We got here.

Well, we got here! The flights weren't amazing, not to mention the months of preparation and anxiety before we even took off. Of course when we got to the airport 4 of our 8 bags were wildly overweight so we did that thing where you expose your underpants to the entire Air New Zealand staff trying to re distribute all of our stuff.

Lili is a kind of packing rockstar - she has a spreadsheet with the contents of each piece of luggage (which because of the weight debacle wasn’t so accurate in the end) - we were truly prepared, physically. 

Emotionally is a different story. Every member of our family has taken turns having major melt down tantrums. Key detail is taking turns. It’s been less than a week but the constant emotional rollercoaster has made it feel a whole lot longer.

Wellington is small but has a lot of character. Our rental home is gorgeous and quirky. Its beautiful windows look out to vast forests, but down the road you have all the shops (including a video store! VHS!).

It’s quite beautiful here. It’s summer but there is a lot of rain and overcast and mere moments of glorious blue skies.

Lili found a giant Sunday morning farmers market where she bought a huge bounty. 

Natan bought an espresso machine on FaceBook Marketplace so he’s in heaven there.

Ayala and Kat made friends their age at shul and went to buy school stationary together and hang at the beach.

Selah found a soccer field 10 min walk away. He seems to always feel calmer even with just the knowledge that a field is close by.

Roi started preschool and went on a field trip on day 2 even though there was torrential rain.

There is NO KOSHER SNACKS (sorry - there is one brand of salted chips) or much of anything kosher. We got a block of cheese from the basement of the shul where they sell some things for 4 hrs a week. The Jewish community, though small, is very welcoming and helpful.

Someone else will write the next one - miss you all.

Natan