Deck the Halls

Tonight we decorated our Christmas tree...or should I say, the boys decorated it. Tyler put six balls on one branch. He had a bit of a hard time moving from that spot. I pretty much left it the way they decorated it. I figure that if I "mess up" what they did then they won't take any pride in it and won't want to do it in the years to come. I know I'm over analyzing it but whatever. That's my excuse for the tree looking the way it does! ;-P Not much in the mood to fix things anyways because I'm feeling quite melancholy after seeing all the decorations from my grandmother. There is a lot that she made for Logan and one for Tyler. I was pretty sad thinking that Ryland will never have one from her. She used to crochet the ornaments and put pictures in the center of them. Then she would glue glitter to them. They were quite tacky but I appreciate them all the more since she's gone. I miss her very much.

I let the boys put up a small lit Christmas tree in their room. Tyler kept saying, "I love my Christmas tree!!". I think that they both think that they will wake up and it will be Christmas morning. Not looking forward to that! Logan keeps asking everyone if it's Christmas yet and then complains and says that it's taking FOREVER! Poor kid....guess this is a good lesson in patience.

Just wanted to add a few things that Tyler has been saying. It's a shocker when he comes out with this stuff since he's usually the shy, quiet one.

• We were watching a transformer video on youtube and he saw his fav "bumblebee" and said "That's what I'm talking about!".
  
• He and I were driving home and I put my Ipod on the Superman theme song which he loves. He looks up into the sky and yells "Superman, Save Us!!!".
• He says that daddy works at the hosipal.
• He likes that 80's song "I want candy" and when someone else sings it he follows with "No you don't" in the same tune. He also has added "I want chocolate".

It's no surprise when Logan comes out with something crazy but here's the latest... He was asking me if I could have another baby and have a girl this time so he could have someone to marry. When I told him that I wasn't going to have another baby and got all sad and said "Now I won't have anyone to marry!" YIKES! Last time I checked we were NOT from West Virginia! (no offense to those that are...just a joke!!)

See a few more pictures and a video in the web album.

Videos

I managed to upload some videos and they are in the web album to the left. The first is of Ryland talking and the second is Logan opening a present from Grammy.

I warned you...

Yes I have a weird sense of humor. I put this sign on the boys bedroom door because I just had to get it. Logan has this thing lately of yelling BOONIE DOG! every time he sees one. For those of you that have no idea what a boonie dog is here's my explanation...a stray dog. Why don't they say stray dog? Well they've got to add a chamorran flair...boonie is a slang term for jungle.

Here's an example of what a boonie dog does:

A few months ago Chris and I were driving around looking at houses because the Navy said we had to move out of ours because they were going to tear it down. So we got on the ball and started exploring neighborhoods. Well the dogs just run free here and apparently we were invading the territory of a boonie dog because he and his clan started to chase the van. I slowed down so I did not hit it and he started to gnaw on our tire! He then hit his head on the wheel well and I managed to drive off...van unharmed. Strike one point for the minivan! Woo Hoo!

So with two more years to go here I'm sure you'll hear a lot more of our boonie dog adventures.

New Sleeping Arrangement

Tyler is officially a big boy today because he's transitioning into the "big boy" bed. Logan is going up to the top bunk which I've been trying to stall but I regretfully had to cave today. I'm not sure how well this is going to work considering Tyler gets up around 5:30 AM (!!!) and Logan likes to sleep in until 7. I'm preparing myself for the arguments which will go something like this "TYLEEEERRRRR, YOU WOKE ME UP!!!", "Sowwy Nogan, wanna pway wis me?".

Here's Ryland on Thanksgiving. He slept through most of it (thankfully, because I was busy cooking). I didn't manage to get many pictures but what I do have is in our photo album.

Today I hit the 6AM sale at the exchange and bought myself a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Boy does that thing SUCK! LITERALLY! I highly recommend it if you don't have one. It's a great way to get your husband to vacuum the floors too! He was pretty excited at all the junk that was sucked up. Gotta love him...my Mr. Clean!

Thanksgiving at Logan's School

We had a Thanksgiving lunch at Logan's school today. As you can see, he had a good time. This is his friend Justin. He had a rough start with him at the beginning of the year because they are a lot alike but now they get along great.
Here's Tyler waiting for his food. No pics of Ryland this time. He slept through it. The kids were singing, yelling, running around and he just slept right through it. Guess it's no different than life at home with two older brothers, right? See more pics in album.

Nothing Special

Tonight I was reading the boys a story and came across this poem from "Where the Sidewalk Ends". Logan started laughing when he saw the picture but Tyler studied it very carefully. He said very seriously, "I don't want to do that" and then he said "WHO did that???". It was a pretty funny moment because he was so upset by the picture and the thought of someone's head being where their bottom should be. See picture below.
This weekend was pretty subdued. The boys and I made pizzas for lunch and I let them make their own. We did our very own cooking show which they enjoyed doing. I watch the food network occasionally and they sit right with me. We made "appetizers" which consisted of cut up strawberries and toothpicks.

AKA

Ok so I stole this from Rebecca's Blog who in turn stole it from someone else. I thought this was pretty neat. Copy and paste into an email and send me your answers!

1. Rock star name (first pet & current car):

Midnight Sienna

2. Ghangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor & favorite cookie):

Cheesecake Chocolate Chip

3. Fly girl name (first initial of first name & first three letters of last):

A Mor

4. Dectective name (favorite color & favorite animal):

Purple Boonie Dog
(haha! Justkidding!)
Purple Horse

5. Soap opera name (middle name & city where you were born):

Leigh Manchester

6. Star-Wars name (first three letter of your last name & first two of your first):

Moram

7. Superhero name ("The", 2nd favorite color & your favorite drink):

Blue Chai Latte

8. Nascar name (first names of your grandfathers):

James Claude

9. Las Vegas Dancer Name (favorite perfume & favorite candy):

Happy Reese's Peanut Butter Cup

10. Witness Protection Name (mother and father's middle names):

Mary Guy

11. TV Weather Anchor Name (5th grade teachers last name & major city beginning with same letter):

I can't remember that far back...

12. Spy Name (favorite season & favorite flower):

Fall Hydrangea

13. Cartoon Name (favorite fruit & article of clothing your wearing right now + "y"):

Strawberry Cropped Pantsy

14. Hippy Name (what you ate for breakfast & favorite tree):

Coffee Plumeria

15. Rockstar Tour Name ("The" + favorite hobby/craft + Favorite Weather Element + "Tour"):

The Decorating Snow Tour

Storytime

Logan has begun reading. He has done so well with blending his letters together and has started picking up words. All he wants to do lately is read! Today he decided to read a story to his little brother. Ryland was entranced by his voice so he just stared at him during the story. It was a great moment. See more pics in the album.

New Website

I just wanted to share a great new website that I just found. For all of you out there with children you'll definitely want to visit it! It's a website for affordable children's clothing. It's Gymboree clothing but NOT at Gymboree prices!! AND the shipping is FREE!!!!!! Not to Guam I'm sure but for all of you in the states, you should take advantage of it because I'm not sure if it's a promotional thing since their website is new. The sale prices are great but the regular priced stuff is not outrageous. It sort of reminds me of Old Navy...remember how it used to be affordable clothing???

Here's the website: www.crazy8.com

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ryland and Troy

This is Ryland's friend, Troy. He is 12 days younger than Ryland and was born on the island of Palau, a small island south of Guam. He's the son of an awesome couple that were blessed to have a child a different way than some, by adoption. Isn't he such a cute baby!?! Ryland looks like a giant compared to him! Oh and that red stuff on Ryland is dermatitis (Eczema) if you were wondering. I think I might have to bring him to the dr for that since it's getting worse. Anyhow, my friend Theresa is babysitting Troy while his mommy and daddy run a marathon so she decided to bring him over for a playdate. See more pics in the album.

Under the Sea

Logan and Chris went on a submarine today for his birthday...only one month later! He had a really good time. The sub holds about 30 people and they went to a depth of 120 feet. Above is a picture of a bunch of divers that they saw at around 40 feet near one of the fish feeders. Check out the album for more pictures. I wasn't able to load a video onto this post but they are also in the album.

Men at work

I just had to share this video since it's so cute. Tyler likes to help when we're cleaning so we shorten the handle for him.

The Next BIG thing!

Last night we went to Carmen's Restaurant to enjoy an evening of entertainment and good food. My friend Theresa's girls performed a few songs, their first gig. They were awesome but they only sang a few songs...we wanted MORE! I think that they might be performing again sometime in the next few weeks and we look forward to seeing them. Below is a sample.

Sam The Cooking Guy - BBQ Chicken Pizza

This guy is my new favorite chef to watch. I love cooking shows and stumbled across this one on Discovery health (not a channel I watch a lot). He's an every day cook...not pretentious, just real. I watched him burn his fingers on a grill today...so funny! (poor guy!) But what I mean to say is that he cooks healthy meals with normal items, that you can pronounce and he does it flawed...just like me!

Coconut Crab

This was found outside a hanger on Andersen Air Force Base here on Guam. These crabs are the largest hermit crabs in the world. They can not swim but they live near the water. Their claws are so strong that they can crack a coconut(they eat the meat inside)...hence the name Coconut Crab. The locals catch these guys when they are small and keep them until they grow and eat them. I've known some people to kill them by putting them in the freezer. I think that the only way this guy was going to fit in a freezer is if it was a walk-in type! I certainly hope that I don't see one of these things when I'm walking down the street. I've seen some at night when driving but never this big. Isn't Guam interesting?!?!

Halloween

Last year we decided not to do trick or treat but this year we did. The boys were Transformers with great thanks to Mammaw and Pap pap for getting the costumes! They loved them so much and we only saw one other kid with the same costume due to the fact that they are not even on Guam yet. Trick or treating was fun although Tyler started out saying "Trick or Treat!" but by the fourth house he just walked up and put his hand out. He refused to put it in his bag also. So all night long he had a fist full of candy. Logan was Mr. Brave and would go up to the houses by himself even if kids were running from it screaming. I guess his mind was focused on the chocolate he would get and a little scare wasn't going to stop him!

Here's Ryland and dad trick or treating. Chris was pretty enthusiastic to wear the Baby Bjorn which he usually isn't. I figured out why after I went up with the boys to a house and practically got my pants scared off of me! Ha Ha....dad's no dummy!

This picture was taken at the Hospital Halloween party for the kids. They had a good time but Tyler was NOT liking his costume. I'm sure he was hot, poor thing! He was in it for a total of two minutes and I didn't even put his arms in it! This costume was Logan's when he was a baby.

My three handsome boys. Ryland's brothers love him so much. It kind of reminds me of that crazy little girl with Bugs bunny..."I'm gonna love you and hug you and squeeze you and kiss you and never let you go!!!" All the while poor Bugs is trying to get away from her. Yep. That's how it is in the Morrison household for poor Ryland!