I don't like Santa....

Those are Rian's words.....not mine :)

She decided she did not like Santa when we took her to the store last Saturday and made her sit on his lap. She didn't mind him from afar, but once she got closer and realized that she had to sit on his lap....well, she lost it.

Poor little girl.

Rian has since decided that she really does like Santa and she wants him to bring her a stroller for her baby. BUT she does not want to sit on his lap ever again! Little does she know....she only has 12 months til we try it again!

Setting the Table

Rian is such a good helper. Whenever it is time to eat, she goes straight to the utensil drawer and grabs utensils for all three of us. Then she gets the napkins. And then she grabs the drinks.

So these past few nights, I have recruited her to set the dinner table for us. She actually does quite a good job!

How long do you think until she can start doing the dishes?!?!

Rian's 1st Portrait

Click on the picture to make it easier to view.

In nursery today, Rian learned that Jesus has a mommy too, the Virgin Mary.

After coloring a picture of Jesus and His Mommy, the leaders asked the children to draw a picture of their mommy on the back.

This is what Rian drew! It is so cute, but funny too. She was excited to show us her portrait when we picked her up. When I was scanning this onto the computer, she says, "Look, there's mommy!".

She honestly looks at this picture and knows exactly what she drew. Her mommy :) How dang cute is that, seriously!!

Getting Anxious!

Rian is definitely ready to go to Disneyland when we come to the States for a visit! She wants to wear her Minnie Ears everyday!

She loves Mickey Mouse and Friends. It will be such a fun trip! She is at such a great age!!

We are getting so excited to be around friends and family too! Not to mention.....a target, old navy, a mall, an albertsons, etc....I could go on forever :)

Chamorro Village

Every Wednesday Chamorro Village is the happening place to go. We decided to try it out this week. We tried some local food. Corn, macaroni salad, red rice, pancit (a traditional filipino dish almost like lo mein), lumpia, chicken kelaguen (a local favorite) and chicken and pork on a stick. Our favorite was the chicken on a stick, but Rian loved the red rice too.

After dinner, we explored the village and did some shopping.

Rian also had her first carabao ride! She loved it and is still talking about it today. This carabao's name is Do'ak, which means one eyed. He lost an eye while in a fight with another carabao. Nice story to tell me while my child is riding it!! :) But he was very friendly. None of us were scared!

We also saw a gigantic ayuyu (coconut crab). Apparently his pinchers can rip off your finger, so we didn't get too close. But he had a hint of blue to his shell and was pretty cool looking! Don't forget you can click on the collages to make them bigger!

'Tis the Season

Matt and I returned to the Hilton Resort this time with Rian to enjoy some of the Christmas decorations.

She absolutely LOVED the trains! I imagined my Dad and her sitting there for hours just enjoying it together. Maybe one day he'll be visiting during Christmas and they will be able to do that!

Sorry about the face Rian is making in these pictures. Lately she does not want to smile for the camera. I swear she really had a good time, eventhough her face tells another story :)

clouds

the clouds here on guam are one of the most amazing sights i have ever seen. i've never seen clouds so up close before. and i feel like we are so close to them we could just jump on them. i know it sounds silly, but it's true! they are so big and fluffy, and closer than any clouds i have ever seen. this picture shows the beauty of the clouds, but hopefully i can get a better one, so you can understand what i mean when i say they are so dang close!

beach day

We tried out a new beach on Saturday. Even though the water was a little rough, Matt and Rian still had a great time building sandcastles and searching for shells, while I relaxed and read Twilight :) Matt and Rian found some amazing shells. We started a collection and I'll post pics when we get some more.

We thought Rian looked so cute in her little baseball hat, so I went a little picture happy. I think I may have found our spot next year's xmas cards. This place was beautiful!

twilght

so i jumped on the bandwagon and borrowed twilight from the library. yes, that is correct, i have not read the book yet. honestly, i am not into vampires at all :)
but as my good friend kacie put it, "do you like love? well then you need to read these romantically satisfying books!". what girl doesn't enjoy a good love story? so i will attempt it. i'll let you know how it's going :)

5 years

we celebrated our five year anniversary on saturday! i can't believe how fast that went by!
matt planned an awesome date for us and we had such an amazing time.

we went to gab gab beach to try snorkeling for the first time here on guam. we did try it once before with eric and andrea on catalina island, but that couldn't even compare to the snorkeling here. it was absolutely beautiful and i wish the pictures could truly show the beauty we saw. they don't, but at least we have some pictures anyways.

the water was so warm which really made the experience 100 times better than the first time. and we saw a barracuda which was crazy looking. i seriously thought it was a little shark at first. all i could focus on were those sharp little teeth. but once i got over the first initial scare, i realized what it really was. we can't wait to snorkel again!

after snorkeling, we enjoyed a nice afternoon snack on the beach. we brought some martinelli's and cheese and enjoyed some quality time together.

then we showered and tried to get dressed in the front seat of the jeep. it was quite hilarious. we covered the windows with towels and such, so we had privacy, but there was not much space to begin with! and have you ever tried to do your make-up with the sunsetting and only the little dome lights in the car...not easy, but i did it none-the-less!

then we headed to roy's steakhouse for dinner in the hilton resort. it was all decorated for christmas. it was so pretty and festive.



roy's was so delicious. i thoroughly enjoyed my fish (`ôpakapaka aka pink snapper flown in from hawaii). so much so that i am still thinking about it days later! matt had seared ahi, which he enjoyed also, but my dish was better so i shared!

then dessert came. yum! they made this cute little happy anniversary plate for us. i loved it and it made the day that much more special. but, of course, we had to end the night with some chocolate lava cake. delectable!



we had such a nice and relaxing time together. i felt awesome to not have a worry in the world and know that rian was being well taken of. thanks for planning this anniversary, babe! i had an amazing time! and i love you so much!