Beach in January-Happy New Years-Yet Another Do!

Well what a week it has been. We started with a day at Ypao Beach here in Guam. The kids loved, loved, loved it and dug a hole in the sand about 2 feet deep. We have decided to try to make it a weekend tradition for the next few months we have left on this beautiful island.


Chinese New Year was a great time and we ate at our local Chinese restaurant-Magnolia's! Lilymei is treated so well each time we go into the restaurant, she is given the VIP treatment. We had roast duck, sweet and sour chicken and crab soup, good stuff.

Here Jean is with her second haircut for the week! Jenna worked with Jean and they decided on an asymmetric cut. Yes that is her ear showing on her right and hair touching her chin on the left. Jean looks so good and she is so happy to have found a hairdresser as wild as she is, Jean you look great!
We are looking for a place in the DC area and are focusing in on the Alexandria area. If anyone has info on the area we would appreciate it. We can't wait to see you all soon.

Time to think about packing our bags!

It's been an exciting week here in the O household. We have finally heard, after many weeks of sitting on pins and needles, where we will be moving to this summer when it is time for us to PCS (permanent change of station). We have verbal orders to........

Bolling AFB, Washington DC!

Woohoo! We are going to the East Coast. We will get to see sites we've never seen before (except for Scott who visited DC on his senior class trip). We will once again see four seasons and colorful fall leaves. We will be wearing shoes and hats, coats and mittens. We will be driving in the snow and the ice. We will be suffering in the cold and and wondering why the days are so short. WAIT! What are we thinking?!

No, really we are excited; this is a good thing. We have loved our time on Guam and hope to come back some day but it is time for Scott to move forward in his career. Scott will be out of his current field of pharmacy and entering into a new direction, at least for 4 years. Scott's new title will be Chief of Homeland Defense Operations. Scott will be working for the Surgeon General in the Medical Readiness Department. Kudos to Scott for being competitively selected for this position. We're so proud of you!

I think we all have things we are missing and ready to enjoy once again back in the states. I am excited to think of so many homeschool field trips we can partake in ~ really learn firsthand. We have so many restaurants that we miss and can't wait to visit too. Best of all, we have friends who currently live in Alexandria we are excited to see again and family in Ohio who will be able to visit us much more often than they have been able to the past 6 years.

Now I have to ask: who can provide me with all the important details about where to live, where there are good schools (if we should choose to stop homeschooling), and all those other must-know-before-moving-to-DC tidbits? Scott and I would appreciate any information that can help us avoid making a bad decision in our rush to set up our new household.

Mark, Amy, and Kari: We did try to call you several times with our news before we posted but we just couldn't hold it in any longer!

Jean's New Do and the Brown Tree Snake!

Here Jean is, purposefully looking sad, just before she had her hair cut this week. For those of you that have known Jean for a while you aren't surprised by a new haircut.

Here she is, much happier, and probably about 2 pounds less. Jenna at the hair salon on base did a great job, although Jean may be heading back for a little more "off the top".

We hope all is well back home and miss you all. I thought a little crazy blog about my beautiful wife was long overdue. Take care and we hope to see you all soon, Scott.

Oh, by the way, I finally had a run in with the legendary brown tree snake. Jean and I were out on a walk this evening and it happened. I being the protector of my beautiful maiden jumped to action. I planted my size elevens squarely on his head. The beast did not go down without a fight and several jumps from my 193 pound frame. I am sure some young child riding their new tricycle to church tomorrow will find my kill. (For those of you ready to scream about animal cruelty, the brown tree snake has been credited with killing the islands bird population and we are ordered to kill all the snakes we can. The USDA actually has a multi million dollar operation doing just that, hey maybe they owe me!)

Party, Party, Lily has a Party!

Sunday afternoon we celebrated Lily's birthday with a party and a few friends over at the house. The weather was overcast and very breezy but no rain fell and the bounce house held.

Here is Lily a few hours before the party admiring her cake. The ladybug on top is a match to the ladybug on her party dress hanging on the chair.

My friend, Valorie, made this cake for Lily. Didn't she do an awesome job?! Everyone at the party just raved about the cake. Thanks so much Valorie!  

Lily with her friends, Estella, Ryan, and Caden. Here is a rare shot of all the kids looking.  We had a hard time keeping the plates on the table.  Just a few seconds more and a big wind came by and blew them all over the front yard. Gotta love those trade winds. Even with the wind the big brothers and the little kids had fun with the bounce house, the trampoline, the slide and bubbles.

Here is our little princess ready to dig into her layer of the cake~the whole ladybug. Of course, our little lady requested a fork so as not to get her fingers dirty. Lily had been practicing blowing out her candles;  she was successful at her party. Once we put the ice cream in front of her she was using both spoon and fork to get all the yummy desserts in her mouth at the same time.

Everyone had a great time (I think!) and we feel so blessed to have friends here to help us celebrate our sweet baby girl's birthday.

A Special Birthday Present

Lily is certainly making up this year for not celebrating her first birthday last year. We went out to eat on her actual birthday ~ January 8th. Birthday presents have been trickling in via the postman this past week. Lily has received some really great gifts ~ THANK YOU everyone!

One special gift that she received was a signed copy of the book Made in China A Story of Adoption. It was written and illustrated by a mother and her daughter (who are from my home state of Ohio!). The illustrator has personally adopted from China herself. Yes, I admit, reading the story made me cry. What a wonderful gift from Lily's Aunt Amy and Uncle Mark. Thank you so much Amy and Mark!!!

For anyone who is curious, this is the book cover. It was written by Vanita Oelschlager and illustrated by Kristin Blackwood.
Stay tuned for more birthday photos and video. We are having a little party on Sunday for Lily, complete with bounce house, a few friends, and a special ladybug cake.

Wednesday's random photos

Look at those shoes...Lily is two going on twenty!

Proud boys, Nate and Drew and their double ferris wheel from Santa. They actually worked together and built it in an afternoon. It's nice to see them get excited about something that doesn't require batteries or an outlet.

The boys love helping Lilymei ride her bike. She's a big girl now!

Our sweet baby girl turns 2!

Our precious sweet girl...

brings so much joy to our lives!

Happy 2nd Birthday Lily! We love you!

Talented son, Drew

The next several posts are videos Scott took of Nate and Drew's Youth Center Music Recital which was held on December 10, 2008. In this video Drew is playing "Greensleeves" accompanied by Nate, on the piano. I know Gram, for one, has been waiting for these videos so sit back, close your eyes (some of the videos are a little shaky~ Scott was balancing the video camera and the other camera while I tried to keep Lily off the stage), and enjoy!

The Creative Juices are Flowing....

Here Drew and Nate came up with a little extra for the music recital based upon the movie "August Rush". Maybe when Lily gets a little bigger she can play drums for them. She has already been practicing with the boys' music teacher.

The Spider

This is Drew, in case you can't see him behind the music stand, playing his original piece titled "The Spider". He is accompanied by Nate on piano, and the boys' music teacher, Mr. Garcia, on drums. This was the Christmas recital held December 10, 2008.

Talented son, Nate

The evening of December 10, 2008 the boys participated in the Youth Center's Musical Recital. Here is Nate playing his rendition of "Canon in D".

Christmas in Paradise!

Our long awaited Christmas photos:

Jean & Lilymei enjoying Christmas Day. 

Lily on her brand new Little Tikes "Whee!", yes that is what she has renamed the slide.

The ladybug dress, Lily always has to show everyone how good it is going to look.

Our wonderful children in front of the Christmas Tree. Lily is still not sure if the tree was supposed to be inside.

Christmas Eve Mass.

Rota walk 2008 was the best of our tour. We are convinced that every year the Colonels all try to one up last year's display. We really enjoyed it and the weather was excellent.

Drew and his buddies performing during Rota walk with the church group.

The Medical Groups display in front of the Commanders house, complete with an ambulance.

Last, but certainly not least, Santa! Lilymei was not excited once she was within arms reach of jolly old St. Nick. We hope everyone had an excellent Christmas and enjoy the new Year!!!

Boonie Bee Update!

Here are Jean's hands, it is fairly obvious which hand rocked the boonie bees world. I have taken revenge on the bees for my wife. I killed the nest with, what else, boonie bee spray. Jean is feeling better tonight, but is still leery of the crazy pests. Happy New Year to everyone.