Getting Ready

This is what the last several months have looked liked:

End of June - We make the decision to accept the job in Gisborne, New Zealand.  Kelly loses a whole night of sleep as she explores amazing beach rental opportunities.   Brett tries to calm her down as she tries to commit to a lease before the job contract has even arrived or been signed.  This is Wainui Beach, where she is now determined to live.

July- Job contract arrives

August -  The deposit is placed on the beach house.  Otherwise known as a "bach".  Against Brett't better judgement,  Kelly rents a place she has only seen one picture of the inside of - can't wait to see how this turns out.   

the deck on our future house - does it really matter what the inside looks like?

September - now for a really crazy month.  Garage Sale.  Brett runs an Ironman Triathlon.  Liam starts kindergarten (a day late because of the triathlon).  Got the house ready and put it on the market.  Sold it in 4 days. Sent in Visa paperwork, sent back to us denied.  And, then, Brett heads to a conference in Denver.  Never want to do a month like that again.

Garage sale

Ironman finish 13hrs, 43 mins

first day of kindergarten and preschool

house goes on market Sept. 25

October -

Still feeling a little out of control.  Found a temporary furnished house to live in (thank god).  Phoebe turns 4 and gets her ears pierced.  Had to finish up some items to close out open work permits on the garage we built (5 years ago).  Move out of our house!!! (oh the sadness of this event was a little overwhelming for me).   And...finally, the approved visitor, work, and student visas arrive!!!!

Adams family moves out on Oct. 24th, 2010

Arrival of the visas and the "Welcome to New Zealand" guide for immigrants

November -

Life has calmed down.  Feeling really settled in new house.  Trying to prepare for the biggest packing challenge of my life.  Flights booked.  New suitcases bought (going really lightweight).  And, even sold the good old Subaru!!  One of the many items we have sold on craig's list.  Trying to prepare for a crazy December!!

even got in a november trip to the lake

so long, farewell old friend

The Journey Begins

The job contract is signed, the house is sold, and the plane tickets are bought.  This really is happening.  The Adams family is taking off and moving from St. Paul, Minnesota to Wainui Beach, New Zealand.  The most common question I get when I tell people that we are moving is "Why???"  The best short answer I can give is "because we can" or "for the pure adventure of it" and this is the truth.  We are not being forced to do this and we are not running away from anything.   In fact, one of the hardest parts of this move is that we are happy - we have/had good jobs, a cute little house, and a very comfortable life.  Maybe too comfortable.  We knew it was time, time to live out a dream.
That brings me to the long answer to "why are doing this?' (you can stop here if the short answer did it for you)  It really all started around the time Brett and I met on that cold ice skating rink back in February of 1998.  He had recently returned from some Euro-travel and was applying to Medical and PA schools.  I was a self proclaimed travel junkie and was in my first year of Physician Assistant school at Augsburg.  From the start, we talked about how one day we both wanted to travel and live in another country "someday".   We were young, of course it would happen. And then, life really started happening.  Brett ended up in medical school (because, of course, he wasn't accepted into any PA programs).  I graduated from PA school and started working.  Brett proposed. Then residency, a house, the kids, and the real job for Brett.  Phew!  We still managed to do some traveling, but once those little kiddos started showing up our life really changed.  We always continued to talk about our dream of moving away for awhile and experiencing a different culture.  We started to realize that if we were going to do something, this would be the perfect time in our lives.  Our house was getting too small, our kids were getting easier.  It was either time to buy a bigger house and have another baby, or start living out a different goal.   Not any easy decision, and I struggled with it for awhile....guess you know which way we decided to go.
Stay tuned to hear how this life changing decision worked out for us.  I can't wait to find out myself.   And, I look forward to sharing the stories of our adventures.  Should be quite the ride!