Happy Halloween!

We are sad, but Quin will not be able to take part in our annual fall trip to the pumpkin patch for her first halloween, where the selection normally looked something like this:

They are in short supply here on Guam, so this will have to do for this year...

from first dates to first steps

when we woke up today, this is what it was doing at our house. . . for like 5 hours. . . typical here on guam

perfect! looks like a beach day! :) So, we drove about 10 miles down the road to meet some friends and the weather was great!

Ryan and I actually had our first 30 minutes alone in almost 9 months, thanks to our friends!! They watched Quin and we were able to sneak away for a quick snorkel adventure, just the two of us.

And while it may seem like Quin missed out on all the fun, she actually had a pretty big day herself. . .

she's almost there! :)

oh, the simple things. . .

on a visit to the park today (in spite of fair warning from her friend, little E) Quin's took a chance and had her first experience in a swing. I'm not sure she's crazy about it?? ;)

"How time are you?"

Um, excuse me. . .  what?

This was the question presented to Quin (yes Quin, not me) at 4:30am the morning of the race. I was just as confused as you are. Was this random stranger trying to ask my infant what time it was?? Or was she wondering how old she was? For a moment it was anybody's guess. Until the crowd and Japanese film crew following us started to laugh. I realized as they gestured at their watches- that she was mixing up time and age.
Who was asking? She was a young japanese girl (maybe 20-21?) dressed way too fancy, in my opinion, to be starting a race in a few minutes. In fact, I think she and her friend had on a tiara? Seriously.

We realized, as the cameras flashed and the video camera was rolling (sound booms and all) that they must be someone significant. They had runner escorts and a translator with them- on second thought, they should fire that translator, he clearly failed to do his part. So, Ryan took note of the production company and names on their shirts so we could look it up later. With a little googling, this is what we know. . .

They are apparently members of a girl group (which seems more like a small army if you ask me) from Japan. There are like 61 of them or something crazy?!

As if all the random photos weren't enough, now this?!  I swear my child is a celebrity in Japan and we would never know it.

She ended her little interview with one final question, "What old are you?" And Quin politely answered,  "8ヶ月", in perfect japanese. ;)

it's a marathon. . .not a sprint

nor is it a long walk in the pouring rain, holding a fussy baby and an umbrella, while pushing a stroller. Or at least that's what I was hoping it would not become.

Today was the half marathon we decided to run (all of 3 weeks ago). So, at 3:45am, I woke a sleepy baby, to drive a quarter mile down the road to the start of the race. Why not just walk if it was that close you ask? We were saving our energy, of course! No, seriously, it's annoying, but the road down to the beach (and start point) is super curvy and dangerous with no shoulder. So, we can't walk it. Needless to say, after circling around the block for a while, we found a spot about 100 yards from our house. Perfect.

It was a really big crowd. The majority did not speak english actually- great story, but I'll get to that next time! I got some crazy looks when people realized I was not just there to see my husband off and cheer him on, but that we were both wearing bibs and that I intended to run as well and push the jogger.

The first 6-7 miles went great. Slow, but great. The breeze was cool, the crowd had thinned, and we were moving along just fine. At about mile 7 or so though, Quin was awake and I started to sense that she was getting restless. So, knowing that there was probably a breakfast/diaper break in the near future, I decided to run ahead of Ryan for a while to get some space between us. This way, when I did have to stop, hopefully Quin would be all set by the time he caught us and we could all run again. Well, so much for best laid plans. About this time it started to rain, and it was all down hill from there. And I don't mean the course in a literal sense! By about mile 8.5, Quin was crying- time for breakfast. At this point I wanted to at least keep walking. So, I held the baby, fed her with the Boon spoon, and pushed the jogger with my third arm. We must have been quite the scene, judging by the reactions. If you know japanese, google it- try 'crazy marathon lady'. I am sure a japanese visitor has posted one of the 100 pictures that were taken of us by now!?

Quin never recovered from this point on. I can't blame her. Two hours is a long time to sit in a stroller. Ryan caught up and continued on with out us. The fact that he was actually still running at mile 9 was amazing (not that I didn't believe in you, babe) so I told him to keep going. I figured I would start again once Quin settled down. After walking about 1.5 miles or so (I think the mile markers were off though, because it felt like about 5 miles) holding a baby, umbrella, juggling our crap, and looking utterly insane, I was over it. About that time, Quin actually fell asleep and I was able to put her back in the jogger and run the last 2 miles. We won't talk about how long it took- but we made it.

On a much higher note- Ryan did great. He was able to run the entire race!! I think he even surprised himself!! Although, when I started to discuss the plan of attack for the next half marathon coming up in November, he replied he had no desire to talk about running for any reason.

Oh- and one more thing it's not. . . a costume party?!? Apparently, the person responsible for translating the info and sending it to the japanese runners messed something up. Because they were showing up in costumes. I enjoy running- but dress up? That is a sure, quick way to ruin a run for me.

 

yummy

it's funny how a mess that would normally make me crazy seems so darn cute anymore! :)

once upon a time. . .

Who would have ever thought that 13 years ago today, at a high school football game, two kids would have met the person they would ultimately end up spending the rest of their life with?! Sure, at 14 & 16 years old we would have loved to have said that we knew then that it was meant to be. But really- that was not the case. In fact, Ryan was kind of a jerk to me at first ( kind of?? at first??), and he was not exactly the kind of guy I would have seen myself with (no offense, babe) But something about it just worked. Sure we've had our times- the fighting, complaining, nagging, and whining. Hey, I look past all that- I'm not perfect either. :)

So, when we got married (in June 2006) Ryan told me I had to pick- that I was not allowed to have 2 anniversaries each year (such a sweet, romantic guy, huh??). And while for the most part I conformed to this request and we celebrate each year in June, never does Oct. 10th pass with out note. After all,  it has been our anniversary far longer than June 20th.

So, 13 years later, after 8 school dances, 4 cities, a wedding, one baby, and so much more,
 here's to trip down memory lane. . .

Happy Birthday Sage

She is an awesomely sweet, tolerant dog. And after all, she was for all intents and purposes, our first child. So, in honor of turning 3 today... I thought we would give her the shout out she deserves. :)

Guam Fall?

There is nothing, NOTHING that will make me miss the snow of the midwest...
But this actually might, at least just a little? On second thought, I think maybe just a cool California evening at the beach!?

Do you think the ladies at Micro will laugh at me if I take her to the store like this? Or perhaps call child protective services? Hey- it gets really cold in the dairy aisle!!   

people actually run in this?!

When we first moved here to Guam, I had a hard time adjusting to the weather (ok- maybe more than just the weather, but I'll save that rant for another day). Specifically though, the temperature and the humidity. For anyone who knows me, you know that running has always been something I enjoyed. That was actually one of the best things about living in Hermosa. You never had to check the weather.  Just roll out of bed, throw on your shoes, and hit The Strand- always perfect! Well, living here on the equator, I am sad to say that the conditions do not exactly lend themselves to this type of fitness routine.

Eventually, you do adjust (or maybe just accept constantly sweating?) and find a way to workout. For most people that plan to be outside, this means up before dawn, or late at night. Even if you can manage to get out at a decent time to run, you take your chances with limited sidewalks, crazy guam drivers, or likely getting caught in a down pour. Well, this is not exactly ideal for someone with a jogger and an 8mo old., not to mention a dog.

All that said, somehow we have managed to run at a great park with a trail about 15 min from home most nights. Yes, you read that right. I said "we"! My husband, a life long hater of running, has actually picked up the habit. We have even started running races! It is insane the number of events they hold here! There is literally a 5K (or something longer) every weekend. We will be attempting our first half marathon in about a week. This will be interesting. Ryan has never done more than 5 miles at a time, and I will be pushing Quin in the jogger! I know what your thinking. And yes, just as I had to reassure the man that singed us up for the race, I assure you too that I know a half marathon is 13.1 miles. Miles, not Kilometers (he asked this as well to be sure). But the KoKo Road Race seems to be a big event here. So it will be an awesome experience to take part if nothing else. I mean, I didn't say we are trying to win our first half marathon! ;)

We'll let you know how it goes...but until then, here are a few photos from the races we've completed so far.