Goodbye Guam

Our farewell weekend was one of celebrations. We had fun in the sun with great company. Our good friends, the Ramirez family, the Simmons family and the Harris, were able to join us for a weekend stay at the PIC.

I also scored the best sauce recipe on the island from Mr. Vitale who owns and operates Vitales Italian Ristorante! I have been going there for 3 years and asking him to pass on his recipe to me when I leave. He finally succumbed to the barraging requests.

Our weekend was a very special one but very sad. We did not want to say goodbye to our friends or to Guam. Our time on Guam was one of continuous goodbyes but we are so thankful for the friends that we've made along the way. There's something about making a connection with someone and then finding out that your time is limited. It forces you to get to know someone quickly, that's for sure!

Our first year we said goodbye to our friends and neighbors, the Browns. Our carports connected and we would meet outside to chat, cook on the grill and just hang out. We did boonie stomps together, had birthday parties together, shared holidays and learned how to play mexican train from them!

We said goodbye to the Pattons on the second year. They were our neighbors as well but lived a few houses down from us. Theresa was there for me in the middle of the night when I went into labor with Ryland. She came down to the house in a flash to watch the boys so Chris could drive me to the hospital.
Now it's our turn to say goodbye. We took trips with the Ramirez and Simmons families to Hong Kong. That was a memorable trip and we all had a blast. A few months later the girls took a trip to Thailand and then to Yap. We celebrated holidays and birthdays together.
Our neighbors, the Harris family had daughters Isabel and Jojo that were like the daughters that I don't have. Last year it was the summer of Isabel. She and Logan were attached at the hip!
We count ourselves as blessed because of all the wonderful families that God hand picked for us. Each one made our time on Guam a blast and I know that we will all be lifelong friends.