California

After a good visit with the fam, we were on to Los Angeles- the place we still consider home. We are so lucky to still have some really amazing friends in Manhattan Beach that were willing to let us crash with them for the 10 day visit! Brave souls!

We had SO much fun while we were there! Running on the strand, walking for bagels and coffee every morning, our favorite bakery for cookies...we tried to take full advantage of this visit!
We did some family stuff...

 

And we did the farmers market, of course- not once, but twice!

Celebrated Quins birthday, again...

is this not the face you would make if you too had birthday cookies for breakfast?

And had an awesome visit with some good friends who arranged a special pony ride for Quin!

What a fun trip!

Ohio

To say this update is overdue would be the mother of all under statements! Seriously though...these babies keep me busy. And the longer we went with out updating the blog, the more overwhelming the task seemed to become. So prepare for some brief, picture heavy posts. But...better late then never...
(Oh, and don't forget to check the girls' individual pages for some additional fun, updated photos)

We made our post-holiday trip back to Ohio about a month ago. While home, my side of the family decided to do a family overnight at my parents house. (Because our get together's aren't crazy enough with 14 kids under 12, we decided to extend it and attempt it on no sleep)

 

And then head out for some sled riding in the morning. Ya?! What idiot came up with that? Oh ya, me. ;) And for the record, it was a great night. One full of new memories and a speedy walk down memory lane. I believe I even heard one of the kids call it "the best day of his life". What a statement! Even if he is only 5.

 

 

While there, we also had a pre-celebration of Quins birthday.

 

Next stop, California!

December

December came and went SO fast! I think the holiday's and their happenings keep us so busy, time just seems to fly by.

We had a fun month though! Obviously, we don't see a seasonal change to signal the approach, but we took advantage of what we had here on Guam. We joined some friends to walk the "Christmas" lights down in Tumon. It was, with out a doubt, an "only on Guam" experience.

 

 

oh...and a couple rounds on the train at the mall...

 

 

Ryan and Quin took on a few gingerbread houses. Well...Ryan took on the house. Quin just took on the inexplicably, chewy but disgusting candies that came with it. Thankfully I opted for the village version- containing 4 small houses rather than one large. So we were able to wrap it up quickly and make a dash for her toothbrush! ;)

 

 

 

Christmas Eve was spent in our matching reindeer pajamas, eating popcorn and watching movies in bed. Norah came down with a cold and had had enough before we made it through opening credits.

 

 

 

Christmas morning was so much fun!! It was great to see how much Quin enjoyed the events. She's been really into the play kitchens everyplace we go recently. So naturally we wanted to get her one of her own this year. We had been talking it over for a while, and really wanted to build it ourselves. The final push...? No one would have shipped the top choices to us any way. So, thankfully I have an awesomely handy husband that is able to make these things happen for us. Even with very little notice. And while working 6, 12-14 hour days every week!

 

 

We were SO excited to give it to her in the morning!! And the kitchen was a total hit!!! I don't know if she has touched anything else in the house since that morning actually! But it has brought some "kitchen habits" to light that have me a little concerned. First, towels are not small blankets intended to keep your stove top warm. Second, plates are not the structural base for an interesting game of food jenga. We will use it as a teachable moment. :)

Hope all of you had a wonderful holiday!