Our first and last weekend for a while....

It was a nice weekend. We got to go to the beach on Friday afternoon with the girls. We tried out these new baby float disc things. You sit the baby in the float and it's got a canopy to go over it. So,hopefully not as much work for me looking after them when I take them to the beach alone. The girls had a blast and love being in the water. They adapted well to the floats and I think actually preferred them.
All the a beaches here are nice, but the ones we've been to so far are only a few inches deep clear out to the reef. Makes it hard for you to actually get in past your shins and it's super warm. Not good when trying to cool off. Well the beach we found on Friday is still right on the base, just minute from our house, but it actually get's a little deeper. You can walk out and the water will easily come up to your waist. It's not got a lot of "sea lettuce" stuff either like most of the beaches we've been to. Just lots of sea grass and I heard it's great snorkeling there too. A neighbor said you can find blue starfish that you could actually pick up. Not that I would handle anything. I really don't think it's a good idea for me or for the fish involved. However, I'm not opposed to picking up Soldier Crabs. They were all over the beach. Little baby ones....I could spend all day looking for them and picking them up. So cute! Makes watching where you step a chore...but I love these little guys!

Spent Saturday helping Sylvin put up a surface fence for the fellas. Now the dogs don't have to go potty on a leash. They have their own little area right off the patio, in view out the kitchen window. Makes it so much easier for me to just let the dogs out while I'm here alone.
Sylvin leaves around the first of August and will be gone til mid-late September. They're going to Honolulu for the boats yearly training and inspections.
They also have a dry dock period upcoming next year sometime and I guess that could happen in CA, HI or Australia. I was told, that for every 31 days they're gone in dry dock, they will pay for me and the girls to travel to him, or him to us. So maybe that might mean a free trip to one of those three places. We're hoping for Austraila! Now I know getting our passports wasn't a waste of time.
Sunday was pretty quiet around here. We did some shopping and relaxing.
OH!....had my first expierence of Vietnamese food. It was a sort of lumpia...A long egg roll with rice noodles, cabbage and carrots with various spices. Then you dip it in this kinda citrus lemon sauce. Delicious!
Girls Updates:
Eve's getting braver day by day with standing on her own from a crawl. She has taken a step here and there when she's not paying attention, but nothing that looks like walking yet. They're both talking gibberish. Syani says "betta, betta, betta" and Eve sounds just like her. It's hilarious to hear them both talking Dutch in the back seat of the car. I think they actually answer one another. We listen to the radio alot during the day and they've found the beat. It so cute to see them sitting in their highchairs macaroni smeared on their cheeks and they're just bobbin along back and forth. Smilin. They're down to only taking a bottle a night and drink out of sippy cups during their other meals. I got a couple of camels too, they drink water all day long. Can use spoons, but the food doesn't always stay on it long enough to get it in their mouths. That's pretty frustrating. I'm glad I have quick pooches and tile floors!
OH, they squealed with delight when they finally figured out the light switches. I sit them on the bathroom counter to get them ready for bed after they get outta the bathtub and the light switch is within reach. You could have seen the "Eureka!" expression all over their faces when they finally GOT it. So now it's a battle between on and off. I gotta keep the hall light on now if I want to accomplish anything in there.
Another fact.....our car made it to the island. The ship came in on Thursday, but they haven't finished offloading the containers yet, so we don't know exactly where it's at presently. They said they wouldn't be done offloading until Tuesday. So hopefully this next week we should know more, if not recieving our car!
Hope you all have a good week!
If you see Johnny anytime before I do, which is probably!...He's turned an OLD 36 on the 28th! I got to celebrate two days for him, the 28th here and there. Don't think I'm gonna do that for my birtday though, one day in observance is enough!

Sunset on eve of an eathquake

No damage reported in 5.0 quake
Pacific Daily News

A 5.0-magnitude quake was recorded at 7:49 last night, said Paul Hattori, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey Guam office. The temblor was centered about 21 miles west of Hagåtña, at a depth of 25 miles.

There were no reports of damage or injuries as of 9 last night, he said.


"For people closer to the epicenter, it would have felt like five or 10 seconds," he said. "To me, it sounded like a big truck. I barely felt anything."

Sylvin and I were standing in the kitchen last night and I felt like I was in a funhouse standing on a bridge while a semi went by. It was freaky and I didn't like it much at all!
We looked at one another and dared to ask.... "You think that was an earthquake?" We agreed that it probably was. The ground beneath the kitchen floor shook while the whole house rumbled for a few seconds only for it to stop and then start again for another few seconds to abruptly stop as it had begun. YIKES! My legs felt like spaghetti and I wanted to say I felt dizzy.
This was Sylvin's first earthquake. I had felt one in Fort Wayne actually back in the mid 90's. That one sounded like a train right outside the house going by. Sylvin thought it was cool. I beg to differ and if he's requesting anymore in the near future, I just might have to slap him.
St. Croix in fact had one while we were there visiting on a Sunday morning too. Linneth had come home from church talking about God showing up. She'd asked if we had felt the earth quake?.....No, we hadn't and Papi teased her that it was the work of island termites in the old church. Two days later the newspaper had reported sesmic activity. God had shown up for her service! I strongly believe He's here too. Better find a good church to join. Sounds like I'm gonna be on my knees praying alot around here for the avoidance of earthquake, thyphoons and tsunami's. No wonder the locals are huge Catholics....I might need every saint I can get in contact with living here on the rock.

View the album below

Double click on the picture below to view the whole album. They're a few pictures of the outside of the house. No pictures yet of the inside til I get it painted and decorated. I've got a reputation to uphold here! Love to you all, enjoy.

House in Guam

Photobucket Album

Lockwood

We have a house already! We move in on Thursday!.....Yep, this Thursday, the day after tomorrow. I can hardly believe it was that fast. There were only 3 houses to pick from on the whole base right now. We saw the first and it was ok, but not something that said, "this is it" it was kinda small, but doable and a little yard, but not much squished in to the neighbors house. The second one was a no go, PERIOD. No yard and it was all backwards. The third one we pulled up to was very nicely landscaped. It had banana trees, coconut trees, and a big plumeria and hibiscus bush in the front yard with lots of palms and other stuff I can't identify yet. There's plumeria blossoms all over the front yard. It had a nice car port with a fairly good sized yard that wasn't smooshed into our neighbors. Situated nicely anyway. We tried the key in the door and it wouldn't work. We went back to the housing office to get another key to try and it failed as well. Finally the manager came back with us to help and he got the door unlocked. We already knew when we pulled up to the house the first time that it was ours. Had the feeling of home about it. Even without seeing the inside. Walked in and we both cemented the idea of this house was now going to become home for the next three years. Kinda reminds me of the base housing in MI. It's all open style floor plan with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. It has carpet in the bedrooms with ceramic tile flooring all other areas. The kitchen is a good size with a nice layout. Although I'm not crazy aobut milar cabinetry, I can say I'll get over it. It's got nice big windows and there's a patio area outback too. We can put up a small fence for the fellas and the housing manager said that they were planning on repainting and reroofing the house this year sometime. It's really cute and Syani had gotten down and was running full speed throughout the living room. I'll take lots of pictures as soon as I can find my battery charger or new batteries. I can hardly believe I'll be able to walk out the back door and pick a banana or coconut if I get a wild hair to. Or if I'm feeling particulairly crafty I can gather plumeria blossoms and make a lei for one of Sylvin's returns to home. The loaner furniture arrives on Thursday too and I think we've got an express package to pick That'll be good for their little pshcyes.
I told Sylvin earlier, "I think I'm going to hate it here." We both laughed. Driving along Marine Hwy is gorgeous, even with all the weather we're having, it's all a beautiful clear turquois blue water right out to the reef where the waves break. White sand and calm water to soothe you on your drive in rush hour traffic. And there IS traffic! Got a taste of it today at 5pm. (3am your time)

It took us 2 hours to try and find the kennel the dogs are in. So when we finally did find the darn place it was closed. Nothing is marked here, and trying to get driving directions is more like taking a public opinion poll! Everyone had their own idea where it might be and how to get there. "Turn right at the ITC intersection, go past the mall and past the theatre, it's a big blue and white building with cats and dogs painted on it.
We turned right at coconut trees went left at forks in the road, found a GCIC and IT&E building before finding the ITC/Bank of Guam building. A freaking BUILDING, not an intersection. Anyway, the fellas are still in jail at the present hour. We'll pay their bail and spring them tomorrow after signing our stuff for housing. YIPEE!
I learned a new Chomorran (Chomorro Indians are the true natives of Guam) word today for twin. "Dinga"

Our trek to California

Well, we finally made it out onto the open road. We took off from Michigan late Saturday afternoon, made it to my dad's to say goodbye. And we had gotten there so late we decided to stay for the night. Dad's lake was just happening to have the fireworks display out on the lake so dad piled us all onto the boat and we went to watch them. It was a great display. The girls were so tired from all the goings on and drive they didn't even complain over the noise or the late hour. We got up fairly early Sunday, had breakfast with dad and packed up the car once again to head west. We made it to Grand Island, Nebraska by 11pm Sunday night and stayed there next to the Platte River. I had always thought Nebraska was a flat very boring state. It was very long, but not as ugly as I had once imagined. It must have been the bad memories I had of it in 1983 when I had gotten car sick across Nebraska that left a bad taste for me. We got up early Monday morning around 5am, the girls slept good and were excellent for the long car ride Sunday. We fed them, packed the car once more and pottied the dogs for another 6 hour ride to my brother Brett's house in Laporte, Co. We made it here in good time. Spent an evening with Brett, Megan and Jaime and Megan took us to the Old Town fountain in Ft. Collins. We visited a cool toy store and got tasty smoothies. We're taking the dogs to the vet for their health checks this afternoon in CO and then we're headed west once again this evening til we can't go anymore. Hopefully by Wednesday evening or early Thursday we'll have made it to California.
It's been a beautiful car ride and the girls have been better than expected. I'm so glad we got to see the fireworks at dad's and see Brett, Megan and Jaime.
I'm excited to get over the Rockies and see what lies on the other side. I've never been west of them. Sylvin's been pretty impressed with Colorado so far. All the rivers and eco friendly mindset have him feeling at home. i bet once he sees the rest of it we'll have put it on the list as a place to retire to.
Well, we'll keep you updated when we've got an internet connection.
Love to you all.