Sunday, June 13, 2010
New Blog
Planning a wedding, starting back to work, and becoming obsessed with pregnancy and childbirth have kept me from staying up to date on blogging about our life for all of you back at home. All of those things are finished now, but my new obsession: motherhood, is here to stay. At least for 18 years or so. I do want to take up blogging again, and keep the inquiring minds up to date on what we're doing out on this rock, but my focus has shifted slightly. Especially with my sweet husband gone, it's all about the babe these days. I have finally begun what I intended to begin three months ago: my parenting journal. I am going to discontinue use of this blog, especially since my language studies have fizzled out and the title is no longer terribly accurate anyway. I will, however, be posting at least a photo a day, over at teamkemendo.blogspot.com, so if you wish to keep up with us, you can do so over there.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
News and an Adventure
Well, as most of you already know - we had a wedding. It was absolutely perfect in just about every way. We missed those who couldn't make it, but aside from that would not have changed a thing. Pictures are up on the photographers website for any who want to see them. The link is: http://www.waltpalmer.com/9912-Kemendo/
Now that all that is over, I may get a bit better about keeping up with the updates. We'll see ; )
It's hard to believe that the halfway point of our baby's time in the womb is so near. I have my next ultrasound just a few days before I reach 20 weeks - on October 19th. We're crossing our fingers that baby cooperates so we can find out just what we're expecting.
Back in Guam, we picked up a book detailing the purported best hikes in Guam and we went on our first last weekend. We went to Haputo Beach, which is on the north end of the island. To get there, you park on the side of the road and descend through the jungle down a long, winding series of largely overgrown limestone steps. It's almost easier going back up than going down. We saw a good many bright, colorful lizards and were eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was worth it. We definitely need to pick up some repellent before our next hike!
The bottom of the stairs. It's like the incline, only through the jungle instead of up Pikes Peak. I suppose the elevation gain may not be quite as steep.
Now that all that is over, I may get a bit better about keeping up with the updates. We'll see ; )
It's hard to believe that the halfway point of our baby's time in the womb is so near. I have my next ultrasound just a few days before I reach 20 weeks - on October 19th. We're crossing our fingers that baby cooperates so we can find out just what we're expecting.
Back in Guam, we picked up a book detailing the purported best hikes in Guam and we went on our first last weekend. We went to Haputo Beach, which is on the north end of the island. To get there, you park on the side of the road and descend through the jungle down a long, winding series of largely overgrown limestone steps. It's almost easier going back up than going down. We saw a good many bright, colorful lizards and were eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was worth it. We definitely need to pick up some repellent before our next hike!
Haputo Beach, from above:
Andrew enjoying a refreshing drink. He sliced that coconut open with a machete.
A giant blade of saw grass!
A crab trap
... but wait?
The bottom of the stairs. It's like the incline, only through the jungle instead of up Pikes Peak. I suppose the elevation gain may not be quite as steep.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Baby!
I feel like it's finally safe to write about this little bean, as the family should all have learned, in a much more personal way by now. Andrew and I are going to be parents! We could hardly be more thrilled.I had an ultrasound on Thursday, and above are the results. Our tiny family-member-to-be is only about an inch long, but he or she has a nice, healthy heart and many other good, working parts. With that news, we've had surprisingly little else going on lately. Hopefully we'll have a lot to tell next month in Colorado, when we celebrate our marriage : )
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Yet Another Photo Post
I haven't been the best with updates, but in my defense, time moves slow here. As evidence, please have a look at the Mover's Guide I received (below) at the post office in our village when I went looking for a change of address form. You may have to click to enlarge and look more closely. Please note the date of this edition, which is all they had.
Hey, what's a decade between friends?
Anyway, below are some photos I have taken over the past few weeks. I haven't taken nearly as many as I did at the start of our time here, but then your interest was waning anyhow. Just kidding - there are many more adventures to come.
Andrew at the Mermaid Tavern. This is where he has enjoyed helping brew beer, and where we've both enjoyed a few relaxing afternoons.
Andrew at Polaris Point after the fireworks. Did I mention that the 4th of July celebration was hosted at the Naval Base and dubbed the "Freedom Rocks!" celebration? Classic.
My "Heaven's Scent" Gardenia, with its first bloom. It smells just like the ones at Great Grandma Abbott's house : ) I'm so happy to finally be able to grow some! They never bloomed in Colorado, and were eventually eaten by deer. Next to it, not pictured, is the Paper Gardenia.
Who bothers trying to take pictures of fireworks? I do. Why? I don't know. And later that night, I learned that my camera actually has a "fireworks" setting. I guess I'm not the only goof who tries it. Better luck next year.
We finally checked out the beach on base, and found it to be very crabby. This is the largest crab I have seen yet, slightly obstructed by grass. Center of the photo. There were hundreds of them, mostly tiny.
Here's the view of the beach from the top of the road that leads to it.
These are all from a "scenic overlook" on Andersen (base). The area you can see is called Tarague, and you can't tell from the photo, but Rota, another of the Marianas Islands, can be seen off on the horizon from this vantage point as well.
Hey, what's a decade between friends?
Anyway, below are some photos I have taken over the past few weeks. I haven't taken nearly as many as I did at the start of our time here, but then your interest was waning anyhow. Just kidding - there are many more adventures to come.
Andrew at the Mermaid Tavern. This is where he has enjoyed helping brew beer, and where we've both enjoyed a few relaxing afternoons.
Andrew at Polaris Point after the fireworks. Did I mention that the 4th of July celebration was hosted at the Naval Base and dubbed the "Freedom Rocks!" celebration? Classic.
My "Heaven's Scent" Gardenia, with its first bloom. It smells just like the ones at Great Grandma Abbott's house : ) I'm so happy to finally be able to grow some! They never bloomed in Colorado, and were eventually eaten by deer. Next to it, not pictured, is the Paper Gardenia.
Who bothers trying to take pictures of fireworks? I do. Why? I don't know. And later that night, I learned that my camera actually has a "fireworks" setting. I guess I'm not the only goof who tries it. Better luck next year.
We finally checked out the beach on base, and found it to be very crabby. This is the largest crab I have seen yet, slightly obstructed by grass. Center of the photo. There were hundreds of them, mostly tiny.
Here's the view of the beach from the top of the road that leads to it.
These are all from a "scenic overlook" on Andersen (base). The area you can see is called Tarague, and you can't tell from the photo, but Rota, another of the Marianas Islands, can be seen off on the horizon from this vantage point as well.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Things have been busy, as evidenced by the lack of updates. We've really been enjoying settling into our home and getting used to life here. Our things arrived on Monday last week, and it seems that only one box is missing. I hope it's found before too long! Andrew's truck arrived around the same time.
I've quit my job already, for a wide variety of reasons, but I look forward to having a proper teacher's summer off for the next month or so. Andrew has gotten very involved with a brew pub here on the island and has spent the past few Sunday mornings helping with their weekly brew. He has had the chance to go scuba diving once, and this past weekend both of us went out snorkeling together.
We saw fireworks down south on the Navy base for the 4th of July. We went to see our first live show, which was a brilliantly cheesy dance performance from Korea called Ballerina Who Loves B Boy. My favorite part of the title is the complete absence of articles. It was amazing however, and involved some very impressive break dancing. We've really just been trying to get situated and enjoy ourselves.
I'll post more photos later, but what I did do was take a video of a normal drive around here to give an idea of that side of things. It's not particularly exciting, but you can see what the road is like in Guam.
I've quit my job already, for a wide variety of reasons, but I look forward to having a proper teacher's summer off for the next month or so. Andrew has gotten very involved with a brew pub here on the island and has spent the past few Sunday mornings helping with their weekly brew. He has had the chance to go scuba diving once, and this past weekend both of us went out snorkeling together.
We saw fireworks down south on the Navy base for the 4th of July. We went to see our first live show, which was a brilliantly cheesy dance performance from Korea called Ballerina Who Loves B Boy. My favorite part of the title is the complete absence of articles. It was amazing however, and involved some very impressive break dancing. We've really just been trying to get situated and enjoy ourselves.
I'll post more photos later, but what I did do was take a video of a normal drive around here to give an idea of that side of things. It's not particularly exciting, but you can see what the road is like in Guam.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Our Home
Andrew and I moved into our house on Thursday. It was nicer than I could describe to you to move out of the hotel - finally - exactly two weeks after we arrived. The first thing I did was take every last thing out of my suitcase. I am so done with suitcases!
Andrew called to check on our Household Goods shipment (all of our stuff that we didn't pack in suitcases) and learned that some of it was in California. I think that was supposed to be reassuring. However, I would like to know where the rest of our stuff is, and how long it will take to get to Guam from California, if it took an entire month to get to California from Texas. I hope it arrives before it's time for us to move again!
We went ahead and bought one pan, two bowls, and two sets of silverware, so we're getting by with that for now. With this being our first real move for the military, I really didn't know how to prepare. If I had known better, I would have packed so much more appropriately! Next time...
Instead of taking photos, I made a video tour of the house. I'm not terribly happy with it, but it's below for anyone interested.
We have been getting to know the neighborhood, and the whole island better and I'll have plenty of pictures to share here very soon. On Sunday, we went to the annual Mango Festival. In the next week or two, I think I am going to get my PADI certification so I can go scuba diving with Andrew. Fun!
Andrew called to check on our Household Goods shipment (all of our stuff that we didn't pack in suitcases) and learned that some of it was in California. I think that was supposed to be reassuring. However, I would like to know where the rest of our stuff is, and how long it will take to get to Guam from California, if it took an entire month to get to California from Texas. I hope it arrives before it's time for us to move again!
We went ahead and bought one pan, two bowls, and two sets of silverware, so we're getting by with that for now. With this being our first real move for the military, I really didn't know how to prepare. If I had known better, I would have packed so much more appropriately! Next time...
Instead of taking photos, I made a video tour of the house. I'm not terribly happy with it, but it's below for anyone interested.
We have been getting to know the neighborhood, and the whole island better and I'll have plenty of pictures to share here very soon. On Sunday, we went to the annual Mango Festival. In the next week or two, I think I am going to get my PADI certification so I can go scuba diving with Andrew. Fun!
Monday, June 22, 2009
A Tour of the Island
With our housing search finished, we were finally able to relax and explore more than just subdivisions this past weekend. On Sunday, we drove from Tumon, where we're staying on the west coast of the island all the way down to the south end, along the southern coast, and back up the northeastern coast. It took close to two hours and was nothing short of spectacular! I took far more pictures than necessary, and tried to pick the best ones to post here.
As we get to know the island better, I'll actually find myself able to remember the names of these places. For now, it's mostly just pictures!
The first pictures are from Agat Landing, the only place where we actually stopped and got out of the car. It's one of the War in the Pacific National Park sites and it's really interesting in that you can still go through caves that were used by Japanese troops as strongholds. I was able to take pictures of some of the informational placards, but others were too faded to read. The first one is sort of a map of the area, showing the caves. You may have to click on the picture and see the larger version to make anything out.
Then there are a few of the scenery along the way ...
I took a lot more great photos but my camera didn't transfer half of them. I guess I have some bugs to work out.
The water along the shore is generally pretty shallow, but this one really highlights how low the tide was that day.
I think this is Mt. Lam Lam, but I really have some learning to do before I start talking like I know everything. Mt. Lamlam is Guam's highest peak, and the highest point on Guam at 1,332 feet. If measured from the bottom of the Marianas trench, however, Lamlam rises to 37,820 feet above the ocean floor. Depending on where the measurement is taken, Lamlam rivals, but does not surpass Mauna Kea in Hawaii as the world's tallest mountain. It does beat out Everest by this definition (remember, of course that tallest and highest are different terms geographically).
Back in Tumon, Andrew picked some pretty flowers for my hair.
We enjoyed a relaxing retreat at the hotel's beachfront bar while we waited for our laundry to wash, and Andrew refused, as usual, to pose for a good photo.
I got a picture of the cliff (I think it's Two Lover's Point, which we need to visit),
the city,
and later - the sunset
Then, when Andrew walked me home from work I saw the largest snails I have ever seen!
...and that was our weekend.
We miss you all and want to hear what's going on with you, too!
As we get to know the island better, I'll actually find myself able to remember the names of these places. For now, it's mostly just pictures!
The first pictures are from Agat Landing, the only place where we actually stopped and got out of the car. It's one of the War in the Pacific National Park sites and it's really interesting in that you can still go through caves that were used by Japanese troops as strongholds. I was able to take pictures of some of the informational placards, but others were too faded to read. The first one is sort of a map of the area, showing the caves. You may have to click on the picture and see the larger version to make anything out.
Then there are a few of the scenery along the way ...
I took a lot more great photos but my camera didn't transfer half of them. I guess I have some bugs to work out.
The water along the shore is generally pretty shallow, but this one really highlights how low the tide was that day.
I think this is Mt. Lam Lam, but I really have some learning to do before I start talking like I know everything. Mt. Lamlam is Guam's highest peak, and the highest point on Guam at 1,332 feet. If measured from the bottom of the Marianas trench, however, Lamlam rises to 37,820 feet above the ocean floor. Depending on where the measurement is taken, Lamlam rivals, but does not surpass Mauna Kea in Hawaii as the world's tallest mountain. It does beat out Everest by this definition (remember, of course that tallest and highest are different terms geographically).
Back in Tumon, Andrew picked some pretty flowers for my hair.
We enjoyed a relaxing retreat at the hotel's beachfront bar while we waited for our laundry to wash, and Andrew refused, as usual, to pose for a good photo.
I got a picture of the cliff (I think it's Two Lover's Point, which we need to visit),
the city,
and later - the sunset
Then, when Andrew walked me home from work I saw the largest snails I have ever seen!
...and that was our weekend.
We miss you all and want to hear what's going on with you, too!
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