What I Did This Summer by Lilymei

What a summer it's been. My mommy and daddy took me away from all that I remember. Mommy and I saw this double rainbow on our balcony at the PIC before we left Guam. I LOVE the beach!
Mommy and Daddy said we would be traveling far and wide. Boy, they weren't kidding!
I had to eat strange new foods in places Mommy and Daddy used to visit long, long ago.
I met cousins young.....
and old. Otay, not that old!
I did meet a pirate. He is nice and shared his toys with me.
That pirate suggested I get a tattoo. I got a ladybug. It hurt (not) but now I'm a pro. Right now I have a tattoo of flowers on my arm that I got at Macy's this weekend.
I tried to hold (and take home) some of my cousins' birthday presents. Mommy and Daddy wouldn't let me.
What kind of place is this that Daddy took me to? I had to wear a coat, in July! The air show in Dayton was really neat. When the fighter jets flew by I learned how to cover my ears.
I now know that I love to water flowers! Mommy, can you get me a watering can and some flowers, pease!
I didn't bore you with pictures of me getting in and out of my carseat but I did that ALOT! I don't like riding in the car but it helps when Drew or Nate put a movie in for me and I can wear my headphones and ride in style.

One of my favorite parts of summer was eating ice cream! I love it! In this picture I'm eating Graeter's ice cream in Columbus,OH.
Check back later Mommy says. She promised to take pictures of my new big girl bed and my princess sheets. I think she wants to take pictures of our new house too, once I help her put everything away. Maybe Daddy will put pictures on here of my first trip to the Atlantic Ocean when we visited Mike E. in Delaware last weekend.

Hope you all are having a nice summer like me!

What a ride it has been!

As we are getting ready to leave Guam all I can say is that it has been great! I want to thank everyone that helped us make Guam our home over the last 3 years. Today is the 3 year anniversary of our arrival on Guam. I just thought I would author a post showing what we all looked like 3 years ago. Guam, thanks for the memories and another chapter in our life. When we arrived in June 2006 we were a family of 4, the boys were just that...boys, and I was just a young Captain in the AF. We are now a family of 5, the boys are young men, and I am a young Major in the AF. Jean hasn't aged a day and looks better every morning! We will honestly miss this beautiful place in the sun! Look out DC here we come.

Surprise for the Boys

Who was fortunate enough to get Friday the 13th off from school/work and spend 2 days at one of the resort hotels in downtown Tumon? That's right ~ we were! Scott and I surprised the boys with reservations to the PIC (Pacific Islands Club) for the night of February 12th. The boys had their music lessons and completed their home school work like normal on that Thursday. When Lilymei woke up from her nap we told the boys to hurry up and pack because "we're outta here"! We had already told Lily but she kept our secret! We arrived at the hotel @ 4pm, checked in, and changed into our swimsuits.

Here the kids are walking down to the new (to us) kiddie pool. We stayed at this resort when we first PCS'd into Guam. The kids would like to stay here again when we leave the island but the beds are just too hard for more than one night's stay.

There are quite a few amenities at the PIC. The first afternoon the boys took part in tug-of-war, the log roll, and water basketball. There are also several water slides to ride, kayaking, snorkeling, and archery, along with many more fun activities.

Scott and Nate are battling it out on the log roll. Drew and Lilymei are watching at a safe distance. Thursday night we walked across the street and had dinner at Tony Roma's. Yum. We were all tired from swimming so we went to bed early. The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast buffet and then it was back to the pool. Lily had a couple of hours in the water before falling asleep on my lap in the shade. The boys took advantage of playing with the ping pong table in the shade during the hottest part of the afternoon before cooling off once more on the water slides.

Here is the little princess. She loved sitting in her own big girl lounge chair after some fun in the sun.

I think the kids look like they had a good time. What do you think? The boys suggested we do this every month until we leave. Hmmm......not a bad idea.

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!!!

Look Out Hawaii Here We Come!

We, Jean, Scott, and Lilymei, are getting ready to go to Hawaii for the week. Lilymei has appointments at Tripler Army Medical Center to evaluate her hydrocephalus. Life has been pretty hectic around here. Scott finished up with a major inspection at the clinic; they received an 'excellent'. The boys have been staying busy with Boy/Cub Scouts, to include bowling this weekend. Drew won a gift certificate to Outback Steakhouse; he was pretty excited. It seemed like everyone had a doctors appt of some kind last week. Jean and the boys all got new eyeglasses prescriptions. Jean will pick out her new frames while in Hawaii so she doesn't match everyone on the island of Guam. Swimming is in full gear and Drew is ready for his first practice since early September. We are posting some random photos so everyone can see how big Lilymei is getting. She is starting to walk while only holding one hand of her helper. She is starting to say "pumpkin, rock (as in rocking chair)", and tries to say more and more everyday. Lily loves to give eskimo nose kisses and laughs a ton. Jean is going to a baby shower that the Andersen Home school group is throwing tomorrow night. We have been so blessed by all of the gifts that have been sent and given to us. Thank you to everyone! Nate has a camp out next weekend while we are in HI and he can't wait to use his new Hennessey Hammock. Nate used his $200 he won this summer to buy this "top of the line" camping gear. We will hopefully post from Honolulu. We miss you all. Take care and God Bless. Please enjoy the pictures and yes, Jean has dark brown hair again!

Scouts move up in rank!

It was a thrilling week in the world of scouting. Nate and Drew were both promoted to the next rank in the boy scouts and cub scouts. The boys are having a great time with scouting and Nate is getting ready for summer camp on Guam. Drew is preparing for a trip to the rock climbing wall and a summer of planned activity. We are proud of all the hard work they have both put into the program.

On the adoption front we have received some travel plan coordination, but are still waiting on our Travel Approval (TA). We are probably still looking at going to pick up Lilymei sometime in September. The Olympics can't come quick enough for us!

And So It Begins!

It all started 2 weeks ago when the boys and I were shopping at the Gift Shop on base. Nate came over to me carrying a little silk purse that he wanted to purchase for Lilymei. He felt strongly that she would "need" a purse to put all her "things" in to. Drew didn't want to be outdone so while we were grocery shopping he begged me to buy the 2 pack Snuggle fabric softener that had a Snuggle bear packaged with it. Now the Snuggle bear is living inside the purse waiting for Lilymei to come home. Last week I was in the BX, browsing the book section like I always do, when I came across a few board books for baby with the soft, thick covers. I picked out the "Happy Baby Words" book and thought, what a perfect item to bring along with us to China. I mentioned to Scott that he was the only one in the family who hadn't picked out something for Lilymei yet. Not to be outdone, yesterday Scott came home with the cutest little pink OshKosh onesie and floral jumper. As you will see below, this shopping frenzy has gained momentum (even for Guam!). Look at what found it's way home from the mall today....

Dive, Dive, Dive!

Jean and Nate finally experienced the great sport of SCUBA diving this past weekend. After they both received discover SCUBA gift certificates from MDA, it was time to cash them in! They spent a few minutes getting ready and learning the basics then it was time to hit the water. Nate was able to get down to about 20 feet and Jean made it under the surface. Fisheye, the dive site, located of off Rt. 1 was full of breeding Picasso fish (aka by the Hawaiians as the Hu-mu hu-mu nu-ku nu-ku a pu-a-a) and the new divers had a great time. Nate stated "that was the best thing I have ever done in my life!" Stay tuned for new adventures as Scott gently pushes them through the dive education process.

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.