Where to Begin?!?

Wow... All I can say is I have felt like I fell off the face of the Earth! It has been roughly a week since I have had access to the internet, and I must say it is a little sad how dependant I have become to this form of technology. A lot has happened this past week, so let me give you a brief overview. (Sadly, I have been really slacking on taking pictures, but I plan on venturing out to take some on Wednesday or Thursday).

My last post was a week ago, which was Kevin's first day at work. I had been waiting around all day for him to come home and to hear what he had found out from the housing office. When he walked into the hotel room he told me to start packing, because he had the key to our house! I could not believe it! I was so thrilled to be leaving our hotel, although I knew it would be awhile before we would have internet and cable (and a "real" bed).

When Kevin started describing the house to me I became extremely disappointed and wanted to cry. The first thing I asked was, "Do we have a fenced in back yard?" and Kevin's reply was "No". Next thing I asked was, "Well, do we at least have a garage?" and once again, Kevin's reply was "No". At this point I knew we were in the 4-plexes and wanted to bust into tears! The 4-plexes are just like they sound... 4 homes in one building...2 upstairs and 2 downstairs. Thankfully we were able to get a bottom unit, so we don't have to worry about going up and down stairs every time we have to take the dogs out, but it really stinks to have to put them on a leash numerous time a day. As we drove to our new "house" I was really just expecting the worst. I think the reason I was having such a difficult time is because I know this is where we will be living for the next 3 years. There is no way we can move to a different house later on down the road unless we move out of the military housing all together, and find a rental house in town (the problem with that is they are extremely expensive).

As we pulled up I realized they weren't at ugly as I was expecting, and was pleasantly surprised as we parked the car. The house is a decent size, and considering it is just me and Kevin (and even when we do add one more) we really have enough room. I love how open our living/dining room is, and although we only have 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, they are right next to each other, which will make for a perfect master bedroom and nursery (when the time comes). It is a little funky though. We have to go down into the basement to do our laundry, and it is in an open area that we share with the people above us. We also have a storage unit in the basement, which is massive and Kevin keeps talking about how he wants to make it into his "man-cave".

All of our hose hold goods arrived on Thursday, so I have been slowly but surely unpacking everything and trying to make it feel more like home. We have been lucky and have met several of our neighbors, and they all seem great. We keep getting told that we are extremely lucky... the fact that we not only got our house, but all of our household goods within a week seems to never happen. I must say that I am VERY thankful that we are in our house, have all of our stuff, and now we have Internet and cable (all within a week!). I still have a ton of unpacking, organizing, and decorating (my favorite part!) to do, but I don't have many complaints these days.

On Friday, Kevin's station had a B-B-Q for everyone that is leaving this summer, and for the new people who are taking their places (Kevin is the only new person here so far). It was at a "beach house" that sat up on a cliff and looked out over the water with the mountains in the background. It was absolutely beautiful. The town of Kodiak is actually very ugly, Base is prettier, and we have been told that if you keep driving past base it is gorgeous. We are hoping to make that drive on Wednesday or Thursday of this week since Kevin will be off work, and I PROMISE to take lots of pictures!!

That night was one of Kevin's supervisors invited us to dinner. I really was hesitant, and wanted to just stay home and unpack. Kevin twisted my arm, and I could not be more thankful! We went to dinner and ended up going out with everyone afterwards. Much to our surprise, the bars here don't close until 5 am!! That is just asking for bad news!! We had a blast, took a taxi home, and ended up feeling awful the next day! Needless to say, we didn't get any unpacking really done until Sunday. I already have plans for a girls night this Friday, and can not wait! I really thought it would take some time to make some friends of my own, but it is shocking how friendly everyone is around here and how welcoming they all are. I think the hardest part about living here is going to be when the friends I make, end up moving away.

So I am very pleased to say that after being in Kodiak for 10 days, I am loving it, and can't wait to experience everything Alaska has to offer.