To catch you up

I guess it’s been a while, perhaps over a full month, since last we blogged. There is actually a really good reason (or several), and so I’m going to share them with you, along with some updates. Therefore, let’s begin.
Actually, before we get there, let’s start with a picture of Ethan in his, “Yo soy tan mano” (I'm soo cute) outfit, courtesy of Auntie Mara.

Reason #1: We Weren't Home

Almost continually for the last 24 years or so, Katie’s family has rented a beach house in Brigantine (a barrier island north of Atlantic City) for a week. This year, they rented the house for July 4th week, starting Saturday, July 3. Katie and Ethan stayed the whole week, but I had to return to DC for class early Tuesday morning. While there isn’t terribly much to do in Brigantine beyond spending time at the beach, watching TV, eating, and leaving the island, Katie couldn’t do any blogging because the house doesn’t have a wireless (nor wired, for that matter) network. Since she had the camera and SD cards, and most of you aren’t really reading the blog, but come here for the link to the pictures, I chose not to blog when I got back. You folks, however, are in luck – as we have beach pictures! Go to the gallery link, and click on the albums dated 7/3 – 7/11.
Anyway, here are some beach highlights: Upon arriving in Jersey, we stopped off at Nick and Sue’s house and got to spend some time with Nick, Sue, Sadie, and Mom-To-Be Becky! Good times. That night, we got grandparents to watch the babies, and Katie, Nick, Sue, and I went to Bobby Flay’s Steakhouse in the Borgata and indulged our foodie sides. Mmm, steak, shrimp, and general goodness! July 4th was fun, I barbecued on the ancient gas grill, and the neighbors next door played their music loud enough to annoy darn near everybody – but, since some of it was patriotic, and other bits were pretty good, it almost seemed difficult to ask them to turn it down. Other beach highlights included: Seeing Kelsey, Jay, and Rachel; playing ball in the ocean; Paul breaking the cheap glass in the old table; a visit from Aunt Peg, Uncle Paul, and Laura; some good family time; and oh yeah, more loud music from the neighbors!

Reason #2: Katie's Birthday

Ok, so this reason’s not really a great one – in fact, it’s really just an opportunity to thank Lea for introducing us to Victoria’s Cakery in Fairfax. I went up to PA to pick up Katie and Ethan on July 10, and we came home on the 11th. The 12th was Katie’s birthday, and my parents were kind enough to have us and Peggy over for a barbecue. I ordered a peanut butter / chocolate cake from what has rapidly become Katie’s favorite bakery since Lea introduced her to it at Debi’s baby shower – the ubiquitous Victoria’s Cakery.
http://www.victoriascakeryinc.com/

Reason #3: OMG, WOAH!

So this was supposed to be a blog entry all into itself. OMG, WOAH! As of July 14, we’ve become homeowners (OMG, WOAH = Oh My Goodness, We Own A House!). Taking advantage of the VA home loan program, and unbelievably low mortgage rates, we found a 5 BR (although we consider one of the rooms more of a den/family room), 3 Bath house in the Falls Church part of Fairfax, just inside the beltway. The house is B-E-A-UTIFUL, and full of updates. It started life in 1950 as a post-war 3 BR/1 Bath rambler. The previous owner bought it almost 20 years ago, and taught himself to do all sorts of updates. He redid the floorplan of the original house (there’s only one room from the original floorplan that hasn’t been touched), moved the door, pushed out the back, and added a second floor. When he pushed out back, he moved the kitchen and put in granite countertops and a Viking professional range.
We have ideas on what we want to do with the house to make it even more ours. When we walked in the first time, we agreed with our realtor’s comment that the renovations were well done, but lacked imagination. Externally, the front of the house has a long, high, unbroken roof that doesn’t help the curb appeal. We’ve got several thoughts, including adding double dormers, a single large dormer, and a standing seam (metal) roof. Internally, we want to rip out two walls – one that separates the small dining room from the living room, and one to create a hallway between the kitchen and the 5th bedroom (the one that would be an excellent family room), where there is currently a large closet.
You’re probably asking, as so many have, “Why buy now, when you’re leaving? What are you going to do with it while you’re gone?” Well, I think I already answered the first – the market and interest rates were right, we were still eligible for the 8k tax credit, and we had to seize the opportunity. As for the second, well, we’ve got renters! Surprisingly, the renters will cover a good chunk of our mortgage. The best part: we’re able to do this on my overseas salary alone, so anything Katie earns, or any raises I get (including for serving in DC), enables us to enjoy the house and area even more.
There are some pictures in the gallery, but the best way to see the house is to visit when we’re back in the area.

Reason #4: PACKOUT!

We closed on the house on July 14, and the movers were supposed to come on July 15 to pack up our stuff, or so we thought. They had the 16th as their day to arrive, and so that’s when they came. They were supposed to be at my parents’ house (because there’s a bit more space in their basement than in Lisa’s condo) between 1 and 4, but the individual they packed out before us added a thousand pounds or so to his shipments, so the packers didn’t actually show up until 5:30. They finished up fairly quickly, or so I hear. I had class, so Katie, my parents, and Peggy were there to ensure they did their job well.

Nonetheless, preparing for the packout took a lot of time. We went through all of our stuff, and a chunk of Lisa's, and tried to figure out what we had, what we thought we might need over the next 6 weeks (while we wait for the air freight to arrive), and the next 2-3 months (for the rest of our Washington-based stuff). Additionally, we had to guess at how much space we'd have in our suitcases, and what we'd need to bring with us. Oh, what fun.

Reason #5: Gotta go, gotta go!

The next week was spent getting ready to leave. We had numerous last minute errands to do, and phone calls to make – although some of those didn’t get done, either. Additionally, there were things at the new house that needed doing; most importantly we had to better cover the entrance to the crawl space to keep rain and runoff from getting in. James and Erica hosted a goodbye party for us on July 24. We spent the 25th packing, only to discover that we didn’t have enough bags or, more importantly, a high enough weight allowance, for all of our stuff. Nonetheless, we packed it all up, loaded up my dad’s minivan, and took it all to my parents as we moved out of Lisa’s place. We left it there on Monday and Tuesday as we finished up our local errands, and on Wednesday, dumped it all out, rifled through it again, and packed up our six bags, at 50 lbs a piece. We also packed some 4 boxes of stuff to ship to ourselves, until we left my parents house for the airport – only to arrive at the airport with just over an hour and a half to spare before the flight was scheduled to depart.
There was another family at the airport that planned on bringing their two dogs with them on their move abroad – this one a military family relocating to Heidelberg for their first move overseas. Unfortunately for them, one of their kennels didn’t meet FAA standards, and the guy running the pet desk for United was not the most efficient we’ve ever seen. We waited about 15 or 20 minutes, getting more nervous by the second, until Katie noticed that some of the other 40 lines were empty, and approached one of the other employees. They processed us and our stuff pretty quickly, and so we only had to half-run through security and along the terminal to get to the plane – which we, our luggage, and the dogs, all made it aboard!

Sorry, no pictures for this one - it was a bit crazy, and I'm surprised we actually pulled it off!

Reason #6: ¡Bienvenidos a Argentina!

We have arrived safely in Argentina. We were met at the airport by my office sponsor, Vanna, and a large van to get all of our stuff, us, and the dogs to our new apartment.

Our apartment is quite large – occupying half of the 11th floor of our building. We have 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, plus a maid’s quarters that has its own bedroom, bathroom, and “living area”. Right now, the dogs are in the maid’s quarters! The elevators are tiny, which doesn’t makes Katie very happy, and we don’t have internet yet. They say it could take a while for the internet set up, but luckily, there are numerous cafes and restaurants that have free wifi – which is how we’re sending these blog entries. The only other major hurdle we face is the stove. I figured out how to light the burners yesterday, but we still haven’t figured out the oven. Soon, Ojala (the Spanish version of Inshallah).

So far, so good – and thankfully we got some Spanish before we left, because you definitely need Spanish here. It’s coming back, and getting stronger. We’re just a few blocks away from a large park, and everybody here really is super dog friendly. Even Gracie’s mostly behaving herself! We still have to find a place where the monsters can run, but they’re doing well with their twice-daily walks.

We went to the Embassy on Friday, and got most of the administrative check-in done. I still have some more to do, and Katie's gotta come back in on Wednesday for her ID, but we're in good shape. My office seems pretty busy, but a good group of people should make for a good time!Our stuff may arrive sooner than expected, which will be fantastic.