Cloudy days in Bremerton, WA

It's been a very long time since I wrote. In the nearly 3 intervening months since my last entry, I completed my last semester of teaching college, Justin passed all his classes and earned his Bachelor's of Sociology degree, we moved to Bremerton, Washington, Chad learned to walk, Justin got a job as a detailer at the West Hills Honda car dealership, and we got a cat whom we've christened Rainy Day. (She goes by Rainy for short.)

It's been a whirlwind, but I feel well-settled into our new apartment now. Living here is a new sort of adventure. Our apartment is exactly the size of a 2-car garage, because that's where it's located: Above a 2-car garage and the little breezeway between the garage and the main house. We access it by walking through said breezeway and walking up an outdoor flight of paint-chipped, spider-infested stairs (the handrail is covered with snails, slugs, and spiders at night, a fact I learned the hard way). Another family rents the main house, and, ironically enough, they are also LDS, as are our landlords.

The apartment has one bedroom, which we set aside as Chad's room so he'd have somewhere quiet for naps and his early bedtime and we'd be able to continue about our activities unencumbered. Our bed is behind our couch in a corner of the living room. It's set against the wall beneath a large window through which I have a beautiful view of the trees. It makes me feel like I live in a treehouse. The biggest downsides to this apartment are its lack of dishwasher and washing machine and dryer. I am a horrible hand dishwasher and there's another tower of dishes waiting to be washed in the sink while I sit here choosing to write this instead.

The home's location is nice because it's just an 8-minute drive to the dealership where Justin works about 30 hours per week. However, there are no parks within walking distance and our road joins up to a semi-busy highway with no sidewalks so I feel trapped in about half a mile of neighborhood for my walks. These walks weren't even an option for the first few weeks because it rained incessantly, but the weather has improved now and I feel less drowned by the atmosphere.

Chad started walking the weekend we moved and he's become quite adept at it, though falling down and stumbling are still a big part of his day. Thank goodness adults don't fall as much as kids. His favorite pastime now is following our cat everywhere. Rainy tolerates him for the most part, but when he gets too proprietary she hides beneath the bed just out of arm's reach. Her presence is a welcome addition in our home as I feel less lonely when Justin's at work and Chad is asleep and she is the distraction for Chad I need to get a few things done during the day.

Justin's application process with various law enforcement agencies continues apace. He's had 3 oral board interviews now and is waiting to hear which one might pass him on to the next step. We aren't sure how long it'll take for him to get hired, but our original estimate of 3 or 4 months was too conservative. There are a lot of hoops to jump through and we'll likely be at our current location at least through August, perhaps longer. I don't mind, though. The ward is friendly and the apartment comfortable, if small. There's something entertaining about living somewhere so tiny. There's lots less to clean, and Justin can serve me breakfast in bed without stepping away from the stove.

I must say before I end that I miss Rexburg and Idaho more than I could ever say. When we lived there I looked forward to moving on with life in the "real world" and getting out of the "bubble." But in the months before we moved I realized the place that had been my home for the previous 5 1/2 years had grown on me. Now I miss it every day and can't think of it or the friends and family we left behind without tearing up. My time in Rexburg and attending and working at BYU-I will always be very precious to me. I can't name everyone here who made living there so wonderful, but you know who you are :). I miss you and love you all very much.