Are you still out there?

We've been on Guam for over a month now and I feel like I'm finally surfacing.  From the time the movers came in Oklahoma, flying 18+ hours with three children, living in a hotel for 2 weeks (sounds more fun than it actually is) and unpacking a house I've been in a survival fog.  But now we're starting to settle in and get a routine.

Since we've been here David has flown to Japan several times, Hong Kong, Manila, Australia and lots of pacific islands.  And now that we live in the same place that he is based he has only been gone 2 nights this month!  Over the years we have become accustom to him being gone several nights a week. It's been an adjustment to have him around so much but one that I've enjoyed.


Here are some highlights from the past month:

 Guam Hilton

This is the view from our room looking out onto Tumon Bay and Ypao Park (Yee pow).  The hotel was nice and had amazing pools (5 total) and the view was great.  Someone who lived on Guam told me before we came that "Guam is like a third world Hawaii."  It's a lush tropical place but when you look closely some beaches have lots of trash and most places aren't maintained well.

There is a lot of this when you're living in a hotel for two weeks with three children. 

And a lot of this.  The pools at the Hilton were wonderful.  The girls went from timidly going down the water slide with David on day one to going down backward or face first on their tummys on the last days.  The hotel had a really cool infinity pool that looked over the ocean and a nice hot pool.

Unfortunately there is a lot of this too. Eating out or making food in the hotel.  I was so ready for a kitchen.

And some of this.  We had two hotel rooms which was really nice.  The girls pushed their bed together and made one giant bed.

There was a lot of sweetness and I was really proud of how well the girls did.

Firsts:

 Yikes! Gas is expensive.  And you might be thinking 'diesel?" because of the green gas handle but no all the gas handles are green.  Not the last strange thing about Guam.  You might also be thinking, 'The island is only like 30 miles long.  How much gas can you use?".  Well, let me tell you that most of the gas used is when the car is idling.  The traffic on Guam is horrid.  You can easily wait at a light for three cycles.  And although the distances aren't far there is never a direct route.

Riding a water buffalo. Hazel actually rode on this guy.  She has no fear when it comes to animals.  Hayden wanted no part, not even a picture with the beast.

Markets.  I pray David did not buy one of those coconut head things.  Those kinds of things are right up his alley. ;)

Beautiful flowers: I love birds of paradise and hibiscus.  The island has the most amazing flowers with vibrant colors.

Lots of new or slightly different foods.  The food prices on the island are super high and the lack of items is super low.  Economics I guess but really annoying sometimes.  I go to the grocery store with a list and a plan but then usually have to go to plan B.  This is sometimes a fun game but not really. :) I joked that it is sometimes like shopping in the end of times with empty shelves a common sight.  One time I was with Hazel and she saw a package of pepperonis which the girls like to eat sometimes as a snack.  She yelled "Mom, pepperonis!  Get those!" It was the last package in an nearly empty cooler case.  Some strange instinct hit me and I snached the package up.  I felt like I was ravaging the last package of pepperonis for my young. With that said there is plenty of food, we're definitely not starving and I have really been enjoying cooking and eating together as a family.

Hazel ran her first 2K race.  I'm not sure who was more excited me or her but it was a lot of fun.  The race was really well organized and ran.  She did awesome!