We're going to the World Cup!

A memorable Qatar 2022 World Cup

This 2022 Fifa Men's World Cup saw Lionel Messi and Argentina finally lift the prestigious gold trophy. It was a special moment, not just because of what happened on the field but how I was able to experience it at home. Because this world cup was in the winter (it's usually in the summer months) and kicked off during Thanksgiving break, I was able to watch a lot of the games at home with my almost two-year-old son, Diego. It. Was. Awesome.

For four straight weeks, there was soccer on all the time. There'd be a game when we woke up, during breakfast time, and in the afternoon. And, for a few weeks, there was even one at 4 am while we were sleeping. Soccer all day, every day. And we got to experience that as a family! Diego learned how to celebrate goals (he lifts his hands and screams "shuuuuuuuuu" and even learned how to run and slide. But the funniest part is that he started to talk during the world cup and one of the first phrases he said would be "se callo" in (Spanish for "he fell") as players flopped and occasionally got tackled.

For four straight weeks, we would watch and talk about the games as a family, at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and it was everything I had hoped for as a soccer family. The only thing better than experiencing a world cup like that would be going to one person... and that's what we're doing!

We're going to New Zealand and Australia!

What started as a joking conversation with Karla turned into a serious planning session during my flight from Houston to Las Vegas. How would purchasing tickets work? Where would we stay? How much would it cost? Should we even travel that far with a toddler? All of these are questions I will answer in future posts and some of these questions we have already figured out!

So what exactly is happening? Here's the plan.

We're spending two weeks in Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney, Australia in August 2023
We are going to the Fifa Women's World Cup semi-final. We are hoping the USWNT makes it that far but either way, we're excited to watch a great game
We're going to experience the World Cup final in Sydney. Hoping to grab tickets for it but if not, we'll be in the city while it happens
We're going to explore all that Auckland and Sydney have to offer (or as much as our kiddo lets us)

I'll be posting updates on things along the way, all of which I hope culminates and a post documenting our unforgettable time down under. It's already stressful (it's all I think about most days). However, given that we were (and still are) experiencing a global pandemic, a trip and experience like this give our family something positive to look forward to.

All kinds of updates

Planning a trip like this requires a lot of... planning. Logistically, there's a lot that needs to happen before we head to the airport.

Flying with a toddler is new to us. As of this post, Diego has never been on an airplane. That means we'll be looking for any chance to get on a plane before August and work out the kinks. What worked? What didn't work? I'll share that as it happens.
Long-haul flights with a toddler? See above. Full transparency, the thought of that sounds stressful. However, since we're more than likely traveling with Air New Zealand to Auckland (there's a loooooong direct flight) we are considering purchasing their Sky Couch option.
Paying for the flights. #Churning baby! As a self-proclaimed churner, I was on hiatus during the pandemic since there wasn't much travel. But now, time to rack up those points! Wait until you see how I booked our return flight from Sydney for $260.

Air New Zealand | While Diego isn't a baby anymore, we're hoping this option gives him enough room to get the wiggles out on our long-haul flight to Auckland and Karla an opportunity to rest (because face it, chances of me getting to sleep on this are 📉).

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