The BIG move!

Yes, we are still alive...barely. It's been a rough couple of months, but I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. At least that's what I keep telling myself.

In the last couple of months we have tried to sell our house which was unsuccessful. Not much of a surprise considering the present state of the real estate market! Fortunately, some awesome renters fell into our lap so at least we won't be paying two mortgages for the next year!!! John turned one! Katie finished kindergarten. Not really sure how we lost that whole year. I swear my life is in fast forward right now and I can't find the pause button. Next, I got sick the day Todd defended his research and gradated from his five year residency in orthopaedics. HOOORAAY...but sad I couldn't really enjoy the celebration to the level it deserved! I think we both had days where we thought that day would never come. Good thing it did! And, seriously lame that I have absolutely no pictures to document such a monumental occasion. Bad wife. The next day we moved out of our cute little house on the prefect tree lined street. Left our sweet neighbors and friends. Again, no pictures. I think I was lucky to be functioning on some level that day. Good thing we had help! Next, we moved into my parent's house and tried to resume some sort of normalcy for a few weeks. Joey hasn't tolerated the move well at all and John has turned into a little tyrant with all the extra attention, so I'm feeling stellar about my parenting skills right about now. We've applied for passports, visas, and looked for a job once we get back. It's been nuts! Oh, and now we're on the road to LA for some final family visits, a trip to Disney and a 13+ hour flight to flee the country. Sorry, for the giant run-on paragraph, but there's no better way to describe the last 3-4 months of our lives. It's really just been a "run-on" philosophy for life in general. I'm actually looking forward to a little slower pace for the next few months because the last few have about done me in!!

But, to be honest, one can't really complain when you're moving here for the next year!

Tauranga, New Zealand

By next week we should all be lounging on that beautiful beach! If we can survive the plane ride with three small children and find somewhere to live once we get there! Wish us luck!

ps. I'm having serious anxiety over driving on the other side of the road, putting my poor daughter in the middle of first grade in another country, Joey starting school, power adapters/converters, grocery shopping, understanding people and the metric system!!