So, just a "few" things have happened since the last blog post in March. Yep, just call me a giant slacker. But, I finally have the time (and motivation) to do some updates. It's probably best to break them up a little bit by events. Otherwise, this post will just be toooooooo long. So, let's start with how we finished up the school year.
We really wanted to get the kids to a few PacNorWest must-sees before we headed back to Virginia. We didn't quite accomplish our goals, but we did make it to Mount St. Helens. Well, we sort of made it. The visitor center at the top was still closed due to snow when we tried to go in April. But, we did the visitor center at the base of the mountain then drove up as far as we could. I'm not sure how much the kids really got out of it, but Jip and I enjoyed heading back to the area 21 years after we first went.
In May, we participated in Bremerton's proud Armed Forced Day celebrations. The kids and Jip again were in the parade, but this year were in a Jeep. The driver of the Jeep warned Jip that the particular Jeep they had chosen was bad for a parade because it was not meant to be driven in a slow parade and was going to lurch - a lot. Jip had to hold on to the rollbar the entire length of the parade. But, the kids loved riding in it. Ryleigh's convinced now more than ever that we should own a Jeep.
That evening, Jip and I attended the Navy League's Gala that is held in conjunction with the Armed Forces Day celebrations. It was nice to get all dressed up. But, thanks to me, Jip nearly had a wardrobe malfunction. I was opening the button holes on the jacket because he got a new chain closure for it that used the button holes instead of the hidden buttons. I ripped open the button holes and kept going into the jacket. I made emergency repairs to close my mistake, and it was fine in the moment. But, a new jacket is in order before the next formal event. The second picture is Clint, Jip, and JD. Clint used to work at the shipyard and is now the CO at NUWC Keyport and JD is the new CO at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (more on that in another post).
The end of school arrived before we could blink an eye. As part of the end of the year celebration at the school, Ryleigh volunteered to be part of a mallet band. She is playing the soprano metallophone--a bit of an upgrade from the Fisher Price version we all knew and loved from our childhood. After the assembly, 5th graders and their parents had a little reception with cake and goodie bags. Ryleigh took a few pics with her lunch buddies and then she was ready to go.
RJ was able to finish up his Red Belt at Code Ninja during his last day at the Newcastle (east of Seattle) location. We are delighted we were able to find a way for RJ to keep coding in the midst of moving during a pandemic and moving to a location where the closest Code Ninja was an hour away. It paid off and RJ will now get to finish his last belt at Code Ninja in Virginia, where it all started.
We were so delighted that Ryleigh's gym banquet was the week before school got out so that she wouldn't have to miss it. While she hated the food (Mexican food), she loved putting on something pretty and hanging out with her girls.
The last day of practice, Ryleigh and her BFF Reagan (left of Ryleigh in the above picture) held each other and cried in the parking lot for 20 minutes. It was truly heartbreaking for these parents. This is by far the worst part of moving--Ryleigh having to leave her friends. Reagan's mom was also ultra patient and just let them have the time they needed.
Our house was being packed out the last week of school, but thankfully the kids reminded me to set aside my signs for our last day of school pictures. And, I decided I should grab the first day of school signs and shirts just in case we aren't in our house by then (good thing I did that--more on that later).
Speaking of packing out... wanna see what it looks like when they don't believe that you need a full truck even though you've done this a couple times and know what you need, and then they have to literally shove the last mattress onto the truck because it is 10 pm and there is no way for them to get a second truck out there?
And our vehicles were full, too.
The kids and Jip got to do one last shipyard thing before we left. For the first time in many years, the shipyard had a family day, but it was after the change of command. So, Jip got to enter the shipyard as a non-CO and show the kids around. It was a little gray (and chilly, as you can tell by what they are wearing), but it was still a lovely way to spend a few hours.
So, that wraps up what the kids did to finish out the school year. More posts to come about the outgoing Change of Command, the move, the incoming Change of Command, and our summer as we all get reacclimated to Virginia humidity, terrible drivers, and having shopping choices again.
