Cole's class

Here is a picture of Cole's kindergarten class at Namo Falls where we went on a field trip this morning. We had a great time and of course the weather was beautiful. The flowers here are so amazing. Cole's favorite is the blue morning glory. I love the torch flower, which you see in Haven's hand. This weekend Cole has his cubscout pinewood derby, and we're also planning on going on a cave tour up north so watch for new pictures again soon!

Diving

For those of you that find it hard to believe that I scuba dive, here is a picture from yesterday. Occasionally I will go on a boat dive and they really are neat. Yesterday we saw many lionfish. My favorite part about the diving is the beautiful fish. My friend Kathleen is in this picture with me, and next to her is her husband Ernie who just returned from an 8 month deployment in Iraq. When he came home there was a big celebration. Cole and I got to go the airport to meet him with all of our friends. I'll write again soon. Today Cole, Jack and I are recovering from a stomach bug that hit us all yesterday. Fun fun fun.

Batman Banana Boy

Here is a cute picture of Jack in his batman costume with a bunch of bananas from our neighborhood. My neighbor Su came over and asked me to go to the banana grove before the workers took them. We went over with a knife and cut down a few great big banana clusters. Supposedly if we keep them in the shade they will be ready to eat in a few weeks. These bananas are a bit sweeter than the ones we are used to. Also in our neighborhood are mangoes and avocados.

Brown Tree Snake

Yesterday we went on a cub scout "Go See It" to the USDA on the Navy Base. There we learned about the brown tree snake and what the USDA does to try to control the population. Since we've lived here we've seen two, one that my neighbor caught and one in a trap just yesterday. I now laugh at the fact that before we moved here I was convinced that I would not be venturing outside once darkness hit because that is when the snakes come out. The snake in this picture is 8 feet long. The longest recorded is 10 feet but most are around 2 feet. Cub scouts has been a good experience (when Cole wants to participate) Tom and I are the den leaders of our neighborhood den of 6 boys.

Tarzan Falls

Last weekend we went hiking with some close friends to a place called Tarzan Falls. The trail head is about five miles from our house. There are many places to hike here but we have to stick to the easy trails. Now that we've done this one we're excited to do more. It was about 3/4 mile hike with one swampy section where we got muddy. The pools at the bottom of the falls have fresh water eels and shrimp. We didn't dare swim but our friends were brave. Jack was essentially carried home but that was expected. Haven enjoyed time with a neighbor while we went.

Haven's big smile!

Since we are just setting up this blog, I thought I might put this picture up as a little teaser as to what you might find here. One of Lauren's friends here on the island is a photography hobbyist, really she is pretty much a pro. She took a picture of Haven and really captured Haven's beautiful toothy smile. She also got a really priceless shot of Haven with her little doggy blanky. I thought they were pretty cool. I hope you like them too.

Welcome to the Varneys on Guam Official Blog!

Hafa Adai! We decided to start this blog as a way of sharing with you what life in Guam is all about. We'll plan on using the blog to share pictures and info about all that is happening, and not happening, on this little island in the middle of nowhere. Feel free to send us some comments back. We look forward to hearing from you.

Lauren, Tom, Cole, Jack and Haven Varney