It has been years since I have updated this website. It used to be something I did after any event in the Chapman family. Didn’t have to be big; first day of school, small trip, or any happenings I wanted to document. But it was also the big stuff. It was never intended to be here for others, but it was always nice to know others did look at it. Mostly, I do it for me so I can look back and remember what had happened (good or bad). Facebook took over most of the day-by-day documentation, but it was never the same.
I am updating it now because of a very big trip we are on, New Zealand, and I have the opportunity to write about it during the trip. Obviously, a lot of other major events have happened since the last posting that I haven’t written about; my dad, David Chapman, passed away in August. Caden started high school and Molly middle school. I started a new job as a manager, Katy started as a yoga instructor. We bought a place in Winter Park. Caden had a major bike accident (full recovered), and of course dozens of trips. Maybe I will go back and write about some of those, but for now, this is all about a bucket list trip for the Chapman Family!
Some may know, but many years ago we started giving our kids a trip for Christmas instead of big gifts. The tradition is that on Christmas morning, they would open a gift together which would provide (obscure) clues about where we were heading. Then, usually 3-4 days later, we go. The trips are always local; San Diego, Austin, Tucson, Chicago, Florida, etc.. They tend to be short (4-6 days), and try to go somewhere new for all of us. We also try to go somewhere warmer than Colorado, but not always.
Not this time. This time a few different things lined-up to open a whole new possibility. My dad passing away left us some money we were not expecting. We did do some responsible things with it, some good money choices, some college investment, but the reality is we didn’t need it for too many things so why not travel? Afterall, it is something my dad enjoyed immensely. The kids also had a fair amount of time off for winter break…maybe not too much more than normal, but it lined up nicely. Last, if the rule is to go where it is warm, then might as well go where it is Summer!
After Katy and I decided to do a big trip, we quickly thought of Hawaii, cruises, Bahamas, Mexico, Europe, and some others. But something about how this year has been on everyone with so many changes and higher expectations that I just decided to go all out and the topic of Australia and New Zealand became our focus. Quickly, just one became our focus because while 16 days is a long time, it is not two country long. Even when New Zealand emerged as the winner, many said 16 days was not long enough for both islands!
We got to work either way on planning. First thing I did was buy plane tickets to commit us to this idea. It also financially committed us because wow. Next, we found a travel agent to help build the trip. Anyone who knows us knows we do this ourselves. We plan every stop and every activity but leave a lot to spontaneity and I have to say, we are pretty good at it! But New Zealand was a whole other world (at least hemisphere of one). So we got help. We also devised an early Christmas present for the kids to open (like in September) because they had to be part of the planning. They knew it was big and we hyped it up that way but I think they were still floored to learn how big.
The other catch of this trip is we needed to leave ASAP after school to maximize the trip, which meant missing Christmas with the family. No denying that is a big deal given the magnitude of Christmas in the Kinneavy family. Molly has become her mom in the enthusiasm she puts into the many events around this time of year. We still did most of them; ginger bread houses, Spirit Party, two gift exchanges, Chanukah, various light events. But we would miss Christmas Eve and Day. For me, that works, I am with my family and we are doing something epic. For Katy and Molly, it was much harder (Caden was sad, but nothing could bring him down from this trip). We made sure to make up for it by promising stockings and some resemblance of tradition and normality while there.
From there, the trip got into planning and we got excited. Very excited. I indicated earlier that our family needed this trip because of our stress levels, and that may indicate a relaxing time away, but this trip was planned to be anything but sitting still. While I am sitting on the balcony of a luxury lodge in the middle of a sheep farm while writing this, we will be on the move for most of these 16 days. And that is awesome.