School Pictures 10-11

Command Christmas Party

Yes Brianna there is a Santa Claus

Brianna: A girl in my class told me there was no Santa Claus.
Me: Oh really what did you say?
Brianna: I was going to tell her she better be nice or Santa wouldn't bring her anything but I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

A couple pictures

Miss Brianna

Halloween, we were Dr. Suess One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

Grace hoping they call her number at bingo.

Josh and I at the Navy Ball, Nov. 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd posted anything on here! I guess with facebook, and life, I've gotten a bit behind.

Today I posted a funny conversation Josh had with Grace on my facebook and I realized it was just the kind of thing I used to post here but it seems I've gotten away from. So since not everyone in our family is on facebook I'll work at going back to sharing the funny things the kids say and do and our major updates on here.

Anyways here is a copy of their conversation:

Grace: The machine gave me a TON of pieces of gum. I had more until Daddy stole two of them.
Josh: Who gave you the money to buy the gum?
Grace: I used my change from Subway.
Josh: Who gave you the money to go to Subway?
Grace: Ok now you're just being ridiculous.
Me: (Laughing)
Brianna: You HAVE to post that on facebook!

These girls are so funny and growing up so fast it amazes me. We are hoping to move back to the states next summer and can't wait to see everyone!

Watch to the end, it's worth it.

1,000-pound WWII bomb found at Naval Base Guam

NEWS UPDATE 11:00 a.m. - WWII bomb found at Naval Base Guam
June 16, 2010

11:00 a.m. — Construction workers at Naval Base Guam found a World War II-vintage 1,000-pound bomb buried beneath a construction site on Monday.


According to a release from the Navy, bomb disposal technicians from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment Marianas responded to the find.


Lt. Brent Wadsworth, officer-in-charge of Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment Marianas, after thorough examination, said the bomb’s fuse must be removed before it can be safely transported for proper disposal at the Naval Base Guam Ordnance Annex.


“This ordnance fell from thousands of feet, has been in place for 66 years almost to the day and was discovered when it was hit by a backhoe Monday and it did not detonate,” Wadsworth said.


While the bomb is being defused, a portion of Naval Base Guam will be temporarily closed from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday.


He added that even during their operations to defuse the bomb there will be little risk of it detonating.


“However, we always take maximum precautions for ourselves and those around us,” he added.


Officials said because of the bomb’s location near housing and offices, people who live and work within 3,000 feet of it must temporarily relocate. Those people 3,000 to 5,000 feet from the site must remain inside a building for the duration of the operation if they chose to not relocate.


There is no danger to people outside if they are beyond 5,000 feet from the site, the release noted.

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So I wonder what we are going to be spending the day doing off base on Sat? haha

Thanks for the memories...

At the end of the day it's your family that matters. In that I include those extended members and longtime close friends that have always been there for you and who you have also always been there for as well. As we grow older we find that relationships when we were young aren't always the same as we age but while that can be painful it also makes us appreciate and enjoy the ones that stand the test of time and in my case, distance.

It was so great on this last trip to California to be able to spend time with friends and family that mean so much to me and my family. Some of them I didn't get to actually visit with, or not as much as we wanted, or maybe we didn't get any pictures but we still were able to touch base again and that is nice as well. Here are just a few pictures of my time in California.

Leaving on a jet plane...

California here I come! :)

Congrats on Josh's new warfare pin!

The girls got to pin it on him!

Today

I'm sick. I know it's a shocker. I have some kind of throat infection that isn't strep but I have white patches on my throat and my tonsils are swollen. (So I used my google medical degree and decided I have viral tonsillitis based on what she told me. My appointment is a little vague since I had a migraine at the time to the point that after I threw up they had me wait in a dark room for the strep test results.) However since I have a fever I'm contagious. Great I know. Anyways Josh picked up the girls after he got off work and took them to get dinner because I didn't cook anything. Thankfully I'm feeling much better now.

So I'm sitting here while Josh is putting the kids to bed just listening to the conversation going on around me. This is what has taken place just in the last 30min.

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Grace was angry because "no one ever calls her Amanda" and stomped off to her room. I have no idea where this came from. She wasn't talking about wanting to be called Amanda, she did go through a Cortni (that is also the correct spelling if you weren't aware) stage last fall but nothing since then. Totally random and out of nowhere!

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Josh: Put your pjs on.

Brianna: mumbling something I couldn't understand.

Josh: I don't care. You're dancing in here naked with just your shoes on. Put your pjs on!

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Grace had just gone to bed and comes out of her room to ask us a question and after talking for a minute starts walking backwards down the hall towards her room. Josh was just looking at her (I couldn't see her) but I heard her say "don't worry I'm an expert at walking backwards" this was quickly followed by a loud crash as she fell over the little chair that sits outside Brianna's bedroom door. The timing could not have been funnier.

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So that was about 30min of our life. I really think all these reality TV families have nothing on us! :)

Surgery

Well I've seen the general surgeon at the Naval Hospital here and he referred me to a plastic surgeon so I contacted a couple in California and went and saw the one, seriously the ONE, here in Guam. I've also talked to the two family doctors I've seen over the last year while dealing with all the complications. It looks like I will have to have the entire surgery redone in order to try to have the best chance of fixing the problems and even then it doesn't guarantee that I won't still have the chronic pain. Great, huh? I decided that having the surgery done in California is not going to be a viable option because I won't be able to stay long enough for that kind of recovery since I'd be going without the girls. The plastic surgeon here was nice and I think he would probably do a great job and he has his own OR but if something happened and I ended up needing to be admitted I would be back at the Naval Hospital where I had so many problems last year and when it comes down to it I am just not comfortable with that. So after talking with Josh and at the advice of some of my doctors I am thinking I will just have to deal with it until we move back to the states next summer (2011) and then I can have my choice of doctors and hospitals and get it fixed then.

It's already been a year so hey what's what more in the big picture, right?

Rainbow Cake

How cute is this cake?

I made it for my friends daughters first birthday! I thought it turned out so cute and will make it again! The girls liked it a lot. Grace ate the yellow part because she thought it tasted the best. LOL

Prune cake... really?

So I was talking to someone the other day about baking and she mentioned how when she was calling bakeries for her daughters wedding one place was pretty insistent on their prune cake. When she expressed that she didn't think it would be the bride's first choice the person on the other end of the phone seemed shocked that she was doubting her recommendation of prune cake as a choice for a wedding.

We both thought it was funny and couldn't imagine serving prune cake at a wedding unless you wanted your guests to leave shortly there after.

Anyways this morning I was watching The View, I love it with Whoopi, and what did they have on there but PRUNE CAKE! ETA: It was the Poineer Woman who was on the View and she had her prune cake.

Am I missing something? Has anyone ever actually eaten it before, on purpose?

Pictures

Brianna soccer photo spring 2010

Grace soccer photo spring 2010

Seabee Ball 2010

Happy 8th Birthday Grace!

To my dear daughter, happy birthday.

You challenge me and entertain me.

You show me things about the world that I would have missed without you there to be excited about them.

You are fearless and face the world head on and I know that will take you far in life.

Most of all you brought a joy to my life that I didn't know was possible and I am forever thankful God picked me to be your Mom.

Brianna

She is really starting to grow up and loose the baby face look....

What's that I hear?

Wait? What's the I hear?

Oh yes Target calling my name... :)

Ocean Camp

Here are a couple picture from Ocean camp at the aquarium that the girls went too over Christmas Break. They got it for Christmas from GGpa and it was a HUGE hit. They went for a week and then on Sat night they could sleep over in the tunnel and see everything above them. They had a great time and still talk about it!

Any testers?

Well I haven't baked anything in a while and I've got some recipes I'm itching to try. Anyone want to volunteer to come out and be a tester?

Anyone with a great recipe I should make sure to try?

School pictures 2009/2010

Grace 2nd, Brianna Kindergarten

Note to self

Given the fact that I vacuum almost everyday it would have been a good idea to have Josh show me how to empty the canister.

Also since I was supposed to start his scooter I should have had him show me how. It took me quite a while to start it. Then I couldn't get it to turn off. I'm not sure I did either one so next time will just be luck also.

I need to vacuum Brianna's room so I might mess with it for a little first to see if I can take off the canister. Hmm I bet I can find a you tube video.

Edited to add that I was able to empty the vacuum canister and it was VERY easy. :)

The finished product

Dentists, leprechauns and Chief boards

I went to the dentist Friday because I broke a tooth while eating ice. I'm serious. I'm pretty sure this stuff only happens to me. I was really anemic and started eating ice right around the time we moved here, it got pretty bad at some point which resulted in fun debates with my doctor about iron transfusions and why I was refusing them. In the end I ended up taking iron twice a day and having surgery last summer to help boost my iron levels. It's much better now but the result is the ice eating is still a habit.

So to end a long story the dentist told me I need a root canal! I couldn't believe it! I've never had one before and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm not in any pain which is good because the dentist was leaving and won't be back until the 30th so they fit me in that day for the first of three appointments to get it done. I'm not a fan of the dentist so this just give me two weeks to let the anxiety build up before my appointment.

We had a good weekend around here. Saturday was taken up with soccer games then cruising around collecting items to make Grace's leprechaun trap for school. She made it today (Sunday) and it ended up taking her FIVE hours! She had three different models before she decided on the final one that she was happy with. She cracks me up. I'll find my camera and take a picture. It really doesn't look like it took that long but she spends a lot of time researching and designing. I guess it's a full process for her.

Brianna played all day and left Grace alone (with just a couple reminders) and was so good.

We also found out that Josh made board. For him to get promoted to the next level he has a chance once per year. First everyone who is eligible takes an exam, then they select some of them to go to a board (they don't really go just their service record gets reviewed) and the board picks the few people that will be promoted for that year. Anyways Josh was one of the people who made it to the board so he was happy about that. We won't know who advances until fall so it's quite a ways away. Then the next time they test is Jan or Feb of 2011 and the cycle starts again until he advances or retires.

Say a prayer and wish him luck!

The light at the end of the tunnel

So I had a CT scan today and met with the general surgeon and everything looks on track to have one last final surgery. I'm going to be going to the states to have it done because they can't do it here but God willing this will be it. The only challenge is finding a doctor, I've spoken with one who sounds promising and I will hopefully know for sure in the next week. I'll keep you all posted. If all goes well the surgery should be in early May in Ventura.

I signed the girls up today for after school care. According to Grace's doctor she needs to start going now to get used to it before I leave so it will already be part of her routine.

I'm still waiting to get Grace's IQ testing done. They have 45 school days to get it done but I really hope it doesn't take them that long. I know they have already done some of the other things that needed to be done so I'm hopeful they won't drag their feet on that. We will see. Grace is still doing great in her regular class and loves her gifted class. The gifted teacher is going to put Grace in the 3rd grade gifted class in addition to the 2nd grade one she is in now when the next session starts in a couple weeks. It is more science related and we all think that Grace will love it, she is very excited.

Brianna is also doing great in school. She loves learning and socializing (shocker, I know) with friends. She is also a bright girl and catches on quick and has a great time. I am so thankful that she loves school. I know that she is only in Kindergarten but it's so important to have a good foundation so I'm happy with her teachers and how it's going for her this year.

Both girls are in girl scouts and soccer. They love both and are having fun. It keeps us pretty busy during the week and we spend a few hours on Saturdays at the soccer field for their games. Josh played soccer all growing up and he loves being able to share that with them.

Josh is doing good also. He's gone right now which is hard for Grace since she is such a Daddy's girl but she loves having "girls night" so we just play up that angle. We haven't done anything special but just saying that it's girls night makes her happy so hey whatever.

So I will try to get back to posting on a regular basis again, I was just in a blog funk but I'll try to shake it off and subject you all to my ramblings. :)

checking in

We're still here!

I'm sick with the stomach flu and banished to my room so I wanted to update real quick.

The girls are good. Both are doing well in school and girl scouts and will be starting soccer in a couple weeks.

Brianna has been acting up here and there. More mouthing off then anything and mostly to me. I washed her mouth out with soap the other day so we will see if that helps.

Grace is also doing well. I am SUPER strict with her when it comes to her out burst and with the ok from her doctor have seen some positive results. We are still working on getting her IQ testing done but I expect that should happen in the next two weeks. She has started in the gifted classes and loves them. They are all outside of the box things which are right up her alley. Plus her behavior has been good in class, just some talking issues but I know my Mom heard that for years when I was growing up. They did test her for reading and her teacher said she tested several grades higher so I'm not sure what they are going to do with that. I'm really waiting until all the testing is done then we will sit down and do and IEP (Individual Education Plan) for her and come up with how they are going to challenge her. She clearly doesn't fit into the little box and I don't think skipping grades is a good idea because of the emotion immaturity so we will see what we can come up with. The ideas talked about months about haven't been implemented and the IEP will hold them accountable so only good things can come from that.