A Blur

The last week has been going by in a blur and at break neck speed. The idea of moving overseas is always fun until it is actually happening. Then the reality of leaving all of the family members that I cherish so much slaps me in the face and the not-so-fun part rears it's ugly head.

Jane is pretty much all squared away. This spoiled feline is getting the absolute royal treatment on her journey. A company called Happy Tails Travel will be taking care of her traveling arrangements. Did I mention, she gets a villa for a week under the Golden Gate Bridge? Oh yeah, it's costing us a pretty penny. But, we didn't have much choice, or honestly, we wouldn't have it any other way. If one is planning on taking their furry friends overseas they need to plan in advance! For island countries it can take even longer to transport pets. For Germany, here is a helpful site: http://www.howtogermany.com/pages/pets.html. I can't stress enough that the moment orders/job offers/etc. come in for an overseas position, you should call the vet and ask what steps are needed for "Fluffy's" travels.

All of our things are pretty much packed up on a truck and we are left with our express shipment to go. This includes things that we might need right away upon arrival. One thing that we put in this time was our bikes. I have a feeling we will get a car soon, but just in case, the whole family is equipped with wheels. Honestly if we were headed back to Japan, we may have done this as well. I thought it was a pretty smart idea for Mike to come up with. After all, one can't always depend on their sponsor for rides! I've got to get the kiddo to school in the morning after all!

Before we fly, we'll be taking a road trip across the country. This time we plan to go the northern route. Some famous sites will include Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, and the actual Field of Dreams. I found out recently that a lot of my family is from the Boone, Iowa, area. How they ended up in central California, I will never know, but there's a good chance we'll be able to pass through that town. We may even write something up for Joshua's class. Right now, they are working on a social studies project about their family trees and how their ancestors came to America. The exciting part is that most of Mike's and my families have been here since the 1700's. One of Mike's ancestors was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the fourth Governor of Virginia. He (Thomas Nelson, Jr.) ended up bankrupt and died a pauper all in the name of democracy! I'm sure Mike was surprised to learn that he married a Yankee whose ancestor fought in the American Revolution. Unlike Mike, my ancestor was a foot soldier and not so much the nobility type.

This may not be a Europe or Germany themed blog for a couple of entries, but only because we want to write about our journey across this great land first! Readers, I beg that you bear with us.