Finally Here!!!

So it's currently 7:30am Sunday morning (6:30pm Eastern Time on Saturday) and Erik has had me up since 5:30 this morning (boooo). I guess the time difference is still getting to him. Our trip out wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. All we had received was our overall flight time, we had no clue what the actual itinerary was. So yes it was still 5 1/2 hrs to Seattle and a 13 1/2 hr layover there, but that wasn't bad either. By the time we got our bags, stored them, got a room, ordered food, showered, and relaxed, it was just about time to head back to the airport. Our flight left at 2:50am but we got there at 8:30pm, and lucky for us and having the dogs we got front of the line service and didn't have to wait in line with about 200 other travelers. After checking in and being told we could keep the dogs until midnight, we headed out to explore the grounds of the SeaTac airport and let the dogs run around for a bit. We were lucky enough to meet another family with their two dogs and it made the time go by pretty quick. Our flight left on time with first stop in Anchorage, Alaska. We were there for about 1 1/2 hrs and I'll be happy (not really) to say it was all of 37F outside!! (Eeeeekkkk). Our next stop and longest flight time was to Yokota, Japan - 7hr 47min in the air. We had about 3 hrs in Yokota (that's when the heat wave hit us full force), and we were able to get our dogs and walk them for a bit. Jax was a bit grumpy, but they survived the flights with a little help of a strong doggy benadryl. After sitting around for some time with about 380 other people who were on our plane as well as being in a closed off area that was gated and locked (talk about feeling like a detainee), we were able to board the plane and head for our third stop in Iwakuni, Japan. This was only an hour flight and an hour stop to drop off some people and refuel...last stop was an hour and 19 mins to Kadena Air Force Base in Okianwa, Japan. Woooowhoooo...that's our stopping point!! Up to this point I will say my biggest complaint was how uncomfortable airplane seats are and how achy my legs were. But the service was great, free meals and about 4 movies total. After getting off the plane, taking the buses to the passenger terminal, we waited for what seemed a lifetime for our bags. Of course since we were one of the first few to check in, our bags were last to get off....and.....there was a helicopter blocking the last two loads of baggage to get to baggage claim. We finally got our bags and dogs, headed to customs (which to our surprise they let us walk right through, and I brought 2 bottles of wine with me), and met our two sponsors at the door. They took us to the kennel to drop off the dogs since our hotel doesn't allow pets, but it's ok, I'm glad to say I felt better after taking them in. The kennels were huge, well to our two runts for dogs, they were kenneled together and had their own doggy door and personal potty area. We are able to go visit when we want, and their friends Milo and Ringo are there too! (not that they will be able to go out and play...lol) Hopefully their time there and our time in the hotel won't be long, we'll find out more tomorrow at the housing brief. We are staying at the the West Pac Inn on Camp Foster and have the Macaroni Grill right next to us. Our sponsor took us around yesterday to go see the dogs, hit the commissary, and the PX. We ended up taking a walk back to go get our cell phones and do a little bit of looking around. We ended up being traitors to Verizon and the Blackberries and went with a company named Softbank that has the iPhone. We both got 16G 3GS iPhones and now I feel whole again. Beth (Michalak) and our new friends Carla, Jim, and their daughter Kayla, are Softbank users...sooooo, now I can talk and text and have a bit of sanity until we get our house =) On the agenda for today...Beth is coming to pick us up so we can go visit for a bit, and that's about it. The upcoming week will have us busy with appointments, checking in, and god knows what else. Just fingers crossed and hope that we get a house soon!! Take care guys, we miss you all, and I will be uploading pics soon!!