Signing off...for now.

It's been a long time coming...but I finally got a rocking chair!! 2 of them actually! I was dead set on getting an old school rocking chair but after comparing prices, comfy-ness, and material we decided on these vinyl rockers. The thought of having to re-paint wood rockers just wasn't very appealing (and with all the moving we do it'll be nice to not have to touch up scratches). The kids still aren't too sure about them yet. They're also getting a little freaked with everything being moved around our house (1st pack date is tomorrow!) We have to pack up the computer tonight so I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back on for an update. The next time I blog will not be from Camp Lejeune!! (HOORAY!!!)

This is Michael's rocker:

and this one is mine...

Michael's Trip to Florida

A couple of weekends ago, Michael was able to fly down and see his brothers and their families in Florida. I wasn't able to go b/c I still had that job-thing that I was doing (I am unemployed as of last Friday though!) It sounded like they all had a great time together...and Michael got to meet his newest nephew Kenan!

Here are the boys:

(Michael, Garrett, Bryan)

Garrett and Sarah's kids, Sydney and Ethan:
Eating seafood in a real city called Jacksonville (...Florida)
Michael and Kenan:

A Sad Day For Michael

This last weekend our friend Marcel was able to come down from WA DC to spend some time with us. Marcel was the best man at our wedding and was Michael's roommate in college. They got to go and play some golf and between the 3 of us we drank way too much wine! It was good to see him before we had to leave though.Sunday was a tough day for Michael. We had to put the "Pony" on a truck to have her shipped out to Vegas. Michael's dad is going to take care of her while we're in Japan for the next 3 years. I think Pigdog was sad too...she kept climbing in the car.
Michael scraping the base stickers...
So sad...

There she goes. Yes. Michael wanted to follow her as long as possible. We'll see her in a few weeks when we get to Vegas ourselves!!

Myrtle Beach and a Japan Update

Our trip to Myrtle Beach was just what we needed to unwind. After starting the first couple of nights with a bang (and being quickly reminded by our bodies that we are no longer 21 years old and cannot drink like that anymore!)...we mainly relaxed by the pool, read our books, and floated on the lazy river.

This was our first night in our condo, Michael was really excited to play bartender for everyone. In case you are wondering, we were trying to "kill" our entire liquor cabinet b/c none of it can go with us to Japan!! (We failed miserably)Mat and Sara at Hard Rock (where I somehow came home with a "Hard Rock" tumbler all packaged up?!) I like this picture b/c Mat looks funny. It's going to be sad, and very strange, not to see Sara everyday once we move.
Our adventure the second night we were there was to Medieval Times. It was a lot of fun...helped along by the bartender giving Mat and Michael free drinks all night (and Sara and I free "sparkle glasses" b/c we weren't drinking) long b/c they were Marines and so was the bartender's brother.
The food was (surprisingly) REALLY good! You don't have any utensils to use so you had to drink the soup and eat everything else with just your fingers.
This was our knight. The RED KNIGHT!! We ended up being bad guys trying to overthrow the king...go figure. Sara and I kept commenting on his beautiful, luscious locks of hair. (It seemed really funny to us at the time anyway)

After Mat and Sara left we became the lazy couple that we usually are. I was able to pursuade Michael into taking me to Alligator Alley up in North Myrtle Beach. It was AMAZING!! I have become obsessed with alligators since moving to NC (they actually just caught a 7-footer here on base and then released it at an undisclosed location...on base. Whatever.)

These are pictures of Utan. He's the biggest alligator in captivity in the world!! I failed to take a picture of his specs tho and I can't remember them exactly. (12 feet long?)

Here are some of the alligators after the feeding time.

This is an albino alligator.

...and after all of those cool things (including a trip through the snake area where they had a black mamba, all sorts of 8-10 foot pythons, etc)...these turtles were Michael's favorite part of the excursion.

As for our move to Japan...of course the Marine Corp has to make it more difficult than it should be (at least PMO is)...thats who books our plane tickets... We now are not able to fly out of Sea-Tac until Aug 2nd...won't land until 1500 on Aug 3rd...and Michael is supposed to check in by midnight Aug 3rd!! This is a Friday...in Okinawa!! People are off of work by about noon!! When you add on the baggage of getting me to a hotel, the kids through their quarantine check, to the boarding facility, and to the vet within 72 hours (without our own car) -- it doesn't seem quite feasible. We'll see. My biggest gripe about all of this is that they won't allow our animals up in the cabin with us b/c they're stupid. Piglet has flown all over the US without a problem, but now that it is an AMC (military charter) flight, there are issues. They were so excited to fly in their Sherpas too. Just to be a pain...I'm sending Piglet on the plane in her crate that could house a Great Dane. It's within the weight restrictions. So there. (that's me sticking it to The Man).

Here's Bailey all snuggled up...

We're Outta Here!

Yeah!! The vacation that I had no faith in actually happening has finally arrived! (I've learned to always expect the Marine Corp to cancel it until you're actually out the door) We're headed to Myrtle Beach, SC for a week. Mat and Sara are going to join us for the first few days so, hopefully, we'll have some good pictures to post when we get back.

Some unsettling news is that Michael's dad (Steve) is not doing well and was put in the ICU last night. At first they thought he had Bell's Palsy, but now they are diagnosing it as something else. Please say a quick prayer for a speedy recovery.

Have a great week!