It's Official! We're Leaving....

D received his RFO today and orders are being cut as we speak! We will be leaving Ft. Lewis sooner rather than later! Part of me is excited about the move and being around friends and closer to home, but the other part of me will definitely miss being here. Oh, I'm also not really looking forward to moving half-way across the country with a 3 month old baby.

This move is going to happen fast. Faster than I'm used to and/or comfortable with. D is starting the CCC 9 July, so we are going to have to report to FLW before that. We are planning on using up some of his leave that he has accrued, so we're looking at clearing Ft. Lewis at the beginning of June. That is a MONTH away! Ack! Hopefully since we've been here less than a year the house won't be too hard to pack up. Yeah right. We have soo much more stuff now than when we moved here 4th of July weekend last year. We have a baby! LOL

The sheer amount of stuff that we're going to have to take with us for the baby is mind-boggling. I am just sitting here thinking about the things that I use for her on a daily basis. The next frightening prospect that comes to mind is the fact that AJ is not going to tolerate sitting in a carseat for 10 hours a day. This will make a long trip even longer with added stops and shortened driving time.

Even with all the negatives that I can think of, I am so excited! I am ready to leave the land of wind and rain. I'm excited to be closer to friends and family and I'm mostly excited to start this new chapter in our lives. D is no longer an Infantry officer, but now he is a Civil Affairs officer. I guess I have a lot of new things to learn!

Congratulations, D!

Yesterday was the Change of Command Ceremony for D's company and he took command! It was a cool ceremony, and my first (of many I'm sure). The weather didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped it would, but the ceremony went on, despite the 57 degree temperature and rain.

As the incoming commander's wife, I was presented with a bouquet of yellow roses to symbolize the friendship I will have with the unit and the soldiers of the unit in the months to come. D gave his "acceptance" speech and it was short and sweet, unlike the outgoing commander's speech. LOL.

I got a chance before the ceremony to talk one on one with D's Battallion Commander and he already told me that he wants D to take some leave because he knows that D hasn't in a while. He also said that I am welcome to blame the long hours that D will inevitably work on him. He really likes D and wants to keep him in both this position and the XO position until we leave, instead of finding a replacement to take command like he should. It is definitely a compliment to D that the BC has such confidence in him, but I don't think he really wants to do twice the work.

Afterwards, as tradition dictates, we hosted a luncheon for the men of the unit, as well as "friends of the unit." This was my job as D says. I slaved over Subway sandwich platters and cookies all morning. Needless to say, everything was gone by the time the luncheon was over and I got several compliments on my excellent cooking skills! ;)