Christmas hat-wearing carabao, in fact!
Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas Eve!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Christmas in Guam
In case anyone is concerned, Santa Claus does visit Guam. He just travels by carabao instead of reindeer. See...
Saturday, December 20, 2008
How To Eat a Coconut...
Go to a tropical paradise...
...and find a coconut tree.
Drop a few coconuts, any way you can!
Wash the coconut off...
...and get to work. (Mind your fingers and toes!)
Almost done!
Pull the coconut out of the shell... (That's harder than it looks!)
...and get ready to enjoy!
Drink the coconut milk... (None for me, thanks!)
...and then partake in the real "fruit" of your labor! Yummy!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Moscow International Circus
Josh is off island again this week for work, so it has been up to me to entertain myself and create my own adventures. My first order of business after he left was to accompany some friends to the Moscow International Circus, on island for the first time ever. I haven't been to the circus in years - not since I won tickets through the reading program in elementary school! It was interesting to watch the acts as an adult. I think they were even more incredible to me now, because I have a better understanding of how tricky they are. Circus performers really are something else!
The circus "show girls" showing off...
My, they're spinning fast (and only holding on with their feet!)...I wonder if they get dizzy?!
A blindfolded tightrope walker...with no safety net. He commanded the attention of the whole auditorium - even the token clown (bottom center) was watching and holding his breath!
Trapeze acrobatics underneath a motorcycle on a tightrope...
For the younger crowd, one of the best parts of the circus - giant balloons at intermission! As a balloon lover, I was almost tempted myself!
Instead, I lived vicariously through my little friends...gone are the days when I can sit on a balloon without popping it! (Disclaimer: this balloon did pop moments later..right at the conclusion of the show. It was the grand finale, if you will!)
The circus "show girls" showing off...
My, they're spinning fast (and only holding on with their feet!)...I wonder if they get dizzy?!
A blindfolded tightrope walker...with no safety net. He commanded the attention of the whole auditorium - even the token clown (bottom center) was watching and holding his breath!
He's way up there!
Contortionists...in case you can't tell, the girl on the left is standing on stilts while leaning (can you even call it leaning??) backwards in order to pick up a glass of juice with her teeth...
She retrieved the juice and is now proceeding to drink it upside down...a very unique talent, indeed!
Trapeze acrobatics underneath a motorcycle on a tightrope...
For the younger crowd, one of the best parts of the circus - giant balloons at intermission! As a balloon lover, I was almost tempted myself!
Instead, I lived vicariously through my little friends...gone are the days when I can sit on a balloon without popping it! (Disclaimer: this balloon did pop moments later..right at the conclusion of the show. It was the grand finale, if you will!)
Friday, October 31, 2008
A Brief Update
I spend so much time writing about our wonderful adventures, that it must seem as if that’s all we do! Admittedly, that is much of what we do, but there are other aspects to our lives on Guam, as well. So, here is a little update on the rest of our lives:
Josh:
He loves his job! (Whew…because we traveled pretty far just to give it a try!) In a nutshell, he is a defense attorney for the JAG Corps. This does involve some court action, although he spends most of his time doing legal assistance work (ie: writing wills, settling tenant/landlord disputes, etc). He really enjoys getting to work with clients and make a difference in their lives. He has done a fair bit of traveling for work, too, which has been interesting. He’s really racking up the frequent flyer miles, since Guam is so far away from everywhere. In one of the highlights of this fall, he was able to extend a business trip to the States for a couple of days to give his family a surprise visit!
Mandi:
I love my job, as well! I am teaching private swim and piano lessons to children and adults. I love the flexibility of being self-employed. (I consider my job an education, as well, as I feel I am getting a crash course in parenting by being around children all day!) Aside from teaching, I have gotten involved in our church music team again, which has been challenging, yet rewarding. Every time I get back in to singing, I am reminded of how much I love it! I have also joined my first ever book club, and I wonder why I never joined one before. For a bookworm like me, it’s terrific…a good excuse to read all the time!
As a couple, we have joined a Lutheran church congregation and we are enjoying getting involved in various church activities. We have also made some good friends, some of whom we are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with in the absence of our families. And, we are eagerly awaiting our first visitors – my parents, for Christmas and New Years! The holidays will be here before we know it. In fact, I should probably just start preparing now…oh, who am I kidding, we’re going snorkeling!!
Josh:
He loves his job! (Whew…because we traveled pretty far just to give it a try!) In a nutshell, he is a defense attorney for the JAG Corps. This does involve some court action, although he spends most of his time doing legal assistance work (ie: writing wills, settling tenant/landlord disputes, etc). He really enjoys getting to work with clients and make a difference in their lives. He has done a fair bit of traveling for work, too, which has been interesting. He’s really racking up the frequent flyer miles, since Guam is so far away from everywhere. In one of the highlights of this fall, he was able to extend a business trip to the States for a couple of days to give his family a surprise visit!
Mandi:
I love my job, as well! I am teaching private swim and piano lessons to children and adults. I love the flexibility of being self-employed. (I consider my job an education, as well, as I feel I am getting a crash course in parenting by being around children all day!) Aside from teaching, I have gotten involved in our church music team again, which has been challenging, yet rewarding. Every time I get back in to singing, I am reminded of how much I love it! I have also joined my first ever book club, and I wonder why I never joined one before. For a bookworm like me, it’s terrific…a good excuse to read all the time!
As a couple, we have joined a Lutheran church congregation and we are enjoying getting involved in various church activities. We have also made some good friends, some of whom we are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with in the absence of our families. And, we are eagerly awaiting our first visitors – my parents, for Christmas and New Years! The holidays will be here before we know it. In fact, I should probably just start preparing now…oh, who am I kidding, we’re going snorkeling!!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tarzan Falls Photos
The view from the trail, just before the hills began...in case you don't recognize it, that's Leopalace, our home sweet home!
Muddy feet...yuck!
Christian and Tarzan Falls
The falls from a different angle. A rather majestic view, is it not?
A close up of the water and the rocks...pretty cool geology!
Christian drying off in the sun in a nearby tree
A slightly less impressive waterfall on the hike back
Is he being silly, or is he being smushed by the water??
Silly, of course! 
Looking away from the waterfall to the jungle and the beautiful blue sky 
Is he being silly, or is he being smushed by the water??
Silly, of course!
Looking past the waterfall to several swimming holes
Looking away from the waterfall to the jungle and the beautiful blue sky
Some additional teeny waterfalls on the way home. This looks like a good spot for future picnics. Any takers?!
Tarzan Falls
A few weekends ago, Josh decided it was time for an adventure. Well actually, I should rephrase that a little bit (since Josh and I are certainly not lacking in adventure!) - Josh decided it was time for an adventure for our newly four year old buddy, Christian. So, he hunted through our trusty guidebook and found the perfect hike – Tarzan Falls. Even the name rang of adventure! 
So, we called up Christian and his daddy, Graham, and off we went. The early hike was standard to Guam…a bit of jungle, a few bugs, nothing too exciting. Then, we hit the hills. These were fairly steep hills, especially if you’re only four! But, like a true adventurer, Christian stayed on his feet the whole time (unlike Graham, Josh, and I, who each took a spill!). Christian thought the hills were pretty cool, but they soon paled in comparison to the mud pits we had to wade through. A muddy path – this was becoming a bigger and bigger adventure! (Fortunately, when you’re adventuring at the age of four, you don’t have to wade through the mud yourself – you can just wrinkle your nose at it as you look down from daddy’s arms! 
Oh, for the days of being four!) After we adults squelched through the mud for a while, we finally found our destination – the big waterfall. The adventuring didn’t stop here, though. There was still swimming in the waterfall and climbing nearby trees to conquer – both of which Christian sampled. Then, there were a few smaller waterfalls to check out on the hike back to the car, which I might add was over a mile (quite a long way in four year old mileage). Little Christian was a trooper the whole time and loved every minute of his first adventure (aside from a brief tussle with a mud puddle shortly before we reached the car). And I have to say, I loved every minute of the adventure, too! It’s not every day you get to see the world through a four year old’s eyes again. So Christian, when are you taking me on my next adventure?!
So, we called up Christian and his daddy, Graham, and off we went. The early hike was standard to Guam…a bit of jungle, a few bugs, nothing too exciting. Then, we hit the hills. These were fairly steep hills, especially if you’re only four! But, like a true adventurer, Christian stayed on his feet the whole time (unlike Graham, Josh, and I, who each took a spill!). Christian thought the hills were pretty cool, but they soon paled in comparison to the mud pits we had to wade through. A muddy path – this was becoming a bigger and bigger adventure! (Fortunately, when you’re adventuring at the age of four, you don’t have to wade through the mud yourself – you can just wrinkle your nose at it as you look down from daddy’s arms! 
Oh, for the days of being four!) After we adults squelched through the mud for a while, we finally found our destination – the big waterfall. The adventuring didn’t stop here, though. There was still swimming in the waterfall and climbing nearby trees to conquer – both of which Christian sampled. Then, there were a few smaller waterfalls to check out on the hike back to the car, which I might add was over a mile (quite a long way in four year old mileage). Little Christian was a trooper the whole time and loved every minute of his first adventure (aside from a brief tussle with a mud puddle shortly before we reached the car). And I have to say, I loved every minute of the adventure, too! It’s not every day you get to see the world through a four year old’s eyes again. So Christian, when are you taking me on my next adventure?!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Photos of Hawaii
The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor
Looking through the top of the memorial
The State Capitol of Hawaii
Inside the open-air section of the capitol...do you see the volcano?
Mandi and Queen Liliuokalani (with the palace and banyan trees in the background)
The Royal Palace
Josh and a giant banyan tree (or two or three...it's hard to tell!)
Breathtaking flowers at a mid-day picnic stop
North Shore and its giant waves...that's a lot of whitewater!
Looking out to sea from Hanauma Bay
An adorable little mongoose in mid-stride
This lame little bird seemed to like getting its photo taken...or maybe it just wanted more of the pretzels I was snacking on!
Josh carefully attaching the surfboard to our rental car...yes, we chuckled when they gave us a PT Cruiser (Cornthwaites, we felt like Grandpa and Grandma Frazier, only this one wasn't a convertible!)
One of our first surfing stops - White Plains Beach. It had beautiful water, though it was lacking in good waves.
A pretty little island at dusk, spotted as we were driving around the coast of Oahu
A very interesting tree on the beach provided much needed shade from the intense morning sun
The pineapple plantation had signs posted of how far away different locations were...in case you can't read the sign, Guam is listed as 3,797 miles away. That's pretty far for a long weekend getaway! What really cracked us up, though, was the fact that the North Pole was only 3,027 miles away...so we were closer to the North Pole (which has always seemed ridiculously far away!) in Hawaii, than home!
A beautiful flower on the outskirts of the giant maze
In the middle of the maze...what direction should I go this time??
Ha! I found Josh!
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