Night Out

Had a night out this evening for Kevin's work which was actually fun.

Not that work things aren't usually great times....... ok, so I don't really like going to work functions- making small talk with anyone isn't my thing.

But tonight there was entertainment. (sorry for the blurry IPhone pictures)

Local dancers......
"Sideswipe" martial artists......
...... and a magician (Kevin's personal favorite- he has always been a sucker for magic)

The girls got to see the shows at school today and really loved them.... they will be jealous when they wake up in the morning and hear we had dinner with the magician and martial arts guys :)

Pretty neat show, and good food. Nice evening.

Sooooo tired....

Just a quick note saying that all is well :)

Aggie is recovering- still some choke-y moments but in general, well. The girls are fine, great practice tonight.

Will definitely write more tomorrow.......

She's Home!

Aggie is back from the vets. She seems to be breathing fairly well...... some moments of coughing with some phlegm-sounding noises in her throat. But even with the swelling still in her trachea from the surgery, she is breathing well.

Now don't laugh........

...'cause you might hurt her feelings. She is SO shaved down! Her left side looks like a hairless Chihuahua. And the harness collar doesn't help her image any either. She's not to have anything around her neck anymore.

So that she isn't embarrassed, I told her she looks like a seeing-eye dog with her new "collar", not like a kid in a harness at Disney.

Aggie did well coming home from the vet, I took her on a small stroll out front of the house which seemed to go well. I fed her a little food with her antibiotics, and she drank a ton of water. After all that she laid down for a nap.

When Kevin came home she stood up, hung her head low, and threw up at his feet. Nice.

Hoping for a good nights sleep for her. She is already trying to play a bit and looking spry :)

Aggie's Big Day

Started with a 6:30 am car ride to the vet. She looks depressed in this picture but really- she was happy for the outing, made her forget about her empty stomach! So sad dropping her off.

Notice the two cups of coffee- one for car drinking and the other for classroom time...... and all the computer and projector bags in the picture- I have to drag back and forth from school since my first set were stolen, I've turned into a pack mule. Addition to the stealing story- this past Monday my door was broken open, but nothing stolen because they took it all the first time.....

Anyway, back to Aggie. She spent the day at the vet. When I called at 2pm she had only had one breathing attack, and was still waiting for surgery. Calling back at 5pm- the surgery was over, took longer than they expected. The vet said she was doing well. He tied back only one side of her vocal cord. He feels she will have enough breathing room now. We may get to pick her up tomorrow. I'll let you know, but I am pretty sure she won't have a bark anymore. Makes me feel bad for all the times I got mad at her for barking.

I will update you tomorrow :)

Not sure how it happened....

but I am the one taking Aggie to the vet in the morning for her surgery. I know its because it works out better for our timelines but that doesn't mean I like it.

I really am not looking forward to dropping her off. I would love to wave a wand and have her breathing problems go away. Poor Aggie and her problems. The most obvious problem to her tomorrow will be that she won't be getting breakfast!

Really hoping that this is the week to book our flights home for the summer. I am waiting on Kevin to get his plans straightened out before I do. The girls are looking forward to it. We are starting to figure out what summer "programs" they will be signing up for up in Canada. Both will do their usual summer swim team. Ellie wants to sign up for tennis again this summer. Maddy has thought about "sleep-away" camp for the last two summers, and is finally taking the plunge this year. We've downloaded the forms for Camp Oneida- the same Christian camp that Julie and I worked at for a summer way back when. Maddy is SO excited.

I will let you know how Aggie does. Hoping for the best :)

Sunday

Tough decision today- they opened up a swim practice last minute at Leo Palace this morning...... exactly the same time as church. Since the B championships are coming up, we had thoughts of downloading the sermon and listening to it in the car on the way to and from practice. But ultimately the girls wanted to go to church and I didn't want to tell them (or God) that I wouldn't take them- just seemed wrong somehow. Of course I also didn't want to tell Coach Toshi they were skipping practice...

After lunch there was a lot of crafting going on. The girls were all into printing out, cutting out, coloring and piecing together these fairy puppets:

They spent all the way past suppertime making them.

Worked out well that they were occupying themselves as Kevin had video games to play :) and I had lesson plans to make up..... not to mention the bathrooms had to be done and that laundry just doesn't fold itself!

Saturday in pictures.......

What a great lazy Saturday!

10 am......

Then by noon time......

Now here is the irony of the day- the reason for a lazy day is that the girls morning swim practice was cancelled. Can't say the girls were too sad about this, and really we all were looking forward to doing nothing for a change. So, what did the girls decide to do with their swim practice free time?

We went to the pool....... laps for me, reading for Kevin and some fun pool time for the girls.

Tried to go for "report card day Thai food"- but both Thai restaurants were closed at 4pm on a Saturday- go figure.

We went on to the next best thing..... ok not the next best thing but it was open!

Finishing the day with swim practice-

An all around nice Saturday!

Straight A's

Report card day- straight A's all the way around!

Maddy raised her math back up into the A's. Even better than that, her teacher recognized her efforts and commented on it. She had straight A's for her grades- but also all of her behavior section had perfect scores. Really nice to see. Not that she usually has any "bad" behaviors, but often the "talks too much in class" box is checked off.

Ellie also had a perfect report card- she raised her story writing ability grades and had perfect scores for behavior, but that isn't unusual for her.

Our usual "Chinese food for report card night" is being delayed till tomorrow and Thai will be substituted......hey, we are on Guam, sometimes you gotta go with the flow.

So proud of them both!

Gotta get some sleep-will blog tomorrow!

New goal...

Well we have a new goal for Aggie.....keep her breathing until next Tuesday.

They tested her today, she does have laryngeal paralysis and it will take surgery to correct it. Not a very pleasant surgery I might add. They will be cutting up the front of her throat to tie back half of her larynx (voice box).

Their next surgery day open is Tuesday. Really feeling bad for Aggie. To hear her gasping for breath makes me sick- hate to make her wait.

I guess the only good part for her, there will be lots of sitting and cookies to distract her.

The girls had an academic fair at the school this evening. It was like open house but all the teachers brought the kids work down into the cafeteria to display it. There was popcorn and prizes as well.

Both girls had some really nice work laid out. Maddy had written a few poems and papers that were great to read. Ellie did some great mini-projects on the computer.

Fun night.

The Girls

Nothing really to blog tonight.

So thought I would toss in two recent pictures.

Maddy is seen above caught in the act of reading- yes I know not unusual. But I thought the goofy face was well worth keeping the photo. Not to mention it features her new "with-bangs" hair style!
Here is Ellie at Onward (where they have swim practice). We took this picture for her pen pal. It has her flat Kate in it and a "hi" sign. So cute the way she and Sara are writing back and forth. They have the option to email, but each seem to prefer writing stories and making cards to send via snail-mail. Nice that they are sticking to the old fashion, more personal side of things.

Quick Catch-up.

The girls survived their first day back. It might have helped that this morning I told them they had Pizza Hut to look forward to for supper. Actually even Kevin didn't have anything much to complain about. So begins another week.....

Ellie brought her land project in- apparently Ellie feels Raven's was the best in the class. I told her that I loved the project she made, to which she answered "No mom, you didn't see Raven's, her mountains were huge!" The greatest part of this conversation- not an ounce of jealousy in her voice. Just a lot of pride for her friend Raven. More often than not Ellie's kindness amazes me.

Maddy said there were mixed reviews over her new hairstyle. She said some didn't like the bangs-mostly the boys. I don't think it budged her opinion of her hair, she still loves the change in style.

Tomorrow Maddy has to bring her science fair project back in to school to enter it in the academic fair. Since she got fourth for the science fair her teacher wants it entered. Nice for Maddy getting the recognition- not so nice for mom who has to drag it back and forth! Don't mind me, I am still getting over carrying landforms in for Ellie this morning, which have to be picked up after school tomorrow I might add......

I got a phone call at work today- apparently because I am on contract I wasn't suppose to have been evaluated...... that was one of those "you've got to be kidding me" moments. I won't go into the details of the prep I had to do to get ready for that evaluation, not to mention the anxiety and schedule arranging- So what's really important about all that? ...........the fact that I scored in the second highest category! Means nothing now, but still feels good!

Aggie however is not feeling "good". Her breathing since her episode yesterday has gotten worse. Our goal now is to get her to survive till Wednesday. Trying to keep her super calm. Distracting her by getting her to sit for cookies. She has gained 5 pounds but she at least she is still breathing. Kevin wasn't sure what the vet is guessing is wrong with her- but I looked up what I think he was saying......... a paralyzed larynx- her voice box is blocking her breathing tube. Anyway- we'll see if that is really it........ again just trying to get her to keep breathing until Wednesday......

So, no pictures tonight- just an update.

Gotta run, I am late for the reading party on my bed with the girls- one of my favorite things :)

Tomorrow

Everyone goes back tomorrow. Oy

This weekend was a wrap up of "oh we forgot to do....." before back to normal tomorrow.

Maddy has been wanting a hair cut- which I finally got for her on Saturday. She has been wanting bangs- so there they are. She is thrilled with her new hair, constantly rearranging it, we even bought a round brush and gel to help her through :) So pre-pre-teen......

Maddy also had to write a DARE essay over the break (which of course was done today) and you would have thought I was asking her to build the pyramids. The weeping and frustration would have broke your heart- had you not known she was just being dramatic!

The essay was of course completed, and she got over it quickly enough to read Kingdom Keepers II for the second time.

Ellie had to make a topographical map- which she of course had completed even before the break began! So Ellie spent her last day catching up on pen-pal business. It involved some cards and a Flat Kate story and picture. You can't really tell (from this really bad picture I took- blurry and red eye!) that Ellie's right eye is irritated. Right at the end of church today she poked herself in the eye, I would like to say this is the first time...... But it really was watering for hours after, sore and red! When she went to bed tonight it was still swollen- may need a Dr. visit tomorrow.

Speaking of Dr. visits- Aggie and Kevin made an emergency trip to the vet's today. Aggie had another overheated-breathing attack. So scary. The vet has suggested that she is put under and have her throat checked out- so Wednesday she will be in for that. Also so scary....... hate her having to do all this at age 11, but her breathing is definitely not getting better on its own.

I am somewhere around the 5 weeks left of teaching mark. Yay me!

Friday I had my evaluation, I was so nervous- but I would like to brag a bit here and say that there are 5 possible levels and I reached second from the highest. I have to say it is mostly because the majority of the criteria has to do with organizational/methodical traits (which I can't survive without) and course maintenance (which I had to do tons of-since starting new this year) and extra efforts like tutoring (which seems to be a necessity due to anatomy physiology being a really tough course). The irony is it may mean nothing to my pay grade because A) I am not hired yet for next year and B) It may not carry over to next year if I am hired because I am not permanent now. Whatever....... still glad I did well!

I have a favor to ask of you guys.

Just so I know who I am gearing these posts toward- could everyone who reads my blog send me a quick email/facebook/or comment just to let me know you are reading it? At this point I am not sure what information to put in the blog as I don't know who reads it! Sorry to be a pain- thanks!

Taking the Night Off :)

Guest Blog (wow, twice in one week)

I'll keep this one relatively short.

This morning (Friday), much to my dismay, the girls came into the computer room and announced they didn't want to go on a boonie stomp to Spanish Steps. It seems they teamed up and outvoted me to instead go to a waterpark at the 'Onward Beach Resort'. This is the same place they swim 4 nights a week, except the waterpark part is always closed by the time we get there.

So, we left the house around 10:30. On the way though, we stopped at the bank to open a savings account for Ellie. She approached me a few nights ago and informed me she had $102 burning a hole in her pocket and she wanted to put it in the bank. Apparently she's saving up $175 to buy some kind of American Girl product. Below is a photo of Ellie holding the bank account application. Once that was done, she was given a receipt, a sticker, a pencil, and a stuffed animal (I think it's called Sammy the Saver or something like that). I have a feeling Maddie will be asking for an account soon.

The rest of the day was spent at the waterpark doing the lazy river, wave pools, waterslides, and a huge slide called the Manta - you'd have to see it to believe it - but I don't think U.S. safety inspectors would allow it to be built in the states! Maddie and Ellie loved it of course.

After that, we went to Wendy's (see Greg, even you could survive on Guam) for a quick bite and a break from the water before I brought them back to the waterpark for swim practice. All in all, a great day to end our spring break.

Greg, Guam's not so bad after all.

Better late than never.....

These are the pictures I promised you from Sumay Day, last Sunday. I would like to say it was my computer's fault that I couldn't load them up, but we all know it was user error.

Sumay is an ancient village that was home to a group of Chamorros here on the Southern/West-ish side of Guam. Not sure the full history of it- all I know is that it isn't a Guam village now- its a historical site here on the Navy base. The top picture is taken standing from our street looking down the hill. That low lying area is Sumay. The CO of the base asked the local mayors if they would like a Sumay Day to honor their ancestors from here.

They had a mass in the morning at the sight where the church once stood. Then there was dancing and food. The dancing was very well done. One of the girls in the group is a student of mine. I saw three more of my students that day attending the event, so that was nice. Maddy and Ellie spent their time in the shade weaving palm leaves into various objects with the help of the Chamorro teacher from their school.

I have to say that I usually don't feel too out of place here. I mean really, everywhere I go I am the minority. But never really feel out of place about that. Sumay Day is the first time I really felt that we didn't belong there. I guess its the guilt of living on land that originally belonged to another group- and having that group come to visit the land that was theirs. Felt wrong somehow. Especially with so many emotions so high right now over the military build up that has been proposed. I am sure the Chamorros feel all the more infringed upon. I hope the day was a nice day of honoring their past as opposed to just being reminded of lost ancestral lands.

The male dancers were often shouting out angry chants- some of which the audience responded with loud angry "Ya!"s and cheering. Hopefully they were saying things like "Hurray for this lovely day" as opposed to "Navy go home!" .....I think I am happier not knowing.....

Oh dear- I just looked up Sumay's history online:

Sumay Cemetery

Sumay was once a prosperous port and thriving seaside community frequented by Spanish, French, German, Japanese, English, Russian and American ships. When Japanese warplanes bombarded Guam in December 1941, Sumay was the first village attacked. The villagers fled into the nearby jungles and were never allowed to return. The village was virtually destroyed. The American military seized Sumay as part of the Naval Station which it remains today. All that remains of the original village is the Spanish occupation era cemetery. Headstones contain epitaphs in both Chamorro and Spanish. The oldest marker claims the year if birth at 1812 and year of death in the 1890's

I am going to guess the chants weren't about the lovely day........

Guest Bloggers - Kevin, Maddie, and Ellie

Spring has sprung on Guam, where it is always summer. Nevertheless, the girls and I are grateful for the week off! Here is how the week has gone so far:

Monday was chore day. For those that don't know, I'm a check-in-the-box kinda guy, the type that always liked to finish homework before going out to play (some call this "nerdy" behavior). So, Monday the girls and I knocked out the grocery shopping, vacuumed the house and did multiple loads o' laundry so we (I) could enjoy some guilt-free vacation time the rest of the week.

Tuesday I brought the girls to their school because I had an eight o'clock meeting with the principal and vice principal about the base's unattended children policy we are updating. I wanted to make sure we were synched with what the school currently does with respect to releasing students in Kindergarten and 1st grade. After that, we spent the afternoon at Gab Gab beach on base building sandcastles.

Wednesday (today) I had to take a PRT (physical readiness test) at 0600. I was home by 0800, so I wasn't really missed. Most importantly, I didn't impact any of our plans.

The girls had been asking to go to Talofofo Falls for a while now, so I figured this was a good day to do it. It was nothing like I expected.

Sam and I had hiked to some falls when we were in Guam the last time (between '96 and '98). Turns out they were called Tarzan Falls. Tarzan Falls was a fair hike from the main road to some smallish sized falls in the middle of the jungle where you could then get in the pool at the bottom and cool off. Anticipating this, I had the girls wear their bathing suits under their 'hiking' clothes so they could jump in when we got there.

Unfortunately, Talofofo was nothing like this. It bills itself as a 'resort park' but it's about as trailer-trashy a place as you'd ever want to visit. Trust me. I left out the pictures of the child's train, 'love land' (don't ask), bumper cars, tea-cups ride, and 'mono-rail' - just suffice it to say I wouldn't put any of your kids on those rides.

The highlights of this field trip were the cable car we took down to the falls, the wild pigs walking around the 'park', the boonie dogs and boonie puppy, and the lively debate we had about whether we should enter the 'ghost house' - we didn't (thanks Ellie - always the voice of reason). The biggest letdown however was that there was no swimming allowed! Of course, we didn't know this until we made it to the bottom, so as bad as the park was up top, there was always the payoff that once we got to the bottom, the would be able to cool off under a waterfall.

Therefore, we all decided when we got home we would swing by Gab Gab and jump into the 3-sided ocean pool to cool down. This helped take the bitterness out of everyone's day and Maddie stopped mumbling that we should get our money back.

Photo's below - enjoy!This is kinda neat. It's a depiction of the cave Yokoi (a Japanese soldier from WWII) lived in for 28 years. He apparently thought the war was still on and continued to hide out year after year. I think he must have had some mental issues.
Descending to the falls in the cable car. Cause we've got high hopes, we've got - high hopes...
Hopes are still high as we cross the suspension bridge that the cool water awaits!
Ellie finds out we aren't allowed to swim at the falls. Maddie wouldn't even pose!
Wilds pigs at the falls (one of the day's highlights).
At the end of it all, we stopped by Gab Gab beach on base for a quick cool-down. All's well that end's well.

Skipping......AGAIN!

Just TOO many tests to grade tonight- so a couple of cartoons to entertain you instead...... :)

Skipping....

Not writing much again tonight.

Just so you know, the girls first day off went really well- they had so much fun just playing with each other. I think Kevin enjoyed his day of relaxation as well. We even had a babysitter tonight and got to go out for supper together.

All in all a nice day for them, and a nice end to my day- it started out kinda rough.

Got to my class to find out it had been broken into and my laptop and projectors were stolen. Really made me mad- everyone else seemed to take it in stride. Mostly because its not that unusual an occurrence. Put a crimp in my day, difficult to teach with out my tools. Couldn't they have waited until the end of the school year to steal it? Had to deal with police reports and reports to the College about the whole thing- All kinda disheartening.

Also found out we most likely will have to do ANOTHER open house- oy.

Then found out after school that they opened my job up to the public. I have until Monday to apply and then will have to interview if I want to teach there again next year...... do I? is the question :P

Promise to do a true blog tomorrow night with a lot less whining!

So Late....

It is so late! I had to do a lot of planning for classes this week. Not looking forward to going back tomorrow especially with Kevin and the girls being home. The benefit of that will be that I don't have to do anything to get the girls ready for school. Just have to get myself to work, so that'll be a treat :)

So I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking tonight........

Maddie did great at her ocean swim...didn't even hesitate to start and finished like she was on a stroll.

Went to Sumay day here on base but I will add more pictures of it tomorrow as my computer isn't cooperating with me just now.....

Kevin and Ellie loved Lightening Thief. I think Ellie loved it all the more because she had to read the book first, which makes her more in the big-girl realm. And also because the Percy Jackson books were kinda a Maddy thing- so anytime she can hop up to Maddy status, its exciting!