Top Ten Reasons for Visiting Guam

1. To meet Marta Caroline Bailey--our newest granddaughter! 2. To see Ryan and Jamie, and play with Emma--of course!
3. To eat new and interesting Island food. (Parrot fish, taro, crab, and a dessert ball that was similar to a donut, but without the hole--all prepared by a neighbor family to "treat the parents of Ryan and Jamie". The family is from a neighboring island, Palau.)
4. To eat some of the local produce. The tiny bananas were delicious!

5. To see palm trees and tropical plants. This one is right outside Ryan's apartment window (they live on the 3rd floor). The little playground is right there as well.
6. To snorkel and swim in the beautiful ocean... And we saw lots of beautiful fish.

7. To watch the sun set straight west, into the Philippine Sea.

8. To watch dolphins playing .

9. To see how people live in a tropical paradise...

And #10? Just because it was a place I'd never been before!

Impressions of Guam

After arriving in the middle of the night and the long traveling, we weren't very energetic our first day there. A nice drive around the southern half of the island sounded nice. Jamie had two appointments for photo sessions, so we spent the afternoon being tourists. Guam is nearly surrounded by a living reef, as shown by the two tones of blue water. The University of Guam is located across the bay (right by Kevin's back).
With the high humidity, nearly constant temperatures (high 80's in the day, low 70's at night), and frequent rains, a hut like this would be all you would need to catch the trade winds. Personally, I am really grateful for air conditioning!We waded into the water, and I was expecting a bit of refreshment from the heat (you know, like stepping into an Idaho lake or canal), but the water was warm too.

We didn't hike up to the cave where a Japanese soldier hid out after the war was over, until 1971, but that spot is certainly visited by most of the Japanese tourists! In fact, Japanese tourism is huge on Guam. When we picked up our rental car and looked at the map included, it was totally in Japanese! Street signs, etc, are in English and Japanese. It almost made me wonder, who won the war?
The bougainvillea was everywhere--and in various colors, as well as hibiscus and plumeria.
Apparently, during WWII, the island was practically devoid of plant life--it had all been bombed or burned away. So the Army brought in plants from the Philippines to reforest.

You wanted proof of our trip???

On the street of Narita City, Japan, during our 6-hour layover on the way to Guam. I guess I don't look too bad for having been awake for 24 hours! I suddenly felt like I was in Europe-- Narrow streets, lots of flower boxes, and small cars. When we arrived, we had an option: pay for a "napping" room at the airport and maybe get a couple of hours of sleep, or take the train into nearby Narita City and visit a park. We took the second option, knowing that spending time out in the sunshine helps the body adjust to the new time. We would also have the advantage of having navigated the train system in preparation for the following week when Ryan and Jamie would be with us (and two children, and luggage). This proved invaluable!
And the park was beautiful! All kinds of trees, ponds, huge gold fish, and a huge Japanese temple.
Our spirits were revived by the beauty--and we were glad we'd taken this option.

In our spare time...

When we left for Guam, I told Deborah, "if you want a project to do, take down the wallpaper border in the spare bedroom." (The room that used to be A&E's). When we came home, She had spent hours and hours, and tried every trick she knew of, including steaming, and that border was only half-way down. It was a self-adhesive border, and I'm thinking they used super glue! We worked on it a couple more days, and I finally finished it after she went back to Provo.

That glue melded with the paint and by the time we were through, it was fairly obvious we'd have to prime the wall (what with all the spots where the paint had been taken off along with the wall paper).

Then there is the problem--what color for the repainting job? Catherine suggested a warm golden color. Very nice, except it clashed with the carpet. I looked at paint samples. No clear idea came of what I wanted. Then, what do I spy? The mis-tinted shelf of half-price paint. All I had to do was go through and see if there was a color (and all the gallons had a sample on the lid) that I thought would work. And I found...

this.

It is supposed to be a deep pinkish mauve, or a deep mauve-ish pink, or a deep dusty rose, or some such thing (there was no actual name for the color), and when we opened the can, I was a little worried. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...

But then we got it all mixed up and started painting, and I fell in love with it immediately!
We had thought maybe of taking out the bed and just making this a sewing/music/library room, but now that the walls match the bedspread so well, maybe it will stay. Besides, it is pretty handy for an afternoon reading session.
Or a snuggle with the dog. Of course, this took until fairly late on Saturday evening, but that was only because we took several hours off to go take part in the Sturgis Falls activities. Now I'm ready to paint something else. Maybe it is good we are heading off to Idaho this weekend, or I could do something crazy!

Alastair's Blessing--and more...

I keep checking this blog, but no one has updated it for a long time! Oh, that's MY job?

Recently, we spent 36 hours in Wisconsin--arriving late Friday night and leaving early Sunday morning. But we were there for the most important event, Alastair's blessing!

The blessing was held on Saturday evening, at their home. All three of their children have been blessed at home and we have found it to be an intimate, sacred setting. And best of all, you can choose the time when the baby is at his best.

Aaron's mom, Paula Sullivan, flew in from Utah to spend the week, so she was there as well. Connor and Brenna enjoyed having TWO grandmas to entertain them. Paula teaches 6th grade now, and had to wait until the end of school to come out and help with the new baby. Catherine planned having the blessing when both sides of the family could be represented, even though it was only a couple of days after getting back from Japan.

And the rest of the time, we just enjoyed the day. Brenna can swing for hours if she can get enough people to push her. And Connor can pump himself, so he doesn't need anyone to push him. Hurray! Kevin was finishing up the book he started on the flights to Guam, etc. And still suffering with a little jet lag, he deserved the rest! (Though I think he gave some airplane rides to Brenna.)

And Kevin and I got to see all five of our grandkids within the space of 5 days. (And a few thousand airline miles, but who's counting?)

And we made it home on Sunday in time for our own ward, and for Kevin to be in a Cedar Rapids Ward for a bishopric change.

By the way, today marks the 2-year anniversary of our flooded basement! This weekend is the Sturgis Falls community celebration, and two years ago we had tons of rain and awoke on Sunday morning to wet carpet throughout the basement. Thank heavens Justin and Darcy were here (on their way out to Utah), for their extra help was so important in moving furniture, removing carpets (to dry out on the driveway) and putting things back. (Oh, and the missionaries helped, as did the Swindler family).

And guess what? We had four inches of rain on Thursday/Friday, but no flood this time! However, the tornado sirens went off twice--tornadoes were sighted by the airport. Alice was more than a little scared. Elizabeth was a Girls Camp, and they had an exciting time with the weather as well. But as Deborah says, "It wouldn't be Girls Camp without a tornado scare!"

Update on Deborah: she flew back to Provo on Wednesday, after taking care of Alice and Elizabeth very well. Except for the joke they played on us about having attended a Metallica Concert (when it was really a viola concert). They went to Adventureland, to Wisconsin, and to the various lessons the girls had. Thanks Deborah!!!

We're here!

Fortunately, we do not have pictures of our arrival on Guam, at 1:30 a.m. (which was REALLY 10:30 a.m. on my body's clock and we had been awake for 30 hours, with only a couple of hours of intermittent sleep on the plane). You wouldn't want pictures of that...

Then, we were off to Ryan's home (he met us at the airport--so he didn't get a lot of sleep either). Finally, sleep for 4 hours--till Emma woke up and the whole household got up at 7 a.m.

Pictures will soon come!