Vacation Day 6

Wow, the time is flying by! We had a slower day today, with plans of hitting up Chammoro Village tonight, however, that was a bust. No Village on Fridays...just had some bad/old info. So we tried to hit up Jamaca Grill for dinner, but couldn't get in without a reservation! Never would have occured to me they even took reservations! Oh well. We ordered to go and brought it home. At least we hit the beach for an hour or so before putting the girls down for nap. Today I took LaDonna to Ritidian. I think she liked it! Even Katelee had fun in the surf and sand!

Vacation Day 5

We started today at the doctor again-Liv was up hollering for an hour last night about her ear hurting. Thankfully, more meds helped, allowing her to sleep and allowing us the chance to avoid a long night at the ER. As is turns out, the girl does not have an infection at all, which is good, but does get some severe pain when pressure builds due to congestion. Poor girl. After the doc, we headed out for an alternator and doughnuts. Perfect combination! Hopefully the car will hold out til next Friday since that is the first chance the hobby shop folks can fit us in. It started like a dream all day today-still, better get some jumper cables, just in case!

About noon, after talking to Daddy, we headed out to Jeff's Pirates' Cove for lunch. Look at all the pretty girls!

And a little beach time!

Liv met a little Japanese girl-there was certainly no language barrier for these two!

Hammocks make for a perfect lazy day in the sun...we all had fun just a'swinging.

LaDonna was blown away by some local regulars... (bananas)

(roosters)


Our final stop was to see the old Spanish ruins.


It was a good day, a tiring day. Here, the girls hold hands while asleep in the back seat. Sisterly love.

Vacation Day 4

Today we were blessed with another sunny day-the perfect Guam day, as a matter of fact! We headed off the base on our way to the southern part of the island without any real plan or destination. We started off with an exciting lunch of drive-thru McD's, followed by a quick tour of the dive shop-since it is a place we frequent, on down to the Agat marina where we turned around and headed back to Fisheye. Fisheye is a natural aquarium at the end of a peir. LaDonna was so excited to see the bottom of the ocean-said it was a first for her! The girls loved it too. Katelee wanted to go from window to window, putting her face against the glass in each one. Both girls loved the schooling fish and Liv and found an anenome with a batch of eggs tended by two dedicated clownfish. It was cool. LaDonna was also amazed at the color of our ocean here. After seeing all the sights at Fisheye, we made a stop at a beach park where the waves came crashing in-huge waves! We were there a little longer than intended because the car died and some kind locals gave us a jump. After a quick visit to the car folks here on base, it looks like we have a sick alternator, so will try and get that taken care of tomorrow. It was a fun, busy day. I thought we were in for the night when Liv remembered she had Awana Cubbies tonight, so off we went again. Now, both girls are successfully asleep in bed-so much for taking it easy today! Oh well, no one is worse for the wear! Enjoy the pics!

Sun!

Finally, the sun came out to play today-and we met it at the beach! We had a little picnic lunch and then played in the surf and sand...welcome to Guam, Grandma Donner!

Guam Vacation: Day 3

Well, the sun is trying to peek today at least-but now Liv has an ear infection. Bummer. Maybe will try to get out for a bit to do something low key...oh to fly half way around the world to be home-bound. It will get better! Grandma Donner took this of our after-nap snuggle time.

Vacation Days: Grandma Donner

Well, Liv, Katelee and I arrived home Saturday night with Grandma Donner in tow. She made it safe and sound-and actually says she enjoyed the flight over-all except the last leg which was pretty bumpy. So far, our days have been pretty uneventful. Sunday was a dreary, rainy day, so we took it easy-brunched at Denny's, windshield tour of the base and Tarague Beach. Today we got her a pass for the BX and commisary, had a bite to eat at the club, then grabbed some essentials at the BX. We did take a walk around Rota to see the sights and get what little sun was peeking through the clouds. We did run into some friends and so LaDonna got a good feel for the awesome community we live in. Will try to get pics up tomorrow!

Hawaiin Holiday

The Mitchells (the whole family) are enjoying a fun holiday vacation in Hawaii. They have done several touristy things, and they managed to get some great Family Photo Shots! Enjoy.

Courtney Vacation (that keeps going and going)

Today was "back to work day" for Mark, but he came home a bit early to watch a sunset with Courtney. After the sun dipped below the ocean, we headed to the Jerk House for some Jamaican food (SPICY)! Enjoy some scenic shots below.

Courtney Vacation (again)

Today was another good diving day. We teamed up with a couple other guys, and we dove from one beach to another. We stayed close to the shore. In fact, our maximum depth was only 15 feet! But, we saw lots of coral, fans, and fish. One guy saw an octopus, but the rest of us missed it. There were also jellyfish, and one guy got scraped across the face (no serious injuries). We didn't find any conch shells this time, but Mark snagged one souvenir (below). This was probably our last dive since Courtney has to leave on Wednesday. She is still in denial about that though.

Our shell collection

Courtney Vacation (Part 10)

Today was a great day of diving! We headed out on a boat with some friends and tied up to a buoy. We sank to find a sunken barge right beneath us. Surrounding the barge were great coral walls with all kinds of fish. We managed to find: a crab, a lobster, a watch, 2 stone fish, a blue shrimp, a trumpet fish, a turtle, a Triton's Trumpet shell, a barracuda, tons of fans and corals, and many different kinds of fish. It was our best dive yet.

We also picked up some of our shells we have had cleaned from previous dives. Looking good!


We ended the night with a nice dinner at a quaint Cuban restaurant. Quite nice.

Courtney Vacation (just keeps continuing)

Today was another adventurous day. Courtney and Mark woke up early and headed to the beach. We scoured the sand for pieces of colorful glass, and we found several nice treasures. Courtney has now decided to make a mosaic out of the collection. We originally planned on snorkeling, but it was too chilly.

In the afternoon, we went on a Marine tour of the fence separating us from Communist Cuba. We received a bit of a history lesson along the way, which was quite interesting. Unfortunately, the tour was called off a tad early when gunshots were heard. Enjoy the pic below, and check out more pics by clicking on the Taylor Photos link on the right.

Courtney Vacation (continued)

Today was another good day of relaxing and having fun. Mark and Courtney took to the beach for some scuba diving and snorkeling. Courtney made a great find while scuba diving -- a Triton's Trumpet (type of shell) -- but Mark made her put it back since he wasn't sure if those were keepers. However, we did snag a couple of conch shells. After we returned to the scuba shop, we learned Triton's Trumpets are hard to find and we should have snagged it. Thus, we headed back to the beach for some snorkeling. We tried to retrace our path, but after 40 minutes, we couldn't find it. Almost ready to give up, we made one more sweep, and Courtney found her shell again! We have a guy cleaning it now. In the meantime, enjoy a couple of pics from our last diving expedition.

Katelee steals the show at Silver Dollar City

Hello Santa!

The girls make their wishes known.

Courtney said Olivia visited a Santa at the mall and ran up to him, gave him a big hug, and told him, "I love you Santa" as they were leaving.

Courtney Vacation

Well, Courtney arrived safe and sound with Mark on Thursday. The girls are enjoying some one-on-one time with the grandparents. Courtney has already been introduced to Yoga, the galley meals (Friday night was steak & lobster night), and the beaches. Saturday, we headed to a couple of beaches, although it was quite cloudy and ready to rain. We did manage to snorkel at Windmill Beach though, and there were some great sights -- eel, fish, fans. We also saw a movie last night at the outdoor theater (Four Christmases). Today has it's own agenda: church, lunch, boating, and scuba diving! Should be fun. We are headed out the door now to buy snacks and such for the day.

Stay tuned for a few pics of the girls in MO.

Hi Daddy!

2008 Nov 235, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Thought I would share a rare one of me with you!

Arrived

We have arrived! And I am finally over jet-lag enough to take and post pics. Whew. The journey went off without a hitch, except for all of our luggage getting lost. But even that was delivered the next day. So far, we have hung out with Grandma and Grandpa and Grandma Donner, hit up Chick-fil-A, Sonic, Gordmans and Walmart. Here are some pics of our weekend in the woods.

Smores in the fireplace

Snuggles with Lucy

Snuggles with Ferbie

Saying Goodbye

Right before we left, we learned our babysitter extraordinaire is leaving us for a cush deployment before we return. As you can see, the girls hated saying goodbye!

Tear-jerker

2008 Oct 009, originally uploaded by counsel14.

Saying Nigh'-Night: Captured the night before Mark left.

Playing Catch'Up

We went to a Pampered Chef party at a friend's house today-while I learned to bake a chocolate cake in the microwave, Liv dressed her sister like a hula girl. The funniest part this that Katelee left the lais on for 15 minutes or more! Aloha!

Liv talking to her Daddy.

Crazy Hair Night


Our new tansu step from Hong Kong!

We're Back!

Hey All! It has been several days because our modem went down, so here is a picture just for kicks-it is Katelee trying with all her might to lift Doggy while trying to stay balanced. Check out that belly!!!