Jason's best home improvement project EVER!!

Lots of people have these patio covers around here and we decided we needed one too because we love spending time outside. So, after lots of runs back and forth to the hardware store, Jason got this together and we LOVE it! It's like adding another room to our house! Check it out....

Some pictures of our house

Just thought I'd share some pictures of our house since we have gotten our stuff all settled! It is definitely not a mansion, but it works for us! :)

Kelsey's trip to Okinawa

Kelsey had a wonderful chance to travel to Okinawa, Japan for a "Far East" journalism conference this week. There are 4 districts (Guam, Korea, Tokyo and Okinawa) that bring their students together in different areas to compete. Every sport goes to Far East as well as cheerleading, journalism, etc. Kelsey had to write an essay explaining why she wanted to go and was very excited to be chosen! We obviously had some fears about sending her so far away from us, but it was such a great opportuntiy for her. She learned how to exchange her money and calculate Yen, she got to eat lots of "different" Asian foods, some that she liked and some that she didn't, and of course there was shopping which was her favorite part! We were all jealous of her trip to Starbucks!! I think she took pictures of EVERYthing she saw there including each dessert! :)She enjoyed the conferences and learned alot about photography and journalism. Her good friend LaRhonda was chosen also, so that made it even more fun!

Fire safety week

Adysen and Allie are learning about fire safety this week at school. I just had to share these cute pictures! I made a scrapbook for Adysen's kindergarten year, so I am trying to find time to snap some pictures of Allie's activites to make one for her also. It's a little harder since I am working full time now, but I think it will work out! This is Adysen in my classroom and Allie at the fire safety activities.

Columbus Day

We had Columbus Day out of school which is always a GOOD thing! We spent some time relaxing on the beach. The rains have brought up lots of vegetation to the beach area, but we had fun anyway. We had to leave early when a storm blew in. It rains a LOT around here! Today is the 13th day in a row of rain!!

The tooth story

Last week, Jason and I were talking about how strange it is that Adysen lost her 2 front bottom teeth almost a year ago and hasn't lost any since. We asked her if she had any loose teeth now. She stuck her fingers in her mouth, checked around a bit and replied "Nope, no loose teeth!" We believed her until suddenly on Saturday she was eating a snack and her tooth literally FELL OUT!! Come to find out, she had told Kelsey and showed her a really loose one that was just hanging on the night before, but had kept it a secret from everyone else the whole time!!! We have now figured out that 3 more are loose, but will be smart enough to watch for them this time! :)

Boat Trip

This weekend, we went on a dive/snorkel boat trip sponsored by the church on base that we have been going to. We had a great time! About 1/2 the people were divers and 1/2 did not dive. The boat drove to a site where there was a shipwreck and the divers went down while the rest of us jumped off the boat and snorkeled or just had fun swimming. We were close to a beautiful reef where the snorkeling was great. Then, we got back on, had a snack and a devotional, then went to another good dive site. It REALLY motivated Jason and Kelsey and I to want to get our divers certifications!! Snorkeling is fun, but this is just such a great place to learn to dive! It's expensive, but not as expensive as most places from what we hear. As soon as we recover from our moving expenses, this will be on our list of things to do!! We'll also have to get an underwater camera so we can post pictures from our dives!!

Update

We haven't had much to take pictures of lately, but I thought I'd post an update anyway....

School is in full swing and the girls are doing very well. Allie LOVES kindergarten - her teachers are just wonderful!! Adysen's teacher is very nice also and she is doing great in first grade. Adysen and Allie both have a Spanish class for 45 minutes 3 times/week. They are loving learning a new langauge! They also have a class once every 4 days called "culture" where they learn about the Guam culture and things about the Chamorro people and their language. My classroom is right down the hall from both of them which is very nice for all of us!!

Kelsey is enjoying her time in high school also. She has a 45 minute bus ride each way and has to leave the house at 6:00am to get to the bus stop on time, so she's had to adjust to going to bed and getting up earlier. She has made lots of friends and is enjoying being involved in a smaller school. She is taking Japanese as her foreign language class. She got to go to the first football game last weekend and spends lots of time running around the base with her friend LaRhonda. She has also been very busy babysitting - she had a job both Friday and Saturday night of this week and babysitters are paid VERY well here, so she is loving having her own spending money. She is learning the art of online shopping! :-)

Jason stays up at night calling the states and doing what he is best at... talking to people. He is really enjoying his recruiter job and the flexibility of the hours. He is definitely talented in this area, so we are hoping that this job pays off and works out for him.

I am adjusting to working in a new environment. After working at the same school in Keller for 8 years, it has definitely been an adjustment for me!! Although, my basic job is the same, the paperwork and people are very different. I am basically doing the job of 2 people for now - there is another speech therapist coming in a few weeks, but I am trying to keep up with all the kids at both the elementary AND the middle school until she arrives. I will be VERY happy to see her!! I have to be at work at 7:15, which is a little challenging, but I get off work at 2:45 which is very nice.

Although things are different here, we are enjoying our adventure and although there are some times of homesickness and insecurity, we know that God has put us here for a reason and He is stretching us and we are growing!!

Kindergarten!!!

Allie finally got to have her first day of kindergarten today and she loved every minute of it! She was SO excited as you can tell by her smile! Her teachers are wonderful and one cool thing is... the kindergarten kids are younger AND shorter here, so she is actually average height in her class!! She had a GREAT day!!!

Tarza Water Park

Today we decided to check out a local water park. It was small, but fun - there were lots of different slides and a lazy river and pool area. The landscaping and scenery was gorgeous of course

Labor Day Weekend

We had an eventful weekend with lots of sun and swimming. On Sunday, after church, we went had another try at snorkeling. We went to a more "rustic" beach area and had a great time. Allie snorkeled like a pro this time - it's amazing how much better she did this time than the first time!! We finally saw 2 HUGE BLUE starfish that we keep hearing that Guam is famous for - they are just gorgeous!!! I actually got picutures of people snorkeling this time instead of just getting ready! :)

Starting school

Well, Adysen started first grade and Kelsey started ninth grade on Tuesday!! They have both had a great start to the year. Adysen loves her teacher and loves eating in the cafeteria. Kelsey has changed from a school of 3,000 kids in Keller to a school with 500 kids here. A small school has it's goods and bads - she will get a chance to participate in more things here, but we found out that schedule conflicts are a problem. The only time choir is offered is during her English class, so she can't take choir! She is taking Drama instead which she also enjoys. She is taking Japanese for her foreign language class which is great for her - she will be exposed to that langauge alot around here! Adsyen goes once a week to a "culture" class to learn about Guam and she also has a Spanish period during her class daily. They are getting lots of good experiences here! :)

Allie will start kindergarten next Thursday full time. She is MORE than ready to go!!!