I think the adventure is beginning.

As anyone who has read my blog knows, I've been looking for something. But I dont know what it is. I need the next big challenge. I kind of want something scary. Exciting. New.

Nope, still dont want a kid.

Scott & I have been bouncing around the idea of moving away for awhile. Everyone who talks to me for 5 minutes knows this. But I feel like thats all it is. Talk. We are committed to staying in our house for another year, which is why there is a hold up. Why are we stuck? Obama gave us $8,000 (thanks, I think) for being first-time home buyers in 2009. This was a tax credit, and didn't have to be payed back. At the time, the stipulations were that we couldn't rent the house out in the first year, that we couldn't have owned any property prior to this home, and that we couldn't sell in the first year. If we broke this "agreement" (nothing was signed, but worse, its money the IRS watches...) then we would simply have to hand $8,000 back to the government. Fair enough. Then a letter came in the mail after a year. One single sheet of paper with one paragraph that basically said (and I'm paraphrasing): Just kidding!!! You may not sell/rent for 36 months after purchasing your home, or you owe us 8,000 bucks! 

So our talk about moving has felt cheap (or expensive, as the case may be), because we can't leave until sometime in the summer of '12. We dont have to live in our house the full 12 months of each year to be the main owners, so we have some wiggle room. We can leave probably as early as April or May. Technically 36 months is up in August.

Anyway.

Here it is. I'm throwing myself into this. Officially. It's time for a change. We're young and I need to experience this life, because frankly I don't believe we get another one after this (even though it would be soooo cool). And I am so happy for my friends who are advancing in their careers, going back to school, having/adopting much loved babies. But that's not what I want. It's not what we want. So this is it. Today the real adventure starts.

We will move. As soon as is possible. To New Zealand.

And this is why:

It's a small country with a lot to offer. Natural beauty, real people, excitement, heart & soul. I think if you know us, you know we have to go...

So wish us luck telling our parents (re: my mother), gathering the paperwork, proving our worth to a foreign country. To renting out our adorable house and packing only the most important bikes belongings. To saying farewell (just for now) to friends & family, our favorite restaurants & vacation spots. To finding jobs, finding a spot to live, and finding adventure.

It starts today. And there's a long list of to-do's!

Kiwi. Does he even need a caption??