Move Countdown-starting now!

20 days to go! I was just typing out a list of what our last few weeks entail and thought, wow, we have a lot going on!

Some friends will be moving in with us on the 11th and staying through the 18th (they are moving out of their rental out in town and waiting to move into housing on Hickam). The dog goes in for his vet appointment on the morning of the 16th, dh gets pinned in the afternoon, the movers will be here on the 18th and 19th, we move into the Navy Lodge on the 18th, the Khaki ball is on the 20th, our move-out inspection is on the 22nd, dh checks out from PSD on the 23rd and we fly out on the 24th. Our flight is not until 9:30PM so we will have all day to do whatever we feel like. We need to pick the dog up from the kennel by 2PM and have arranged for him to have a doggy playdate at a neighbors house until we need to leave for the airport. Hopefully he will be nice and tired and will be able to sleep for most of the trip. The first leg of our journey is about 8 hours and the second is 1 1/2 hours. FYI for any of you planning to travel with your pet in the near future, we are paying $275 for our 16 pound dog to fly in the cargo bay. Mind you, it is a fully pressurized compartment, but come on, $275!

The airline we will be flying with recently changed their policy regarding baggage limits for active-duty military on orders, so dh husband will be allowed to check in 4 bags, each weighing up to 80 pounds and up to 80 linear inches (L + W + H). If the second leg of our flight was not a connection (meaning a sister airline) he would be allowed up to 10 bags. The rest of us are allowed one free checked bag, one carry-on and one personal item. As our temporary apartment in South Carolina is fully furnished, including linens and dishes, we will not need to pack any of those items. That will free up our luggage for clothing, as the mainland will have cooler temperatures at that point. That reminds me that I need to head over to the NEX to shop for winter clothing for the children and myself. Hawaii does not get cold, so I only brought a couple of sweatshirts and packed the rest in storage.

Dh purchased a tonneau cover for the truck which is being delivered to my mom next week and I just got confirmation that the truck will be delivered next week to dh's uncle. We are flying into Denver and driving cross-country to visit friends and family on the way. The military is paying us per diem for a portion of our trip, making this a good time to visit with everybody. That and the fact that we only have to drive one way instead of the normal two. We are taking two weeks to do the entire trip, whereas we had two weeks 1 1/2 years ago to drive from VA to CO and back. We ended up spending 6 days of our 14-day total driving.