So long, Farewell...

There's a saying, "There are no goodbyes in the Army...only see you laters." Well, no matter how you slice it--leaving sucks. It's always hard to leave a place where you've made good friends and it's even harder when you leave a place with family close by. The movers come next Tuesday and our final inspection is Thursday. I can't believe how soon it is! I sometimes feel like we just moved here. I definitely wasn't this sad about leaving Fort Drum but can you really blame me?

I said my goodbyes to some of the girls in my natural moms group last week. I've learned so much from this group about cloth diapering, natural birth, gentle parenting, you name it! It's also how I met my doula. I hope the crunchy moms group I joined for Fort Rucker is just as sociable and fun. I'm going to miss these ladies!

We said our goodbyes to Shannon's family at the last last weekend and on the way home I said to Mike through tears, "Why are we leaving again?"Remember it was our choice to leave--Mike re-enlisted for Fort Rucker. All week long I was dreading saying goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law and the twins. Ugh.

Shawn, Shannon, Arthur and Sadie came down from Seattle one last time this weekend. No one talked about us leaving until the very end. Shawn LOVES our dog Zero and he got choked up when saying bye to her. Once I saw him crying I lost it too. We're going to miss having them close by SO much! Mike and I feel like we're abandoning him here--we'll be back within driving distance of the rest of the family and he'll be out here all by his lonesome. We'll miss the babies growing up together too. Sigh. Mike and I were so bummed after they left! We tried watching Big.Bang.Theory. to cheer us up and when that didn't work we just went to bed--it was barely 9 o'clock!

Before we moved here I hadn't lived near my brother since I was in 2nd grade so it was really great getting to know him as an adult. We've had so much fun living here the past 2.5 years. Countless trips to Seattle for Seahawks and Sounders games, beautiful scenery, lots of beer drinking and tons of time with my brother and Shannon. It was great to have someone to commiserate with during IVF and pregnancy and new parenthood! We're going to miss them. I think my heart belongs to Seattle and the west coast now and I can definitely see Mike and I living here again some day.

 

Like I said...beer drinking.

Zero at Tolmie State Park

Hiking at Tolmie State Park

Shannon and I getting ready to go on a kayak adventure around the lake

Michael Franti concert

Zero's first time in the Pacific Ocean

Camping at Ocean Shores

Mt. Rainier on Veteran's Day

Tailgating before the Seahawks vs Saints playoff game

St. Patty's Day Dash

Mariners game

Seattle Sounders vs Manchester United

Leavenworth

After more beer drinking in Leavenworth

Is there any place more beautiful?

Camping at Canon Beach, OR

I know it's a good decision for us--Mike won't have to deploy or even go into the field while we're at Rucker. We'll be closer to family and will see them more often. We're planning a trip to Disney World with my sister's family in March! It won't rain all the time and it will be better for Mike's career. Still...I hope we end up back here some day so I can see these three cuties together again.