Talk About a Shock!

Once we arrived home from our bog cross-country road trip we were hoping we had just three weeks until we left for Guam. We weren't going to put the kiddos into school because school on Guam didn't start until the very end of August and, if all went well, they'd only miss a few days. (School in MS started while we were still in UT). We were still waiting on airline tickets when my parents arrived on August 19th. I was getting a little aggravated because we had plans to make and appointment for Missy to take care of and we still didn't have a definite departure date. Our stuff had left for Guam on July 31st and now it was just waiting and more waiting. On Tuesday, August 20th my mom made a comment like, "What if your orders get cancelled?" I said something like, "You hear about that happening, but it won't happen to us. We're too close to departure. Our stuff is on it's way there already." Well, I should have kept quiet. The next day I was at the cash register at the commissary when Dustin called to say Guam was no longer happening. It was just out. We could choose to take a diversion to one of three bases in Europe or claim a hardship and go who-knows-where! I started crying in line at the commissary! So my mom and I left the Commissary and drove the three blocks to Dustin's office. I came in pretty upset, but no longer in tears. His cube mate, who thought he was being funny then told me, "And your stuff landed on Guam today!" I told him I didn't need to know that! So at that point all we knew was that Guam was out and that we were choosing to take the diversion. Our choices were Ramstein, Garmisch, or Aviano. All really great bases, but none of them a beautiful island in the Pacific!! I was really disappointed. Finally, on Thursday the 22nd we found out we were headed to Aviano Air Base Italy the first week of October!! It's a  treasure of an assignment, but one I would take over a month to really grasp! So now, with a cruise on Saturday, I spent all day Friday getting the kids into Biloxi city schools. We also had to extend our lease for another month, and buy lots and lots of fall/winter clothes since I had spent 6 months buying swimsuits, short, and sandals!!