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Housing Preview

This last week was Spring Break. On Wednesday, I took the kids and drove up to Washington DC to meet Kirk and look at some housing. I don't know how many of you have used a GPS system to help navigate your way, but Kirk let me use his. I was fine with it until I got on the beltway around DC. Let's just say that the GPS lady (computer) was telling me the directions and we got so lost in downtown DC during rush hour. The GPS would say "make a legal u-turn" and I would respond in an unkind tone "right, this is rush hour downtown". It was not pretty. We finally made it to where Kirk lives and I was very glad to turn the GPS and the driving over to Kirk for the rest of the trip.

Well, like I said, we went to check out some of the military housing in the area. Our first stop was at Ft. Meade, MD. It is about half way between DC and Baltimore. They told us that there was housing for just E9 and gave us a map to go and do a drive-bye. We were very surprised at what we saw. The first 3 pictures are of one style of E-9 housing and the next two are of another style. We're not sure which style we'll get to live in, but I won't complain about either one.

The High School, Middle & 2 elementary schools are located on base. Each neighborhood has a community center. The one for this housing is nearby and has a large pool, media room, fitness room, etc. They also have youth centers that have a variety of programs for the kids.

I decided that I could live here and never have to leave the base and deal with that traffic. Kirk will have to, but no matter where we live, that will be the case.

Our next stop was Ft. Belvoir, VA. It is south of DC. The houses below are a sample of some of the E-9 housing . This village opened this month and people who already live on post have first offer to move into this housing. If there are any units left after the transition, it will open up to new residents. There are only 22 homes and I doubt there will be many left over.

Our last stop was at Andrews Air Force Base. They had housing for E7-9 in certain areas and they gave us a map to go and do the drive-bye. I asked the housing agent what the average square footage was for these homes and she said "The larger ones are 1233 sq. ft. and the smaller style is just over 1200 sq. ft. She acted as if they were large. They were all 4 bedroom, but the ones that are pictured above are 1400-1600 sq. ft. on ONE level. A bit of a difference.

We will be putting our application in for Ft. Meade housing ASAP. The current wait is 3-6 months. I think it is worth the wait even if we have to rent for a couple of months up there.

Project 2 or 3 ??

This is part of our kitchen remodel.

This picture shows the old wall (right) and part of the new wall (left).

The old wall was composed of cedar strips glued diagonally to the drywall.

Can't just sand & paint that.

Kirk also put new linoleum down. It looks so nice.

This picture is of the old linoleum.

I will put pictures of the complete project soon.

Furry Kids Update

Clancy wanted a picture of the cats, so here they are!

JASPER (7 years)

CALLIE & BANDIT (4 years)

CALLIE (6 yrs.)

DIEGO (18 mo.)

Milestone

Nellysa has passed a big milestone....

She got her learner's permit for driving!

Now, she has been through the classroom portion of Driver's Ed, but the behind the wheel experience is all done with a parents. Oh, wait ... one parent conveniently transferred to Washington DC. This same parent had to conveniently go out to sea when the boys got their permits. I am starting to wonder about this. I think there will be a few weekends devoted to Father/Daughter bonding while driving on weekends.

Nellysa wouldn't let me show you the picture on her permit. Let's just say "true mug shot".
This package showed up on my doorstep this morning. Just in time!!
How did the Driver's Ed Fairy know what this Mom needed? (I still need the "oh crud" handles for the van -- until then, I will just have to eat the anxiety medicine like it was candy)

PS.. Nellysa was wondering if anybody knows what the correct distance is before you need to dim your lights?

a. 200 feet

b. 300 feet

c. 400 feet

d. 500 feet

Oh, and what button do we push :-)

News!

I don't know if we told everyone our news. No, it's not another little one!! Kirk 's last day on the ship was Feb.8. He has been transferred to Washington DC Navy Yard to work for the Naval Reactor Headquarters in the Fluids Department. He doesn't know everything that he will be doing, but a large part will be corresponding with the nuclear powered ships and submarines, answering questions and solving problems associated with operations and broken equipment. Lots of phone calls and technical research, writing procedures and providing technical assistance to 50-60 ships and subs. This will be very different because Kirk has been on aircraft carriers for 13 years in a row.
He is going to live up there on the base during the week and will come home on the weekends. We are going to sell our house and will join Kirk sometime in June. We are excited for this move. There will be so many opportunities in that area. Kirk leaves this week.

Basketball

Church basketball season has started. The kids are thrilled! Kelby is still a little small, but he plays pretty well.

The "3 point shot" -- SWISH!
My camera battery died during Kelby's game and so we didn't get pictures of Nellysa's game. I was a little busy coaching the girls anyway. Maybe next week. She is quite interesting to watch. I would be scared to play against her because she just plows through and doesn't let much slow her down.