New Zealand Hat Trick

Yesterday… what a day!.. with three major happenings.

One, we officially acquired our very own New Zealish van (not mini).

Like many who visit this country, we decided to purchase a car with the plan of selling it at the end of our two months here. Assuming the vehicle sells at only a small loss, it ends up being much cheaper than renting. Assuming…

So, if anyone has a friend in Christchurch who might be in the market for a 2001 El Grande somewhere around the end of February, please let us know.

Two, Holly sat for the SSAT in Auckland. The preparation was not a lot of fun.

Nor was the test itself. (Holly was the only person testing yesterday in Auckland, NZ, so she bonded big time with the proctor.)

We could not be more proud of Holly’s focus in preparing for the test or her general good cheer when she and I had to leave the beach to head back to the city for the test. The good news? It’s over!

The bad news? Our fear of starting an NZed wildfire, and desire to enjoy a peaceful sunset instead, led us to reject Holly’s idea of SSAT testprep book bonfire last night.

Third, and most exciting of all, we became 7!

Phoebe, the elder, flew in from Maine, via Newark and LAX. Phoebe Holladay Walsh is my cousin, the third youngest of 18. I’m the oldest. I remember vividly watching her as a tiny baby and now, a moment later, she’s an amazing young woman. She graduated very successfully from Franklin & Marshall last June and was up for an adventure before real life sets in. She’ll be with us for our whole NZ journey. We couldn’t be happier to have her. So far…
She’s helped us charm an alpaca…