OOG & only a month

OOG.....  only on guam.  it's a phrase we guammies use when there are no other words/ explanations for some unique guam-ism we've encountered.
and i can't believe we have less than a month here on this island!  goes by so fast.....
& here is a typical OOG story....
so this weekend we went to the island cultural fair with some friends.  it was fun.  it was hot.  lena was crazy.  we had fun.  we saw some coconut crabs, lena played with some coconuts by a latte stone & then she rode a carabao.  only on guam right?  we ate some shaved ice, lena swung herself from a proa & the senator called her a chammorita & wrote down the secret meat marinade recipe for me.  we must be locals now!
we will miss this place!

checking out some coconut crabs

you don't wanna put your finger anywhere near those guys

senator frank blas 

his sign

"ok, you bend back like this...."

"like this?"

video of lena swinging from a proa

things not to forget

lena babe, you are 21 months old (almost 22)!  crazy!  you are such an amazing little person!  here are some of the latest....

- you cry & will hug your dolly or panda or glow worm when you drop or throw them on the floor.  you worry they are hurt.  it is really so sweet.  

- you are saying a bunch of words now......  bus, key, water, doctor, hot, hi daddy, hi mama, dog dog, ball, & others i can't seem to think of now.  but you have really found an interest in trying to repeat what we're saying.  your words are pretty clear too!

- your hair is really coming in now, you have some really long sprigs right behind your ears, so so cute & in profile the little wisps really stick out & are super adorable. 

- you love stairs

- you love to play soccer - daddy says you kick left.  ;)

- you love to watch mommy's dance class.  daddy will bring you by at the end of class & you watch through the window.  you surprise me with how you spot me out of so many people.  you point to me & smile & daddy says you say mama over & over again.  

- you laugh a lot

- you give a lot of hugs, but are very selective with your kisses.  even to mama & dada

- you get so excited when you see your best friend Q, who we are so lucky to get to play with quite often, but you even recognize the car & start squealing when you see it

- you love to dance & love to sing - your favorite songs are abc's/ twinkle twinkle, & the happy birthday song

- you're a great snuggle bug, we love to cozy up together at nap time, or in bed in the morning, or just on the couch whenever.  & you love to snuggle your dolly, panda & glow worm too!  

- you'll pull a bunch of toilet paper off the roll & i'll tell you no & you then start to blow your nose.  how can i be upset with that?!  

- some of your favorite toys......  rolling pins, snorkel mask, stickers, books, hand towels, shoes, soccer balls, animal cards & your zoo, the recycling bin & whatever is in it, & the phone .... on that note you also LOVE hide & seek & hiding things.....  :/   

you are a total joy!  we have so much fun together!  can't believe you are almost 2!  

wearing your friend Q's boots

in mommy's shoes

snorkel mask

mommy's sunglasses

a video of you kicking!  you do just like daddy, you'll pick up the ball, put it down in a specific spot, back up, then run & kick......  so so cute!

the day lena experienced her first concert & blues band

ok, so yesterday lena (& her best friend 'q') went to the imagination movers concert.  what?  never heard of them....  well, neither had we.

but really glad the base offered this FREE concert for the kiddos.  it was a blast.  they are apparently really big on disney channel & have even won an emmy....  they were great.  at first lena just sat on my lap, taking it all in.  but a few songs in she was up on her feet... clapping, dancing, running around!  forgot to take the camera, but my friend caught this clip on her phone....

& i managed to get video of another concert later that evening.

so we met up with people from jeff's office for dinner at a fav restaurant here, mermaid's tavern.  food was great, lena saw her friend cece & we heard a few songs from a cool blues band.  it was pushing bedtime, but the girl was having fun so we stayed a little after dinner so she could dance & clap.  check out these super cute (short) videos.....

not quite ready to pick up the bass, still working on her vocals...

girl appreciates some music

& a sweet hug goodbye with her friend cece

it's august, should i just give up?

ugh, does anyone even read this blog any more?  not that many even did to begin with.  but i have been so neglectful about postings.  i'm on the fence.....  i feel like i should get some motivation & get back into the blogging game.  even if it's just a place to document our times & important (or sometimes, not so important) things, i feel like i shouldn't give it up.
ok, so i guess this is news for the blog, even though in the real world we've known this info for at least a good 4 months or so.  :/ but we're moving to england!  looks like we'll be living outside leeds for the next 3 years.  really excited & looking forward to it!
& the pcs process begins all over again.  although, we already have our no-fee passports so i don't have to go through that again.  but let's hope our orders arrive earlier than the day before we step on the plane for england.  unfortunately we don't have awesome in-laws over here in guam that will ship our car, & be there to pack up all our stuff - for storage, unaccompanied baggage & household goods.  true story.  we are so lucky jeff's parents are awesome!  now, if they could just make it over to guam to help out with this pcs.....  wink, wink.

ok & here are some cute photos of the bean....

the artist

 the rascal

the courageous

the dramatic

the center of attention

things not to forget

little bean....  you're almost 19 months!  how/ why does it go so fast?!  you are amazing & i find myself wanting to pause time & always remember you just as you are at this time.  i do want you to grow up, but it's bittersweet.  i will love all the ages & stages you pass through, but it does go by fast....  :(

-you are so loving, you give so many hugs....  you come up to me & give me hugs, you hug the animals in your books, you hug your friends (& some are even starting to hug you back!)
-you love it when we say no.....  it seems to be your motivation, to get mom & dad all worked up, laugh & keep doing more of whatever it is we want you to stop doing....  annoying for us, but also hard to be upset when you're so giggly
-you are constantly exploring, you are not afraid, you are super brave & strong & if you get hurt, you don't let it stop you from trying (please always keep these qualities)
-your hair has really started growing!
-you brush your own hair & teeth & like to help get yourself dressed & undressed
-your communicating skills are improving....  you're not saying many more words, but you listen & respond very well to what we say & you have your own little sounds that confirm, question or disagree with us when we are talking to you....
-you love bubbles & are really trying to figure out how to blow
-your always busy, busy with the magnets, busy with your scarves, busy with mommy's flip flops, busy with daddy's wallet, busy with the amelie dvd case (what is it about that one, huh?), you want to understand, play with, explore everything!  i love that about you!
-you are silly, you put random things on your head or up to your face & look at us to make us laugh

there are so many moments that are just so amazing!  you my dear are amazing, you are the light in our lives, you make us so happy.....  we love you!

playing with sidewalk chalk paint we made

grinning on your slide

click here for a link to an article that captures the idea of wanting to freeze time but ultimately letting go to grow.....  a beautiful read.

here's a video of you laughing at dinner....  you had started making these funny faces where you open your mouth real wide & giggle, you're a total goof ball!!

australia

so it's june.  we went to australia in april.  um, surprised i'm even posting this, but it was such a fun trip, i want to document it & relive some of the memories.....

so without further adieu....

we went to cairns for a long weekend & we stayed at the awesome hotel cairns....  the breakfast was phenomenal - fresh watermelon juice, eggs, bacon, pastas, rice, fruit & of course vegimite - which i'm a little embarrassed to admit i didn't even try, not brave enough.  (but i did sneak some back & it's still sitting on our kitchen counter, one day, one day)..... but back to the hotel....  the rooms were super cute, with a balcony & mini-kitchen, plus we were able to walk to everything downtown & at the esplanade.  the esplanade, you ask?  well, that is such a cool part of cairns.  it's this salt water lagoon & open park that runs parallel to the boardwalk & the ocean.

we walked around downtown a lot.  went to the park & esplanade a lot.  went into the grocery store a lot.  we ate gelato twice a day - i'm not exaggerating.  we really loved the vibe of the place.  the locals were cool, the tourists were cool, the students staying at the hostels living it up in an awesome beachy city were cool.  we kinda fell in love with australia.  cause we're sure all of australia is as awesome as cairns.  but cairns has such a smart layout, family friendly, open air restaurants & shops, the esplanade, the laid back, but yet hip-cultural-alive pulse of the city make for a really awesome vacay!!  we'll go back in a heartbeat!!

the salt water pool at our hotel

we went to the cairns tropical zoo & cuddled a koala....  lena got so excited & gave the poor guy a little too vigorous of a pat, but he was probably used to it.  i was surprised at how soft his fur was.  so nice to cuddle with that little guy.  we feed some kangaroos, um wallabies, um....  ?  they were cool.  we saw the cutest animal ever - the red panda!  we even got a stuffed red panda to take home with us, um, we got it for lena, yep, for lena....  ;)  we saw some huge crocs!  not the plastic shoes, the real deal!  crazy old dinosaur reptile animals!  they amaze me.....  from a distance.

wish he could have come home with us!

can't tell how huge this guy is in the pic.....  probably 13 feet

red panda!

cute cuddles

we took a boat out to the reef....  we went to green island....  a nice resort area where you can snorkel, dive, swim at the pool, shop, eat.....  so fun.  except the jelly fish.  didn't see any, but the warning was enough to deter me from snorkeling.  jeff was brave & went out for the both of us.  i think we're spoiled being here in guam, he said it didn't look much different.  i'm sure diving would have been amazing - seeing the reef & the life down there up close like that would be awesome, but it was enough for me to swim & splash around with lena near the shore.

green island

on the boat, headed out to the reef

lena loved chasing the birds

peek-a-boo

don't worry, this little lifeguard's got it under control!

little miss sunshine!

someone was tired on the boat ride back, oh & lena fell asleep....  ;)

a friend lena made at the park

on the boardwalk

nice dinner across from the park

beautiful sunsets

loving it at the lagoon