Fry's, Jackson's, & Peterson's Invade Guam

Like I said travel is great on this side of the world and it is so much better when you can travel with good friends and their kids!!!

Bags are packed and we were ready to go!!!!

Stella, Sophia, Mike, CJ, Ash, Nicholas, and Christopher (not in the picture) - 7 kiddos...... Watch out Guam... They are coming 

On the bus waiting to board the first flight (Yuzhno to Tokyo)

Miss Stella was smitten with Mike!!! And they were so cute together

Stella wanted to walk with my kids - Will got a taste at what four kids is like :-) Ash, Mike, and Stella were swinging each other, walking into things.... Following behind with Natalie and Christian was priceless. People were just observing Will and had to be thinking he is out of his mind for traveling alone with 4 kids!

Before plane hugs - It was nice being on the same flight to Guam (there was 2 that day)

View from my hotel room

View of hotel from the beach - We stayed at Hyatt Regency Guam

Every angle was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

LOTS of high end stores and shopping down this strip. In a mile stretch there were 3 Louis Vuitton stores

Everything was really pretty at night as well

Hard Rock was our first meal and it was a must have!!!

Ash and Stella

Stella, Sophia, Ash, & Mike

Of course we had a dance party :-)

CJ was being shy and was not ready to let the world see his stylish moves... However... The Peterson's on the other hand... THEY GOT MOVES!!!

Stay Turned for more to come!!!!

Mike's "Birthday" Sleep Over

Mike's 4th birthday was June 28 and since we were USA bound June 11 for the summer, Mike did not have a birthday party. I asked him if he wanted a party before we left and he said "no mommy.... I just want a sleepover with my two friends Ben and Bryan" - Done and Done. But when to do it???? I couldn't be done before we left. There was not nearly enough time and everyone seemed to be traveling in June. Best option was do it when we returned in August. 

August flew by and with so much going on, people still returning from their summer trips, getting ready for school, time just seemed to get away from me and planning this sleep over. Well I nailed down a date in September and stuck with it. Mike had his friends over September 18. Seemed to work out best for the other families as well. 

I was a little skeptical about this.... I mean a sleep over with 3 rowdy 4yr old boys...... Cold be bad right? Not at all! They were so good!!! And it was a blast having them here. Mike really adores these two :-) All her talked about that week was when were friends coming over!!!!!

Look how happy these three are!!!

The best way to handle feeding a whole bunch of hungry kiddos was order from the CC :-) The Jackson's hung out with us as well for a few hours

Who says you can only sled when it is snowing!!! We have a pretty good hill behind our house and they did this for a few hours

Taking a little break from sledding to roast some yummy marshmallows

This little one was too cute with the Marshmallows :-)

When you try and say "cheese" with a mouth full of fluffy goodness

CJ and Nicholas literally shooting for the stars :-)

And were back to sledding - The bounce house was also set up and the kids were going back and fourth between the two

Bryan orchestrated a game a "superhero's and bad guys" - they strapped the sleds to their back to use them as shields and ran around with a toy guns fighting the bad guys :-) Got a good laugh out of them

Then it was time to go to sleep - Ash and CJ really had a hard time about not being able to sleep with the boys and watch Toy Story for a little bit. I asked the boys if they minded and they were very welcoming to Ash and CJ staying in the room with them. We set up shop in our play room and as you can see they fell asleep differently from where they started :-) 

They went to sleep without issues and Bryan/CJ woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed around 5am, Mike around 6:30, Ash 7, and Ben 7:20ish.

Morning coloring 

Snuggles and Pancakes!!!!

All in all a successful night and can't wait to have these kiddos over again!

Whoa.... We've Already Been Here For A Year???

I feel so behind on my blogs... This coming from the girl who swore she'd NEVER blog... I have to fill ya'll in on Mike's late birthday sleep over and our latest adventure in Guam, but first let's take a moment and reflect on this last year. As we were sitting in the Tokyo airport awaiting the flight back to Yuzhno it occured to me that one year ago the five of us were sitting in the same spot, gate 28A, awaiting the same flight. All the other passengers knew one another and chatted about their trip or where they were coming from and then there was us.... looking like lost dogs, crabby children, TONS of bags, not organized... basically a HOT freaking mess!!!!! But I guess that is normal when you pack up, leave the great state of Texas, and move to another country.

Fast forward a year and we could not be better! This move has been great for us and especially great for the children. They have been fully immersed into  a completely different culture, language exposure, societal ways, and delicacies. Truthfully exposing them to this now is the best time. They are young and adaptable to change, and isn't that the point of living over seas? To "experience" different things and get used to a different way of living? You can't move to a different country and expect to have the same standard of living as you did in the USA. Fortunately the military trained Will and I to adapt and overcome. Sure we had the Navy Exchange and Commissary to do our shopping but lets be honest.... They didn't have the best vegetables or fruit, we learned to accept the phrase "it's on the barge" which always seemed to be true because stuff was always out of stock. We also lived in a sardine can with no windows at all and three other room mates. Sure do miss good old Camp America though :-)

I think Cuba is truthfully why this assignment in Russia is a good fit for us, and we actually like it here. It reminds me of living on the base being forced out of my comfort zone. 

I have also learned a lot about myself over the past year. It's no secret that Ash has a neurological disorder and is a bit different. We knew coming here that it was going to be tough with her. The school is small and there was a STRONG chance that she would not be able to attend school due to no resources for learning disabled children. I have been homeschooling her for the past year and she has moved mountains with how far she has come along. I am more patient than I give myself credit for and can handle just about anything that is thrown at me when it comes to Ash and her situation. Sure it is tough, and exhausting at times, but is is also so very rewarding. It is a different relationship and accomplishment when it is your own child. She can do the things she can because of what I have been doing with her. And I am trained in secondary education. Elementary kiddos scare the living hell out of me but I am finding that I they are not so bad :-) I actually LOVE working with her everyday! It is A TON of work though... Between lesson planning for her and finishing up my second masters degree I feel burnt out at the end of the day. But the pain is temporary and the end result will far outweigh the trials and tribulations right now. 

Moving on.... This location has given my family an opportunity to see this part of the world that seemed like dream so far out of my reach. We have been to Hawaii, Australia, Japan, Guam, and in January we are headed to Singapore and Thailand. Once we move back home we probably will never come back out this way unless Will picks up another assignment on this side of the world. The travel opportunities are endless and the rich history and culture is just amazing to take in. I find myself ALWAYS hunting down historical facts for when I return home and and get high schoolers back :-) I will be that over enthusiastic teacher eager to share my knowledge. When I get the entry on Guam done you all will see what I am talking about. We spent two days chasing down EVERYTHING I could get on WWII War in the Pacific and the specific events that occurred in Guam.

Overall, this has been an amazing experience and I can't wait to see what this next year brings us.