Forget the packing...let's go to the beach!

After several weeks of purging we were finally at the end of our preparation phase. The movers come tomorrow. There's nothing left to do but wait. So....why not 'wait' at the beach? Ryland, momma's little heart attack, is not one to back down from what the big boys are doing. If Logan and Tyler are running and jumping into the water, he needs to do the same...even if it means that he goes under again and again and again! That boy did not cry once even when he was coughing up salt water and his little eyes were red. Logan was on the hunt for hermit crabs with Tyler in tow. Who had to bring up the rear? Ryland. Another thing he's not afraid of were those hermit crabs. Remember way back when we tried to get Tyler to hold one and he thought it was just a shell until the shell grew legs? That ended with a scream and the crab was airborne. Not my Ry. He thought it was the funniest thing to see the little crab walking all over him.

Codemeister had to get in on the action even if it was unwillingly! His knee is pretty messed up and the vet said to exercise it by getting him to swim at the beach. That didn't go over so well but at least we tried. It took some coaxing to even get him in the water!

On the hunt for hermit crabs!

What you can't see here is a little bitty hermit crab right in between Ryland's hands. He had to lie down to get a better look at it. That was a close as Tyler would get to it. He kept saying, "I'm not scared anymore, I can hold it!" but when we would get it close to him he'd scream and pull away.

Hooters comes to Guam!

We get pretty excited around here when a chain restaurant from the mainland opens up even if it is Hooters. This place is just like back in the states, half dressed women, ogling men and loud music...oh yeah, and the chicken wings (which Chris claim is why he comes...uh huh...yeah....). Chili's Restaurant also opened up at the same time. We haven't been there yet but have heard that it's a bit disappointing. Hooters was right on the mark.

My FL boy posing under a Clearwater, FL sign. Can't believe it's that far away!!

Ry was happy as long as he had his balloon.

Same goes for lil man.

Before and After

I've given myself many little jobs to complete before our exodus to Tennessee and one of them being the tv armoire. I purchased this from a liquidation center here on island. It came from an upscale hotel after they decided to remodel. It was a good price but a little too light for decor.

So I painted it black. I found some cool drawer pulls in Bangkok but couldn't get four of the same so I'm left with the originals until I can find something to fit the new look. There's quite the glare on this when I took the picture and it's only a semi-gloss. In all my projects this was the most time consuming. It probably took a total of 12 hours after all the coats that I put. Let's hope that it's not destroyed in the move and all my hardwork was not in vain!

A redneck Saturday morning

Chris is a great husband. He gets up bright and early with the kids so I can sleep late (7:30-8 is late for me!). It's actually because I can't nap. I just can't fall back asleep later in the day. My mind races but him, he's a napper. He can lay his head down and wake up refreshed, all in 20 minutes. I just don't know how he does it. Anyhow, I kept the boys as far away from the bedroom as possible so he could rest and needed something to keep them busy. So I gave them some tats and they loved it. Doesn't take much to make a Saturday a REDNECK day....YEE HAW!

Got my thrill on!

Apparently I'm not content to keep my feet on the ground. After ziplining through the jungles of Thailand you'd think that I've had enough of the adrenaline. Well think again! As a hater of heights, (that's right, I'm a hater) I've spent the majority of my life with my feet firmly planted (most of the time!) on the ground. I'm slowly coming to the realization that when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, you feel more alive. You gain more confidence in your abilities which spills over into your everyday life. There is so much in life that I've held back on because of fear but you know what?? Not anymore! This girl is getting her THRILL ON!

My friend, Jeni (my fabulous photographer!) and I getting hooked in.

Almost at the top!!

The girls from L to R: Boni (owner of Hangin' High, Dot, Sheila, Tori, moi, Beth, and Jeni

Would you believe that I'm counting the days until my next climb?

"Faux"hawk

Well my four year old is all about being cool now. He needed a haircut and has been asking me for several weeks for a mohawk. I was not about to let him have a real one so we settled for a "faux" hawk. I took this shot of both boys with their new cuts and zoomed in for a headshot but what you don't see is their little stances. They've got their hands in their pockets and are throwing out the cool vibe. Yes that is Tyler's cool look. Too funny. So you'll see more of this cut soon since these pics don't do it justice.

Zucchini Bread

The other day the boys and I had some fun making Blueberry Zucchini Bread. The boys received some chef aprons (and hats but they didn't want to wear them) from Auntie Christy which they HAD to wear because everyone knows that you can't bake without an apron! I think I need to use mine more because I always look like I got into a fight with a flour bag when I bake.

I guess somebody thought something was pretty funny! I love this picture of lil man caught in the moment.

While we were waiting for our bread to bake we had a little lesson on antibodies and viruses. I've explained that when you are sick there are little "soldiers" in your body called antibodies that march to the virus to attack it because the virus is a bad guy. This is a great story that I tell them to make sure they nap when they are sick because the soldiers can work faster to get to the virus! Well Logan wanted to see what a "soldier" looks like so we looked for pictures online and found one of an antibody actually attacking a virus. Tyler had a runny nose and I told him that he must have a virus. He replied, "I think there is a soldier in my nose." Ah, Tyler talk....you gotta love it!