I'm PCS'ing to Fort Lewis next year. How is the family life there?

Well, its a lot of trees which means a lot of rain, lots and lots of rain. Three months out of the year it's sunny other than that it's gloomy. Whether or not your unit is good or bad depends on your unit. I was an infantryman in a cav unit which was a terrible experience for me and every other Bang Bang (facts), but for you it might be fun. Make sure you live off post, on post housing is not the greatest I lived in new hillside by madigan hospital, Lacey has very nice homes. You can go north but lakewood and tacoma are pretty crappy. No deployments, the units haven't deployed since 2012 so if thats an issue for the family your good just ntc every year but other than that do what you can there I personally didn't like it the rain all day every day killed it for me in my fours years there. Hope this helps.

Pacific Northwest family life is good. You'll be a touch south of Tacoma. If you like trees and greenery, you're good to go. Schools are OK, the freeway can get jammed, and the base amenities are consistent with the size of JBLM. We lived west of Seattle on the Kitsap Peninsula for 28 years but had a PACOM slot there for 3 years. The base has been extensively modernized and expanded to hold the varied units relocated there. It rains OCT-APR and you get long periods of sun say JUN-AUG. If you're into sports the Mariners, Seahawks, and Sounders are an easy train ride to the stadium. There're too many family activities to mention from a nearby major zoo to theater. Everything said, you just have to realize the base is large, hence certain aspects are impersonal. It doesn't have the "small community" look and feel. I'm out of date insofar as housing but it tends to be better than standard Army as the Air Force effect over the years seems to given it a notch up. The big thing is to make sure you frequently get away from the base and enjoy the parks, Seattle, etc. Finally get into the mindset that rain isn't an inhibiter. Gore Tex was invented a long time ago so you just put it on and go/do whatever.

You'll get much better responses if you narrow the focus of your question. This is far too broad of a question. What do you want to know? Barracks life? Family life? Units? Workload? Weather? Etc.