Happy (nearly) halfway through February, friends! I feel like the days right now are ticking away quickly, which is simultaneously awesome and sad. We’re so excited for our PCS and our next big adventure as a family in Korea, but we’re also sad that the time is fast approaching to bid our little home at JBLM and all our friends farewell. We’re staying busy though, and that’s keeping us happy and content as possible through the rainy winter months in the PNW. Naturally, that leads me into this week’s wins for the week!
Wins for the Week
1. Ryan submitted his levy packet
For my non-military readers, this is the first step towards having our hard orders cut. The OCONUS PCS process has a lot of moving parts and different steps but, in general, you get an RFO (request for orders) before you get hard orders. Once he gets his hard orders, we’ll have our EFMP screening and, if all goes well, those hard orders will be amended to include a command sponsorship so we can go with him. We don’t anticipate any issue, but you never know! Lost on all the acronyms? I listed out some of the most common military acronyms earlier this week.
2. We finally got Mieke’s hair into pigtails
I know. Silly, right? But this little lady hates ponytails. She will not let me do it and, if I manage to give her a ponytail, she wails until she pulls it out. She didn’t mind pigtails though, and all of a sudden she looks like she’s three. It’s a double-edged sword!
3. The kiddos had a “drive in” movie
One of my favorite things to do with the kids is a “drive-in movie” especially when the weather sucks. During one rainy day that magically transformed into chilly wind and sun later, we set up three bins with pillows, gave the kiddos a bag of popcorn, and they happily watched a movie in their individual seats. Fun for them, easy for us – win-win!
4. Mieke’s surgery was rescheduled for the end of March
I mentioned Miekes’s surgery last week, and we’ve been jumping through hoops to get it done. After some finagling and rearranging things, we managed to schedule it for the end of March to give us time for COVID testing and any necessary quarantining.
5. We’re on our way to Colorado this weekend
We’ve been doing our due diligence to stay healthy and still manage to see friends and family before we PCS. Again, double-edged sword here. We’ve taken every necessary precaution, and we’re going as a family to spend time with close family friends before we leave the country. It’s been two years and a lot of dramatic life events since we’ve seen each other, so it’s high time we go. We’re cautiously excited to see people, but I think we’re definitely out of travel practice. Nevertheless, checking in for our flight was definitely a win – and a mood boost.
As the days fly by, I grow more and more aware just how quickly our time in Washington is coming to a close. Regardless how I feel about this state and this duty station, we’ve been so blessed to live here, and I shared a reel on my instagram highlighting how we learned to love it here. It definitely warmed my heart to revisit all those memories. With that – happy weekend, friends!
Tell me – what are your wins for the week?
