Time to Go

The day finally came. We had to leave AZ, our families, and our time on vacation. It was a bitter sweet time. We were really ready to get settled down, but it was sad to have to say goodbye to our families again for another couple years. I am greatful that we at least live in the US this time, so we aren't halfway across the world, but it was still a sad day to leave our families behind once again. We had a short flight to Denver and then a 3 hr layover. Oh it was forever long. But we had lots of fun walking the moving walkways and the boys had a lot of fun staring out the window at the sun and airplanes. We saw endless signs for airplane from Laycee and Logan.

And we were welcomed in WA to this... yes rain.

And more rain,

We sat around at baggage claim for about an hour while Dave took a taxi to the car rental place. We didn't rent from the airport becuase it cost nearly double the price. So, we rented from somewhere 7 miles away. So, then we packed the kids and luggage in and to the ceiling. Headed off to Ft Lewis to find a hotel. It was only about a 45 minute drive to Lewis.

Welcome to Ft Lewis.

The day was not long enough nor over here. Dave went to the inprocessing unit for them to tell him that he had to come back in the morning or he wouldn't get his permissive TDY. Then he told us to go to the hotel and get settled. We went to the hotel and they didn't have any rooms. They gave Dave a list of hotels and said good luck. So, he used the lobby phone to call the two local numbers on the list and he found a hotel but it was $150/night. We accepted it for one night becuase we were tired and hungry. It was a nice hotel, but not worth it.

In the morning, he checked in and sat through the briefing. It was raining, so the kids and I sat in the car with bags packed ot the ceiling again watching TV on the laptop. After the briefing, we found a much cheaper hotel in Lacey (about 15-20 minutes from post). That is where we stayed for the next 8 days. It rained for the whole first week. We spent the second day looking at a ton of houses that we really liked that were already rented lol. Then on the 3rd day we thought we found a house, but they never called us back after we looked at the house. Thankfully, on Friday we looked at two houses and found one that we really liked. We were really looking for somewhere in a nice area, that made me feel safe. It was different looking for a house here becuase in AZ everything is separated. It is clear where the nice neighborhoods are and where the not so nice ones are. In WA, they are all together. So, it was hard to find somewhere. But we finally found one that is open for a couple years while the landlady's daughter finishes working for retirement. We are surrounded by old people, but I love it. I love elderly people and I love the feel of the neighborhood. I feel safe and the house is amazing. It is not exactly what I was looking for, but it is perfect for what we need, it is affordable, and it has a very large front and back yard. Not to mention, the landlady is so relaxed that it is great for us. I have pictures coming up of the house, so be on the lookout.