A Birthday for Miss R...

Our last little girl is ONE!  Sniff.  Surprisingly, I'm rather melancholy about this.  Of course, I look forward to days of no diapers, no buckling into car seats, no trying to drill into a headstrong little mind what things are ok to touch and what are not...  But I will so miss her tiny crawling body!  Her fat little feet and ticklish soft skin.  She has been our cuddliest girl, and our most smiley.  All our girls have (by the grace of Heaven) been nice, sweet, pleasant, good sleeping babies.  And I guess I will miss them!

Trip to the Aquarium...

I love aquariums.  That being said, I was strangely skeptical of the aquarium here in Guam.  Maybe because I thought I could see all the same things if I get on my snorkel and stick my head in the water here (which is basically true), so why pay to see them?  Anyway, some friends called and asked if I wanted to go to Underwater World, so we did.  Good choice.

There is a super long tunnel through a big tank.  Lots of sharks, all sorts of fish, two huge sea turtles (my favorite!) and rays- one of which swooped over me and scared me to death.  It's great!
Then there are lots of individual tanks.

 Eels.  Not my favorite.  I pretty much think they are one of the freakiest looking creatures on earth.

Cool prickly star fish things.  (I need to brush up on my ocean creature id...)

Jellies.  I liked these a lot more before I started living in proximity to them...  But, you can't deny that they are beautiful.

Sea horses.  My third favorite sea creature!  (My second favorite would have to be cuttlefish.)

This is Miss M with her friends Little B and Miss I.

And Miss A and Miss I checking out the touch tanks.

Fun!  We'll be going back lots more.  Another plus- they have legitimate military discounts, so the year membership for all of us was not that much!

Spanish Steps...

Yesterday we tried another hike.  I had my doubts, since last Saturday's excursion ended in a lot of mud and whinyness...  But, a friend Friday night volunteered to go with and help with the girls, (B had plans to go try some spear fishing with a friend) so I took her up on it.  And I'm so glad I did!  It really was beautiful and fun.

The hike was down on the Navy Base, called Spanish Steps.  It was quite an undertaking.  Guam is, you know, largely surrounded by huge black cliffs.  The old Spanish Steps go right down the cliff.  Getting two small girls and one fairly out of shape and overweight Mama carrying a small baby down, and then back up the cliffs safely looked pretty doubtful.  But it really did look much scarier than it was.  My friend helped the big girls, so I could focus on not hitting Miss R's head on anything.

The trail went right down some big rock cliffs, with a rope to hang on to.  Then wandered along some ledges.  Do you see that groundcover everywhere by the way?  It's like, a houseplant.  Crazy.  Still can't believe I live in the freaking tropics.  Big move for a zone 4a girl...

Both girls were brave beyond belief!  Especially little Miss M (3).  A little too brave for comfort actually...  She even did some jungle peeing.  The trail kept going down, down a metal ladder, lots more rocks, and then the old Spanish stone steps.  Once we were down the cliff, the trail flattened out into some seriously gorgeous jungle.  The type that makes me think I'm back in the Climatron at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis.  Groves of trees so thick that when it started to rain (it is the rainy season here...) we only felt a few small drops.  There was a thicket of the cutest baby palms, growing out of their shells.  We even saw a few crabs.

And then a few more.

And then... we came across crab central.

  It was pretty freaky actually.  Every little shell you see there is a huge old crab.  They were in the trees, climbing the cliff, every where!   Hundreds of them.  We thought they were mutant huge hermit crabs, but when we got home, B informed us that they were juvenile coconut crabs, hanging out in giant African land snail shells.  Crazy.  It was pretty Indiana Jones-esque.
Here is a picture of some cute hiking girls (of course I don't have any photos of poor Miss R on my back, but she really was there), and a good friend, after we escaped from the crabs...

 And then we got to the beach!

Isn't it beautiful!  I still can't believe I live on this little tropical island in the middle of the blue Pacific.  So different from where I came from!  I'm glad.  That point out there in the distance is, I believe, called Udall Point, and it is the very western-most tip of the United States.

The girls, of course, were straight in to the water.  I had given them strict instructions not to get their clothes wet, but Miss A accidentally stepped in a hole (her face was pretty funny when she came up out of the water) and then all bets were off.  Soon they were swimming around everywhere anyway, and that's fine.  I'm not really sure why I told them not to get wet anyway.  Actually, I'm not really sure why I didn't just dress them in swim suits to begin with!  It's finally starting to dawn on me that everything on Guam requires a swim suit. 

We saw an eel, a big spider, tons of cool rocks...

A bright blue starfish...

A heart in the rock...

More cool rocks...

I like rocks, if you can't tell...

It was a perfect, paradise place.  Nice rocks to climb on, no sand, crystal clear turquoise water, sea creatures, amazing jungle.  We will definitely be going back with a lunch and our snorkels!
But, now, for the hike out...  I was worried, but of course going up steep rocks is always easier than going down.

The girls did great!  And, even more surprising, so did I.  Miss R was not at all happy by this time (more on that in a moment), so with her crying, and big girls all wet and dirty, we were all ready to get back to the top.

Just a note of gratitude for my friend!  There is really no way to do this hike with three kids and one adult.  She was great to help them, and to be excited about all their little thoughts and things they wanted to show her.
Now, Miss R...

Turns out...  Before we started the hike, I, of course, sprayed myself and my children with bug spray, knowing we would be trekking through thick jungle teeming with swarms of voracious mosquitos. Of course I did.  But.  I sort of forgot about the fat, tender-skinned, juicy baby sitting on my back...

So they ate her.

These pictures don't really convey the full horror, but there is not a square centimeter of her flesh that was uncovered by her shirt and shorts that does not have a mosquito bite on it.  Right down to the bottoms of her fat feet.  It's awful.  I feel like calling child protective services on myself.  What if she gets malaria or something?  They probably drained half her blood.  She just lays on the carpet and kicks to itch herself...  It's pretty pathetic.
So lesson learned, right?  I'm pretty sure I'll never forget to spray her again!  And, on the up side, I did for once remember to sunscreen her.  Not as important as the bug spray, since we were in dense woods on a cloudy day, but, you know, I have to make myself feel better somehow...

Hiking With Girls...

This is Tarzan Falls.  Pretty, huh?  (I didn't take this...)  We decided it was high time our girls were introduced to hiking.

This is the view from the start of the trail.  Pretty close to the trailhead, maybe a hundred yards from where we parked.  But...  far enough that we had already missed the right trail, and ended up lost!  It was a misty, beautiful morning.

  The trail we were on got lost in a maze of jeep roads, and there was much consultation of the hiking book.  Which, really, was not much help.  But the view was amazing, out over the green grassy hills of Guam, and down to the blue Pacific.

And there were orchids everywhere!  Like, growing out.  In the wild.  Crazy!  For a person who has only ever seen orchids in shows at the botanical garden, it was quite amazing.

We walked down a grassy track, down to that ravine up there in the distance.  B was carrying Miss R, you can see her fat little legs there, and we had some friends with us.

We got down to the river.  (Which, you may notice, contains no large waterfall at this point...)

Although we missed the waterfall, it was a fantastic place to swim!  The water was cool, and we were all hot and covered with mud from the hike down. 

Our friends helped the girls swim across the deep parts.  Miss R loved kicking her legs in the river.

There was much climbing on rocks.  It was so interesting to me:  the rocks and water looked like they might be one of the mountain streams I am used to seeing in the West, but this was surrounded by lush tropical jungle and bright orange soil.

We all got very muddy.  And there was considerable whining from the small girls- especially Miss M, who has this strange obsessive issue with being sweaty (which is a big problem here in Guam...).  The hike we did ended up being longer than the trail to the falls; we figure those little legs hiked around three miles- so I guess they had some reason to whine!  Anyway, we were all extremely happy to get back to our car.  So, first Guam hike with girls:  Minuses-hot, sticky, dirty, whiny, and we didn't see the waterfall we were looking for.  Pluses- beautiful things to see, fun swim, good friends.

Moving to Guam, Part 1- Packout:

Guam! I am still somewhat in shock that I am actually on a small tropical island in the middle of the vast Pacific on the far side of the world...
Packing out our things went fairly well, considering. It went in three sections. First, our non-temporary storage- stuff like my bench from the old Bear River church, all Christmas decorations, most of my books (sniff), etc. About 3000 pounds. Second, our household goods- the things going with us to Guam. About 7000 pounds. Third, our “express” shipment- the things we want most quickly. A pot, a pan, clippers so I can cut B's hair, baby swing and walker, my beloved double jogging stroller... 275 pounds. The jury is still out on how “express” that shipment is. It got picked up on March 28^th, and still no sign, so.....

Quick note: when we moved from Virginia to Florida our things took up the entire allotted weight of 14000 pounds, plus what we carried in the truck and car, so I think I am to be congratulated on getting rid of stuff!  My friend Sarah convinced me that we needed to have a garage sale, which we did. I made over $80, which is noteworthy only because I sold almost everything for a quarter. Hopefully in the future I will always think before I buy, so that I can avoid so much... accumulation! Part of lightening our load for the big move was selling my old truck Betsy. My faithful friend and companion for 20 years, well over half my life. It was hard! But the guy who bought her was very excited about having a truck, and has two little boys.

The packing process took the best part of a week.  I had wonderful friends and the best neighbors ever who took in my girls while I was busy.  The hardest part was saying goodbye to them!

A Sad Day...

I just posted my beloved truck for sale on craigslist.  And, to add even more to my depression, I loaned my back pack to my husband to take on a trip, and forgot to take my Swiss Army "Champ" knife, that I saved money for and purchased when I was twelve, out of one of the pockets.  It got thrown away by the evil TSA.  Do I have to grow up now? 

Here is the posting:
For sale is my truck "Betsy".  2 wheel drive, manual transmission, 2 door, 4 cylinder 2.5 l engine, long bed with liner, 216,000 miles.  I am the original owner (got her when I was 16), and am sad to see her go, as I wanted my kids to drive her when they turned 16...  But we are moving over seas, and can't take her with us.  My husband was in charge of internal workings, and did a good job.  She runs great, gets 24 mpg in town, 30-31 on the highway.  Drove from Missouri to Virginia to here loaded down with no problems and better mpg than the "new" car.  He rebuilt the engine and transmission since we were married, and really, she is a dependable, good-running truck.  Appearance wise- not so much.  The outside was my job, and I failed.  Our friends call her the "War Pony", due to her pinto-like peeled paint look.  There is some serious rust also...  Other issues- no ac.  If you want a fairly reliable commuter truck that can be used to haul furniture, soil, wood, whatever- this is a good choice.  Feel free to email with questions!  Thanks.

Princess Dolls

When I saw peg dolls on pinterest, I was in love...  Miss M's birthday was coming up, and since she loves anything glittery, girly, and princessy, I thought it would be a good excuse to try making some.  Except for the issue that I really cannot draw.  At all.  My five-year-old's pictures are light years better than anything I could do.  So really, this is a very approachable project.  And fun.  If I can do it, seriously, anyone can...  It took me about seven or eight nights, working after the girls were in bed.  I tried to paint several dolls at one time, if they had a common color, so that they could dry by the time I was ready to paint the next color.  Does that make sense?  I used normal acrylic paints, and three different brushes, a "spotter" brush, very tiny, a roundish brush a little bigger, and a flat, wedge shaped brush about a quarter inch wide.  First I drew the clothes and stuff with a mechanical pencil.

This is one I drew for Miss A to paint.  (She wanted a Jasmine.)  She never quite finished it, but it shows how, uh, primitive my drawing is.  Oh, and erasers work just fine on pencil on wood.  I just looked at pictures of the princesses from our many princess books and puzzles, and from the internet to figure out what was on them.  The arms were tricky to decide about.  Some on pinterest didn't have arms, but I decided to put them because how do you do sleeves, like Snow White's, if there aren't arms to hold them?  Except I did forget to do arms on Ariel.  On Tiana I ended up putting straps on her dress, because other wise I didn't know how to end her arms at the shoulder.  And on Jasmine I just left the pencil lines to show the arm shape, since she has a bare belly.  Anyway, here are some pictures.

  

For Cinderella and Belle, my husband drilled a hole into their heads and attached wooden beads by using a skewer (like for shish-ka-babs) and elmer's glue to make their buns.  You see Sleeping Beauty's eyes, how they pretty much look like zombie eyes?  She was the first one I eyed.  One of the other tutorials said to use a pin head to dot the eyes.  I found that to be a bit big...  So I just used that little spotter brush after that.  On Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty I painted over the dresses with some glitter paint.  Silver for Cinderella and rose for SB.  I really like that stuff.  It's by FolkArt, called Extreme Glitter.  I mixed yellow with white for parts of Belle, because I didn't want to have to buy a billion shades of yellow paint.  I had some metallic gold that I used for SB's crown.  

I realized after I had them sprayed and all done that Jasmine has a headband with a jewel...  Oops.  You can see her arms are just pencil lines?  And I used the metallic gold paint for her earrings and necklace, and silver for Mulan's sword and Tiana's necklace.  I didn't paint their skin- I wanted the wood grain to show through- so that was a problem for Tiana.  So I mixed a tiny bit of brown paint with a tiny bit bigger bit of water and sort of stained it.  I did that last, which I think was good, because the paint everywhere else kept the stain out.  It looked all mottled at first, but it dried a nice even brown color, and you can still see the wood grain.  My husband did Tiana's bun like Cinderella's and Belle's.

Mulan is my favorite.  Because she's tough, and, you know, dimensional and doesn't just wait around for a guy to marry her.  And I like how her sword ended up...

Snow White I think ended up the cutest.  And she was probably the easiest.  Simple.  I used turquoise glitter paint on Ariel's lower half.  I'm not too fond of Rapunzel.  Her dress looked boring, so I added all that stuff, but I don't like it too well...

These are the two extra pegs that I didn't have princesses for, so I just made them up.  I did what was easiest from painting all the others.  Like scallops.  Turns out I can paint scallops a lot nicer than straight lines...  Miss M has named them Odette, and Lisa (I think after her church nursery leader where we used to live).  Lisa is usually the mother of all the other princesses in the little girl play world.  I used glitter paint on them because, you know, we like glitter here.  Turquoise on Odette and rose on Lisa. 

So then I came to spraying them.  I stood them on a cardboard box to do the tops and sides, but how to do the bottom?  They just rolled around when I tried laying them down and spraying.  So I had an idea:

Earlier in the winter I had got the idea (from pinterest, cough (Husband)), to do an indoor sandbox slash sensory whatever with some old beans I had (previous food storage attempt).  So I just stuck the princess's heads in, and sprayed away.  It was easier to do their sides too.  So I got them nice and glossy with spray.  The beans stuck a bit, but were very easy to knock off.  So there you go!