Wow, what a difference two years makes. She is just as cute now as she was then! Click on collage to make it bigger!
Friday, October 31, 2008
trick-or-treating
While you all were sound asleep in the states the night before Halloween....we were already enjoying ours! Our complex held a costume contest for the kiddos. Rian did not place, but we all know that she should have :)
After the contest, the kids paraded around the lobby area (Rian's favorite part...she loves to march thanks to my mom!) and then we went trick-or-treating.
After the contest, the kids paraded around the lobby area (Rian's favorite part...she loves to march thanks to my mom!) and then we went trick-or-treating.
Here is Ri showing off her glowing bracelet.
And here are the 1st and 2nd place winners. Everyone totally thought this little pilot should have won 1st, he was adorable. But tinkerbell won instead.
Rian and Daddy showing off all the candy. Way too much for a 2 year old.
And the family pic. But of course all Rian wanted to look at was her candy and not the camera....oh well.
trunk-or-treating
We went to our Church's annual trunk-or-treating this year. It was fun to finally meet some people and have Rian interact with some kids!
The various faces of Rian. Can you tell she is saying "Cheeesssee"?
Mommy and Rian decorating some Halloween cookie. Yummy!
Rian trunk-or-treating. She had so much fun gathering candy. She mastered the "trick-or-treat" asking. Then saying "thank you". And of course letting everyone know "i'm a pumpkin". What a cutie! This year was definitely a lot of fun. Two is such a great age.....most of the time!
Mommy and Rian decorating some Halloween cookie. Yummy!
Rian trunk-or-treating. She had so much fun gathering candy. She mastered the "trick-or-treat" asking. Then saying "thank you". And of course letting everyone know "i'm a pumpkin". What a cutie! This year was definitely a lot of fun. Two is such a great age.....most of the time!Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Yesterday
I just felt like blogging this morning.
Yesterday was a pretty productive day. I spent the morning emptying our "loaner" dressers once again and repacking our clothes into our suitcases. This packing, unpacking, re-packing, unpacking again cycle is getting incredibly old! But the end is near!
I organized all rooms, closets, and bathrooms to get ready for our stuff to arrive. All this while also taking the time to dance, sing, read, and play with Rian.
The process was long and tiring. You see, we carried a lot of suitcases and bags with us on the airplane. About 11 of them :)
Our "loaner" furniture was picked up...meaning we had absolutely no furniture in the house but a pack-n-play and hi-chair for Rian and a few kitchen items. After Ri's nap, we lathered up with sunscreen and ventured outside our complex with Dora bubbles, water, and camera in hand. Rian LOVES bubbles and had fun playing on the playground.
I was hoping to meet some other moms outside, but no luck there. We played outside til dinner. We went back upstairs to make dinner and while I was cooking Rian decided she would pick up our phone and call Daddy. It was so cute listening to her imaginary conversation to her dad.
Rian enjoyed her dinner in her hi-chair, as Matt and I sat on the floor and ate. It was quite humorous. Luckily Matt's co-worker let us borrow us an air mattress so we didn't have to sleep on the floor.
We ended the day opening up a package from my mom!!! A huge highlight for us!! I love her packages! It was Halloween themed for Rian!
The movers are delivering our stuff in about an hour! I can't wait to have my kitchen back! First agenda in MY kitchen.....making Halloween cookies and a pumpkin pie!!!
These last two pics are for you Dave (my father-in-law). It's a picture of the back our building from the pool/playground area. I'm not so good at picture taking. But I know you would love being here with your camera.
Yesterday was a pretty productive day. I spent the morning emptying our "loaner" dressers once again and repacking our clothes into our suitcases. This packing, unpacking, re-packing, unpacking again cycle is getting incredibly old! But the end is near!
I organized all rooms, closets, and bathrooms to get ready for our stuff to arrive. All this while also taking the time to dance, sing, read, and play with Rian.
The process was long and tiring. You see, we carried a lot of suitcases and bags with us on the airplane. About 11 of them :)
Our "loaner" furniture was picked up...meaning we had absolutely no furniture in the house but a pack-n-play and hi-chair for Rian and a few kitchen items. After Ri's nap, we lathered up with sunscreen and ventured outside our complex with Dora bubbles, water, and camera in hand. Rian LOVES bubbles and had fun playing on the playground.
I was hoping to meet some other moms outside, but no luck there. We played outside til dinner. We went back upstairs to make dinner and while I was cooking Rian decided she would pick up our phone and call Daddy. It was so cute listening to her imaginary conversation to her dad.
Rian enjoyed her dinner in her hi-chair, as Matt and I sat on the floor and ate. It was quite humorous. Luckily Matt's co-worker let us borrow us an air mattress so we didn't have to sleep on the floor.
We ended the day opening up a package from my mom!!! A huge highlight for us!! I love her packages! It was Halloween themed for Rian!
The movers are delivering our stuff in about an hour! I can't wait to have my kitchen back! First agenda in MY kitchen.....making Halloween cookies and a pumpkin pie!!!
These last two pics are for you Dave (my father-in-law). It's a picture of the back our building from the pool/playground area. I'm not so good at picture taking. But I know you would love being here with your camera. Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Nothing Like An Early Delivery
We received a call yesterday informing us that all our stuff is here. All of it!!! Our original delivery date was the middle of Nov, so this was a great surprise! Our loaner furniture is going to be picked up this afternoon and our stuff will be delivered tomorrow morning!
This will officially be moving day #7 and #8. Seriously, we have already had 6 moving days associated with this move to Guam. Crazy, huh?
I have been asked to post a few pics of Rian, so I thought I would add them to this post. She loves stickers, and putting them on her body and especially her face in particular is one of her favorite pastimes. She too is very excited to have her room set up. We will be moving her into her toddler bed. And she can't wait for all her toys to arrive!
This is how our entire family will feel after this week is over with. It will be an exhausting one, but exciting one! We can't wait to make this home really feel like our home!
This will officially be moving day #7 and #8. Seriously, we have already had 6 moving days associated with this move to Guam. Crazy, huh?
I have been asked to post a few pics of Rian, so I thought I would add them to this post. She loves stickers, and putting them on her body and especially her face in particular is one of her favorite pastimes. She too is very excited to have her room set up. We will be moving her into her toddler bed. And she can't wait for all her toys to arrive!
This is how our entire family will feel after this week is over with. It will be an exhausting one, but exciting one! We can't wait to make this home really feel like our home!Thursday, October 23, 2008
Finally...a place to call HOME!!!
We finally moved out of temporary housing and into the place we get to call HOME for the next few years! We are super excited to be in our own home--WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT--but will be even more excited when we get to fill it with our own furniture!
Here are the views from our place. Can you believe this is what we see when we look out our windows??? AMAZING!! I am still in total shock! The top right was taken while I was sitting on our couch looking out onto the balcony. The bottom left is looking down at the pool and playground (where we will be spending many-a-days!).
We can see the other end of the island when we look out the front-water and all! But I am yet to be satisfied with any of those pics, stay tuned for those.
Click on the pics to make them bigger and better for viewing!
We drove around the south-end of the island over the weekend. Here are some pictures from our road trip. The land is such a deep green and the water so crystal clear blue. This is basically what the island looks like! Luscious land and turquoise waters-heaven:)
Ahh, rainy season.
It rains about everyday during our rainy season, so not the best time to visit.
It's still super hot, but you have about 5 seconds to make it to cover before the rain comes pouring-and I mean pouring-down. Luckily we have learned quickly what to expect before the downpour.
It rained during our trip and this is what the river, I mean road, looked like afterwards. I thought our little rental car was going to get stuck for sure, but we didn't!
Natural Swimming Pool.
Absolutely Beautiful! There were about 4 or 5 different pools that you could swim in.
A definite MUST when you come to visit! When are you coming again???
There are tons of livestock/wildlife on the island.
We probably saw like 70+ chickens/roosters (I couldn't tell the difference between the two) on our drive.
And like 30 dogs, just roaming the streets.
We've also seen: Goats (pictured below). Cows. Tons of birds and butterflies. Geckos galore. Mini ants. etc, etc.
We even saw a water buffalo on the side of the road yesterday morning. Pretty cool!
We also explored the Micronesia Mall. They have a mini amusement park inside.
She was so excited to ride on the carousel! Can you tell by her face in the second picture?
Here are the views from our place. Can you believe this is what we see when we look out our windows??? AMAZING!! I am still in total shock! The top right was taken while I was sitting on our couch looking out onto the balcony. The bottom left is looking down at the pool and playground (where we will be spending many-a-days!).
We can see the other end of the island when we look out the front-water and all! But I am yet to be satisfied with any of those pics, stay tuned for those.
Click on the pics to make them bigger and better for viewing!
We drove around the south-end of the island over the weekend. Here are some pictures from our road trip. The land is such a deep green and the water so crystal clear blue. This is basically what the island looks like! Luscious land and turquoise waters-heaven:)
Ahh, rainy season.
It rains about everyday during our rainy season, so not the best time to visit.
It's still super hot, but you have about 5 seconds to make it to cover before the rain comes pouring-and I mean pouring-down. Luckily we have learned quickly what to expect before the downpour.
It rained during our trip and this is what the river, I mean road, looked like afterwards. I thought our little rental car was going to get stuck for sure, but we didn't!
Natural Swimming Pool.
Absolutely Beautiful! There were about 4 or 5 different pools that you could swim in.
A definite MUST when you come to visit! When are you coming again???
There are tons of livestock/wildlife on the island.
We probably saw like 70+ chickens/roosters (I couldn't tell the difference between the two) on our drive.
And like 30 dogs, just roaming the streets.
We've also seen: Goats (pictured below). Cows. Tons of birds and butterflies. Geckos galore. Mini ants. etc, etc.
We even saw a water buffalo on the side of the road yesterday morning. Pretty cool!
We also explored the Micronesia Mall. They have a mini amusement park inside.
She was so excited to ride on the carousel! Can you tell by her face in the second picture?
Rumor has it that our Jeep has arrived on the island! Yippee! I have yet to receive a phone call to confirm that, but hopefully we will have our car by this weekend!
No more rental!
Unfortunately, our household goods won't be here for another 3 weeks :( Can't wait for those!
Saturday, October 18, 2008
OCS Gradutaion
These are way past due, but better late than never!
Change of Command Ceremony & Hi Moms Dinner
At the Change of Command Ceremony, Matt is in his khakis. He graduated 2nd in his class!! Which means he was in charge of the class flag at the ceremony. That's why he is wearing those silly white gloves.
Matt's OCS class also hosted a Hi Moms Dinner the night before graduation. Matt was recognized as earning the highest grade for physical fitness in his class at the dinner! The Class Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Jackson, also made the class put on a little show for us! He made them perform some PT (physical training) in their summer white uniform. There are some pictures of them doing push-ups and up-downs. It was really fun to watch!
Rian made a few friends at the dinner too and they spent most of their time out on the dance floor!
Matt's Private Commissioning
Because Matt's Dad is Retired CWO4, he was able to commission Matt in a private ceremony before the actual class commissioning. Matt's Mom, Dad and Grandad presented Matt with an officer's sword. It was really great to be able to celebrate this moment with both sets of parents and Matt's Grandad.
Class 22-08 Commissioning & First Salute
The top 4 in Matt's class had a special part in the ceremony. The top 2 also received a Challenge Coin from the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. That was cool that Matt got one! After the commissioning they also held a First Salute. Which means it's the first time their Class Drill Instructor and Class Chief Petty Officer salutes them as officers since the class now out-rank them. It was pretty cool to see in a matter of minutes, how the class now out-ranks the drill instructor, who put them through *$&# the past 12 weeks.
Overall, Matt says of his experience at OCS: It was tough and something I would NEVER want to do again. I'm lucky to have the Class Team that I did (ie instructors). I have much respect for them.
We are so proud of Matt and his accomplishments at Officer Candidate School. His dedication and hard work paid off in the end! We know he will continue to go on in the Navy and accomplish many great things!
Change of Command Ceremony & Hi Moms Dinner
At the Change of Command Ceremony, Matt is in his khakis. He graduated 2nd in his class!! Which means he was in charge of the class flag at the ceremony. That's why he is wearing those silly white gloves.
Matt's OCS class also hosted a Hi Moms Dinner the night before graduation. Matt was recognized as earning the highest grade for physical fitness in his class at the dinner! The Class Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Jackson, also made the class put on a little show for us! He made them perform some PT (physical training) in their summer white uniform. There are some pictures of them doing push-ups and up-downs. It was really fun to watch!
Rian made a few friends at the dinner too and they spent most of their time out on the dance floor!
Matt's Private Commissioning
Because Matt's Dad is Retired CWO4, he was able to commission Matt in a private ceremony before the actual class commissioning. Matt's Mom, Dad and Grandad presented Matt with an officer's sword. It was really great to be able to celebrate this moment with both sets of parents and Matt's Grandad.
Class 22-08 Commissioning & First Salute
The top 4 in Matt's class had a special part in the ceremony. The top 2 also received a Challenge Coin from the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. That was cool that Matt got one! After the commissioning they also held a First Salute. Which means it's the first time their Class Drill Instructor and Class Chief Petty Officer salutes them as officers since the class now out-rank them. It was pretty cool to see in a matter of minutes, how the class now out-ranks the drill instructor, who put them through *$&# the past 12 weeks.
Overall, Matt says of his experience at OCS: It was tough and something I would NEVER want to do again. I'm lucky to have the Class Team that I did (ie instructors). I have much respect for them.
We are so proud of Matt and his accomplishments at Officer Candidate School. His dedication and hard work paid off in the end! We know he will continue to go on in the Navy and accomplish many great things!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Welcome To Paradise AKA Our New Home
We're here! We made it in late last night and ventured out today to see just 2 of the tons of amazing beaches here. Check them out! And, yes, I did take these myself :)
Our travel day started at 320am San Diego time (345am for Rian) on Friday morning the 10th. We took the first plane out of the San Diego airport to LAX at 630am after a very tearful goodbye, of course :( We had about a 2 hour layover where we meant a really nice couple from Guam...I like to call them our new 'local' friends...that's right, they gave me their phone number and bought us a breakfast sandwich...so that makes them our new friends, right??
We loaded onto the plane and got Rian all strapped in her car seat. We were all settled when....they announced they had a problem with the air conditioning unit. Yep, we sat there for 2 hours. Poor Rian, they wouldn't even let her walk around while we waited on board. So our 5.5 hour flight turned into a 7.5 flight. And Rian only napped for 30 minutes while we were still on the tarmac. Lucky us! Well, I should say lucky me since Matt took care of her most of the flight!
We arrived in Honolulu at 140pm local time (1040am SD time) just in time to run to the other gate to make our connecting flight. Rian had absolutely no time to run around-she was back on another plane strapped into her car seat. This was another 7.5 hour flight. I am so amazed how good Rian was. She definitely had her moments :) but considering the fact she was strapped into her car seat for practically 15 hours straight, she was pretty amazing. We had dinner on the flight and then Rian went to sleep around 730pm SD time, which is pretty close to her normal bedtime. She woke up at midnight SD time on her own. And I entertained her for the rest of the flight, so we could start the time adjustment process.
We arrived in Guam at 545pm on Saturday the 12th (1245am SD time). Which is totally crazy because first off we totally missed all of Saturday. And by the time we got our luggage, were cleared through customs, and checked into our home here, we had been up for practically 24 hours. Crazy, especially with a 2 year old!
Matt's Command (the people he'll be working with) greeted us at the airport. I was a little overwhelmed with all the people there. I thought there was going to be one or two people, but instead there were like 15 of them. And they even had a little welcome basket for us, which was really sweet! So we met many people, most whom we don't even remember their name :)
They are putting us up in a temporary home until we find housing here. It is pretty similar to our place in Logan. Two stories, two bedrooms, 1.5 bath, laundry room, garage, cable in every room, internet (the best part!) and housekeeping. It is pretty nice, so I'm pretty happy. We played with Rian and made her stay up until 830pm local time (330am San Diego time) to try to get her used to the time difference. Matt and I woke up about 445am local time Sunday morning (1145am Saturday morning in SD) and Rian slept until about 630am local time. I think she is just about adjusted.....yep in one day.....amazing, huh!!??
The sun was set by the time we got through customs last night, so we didn't see much of the island yesterday. Today we went to two of the beaches here on base. They are amazing. We'll definitely be taking tons and tons of pictures. We are going to watch the sunset right now!!
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to document our trip out here! Now off to see the beautiful sunset!
Our travel day started at 320am San Diego time (345am for Rian) on Friday morning the 10th. We took the first plane out of the San Diego airport to LAX at 630am after a very tearful goodbye, of course :( We had about a 2 hour layover where we meant a really nice couple from Guam...I like to call them our new 'local' friends...that's right, they gave me their phone number and bought us a breakfast sandwich...so that makes them our new friends, right??
We loaded onto the plane and got Rian all strapped in her car seat. We were all settled when....they announced they had a problem with the air conditioning unit. Yep, we sat there for 2 hours. Poor Rian, they wouldn't even let her walk around while we waited on board. So our 5.5 hour flight turned into a 7.5 flight. And Rian only napped for 30 minutes while we were still on the tarmac. Lucky us! Well, I should say lucky me since Matt took care of her most of the flight!
We arrived in Honolulu at 140pm local time (1040am SD time) just in time to run to the other gate to make our connecting flight. Rian had absolutely no time to run around-she was back on another plane strapped into her car seat. This was another 7.5 hour flight. I am so amazed how good Rian was. She definitely had her moments :) but considering the fact she was strapped into her car seat for practically 15 hours straight, she was pretty amazing. We had dinner on the flight and then Rian went to sleep around 730pm SD time, which is pretty close to her normal bedtime. She woke up at midnight SD time on her own. And I entertained her for the rest of the flight, so we could start the time adjustment process.
We arrived in Guam at 545pm on Saturday the 12th (1245am SD time). Which is totally crazy because first off we totally missed all of Saturday. And by the time we got our luggage, were cleared through customs, and checked into our home here, we had been up for practically 24 hours. Crazy, especially with a 2 year old!
Matt's Command (the people he'll be working with) greeted us at the airport. I was a little overwhelmed with all the people there. I thought there was going to be one or two people, but instead there were like 15 of them. And they even had a little welcome basket for us, which was really sweet! So we met many people, most whom we don't even remember their name :)
They are putting us up in a temporary home until we find housing here. It is pretty similar to our place in Logan. Two stories, two bedrooms, 1.5 bath, laundry room, garage, cable in every room, internet (the best part!) and housekeeping. It is pretty nice, so I'm pretty happy. We played with Rian and made her stay up until 830pm local time (330am San Diego time) to try to get her used to the time difference. Matt and I woke up about 445am local time Sunday morning (1145am Saturday morning in SD) and Rian slept until about 630am local time. I think she is just about adjusted.....yep in one day.....amazing, huh!!??
The sun was set by the time we got through customs last night, so we didn't see much of the island yesterday. Today we went to two of the beaches here on base. They are amazing. We'll definitely be taking tons and tons of pictures. We are going to watch the sunset right now!!
Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to document our trip out here! Now off to see the beautiful sunset!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Double-Date Night
we went out to dinner at benihana's with my bff, nikki and her hubby, anthoni. we had such a great time. the food was awesome, of course, and i loved spending some time with nik before we move. thanks to my parents for taking rian for the night. i can't believe we fly out friday morning. wow, it's coming soooo fast.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Skype
Who knows about SKYPE??? It is the coolest thing ever and IF YOU WANT TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US......YOU BETTER DOWNLOAD IT NOW! We will be freezing our cell phone account while we are in Guam. And with skype, we can talk for FREE! It's like gmail chat and blogger all in one; but even better! I know we have lots of friends and family that read this blog and don't comment who would like to be able to talk to via phone...you know who you are-and this post is for you :)
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