For those of you who are curious, here is the update.

It was a big day yesterday -- Kristin's family came over from Elmore and my mom came down from Chaska to help us load up the worldly belongings that were either too sentimental or too practical to part with and drive them over to a storage unit in Blue Earth. It was a pretty busy day and a half, but we are left with an empty house, sore backs, and a load of gratitude for those who were able to help.

Travel stuff: We are leaving Minnesota (really -- tickets and everything!) on Dec. 18th, at an ungodly hour of the morning. Arrival in SFO, then a couple of days visiting with Alan and Masami and the boys wherever we find them. A couple of days in Fort Bragg with dad, and then Christmas eve through the 27th with Deb and Tim, with a celebration of Debbie's 40th birthday (observed).

Jake's itinerary is a little more complex, and has caused much anxiety and wringing of hands. He goes to LAX on the 15th, Sydney on the 20th, and comes over to Perth after the mandatory quarantine is finished in January.

The 27th is the day -- after 4 years of planning, saving, spending, and stressing, we fly from San Francisco to Auckland, NZ on the 27th for a little vacation, then on to Perth on 4th of January. Address in Perth will change 2-3 times in the first few months, but we'll keep this site updated.

I was hoping to be witty, entertaining, and informative, but only had energy enough for 1 out of 3. -nm-