Update

I realized that amid traveling and baby news I have neglected to give Coast Guard/life updates.  So, here goes.

About a month-ish ago we had a sort of epiphany that Brett was maybe going to the wrong school in trying to be an intelligence specialist.  Instead, he has decided to go to school to be a heavy weather boat driver, or surfman.  In essence, he'll be the one driving the boats in 16 foot waves at night to save people who lost engine power or fell overboard.

This is a big change as far as career goes.  It means that we will be on roughly the same schedule that we have been on for the last two years for the next 20 years, because it does mean a Coast Guard career.  It means that there are only 20 stations that we can actually go to, since they're the only ones who require surfmen.  Mostly they are in small coastal towns in Washington, Oregon, and northern California, with a few on the east coast.  It also means that we will be staying here in Brookings for another 1-4 years.

This is a big shift.  But we have come to realize that this is the best fit for Brett, and he'll be doing what he's always wanted to do.  He has always wanted to work in a capacity that will help people in dire situations and have a lot to do.  At first, he was going to be a nurse practitioner, and he was hoping to work in an ER or somewhere else where he would be in emergency situations.  Now he will be saving people in emergency situations, he'll just be driving a boat in insanely scary conditions to do it.

So that's us right now.