June 2007

June brought many goodbyes. Here we are at the Agat Marina on Father's Day with our good Army Friends just before they left for New York. The rest of the month included a tour of the USS Peleliu for our family. We really enjoyed the tour and learned quite a bit. Jean and the boys wrapped up the school year with a boonie stomp field trip to Namu Falls Botanic Park in Santa Rita, Guam. The boys ushered in summer break with golf lessons and vacation bible school.

We also added another boy to our family when Jean's brother Mark and his wife Amy gave birth to Will; Scott was asked to be his Godfather!

May 2007

May was a very exciting and action packed month full of adventure. The boys began their month with a trip to Ritidian Point Beach on Guam and ended their month on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. (a tough life indeed) We took a military hop on a KC-135 to Hawaii and had an awesome time. We visited many places to include: USS Arizona Memorial, Dole Pineapple Plantation, North Shore, Polynesian Cultural Center (2 days worth), Hawaiian Waters waterpark, Diamond Head State Park, and we even ate at Chuckie Cheese during our 8 days on the island of Oahu. Scott celebrated his birthday at the Charthouse Restaurant overlooking the water. We enjoyed the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center, where the boys loved the pineapple drink and watching the Hawaiian dancers do their thing! A great trip was made complete with the boys getting to sit in the cockpit on takeoff and lay in the boom operators pit during our flight with the Ohio National Guard back to Guam.

April 2007

April was a very busy month for all of us. Andrew celebrated his First Holy Communion. The boys enjoyed the basewide Easter egg hunt, along with 500 of their closest friends.

The boys also learned woodcarving from the Master Ifit Woodcarver on the island; they both have completed projects to show for it.

Jean finally got Scott out to Two Lovers Point overlooking Tumon Bay and enjoyed the spectacular view!

March 2007

Here the boys are enjoying dinner with some of their friends. The month was busy with baseball and homeschooling activities with the Andersen Homeschool Support Group.

Our application for the adoption was accepted by our adoption agency in St. Louis. The paperchase had officially begun!

February 2007

The month started off with a trip to the Onward Beach Resort, which is where we finalized our decision to adopt from China.

The boys both played little league baseball and had a great time learning the details of the game.

Scott had a few of his co-workers leave for new assignments and new Airmen arrived.

Jean celebrated here 29th Birthday (again) and enjoyed a night at the Hyatt followed by a trip to the spa.

Here is a family photo showing the Andersen Palm Tree Golf Course in the background.

January 2007

Here we are out on New Year's Eve 2006 getting ready to start 2007! We had a great dinner with the boys at Al Dente', one of our favorite restaurants on Guam located on Tumon Bay!

We wondered what the New Year would bring for us.

Scott was able to visit Las Vegas with his sisters and they had a great time.

Life after Christmas

The Christmas season is winding down, much to my dismay. This morning, before I knew it, all the outside Christmas decorations were down and ready to be put away (you know~the boys can't mow the lawn with decorations in the way!).  Oh well, might as well pack them up for the year. We didn't get the ornaments on the tree until 2 days before Christmas so we'll leave it up for another week or so, at least until the Epiphany. Besides, I like looking at the tree all lit up at night.   

Gram has left the island and it sure seems strange without her. Drew even commented that it seems wrong to not have the extra chair at the table for dinner. We all had a nice visit ~thanks for coming out to see us Gram! We really kept her hopping with all of our daily commitments and trying to squeeze in as many sightseeing spots on Guam that we could fit in. I think she had a good time, even though she missed the cold winter weather Ohio has to offer during the holiday season. Now, I wonder who will visit us next???  Anybody? Anybody?

Have a Happy, Healthy, and Safe New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Santa made his way to the island of Guam and the boys were excited to see the results. Drew did have one package arrive late (it missed the first sleigh delivery). Everyone enjoyed their presents; the boys are feverishly learning how to play their two new Wii games, The Bigs and Playground. Drew is honing his piloting skills by learning to fly his Air Hogs plane in the 20 mph Guam wind. Nate is busy reading or playing anyone that will challenge him in chess.
We all had dinner with our friends across the street and really enjoyed the day. The weather was, of course, beautiful and sunny, 87 degrees as usual. We missed most of our family, but had Gram here for the Holiday. We hope you all had a great Christmas and have an exceptional New Year!

Tokyo, Japan...A good time was had by all!

We just got back from our second trip to Japan and really enjoyed ourselves! We tried to get Drew and Nate to understand that it is not typical for most people to have 2 stamps in their passport by ages 9 and 12. After it was all said and done we had spent 5 days in Japan and we are convinced we saw most every square inch or centimeter.
We stayed at The New Sanno Hotel in downtown Tokyo and it was excellent as always. The Asakusa Temple provided a great learning experience for all of us and we left with a greater understanding of a different religion. Scott and Nate were interviewed by Tokyo TV asking them about the supersize rice bowl at Wendy's. Nate had plenty to say as usual.
The Tokyo Tower gave us a great view of the city and a reprieve from the frigid 53-degree weather (hey, our blood has thinned by this time). We say a prayer and feel sad for all of you snow dwellers every week. Andrew said a prayer at St. Andrew's Catholic Church, another escape from the cool weather.
We had an excellent day at Tokyo Disney Sea Amusement Park and would recommend it to anyone. The Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Tower of Terror were both huge hits.
On the fourth day we visited the Imperial Palace East gardens. We finished off the trip, after logging multiple miles on the Tokyo Metro Subway, by visiting the Edo-Tokyo Museum complete with an English tour guide. If you get a chance to visit Tokyo please do, it is a great time and you will learn something new around every corner.
Just before boarding the plane for the ride home Jean and Scott were both upgraded to first class, priceless time together. Please let us know if you want more details on the trip, we took almost 200 photos in the few days there.

Congratulations Scott!

While we were on vacation in Tokyo Scott received word from his boss that he was officially selected to be promoted to the rank of Major. It looks like by April 2008 it should be a done deal. Way to go Scott! We are so proud of you!

Gram on Guam

Boy, have we been busy this week. Jean's mom flew into Guam on Thursday and we have been non-stop ever since. Friday Gram was able to see first-hand how home schooling on Guam works. Saturday Gram "ran" her first 5K. She did a great job and managed to complete it in under 49 minutes. It was all about getting the t-shirt. "Way to go Mom!" After the 5K many prizes were raffled off and Gram won a ball cap and a bottle of wine. I think she was ready to open that wine bottle immediately!

Sunday will be a big day for all of us. We are leaving for Tokyo early in the morning. The O's were in Tokyo for a few days before arriving on Guam but this will be Gram's first time....Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can get out and explore the city from morning til night. We won't be bringing our computer so you'll have to hear all about our trip when we get home. The boys are in charge of journaling all that we do so we don't forget any of the details.