Well, it finally happened. After months of waiting, we finally had our orders and got everything scheduled. We started, of course with movers. We spent two days, with a couple guys going through all of our things, and packing them away, out of our sight. We're not exactly sure for how long... it could be two months, it could be longer. Eventually, our stuff will make it to Germany.
After everything was packed, it was time to clean. I hate the cleaning you have to do when you leave a house. There always seems to be so much. This time, I just basically tried to make sure everything looked nice. I really didn't want to stress out about it all. So I didn't. Over the Christmas weekend my parents helped me with some of the big things, the fridge, the oven, etc. Then when all our stuff was out, I just had to do some quick wipe downs, and when the inspector finally came, he said the house looked great, and all we had to replace were the two sets of blinds our lovely children destroyed during a fit of childhood tantrum rage.
The day before our flight, we had our final inspection, then we hopped into the car and drove to Richfield CA where we dropped off our beloved Honda to be shipped overseas. We picked up a rental van and drove to our hotel in San Francisco. Up to this point, everything had been running super smooth. We reserved the Jacuzzi suite, so the kiddos could play the night away, and were horribly dismayed to discover there was no jacuzzi in the suite. In fact, there was no tub at all.... just a shower. We called the front desk and the only thing they offered to do, to rectify their mistake, was to charge us for another room.... one that had a jacuzzi. Apparently, even though we were allowed to book a jacuzzi suite online, this particular hotel did not, in fact, have a jacuzzi suite. Yeah, we were bummed, but made the best of it.
The next morning, after a yummy continental breakfast, we packed up the van and ventured off to the San Francisco Airport.
Because we're military, we were allowed to check in Tac at the check in counter, instead of finding the cargo area. We were told to be there two hours prior to flight time, and we made it about 2.5 hours ahead. Just enough time to check us all in, return the rental, and hop on the flight. We were wrong. It seems that Tac's reservation, was not linked to our reservation. It took roughly an hour or so to sort all of that out and we were finally checked in...... but then Tim had to take all the carseats and dog, to the oversize baggage counter and check them there. At this point we had an hour until flight time, and we still had possession of the rental car. I took the kiddos and went through security and waited at the gate...... until minutes after getting there they started boarding. Yikes! I ended up getting on the plane with the kids.... and then crossed my fingers that Tim would make it in time... which he did, on last call for boarding. Phew!
The flight was pretty uneventful. It was just under 11 hours, and all the kiddos were excellent. We had some tears on landing, from Davin, and that was it.
After getting our bags, and the dog, and the carseats, we made our way through customs, super easy, and found our shuttle that was going to drive us from Frankfurt to Ramstein. That was where the worst part of our journey happened. Tac had been on the plane for over 11 hours, and Tim took him to relieve himself. To do so he had to cross a 3 lane road to a grassy area. I had just finished telling Rylissa that she couldn't go with him when I saw a flash of pink, and watched in terror as Tayzia ran after Tim into the busy road. I screamed, and stared knowing there wasn't anything I could do. I watched a black car come so close to her, and I just knew that she was gone. Yet, she wasn't. Miraculously, every car on that road was able to stop, or avoid her. We were being watched over, and we were so blessed that our sweet angel wasn't harmed. I cried, the entire drive to Ramstein. I will be haunted by that moment..... probably forever.
We finally made it, nerves fried, but in one piece to Ramstein. We got there, ready to crash, only to find out that our room wouldn't be ready for another two hours! I could go on and on and on about pet friendly rooms, non pet friendly rooms, ripped pants, and other annoyances, but I'll just say instead, we eventually made it into our room, and over the course of that first week, had to change rooms 3 times. After the first week, we finally started to feel less jet lagged, even though Davin refused to sleep through the night..... not once. We missed church, by sleeping through two alarms, but found out it had been canceled, so it was okay. We met some people, and have been treated so well. People have been bending over backwards to help us, and make us feel welcome. It's been a great journey, we're excited to be here. Now to get a car, get a house, and start making this place our home!
