Kia ora, whānau! (Hi, family & friends!)
I left you on a cliff hanger last time, so I suppose I should finally update you on things around here 🙂
The move to Whanganui went really well! We had so many people show up for us to offer a hand with the child-managing and heavy lifting, it honestly was the smoothest move I think we’ve ever had (and we have moved a LOT in the last few years!). We are in love with the house and are we’re in, and hopefully don’t have to move again for a gooooood long while.
Our house is on a quiet cul-de-sac in a nice part of town. We went from a four bedroom to a three bedroom, but this house is actually bigger than the last one and has a lot more features that make it much more comfortable. We have three (yes, three!!) bathrooms which is like GOLD in New Zealand. Halston and Clarke are living the bunk bed life and it’s honestly gone much better than expected! We have a big kitchen with a gas stove, and the main living space has two heat pumps so we stay nice and cozy! We even have a laundry room with a big sink (all I’ve ever wanted!) and we have enough room for a dryer…another rarity in NZ 🙂 The yard has some fruit trees and a raised garden bed, so you know Ayden is already planning what he’s going to be growing this spring. He also has transformed the garage into a workout room/playroom which lets all of us get some energy out even when the weather is bad. Thankfully we’ve been lucky to have had really nice winter weather; 50s or 60s for a high and not much rain overall.
We live not too far from Victoria Lake, which is a beautiful walk with lots of native plants and birds. The kids’ favorite part is Rocko the Rock Snake, and we plan to soon paint our own contributions to help him get all the way around (he gets about halfway around so far).
In other news, Ayden accepted a job in town! He will be working with people who have had accident claims and helping them to make a plan to transition back into the workplace. He doesn’t start until mid-September, but he’s very excited to get out of the house and back to work. Because we’ll both be working full time, the kids have started daycare part time for the next few weeks and will slowly transition to full time by the time Ayden’s job starts. They’re loving it so far! Halston will start school in January when the new school year starts, even though he could go now. New Zealand allows children to start the day they turn 5, if you want, but they aren’t required to start until they’re 6. We wanted to give us all a little time to transition to living in town and to get to know schools, settle into jobs, etc., before he officially starts school. And to be completely honest, we didn’t feel ready for it to be school time yet. The last five years have flown by, and it’s hard to believe that our oldest is already off to Kindergarten (Year 1 here in NZ). He will be so ready when he starts, but I think that going to daycare and getting back into a routine of being away from us and interacting with other kids and adults will be good for him (and the younger two, too).
My job continues to go well, and even the new hour commute has been pretty tolerable. I’m used to the twists and turns of the road now, and my little new-to-me car has been lovely to zip back and forth in. We’ve gotten into a new rhythm adjusting for my drive time, and although being away for two extra hours a day isn’t ideal, it’s manageable for now and won’t last forever. I am blowing through audiobooks and podcasts, and I’ll take any recommendations for things I should listen to on the drive! I’m really loving my teaching job, and while of course it has its challenges, I feel like I’m really growing and hopefully making a positive impact there. Can you believe we’ve already been here for over six months?
Just a short one today; don’t forget to leave a comment or send us an email saying hi 🙂
Miss you all! -Erin & family
I wondered how the move went. Thanks for the update! Looking forward to continued updates from you about live in New Zealand. Congrats to Ayden on the job offer!