We made to Washington DC!

Sorry for the delay in getting an updated post to the blog...our bloggees have been clamoring for news...any news! Needless to say, we have been working long hours trying to to move out of one house and into the next before I start my new job.
When I last posted, Jay was working to get the storage building completed...well, he did and it turned out fabulously!! My man really knows what to do with all those tools we just hauled out to Bandera. Speaking of hauling things...we made several midnight runs out to our property to leave some of the furniture that we knew we would not have room for in DC. As it turns out...we should have left a lot more furniture (more on that later).
So the movers arrived on the 17th. Toward the end of the day, it was beginning to look like all of our stuff was NOT going to fit on that truck! Well, sure enough, because the driver already had 1/3 of the truck filled from an earlier pick-up and they underestimated the size of our move, they had to bring in a second truck...we are told that it will arrive somewhere between 2 days and 2 weeks after the first shipment (more on that later, too). All in all, we had a very nice crew and they assured me that our necessities would be on the first truck to arrive at our new home.
We had big plans of hitting the road on Friday afternoon after our base housing final inspection, but that was not meant to be. We did not actually get on the road until Saturday afternoon. Much thanks to our dear friend, COL Harney, for the help loading the freezer full of venison and salmon onto the trailer. We (OK, seriously I) could not have done it without him!!
All in all, the trip out to DC was long, but uneventful. So for those of you who have known us for awhile, this is something to celebrate and be enormously thankful for!! ( i.e. No pets died, no transmissions lost, no boat trailers broken in half somewhere in Louisiana, etc)
So we arrived tired, but on time, for our appointment with the housing folks at Bolling Air Force Base...the site of our new home. Now, we knew that coming to DC meant a change in lifestyle. No more large historic home on Fort Sam Houston with wrap around porches. We had prayed for a place that was close to work and within our budget...and that is exactly what we got! So we were a bit under-whelmed when we actually walked in and saw the house. It was built in the 50's and like all the surrounding homes, were slated for demolition a couple of years ago. However, the budget dried up to build new homes, so they opened these back up...which we hope explains the smell that existed in our house (not to mention the water treatment facility a 1/2 mile down the road). However, the funniest comment came from Cael Enyi. Bear in mind, we have seen the very meager conditions in which he lived in China...and there is a definite odor throughout most of the country. So when he turned to me and said, "Mama. New house stinks!!!"...We totally cracked up. He has already adjusted to our American way of life. Meanwhile, we are looking around the place wondering how in the world all of our stuff will fit. If fact, the first truck arrived on the 23rd and as we wade through a sea if boxes and wrapping paper, we are still wondering how we will make everything fit...with our next shipment due to arrive on July 2nd. Hopefully, the legs of my coffee table, the shelves and drawers to my refrigerator, my cup towels, and all of my non-uniform shirts will be in the truck! (oh, and the kids trains, the light sabres, some of Jay's tools...things like that:-)
Now I must also share the good things about this place. We have an incredible view of the Potomac river. As you step out from our street, there is a paved walk along the river with gorgeous views of DC. We can see the Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt memorials from here and just a few steps more,the nation's capital pops into view. It is so pretty at night and we hear that the 4th of July is pretty spectacular from this very spot.
So speaking of being close to the city: After we picked up the keys to our house, we raced over to my new duty station to get checked in before the duty crew left. So Jay pulls up to a gate to let me out. Mind you, we still have the u-haul attached. As I jump out and race up the hill to the guard shack, the guard steps out and starts yelling at me to get that vehicle out of here...along with several other things that I won't repeat. As he is yelling at me, two blacked-out SUVs drive up to exit the gate (which are blocked by my husband who is waiting for open spot with traffic). Jay finally clears the area and the guard returns his attention to me. "Do you know who that was? That man rules your world and if I hear about this from him, you will hear about from me! Do not EVER drive up to this gate and block this area, again. Do you understand?". Of course I calmly told him that I was new (don't think he really cared) and that I would most assuredly, never do that again. So then he took my ID, smiled, and said, "Welcome to Washington DC". Yeah. Right! So, as it turns out, LOTSnof big wigs live there now, and we more than likely completely freaked out the security team of Admiral Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and I haven't even been in town for 4 hours...this is going to be a GREAT tour of duty!!!
Attached are a few pictures of the house and kids playing in the yard with a sled (yes, that's right). It has been in our attic for 3 years and the kids just want to get it broken in before the temps dip below 90 degrees! They also had a blast playing in all the packing paper and boxes (who needs light sabers, anyway!?) They have also really hit it off with our next door neighbor's kids with girls of the same age! Both their mom and dad are naval aviators and Cam has already been soaking up war stories!
We still want visitors! Your guest mattress just may be resting on the top of boxes that just could not be unpacked, so if you don't mind, neither do we! I've also attached a picture of the 1970's toothbrush holders, so don't go bringing any of those new fangled contraptions to these parts!!
Thanks for your many prayers...keep 'em coming. My first day of work is Monday, so Jay will face the mountain of boxes on his own for those hours...I think work will be easier!!


Ok...pictures aren't posting so will get those up ASAP...