so much for child safety lids

since we are visiting my parent's for a few weeks, we are basically living out of our suitcases. so of course, her gummy vites are in her suitcase...like everything else. after giving rian a bath last night, i got her all ready for bed and walked out of her room so i could hang her towel up in the bathroom.

i never thought twice about it because there is a child safety lid on her vitamins. but when i walked back into her room (after being gone for like 30 seconds), she already had the cap off and was eating one. i put the cap back on and gave it back to her. i wanted to see if she really opened it, or if i accidentally didn't close it all the way the night before.

so much for child safety lids, huh! i'll be putting these vitamins up high from now on. i am seriously amazed at how quickly my little girl is growing up!!!

Our 1st Space A Experience

Warning: This is a long post!

We found out on Sunday, Jan 3rd, that there was a flight from Guam to Hawaii to San Diego! I was so excited, but I knew I needed to contain myself until I actually boarded the aircraft, since we all know we could be turned away and what an disappointment that would be.

When we checked in we found out that we would be flying on a C-17 Globemaster III, which is a gigantic cargo plane....see pics below! I don't even know if these pics do the plane justice. I mean it was so big, it was carrying two military helicopters. Yes, I am dead, serious. We flew home on an airplane with two helicopters strapped down next to us. It was just crazy!

Do you see how tiny the stairs and door look in the first picture? And that is like 13 or so stairs we had to climb up. This aircraft was gigantic. In the next picture, I wanted to show how big the back door is so the cargo can be loaded. The third picture shows how tall this aircraft is. Those are people standing inside of it...do you see them? And last is a picture of the plane taking off. It was just so big, it was incredible!

Since this is a cargo plane, the seats are lined up along the sides of the aircraft. I opted not to bring Rian's carseat onboard because I knew majority of the time she would be allowed to run around. She looked so tiny in the seats. I bought a boxed lunch on both legs for only $4.25 each and they included a sandwich and bunch of goodies and drinks. Not to mention they had free all-you-can-eat/drink soda, bottled water, and cookies once we boarded the plane. So here is a picture of Rian digging through the box of goodies!

Since our seats were lined up against the walls of the aircraft, one would think that your view would be the other passengers on the opposite side of the plane, right? Um, no! Instead this was our view: a gigantic medical helicopter! If you click on the picture, you can see some stairs to the right of the front of the helicopter. Those stairs lead up to the cockpit. That's how tall this plane is!

The first picture is another view from our seats, but this time towards the back of the plane. This contraption was holding the propellers in place while we were flying, so they didn't bounce around. Can you see the second helicopter too? The second picture was taken while I was standing next to the second helicopter in the back of the aircraft facing the first helicopter.

Here is a picture of the back of the aircraft. I was trying to show how tall it is.

Our flight left at 5 pm island time, so it was nice that we were flying mostly throughout the night. But of course, I still had to entertain my little girl for many, many hours. They only had the fasten seat belt sign on for takeoff and landings, so we were allowed to walk around the plane. In fact they handed out blankets (because it was absolutely freezing) and pillows for everyone too.

A generous passenger offered his foam mat to us so Rian could use it while laying on the floor of the aircraft. I love these pictures because it shows how close we are to these helicopters. Rian also made a friend on the flight, who nicely shared her Nintendo DS with Rian. Even though Rian had no clue how to play it, I liked this picture because here she is on our layover in Hawaii chillin in her chair, legs crossed, looking like she knows exactly what she is doing!

Overall, we were traveling probably 18-20 hours. We only had a few hour layover in Hawaii, but we got to see the sunrise there, so that was cool. I am very grateful that this trip back to California worked out so nicely. Instead of spending $3000 and flying on a commerical plane, we spend $8.50 and had the most incredible experience on a military aircraft. Seriously, I will remember this forever!!!

Sea World with Nik and Sofie

We went to Sea World with one of my bestfriends', Nik, and the little girl she watches, Sofie. We had such an awesome time. I was really cold, but that didn't stop us from having a blast!

Click on collage to enlarge

The killer whales were so active and the little girls loved watching them through the glass. We also spent quite a bit of time at the Sesame Street Bay of Play. Auntie Nikki and Rian had fun on the rides there and Rian was tall enough to finally go down the slide there too! Yay Rian!! We had such a great time! I love spending time with Nik and Rian loved being around other kids :)

Christmas

I know this is a little late, but I wanted to post about Christmas this year. Rian was so much fun :) She now loves Santa since he brought her all those toys and even thanks Heavenly Father for him every night when we say our bedtime prayers.....how cute is that!! Although she should be thanking Grandma Lois for the presents instead :)

We started a little family tradition this year. I decided that we would let Rian open two presents from us on Christmas Eve; a pair of jammies and a Christmas book. She absolutely loved the book because it was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Christmas book and she loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so it was perfect! But her reaction the the jammies were the best. They were actually hand-me-downs from my sister and Rian has worn them several times before I decided to wrap them for this new tradition. But she was still so happy to receive them as a gift, so funny!

We baked some cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. But we didn't have any carrots so we left out green peppers for his reindeer instead. As you can see, the goodies were gone in the morning! We video taped the gift opening Christmas morning, so we don't have any pics of that. But she loves all her gifts , and we had a wonderful day, just the three of us.

It's a Miracle

Rian and I got onto that flight I wrote about in the last post!!! I am so grateful for the power of prayer and I wanted to thank those who remembered us in your prayers :)

I was allowed to take some pictures of the HUGE aircraft we flew on. It was such a crazy experience. But a really good one too! I will upload some of the pics I took when I have more time. We are now off to my in-laws :)

Could This Really Work Out So Perfectly?!

All I can say is I sure hope so!!! There is a possibility that Rian and I can get on a flight leaving Guam on Monday and landing in Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Then only after a 3 hour layover, catching another flight straight to San Diego. This would be an absolute miracle if we can get on it. And I am so praying we do.

It would relieve so many stress: Not having to worry about staying overnight in Hawaii, not having to get a shuttle from Travis Air Force Base, Northern California to the Oakland Airport, and not having to add a third leg to our already loooong and exhausting trip.

If you feel the need to remember us in our prayers or even to just cross your fingers for us, I would be forever grateful! We'll keep you updated!!!

An Experience??? To Say The Least...

This post is really long, but if I want to come back and visit family in the states, this is what I have to do....

Pay $3000 to fly both Rian and myself home or take military flight (space a) for practically no money at all.
At first the answer would be easy, right? Fly for free, but there is much more to it then just a plane ride home.
For starters, here is a picture of some of the planes we might be on. Not quite your commercial airliner huh?

We knew when we first moved out here that Matt was going to have more training in California and the Navy would only pay for him to fly back stateside. We figured no biggy, we would all fly back space a. Well, it turns out that Matt is not allowed to fly space a this time because he is coming back for training. If it was for a vacation, he could, but this time, he can't. So Rian and I are doing this alone.



We have absolutely no clue when we might be able to catch a flight back to the states. I'll only have 24 hours or less notice that a flight to California is available. So our bags are already packed. I have to call the terminal several times a day to see what flights are available, if any. Once we learn there is a flight, that does NOT mean that we will be on it. We have to be at the terminal for 'roll call' which is usually before 6 am and bring ALL our luggage, carry ons, carseat, and stroller.

Then we sit and wait to see if Rian and I make the flight. They only have a number of seats available and we are in category 5 out of 6, which basically means the bottom of the list. If we were flying with Matt, we would be category 3, but so much for that.

So if we do not make the flight, we load all our luggage back into the car, strap the carseat in and try again, and again, and again. Sometimes it can take weeks. Hopefully for us, it won't take long. Once we are told we made the flight, we go through security and are bused to these loving planes pictured above. I have no idea what type of military aircraft we will be on, but they all look like this. I have some descriptions of the planes we may be on and...well let's just say all I can do at this point is laugh and say "are you serious?"!

This is what I have learned about them so far: I do know it will be cold, some planes have the seats facing the rear, some aircrafts have a reputation for always breaking down, all are very noisy (they actually issue ear plugs to all passengers), some have basically a porta potty behind a screen, some have sidewall seats kind of similar to a hammock. They mostly all will be carrying cargo as well. But I have also learned that most of the time, they let you lay out a blanket on the floor to sleep or play on. They also let the kids run around a bit, so they don't have to be strapped in for 8 straight hours.

Our first layover will be in Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. We will most likely be there overnight, but they can't really tell me that information yet. So I will have to try to get lodging at the base hotel last minute because I can't make any reservations since I have no idea what day we'll be there. I cross my fingers we will have a room to stay in because staying overnight in the terminal with all my bags and a 2 year old does not sound like fun. But I guess it is do-able if it comes down to it.

Then we leave again, very early in the morning, to Travis Air Force Base, California. After another 8 hour flight, we will have to catch a shuttle to Oakland Airport about 1.5 hours away. Then we will have to purchase our tickets, go through security, and wait to catch another 1.5 hour flight to San Diego.

All this by myself, with a 2 year old. We could seriously be traveling for 48 hours! My carry on is so packed full of food, number one and lots of it, and toys, books, markers, anything to keep Rian entertained for so long.

Sometimes they do have flights that go directly from Guam to San Diego or Riverside (about an hour north of San Diego). They are few and far between, but we are praying for one of those. How awesome would that be to eliminate the entire Oakland Airport leg! Your prayers are welcomed too :)

I am grateful that this flight is basically free, but I do feel like I deserve some kudos for doing this. We'll see how it goes this time, I'm sure I'll be blogging about it. The Navy has already given us so many 'experiences' that we would have never had if Matt had not joined. And we've only been in it for such a short time. When I think about this trip ahead, some days I am more optimistic than others, but in the end I have to keep telling myself that like anything else in life....it is what you make of it.

Are you exhausted yet, because I totally am and I haven't even travelled yet!

Tagged

8 things tag

8 tv shows i like to watch:
1. Biggest Loser
2. The Office
3. Amazing Race
4. Project Runway
5. The Unit
6. Anything HGTV
7. The Big Bang Theory
8. So You Think You Can Dance...when is that starting again?!?!

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. packed
2. met with the branch president
3. spent the afternoon with matt-he got off work early :)
4. talked to my aunt
5. made dinner
6. downloaded some songs to i tunes
7. packed some more
8. had some cookies and milk with matt

8 places i like to eat:

1. luna grill
2. cafe rio
3. claim jumper
4. pei wei
5. in-n-out
6. submarina
7. firehouse pizzeria
8. golden spoon

8 things i am looking forward to:
1. christmas morning
2. 24 hour fitness
3. stepping off the plane in san diego, ca
4. spending time with friends and family
5. a short trip to ut in april
6. going to disneyland
7. meeting my newest nephew jojo
8. my parents coming to visit us on guam


8 things on my wish list:
1. a nice pair of jeans
2. some accessories
3. a new purse
4. shoes
5. a flight straight from guam to sd AND rian behaving great on it...is that really too much to ask?
6. traveling all over from guam
7. for anyone to come visit us while we are stationed here....we are on a tropical island you know :)
8. more kids

8 people i tag:
kacie, andrea & eric, andi, missy, heather b., lyndsay, nancee (since i know you read mine all the time and never update yours!!)

Branch Christmas Party...Island Style

Our Church Branch held a Christmas Party unlike any Church Christmas Party we've been to. I was pretty much in shock when the curtains were parted and the Elders Quorum sat on stage with ukuleles, several different types of drums, and a conga! It was awesome! And something we would never have seen stateside

Pictures from top to bottom, left to right: The Elders Quorum performing.

Ukulele's and Hula Dancers....Rian dancing along in video below :)
The Missionaries sang also. Can you believe how many we have in our Branch?And lastly, the ukulele performers.

Sorry this video is from behind and sideways, but I uploaded it anyways because it is so dang cute. Rian tried to copy all the moves of the Hula Dancers. She did a pretty good job considering she is 2! Everyone around her was getting a kick out of her dancing!

Okay...it was the cutest video ever, but I can't upload it.

CAN ANYONE HELP ME??

The only way I can upload pics or videos now on my blog is by using picasa. Any time I try to upload directly from blogger I get kicked off the Internet completely. What the heck is going on??? Anyone have any ideas? Please help me!

I am trying to upload the video at the moment to youtube so I will post the link when it is done uploading. Nevermind, I can't even upload to youtube. What is going on? It kicks me off whenever I try to browse through My Pictures. The same thing with blogger. Any help is appreciated!!!

Jingle Bells

Matt taught Rian how to sing Jingle Bells. She only learned the night before I video taped this. Even though she is missing a few words, we thought it was pretty cute!