Patching to....

Congratulations, Brian! VFA-102 Diamondbacks. YAYY!!! Wait, what does this mean?

It means that gone are the days of the navy flight training in the FRS - Fleet Replacement Squadron in Lemoore, CA.  (I like to refer to it as the "honeymoon" stage because the realities of the marriage to the navy hasn't really set in yet...deployments, work-ups, etc.)  But now we'll actually stay put somewhere for 3 years! That somewhere happens to be a land "somewhere over the rainbow...er, pacific..." Konnichiwa! We're moving to Japan, people.

Truth be told, we were kinda thinking that we'd end up stateside, however once again, the navy knew better.
Holy Guacomole. Or, Holy Sushi Role-y.

Part of the reason we got Japan is because Brian did pretty darn good at the boat and got Priority A status - meaning that he scored well and went above and beyond the amount of traps that were required while he was landing on the carrier.  Priority A not only means "Hey, ya did a good job" but it more so means, "you did a good job so we need you in the fleet NOW." Japan was gearing up for a deployment so off he went!

Some stressful feelings had less to do with Japan and more with the fact that we had reams of paperwork to complete; packing up with a small child is no thrill either.  Let's just say that I tried organizing my things with colored stickers and every evening I'd noticed Piper with a random sticker that she pulled off from somewhere!  I ended up giving up the sticker technique. Amidst all the moving stuff, we got to run back to KC to see family around Easter weekend.

We returned to Cali and then it was Sayonara for the Bri-guy.

After Brian left, Piper and I welcomed the week's worth of movers -  ya see, there are 3 moves for the International haul: (hence, my failed sticker technique for organization)
1)stuff that goes in storage and stays in CA
2) stuff that goes to Japan, and
3) the stuff that goes to Japan quickly so you can function upon your arrival
These movers seemed good so I think/hope we'll have a better turnout of our things than in our last move!  How you lose a king bed is still beyond me...

Yet, overall, I can't believe it. I've spent a good portion of my life being addicted to Europe and namely the French language and culture.  I've studied political processes, history, and those crazy francophones in order to feel prepared to be enveloped in a lifestyle unlike the one I had grown accustomed.  Then, that glorious day arrived when I caught my flight to Paris and spent an academic year abroad in a small French town called, Angers.
So, when I heard that we got Japan, I felt so unprepared - it was like receiving an educational grant for which I didn't even know I applied!   And the educational metaphor is well-applied in this situation because Lord knows, you gain a lot of knowledge by living in a different culture.  I am thrilled and blessed by the opportunity of it all.  Gonna miss the states like crazy but let's do this!!!