But this time was even worse. Since the government wasn't moving us, we paid double rent for a month and spent the entire time (Sainted Jayne and kids included!) cleaning and dragging possessions to the new house 45 miles up the road (which, in DC traffic, takes upwards of an hour and a half, each way, sometimes.) I got zero time off to accomplish this, so it was a late-nights-and-weekends ordeal to boot. Newly retirement-eligible, I considered the option at least 1000 times per day. (These photos are of Seth and MG Al Pepin, our friend who is also the commander of MDW, moving a massive gun safe themselves on a Saturday. And of our last night at the Lake Barcroft house, having takeout on the stairs.)
The kids did eventually get an upper midwest respite (I visited on weekends) and I did eventually escape the Pentagon.
After they graduated and said sad goodbyes to our Bailey's Elementary family, that is.
We visited the world's largest buffalo, acted terrible with second cousins, and (I) officiated a wedding. As one does.
I squeezed in a work trip to Israel, and the kids wrapped spring soccer.
And then, after a harrowing month+ and a truly awful move saved only by Jayne, who did the lion's share of shelf-building and hunting gear arranging, it seems we lived in Maryland. With a heck of a front yard.
We lucked into a terrifically "us" neighborhood on the river with a fenced-in yard and an easy commute. We are enjoying summer and being "Marylanders."
I started the new job at CYBERCOM, which is wild. There are no pictures of that since everything is classified (which sounds obnoxious, I know), but I have an easy commute and I get to come home to this!
The Ryans came to visit for the 4th, and helped hang pictures.
Also, there was tubing and pyrotechnics.
Seth and Tony went to Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker.
Jayne and I spent my only two days off between jobs with a race to the Delaware beaches. With an extra kid and a pirate adventure, because why not.
And now that we are basically settled, after frenzied unpacking and the requisite one million trips to Target, we have already almost blocked out the moving trauma (which is the only reason you can convince yourself to move again, ever) and are about to take on the next completely non-relaxing summer activity: we are headed to Disney. Wish us luck.
