SUCKS! I miss California! :( SO MUCH!
Excited for the Holidays though! :) How is the new Exchange coming along?! When we moved they were just getting the walls up!

I dont miss the fear of earthquakes though! :) 

It's still a pile of dirt! 

Lol really?! Slow moving I guess! Curious question..how much is gas out there?! I'm in Kansas City, MO. We're down to 3.09 WAHOO! They're saying it's supposed to get under 3$ 

The outside is almost done , the parking lot looks good.:)

We paid 3.71 on base today 

Stop just stop I want to cry LOL we leave end of the month.... Ugh ...... Now lets get the Positive Vibes out for Recruiting haha 

Shannon, do you knwo where you guys are going yet?! 

Ya....I've been stalking Craigslist in Tacoma, WA. Heard they have an Awesome Children's Hospital so with taking Derby 5xs to therapy we need to be near one. Right now driving to Newport for Choc for Doc appointments is killing us. 

Awesome. The only plus side to this recruting is that we're in Kansas City, Mo and it's only a 3 hour drive from our home...better than the 24 hour cali drive! However, I do miss it SOOOOOOO MUCH! and everything about Camp Pendleton! :( 

3.71 and I don't understand why its so much here. Its always more but not this much more. We drove cross country this summer and it was only about 15 20 cent difference. Not 70 cents. 

Tacoma has some nice areas and not do nice areas. Definitely look over the bridge (Tacoma-narrows) for housing if you are not going to live on base. My last pregnancy had complications and I had to have weekly ultrasounds at Madigan. 

3.71 and I don't understand why its so much here. Its always more but not this much more. We drove cross country this summer and it was only about 15 20 cent difference. Not 70 cents. 

Wow, when we lived there it was always only like 20 cents more...but 70 cents, thats crazy! I wonder why..although, California is poor lol! But the 3.09 and dropping is very nice!!! 

Stop just stop I want to cry LOL we leave end of the month.... Ugh ...... Now lets get the Positive Vibes out for Recruiting haha

THIS.

Someone tell me how awesome recruiting is so I can stay in denial for a few more weeks! lol 

How is the 6th district in Tacoma? 

Katie we both can be ;) Hey we can always meet up in Seattle for some shopping. 

Someone tell me how awesome recruiting is so I can stay in denial for a few more weeks! lol 

It's okay at times. But the long work house and only having SUndays off gets old really quick. You get lonely at home, especially if you don't work. That's why I'm glad I only live 3 hours from where we're stationed so I can get away for a week and see family. Get involved though, I go and see my hsband at the office, attend poole funtions, etc! 

Sorry, I can't help you more. We live in Bremerton. But my mom lived near Seatac, so if we weren't taking the ferry to visit, we drove and had to drive right through Tacoma. I just remember it always being on the news constantly! 

*** lived 

I lived in Poulsbo & Kingston... Loved it over there 

Katie we both can be ;) Hey we can always meet up in Seattle for some shopping.

Definitely!

It's okay at times. But the long work house and only having SUndays off gets old really quick. You get lonely at home, especially if you don't work. That's why I'm glad I only live 3 hours from where we're stationed so I can get away for a week and see family. Get involved though, I go and see my hsband at the office, attend poole funtions, etc!

We got lucky and my husbands office is 25 miles from where I grew up. All my family is still there and my sisters and cousins have kids around the same age as my boys. I am hoping they will distract me from the husband being gone all the time! 

I loved loved Poulsbo. I used to hit up the casino in Poulsbo every few months lol. You probably have heard of where I used to work.....Kitsap Mall in Silverdale? I was the Guest Services Supervisor for three years. 

Ya I know where that is. My father owned a Restaurant in Keyport. That area is so Beautiful. Haven't lived there in 19 years so its probably grown a lot. 

We got lucky and my husbands office is 25 miles from where I grew up. All my family is still there and my sisters and cousins have kids around the same age as my boys. I am hoping they will distract me from the husband being gone all the time! 

That is awesome! You're going to have to invlve yourself in order to see your husband lol! It sucks, it really does and it's soo stressful on them. Our Ssgt at the office is a complete douche and has no idea what he is doing so he basically works the recruiters to death in order to save his butt. But I cherish the time I have with him and just support him and listen. Recruiting either makes you or breaks you! Just be strong! :) 

Some rs and rss stations are better then others. But the hours suck also my husband has had to work Sunday's sometimes too. It's not a promised day off. At our rss Sunday's they do Mep runs for the guys that are doing their stuff Monday morning and he has done interviews on Sunday as well.

I hate it honestly. We live 4 hours from him parents and all I hear from his mother is "are you coming up here this weekend, are you coming up jere for the holidays?" then she goes to my husband and asks him and then he asks me. Well before we moved we planned out the holidays yet he can't say no to his mother. Family close by can be good but also annoying. Make sure you have some ground rules even with your own family you will want alone time with just your husband and kids because of the long hours. Also I suggest if you don't work try to volunteer somewhere to keep busy as well. Good luck. Hopefully you have a good rs and rss and have fun. 

Shannon, okay... Its not THAT bad if you can stand being away from your husband all the time.. Seriously ALL the time. LOL
We just got here and settled and he started working, now mind you his FIRST week was M-F 730AM-9-930PM. He wouldnt be home until 10 b/c he had to make a 25 minute drive home. Now Saturday came around and just made me mad, its going to take serious time getting used to a 10-4 on Saturday or whatever it changes too every Saturday. LOL Now this week he is in some week long training at his RS, so I wont see him until Friday evening.
Like everyone else said, get involved in your community, talk to people, go and see your husband (maybe make it like once a week you bring lunch to him or something) and dont just and dwell on the time apart. Its no fun but for me, I dont mind it yet, I mean less cleaning, no cooking ;) hehehehe 

We will be jumping on the recruiting boat come spring. I'll be the lone man standing in the bunch. I don't think the hours will really get to me. Then again I have older kids that are highly self sufficient and pretty darn entertaining too when they want to be. I think my biggest issues are the "unknown" (where we will end up/live). And then from there my issue could be where we live once we find out. Other then that I'm ready to roll with the punches. I feel worse for my husband. His world is the one that will be flipped upside down. He better start to like driving real soon...lol :P 

I suggest living in pyuallup or around there. Lakewood is pretty gross, tacoma is always on the news. Are you wanting to go to Seattle Children's hospital? 

If you go into it thinking that it's going to be horrible, it probably will be. It's really not that bad though!! I feel bad for the people that sit around griping about the duty for the whole three years. Sure doesn't change anything or make it very easy on the Marine! Positive thoughts to ya'll just starting:) make the best of it! Explore your new area and take advantage of the time that you do get with your husband. 

I agree you should stay positive. For housing I looked on craigslist for places before we moved. I had a list of 10 places to look at the day we got to buffalo, MN.
We were told not to sign a lease until we get where we are going because things can always change.

Good luck ladies 

I cannot wait until RD is over! I came in with an open mind about it, I knew the hours would be long and some days would be more stressful than others. It's not bad if you just keep yourself busy :) however I'm just done with it now. I have no family out here and just recently quit my job after 2 yrs to stay home with my little one. On the positive side, my husband did get orders!! 

Trace I'm looking at Mary Bridge right. I have about 3 places in Tacoma we are looking at and about 5 in Puyallup. I have a friend out there who is going to start looking for us. Just trying to get our ducks in a row and I am sort of a control freak;) You have to be when kids are in the equation.