Life is INSANELY CRAZY right now.
Like.
OMG.
I just want to cry all day every day.
I just want to cry all day every day.
I should write an exposé about how difficult this entire process has been.
How hard would it be to just send a packet in the mail with the orders to where we're being sent with every gosh dern thing we need to do?
Don't thousands upon thousands of soldiers get deployed and sent across the world every day?
I consider myself a knowledgable person, yet I find every step of this process a confusing labyrinth of losing battles with more forms, more paperwork, more signatures, more no's, more to dos, more "he says/she says", every day!
Sigh.
Here is a glimpse of what we have to do between now and July 8th:
Saturday June 29th
12:30pm - Pick Chris up at the airport - yayayay! The kids REALLY miss Chris - 24 days is a long time!
Stop at PetCo and purchase crates for Joey and Rachel to fly in
Stop at Wells Fargo and get some Euros because I don't want to use credit cards because they charge an international fee everytime they're swiped.
Sunday June 30th
9am-12pm - Church
12-2pm, 5-10pm - Blog for the entire month of July for American Crafts cuz who knows when we'll have the internet set up in Germany.
2pm - Rachel and Joey have vet appointments for their international health certificates, rabies certificates, and microchip certificates - pay lots of fees.
Monday July 1st
6:00am - drive to Fort Lewis
8:20am - Fox has his physical
8:20am - Fox has his physical
8:40am - Jane has her physical
10:00am - I have my physical
1:00pm - No-Fee Passport appointment. I had to drive all the way to Fort Lewis yesterday just to make an appointment. You have to make appointments to make appointments! SERIOUSLY NUTS! Originally I was told we couldn't fly to Germany without No-Fee Passports. And they take 6-8 WEEKS to process! But then yesterday I talked to a different lady at the exact same office and she said we CAN fly to Germany on our tourist passports, they just have to fill out some paperwork (surprise surprise) and then mail our No-Fee Passports to us in Germany. That's very good news. Very good news indeed. Moving along.
Tuesday July 2nd
9:00am - go to AAA and get Chris his international driving permit. I already got mine - it was the ONLY easy breezy thing we've done so far. Note to self - bring our own stupid 2x2" photo or else they charge 10 bucks to take one there. No thank you, I'll just take and print my own for 13 cents at Costco!
2:00pm - I have to drive all the way to Olympia to get Rachel and Joey's international health certificates signed by the state veterinarian and pay some outlandish fees. Bringing pets is a big fat pain, but Joey and Rachel are part of our family so we're doing whatever we have to to get them there!
Wednesday July 3rd
Fly to Utah for the annual Evans family reunion. Chris has to take official "time off" so we can go because the Army wanted him to fly straight from Texas to Germany but that's just not feasible to leave me hanging with two babies and a cat and a dog and a million bags! So any day that he's not in Germany after June 30th is vacation time used. Bummer dude.
Thursday July 4th
4th of July in Utah
Friday July 5th
Jay and Haylie's wedding!
Saturday July 6th
Fly back to Washington
Sunday July 7th
PACK PACK PACK
Monday July 8th
FLY TO GERMANY! Arrive at 8:30am on Tuesday!
So that's it! In less than 2 weeks we'll be in Germany! It's finally happening! There's a goal in site! Flights are booked! Plans are made! Let's get this show on the road!
Oh, and happy quarter-century birthday to my little brother Eric :) His wife, my sister-in-law, made the most adorable video montage to celebrate:
Okay, I now have butterflies in my stomach for you... I don't think I could handle what you are going through and I can handle a lot!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope everything runs smoothly from here on out! I am excited to hear about all of your new adventures! :)
ReplyDeleteWow... that is a lot of stuff to do!!! Praying that it is all smooth sailing from now until the 8th!! :)
ReplyDeleteIve been thinking about you. Hoping and praying that all goes smoothly.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
ReplyDeleteI wish you the best of luck on your move! When its all over you will be glad you did it! :) Odd question but do the pets ride with the baggage or in the plane with the passengers. Also are they given anything for the flight?
ReplyDeleteAngie - they ride with the baggage and only if it's between 50-85 degrees or else they can't and I don't know what we'll do. So pray for cold weather for us on the 8th from here to Chicago to Germany! They are not given any sedatives so that they can control their muscles or something like that. I hope they'll be okay, I'm worried for them!
ReplyDeleteGIRL, you can DO this!!!
ReplyDeleteHang in there. It'll all work out. I'm amazed at how cool, calm, and collected you've been throughout all of this. I kinda hope you'll be stuck here for the rest of the year. JK.
ReplyDeleteand....breathe!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with all that
You're wonder woman! I am so proud of you!
ReplyDeleteThat is one heck of a list! You can do it :)
ReplyDeleteWait, I didn't know you already had a date! That's crazy!! I can't believe you will only be here for two more weeks! Who am I supposed to watch The Bachelorette with now? Also, does this meant that you and Chris get to fly to Germany together now?!!? :)
ReplyDeleteHoly craziness! I am so sorry it's been so crazy. I hate moving so much!!! Good Luck and love and all that. I can't wait until you are settled and letting us know all the things you are up to over there.
ReplyDeleteJust a little note from your banker brother. You get hit with exchange rate "fees" no matter where. Ironically you get a better deal paying your fee through the credit card than getting Euro's at the bank. If you look at the rate you get per dollar at the bank compared to your credit card rate you'll see what I mean.
ReplyDelete