Huge update. Sorry it's been so long!

I’ve posted way too many pictures lately without any description of what is around us. This is an attempt to make things better.


We have now been here for one week, and what a busy week it has been! Ok, busy for one of us, anyway. The boy and I are still trying to get our “groove”. I slept for an extra two hours yesterday, so jet lag may finally be loosening its mighty grip on us. The boy is recovering much faster, and Wendall has no choice, although he does tend to collapse earlier than usual.

When we arrived we were greeted at the airport by Wendall’s coworkers. They are two happy men who went out of their way (8 hours, roundtrip!) to make us feel right at home. They took us to our hotel, made sure we were checked in, and even made a trip or two up the 54 steps to our door.

Our apartment is a furnished three bedroom flat with a full bathroom and kitchen. The dining room is connected to the living room, and the cabinets were stocked with coffee and supplies for the washer and dryer. The only bad thing about the flat is that the landlord has decided that May means spring (silly them!) so they turned off the heat. We’ve purchased a small space heater to put in the boy’s bedroom, and we sleep under 5 blankets.

Just this morning Wendall and I passed our driving exams. Before now, if we had been stopped while driving we would have been subject to hundreds of dollars of fines. The test was nerve-wracking, but it’s done now, and we survived. This weekend we plan to rent a car and see something other than the base!

Speaking of the base, it is small and well laid out. The stores are about 10 minutes from our flat, and Wendall’s office is only 5 minutes away. His office is actually visible from the window in the boy’s bedroom. The library is lovely, and has a very nice adult’s selection, although the children’s collection needs work. I guess we might actually have to convince the boy to try some of the books on his shelves! Story time is still at 10am on Wednesdays, and we look forward to continuing our Wednesday morning routine.

Preschool is a part time program here, but is quite affordable. We look forward to having the boy enrolled as soon as possible. There is a huge turnover happening here, so jobs are plentiful, and I am considering going back to work, as long as we can work out the childcare.

We are planning to move into a house at the beginning of June. We are 90% sure that we already have the house picked out--off base but just a few minutes away by car. I will let you know more about that as we go. Be assured, though, that if you visit, you will NOT have to go through the guard gates if you do not want to do so! Especially good here, as the guards are connected to a database and give you stern looks if you have not been added!

Other than that, not much is happening on a day to day basis. You have our contact information should you need it, and I will update this as we go. Our tans are fading fast, and our memories of Hawaii are not keeping us warm, but we have a new (old) world to explore, and we are ready!