What was originally going to be quick a check-up on the house in Oki and return back to vacation in Cali, took an interesting turn and we ended up moving! No, not moving out of Okinawa and back to the states, but just to another place off base. We had been discussing the possibility of moving to a larger place before, but Dan's deployment on such a short notice made that impossible at the time. I was glad to make this check-up on the house, since we came back to some mold problems. Even after getting it all cleaned out, it was easy to find more reasons to just move now and start fresh again. S0 although Dan is still deployed,
now turned out to be
the time. I ventured to take on the task of finding a new place, packing up the entire house and moving.
Initially, the lack of housing agencies' replies and the slim selection of listings online were discouraging. But sure enough, as God always does, He provided. After one day of viewing some properties, the following day I was signing a new lease. It's not a brand new complex like our first one, but definitely more fitting for us -- one story , 4 bedrooms, and ample space for Leyna to run around. No more squeezing in between the coffee table and the tv...no more baby gates at the top and bottom of steep stairs...my office finally gets to be an office in itself, so Leyna gets a separate playroom instead of playing underneath my desk...and guests don't have to feel awkward about using the toilet-sink (our old
post of the home tour shows this water saving method of washing your hands)! I'm definitely looking forward to having an American oven, washer & dryer...to let our American sized couches breathe...and it will simply be nice to have more company over!
Moving is still in progress. I'm not completely moved out of the old place, and boxes here are still piled high, but so far the upgrade is worth it. My goal is to get us "settled" and ready to leave to Cali in the next 2 weeks. Here's a few pics of the moving adventure so far...
Waking up to a terrible wind and rain the day of moving was not fun. The movers did a good job regardless. Notice, the Japanese still keep their shoes off in your house even when moving! Leyna tried to help out by carrying anything she could find...
I attempted to keep Leyna entertained and out of the way by hanging out in the laundry room most of the time. She's loves singing n dancin to Beiber songs! haha
Excuse me are you standing on the wall?
...why go through the trouble of trying to squeeze things down the stairs when its much easier to just lower it all down from outside. Of course!
..and here's a peek at our place. Moving makes you hungry, Leyna was enjoying some fries while touring the new space.
I hope to post more pics before returning to Cali! Back to unpacking many many boxes...
While in NY, we did a lot of resting and roaming around shopping malls -- something you take for granted, but we truly miss being able to do while living in Oki! Buying things still had to be kept to the essentials (for instance things to keep us warm!) since we were still en route to GTMO. While there Leyna got to see a little bit of snow again. Thankfully we missed the huge blizzard that buried the East Coast later in that month...
...what's this stuff that keeps stickin to my feet...
it's not always easy taking pics of your own kid
Kuya Rudy took us on a drive through Manhattan before leaving. Had some yummy Peruvian food with Maria in Brooklyn. Leyna had fun making phone calls and taking pics with her cousin. She holds anything up to her eye and says "cheeeese!"
We enjoyed all decor and lights...there were plenty (including all the city traffic!)
Our next stop before boarding the GTMO flight was back to Maryland to visit Tita Ester and family. Last time we were there was just before we first moved to Oki and when Leyna was still growing in my belly. So this visit, we each had new additions to the family -- me > Leyna, them > TJ their dog! This Labradoodle is huge! Leyna LOVED him. She'd always be on the look out for him, try to bump fists, and he's so sweet to let her poke at his big eyeballs while she says "eeeyes!"
...randoms of Leyna having fun. She would sometimes "neigh" at TJ and try to ride him thinking he's a horse haha.
The girls with their niece.
Then on our way to GTMO we went. We had to leave behind the winter clothes and repack for sunny weather, while also having things ready depending if we get stuck on the East Coast on the way back or make it to CA directly. It's amazing how many times I had to sort, un-pack, re-pack and get boxes of things ready to ship. Space bags, flat rate boxes, and anything with zippers that don't break are our friend. =) All this traveling really exercises your brain...
