Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

I thought I would snap a few pics of Lily wearing her Chinese outfits since it is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.  To my dismay, Lilymei has outgrown all of the traditional Asian clothes and shoes I purchased for her while we were in China.  Fortunately, the Andersen Officers' Spouses' Club has a gift shop on base that carries lots of Asian items.  I tried to stock up on various sizes of clothing for Lily for the next couple of years.  Here is a sample of the items I purchased....

 

Red...

or pink?  

 Monica, Lilymei loves her outfits from Lily.  Thank you!  

Lily has a new friend, Nathan, who just came home to his adoptive family from Vietnam right before Easter.  He is such a cutie.  Nathan's mommy made Lilymei's birthday cake back in January.  It looks like Nathan is not too sure of Lily yet.  Don't you just love those hats?!   

Memorial Day Weekend

We hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day, not just kicking off the summer season with a big BBQ bash but also by remembering all the men and women who have given (and continue to give) of themselves for you and I to live in a free country.

Scott made it back to the island Saturday, May 23rd ~ his Birthday!  We celebrated with a birthday dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, Ban Thai.  After mass on Sunday we relaxed at home until it was time for the boys to meet their dive instructors at the pool on Big Navy.  The boys were able to complete nearly all of the skills needed to earn their dive certification.

 

Lily loves to see the water, be it the ocean or a swimming pool; not so much the bathtub though.  She's more of a shower girl right now.  Anyway, it wasn't long before she had convinced Scott to let her get into the pool, swim suit or not.  She LOVED it.  The boys took turns splashing with her and showing her how to put her face in the water and blow bubbles.  The only way we could get her out of the water, since the boys weren't done with their instructor, was to bring out the McDonalds bag.  We knew she worked up an appetite when she ate a whole double cheeseburger and fries!

Monday morning Nate, and Drew met up with their dive instructors and spent the morning and early afternoon down at the Navy pier, completing their 3rd and 4th dives.  Scott went along with them and they had a great time.  Next Sunday the boys will be going on their first boat dive.  Scott is thrilled that the boys are doing so well and enjoying open water diving.  Scott tried for 3 years to get me certified.  I don't feel so bad for letting him down now that Nate and Drew can go with him.  They are already planning some dives for when we are in Hawaii next month.  

I don't have any photos of the boys with their dive gear on yet, but here are some photos of them in their favorite environment....

   

Our crazy child, upside down, mid-air, off the diving board!

The Number 33

What is 33?  No, it's not my age.  It's not my favorite number either; that would be 28, in case you're wondering.  Let me back up a bit.  I have been slowly cooking/baking all of those forgotten grocery items in the back of the pantry.  I have to pat myself on the back in the fact that for this move I may actually eat every last item in the cupboards.  For some of you that may not sound like a big deal.  For me it is really hard to NOT stock up on sale items at the grocery when I am there to pick up bread and milk only.  I like to have all kinds of odds and ends on hand that when put together they don't really make up a meal but would sustain us in the event of a typhoon or other natural disaster.  Tonight after dinner I thought I would count the number of tea bags I have left to drink.  (I know, I do have some obsessive/compulsive tendencies.)  The inventory on hand added up to 33 ~ more than I thought, but that's ok.  I then went over to the calendar to see how many more mornings I will wake up to on Guam....you guessed it...33!  I couldn't have planned it any better if I had tried.

What else have I been doing besides counting tea bags?  Not too much the past couple of days. The boys are finished with school~ yeah!  The last bit of our personal belongings were packed up and shipped out on Friday.  Nate had his Boy Scout Court of Honor on Saturday evening. It was very nice with many boys being recognized for all their hard work.  Nate earned 6 merit badges himself.  That brings him up to 14 total.  Way to go Nate! 

Scott left on Sunday morning for a conference in Orlando.  While he is there he will be taking a day to fly up to DC to look at base housing on Bolling AFB.  He will also be meeting with a realtor and hopefully looking at a few houses.  What a whirlwind side trip for Scott.  He will make it home on Saturday evening ~ his birthday!  

Today the boys gave up some of their "summer" vacation time and they volunteered at the local animal shelter.  Nate needed some community service hours for another merit badge he is working on so we headed out after breakfast in our grungy clothes and got to work.  Actually, the boys did all the work and Lilymei and I looked at the puppies and kittens.  Lily LOVED it! Unfortunately I didn't bring the camera....no pictures this time!   

I'll leave with a few photos from the last couple of weeks, mind you the last 2 photos were taken before the house was packed up...the house is so empty now.

Lily eating a pooh shaped cookie.  We had to borrow the neighbor's rolling pin to roll out the cookie dough...ours was gone already.  

Lily wearing a beautiful spring dress and jacket from our friend Natalee.  Thanks Nat!

  

The boys getting ready to play Wii.  Everything in this picture is gone except for the chair and the couch (we are going to try to sell them) AND the boys.  We're keeping them too!  

Catch Up Photos from March

It's been a while since we've posted many new so photos so here are some from the end of March. Enjoy!

Nate, front and center, with Boy Scout Troop 20, in front of a B2 bomber. It was so hot that afternoon ~ Lily and I almost melted for the hour we were near the hangar looking at planes.

Family fun at Family Beach, Guam. Our friend, Mike, brought out his jet ski. Lily loved her 2 minute ride. The Philippine Sea is right outside the harbor. We are going to miss our favorite jet ski beach!

Lily and Nate outside the tent at Drew's Cub Scout campout. Lily and I slept in our comfy beds while the boys roughed it on Tarague Beach. Lily and I did make it out for Drew's Rain Gutter Regatta race and campfire lunch.

Here Drew is receiving his many beltloops and pins for all the hard work he completed during the month of March. Drew is one of the most active scouts in his den. Drew's scout master is in the yellow; Drew's den leaders are husband and wife, behind Drew. They are also the couple teaching the boys to dive!

Here is our little "Lil". She's such a sweetie!

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