Katie and the Duck

When we arrived in New Zealand we spent time with Dugald's parents in Palmerston North, about two hours from Wellington, because we couldn't get into our Karori house yet. I blogged earlier about Katie catching the duck when went to feed them, here is the photo -
She cracks us up - whenever we are around a group of birds, whether ducks, seagulls or pigeons, she takes off after them and usually catches one. The other girls thought it grand that their sister was so swift because they then got to pet the duck, how thrilling!

I had to include the above picture because if your computer screens are calibrated correctly you will notice the green tint to Josie's hair. All of the girls were sporting green hair after our time at Aunt Kate's thanks to all the time swimming in the pool. I remember having green hair at the end of a summer of swimming, but mine wasn't quite so bright nor did it turn so quickly. I'm not sure what these Kiwis are putting in their pools. . .

For those of you who may not know - Aunt Kate and Grandma are both award-winning quilters. Aunt Kate has lovely quilts all over her house and here is a picture of Meggie and Katie in front of one. One of my goals for our time here in New Zealand is for the girls to learn to sew and quilt and if I could learn too that would be a bonus!

A picnic on the lawn at Grandma and Grandpa's after a swim and some time on the slip-n-slide.

Here is a photo of Meggie and Katie picking out squares and pinning them to a board for their quilts. Grandma let them choose fabrics and design a quilt for their dolls so they are laying out the patterns here, then Grandma will sew it together for them. Grandma has an entire sewing room which we all think is awesome.

A picture of the big Kiwi in Ekatahuna.

Josie and Ellie just being cute.

Josie and Grandpa enjoy a coffee at the Esplanade in Palmerston North.

The girls splashing in the Esplanade wading pool.

Last night Dugald and I had a date and went to dinner and a movie. While we were at dinner we heard some American accents at the table behind us so as we left we asked the three gentlemen there if they were American. It turns out they were and we had met two of their wives a few days earlier on the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens. Small world! Their wives are here on a fellowship and are working at the Ministry of Education and they are from Vermont. The third gentleman was originally from Tallahassee, Florida. We didn't talk long enough to find out why he was here, but it was fun to hear a familiar accent for awhile:).

Tomorrow I will post pictures from riding and ballet. . .and we still welcome input on the dog choices!

More Farm Pictures

So I've decided to go way back and upload some pictures from Tablelands, which is what we call Rob and Liz's farm in Martinborough. I have to also confess that I didn't take any of these amazing photographs, Sarah did! You will notice the reduced quality of the images that are posted once she leaves, but for now we have some fantastic shots to share with you - hope you enjoy them!



This is Hettie, she belongs to Rob and Liz and is almost 14 which is great news for us because that is babysitting age!!! She goes to school very near where we live so we are hoping to have the pleasure of her company and help on some days after school once Sarah leaves. The girls think all their cousins are marvelous but Hettie was extra-fantastic because she played Barbies with them, whoo hoo!



Here is Meggie helping to make the bread for Margaret's birthday lunch. She helped mix, knead, and glaze the bread and it was absolutely delicious!

Hugh took over the barbeque responsibility with some of his mates watching in the background. The sausages were also perfectly done so obviously the next generation has this cooking thing down and the rest of us can just kick back and relax.

Daddy and Josie were a team for the three-legged race. . .

As were cousin Alex and Katie. I was teamed up with Meg but have decided the photos are us are not so flattering, let's just say Meggie looked good.

Dugald with his mom, dad and brother Rob.

The family eating at the table set up outside because the weather was perfect.

Ellie probably won't be thrilled about this photo when we show it at her wedding, but really, how cute is this?

The cottage where Grandma and Grandpa stay has an outdoor bath so the girls decided they would give it a go - except for sweet Katie who sadly was sick when these pictures were taken.

A bath with a view - isn't it beautiful???

Liz keeps a large organic vegetable garden so we went nightly and picked fruit and vegetables for our meal. Here is Meggie with some strawberries she picked.

Josie getting the carrots.

She was very serious about the whole operation - and you have never tasted sweeter carrots in your life, yum!

Pictures at last

Hi everyone! I'm just learning how to add photos to the blog, so I'll start with some recent ones then backtrack and share some from earlier weeks. Unfortunately when I uploaded these they were placed in the blog in the exact OPPOSITE order I uploaded them in, which doesn't really matter to anyone except me, but it took too long for me to redo them. Anyway, enjoy!



This is a picture of Ellie with a weta, a bug unique to New Zealand. They are creepy looking but the girls were not at all put off by them. I about lost my mind when I unknowingly stumbled across it sitting on the entryway table in it's container. Ick. Sarah is a bug person and has trained the girls to be fascinated rather than grossed out, so go Sarah! I'll keep my distance thank you.

Here is a picture of Meggie and her new friend from soccer. She played in a girls' clinic on Friday for the first time and it was this girl's first time too - so they were able to bond. Turns out E (I won't use her name since I haven't asked her parents) lives right across the street, how fun is that? She's 8-years-old and her family emigrated from Scotland six years ago. There were a ton of girls playing in the clinic and both Meggie and E received the "player of the day" award for good sportsmanship as well as skill, only three girls were given the award out of all the girls there - awesome Meg!

Here's Meggie at her first riding lesson - a dream come true!

Katie rode too! They were both very brave.

A good time was had by all. We are going to try out another stable this week and then decide for sure where the girls will take, but it was definitely something they plan to do on a regular basis.

Here the girls posed in front of a map mural -from a different perspective than we are used to! Katie is pointing out Texas and Meggie New Zealand.

My birthday - it was a great way to turn 40.

Enjoying my special scrapbook with the girls.

The girls on the bus going shopping for my birthday.

Waiting at the bus stop for the #3.

Sarah and Ashley overlooking Wellington Harbor.

Be sure and check back often as I am going to add pictures frequently. We love the emails and phone calls, it's good to finally be connected at home. It was quite an undertaking but the long wait is finally over and we met our neighbors on both sides after the cable guy came and dug up their lawns. We have really nice neighbors so it was all good in the end. I'll write more tomorrow about church - we went to another one today and were invited to a home for a barbeque later and made some neat new friends . . .

Birthday Celebrations

Today is the day - I turn the big 4-0. Although, technically, I won't be 40 until tomorrow since I was born in Mississippi and it's not the 20th there. Anyway, so far I've had a lovely day! I hate that I still don't have phone access to talk with those from home, but other than that the day has been perfect so far. We woke up early to go pick up Miss Sarah's friend, Ashley, from the airport and then we went and had coffee with Liz who arrived with champagne and lovely jackets she bought the girls. Liz has a birthday on the 22nd, and my other sister-in-law Julie's birthday is today also, so we all plan on getting together to celebrate at some stage. Right now the girls are home doing school with Sarah and I am with Ashley at the library on the computer. Yesterday the cable/internet/phone guys were digging in the garden, hopefully having successfully buried the needed cable. Now we are promised that we will be hooked up on Saturday.

My sisters and mom made me a fantastic photo album with lots of fun photos and letters from my family and friends that I read and cried over, but the rest of the gifts will be opened tonight. Sarah took the girls shopping yesterday, they rode the bus into town and shopped along Lambton Quay. The girls loved the bus ride, I'll send pictures soon.

Today is beautiful outside, the sun is shining and we are warm which isn't always the case. We are going to finish school with the girls and let Ashley have a rest and then this afternoon Meggie and Katie will have their first horseback riding lesson out in the Ohiru Valley. I do hope I can find it, the driving is still an adventure and I find it hard to figure out the names of streets because they are not always sign-posted, or if they are it isn't always in the most obvious place or clear enough for these old eyes to see. When I called for directions I was told to go to Johnsonville, take a left at the second roundabout, turn right at the crossroads and then I can't miss it. Did you notice not a street name mentioned anywhere? And as far as not being able to miss it, they obviously have never travelled with me! But we'll give it a go, the girls are totally stoked.

Last Saturday we drove to Dugald's parents in Palmerston North and spent the day with them. It was a beautiful drive along the sea and we got to see even more of New Zealand which is always fun. The girls were great in the car, the van is still a bit of a novelty and they love it. We had lunch with Hugh and Margaret, then while the girls (and Hugh) rested Margaret and I ran some errands - she took me to a shop I needed to go to for a few bits and pieces for the house. When we got back we went and fed the ducks and Katie caught one! I'll have to post the picture in a few days but she was SO pleased with herself. She is hilarious the way she goes after birds whenever she can. We left Palmerston after dinner and drove home in a bit of rain, but it was a great day and we really enjoyed spending time with Hugh and Margaret.

We also had a lovely Sunday - we tried a new church which was a much larger congregation than last week, but further away. It was a Bible church more like the church we've been attending in Texas, but this week we will try yet another. After church we went for a drive to Days Bay and had a lovely lunch at the Lemongrass Cafe. The girls met a beautiful border collie named Layla and now they are certain that is the kind of dog they want us to get. I'm not sure how much longer we can put this off, but I think now that we've settled on a breed Dugald and I are running out of time. We all really wanted a golden retriever but decided it would probably be too big for our yard and home, though there is a fantastic park just a few doors down from us where we could walk the dog. I welcome any opinions from those of you who have had these breeds - I've heard the border collies are extremely active, but they are also incredibly intelligent and will enjoy herding the children for us :).

After lunch on Sunday we went home, changed clothes, and walked up the street to the McDouall's - Dugald's boss - for an afternoon visit and swim. It was really lovely - they have a beautiful home with lots of room to play and a large garden and their three girls are Alice age 13, Molly age 9 and Vita age 6 as I recall. The girls all went for a swim and played some games and got along really well. Andrew and Denys are very kind, I enjoyed meeting them and Denys helped point me in the right direction for doctors and dentists and ballet classes which was most helpful.

Our lives are starting to settle into more of a routine which is good and each day we feel slightly more at home. I am EAGER for our stuff to arrive from Texas so I can make the house feel more like ours, but we've managed well with the things we have and it was a great plan to rent somewhere already furnished because I can't imagine if I'd had to do it as soon as we got here!

Thanks again for all the emails, ecards and greetings for my birthday! It really has been a great one and I will remember it with joy.

Date Night

Hi everybody!! It's Friday night here in New Zealand and Dugald and I are on a date. Right now. And I'm blogging!! I came down to meet him at the office for our night on the town but he had to finish up some stuff. There is a Borders across the street along with Kirks, the department store, but sitting here in front of the computer sounded fantastic to me - really. I'm SO glad he's late because I'm now able to catch up, for free, on some email and update the blog. The update is, we still don't have internet. Praying for it to happen Tuesday, with the phone and cable.

The girls have mattresses now though - no more sleeping on the floor, and their beds should arrive next week. They are amazing kids, really rolling with the punches on everything. It helps tremendously to have Sarah here - they LOVE her and it allows me to focus on all the minutiae involved with moving.

I told you how I had to study for my drivers test in my last blog. . . well, last week my sister-in-law Liz called and invited me to lunch which of course I was thrilled to do. However, it did involve driving right into the center of town, and more importantly, finding a parking space. In fear and trembling I did it though and even managed to parallel park the big ole van. We had a lovely lunch, so fun to catch up, and she drove me to all sorts of shops to show me where to buy things here. Back to the drivers licence - since I was already here I decided to go ahead and sit my test. So after our lunch and shopping I bid Liz farewell, re-parked the car (4 hour limit) and headed over to the AA to take it. When I got there it turned out that the proof of residence that I had was not adequate so they sent me over to the bank to get a print out of a statement with my address on it. I did that, returned, and handed over my Texas licence, passport and said bank statement. Well, it turns out Texas doesn't put an issue date on drivers licences. The Kiwis need proof that I have been driving in America for more than two years. SO, now we have to get in touch with Texas, have them send some sort of documentation that proves I've been driving there, then go back. After searching on the internet Dugald found a way to contact TX but it will be weeks before we get the document, and hopefully it will be what we need, and then I will toddle on down to the AA again, with four kids in tow, and take the test. I tried.

On a lighter and happier note - Meggie is now signed up for soccer and should start soon. She will be playing on a mixed boys and girls team so I told her she may not get to handle the ball as much as she is used to and she said, "Mommy I have been playing soccer for four years, I am not worried about the boys". Love it.

Josie and Katie are signed up for ballet and start next week - Josie is taking "Fairy Ballet" which is just PERFECT for her. We're hoping our container arrives soon so she can get her hands on the dress-up box because she is allowed to wear fairy costumes to her class. She's bummed that next week she'll have to go in a "plain" dress. Katie is a bit nervous about meeting new girls so she is hesitant about her class, but I am pretty sure she will love it. I'm also looking into horseback riding lessons for Meggie and Katie as that was promised to them as a part of the move.

The girls have also met two more of their NZ cousins - my other sister-in-law, Julie, has two of her children in school just up the street from us and they stopped by with a lovely bouquet of flowers to welcome us last week. Lloyd and Julie have five kids - four girls, then a boy - so they are busy, busy with activities but we hope to see them often. Dugald keeps telling me they got a boy on the 5th, wink, wink.

Today we went to the Botanic Gardens after we finished school and it was simply beautiful. It was a lovely walk, albeit steep, and there was a fantastic play area near the top. It kind of reminded me of Central Park in that it is this beautiful piece of green in a sea of houses and buildings.

Thank you again to all who have emailed. I've been down to the library to check my email on a regular basis but usually my time runs out before I can send many replies.

Time for us to go get some Indian food. . . .

Unconnected

The biggest news from here in Karori is that we are still not connected to the internet. Once again I am at the library updating so for those of you who haven't heard from us I do apologize. The cable, internet and phone will all be hooked up together and it was all supposed to happen today, but alas, it is not to be. The cable guy came by one day last week and gave me the strangest explanation, lots of hand waving and pointing to the mountains around us and talking about trespassing with lines on neighbors property and basically saying they need another week to dig us in. Whatever. Bottom line, no internet and Sarah and I are virtually starving for it! So much news, so many people to talk to, so many pictures to post. When we do get hooked up the photos will probably bore you to tears because there will be so many!

Other than the technical difficulties life is still pretty storybook here. We've had some rainy days but we've managed to not get cabin fever. Yesterday we went to a fabulous museum, Te Papa, and spent the day exploring. The girls loved it and they could have learned so much, but they were far more interested in running around from one interactive exhibit to the next not much caring about what they all meant. There was an "earthquake house" that they paid grave attention to once we explained that Wellington sits on a fault line and the whole city is built in expectation of an earthquake. We explained about standing in the door frames and stood there while the floor shook and then wondered if we had been unwise thinking there might be nightmares as a result, but thankfully everyone slept fine and now they know what to do. We decided to skip the volcano room though, we'll discuss natural disasters a little at a time I think.

I drove to the museum by the way. Alone. Well, Sarah was with me but we don't know our way around at all so I thought we were pretty darn brave. We even found it straight away - yay us. Getting home was a different story. We got hopelessly lost and I called Dugald who rolled his eyes (I could see it through the phone), wondered aloud how in the world we had gotten where we were, and then gave me a series of 6 or 7 directions and turns to get me home. Of course I couldn't get all that but we got headed in the right direction and made it. Sarah and I were laughing because while I was talking to Dugald she ran into the dairy (Kiwi convenience store) to ask directions and the man said "You are VERY far from Karori" and Dugald pretty much said the same thing, but we were home in 20 minutes. Very far. Live in Texas if you want to find out what it is to drive very far. Snicker.

Tomorrow is trash day. Woo hoo. I told you I'd mention the trash situation and you simply would not believe it if you are an American. Especially if you are a not so green American like I was. Mercy. We have the smallest "rubbish bin" ever for pick up ONCE a week. Then we have a compost bin - everything edible, except meat because that will attract rats, goes in there along with brown paper (as in toilet paper rolls). There is also the plastic recycle bin, the paper recycling bin and I presume, but haven't found it yet, a glass recycling bin. The girls are having to be educated about where to throw things away. I am all for saving the environment, and I know we are on a wee small island, but this is all taking some getting used to. I have purchased cloth grocery bags, which I know I should have done in Tyler but I never did, so that I can avoid all the plastic. I have also purchased each child a reusable water bottle in their color since we no longer go to Sam's and buy a pallet of water to drink and throw away. In the end it is all good and I rather like it but you do get dirty looks if you happen to forget said cloth bag and walk home dripping in plastic. I'm not driving for crying out loud, give me a break!

Driving - well, I'm still working on getting a New Zealand license. I have the books and I've been studying but yesterday on the way home (the trip where we were lost) I wondered at a roundabout why everyone on my left kept staring at me while I watched them go until I remembered that they had to give way to me, not me to them, so they were simply wondering why I was just sitting there. I could drive on my TX license for a year, and I'd really like to, but we pay more in car insurance that way so Dugald is pushing me to get my license here and I actually have to study. They ask questions in kilometers and meters - as in "How many kilometers per hour can you travel in a construction zone" and "How many meters from a cross walk can you park".

We also went to church yesterday. We walked up to the Anglican church just up the hill from us, St. Mary's. It was very nice. We opted for the "contemporary service" partly because it started later and partly because we just like that better sometimes. The vicar (I think that's what you call the main guy) was away but the people who led the service were great. The guy who spoke was an atheist just 5 years ago. He's a lawyer here, though they call it something else but the word escapes me. His wife is about to be ordained as a Deacon - if you get ordained as a Deacon, maybe she's just made one, I don't know. Obviously I need to brush up on that stuff, but the bottom line is the people were great, the few who were there, and we liked the service and the girls were happy so I think we'll go back. They also have an earlier service that is more liturgical that we may go to once a month or so to sing hymns with the girls and show them how using the prayer book and stuff goes. We'll see. I met a nice lady there, Mary, who has lived in Karori her whole life. She offered to help me get the girls plugged in to activities and things. She also gave me the name of a friend of hers who has homeschooled her children for years so I will call her too.

I am just about out of time on the library computer so I will sign off now. Hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day this week!!!

Home Sweet Home

We are now in our house in Karori, Wellington but we are without internet at the moment so this will be a short update. We should get phone, internet and cable on Tuesday - yee haw!

It's so good to be settled and God was gracious to us and gave us a beautiful sunny day the day we arrived, so much better than when I first saw the house on a cold, wet day. The weather has been perfect for days and it certainly lifts the spirits, and makes the living situation more pleasant as we can "live" outside as well as in. New Zealand houses in general have so many more windows than we are used to and since nobody has a/c it's a good thing! Our home has been flooded with sunshine and a cool breeze, perfect. We've inherited a lovely garden and many house plants, I hope that they survive our tenancy.

The girls are still doing well though I have to say that as we were out and about yesterday we encountered a few stares and one question as to why they aren't in school. I am still planning on checking out the schools here, probably next week, but my intention is to homeschool at least for the time we are in this house. That may change though - give me one rainy day after Sarah leaves :). Just kidding, but really that decision is still very much in the making and nothing is set yet. I've been walking with Dugald to the bus in the morning and it is so much fun to see all the children, all in uniforms, walking alone and taking the bus to school. It must be a much safer environment because I just can't imagine doing that at home. When I was walking back yesterday a little girl Meggie's age passed me on her bike on the way to school. I think I would still feel the need to walk with them, but it is nice to see the children are pretty safe.

The walking to everything has been GREAT - nice fresh air and good exercise and everything is a reasonable distance. Yesterday we walked to the library and heard a storytime, then we went to the bakery, then the girls and Sarah went to the park that is on the way home while I went to the grocery store, then we all walked home together. So fun! We have been blessed with a great location - the town of Karori is super and the location of our house is easily accessible to all we need. It's hilly here so the girls (ok, and me) are getting used to that.

This morning we cleaned house - I gave each girl a job (Ellie's was simply to keep the cat out of the pile of dirt I had swept up off the floor) and we were done in a flash. There are benefits to a smaller home. Laundry is another story - it takes some time to hang everything on the line, but I feel so green when I do it! It dries pretty quickly in the garden but we do have a dryer if we need it for rainy days. I'll have to write about the trash situation another time.

Dugald is enjoying work - as I mentioned he takes the bus in and out and then walks up the hill to the house. Things are going well for him, he's busy but that is good.

I better finish as my time on the internet is almost up - I have to go to the library to check email and then pay for my time. We love and miss you all!

Weekend in the Wine Country

We had a great weekend in the Wairarapa celebrating Margaret's birthday - the weather was perfect and the setting was just beautiful. The girls got to meet more cousins - Alex, Hettie and Hugh who have just moved back to Wellington from Hong Kong a week before we arrived. We joked that there must be some magnetic force pulling us all this way because another of Dugald's cousins, Jo, and her son are also moving back from Canada.








These are pictures of Rob and Liz's "farm" in Martinborough.





The girls coloring the eggs to be used in the "Egg and Spoon" race with Hettie and Liz.






Liz and her family gave us a lovely little kitten named "Willow" as a housewarming gift - Liz did ask me first if that was alright. The girls are smitten and Willow seems to have taken to them as well, she has slept with Meggie and Katie every night.







Margaret's birthday celebration was joyous. Of course being in the wine country we had excellent wine and delicious fresh food and the children all played together beautifully. We had spoon and egg races and three-legged races with great prizes and the children could also swim or play ping-pong or take a walk along the creek or sit in the enormous cinema above the garage and watch movies. We were very well looked after the entire weekend - Dugald and I stayed in the pool house, the girls and Sarah were in the big house and Margaret and Hugh were in the cottage so there was plenty of room for everyone. Davina came and did laundry and took care of all the dishes so we just got to enjoy one another's company which was the perfect way to spend our first weekend reunited with Daddy.



Hugh and Margaret's cottage at the back of the property.






The family just visiting on the back porch






Dugald and his mother





Margaret and Hugh and some of their grandchildren -Hugh, Hettie and Alex are in the middle row, Hamish Howard (Kate and Ant's son) is in the back.



Meggie has a shower in the pool house after a swim. The girls are glad this pool is heated, most of the ones we've been in have been quite cold (at least to us).




I drove into Wellington with Dugald and we stayed in a hotel for a night while the children were at the farm so that we could get me a cell phone and put my name on the bank accounts and order new cards and other various bits of whatnot. I think I am going to enjoy Wellington once I know my way around but it was a bit overwhelming at first, the streets seem SO narrow and our van suddenly feels extremely big! I also noticed that there is a culture difference in the way we get things done - here everyone talks to everyone and for quite a long time. I am from the south and I know about being chatty and polite but this is the deep, deep south and they take it to a whole new level. I had noticed it a bit in the shops, and buying the car, but yesterday at the bank I finally asked Dugald about it. It made me crazy that every time he would talk to the girl who was helping us she would completely stop what she was doing and have a long conversation - so that we were in the bank for over an hour adding my name to the already established account. I gather I am going to have to allow a lot more time for errands than I am used to - but the good thing is you do get to know people.



I got to see Dugald's office which is fantastic, he has a great view of the city from his desk and more importantly his office is in the same building as the number one department store Kirkcaldie and Stains, mostly known as Kirks. It was great to see where he will be spending his days and he is really enjoying his job, he's been very busy these last few weeks. It will be so nice for him to be working with others as well after being self-employed for the past 10 years.



Tomorrow we all leave the farm for Wellington. I saw the house we will be living in when Dugald and I were in town for the day, my, my it is small. It is a lovely home and we will be fine but I am going to have to sort out where to store our things. I really felt I had down-sized in a big way leaving Texas but alas, there is more to be done. I went and bought two sets of bunk beds for the girls who will all share one room, but I do hope they will fit!



We miss our sweet friends and family very much but life here is exciting and new and keeping us busy so that we don't get too homesick. We love email though so write when you can!!

New Arrivals

We've arrived in the land of the long white cloud!!! It's summer here and the weather has been beautiful ever since we landed. The title of this blog "A Whole New World" is not only an accurate description of our new lives, but also a reference to Disney's "Aladdin" since the girls are princess-crazy. The words to the song apply in many ways. . .we do have a new, fantastic point of view, new horizons to pursue, we've come so far, etc.

We left Texas on a sad, cold day but were so blessed to have a contingent of friends to see us off in the Tyler airport. I felt terrible for the people trying to check in behind us as it was absolute chaos with our 11 checked bags and the same number of children running around like crazy people. Thank you to the Giles, Andersons and Knights for coming to help and to say goodbye.


The girls with Michael and Abby.

We have a precious photo of the children holding signs that read "You Miss We" because someone refused to change her spot in the lineup (someone adorable who had practiced that way and somehow had ended up with a different sign than she had practiced with!)


Avery and Gracie, Ann-Elizabeth, Sarah and Micah in the Tyler airport.

Having Sarah has been an absolute God-send. I am pretty sure I would have lost children in the Dallas airport without her. Boarding the train to get to our next terminal was a bit like boarding a subway in NYC during rush hour - we let a train pass because it was too full, then we realized we really HAD to get on the next one in order to make our connection so we pushed and shoved our way in with Sarah in front and me bringing up the rear and barely making it in before the doors closed. Oh, and did I mention the two-year-old was NOT in her stroller as she had insisted on walking and we didn't have time for one of her fits. We did make our connection to LA and that flight went well, getting the girls each a DS Lite for Christmas was a good thing!

Once in LA things were a bit more challenging - it was raining and we had to walk outside past two terminals to get from American to Air New Zealand. Once there we were surprised that we had to purchase a return ticket for Sarah which took awhile, then go through security again - always fun with four children! We made it though and once on the plane we all were happy campers - we flew in Premium Economy which was quite comfortable and nice. The girls were terrific the entire flight - E was a little diva with her eye covers, earphones and all the other fun accoutrements.


Baby E and Miss Sarah on the plane to Auckland.

We landed in Auckland and rushed to get to the front of the line to show our passports and go collect our luggage, only to wait there for an hour and never have the luggage arrive. We had to go to the lost baggage area and describe every bag and what it contained (which I have to say was a guess on my part - I'd packed them weeks ago and was functioning on very little sleep) before then going through customs with our carry-ons and finally being allowed upstairs where we were greeted by Kate, Dugald's sister, and Fay and Trevor, dear friends of ours from our Mercy Ships days who now live in Auckland. Fay and Trevor had come to help cart luggage and of course they'd all been waiting for several hours - but despite all of that we were all in good spirits just to see each other again!!


The girls with Fay and Trevor in Auckland.

We spent the weekend at Kate and Ant's in Auckland which was great fun and a good thing since it was two days before the bags turned up. We got to see three out of four of the Howard boys (Kate and Ant's children) and the girls LOVED being with their cousins. I had to rule upstairs off-limits to my children in order to give Kate's a little breathing room.


Ben, Kate, Tom, Ant and Wills.

The girls with Kate, Abby (Tom's girlfriend) Tom and Ant

M and E with Aunt Kate

Aunt Kate took the girls to a fairy shop and bought them each a gift before we left Auckland - here they are shopping.

We left Auckland on Tuesday and flew down to Palmerston North to be with Dugald's parents for a few days. We still haven't seen Dugald but we've spoken to him and he is doing well and enjoying his new job. Tomorrow we will see him when we drive down to Rob and Liz's farm in the Wairapa (not sure about the spelling on that) to celebrate Margaret's birthday.


The girls in the barrel at the Esplanade in Palmerston North.

We've found New Zealand to be a warm and welcoming country and today we bought a car and tomorrow I drive! I am a bit nervous about it but feel I can no longer use jet-lag as an excuse to not do it. Shopping here has been a new experience - for starters all the shops close at 6pm! The more frustrating difference has been the lack of inventory and the rather high prices. Margaret and I went to buy bunk beds for the girls and had to go to several shops to even find a place where we could buy two that matched - and even then we had to order them from a catalogue! The sales lady was very nice but in the end she made some mistake and ordered me four twin beds, which of course won't work in the girls' very small room, so now it's back to the beginning.

The car was a similar experience - I went to the Toyota dealership to look at a Highlander, Previa, Prado and LandCruiser. Of all of those they only had a Prado in stock for me to see. Can you imagine??? However, they also delivered a car to Hugh and Margaret's doorstep for us to peruse, which in the end we didn't purchase. Instead I am now the proud owner of a 2004 Chrysler Grand Voyager - and I won't even tell you Americans what I had to pay for it but you would be shocked! The girls love it though - they think the automatic doors are divine. My oldest daughter, car-lover that she is, insisted on being a part of the entire process. So, while her sisters were off swimming at the Esplanade with Sarah, M was with me buying a car! She takes after Papa I think. Little Miss E takes after him as well, we rode a train today in the park and she thought it was simply the most fabulous thing she has ever done.

All the children are doing very well and taking all the changes in stride. I think we all still feel a bit like we are on vacation since we haven't settled in our house in Wellington yet. We move in next Wednesday after our weekend at the farm. We miss and love all of you very much and we will stay in touch via this blog and email until we have a phone. We are grateful for your friendship!!!