space Invaders for three hours straight as soon as we took off. I sat in a side row between the two little girls who delighted in watching Clifford’s Big Movie twice. Steve had the foresight to order special kids meals on the flight, so they were served first, before the regular meal service. By the time our meals came they were finished and we were able to eat our meals peacefully. The food was delicious, nothing like American airplane food and everyone slept well! The only drama on the trip was Ellie (age 2) had a diaper explosion (and I mean explosion) in the morning. My wipes were too buried in my overhead carry on, so I had to do my best. By the time I had her undressed in the two by two airplane bathroom I noticed that this stall was out of paper towels and the captain announced our descent into Auckland. AHHH! I grabbed some towels from the next stall over and hurried as fast as I could, but they were still banging on my door to get seated before I finished.
I am happy to report that all of our 17 pieces of baggage arrived at the other end. It took us three hours from landing to loading the rental trailer and 12 seater van. We had 5 Smartcarts loaded with luggage to take through security. They are so careful about what comes into the country, that they made us unpack our hiking boots and they cleaned a few of them just in case. Daniel’s carry-on ended up being searched at every turn because he had packed his metal army tank and a Ziplock bag filled with misc. junk, some of it metal. It was comical to see them stressing over a toy tank, but it made you feel a little more secure at the same time.
1 comment:
Yeah! Thanks for obliging our requests. What a neat experience! My brother (Richard) recently moved his family to the Philippines. Jon's sister has lived in China for nearly 5 years. My cousin is living in Thailand for another few months. I don't think we'll have an overseas adventure like this, but I'd love to vacation overseas one day. It's so interesting to learn from those who do have this opportunity. Thanks for sharing.
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