Catching up

I know, you are wondering what happened.  Why no posts?  Well, no posts because nothing is happening and I'm not taking any photos so there is nothing to put out there.

However, we have had a rather exciting week last week.  We were scheduled to move this summer.  We sent the dog back to the US in March, right before everything closed down.  We have orders to Yuma and Dan has a report date of July 31.  Except the military stopped moving people.

So we have been waiting for the Stop Move to be lifted to figure out what we are doing.  Then they extended it to June 30.  That was not good.  Dan thought it might be worth applying for a waiver.  They had said don't apply for one unless you really needed it because they were not going to just grant them to people.

We figured it was worth trying anyway.  The teacher who keeps tabs on Marian at the high school wrote a great letter detailing how she really needs to be settled before school starts in order for her to be successful.  And Yuma schools start the first week of August.  Ug.  Anyway, we turned in the waiver request for humanitarian reasons, not expecting that to go anywhere.

To our astonishment, it was approved!  So, Thursday evening, right before bed, I saw the email.  How was I suppose to sleep after that?!!  So many things to do.  We had been cranking through different scenarios, since we had no idea when we would move.  Technically, we fall under the August movers based on their 3 Tier approach to moving when they start back in July, so we had been tentatively thinking how to work that out.  And now... now we could be out of here in 3 weeks not three months!!

Aaaaack!! We had been sorting and planning, but now it amped up.  Lists of things to do, stuff to get rid of, things to sell and things to trash, what to pack, and do we need to have a House Hold Goods pick up and then a secondary Express shipment pick up?  So much to think about!  It has been a little stressful.

The girls have been awesome.  They are embracing the new adventure.

Except we do not know when we will fly out.  We are waiting on that now.  So much waiting before you can solidify plans is exhausting!!  But we wait to see when we will get on the plane to leave.  We definitely have movers scheduled to pack us out May 29.  Once we have that, then I can truly freak out about getting everything done and then I can worry about how to get to our destination once we are back on US soil.


Good times.

A little silly and a little serious

We put this broken old laundry basket on the curb with the trash, but the girls decided it still had some life left in it, and they had a marvelous time doing this. So silly! 

Running is serious business.  Marian and I tried out the sea wall for a run.  It was pretty, but there was a definite lack of social distancing going on. 

Marian needed a good headshot for the school.  This one is fabulous! 

My friend "flowered" our door.  She had notes inside each blossom, and as you pulled them apart you could read the messages.  My favorite was "I hate Covid-19!  Die!  Die! Die!" 

Rylee hates that she has to keep a Covid-19 journal. She needed a photo of something she does during the day.  This is her school workspace, and she is sort of diligently working.  

Another item that the girls decided was not ready to be trashed.  This girl cracks me up! 

The "stink bug" run was the best thing ever. I laughed so hard!

I have the BEST friends!!

My friend surprised me with this sweet little Nativity the other day.  Since we are suppose to be moving this summer, obviously she could not wait until Christmas.  It was unexpected, and one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received.  Something that her family made for me that they knew I would like.  and I LOVE it!! Did I mention they made it with shells and coral found on the beaches here?  I know, even cooler!

I mean, just LOOK at this! I know, it takes a minute to recognize what it is.

But here you have Mary and Joseph and the baby in the manger.  So clever!

And the little shepherd with his sheep.

A better view of the sheep.  The adorable details are the best!

Here are the three wise men, with their gifts.  So cute!

And one of my favorite little details is this snail...er... camel behind the wise men.

I just think this is the cutest and sweetest thing ever and I love it so much!  I can't wait till I can put it out at Christmas.

Fashion Photoshoot!

The girls were a bit bored.  So they decided to do a fashion photoshoot.  They wanted to dress up in different themes and do pictures.  It way hysterical!  They had a little too much fun and just ran with it.  I know, you are thinking, "Do I really want to scroll through 300 pictures?"  The answer is YES.  Yes, you do!  Please enjoy the show.

PS.... I think Callie makes the most spectacular "boy".

A Car Story

A few weeks ago, Marian's battery died.  So we replaced it.  A few days later, it was dead again.  Uh oh.  Probably the alternator then.  We don't drive it a lot, so no big deal.  I checked with my car guy and the repair cost seemed worth it and he said we could bring it in on Wednesday.  

Wednesday morning, I called the insurance company to get a tow truck. After 10 minutes of communicating through the interpreter, they said so sorry, they can't come on base with the new restrictions.  So I was out of luck.  I messaged my car guy, and he said he had a guy who could get on base, but it would be out of pocket.  I weighed the odds of having a dead car sitting on the curb for the next few months, and decided it might be worth it.  I love Marian's car!  It is a fun car to drive, and I take it at every opportunity.  So the tow truck came and loaded it up.

   I was following the tow truck on the main road, when it went BANG.  Oops.  He had rear ended a little black car.  Ug. I continued on to the car shop, and filled out my paperwork and said the car would be along eventually.  The tow truck was still sitting on the side of the road with the Japanese police as we drove home.  Not a great day for him!

A few hours later, I got a text from the tow truck.  The car was delivered.  Also good news was that the car he hit admitted to (illegally) changing lanes in the middle of the intersection and cutting him off.  The bad news was that in hitting the car, it had damaged Marian's car. It had blown out the back window and dented the hatchback.  So that would also need to be repaired.  I said no problem, we can live without the car for a bit, it's all good.  The car guy called to say he had a replacement hatchback in the junkyard, but it was gold and he would have to paint it.  I told him heck no, we want the gold door!  So the tow truck driver was thrilled to not have to pay more to fix it, the car guy was thrilled to do less work, and Marian is thrilled to have a two-tone car.  And I was thrilled that the work was done quickly.