New beginnings ...

So I have finally found a way of accessing blogger - hurray!!!! We most definitely can't get broadband where we are and although I have now signed up for dial-up it is most definitely not to be used for anything with pictures! I signed on to blogger the other day and sat waiting for 3 minutes and the dashboard still hadn't fully appeared. So I am currently sitting in a cafe that does the most amazing flat whites, these are similar to the English latte, and has a wifi connection.

So much has been going on and I've really wanted to keep a record of it. I realise that blogging has provided me with a fantastic way of recording our daily life and I've noticed that since I haven't been able to post I haven't taken that may photos - strange how something creeps up on you and you only realise how much when you don't have it anymore.

The girls are all well and truly settled in, in fact I have just dropped Maia of at her first kindy session this afternoon. A couple of days after arriving she asked me if there were schools in NZ and so we have found a lovely little kindy which she'll attend for 2 afternoons a week. Cassia seems to have grown up overnight since arriving here. The freedonm they both have is just amazing.

Big differences I noticed so far:

1 No cars parked on the roads - they all have a drive and/or garage!

2 The pavements and roads are really wide so the girls have freedom to walk on their own on the pavements (and there's also way fewer cars where we're living!)

3 The quiet - we have peace at last - just birdsong and the sound of surf (in fact we are wondering why we would want to move form this area but more of that later!)

4 The coffee is fantastic - there are a lot of coffee roasters in NZ and they roast the beans quite differently from Europe to give a much mellower taste but they make it stronger in the cafes - just the way I like it!

5 The big sky - the sky always seem bigger over here, even when the weather's not great!

6 The great outdoors - we've spent loads of time outside since arriving - in the garden, the park, the beach, eating etc, etc

Things I've missed so far:

1 The snow - what was that? I've been sent photos of the snow that came at the end of October and the girls would have loved it!

Is it bad just to have missed one thing?!!!!! We've not been gone long enough to miss anything else but I'm sure it will come. Now I need to catch up on everyone else's going's on!

PS Got some fanastic bargains to share but just need to get organised with the camera!