Going kiwi!

It has been quite the rainy few days around here. I typically enjoy rain and storms - the smell of rain, the cool air it brings, the power of lightning. It was nice for a day or two, but I'm getting a little stir crazy. I usually spend several days a week outside running and lately I've had the windows open almost daily. Needless to say, that hasn't been happening this week.

So, for those of you enduring the rainy spell with me, I'll share the story of how in the world Grant and I are even GOING to New Zealand.

This is a map of New Zealand. We start in Auckland,

drive all the way down, ferry across to the south island,

 drive down the east side and back up the west side,

finally driving across to end at Christchurch. Of course,

there will be plenty of stops along the way!

It all started when we were dating. As our relationship became more serious, we increasingly talked about future plans. Travel was one thing important to both of us. We wanted to make a concerted effort to travel. Dreaming, thinking, talking - it was a blast! Over time, money was put aside for a big trip together. We were serious!

A throwback: our first date!

Fast forward a few years: I've just finished my first year of grad school, Grant's still working at the big bad accounting firm, and an international trip together seems like the furthest thing from our reach. I maxed out subsidized loans for school, and we still owe a hefty amount of money for my second year. Enter: Grant's deal seeking wonders. He found a credit card offer that included 100,000 bonus miles if you spent a certain amount in the first year. That amount was - you guessed it - exactly the amount that we owed my school. And, we'd saved our homebuyer tax credit to help with school expenses. We have not seen another credit card offer anything close to that deal since!

My second year of grad school goes by, sometimes in slow motion and sometimes at super sonic speed.

We made it! Grant gets an honorary degree for standing by my side.

I take a month off, study for my licensing exam, get licensed... And then I'm not sure what to do. We don't want to plan a trip because I'm not sure when or where I'll be working. Upon the arrival of 2012, we talk about our goals and hopes for the next several years and realize that it's now or never. We have the money saved up, we have plenty of skymiles, we have the ability to go, and we don't have kids! What's been holding us back?!

We spend hours on the phone with American Airlines to get our free plane tickets (thanks to the aforementioned air miles, another almost as good deal for air miles he found at the same time, and miles from his accounting firm travels), and we finally have an itinerary! It's official: we're going to New Zealand! How did we pick New Zealand, you wonder. Well, we wanted to see another part of the world. It was either Europe or Australia. Grant has always wanted to visit New Zealand, so that was going to be part of the trip. And we wanted to have time to really get to see a country, so we decided to leave Australia out of the itinerary. Sad, I know. But it will be worth it as we immerse ourselves in New Zealand!

We have a layover in Sydney, so we will see about this much of Australia. :) 

The other amazing part of the story is that we had no clue what to do over there, and we didn't have much time to plan. We found a company that offers tours of New Zealand via rental car...and then we realized how expensive it was. They gave a detailed description of the itinerary on their website, so we used what we wanted of it and changed the rest. We were able to book our trip for MUCH cheaper than they would have charged and it includes exactly what we want. We had enough money to pay for our dream vacation! Without the free flights, there is no way we would have gone to New Zealand - those flights are pricey!

We chalk it up to the favor of the Lord. He cares for all aspects of our lives, even the crazy parts of us that want to fly halfway around the world to see the culture of the Kiwis. We are still blown away that our dream is becoming a reality.

We are amazed at how this has all come together. We could never have planned it all in such a perfect way and are incredibly thankful. What important or seemingly unimportant details of your life has the Lord proven He cares about? Something to ponder.

Love, the George family