We'll miss you Washington

For the most part we have really enjoyed our time in Washington state. We’ve been in Washington for almost two years. In many ways we can’t believe that we’ve been here that long, but in other ways so much has changed since we arrived in Washington we can’t believe that it’s only been 2 years!

When Mike was at the career course a couple of years ago we were told that he would be deploying immediately to a MiTT team in Iraq. We prepared for another deployment and prayed that we accept God’s plan for our family. Right before Mike’s graduation we learned that he wasn’t going to a MiTT team after all and instead he would be able to choose between Ft. Campbell, KY and Ft. Lewis, WA. We prayed that God guide us in our decision and we settled on Ft. Lewis. We drove cross country with Olivia who had just turned a year old. We have since learned that Ft. Lewis is one of the two best places in the Army to be stationed if you have a child with special needs. We believe that a big part of the reason Olivia was diagnosed early is because of some of the outstanding doctors we’ve worked with at Ft. Lewis. All things considered our time here at Fort Lewis has been very busy. Mike’s former unit had a very fast-paced training tempo so he was in the field very often. All things considered we have really enjoyed our time here in Washington so here’s the top ten things we’ll miss:

1. The Pacific Northwest is Beautiful! When the weather is nice then it is gorgeous, you get the best of both worlds, the mountains and the ocean, all right there!

2. Being close to Canada. We were able to take several weekend trips to Canada and even Olivia and Peter are international travelers.

3. Our neighborhood. We lived just a few miles from Ft. Lewis, Mike often rode his bicycle or jogged into work so it was very convenient for him. I loved that there were several parks within walking distance of our house and miles of trails in and around the neighborhood. I loved the Starbucks and the little public library right at the front of our neighborhood.

4. Seattle. We loved that we were so close to a big city with all the amenities that a big city has to offer. My absolute favorite would be the Pacific Northwest Ballet while Mike’s was Pike Place Market.

5. The seafood. We both grew up along the gulf coast so we’re no strangers to seafood but seafood in the Northwest is different. Mike especially loves all the fresh salmon.

6. The Microbrews.

7. Healthy lifestyles. I love that organic, healthy ingredients are always readily available. People are active and enjoy being outdoors so there are tons of things to do. In the few days since we’ve left we realize how much we appreciated that people in and around Washington don’t seem to smoke. Maybe it’s illegal to smoke in public places but you don’t realize how much you appreciate something like that till it’s gone.

8. The Coffee Shacks. Starbucks are more common than gas stations in the area but I also loved the little drive-up coffee shacks that are literally on every corner. These little shacks are usually no bigger than a child’s playhouse with a drive-up window. They serve tasty coffee concoctions and are cheaper than Starbucks. Some of them have themes (i.e. servers wear bikinis) and some have great customer promotions (i.e. punch cards, buy 5 get 6th free), most of them had a daily $1.50 special and you can’t beat a large moca for $1.50!

9. A few of our favorite places: Olympia Farmer’s Market, Pullalyaup Fair, Point Defiance Zoo and Park, Charlie’s Safari, Nordstroms, Target (after Ft. Sill you can never take the existence of Target for granted), The Lobster Shop.

10. Our new friends! We will miss you and the Army is a small world, who knows when we might meet up again….We’ll be thinking of you during the upcoming deployment.