Quin's first Christmas!

Because we were spending this holiday season thousands of miles from family, our Christmas was relatively mellow. Unfortunately, due to some serious USPS issues (surprise! surprise!) majority of our Christmas orders and packages have yet to arrive. And because we didn't intend to completely fail our first Christmas as parents- we did the only logical thing we could think of. We went shopping. At 5pm. Christmas Eve. On Guam. (No joke.)

So, that morning, she woke to a few gifts under the tree. I am not sure Quin understood the concept, but she definitely seemed to have fun and is enjoying the new toys! ;) The special Christmas morning waffles though? Not so much!?

Rota Walk

This past weekend, some friends invited us to join them for an event held on Andersen Air Force Base. Apparently it is a tradition- all of the residents of this one particular street go above and beyond (by Guam standards) to decorate their tropical lawns for Christmas. To help welcome the season, they then host a "walk" for others to come and enjoy the lights. There were all kinds of crazy, "only on Guam" scenes, including fake snow (soap) and decorated cars and rocks. Of course, it would not have been complete with out a good old Guam shower about half way through. ;) Wet or not, it was a good time with friends and a lot of fun!!

it's beginning to look a little like Christmas?

We didn't exactly expect the holiday season to feel the same here on Guam. But, I think we may have underestimated! The first sign...? Sweating to death as we stood in front of industrial size fans in the Home Depot parking lot, surrounded by men in shorts tossing trees out of a Matson container. For some reason- we never associated heat stroke with picking out a Christmas tree? This experience (and Quin's first, I'm a little sad to say) was a far cry from that of last year, when we were still in CA. We drove all day to a great little 'cut your own' ranch. There was a fire burning and hot chocolate served with every tree. We wandered the rows for nearly an hour looking for the right one. No snow, but for us this was perfect. 

But, because it is our first Christmas as a family of 3,  I would hate to look back at the pictures and regret not making the most of it. So, hot chocolate in hand, Quin and I got to work. And while I have never been a fan of seasonal music, I have to admit...turning on the Pandora Christmas station and hanging the stockings made me forget about the heat outside our door, at least for the afternoon. ;)

yes- she is chewing on a glitter ornament

we are family...

For anyone who might not know, I come from a family of 5 sisters, all married, resulting in 12 (soon to be 13) grand kids under the age of 10 for my parents. So I just wanted to share a few family photos from the trip. I am sorry to say we didn't manage a group shot this year since it took 3 separate gatherings to get us all together. But, just the same, it was great for the family to finally meet Quin!

OK, so maybe that was more than a few. But hey- it was, after all, the entire reason we made that crazy trip! ;)

going going, back back, to cali cali

after our visit with the family in Ohio, it was on to California to visit friends and spend some time in the place we still consider home. The weather was unusually cool and windy (no, I'm not that crazy mom that over dressed her kid), but we still enjoyed the sun and the beach for a while. It was great to see everyone and we can't wait for the next visit- better yet, maybe just the move back! Ha!

Oh! I almost forgot to mention the farmers market!! ;)

So...after 40+ hours of flight time, we are finally back on Guam. We were anxious to get home and be back in our own house with our stuff. And that lasted all of 20 hours; until I drove 15mph (stuck behind someone) all the way to Kmart, only to be over charged for an item which then took 35min to resolve! We were definitely not in Target anymore. :(