This week so far

This past week has been eventful when it comes to the camera. We went to the beach Tuesday morning. Its probably been over a month since we last went so it was great to go. Just Ritidian again. Then it was Thanksgiving on Thursday. We went to the branch turkey bowl. Luckily no one got hurt which apparently is a first for this branch. Alexander played with Teddy and I think the dogs name is grace. Its the branch presidents dog. Alexander loves Teddy. He just follows him around and Teddy actually plays with him and talks to him so I think Alexander really appreciates it.Our branch actually does a thanksgiving lunch. It was weird to me because it was actually on thanksgiving day so you either had a family thanksgiving or went to this. We obviously went because I have never cooked a turkey and I don't want to cook one for just Daniel and I. We were supposed to bring thanksgiving side dishes. We just brought a big bowl of stuffing. There wasn't much there that I would consider traditional thanksgiving food. Oh well I guess thats just Guam . Oh and Alexander likes playing with Eva now. Especially when she is in her stand up toy. He bounces it and laughs so they both just laugh and laugh. Then she gets overwhelmed and starts crying because he gets too rough. But she just stares at him all day. She loves her brother.

Daniel's Birthday the big 28

These are obviously Eva, you can do this with the panoramic option on the camera. This is when Bubba was getting his hair cut.

It was Daniel's 28Th Birthday yesterday (it is Andrew's today). Its the first time they have had "separate" birthday's. Ralph and Kathryn gave Daniel and I a NEW CAMERA. We are so excited because being in Guam without a camera has been challenging. It is a cool camera it takes panoramic pictures.
View of the living room area from the Kitchen area (open floor plan)

I think its just amazing. Well we had cake and ice cream for Daniel. His favorite yellow cake with chocolate frosting and his famous cheesecake. I will never make or help with a cheese cake again they take forever!. It was good though. I am going to post a few pictures we took with the new camera.

Daniel, Eva and Alexander after cake

Alexander also got a hair cut today. Kathryn cut it and it looks so much better. I think we will go snorkeling later today but we will see. Hopefully at Ipao beach. We will be able to test out the new camera.

First it was ticklish and fun

Then it was 'painful'

Then is was fun because he got to hold it while it was on.

Eva was just relaxing as Bubba got his hair cut

On Saturday we had a lot of fun. We went to Ritidian Point beach. That is our favorite beach just because it is so clean and peaceful. We went with the Jimenez family.



They grilled very yummy ribs and chicken and all the kids just played together.



Daniel, Ralph and Kathryn went out snorkeling and they saw angel fish. I think they really enjoy the snorkeling. Daniel loves it because he has someone to snorkel with. We never go out together because I only last a few minutes and I usually play with the kids. So he is really enjoying it. Oh and they other day when Ralph and Kathryn were snorkeling at the Hyatt beach they saw a blue starfish. Still on my list of what I want to see but I am sure I will see one.



Daniel and Ralph were then able to go to the Priesthood session together. It was a great day. Sunday was great too. We forgot to go on a Sunday drive but we were baking cakes all evening so it didn't work out.

Ritidian beach last saturday

We were just having a relaxing day at the beach. Daniel and Lete tried to see some fish while snorkeling. I think they succeeded this time. This is a very relaxing beach with many hermit and spider crabs. It is a really fun beach to lounge on, just ask Lete. Oh and the one picture of Alexander is him in my Dolce sun glasses. Eva is obviously in a bunch of the pictures she slept the whole time which is what she still does all day.
Miriam

First Blog on Guam

Well we finally have internet, cable TV, and home phone service. The only problem is we don't have a TV or a phone, so 2 of the 3 services we are paying for we can not use just yet. The good news is we can now blog because I know so many of you were waiting to hear from us. One comment on the no phone thing, when you buy a cordless phone from a second hand store in guam to save a few bucks make sure it comes with a battery otherwise it won't work, lesson learned. With the TV we are saving our pennies until we can get a nice one. Miriam wants a flat screen so it won't take up so much space, Daniel wants it big.
We have lived in Guam for a total of 12 weeks. with 2 trips back to utah in between. For anyone counting that is a total of 96 hours on Airplanes or in Airports with a 2 year old. Now we have no plans to get on a plane for a long long time.

Daniel works for Landscape Management Systems, a landscape company in Guam. He is an account Manager for the Hilton, Hyatt, Westin, and Onward beach resorts in Guam as well as the tourist district in Guam. Pretty high-end notable accounts. One thing he has learned so far with this job is that the grounds will never look good enough for his employer or the clients, there is always something to improve on. He enjoys it though.

Miriam is doing fine. They have now moved the baby's (Eva) due date for the fourth time back to the original due date the 23rd of June. Alexander is keeping her busy during the days. Her mom and youngest sister are coming on the 13th of June to help miriam with the baby. We are really excited because miriam has not seen her youngest sister (Matelita) since Christmas 2003.

Guam is nice we go the beach every saturday and Alexander does one of two things the whole time. He either throws every rock, piece of coral, even the ocassional hermit crab (mistaking it for one of the first two things) he can find back into the ocean. Or he tries to chase dad into the ocean when Daniel goes snorkeling. Miriam trys to relax on the beach, but usually she ends up dodging rocks, coral, and hermit crabs that Bubba throws, or playing with Alexander as the waves come. We found a new beach that we really like, not as good as other beaches for snorkeling, but way better for relaxing on the soft sand at the beach. Here are some pictures from our last visit to this beach. It is called Ritidian Point beach. One of the reasons why it is so nice is because it is a Wildlife refuge for sea turtles. We have yet to see one but are hoping we will one day. Meanwhile we did see a huge monitor lizard.