Visit to the Army Vet at Fort Story, VA

We had our first visit to the Army vet at Fort Story the other day. Dolly and Mr. Jenks were nervous on the 30 min. ride there.

We signed in fairly quickly and they took us right back. We had a very nice Major (woman) to help us. The Microchipping needle is very large and we had a little blood on both animals. Both animals did super and didn't cry out! I still felt very bad for them.

They also both got their 1st rabies shot (two are required before the FAVN blood test). Very important that they have the rabies shot after they are microchipped. We did it on the same day and I'm still a little nervous about that.

We go back in January for their next rabies vaccine. The guidelines say it has to be at least 30 days after they get the first one.

MS has his medical stuff done for overseas screening. He had to get vaccines, poor guy! He said his arm hurt after that. He had the one for yellow fever, a PPD test, and several he already had in his record. His next step is to talk to a senior chief about finances. That should go smoothly.

I will be in Japan in 10 1/2 months! WOW!

ORDERS IN ALREADY!

Wow! I'm very surprised! They sent our orders already!

School from 5/08-10/1/08. We have to report to Japan no later than 11/10/08. This means that we will probably go sometime around 10/10/08. If we go early, hubby can help with housing and everything else that has to be done when we get there!

I am spending a little time trying to make some contacts and find others already in Atsugi or on their way! I am trying to do research about the area and just find cool things that I think the boys may be interested in.

I called the Fort Story vet and am to call back next week to get Dolly and Mr. Jenks in for microchipping. We are going to get passport pics at Walgreen's. That is it for prep at the moment.

Approved for Orders to NAF Atsugi, Japan

We were approved on Nov 5th for Orders to Atsugi, Japan. They say we will have to wait until January to receive the hard copy orders. Then we will know what our timeline is for moving.

In the meantime, I can start our maltese puppy, Dolly and our cat, Mr. Jenks, AKA Mittens, on their shots and microchipping. I can also go ahead and start the passport process. We all have to have a regular passport for travel outside of Japan. We want to go to Australia, Thailand and Singapore while we are there.

I have already started the process of downsizing our personal belongings. Craigslist has been awesome here in VA. It's very difficult to decide what to take, what to leave in storage, what to give to family to hold, and what to get rid of.

I'm somewhat overwhelmed at the moment with all we have to do, but at least I have time to plan. As long as I start the process and don't fall behind, we should be okay.

Yikes, important decisions ahead. Once we get the orders, we've got to figure out when to sell the house!!

I was hired for a part-time job in a girl's clothing store yesterday. That will allow me plenty of time to do all the stuff I need to get done.

The next few weeks, we'll be letting this all sink in that we are definitly going to Japan!!