A job interview!

You know it's time to find a place to settle down and make some roots when you call the airline company to figure out your frequent flier numbers and it takes you 4 guesses to get the right zip code to find your account!

It's that time again...time to research, interview and decide on the next phase of our little journey of life. The 5 of us trekked across the Pacific to Jackson, MS for an interview with the University of Mississippi. It was a great trip and we made it there and back in one piece! The kids did great with a few issues here and there. But overall, they are amazing little travelers and quite the globe-trotters.

We really enjoyed our time in Jackson. The Fairview Inn was amazing, the people were genuine and so friendly and helpful and we liked the city. We have also heard interest from Richland Hospital in Columbia, SC so we are now waiting to hear back from both with yay or nay.

The waiting game...oh so tough! But we know God will put us in the right place. He always does! Each city we have lived in has enriched our lives in one way or another. The friends we've made are life-long and the lessons we've learned will always be cherished. What a wonderful journey we have been on and now we look forward to settling down and starting a new chapter of our lives.

Off we go to America!

Calvin is such a big boy and a huge help! He liked wheeling CB through the airport!

Waitin' on daddy to park the car and help us get checked in for our first leg of four.

We had some time in Wellington to hang out. The first of many hang outs! :)

Hangin' out in LAX. We had a looong layover in LAX so we passed the time with napping, eating and playing.

Caroline's personal recliner...it goes wherever she goes! And...as usual...apple in hand!

Peek-a-boo! Calvin found a good spot to play in under and in between the seats. During our long layovers, we'd find a less crowded gate and set up camp in a corner. When it was time to move to our correct gate, we always left a little trail of crumbs behind. Poor custodians.

Since we left our pre-paid phones at home, Ben bought a calling card to use on the pay phones to check in with our parents. I mean really, when was the last time you used a pay phone?! It was really funny and a throw back to the age of pre-technology. An age our children will never even comprehend b/c in today's world, everyone walks around with a cell phone, IPhone, IPad, etc... like it's a third hand. Never will they know that if you wanted to make a call to someone and you were on the road, you had to look for a pay phone sign on the side of the road, make sure you had a dime or quarter then pull over to make the call. Never will they understand that we used to write letters - in hand-writing - if we wanted to communicate with someone long distance instead of zapping out an email in 2 seconds.

Dallas had a great waiting area by our gate. It was a 5/6 hour layover so we were happy to use this nice area.

Sometimes, MaeMae and Calvin like to gang up on little Caroline. They were enjoying teasing her by taking her drink away from her. But guess who wins every time!

Sweet success!

Catherine and Peter Arnold and we were in Charlottesville at the same and Ben loved working with Peter. Catherine is such a dear, sweet person and I've enjoyed our time together!

What a warm welcome we got in Jackson. Thank you to the Arnold's for making us feel right at home!

The Arnold's 3 great kids - Thomas, Charles and Jane. They were so much fun and the kids had a blast with them!

Remnants of a good chocolate chip cookie cake!

Thought this was so cute! A cricket "how-to".

The little pool shark.

Pretty as a picture are our two moms! I think the grandkids keep them young! :)

There was a great game room right by GP and Grandma's room. It had heaps of board games, a pool table and all. The kids couldn't decide if they had more fun playing "stuff the pool balls in my shirt" or "who can roll the balls the fastest across the table without squishing my fingers".

Peek-a-boo cutie pie!

I brought about 4 pairs of clothes for everyone with the idea to wash while were there in order to cut down what we carried with us. We found an awesome, brand-new laundromat near the inn. The kids loved watching the clothes go round and round and had fun playing on the kiddie table/chalk board.

GP can sleep anywhere - even a noisy laundromat.

We even enjoyed a healthy McDonald's lunch, thanks to Mimi! Fun times!

Our breakfasts were so much fun, eating together in the dining room...breakfast already made - hot and delicious and no dishes to clean! Perfect!!

MaeMae's favorite toy from Mimi and Papaw, a Rapunzel doll. They stayed in the Strawberry Room and were nice and cozy with an extra daybed for a little one. Or an adult...the first night Mimi was in the room, Calvin and MaeMae decided to stay with her. All 3 started off in the king size bed but shortly Mimi was kicked out - literally - by MaeMae and she ended up in the daybed. I mean, who wouldn't want stinky feet and hands in their face while they slept?

CB at her favorite place - the dinner table. This girl loves her food and insists on feeding herself, no matter what it is. We caught her using a spoon with her Rice Krispies at this time but soon after she reverted back to her usual of grabbing handfuls of Rice Krispies and shoving them in her mouth. Oh yes, she's got quite the manners. :)

Mimi and her sidekick, MaeMae. It was hilarious to watch MaeMae follow Mimi around the minute she arrived to the Fairview. They were best buddies! Too cute!

Mom and dad got the "loft" suite and were on the front end of the house. It was a great room and perfect to keep the little ones away from the rest of the guests. Well, for short periods of time anyway. :)

Calvin spent the night with GP and Grandma, Caroline stayed in our room and MaeMae was attached to Mimi's hip the entire time. It was so fun! The Fairview Inn was amazing and felt like being in a big, cozy home.

A few times during the week, Calvin would get Caroline and they'd gang up on MaeMae. I have no idea where he learned this but it was not fun for MaeMae but we got a good chuckle watching Caroline mimic Calvin. Poor MaeMae!

Our last family pic together! It was an awesome week with Mimi & Papaw and Grandma & GP (Grandpa). Thank you so much for travelling all that way to be with us! We were so relaxed and were able to really take a good look at Jackson because of your help. And, the kids loved spending every minute with their grandparents. Y'all are dearly missed!

Our seats from LAX to Auckland were just grand, you can see. It was 4 seats down the middle and 2 on either side of the aisle. Where was Ben seated, you ask? In front of Calvin! Yes, I had the kids tucked in nicely with me down the center aisle. Needless to say, it was a loooong 13 hour flight and Ben will be owing me a nice dinner out or a spa treatment. :)

On this leg, Caroline spilled water all over her (she loves to shake her sippy cups til they empty of all water enclosed), or so I thought it was water. Ben took MaeMae to the loo and Caroline tagged along to get out of the carseat. We both noticed how soaked she was and I told Ben it was just water she spilled and not to worry. I'd change her when we landed in Auckland (3 hours later). (Yes, I realize this was a long time for her to sit in water but it was a feat to get out clean, dry clothes and I just put one of those airplane blanket down to soak it up and dry her out - we've done that trick before.) Well, we got to Auckland and as we got Caroline out of her seat I smelled an unpleasant aroma coming from her rear. You can imagine the surprise we had waiting for us. She had produced an awful, runny diaper and had sat in it alllll that time! We both felt terrible but what's done is done. So, we hurried off the plane and found a place to change her and promptly threw away her brand-new yet ruined leggings. I guess we learned our lesson.

Home again! We made it, finally, to Wellington and were welcomed with pouring rain and gray skies. Kind of weather we were welcomed with in July so it really felt like a true homecoming. :) Luckily, the weather turned beautiful that afternoon and we enjoyed the warm sunshine of NZ. What a fun, long, informational, family-oriented trip.

Now bring on the South Island!