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