So much time and so little to show for it.

So we moved. From H(El)l Paso Texas to Ft. Lewis Washington.... which is right outside of Tacoma, Washington. We left in a bad way. I am sort of embarassed about the way we left Texas.

We left the house a mess.... I even accidentally left my calander behind... which really upsets me cause it had all of Mikaelas first written on it. I put them in the baby book at the end of each year.... so all those memories are lost for forever. I can try to estimate... but it will never be the same.

We also left the Previa there in a parkinglot on post. I know. Terrible. But here is the deal.... it died. The day before we were supposed to leave. The whole engine seized. We tried to figure out a way to get it back to California so that we could return it to the sleeze ball who sold it to us..... but it just wasnt going to happen.

We also left without clearing housing. Through some misscommunication they didnt come to inspect our house by the time that we had to leave.... so we just left. Owen couldnt ask for another extension.... so we left and called them a few days later to let them know that we were already gone and there was no way that we could come back... and they told us that we would have to give someone power of attourney to clear housing for us. Well we procrastinated that and they called us back and told us to forget it. They would just take care of it. OOpps. Bad enough that we left the house a mess..... Oh well. You live and you learn.

So you may be wondering (or not, but I am telling anyways....) how did we drive to Washington if our van died? My dad came to the rescue! We called them and told them the situation and asked them to pray for us. The next day my dad called us back and told us that if we could get to California they would help us get a car. So we rented a van and drove to Cali (thanks Advantage Rental Cars!) When we got there my parents let us keep our stuff in their garage... Then Owen and my dad went van shopping. They found the perfect van for us. It is basic... but it had super low mileage and it is only 2 years old. Plus the price was right. My dad made a really big downpayment for us.... which we have to pay back with Owens re-enlistment bonus. That is fine with us since we had planned on using half of that money as a down payment to begin with!

So then we finished our drive here. It took us 3-ish days to get here.... which is not bad considering that we had 3 kids, a dog and a cat in a 2006 Dodge Caravan with us. Oh yeah... did I fail to mention that we also had 4 army duffle bags strapped to the luggage rack and 4 25 gallon rubbermaid containers filled with stuff.... plus a playpen for Mikaela to sleep in... plus Alexanders mattress (which is memory foam and folded up like a large sleeping bag) plus we stuffed every crack and crevice with blankets and pillows and jackets and shoes and other misc small things that somehow did not make it onto the moving truck that the army had drive all of our stuff here?

Now we are staying in a slightly crappy motel (there are holes in the wall of the bathroom and the bathroom door from where the last occupant punched said surfaces), there are cigarette burns in the blankets and on the bathtub from some previous occupant (there are not any nonsmoking rooms that are availiable for the reduced weekly rate). But on the bright side.... they let us have our pets in the motel with us so we arent having to board them at a kennel, and the room is cheap. Only 300 a week..... Plus there are about 10 different places to eat, all within walking distance.

Now you may be wondering why we are living in a hotel.... well there is a military housing shortage here in Ft. Lewis and the waiting list is 6-8 months long... so we had to find a place to rent to fill in the time between now and then. There were plenty of places to choose from that would be great as short term rentals... but we found one place that is just about the most perfect house for us ever! It is cute, it has a huge yard and it has wood laminate floors..... There are black berries and grapes growing in the backyard and a cherry tree down the street.... And it is within our budget! On the downside... it is not available until the 17th of August... so we are living in a motel until then. It is worth the wait.... although sometimes it is hard to remember that squeezed into such small quarters.I just tell myself that if we had come here by way of the Oregon Trail (remember that game! Love it!) that this room would have practically been a mansion. So I wait.

So that is all that I have for now. I have some great pictures of the trip.... but I have to upload them still.... so those will have to come later.