Well, we made it to Texas after 3 days of traveling and 4 planes! :-) It was a very LONG trip and we are SO happy to finally be here!! We took the military flights from Guam to Hawaii (9 hours) and then the first place we could get to from there was New Jersey, so we went ahead and took that one (10 hours). We got a shuttle from NJ to Philadelphia (only about an hour ride) and then bought commercial tickets to come straight back at 11:00am. I was SO happy to be in an actual airport with tickets that I actually had PAID for and (thought) I knew for sure what time we'd be leaving - with the military flights, things are just so unsure and this seemed so much more certian. However, this is really where the mess began.....the flight was cancelled :( They booked us on another one at 2:20pm and it was cancelled at the last minute too!!! After waiting in line for 2.5 hours, the next flight out was full, so we had to get a hotel room in Philadelphia and flew out the next morning at 6:00am. THEN, we had to connect in Washington before taking another plane to DFW!!! Whew!! We were SO happy to touch the ground in DFW, that's for sure!! :-) I was able to get off work and leave a day earlier than I had planned, so we still got here sooner than we thought we would. I am happy that we made it for Father's Day! Adysen and I are adjusting to the time change. We both woke up at 4:30am today!! I am hoping she went back to sleep, though.
It is really nice to be "home" - The first stop we made was Whataburger and it was SOOOOOOOOO good! I have a list of many other places that I'd like to go!! I have already been to Dillards and it felt SO weird to be back in a "real" mall again!! We are very excited to see everyone and catch up on what we've missed over the last year!!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
New School PIctures
The high school didn't do spring pictures, but we got new ones back today for Adysen and Allie. I can't believe how much they have grown and changed since their pictures in the Fall!!!!
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
We are on the way!!
Well, Jason, Kelsey and Allie left here on a plane yesterday headed for the states!! We are flying "space A" this summer which means we fly on a miliarty plane and have NO idea when the planes will leave or which one we will be able to get on. They took one yesterday morning that stopped in Hawaii (as all of them do from here), but instead of going on with it to Washington, they found another connection from Hawaii to Birmingham, Alabama. This is about 5 hours from Monroe, LA where Nonna and Papa Royce live, so Nonna is on her way to pick them up now. They will spend the night, head back to Monroe tomorrow and then go on to Ft. Worth with Jason's dad on Monday. It sounds confusing, but it's actually working out amazingly well so far! They were hoping to get in to San Antonio or Shreveport, but this seems to be the next best thing. If they had to connect to Washington or California or somewhere farther, they would have had to buy commmercial tickets to DFW which would be very expensive at the last minute. So.... we are thankful for the way it is working out!!
Adysen and I will hang out here for the next 3 weeks and wait for school to be out, then we will head out and try to get back to Texas asap. Prayers for a safe and smooth trip for us will be greatly appreciated! This Space A travel is SO scary for a control freak like me, but I am having to give up the control and know that God will take care of this one for us. He's doing a GREAT job so far!! :)
Adysen and I will hang out here for the next 3 weeks and wait for school to be out, then we will head out and try to get back to Texas asap. Prayers for a safe and smooth trip for us will be greatly appreciated! This Space A travel is SO scary for a control freak like me, but I am having to give up the control and know that God will take care of this one for us. He's doing a GREAT job so far!! :)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Even more snaggles!
The very next night ANOTHER tooth came out!! Now there is just one left in the top section. She played a lizard today in a performance in music class and this smile fit the part perfectly!! :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
A Snaggle Tooth Girl!
Adysen has lost the first front tooth on the top for a total of 6 missing teeth so far and...2 more on top are loose!! Between she and Allie, the tooth fairy has been BUSY around here! I always love the snaggle toothed look kids have when they lose those front top teeth!! SO cute!!! Sorry the pictures are little graphic - I love her facial expressions. But, if blood or things such as that gross you out, don't look! :)
Friday, May 11, 2007
Happy Mother's Day!
As a mom, most of my days are consumed with working, packing lunches, trying to get places on time, reprimanding and reasoning, homework, cooking, laundry, bath time, fixing hair, cleaning and all the rest of the millions of things that have to be done every day. Today, however was a special day for me. I was treated to a program in Allie's kindergarten class where I was reminded of the blessings of being a mom instead of the chores that I usually find myself focusing on. I was presented with the most beautiful painted newspaper hat that I have ever seen (see the gorgeous picture below) 
along with a tissue paper flower and a vase made from a Sunny D bottle. I also got a cookbook with a sweet picture of Allie in it along with her favorite recipe. Most importantly of all, I got to watch my sweet girl sing with her class 2 precious songs that brought so many tears to my eyes!!
After school, Adysen proudly presented me with a sweet card/story that she made for me (click on image to make it bigger and more readable) and I was reminded again of how lucky I am to be a mom to these 3 precious girls!
I have also had many thoughts this week of how very special my mom and Grandma are to me!! Without them, I would not have had the examples of patience, unconditional love and kindness that they have inspired me with. I am further blessed with 2 of the most wonderful mother in laws that I could ever imagine!! Each one of these women are wonderful Godly women who inspire me to be a better mom!!
I have to admit that most days I get carried away in "life" and forget how very blessed I am, but this was definitely a day for remembering.
along with a tissue paper flower and a vase made from a Sunny D bottle. I also got a cookbook with a sweet picture of Allie in it along with her favorite recipe. Most importantly of all, I got to watch my sweet girl sing with her class 2 precious songs that brought so many tears to my eyes!!
After school, Adysen proudly presented me with a sweet card/story that she made for me (click on image to make it bigger and more readable) and I was reminded again of how lucky I am to be a mom to these 3 precious girls!
I have also had many thoughts this week of how very special my mom and Grandma are to me!! Without them, I would not have had the examples of patience, unconditional love and kindness that they have inspired me with. I am further blessed with 2 of the most wonderful mother in laws that I could ever imagine!! Each one of these women are wonderful Godly women who inspire me to be a better mom!!
I have to admit that most days I get carried away in "life" and forget how very blessed I am, but this was definitely a day for remembering.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Sushi
We have developed a taste for lots of different Asian food around here and sushi is one of our recent favorites. We decided to try to make some at home and it turned out so YUMMY!! I know it's kind of a weird thing to blog about, but we just had to document our first "sushi at home" experience!! :)
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Ahhhh.... beaches on Guam!
The beaches here are top on the list of our favorite things here on Guam!! Packing up and going to the beach for a few hours on the weekend is not something that any of us have been able to do anywhere else that we have lived. We definitely enjoy that part!! These are some dresses that Nonna bought the girls while they were here and the kite was Papa's gift to them. Thanks Nonna and Papa!!!! :)
Monday, April 30, 2007
Soccer time!!
Well, soccer is over for another season. The girls had a great time playing! They ended the season with a "Jamboree" which was FIVE hours of being outside in the HOT weather!! They each played 3 games throughout the day and then there was a huge potluck lunch tent - these people in Guam KNOW how to eat!! :)
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Happy Easter!
I know this is late, but I just had to post pics of these cute Easter dresses that my mom made for Adysen and Allie. Kelsey's came from Old Navy! Thank you Mimi!! :)
Friday, April 13, 2007
Day 7 - A Drive in Australia
4/12/07 – Thursday
Well today was another awesome day in Australia!! We had to check out of our hotel at 10:00am, but didn’t fly out until midnight, so we decided to rent a car for the day and do some exploring. Jason took a taxi to the airport and found a car – it wasn’t as easy as we’d hoped as some of the companies were actually out of cars because of spring break business! He practiced driving on the wrong side of the road on the short drive back to the hotel and then we packed ourselves and our stuff in and took off.
We weren’t sure where we were going, but really wanted to see some waterfalls that were in an area about and hour and ½ outside of Cairns. We took a road that we had been told was a little “windy” which turned out to be an understatement!! Jason did a great job maneuvering on the wrong side of the road, but we were both a little tense by the time we got to a straighter road. The girls were all queasy after that windy drive, and we were happy to see that road end!! The drive was absolutely gorgeous with green rolling hills and mountains everywhere. The weather was rainy and foggy which made for some beautiful pictures and a peaceful atmosphere also.
We found the first beautiful waterfall in an area called “Milla Milla”. It was amazing to be that close to such a beautiful waterfall!! We went on to see 2 more that were in the area and then on to a little dairy farm/tea house place where we were greeted with a small plate of fresh cheeses to taste. They were all delicious and the lunch we ate there was as well. We have never tasted such fresh cheese in our lives! For dessert, we had a passion fruit flavored cheesecake that was the freshest and most delicious cheesecake I have ever tasted!!
After lunch, we stopped at another waterfall and spoke to a local woman who told us about an old castle nearby that she said we just had to see. When we arrived, we found that it was actually located in a park area called “Paronella Park”. We were disappointed as there was a pretty expensive admission cost and we were tired of paying such huge prices for everything. They offered to let the kids in for free, and we needed to kill some time, so we decided to go ahead and go on in and it turned out to be one of the most amazing things that we experienced on our entire trip!!! The first thing we got to see was a dance performance done by an aboriginal group which was awesome. The park is centered around the remains of a castle that was built by Luis Paronella and next we took a tour around and heard the interesting story of his life and the park. He died and left the castle and park to his son who died and then it was sold and was left and not maintained for many years. Then, 13 years ago a couple who currently own it, saw it on a trip to Australia, purchased it and refurbished it and are still working on restoring the history of it. The castle was destroyed by a fire, but the structure that is left is still amazing to see. We stayed until 6:30 when the owner did a wonderful nighttime tour of the park and we wandered around with flashlights and they lit the castle up at the end. It was really an amazing experience!
After that, it was back to Cairns where we ate a quick dinner and went on the airport. Our flight left at midnight which I wasn’t looking forward to, but the girls all did great and we slept the majority of the time. We made it back to Guam at 4:15am and got to bed just as the sun was coming up for a few hours of sleep. It was definitely a successful vacation and one that we will never forget!!!
Well today was another awesome day in Australia!! We had to check out of our hotel at 10:00am, but didn’t fly out until midnight, so we decided to rent a car for the day and do some exploring. Jason took a taxi to the airport and found a car – it wasn’t as easy as we’d hoped as some of the companies were actually out of cars because of spring break business! He practiced driving on the wrong side of the road on the short drive back to the hotel and then we packed ourselves and our stuff in and took off.
We weren’t sure where we were going, but really wanted to see some waterfalls that were in an area about and hour and ½ outside of Cairns. We took a road that we had been told was a little “windy” which turned out to be an understatement!! Jason did a great job maneuvering on the wrong side of the road, but we were both a little tense by the time we got to a straighter road. The girls were all queasy after that windy drive, and we were happy to see that road end!! The drive was absolutely gorgeous with green rolling hills and mountains everywhere. The weather was rainy and foggy which made for some beautiful pictures and a peaceful atmosphere also.
We found the first beautiful waterfall in an area called “Milla Milla”. It was amazing to be that close to such a beautiful waterfall!! We went on to see 2 more that were in the area and then on to a little dairy farm/tea house place where we were greeted with a small plate of fresh cheeses to taste. They were all delicious and the lunch we ate there was as well. We have never tasted such fresh cheese in our lives! For dessert, we had a passion fruit flavored cheesecake that was the freshest and most delicious cheesecake I have ever tasted!!
After lunch, we stopped at another waterfall and spoke to a local woman who told us about an old castle nearby that she said we just had to see. When we arrived, we found that it was actually located in a park area called “Paronella Park”. We were disappointed as there was a pretty expensive admission cost and we were tired of paying such huge prices for everything. They offered to let the kids in for free, and we needed to kill some time, so we decided to go ahead and go on in and it turned out to be one of the most amazing things that we experienced on our entire trip!!! The first thing we got to see was a dance performance done by an aboriginal group which was awesome. The park is centered around the remains of a castle that was built by Luis Paronella and next we took a tour around and heard the interesting story of his life and the park. He died and left the castle and park to his son who died and then it was sold and was left and not maintained for many years. Then, 13 years ago a couple who currently own it, saw it on a trip to Australia, purchased it and refurbished it and are still working on restoring the history of it. The castle was destroyed by a fire, but the structure that is left is still amazing to see. We stayed until 6:30 when the owner did a wonderful nighttime tour of the park and we wandered around with flashlights and they lit the castle up at the end. It was really an amazing experience!
After that, it was back to Cairns where we ate a quick dinner and went on the airport. Our flight left at midnight which I wasn’t looking forward to, but the girls all did great and we slept the majority of the time. We made it back to Guam at 4:15am and got to bed just as the sun was coming up for a few hours of sleep. It was definitely a successful vacation and one that we will never forget!!!
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