New Car

...well, new to me anyway. My van has seen way much better days. It needs a few repairs and the breaks were starting to squeak like a school bus, LOL. I went to day and traded it for a smaller car that gets way better gas mileage. Jerome is gonna use it to commute back and forth to work from the Valley. I will miss the old van. She was good till the end ;o)

Army Birthday Ball

We are MOVING!!!

No we are not leaving Alaska....YET. We went to a friends house out in Palmer Friday night and their next door neighbor had his house up for rent. Mike talked us into going to check it out, and what do you know? I fell in love!

We didn't have any plans to move off post. Jerome has wanted to live out in the Valley for a while, though. Living on post was great for us while he was deployed. It is so convenient and everything is within walking distance. However, Jerome is not in a deploy-able unit anymore, so that is not an issue. We have 2 1/2 years left here, so we thought we would try something different.

Plus, the rent is way less than our BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing). You do not get this when living on post. The only downside is that it is a 35-50 minute drive from Fort Richardson depending on the traffic and weather. But Jerome said that was not an issue for him, and he can also carpool if he wants.

Of course, we prayed about it over the weekend. Everything seems to be just right for us and the kids are super excited too! So Monday Jerome went to the housing office and we called the Realtor to get the lease started. By Wednesday I had the keys in my hand :)

We are going to start moving stuff up there tomorrow, and we have to be out of our house here on July 7th. So we will be celebrating Jerome's Birthday at the NEW HOUSE!!!!

Front door from the stairwell

Our New House

Washer and Dryer

2 Car Garage with shelves or storage all the way around and a utility sink

Formal Living room with Fireplace and built in Entertainment Center

Dinning Area with Built in China Cabinet

Master Bath Tub

Back Deck

Professional Gas Stove

I LOVE THIS!!! Refrigerator

Below- Family Room, Above- Entry into Kitchen from FR

There are 4 Bedrooms, (3 upstairs and another off the Living Room) 2 1/2 Baths, Living room, Dining Area, Family Room, Kitchen, 2 car garage, front porch, back deck...... AND it is right next to our really good friends with TEENAGERS, LOL You know for babysitting duty, Love it!

I will post more pictures as we get settled. Now back to Packing, hehe

NCOA Knik Glacier

Jerome and some other instructors at the Academy took some of the guest instructors 4 wheeling out to the Knik Glacier. I am very jealous!!! I think we need to acquire a new 4 wheeler for ME, or at least rent one. I want to do this ride, too!

Sleepy Heads

They must have been tired, because they both crashed after about 5 minutes of sitting down.

Saying Goodbye to Charlie Company

I posted earlier that Jerome got a new job. It all happened really fast. He went in on a Monday and was offered the job and told that he would start on Friday!! So, that Thursday we had the change of responsibility ceremony at the company. Friday he started at the NCO Academy. We hardly had any time to say goodbye to the families that we were with for the past few years, and TWO deployments. It was a sad goodbye, but it was time for us to move on....even if we are staying in Alaska. Since we will be around, we can still get together with the friends that are staying. Unfortunately, some of my good friends are leaving :(

The soldiers in the company threw this goodbye picnic in honor of Jerome. It was really nice. A few of the families were missing. The pics are in random order.

Lisa, our FRG leader and her daughter Heather

Charlie Company Soldiers

Logan Walker - This is Elesha and Randal's little boy.
Jerome and I are honored to be his God Parents. :)

Justin

Jared by the creek

Adams manning the grill, YUMMY!!!

Elesha, Andrea, and Carie

Lisa's son Joshua after Jerome convinced him to eat "cat poo" (brownie).

It was hilarious!!!

Elesha's Daughter Lei Lani

Princess Jadyn

Carie's son Duke and his dog

Jerome saying goodbye to the soldiers

Jerome paid Randal to say some good things about him, LOL. Not really, he did a great job!