Mostly moved in

     After not writing anything for a month since I didn't feel I had anything to report, I can finally get back on here and say triumphantly, "We're here!"     Those last few weeks before leaving Juneau were really, really hard and stressful. We were working all the time to get the addition done and pack. The kids were troopers during all that time--they kept themselves occupied pretty well, considering they were stuck in the house mostly. With the help of some extremely hardworking friends and family members, we managed to get everything done and out of the house and on our plane last Wednesday morning, albeit MUCH earlier than we had planned. 

      We flew down to Oregon, stayed with Joe's grandparents and saw some of his family and my parents, all the while trying to recover from about three weeks of nonstop stress and waiting for the weather window for Kyrie to be able to get out of her harbor in British Columbia. Because she was a Canadian boat, we couldn't bring her out of Canada ourselves unless we wanted to get hit by a nasty 12% sales tax. No sirree! So instead, a delivery skipper brought her down to the nearest customs point, which is Point Roberts, Washington. Complicated place to get to by car! We drove up into Surrey, BC, around the lower part of Vancouver, through a town called Tsawwasssen and back over the border into the town of Point Roberts. So after we moved Kyrie from Point Roberts down to what will be her home for at least a little while in Semiahmoo Marina in Blaine, Washington, Joe's grandma and I drove back up to Point Roberts so we could get the van back. Four border crossings altogether, and toward the end, I think the customs officials were looking at me a little strangely as I tried to explain what I had been doing...

      The kids playing around the first morning on Kyrie, before we left Point Roberts. I think our bed, which is up in front, will become a favorite place to them to play!

     So now we are tied to the fuel dock in Semiahmoo, waiting for approval from the marina management so we can officially get in to our slot for the next who knows how long? I really wanted to be in Bellingham since that's where Joe's job is, but it's beautiful here, so we'll see what happens. The fly in the ointment right now is the weather. It's windy and rainy and gross right now! Of course, being on a boat full time is all new to me, so every sound, every movement makes me ask, "What was that? Is everything okay?" and Joe has to assure me that, yes, that's normal. We're perfectly safe. 

     He's already left this morning for his first day of work down in Bellingham, which is about half an hour away. I know he's glad to be working again, and I'm happy for him, but this is going to be interesting, me and the kids, on the boat all day in a storm. Thankfully, we have work to do, still trying to get this place in some semblance of order. I think our task will be to figure out where everyone's clothes are going to go, and then we can jump into a new week of school on Monday.

      Kyrie is going to be a good fit for us. I already trusted Joe's judgement, but we both feel better now that I've actually seen her and spent a little time on her. She's comfortable, even in this nasty wind I feel pretty safe and the kids are sleeping really well. 8:00 in the morning and Levi just got up and the girls are still asleep, in fact. Glad someone slept well last night!

       Farewell for now from the Kyrie crew!