Going Going Back Back to Cali Cali

Yes, I just quoted Biggie Smalls on my blog.

Richard just got orders to move to San Diego in December!!!!!! We are beyond excited! I can't wait to live in a normal town. I will definitely miss the fantastic friends I've made here and our awesome ward, and living this close to the beach, but I'm excited to be within driving distance of Arizona and be back in California!

About a month ago, Richard met with the detailer (the guys who assigns you to your next duty station) to start looking at where we were thinking about going when his time was done here in NC in about 18 months. We went back and forth over staying on the East Coast, which we have loved, or trying to get out West, closer to our family. After dental school, our top two choices of where to go were both in San Diego, but we got our third choice, which was Camp LeJeune, in Jacksonville. So we finally decided that we'd go back to our original plan of moving out West. We saw that there is a naval base in Port Hueneme, CA which is really close to where I grew up in Simi Valley. We decided that that would be our first pick. Anyway, Richard didn't have to give the detailer his official choices until early next year, so this was all just talk.

About a week later, Richard got an email about a Hot Fill (when a position opens up that needs to be filled quickly) in San Diego. He quickly asked me what I thought and we decided we might as well go for it. So he responded and talked to the guy in charge. It didn't seem likely that he would get it since he hadn't been at LeJeune for two years. The guy said he would keep Richard in mind, but would see if there was any other interest. Long story short, we ended up having to wait to hear the answer until we got back from our Disney trip. Since Richard's email is government, he wasn't able to check it while he wasn't at work. So I was actually glad for him to go back to work on Monday so that he could check his email. Well, he got it!!! His bosses gave him great reviews and were confident that he would be able to do the job.

He will be the only dentist on a brand new ship, the USS Anchorage, that's still being built in New Orleans. So a little while after we move, he'll have to go out there and set up the whole clinic. Then the ship will be commissioned and he'll get to stay in San Diego. He takes care of about 600 sailors and he'll have to go out with the ship when it does. I think this is a really great opportunity for him! It definitely makes work more interesting than just doing exams all day. He'll hopefully get to see cool places and maybe sometimes I can meet up with him at different ports. So, our opportunity came sooner than we expected, and we are ready for it!

We are looking forward to this change and are excited that we'll be closer to family and friends out there. We definitely want visitors, so feel free to stay with us! And I'm excited that it's a military move, so I don't have to pack or move our stuff!