Kids and pets

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures. Haven is having her first haircut, and the other picture of her is at Cocos Island. Jack is riding a horse at a small ranch in the northern part of the island. Cole is pictured with his friend Reyna and his new guinea pig Stripey. We adopted Stripey from some friends who just left island and he is a great pet.

Spanish Steps

Here are a few pictures from the Spanish Steps. This snorkle spot had been closed for 18 months due to ships being in the area so when we heard it was open we made a point to get there before it closed again. There is a short, steep hike down to it. The tide was low but we still saw some beautiful fish. We didn't see sharks there that day but our friends did just a few days before. On the walk back through the water we found old Japanese bullets and some other WWII artifacts.

Cole's Kindergarten graduation

Hello everyone! We though we'd try to get one more blog in before we head home and hopefully see some of you in person!! Last week Cole graduated from kindergarten. It was a neat ceremony and Cole surprised us with a short solo. All of the children wore matching shirts/dresses made by one of the parents. At the end of the graduation the kids were covered with candy leis. It's hard to believe that as we were waiting for the ceremony to begin the sky poured forth rain that was incredibly loud and intense. And then it just stopped and we've posted a picture of the sunset that followed. That's Guam for you! Next year he will have Mrs. Sablan again as his teacher and we are so happy as she has been such a blessing to Cole and to us. Here are a few pictures from this day.

spring guam

Finally, here are a few pictures from around Guam. On the right is a picture of Cole and Jack on the tire swing in our backyard. We love the great big tree that it hangs from in our backyard. The picture of the octopus on the top left was taken at Gab Gab beach when the Varneys were here. A lifeguard friend of ours found it along the rocks. The black and white is one Tom took of an old Spanish bridge located on the beach in the southern part of the island. Tom and I went on a hike to Sella Bay and it was amazing to stumble upon it. We walked the beach and snorkeled. It was truly incredible. The bottom picture is of our family at Fort Soledad, also in the southern part of the island. Guam really is ugly isn't it ? :)

springtime Haven

Here is precious Haven. She is such a happy girl and always a joy. She loves her brothers and her daddy and her face lights up when she sees them. She's starting to put words together and just the other day said "I love you" to Cole. She loves shoes, and especially a pair of blue crocs she got from a neighbor. She even has started to show interest in choosing her own outfits. The other day I had her dressed and she came out with a different shirt that she pulled from her drawer and clearly communicated to me that she wanted to wear that instead. Uh oh!

springtime Jack

Jack is quite a character. On the left he's posing with Sirena the mermaid who sits in front of an old Spanish bridge in the island's capital. On the right he's having his face painted by Jingles the Clown. She is at every Navy family function and Jack loves to visit her. On the bottom he's wearing his spy glasses. If he's not a spy he's usually batman or spiderman, depending on the day.

springtime Cole

Hello everyone! It's hard to believe that the school year is over for Cole in a few short weeks. We are looking forward to summer as we are journeying home! Mid June we will fly to upstate New York. At the end of the month we'll head to Massachusetts. Then Tom will fly home June 28th and I will stay for the month of July with the kids. Cape Cod here we come! Here are a few recent pictures of Cole. On the bottom he's drinking our favorite drink here - melon freeze with tapioca balls- at the Pinewood Derby regional championship. In the middle he's putting coins into the new collecting case that Grampa Varney recently sent him. On the top he's sitting in front of his science project, which won 2nd place at his school's science fair. He's been in swimming lessons and recently has enjoyed playing baseball in the yard. He has quite a swing!