March 25 – May 13, 2020 When the world stopped, we stopped. The day we were scheduled to travel from Wellington to Christchurch, during the few hours we were on a ferry to the South Island, it was announced that, in 48 hours, the whole country was going into a strict lockdown. Wherever you were … More Christchurch, New Zealand and COVID related Lockdown (Levels 4 & 3)
Over the past month, Petra has been feeding us well. Pedja and her got into bread baking spree. Pedja had a bit of a scientific approach to bread beaking, trying different recipes, strictly measuring ingredients, trying out different kneading techniques and his bread was great. But in the meantime, Petra one morning whipped up an … More Teenager in the Kitchen
March 13 – 25, 2020 Back in February, while we were still in Australia, I sent a message to my good friend Kim from Seattle asking her for any tips for our upcoming time in New Zealand. Kim is a Kiwi that grew up in Auckland and I knew she would be our best personal … More Auckland and More of the North Island, New Zealand
We are in New Zealand now and it looks like we’ll be here for a while. We have enough of epilepsy meds for Nina until mid-May when we were planning to be back in Serbia where we have more supplies waiting for him. But the world is on lockdown now and it’s questionable when we’ll … More Our Experience with the Cost of Medicine in the US vs. New Zealand
I am incredibly impressed by Kiwis. I didn’t get to catch all the details of tonight’s news in New Zealand but here is a quick snapshot of the types of measures being implemented here. Their government has announced a financial stimulus package that’s going directly to cover people’s wages affected by COVID19. Folks in self-isolation … More New Zealand and COVID-19
The world is dealing with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Social isolation is becoming the new reality for many, all around the globe. Seattle, our hometown, is the epicenter of it in the US. We’ve been in Gold Coast and Brisbane, Australia for the past week. Social activities have not yet been restricted here. Petra even … More Leaving Australia, heading to Auckland, New Zealand
February 24 – March 12, 2020 We wanted to see a bit more of Australia than just Sydney so we travel up the Pacific Coastal Highway to Brisbane and flew from there to New Zealand. We had 2.5 weeks to get to Brisbane and spent 2-3 nights in each of the following locations: 1 – … More From Sydney to Brisbane
3/3/19 – 3/3/20 Today is exactly 1 year (+1 extra day for leap year) since we started this Refresh Journey. This morning, we were moving from Coffs Harbour to Gold Coast, Australia and I enticed everyone to recreate the first photo we took when we were ready to leave Seattle. Here are a few facts … More 1 Year Anniversary of the Refresh Journey
For the past few days/weeks/eternity, all three of our kids have been fighting constantly, relentlessly, and for every possible, trivial reason. They have countless excuses for their bad behaviors, always placing blame on the other, or, often enough, on our (bad) parenting of the guilty/grieving party. This dynamic is depressing and exhausting. I miss my … More Kids Going a Bit Crazy
Refresh Journey 