Just so everyone knows, we’ve made it safely to Texas and will be here until Saturday morning when we will drive up to Kansas to spend time with Bryan’s side of the family.  Once I have a free moment and time to upload photos on the computer, I will post some pics from our trip thus far.  We’ve had fun.  Ethan’s gone swimming, Bryan and I had a date night with dinner and a movie with friends (something we haven’t done since E’s been born) and we’ve gotten to visit with a lot of family so far. 

Everything is good with us except Ethan’s having some allergies and so am I, which is pretty bothersome, but we’re dealing with it.  Charlie’s having fun running in Grandma and Grandpa’s yard and goes in and out all day long.  We’re enjoying our time and we know we’ll be sad when it ends, but it’ll be OK.  Just another stage in our lives…we’ll update later!

Well, we’re on our way in the morning. We leave VA first thing.  Bryan’s worked hard this evening getting everything loaded and ready to go, and we just have to shower and load those last minute items before we head out.  It’s been a fun 5 months with great new friendships and new memories.  Hopefully, we will cross paths with many of those we met later down the line.  Fort Lee has been an experience…some good, some bad.  But, overall, it’s another notch in our military career timeline.  Will we continue with the military???  Only God knows at this point.  We owe another 2-3 years, and we will make that decision as time goes by.  Our church family here was wonderful and will be truly missed.  The way they opened their arms and hearts to a family that’s only here for 5 months is truly remarkable.  Some churches  would just count us as a lost cause since we’re only here for a short time.  So, for their genuine love and support, we are forever grateful.

Ok, enough of the ramblings.  We’ve got a long couple of days ahead of us. We go to TN tomorrow night, Little Rock Fri night and then we’re in DFW on Saturday.  We’d love to see friends while we’re there, so if you’re around, give us a call.  We’ll be there until that next Saturday when we start on up to KS.  

Good night for one last time from the wonderful state of VA!!

Ok..so, the big part of this move is over. Our stuff is packed, loaded and now on its way to WA. I now know why moving is normally done with both spouses at the house. I’m beyond tired. Ethan did not cooperate very well with all the excitement. He couldn’t get down and play, for fear of being stepped on with the craziness, and naps just didn’t happen. There was no room that was free to lay him down. So, the past two days were awful. We did get some kind of routine back today…although the 3 hour nap this morning threw off the afternoon nap.

Now, we are in the hotel…which is pretty nice for one of those extended stay places (we chose here b/c we’re here for about 6 days before we leave on Thursday and fast food gets old FAST!!!)…and Ethan’s sound asleep in the other bed. He didn’t fight it at all (Thank God!) Now, we can sit back and relax.

One bit of good news…we were approved for our apartment in WA. So, they will have our paperwork drawn up for once we arrive on the 13th. The place is really nice. If you want to see, look up Clock Tower Village in DuPont, WA. We already have an address, etc. It’s kind of different than a normal apartment. These are set up like condos. We’ll have to pay for trash service, etc. It isn’t like a normal apartment complex with a giant community dumpster. Bad part…they already come with washers/dryers, so ours will sit in the garage, unless we decide to sell them. I’ve been wanting some of those really cool new ones, so we shall see. I already have plans for buying Ethan a new dresser and buying a bedroom set for us. It seems our furniture, through all the moves, is having a tough time. I love that it’s about 40 yrs old, but I’m hating that it’s getting beaten up every time movers bang it up against a wall, ceiling, etc. So, I might keep it and just keep it wrapped up for now and get a smaller single piece for our room. No definite decision yet.

Ok, enough ramblings…I’m tired and tomorrow we have to clean the house and get it ready to go since all I did today was sweep and get the trash out. Night!

Just so everyone knows, Bryan will be deploying in a very short amount of time.  We don’t have exact dates, we just know that after our arrival to Fort Lewis, it will be just a few weeks away probably.  So, if we are not really responsive to e-mails or phone calls, please understand right now that we have ALOT to deal with.  I am still not sure what I am going to do…stay in WA, go home to Tx…it’s all up in the air.  We just found out today, so we haven’t even had much time to think or talk about it.  We knew that Bryan would deploy, we just thought we’d have some time to get settled first….the Army and it’s wonderful thinking.  Gotta love it! 

Ok, so I started this blog in order to help keep everyone up to date with our lives and so I could stop cramming people’s in-boxes with our lovely updates and of course, lots of pics of Ethan. I didn’t really think anyone read this, but now that I’ve looked at the stats, I’m happy to report that there’s at least 7 people who look at this blog LOL No, really…there’s more than that. But that’s just how many have visited today. I know I don’t update all the time, but life is pretty crazy. Please don’t expect a lot of updates anytime soon since we will be in the process of moving to the other side of the country in about 2 1/2 weeks. So, between packing, driving, and trying to get settled at the new place, there might not be too many posts in the near future. BUT…rest assured, the blogging will pick back up again once we have a home in WA and get everything turned on up there. Life is always an adventure for us…sometimes some adventures just take more energy and are less enjoyable…one day we will have a normal life (HAHAHA…that’s really funny! Oh well, at least I can dream!) Ok, that’s all my ramblings for now. I must clean house since we have a cleaning team coming by in the morning to give us an estimate of how much it will cost to clean our house so we can get out of here (one lady quoted $200..that’s more than we paid for leaving Irwin and having our backyard done…I guess moving to VA has turned us into complete slobs!) Ethan’s asleep, so maybe now I can get something accomplished (once again…another good laugh). Ok…adios!

Just had to share these photos of Ethan and his onesies. He has so many cute ones that more photos will surely come soon! For those of you that haven’t heard, he can roll over from his back to his stomach and then back again. He hasn’t figured out that he can roll and get moving somewhere. So, normally he’ll just roll back and forth in one spot on the couch or the bed. I’m sure it’s just days away before he figures out he can get somewhere by rolling. Fun times for us…especially with the move coming up!

Well, preparations are underway for the next move across country. Our house will be packed the 17th and 18th of May and then loaded on the 19th. We find out today when we can clear housing and move into the hotel for those last few days before we get out of here. So much to do. I have everything scheduled to get cancelled, just have to put in the forwarding address. Once again, we are moving with no idea of where we’re going to live, although this time we do have options lined up, or what the futur holds for us. Could be deployment for Bryan, could be going to a good unit or a bad unit…so much uncertainty. Seems like everyday we are having to hold on tight to this ride that the military has given us and the life that we have chosen for ourselves. It’s a crazy one, but there’s definitely never a dull moment with us. We’ll keep you all up to date as our time here on the east coast comes to an end…it’s been waaaaay too short out here, but maybe we’ll get back in a few years for Bryan to go through the masters program he wants. Only time will tell!

Go to our online album for the most recent photos of Ethan from this past weekend in Texas.  These are just a few here on the blog that I wanted to show everyone.  Now everyone can see what a ham he is and see those two teeth he’s gotten in since he was trying to get an Easter egg and opened his mouth wide enough!  Enjoy!

Ethan and I had a fun time in Texas for Easter. Unfortunately, Bryan was not able to get away and travel down with us. For me, it was my first time flying with Ethan by myself on the way back. I got lucky and got on the same flight as my uncle on the way down to Texas, which was a huge relief for me, and Ethan loved Wayne and it gave me a break (seeing as most of you all know my absolute LOVE of flying). The weather was INCREDIBLY warm…got to 101 degrees while we were there, but Easter Sunday was so much fun with the family, as usual. The pinata, confetti eggs and the egg hunt for the kiddos was a blast. So many funny stories to tell. The down side was my cousin, who didn’t get to come up from San Antonio, ended up sick with kidney stones, so my aunt had to go down there on Easter evening to help take care of her and Carson and Caroline. So, we didn’t get to see everyone, people were sick, and it was craziness all around…sounds just like another normal Herndon holiday!!!

Ethan got to see his Grandma Loretta at the park on Saturday and he enjoyed that quite a bit. He’s such the little ham and Great Grandma Lola really enjoyed having him at the house for a few days. He had a rough time adjusting to the travelling and didn’t sleep well at all, so I was exhausted and we didn’t get out and do anything, but that was fine with me. Now, we are back home, Bryan’s here to help with the Ethan Monster, and I can hopefully get a bit more sleep tonight with another set of hands to help out.

Charlie the dog rebelled while I was gone, showing his protest for me leaving by ripping up napkins and such, but he’s happy I’m home now. When Bryan leaves, he misses him, when I leave, he acts out LOL Animals are so funny. Ok, that’s it for now. Once I’m rested, I’ll post some photos and put some in the online photo album.

Well, life here is always fun. There never seems to be a dull moment. Bryan does have orders, and we are now beginning the process of getting ready to move to WA state. As with any move, there’s lots to be done. With the next few weekends, we’re going to try and start cleaning out closets, getting rid of stuff, etc. We think we’re going to try and rent an apartment until we know if Bryan will deploy or not. If he doesn’t, we will start looking for a rental home so we can have a backyard, etc. Charlie loves being able to run at my grandma’s home in Tx (as well as play King of the Tree Stump with one of the trees that has been cut down!), and we want Ethan to be able to get a playyard to run around in…all that fun stuff. I did make phone calls last night and found one very good potential for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with attached garage close to Fort Lewis. The people were wonderful and they’ll probably allow Charlie…after a PET INTERVIEW!!!! We find it funny, but we would much rather people have an openmind about larger dogs than just be told an absolute no. So, lots to do over the next 6 weeks…it could get interesting, but our life in general is always a bit interesting! I fly back to Tx on Friday for Easter with Ethan so he can spend his first Easter with my family. Bryan has class on Fri and Mon, so he doesn’t get to go. I was less than thrilled, but oh well! So goes life!