Happy Christmas to All

We hope that everyone had a marvelous Christmas. We enjoyed a quiet day at home. Michenna was very excited to receive a seahorse (stuffed animal) in her stocking. She also received some video games from Santa - including Endless Ocean. (She had to ask Santa for Endless Ocean because Mommy and Daddy refused to buy it. We thought it would be a boring, pointless game. We were wrong. Thank goodness for Santa.)

Santa brought Spencer and me a grill. It was hidden in the empty storage shed next door. Santa left half of a map in my stocking and the other half in Spencer's stocking. We all had to work together to find the spot marked by the X.

We baked over 8 dozen cinnamon rolls over the past few weeks. Spencer rolls out the dough much better than I can, so I asked him to take on that chore.

Spencer also made rolls for our Christmas lunch. They were absolutely beautiful - lightly browned and fluffy. Unfortunately, he forgot the salt, so they didn't taste very good and we had to throw them away.

Happy Holidays to our families and friends. May 2009 bring you joy, prosperity and unexpected blessings.

Rota Walk

Tonight we enjoyed the traditional "Rota Walk" here on base. Rota is the street that all the Very Important People live on. Every December, they decorate their houses elaborately. Then on 1 designated night, the street is closed to traffic and opened to pedestrians. Bands play, food is served, and treats and toys are handed out. They even show movies on the sides of their houses! We told Michenna she could choose her favorite decorations to take pictures of/with.

A cute Christmas carousel and a gorgeous girl.


A Christmas frog on a surfboard and 2 gorgeous girls. :)

Winnie-the-Pooh popping up from the present. Tigger was on the other side, but that picture didn't turn out.

Santa's military ID card. Apparently he's a colonel in the Air Force.

Go Navy!!

Another day, another caribou.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The last few weeks have been busy!

On December 13th, I held a Christmas recital for my students; I think I was as nervous as they were. Everyone did an incredible job. I forgot the camera, of course. The funniest part of the afternoon was when Spencer went to get the cake out of the kitchen of the church. (We had bought a nicely decorated cake from the commissary.) He came back into the room without the cake. I was puzzled, so he told me to go to the kitchen and look at the cake. It was covered in ANTS! They were everywhere: around the cake, on top of the cake, in the box, embedded in the frosting. Ew. Needless to say, we did NOT have cake at the recital. I now have 20 piano students. The youngest is 6; the oldest is, well, old enough to not have to tell her age. ;)

A few weeks ago we had the children's Christmas party. I need to scan the pic of Michenna with Santa. Santa did not arrive by helicopter this year, because all available helicopters were out on a Search and Rescue mission. (That would also be the reason that Spencer missed the party.) The fire department was nice enough to bring Santa in on a fire truck. Again, I forgot the camera. :(

We also had the Squadron Christmas party and I remembered the camera!!

We had so much fun this year. The food was awesome, especially the pecan pie. I think I ate 3 pieces - and they weren't small.

These are some of the guys that Spencer works with (and Spencer himself). They're a pretty good-looking crew. I thought the guys dressed in green and red looked especially sharp, so I asked them to pose for this picture.

Michenna chillin' on the couch reading one of her books. She recently finished the Little House on the Prairie series. Currently, she is reading the Dark is Rising series. She is a voracious reader, and we are having trouble keeping up with her.

We also had a chance to watch the Harlem Globetrotters on Monday. I enjoyed the show. The basketball was absolutely amazing - so intricately choreographed. My only objection was that they kept dunking the ball, which got a little old. I prefer old-style basketball, with lay-ups and jump shots. But they "hammed it up" and Michenna thought it was fun to watch.

On Wednesday we got to see Michenna's stage debut as a reindeer in "The Elves' Impersonator". It was full of song and dance, and lots and lots of 2nd graders. The moral of the play that we should accept others' differences.

Finally, today Michenna's class had their "reindeer games". The first involved smearing their chins with Vaseline and then plunging into a pile of cotton balls.

They also had a snowball fight (with rolled up socks and bath poofs), a reindeer relay, and a snowball toss (trying to score points by hitting a picture of a snowman with "snowballs").

I am very happy that Christmas Break - excuse me, Winter Recess - has started. I am looking forward to sleeping in!

Flat Stanley Visits Gef Pa'go

Dear P's 2nd grade class,

Hafa Adai! (That means "Hello!") Our 2nd grade class took Flat Stanley with us on our field trip to Gef Pa'go - a replica of an ancient Chamorro village. Chamorros are the native inhabitants of Guam. They are proud of their culture and their language, and they love to teach visitors all about ancient Guam.

Flat Stanley looks out over the bay.

Learning to twist smaller rope or twine.

Sitting on a hand-carved caribou in the historic Leon-Guerrero home.

Learning how to throw a fish net.

Putting the instructions to the test. I managed to catch 1 "fish" (represented by the coconut shells).

Learning how ancient Chamorros twisted the bark of the wild hibiscus tree into small ropes, then twisted the 3 small ropes into a large rope.

We also learned how to weave using palm fronds and how to make coconut candy. We cheered for hermit crabs (first crab to crawl out of the circle wins) and had a few tug-of-war matches. We enjoyed our trip to Gef Pa'go and hope your class enjoys learning about it.

For more information about Gef Pa'go go to www.visitguam.org. Click on Sites Guide, Southern Guam, and then #69 Guam Historical Village at Gef Pa'go Park, Inarajan. Inarajan is one of the villages in Guam. Back on the mainland, you would call them cities.

Sincerely,

Michenna and her 2nd grade class

Athena - Goddess of Wisdom and War

I have a few minutes before my first student shows up - so here are the Halloween pics:


Presenting Athena - Goddess of Wisdom and War (not to be confused with Aphrodite, because "[W]ho wants to be the goddess of beauty and love? Goddess of Wisdom and War is so much better." Hooray, Michenna! I'll remind you of that in 6 or 7 years.) Medusa's head is on the shield.

Michenna reading her bat story at school just before her first book report EVER!

The chocolate rats I made for the Halloween party (I couldn't bring myself to try one):

Halloween was very pleasant this year. It was only about 78 degrees outside with a gentle, cool breeze. (Is this the part where I get to laugh maniacally?) We love living on Guam!

I Love to See the Temple (or What I Did on my Summer Vacation)

One of my favorite things about our trip home (aside from actually being home - and Target) was being able to see some temples that I had not seen before. We started at the Seattle Temple, which was under construction (as you can see in the picture). Michenna took the "engagement pose" picture of Spencer and me. Of course, I never would have worn that jacket in an engagement picture. :)

Also in Seattle, we visited the aquarium (not our favorite) and found a carousel for Michenna to ride.

Next, we drove by the Boise Temple, but we weren't able to stop - mostly because it was right off the freeway and we were in the wrong lane. Michenna drew a beautiful picture of the temple, but I can't find the sketch book . . . so we'll move on to Salt Lake City.

Okay, I've seen this temple before. But it was fun to do a few family pictures.

Next we have the Saint George Temple (yes, I've seen it, too):

At the Albuquerque temple, Michenna learned all about potato bugs. She had never seen a roly-poly before! What a sad comment about her childhood thus far . . .

We took a picture of Michenna and Spencer that turned out really well. We also got a good picture of Michenna and me with the sign.

While we did go to the temple in Dallas, we did not take any pictures there. So I'll post my favorite pics from home.

Pretty as a princess . . .

Working out with water weights . . .

Hypnotized by the DS . . .

And last of all, a picture of Spencer and me back in Guam all dressed up at the Change of Command Dinner. Aren't we cute?

I think I covered August and September now. I'll post the Halloween pics later.

All She Wants for Christmas . . .

Back to Guam, back to school, back to blog

We're home from our 30 days leave. Michenna has started 2nd grade and is loving it! She told us today that her teacher is going to start giving her harder daily work, because the 2nd grade work is too easy. I just thought, "Yep, that's my life. Trying to keep up with an insanely smart 7-year-old."

I was browsing the family blogs and I noticed that Mel had tagged me. Thanks, Mel. I enjoyed my trip along memory lane.

How Time Flies

20 years ago…
1. I was starting 6th grade at a brand new elementary school about 1 mile away from our house.
2. I was playing violin in the school orchestra.
3. I was on the Safety Patrol (with the cool red belt and the stop sign).
4. I, too, was innocently taking piano lessons, NEVER dreaming that the simple act of doing so meant that I could predict my church callings FOREVER! :)
5. I had the meanest English teacher in the entire world – who taught me more about grammar than anyone else had or has. I need to thank her for making my academic life so much easier.

10 years ago…
1. I was positive that I would NEVER get married because boys were such flakes.
2. I was starting my fourth year at BYU, and looking forward to my position as a German TA (teaching 1 section of German 101), because it meant I DID NOT have to work in Food Services/Veg Prep anymore!
3. At some point in 1998, my uncle took me to buy my first car – a Nissan Altima.

5 years ago…
1. I was about to send my husband of 6 months off to Officer Candidate School.
2. I finally had the opportunity to be a full-time stay-at-home Mommy.
3. In June 2003, I took a group of students on a 12-day tour of Germany.

3 years ago...
1. We were living in Florida, and cleaning up the mess from Hurricane Dennis.
2. We had an impromptu vacation to St. Augustine, also courtesy of Hurricane Dennis.
3. I was a traveling piano/organ teacher.

1 year ago...
1. We moved to Guam in April.
2. Spencer left on his first deployment in June.
3. I started lifting weights.
4. I was planning the Fall Festival for the elementary school.

So far this year I…
1. Have sent Spencer off on his 2nd deployment, and welcomed him home 6 months later.
2. Have taught the Sunbeams at church. (Hooray for non-piano callings!)
3. Have volunteered in Michenna’s 1st and 2nd grade classes.
4. Have played a mad scientist in order to teach simple science to 1st graders.
5. Have shown my younger brother around the island.
6. Have foolishly agreed to plan the Fall Festival again this year
7. Have started teaching piano lessons again.
8. Have flown back to the States and been absolutely thrilled to stand in a Target store.
9. Have introduced Michenna to the joys of long road trips. (Except now there are portable DVD players and MP3 players, and the AC works well no matter how hot it is outside. Plus we don’t camp along the way, and that changes the experience.)
10. Have continued weight-training.

Yesterday I…
1. Substituted for a PE teacher for about 2 hours.
2. Went to Michenna’s Open House to “meet the teacher”.
3. Went grocery shopping.
4. Taught piano lessons.
5. Sold my treadmill.
6. Made BLTs for dinner, because Bry got me hooked on them again. :)
7. Played Wii Sports after Michenna was in bed.

Today I…
1. Got up early so I could go lift weights before I went to the school.
2. Volunteered in Michenna’s class (making edible art; it was great).
3. Worked on the booths for the Fall Festival and realized that an indoor football toss was just not a good idea.
4. Taught piano.
5. Made stroganoff for dinner.

Tomorrow I will . . .
1. Work out on the elliptical at the gym.
2. Go to the school and work on the booths for the Fall Festival.
3. Teach piano lessons.
4. Make baked potatoes for dinner.

In the next year I will…
1. Watch Michenna turn 8 and be baptized.
2. Enjoy having Spencer here until it is time for him to deploy again, and then we will keep in as much contact as possible.
3. Start working on my Master’s degree – as soon as I figure out what else I want to be when I grow up.
4. Teach piano lessons.
5. Have a baby?? (I can dream, right?)

I tag Mom and Tracey.

Map of Guam

Tour of Guam 1: Northern Guam

When we learned that we had been assigned to Guam, our first thought was, "What and where is Guam?" We pictured Guam as a small, flat island, with little to do and see. Over the past year, and especially in the past 4 weeks, we have discovered that, though it is a small island, Guam is certainly not flat and there is too much to do and see! My brother came to visit, and we tried to show him the entire island. It didn't work. However, my brother took a plethora of pictures and is allowing me to post whichever ones I want to use. :) After looking through the pics, I no longer wonder why Michenna's new favorite colors are blues and greens. I think you'll see what I mean.

I can't remember the order of exploration, so this picture tour starts at the northern tip of the island, at Ritidian Point:

Next stop is Andersen Air Force Base:

And Tarague (tuh-rah'-gee) Beach:

Tune in tomorrow for Tour of Guam 2: Western Guam . . .