Its not us.

I was dodging in and out of torrential rain storms today- trying to get dry kids to school, trying to keep dry out on errands- not an easy task. The uniform here is waterproof flip flops and an umbrella- and you still get soaked. Its the sideways rain that gets you. I did a lot of mental complaining...but I guess I should just be grateful.

Apparently there is a super typhoon (Choi-Wan...don't ask for pronunciation on that) that missed us, went north of Saipan and is still on the rampage. Winds are upwards of 130mph gusting to 160mph. It didn't do any damage to Saipan...Kevin's secretary (who is from Saipan) called it a "banana typhoon" which means it didn't even blow over the banana trees. But that was before it hit "super" status. Its suppose to gust as high as 170mph before its done.

I am not looking forward to a typhoon actually hitting here. Last time we lived here there was a big one...Typhoon Paka. We lived through it, with my biggest worry being my poor little Alex (my sweet boonie dog whom I love dearly and miss) cowering in the bathroom with me as that was the only room we had without windows. This time through I have the girls to worry about.

Really not looking for one to hit here.

I'll keep the torrential rain and try to stop complaining...

When it rains...

Rough start to the week with Madison....actually pretty moody over the weekend...yes I believe we are into rebound time. It comes right after the honeymoon phase of when we first move. This weekend we had the fit about the new pool, the fit about Ellie reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians (apparently Maddie's all time favorite book....) and of course school this morning....all out hissy fit. I am hoping this phase will be short lived otherwise she may not make it to see her 10th birthday.

I am guessing school was not as bad as she remembered it from last week because when I picked her up at 2:45 life was good again. Happy as a clam, giggly and fun loving.

I am not sure if I ever wrote about the freakish rains we get here? The sun will be out, and the next thing you know you are soaked from driving rain. I walked down the street this morning, and on my way back hit one of these freak storms. I was beyond soaked by the time I was home. Same kind of rain hit when I was getting the girls from school. Ellie and I had our umbrellas and ran for shelter...Madison stood out in the rain, with arms out and a "bring it on" expression on her face.

Even Aggie wouldn't leave the garage. Ellie borrowed my red umbrella to go back out after she had changed to dry clothes (you seriously get soaked even using an umbrella) Ellie uses her "bear umbrella" daily (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Gillam for that one!)

If it takes a rain storm to clear up Maddie's mood, then we are in luck- the daily down pours here should take care of it.

The "big" pool.

Here is Maddie stressed about going to a pool she has never seen before for a practice to get them ready for their first meet next weekend...
Here is the sign we saw going into the pool area...

Here is the amazing 50 meter pool (correction: 2 eight lane olympic size pools, side by side placed on a complex of professional sports fields). Couldn't believe that this was on Guam- and how under used it is! This incredible facility is at the Leo Palace, it was home of the Pan American Games last year. What kills me is the girl's swim team is the biggest on the island and they practice in a 15 meter pool.... the other 6 teams cram in and fight for swim times in the only other average size pool that is on Guam....and this professional place exists and is never used. I've really got to look into the reason behind that! Couldn't believe it.

It all went well. The girls did great....and Maddie as usual was fine once she saw what she was dealing with- that girl hates the unknown.

Rained like crazy for the whole second half of the day...lots of lightening so of course the power was out for the afternoon.

One last thing... I've been dying to get a picture of these guys for you- wild chickens (there is a lot of wild pheasant and turkey too), you see them in various places on the island. These guys were near the Leo Palace, we have a few that live up the road from us. Neat to hear the rooster every now and again.

Ins and Outs of Guam

I am always showing you the really nice views on Guam. Thought tonight I would give you some other important "highlights" of Guam...

Here is the nicest store/building on Guam as far as I can see...I bet Mike and Paul are impressed with this fact...most store fronts and buildings look like they are about to fall over. The Harley Davidson store is really nice...its great inside too, has a nice selection of bikes, accessories and such.

This is the ITC building- EVERYONE knows this building. On Guam the directions that are given stem from landmarks not road names. "Go two lights past the ITC building" or "If you go past the ITC building you have gone too far" or "You know the ITC building? Ya, its not on that road."
Then of course one of Guam's main sources of income...
Here is my favorite. This is the craft store that I used often last time I was here...loved Ben Franklin, could always count on it...bought all my material there. I made Alyssa's crib set with material from here, made Esther's family quilt from Ben Franklin supplies....good times. Scary looking but had good supplies...the only problem now is...
No longer a craft store. Now its a car lot. Little sad about that.
Here is a nightly "highlight" of Guam. These huge toxic toads are all over our lawn every evening. Up to six of them can be seen when you walk from the car to the front door- Aggie used to nudge them and then gag, but I think she has learned...haven't seen her do that lately. Of course that may be because I don't go out at night since the snake moved in. Little tidbit- our next door neighbor has killed two snakes- both were wrapped around his side mirrors of his car....creepy.

The best highlights of Guam for us are in our daily doings- the girls love school, love swimming...nothing to complain about.

Bad Mama

Well there goes mother of the year again.

The girls had open house tonight at their school. It was awesome to see their classes, meet their teachers, see their work so far....and where was the camera? Its not often that I am caught without my camera, and I am a little sad that today was that day.

Suffice it to say that the girls are loving their new school, and truly enjoying their classes and their teachers. That is always the challenge when we move...good times at school makes for really happy girls.

So sorry for the lack of pictures... I'll do better next time! :)

Never did tell you...

I had always wanted to do a write-up about our trip over from Canada. Not because it is so unusual, but mostly because there was some nice photos of the girls. Truly, it was uneventful. We had a completely on-time flight series, making it directly to our hotel for the overnight stay in Hawaii. The time change worked on our behalf as the girls were up before 4am, and so we were the first to the breakfast buffet at 6am. This way we had the morning to be in the souvenir shop and at the beach before our flight.

The girls wanted to find shells on the beach and "walk" in the surf. They were literally swimming in the waves fully clothed by the time they were done.

They had a great time- it meant a second shower and clothing change for the day...but it was well worth it as they got to wear their brand new "Hawaii dresses" for the flight to Guam.

This all happened only a few short weeks ago, but man it feels longer.

As for today- pretty uneventful. I finally picked up my RN license...that is a very long drawn out OOG story- good to finally have it in hand. Girls had a good day at school, no swimming tonight which is a nice break...makes for a "sit around the house" night. For some reason the girls were hanging out on the washer? Still not sure why...I find them in the weirdest places at times.

Oh ya, today at lunch- gecko number four...but who is counting.

Thanks by the way Gene for the link in yesterday's comments about the wiggling detached gecko tails- very interesting...mostly creepy...but still interesting.

More of the Local Life.

Mark today as gecko-number-three day. I most likely will stop counting them after five or so. Seriously can't figure out how they are getting in the house? The follow up question to that is...do the geckos pass their strategies on to the snakes? I am hoping their is no sharing of intelligence.

Went back to Gab Gab's three-walled-ocean-pool yesterday. Ellie was a little more hesitant to get in the water this time-she didn't jump at all, used the ladder to cautiously get in. This is most likely because of what we saw when we first got there...

Two squids were at the base of the ladder. Not very welcoming to non-ocean life lovers like Ellie (and myself). They eventually disappeared into the depths...only to be upscaled by Kevin coming up with a starfish. He seriously needs to stop messing with the creatures- it stresses Maddie out. She took the starfish from Kevin and swam it to the bottom of the ocean to "hide" it so he would stop bothering it.
Gab Gab is close enough that we can ride our bikes there. Gave me a chance to use my recent gift from Kevin and the girls...

They got a bike for me! There goes my excuse for staying home whenever they wanted to go for a bike ride...glad they waited for a 90 degree weather-tropical island to get me one....really kidding-it is a seriously cool bike!

What's really nice are all these opportunities to do fun family stuff. We're really enjoying that part of Guam for sure.