Photos from England

Here is a brief photo recap of my whirlwind week in England with Josh's mom back in April:


A gorgeous view at Waltham Abbey (Essex). Turns out my obsession with cherry blossoms is not limited to Japan...


CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and friends' pub (Oxford)


Christ Church College (Oxford)


Radcliffe Camera, home to the Bodleian Library's reading rooms. I felt studious just looking at this building! (Oxford)

Low tide at Morecambe Bay in Northwest England...don't be fooled, the tide here is said to come in "as fast as a horse can run"!

A back view of Capernwray Hall...a Bible school in the Lake District that has housed generations of Cornthwaites.

An abandoned oversized chess game overlooking the sheep-speckled property of Capernwray on a blustery day

Mandi, Debbie, and Big Ben (London)

Trafalgar Square (London)

For my fellow Harry Potter fans... Next stop, Kenya!

8 months...

Hello! Remember me? It's been almost 8 months since I blogged last - where did the time go? Josh and I have had an extremely busy year - luckily, it's been a year filled with fun! Here's a taste of what we've been up to since we both returned to the island in May...

Josh got home from the USS Essex just in time for Memorial Day. Guam celebrates Memorial Day at one of its historical invasion beaches by putting up one flag for each person who died during the Japanese invasion of 1944. It's a breathtaking, heartbreaking sight.

American flags

Guam flags

This year's "Salute to the Military" dinner...aka our yearly excuse to dress up!

Congratulations Junior Officer of the Quarter!

A rainbow in our backyard...I guess rainy season is good for something after all!

We have happily resumed our frequent hiking adventures. Here is a view of the southern part of the island from Mt. LamLam, the highest mountain in the world...that is, if you start measuring it from the bottom of the Marianas Trench!

A cluster of picturesque wooden crosses en route to the top of Mt. LamLam. Each Easter morning there is a procession up part of the mountain to worship at these crosses. I'm sure it brings a whole new element to a sunrise service!

Speaking of sunrises...

We have also resumed our snorkel adventures!


Hi Josh!

Surrounded by friendly...well, hungry...fish. Turns out fish get pretty bold when frozen peas are up for grabs!

Mandi and a school of needlefish

Mandi and a starfish. Don't you just love the clear water...and the bright blue starfish?!

See the eel? He was quite difficult to photograph...shy little fellow!

A cluster of Moorish Idols...flashback to Gill from Finding Nemo anyone?

A sea slug...careful, if you poke him he'll squirt sticky stuff on you, eww! (Guess who discovered that? Not me...)

I simply can't resist including a sunset photo...

Or two...

three...

Ok, last one!

Stay tuned - Mandi's trip to England/Kenya, Josh's travels on the USS Essex, our trip to the mainland for my cousin's wedding, and our recent adventure in SE Asia are all still to come!