Auckland, leading the world in New Year's Eve Celebrations

Natalie and I went to bed at 6PM to take a nap in anticipation of our late night New Year's Eve antics. Jeff woke us at 11PM (another nice nap, I get tired), and I dragged her out of bed. We walked the 10 minutes to Albert Park where we had a great view of the Sky Tower and enjoyed a midnight picnic. The countdown ensued and the fireworks that burst out of the top of the Sky Tower were amazing. 2016 was ushered in with shouts of "We are first!" since New Zealand is one of the first countries to experience 2016. After the spectacular display, I thanked Natalie for coming, even though she was tired, and asked if it was worth it, knowing she would remember this moment for the rest of her life. She replied, "No." Ahhh, welcome 2016 - the year of the preteen.
 

A nice nap

After arriving at our apartment in Auckland, New Zealand, which overlooks a 19th century cemetery, I promptly fell asleep for 2 hours. Nothing says I am an adventurer like a nice nap. Jeff and Natalie took this opportunity to walk downtown, scope out the grocery store, and get some much needed kiwi dollars. Later we lucked into Taco Tuesday (can't beat $3 tacos - yum).

Today Jeff and Natalie gave me a tour of downtown complete with fresh ham and cheese rolls from the local bakery, a picnic lunch at Albert park, and about a thousand photo ops of the Sky Tower. My loving husband gave me a massage at an Auckland spa for Christmas, which felt like the height of indulgence after a 14 hour flight. We have fallen in love with the city. (We have only been here a day and a half and Jeff has already had 2 $5 Turkish kabobs.)

Landed Safely

We landed safely in Auckland, New Zealand. We had a sweaty hour layover in Tahiti and are now on the bus into the city. As you can see Natalie is asleep. She did great on the flights and got to watch the Lego Movie 2 more times in route. That brings her grand total to 27 Lego Movie viewings (no judging).

And we're off like a herd of turtles

And we're off . . . like a herd of turtles. You know it's going to be a good trip when you find a diamond earring in your seat while waiting for your flight to board in LAX. (I turned it in to the lost and found.) Listening to audiobooks by the gate.

If not now, when.

It is with a heavy heart that I leave the good people at my company who spend their days helping cancer patients around the world with the products they make. As this new chapter unfolds I am full of enthusiasm and anticipation about what lies ahead for us in New Zealand.

While still in California, we are watching a river rafting video from New Zealand. I got a bit nervous when the raft went down a 20 foot drop off (on purpose). What am I getting myself into? Talk about adventure. Too bad you have to be 13 to go on that rafting trip; we will have to pick another so Natalie can go too (whew).