Josh has been working hard to get things arranged for our move.
The time spent between moves is a lot like the time in between your children's births.
As soon as you finish a move, you think to yourself, "I don't ever want to do that again." I mean, you have to use a water bottle instead of toilet paper.
Then, as time goes by, you forget about how painful the experience was. Maybe even begin to entertain thoughts about the "next time."
Then the real work of the next move begins and you wonder how on earth you ended up agreeing to have another baby.
Hang on, I think I mixed up my analogy.
You get my drift though.
We are now in crunch time. We've got orders! This was a process, like it always is.
PCS* advice: TRUST NO ONE.
*Permanent Change of Station
If they say they sent your paperwork along to the next agency, don't believe them. Call to verify.
If they say, "No, you can't travel with your family unless you're taking leave outside of the continental United States along the way," give them the stink eye and ask to see it in writing. When they cannot produce any such thing, proceed to book tickets together.
(I am excited that we can all fly together this time, because I hate flying and I like to share my misery with my husband.)
(Also exciting-- it's not an overnight flight! This is good news for someone like me who cannot sleep even if it is an overnight flight, so why be miserable and tired, when you can simply be miserable?)
PCS advice: DON'T BUY LEGOS FOR YOUR CHILDREN
Because you will wreak havoc on your nails disassembling them. And placing them into ziplock baggies, and taping them into their boxes.
Because if you lose a piece, the set is worthless.
Worthless, I tell you.
So.
We* scheduled the movers for 2 different shipments.
We** sold the car we bought here.
We* booked plane tickets (INC to AZO to SAT***)
We* booked a hotel at the base in San Antonio
We* got on the base housing list
All of these things that we*/we** did required about 500 steps each.
*= Josh
**=Josh, with the assistance of Erin's Facebook account
***= Seoul to Kalamazoo to San Antonio. Our pit stop in Michigan is short because of when Josh needs to report to his next base. Basically enough time for Josh and the kids to recover from their jetlag, and enough time for me to recover 1/3 of the way from my jetlag.
What? I told you I'm a terrible traveler. These things take time.
In other news, we finished school and Alex had her 11th birthday!
Naturally, she received Legos.
She had her friends over to celebrate, and they went bouncing in the trampoline café and then over to the dog café.
No coffee was consumed during these proceedings.
I don't know why that dog is wearing a diaper.
First & Last Day of school picture comparison. I don't know if their brains grew, but their bodies sure did.
And now I have to get back to watching my husband do all the work to get us moved.
