It's been a busy month since my last blog post, so I thought I would catch you up on a few happenings in our lives and share some pretty exciting news.
October brought two very important people for a visit: my mom, Greenbean, and her husband, Paul. They stayed for four wonderful weeks, and we did a lot of local exploring while they were here, from One Tree Hill to Hunua Falls, the hot springs to the rec center wave pool. We made sure they had a good time. :)
I think they were feeling a bit more comfortable in New Zealand this time around, as they ventured out on their own a bit, navigating the city's bus system with only minor anxiety ;). They even took a ferry to Rangitoto and spent the day checking out the famous volcanic island that sits right off Auckland's coast.
Of course the kids' favorite part of their visit was spending time with GB, especially in the kitchen. I think my poor mom baked, like, 3 birthday cakes and 4 dozen cookies -- not to mention a number of brownies, cupcakes and other sweets the kids talked her into making -- while she was here.
Also on the agenda this month was the girl's 9th birthday. October 31 is always one of our favorite days of the year since we get to celebrate our special gal and Halloween too. This year we went trick-or-treating with some of the girl's best friends (I think we had 8 kids in the pack) and then had cake and presents at our house. It was a wild, fun, lolly-fueled night, and the kids had a blast!
In other news to note:
- We watched the sun set from Mt. Pukematekeo, one of the highest points in Auckland's Waitakere mountain range (or as GB calls it, the Why-taco mountains). I totally recommend this if you ever make it to Auckland.
- My mom brought me a pair of official LL Bean boots from the U.S. so I could up my gumboot game.
- We survived Spring Break and welcomed warmer, summery days. It's definitely feeling like summer this week and, if you haven't heard me mention it before, summer is AMAZING here :)
- We spent a weekend in beautiful Mangawhai Heads north of Auckland, where the girl did Tae Kwon Do camp for the second year in a row. (I chaperoned camp for the first time this year and, by the grace of God, will never have to do that again ;)
- We went indoor rock-climbing for the first time ever. Shane even took a spin.
- We went on a boat! The William C. Daldy, a 1930s coal-fired tug boat that once saved a piece of the Auckland Harbour Bridge from sinking while under construction, gave us a super fun time chugging around the harbor.
And let's see...anything else to mention?? Oh yes, there is one little thing to share: We got our New Zealand residency!!!
Shane started the process of trading in our 30-month work visas for something a bit more permanent a few months ago. He very diligently sourced 100 pages or so worth of documents, including college diplomas, old work histories and a series of photos proving our relationship is legit. (Spoiler: It is!) He did a great job, as the immigration agency only had one additional request to add to the pile of papers we provided. (We were expecting the worst; the process was MUCH HARDER the first time around when applying for our work visas.) A few months after submitting our application, we had official papers in hand saying New Zealand is happy to have us as long as we are happy to be here.
It was a really exciting day for us as it means we have a bit more control over our time here and how long we decide to stay. As you can probably tell, we quite like New Zealand and feel it's been very good for our family. So we're not in a big rush to head back to America. That could change -- you never know. But at least now we have the option to choose whether we stay or go.
Ok, so that's a pretty good look at what we've been up to. Our lives here have become a bit more routine, with more focus on regular day-to-day stuff -- school, practices, homework, friends, community. You know, regular life. I don't think that necessarily makes for interesting blog content. But it is a testament to how at home we feel abroad, and how much we love our life here in New Zealand. And that's a good thing. :)
Until next time!
