Snips, snails, and puppy dog tails

What can I say, I love my little boys. I see them each do something new every day. Easton is really close to crawling. He loves army crawling everywhere and he also likes to roll to wherever he needs to go. He is always on the move. Lee hasn't felt very well this weekend. He has been running a fever and has been saying his mouth hurts, so I think he means he has a sore throat. We pretty much just stayed in and relaxed all weekend. The boys are starting to interact more with each other now. Easton is always after Lee and trying to get whatever Lee is playing with. Lee is pretty patient with him, he lets him play with him. Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Sleepy baby

Rub a dub dub, Lee's in the tub

Mommy and Easton

Brothers

My free spirit.

Getting into the groove

Things have been going pretty smooth lately. I have gotten myself and the kids into a pretty good routine. Easton has put himself on his own schedule that I wish would change a little. He now goes to bed every night at 6p.m. usually no later, and then right at 4a.m. he is up for a bottle, then back down until 5a.m. and then up for good. This is good for the days that Harley works because he gets up at 5 anyways and just puts Easton in his jumparoo while he is getting ready and then wakes me up a little before 6. He is finally on a 2 naps per day schedule now also. They are only about an hour each which must be enough for him and also gives me some time to myself. I just wish he would change it by about 2 hours and everything would be awesome. Lee wakes up around 7 and gets ready for school so if Easton changed his routine they would both get up at the same time and that would mean more sleep for all of us. I have always loved having a clean house but by being home full time I get to keep it even more clean!! Harley always comes home from a long day of work to dinner and a clean house. Nothing for him to do at all except eat and relax. I have been meeting people slowly but surely. Today I walked across the street to introduce myself to another neighbor, I am getting pretty brave. She also has two kids, a newborn and a three year old. Last night we had some friends from downt the street over for dinner and it was a good time. It is nice to actually be able to cook for other people than ourselves once in a while. One thing that made me really happy yesterday was to be able to walk next door to another neighbor to borrow a pot, oh the little things that make me smile. I haven't been able to do that for a while. They have been here for 3 1/2 years and have extended to be here for even longer. Her husband is a Navy Seal and loves it here. Again I just want to thank everyone who calls, sends emails, and chats with on facebook, and to talk to a friend on the phone for over an hour was a great way to start one day. It really brightens up my day, even if it is to talk about fashion, Tinisha!! LOL! Speaking of things that make me happy, I love watching Lee lately. Since he has been going to school he often acts like he is at school and says a lot of things the teachers say. It is really cute to watch. I love the sound of Easton's laugh and the way his eyes light up when I go to get him out of his bed when he wakes up from his nap. One other thing that makes me completley happy are candles, I love when I have candles burning and the house smells so good especially on a rainy day. I am blessed in so many ways and in many ways it is the people who love and care about us that is one of the biggest blessings. I wouldn't change a thing right now, everything happens for a reason and I think I will be able to deal with the hand we have been given.

More Pictures........

Look at this Cool Cat! The view from atop the cliff

Two tired and sweaty explorers

More Pictures of Our First Hike!

Climbing up a ladder to get out.

Using a rope to climb up the cliff Lee the Adventurer!!

The Spanish Steps

Look out below!!

Harley's First Blog

Hey Everybody.... This is Harley and I am making my first attempt to contribute to the Ragle4 Blog. Well we have had a pretty good weekend. I took Lee to go see his first movie at a theater yesterday. We went and saw Up from Disney and he actually sat still for 90 minutes and watched the show... he didn't even ask a single question. When I asked him if he was having fun, he told me "Shhh Dad!".

This morning Lee and I went on our first hike on Guam. We went to a place on base called the Spanish Steps. Basically we climbed down a cliff on some very old stairs carved out of the wall by the Spanish from back in the 16 or 1700's. Once you get down to the bottom you are on a beautiful beach that is completely secluded from everywhere else. Next time we will definitely bring our swimsuits. I will post some of the pictures from our trip.

I just got back from the movies again... this time I went to see the new Harry Potter. I found myself feeling a little let down. After the last movies awesome fight scene at the end, this show had nothing to compare. The book has a good battle scene inside Hogwarts at the end, but in the show they didn't cover any of it. I thought they could have done a lot better... I hope the next one is much improved.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. It is back to work for me tomorrow.

Out of soda and NOT buying anymore

So, I finished my last cherry pepsi today. I know that soda is not good for you at all but I love it and I crave it every morning. Usually people start off their morning with a cup of coffee not me I open a can of diet coke, mt. dew, or pepsi, whatever my taste buds are calling for. There are a lot of reasons I shouldn't drink soda. I have horrible kidneys and they love to house stones, and also I read something the other day that a soda a day equals 16 pounds a year. What? That there alone makes me want to stop drinking soda. I am going to limit myself to one soda a week and thats all. I will have to stick to water, crystal lite, and tea. This is a goal I have set for myself and Harley has to do it with me since there won't be any in the house. He can have some at work if he wants but I think it is great for both of us.

Taking it easy

Today we are just going to take it easy for the most part. We have already cleaned the house and Harley is outside mowing right now. Easton is down for his 2nd nap of the day, unfortuately still taking small cat naps. Lee is watching t.v. putting stickers all over himself. Harley is taking Lee to his first movie today. They are going to see Up. It is free today so if he asks too many questions or is too loud it isn't a big deal if they have to leave, at least it is free. He still asks a lot of questions while watching a movie so I hope he does well and I hope that he really enjoys it. Easton got his 6 months shots yesterday, poor thing cried so hard!! I had never seen him cry like that before. He is actually 7 months but I had to have shot records faxed here from Illinois and that took forever. No more shots for him until he is 12 months. Lee is doing fine after hitting his head. He just has a little red line from where he hit the bookshelf. He is pretty rezillient and it didn't seem to bother him much. As for the van it is fine too. When Harley got home from work that night he took a look at it and tightened something on the battery and it started. He even took it up to have it looked at and they said everything looks good. Had to be just one of those days. I will try to get outside today and take some pictures of what our house looks like. It's not much to look like and everybody elses house looks exactly the same but I have had a lot of people asking me to post pictures. We are all doing pretty well and getting adjusted more and more every day. It hasn't been raining as much so I am hoping that the rainy season is almost over. So, to wrap up today Lee and daddy have a date and mommy and Easton have a date here at home together.

What a Day!

What a day it has been already!! Lee had decided yesterday that he wanted to go to school and stay all day today and even take a nap with the rest of the kids. This is rare for Lee because he doesn't even take naps anymore. So, this morning when he woke up he was really excited. He gets dressed gets his bookbag and is ready to go. I go and load both kids up in the van buckle them in and everything else. I get in the driver's seat try to start the van and it doesn't start. It makes a squeeling sound instead. I tried several times and it still wouldn't work. Lee wasn't happy and of course I wasnt happy either. I had no clue what to do. It is pretty far away to walk to espcially when it is so hot outside. I went to my neihbors and they weren't home. Next I called a friend that lives down the road and she let me borrow her car and she stayed here with Easton while I took Lee to school. Thank goodness. Around noon I had just layed Easton down for a nap and the phone rings. It was the school. I figured they were calling because Lee wanted to come home and didn't want to take a nap with the rest of the kids. Nope!! They were calling because Lee had fallen backwards out of his chair and hit the back of his head on the bookshelf. They wanted me to come get him because they didn't want him to lay down with a head injury. Again, I didn't know what to do because the van still wasn't working and Easton was sleeping. Finally I saw that my next door neighbors were home and she offered to go get him for me. Bless her heart!! She made it a lot more easier on me and I didn't even have to wake Easton up from his nap. It isn't even 2:00 and all of this has happened already. Hopefully the rest of the day will be peaceful. Oh yeah, I got to go see My Sister's Keeper the ohter night. I read the book a couple of weeks ago and the book was absolutley amazing. I was really dissapointed in the movie. If you haven't read the book or haven't seen the movie don't read the rest of this. They changed the ending completely in the movie and they left out soooo much. I can understand now why people say that books are so much better than movies. I think I was the only dry eye in the theater because I was expecting something totally different to happen. I cried like a baby reading the book, but I think the movie could have been made a lot better.

Brotherly love

The boys are getting closer and closer each day. The more Easton moves around and rolls the more Lee is interested in Easton. They love taking their baths together at night and then tonight they sat together on the couch for a while together. Lee would always ask me when Easton is going to start growing and tonight he realized how much he was growing. It is so neat to watch them interact together now. I realize they won't always be sweet and nice to each other but I love having two boys. I can tell by the look in Easton eyes how much he worships his big brother and he is going to want to be just like him. Lee better watch out when he starts walking, he is going to have a little shadow everywhere he goes.

Little Boys

Little boys come in all shapes and sizes, Shy and adventurous, full of surprises, With misshapen halos and mischievous grins, Small dirty faces, and sweet, sticky chins. They'll keep you so busy, and yet all the while Nothing can brighten the world like their smile. And no greater treasure has brought homes more joy Than a curious, active, and lovable boy!

Pictures

These are just some random pictures I have taken yesterday and today. Most of them were taken by Lee, he loves taking pictures. Lee spilled the fruit salad all over the floor and was cleaning it up with his elephant, poor Winks!

The next five pictures are all courtesy of Lee "Photography by Lee" maybe he will be a photographer someday, he is pretty good at it.

In this one, he said "Mommy, do something silly!".

Lee practicing on the computer, fine motor skills.

Isn't he beautiful!! He has his daddy and brother's eyes. His hair isn't dark brown anymore it is golden!! I hope it turns blonde, I think Easton is going to look just like Harley too. I don't have a chance. The only way Lee looks like me at all is the blonde hair.

So happy!

Boy oh boy

Ahhhh!!! Sometimes I just want to yell at him but he is still so innocent, well at least by the time I catch him he is looking innocent. We have long blinds in every room of our house and they are very straight. Well, the ones in the living room used to be straight. At first I looked at them thinking they look bent because the couch is leaning up against them a little. I move the couch and they didn't straighten out at all. Lee had folded every single blind so that they now look like a bunch of L's and hockey sticks. It is still close to the beginning of the day. He was so mad at me this morning because it is Saturday and he doesn't get to go to school today. He was so mad he kicked me! He has never ever kicked me, I wanted to cry. He actually didn't do any damage yesterday at all, but Easton did. Somehow Easton got ahold of a DVD we have rented from the video store and got the paper part out with the pictures and title on it and chewed it up and ripped it up. I looks now like a huge dog got ahold of it. I am sure now that we will be buying this movie. I gotta say there is never a dull moment here in the Ragle home and I do love my boys!

Squeaky the Betta

Lee has officially named his betta Squeaky. How that name ties into a fish, again only a 4 year old would know. The pictures do not do this fish justice, he is much more beautiful than he looks. He is so shiny with many blues on him just like the ocean. They only had red ones and blue ones to choose from. I chose blue because Lee's favorite color right now is green and blue is a lot closer of a color to green than red.

Leapin Lizard

I got up with Easton this morning walked into the kitchen and was greeted by a lizard! I didn't freak out, they don't scare me anymore but this one wasn't scared of me either. I think he was trying to torment me or something. Every time I would walk by the pantry he would be there looking me in the eye and then run down the side. I finally woke Harley up and told him that he had to get this one out of the house. He was bigger than the one that I had caught so I didn't really feel like trying to catch him. Apparently he was afraid of Harley because Harley got a cup and tried to get him and this thing ran like crazy down the pantry, down the hallway and into the hallway closet. Haven't seen him the rest of the day. I am sure he will be out tomorrow since Harley has to work all weekend, I am going to have to go ahead a catch him because I would rather him stay alive outside than to get too cold in our house and die. I don't like picking up dead ones either. We went to the gym today after we took Lee to school. We got there right at 8:20 and I looked at the schedule and there was a Zumba class scheduled to start. I had heard good things about it and I decided to go ahead and do it. This class was an hour long. I haven't excercised in a very long time. I just looked at these instructors and my heart started racing. I have never seen anyone move so fast for so long. Zumba is great excercise meant to be fun and basically a lot of dancing. First of all I was a cheerleader all through school and we danced but it was stiff dancing. I jumped right in and tried my hardest and didn't give up. I now know humiliation very well, I felt so uncoordinated but I am so glad I did it. I can go at least two days a week when Harley is off. I hope it will get easier with each time I go. On the other days I can take Easton and there is a place for toddlers and babies to crawl around in the treadmill room, so I can at least get to the gym more than twice a week. At the salon yesterday there were two sisters there and one of them got her hair cut off. She was crying so hard and when I left I told her that it looked good and the good thing is that hair grows back. Well, Harley, lee, Easton and I went to the playground tonight and guess who walks out of the house right by the playground....the two sisters. How crazy is that? They left for a few minutes and came back, when they got back I went and introduced myself. That is a pretty big step for me to make. They were very nice and welcoming. Turns out that one of the sisters lives here with her husband and the other one is here to visit until Sunday. I am beginning to meet people, again all things take time. Easton is loving baby food now, finally!! He absolutely could not stand it at first, he would gag and spit it right back out. For about the last week now he has been eating great! I am so proud of him. He has his second tooth now right next to the first one he got on the bottom. Poor little guy has such a hard time teething. Remember I had mentioned a few days ago about everything Lee had been doing latley and I was wondering what could possibly be next. Well, I found out tonight. I told him I was going to run his bath water and to get ready for his bath. By the time I got to the bathroom he was peeing in the bathtub!! Why do kids do what they do?? Oh my, I could not believe he was doing this, I immediately turned him around to the toilet and made him finish in there. I asked him just like I do every time he does something else why he did it and he just said "I had to pee" It may be because the toilet is still messed up from him flushing 3 toothbrushes down it, but who knows what is running through his little mind. We started working with him really hard today with writing his name and using the computer. He is doing a pretty good job, he caught onto using the moues pretty quickly and recognizes many numbers and some letters. We started a notebook of the name writing and I am going to keep it so we can watch and save them as he improves. I write his name in bright yellow high lighter and have him trace it. Another good day today, pretty relaxing although I know I am going to be very sore tomorrow from the zumba.

Forgot to mention in last blog..

One thing that is really cute about Lee and his fish I forgot to say. I noticed that he goes in his room and talks to his fish quite a bit just like you would a cat or a dog. I was standing outside his door yesterday and he went in and said "Hi fish, I am going to go ride my scooter now, bye fish". I thought it was so cute!! Then this morning he went in and asked the fish " Are you hungry fish? No, I guess your not hungry yet". He is still trying to think of a name for his fish, I ask him what he wants to name his fish and he told me to name it. I want him to name his own fish. I feel sorry for the fish being by himself but I guess they are fighting fish and that is why they have to be alone. I read on a website that if you put a mirror up to the fish his tail will get all spikey and he will even get bigger. I might have to try that, but I don't want to traumatize the poor little guy.

Such a good day!

Yesterday was a really good day!! Harley was off work and we had a lot to do. We had planned to go to the gym together after we took Lee to school. I was all dressed and ready to go and when I got in my closet to get my shoes I kept looking and looking, I didn't bring a single pair of tennis shoes with me to Guam. I was in the mindset that I would always be wearing flip flops no matter what. Never thought that I would go to the gym. I actually want to go!! Harley's sister is getting married in May next year and I am a bridesmaid as long as we are able to make it home in that time frame and I need to get in shape! So, since we couldn't go to the gym after we took Lee to school we went grocery shopping instead. Well and stocked on plenty of groceries now for hopefully about two weeks. For some reason at the end of our total we got a sir charge for $11.50. What the heck is that for? The cashier asked the bagger a question and he told her something but I have no idea what they were talking about. If we had to pay that much for plastic bags we are going to just keep taking them back and using them again. So not only did we get a sir charge but we also tip the baggers that bag the groceries and take them out to the car for you. They only get paid by tips. For lunch yesterday, I met a friend out at a Mexican restaraunt and the food was fabulous!! We sat and talked for a really long time and it was nice to go out to eat by myself. I haven't done that since we have been here. After we ate she took me to a store right next door that is really neat. I have a lot of ideas now for Christmas for what to send to friends and family. Lee has been working very hard on good behavior now for a while so I decided to get him a prize yesterday after lunch. I felt like I had all the time in the world and I didn't have to worry about a thing. The boys were at home with their daddy and I was having a grand ole time. So, I went to a pet store and purchased our first pet in Guam!! I got him a betta fish, he is so pretty! I was so excited on my way home, I couldn't wait for him to see this. I had the fish in a bag in the passenger seat and I thought the poor thing was going to get car sick, with my luck I am lucky the thing wasn't floating at the top by the time we got home. I made sure to keep the air on high so I didn't broil the little guy. So I drove as fast as I can and I ran inside like a mad woman with this bag and Lee was so excited!! He helped me fill the bowl up with water and he fed it for the first time. We cleard off a spot on his dresser just for his new pet. Now, this is a great idea for a pet. I guess you don't have to clean their bowls too often, they keep them pretty clean themselves. I had a hair appointment scheduled also yesterday, whew busy day. Before my hair appointment I went to the NEX and got a pair of tennis shoes and I got them on sale!! They were $30 off! Good deal, I plan to wear the heck out of these shoes and make very good use of them. I then got my hair done and for the first time in Guam and I love it!! She even complimented on whoever did my last highlights (Lacy) she said that they did a very good job! Now I know where to get my hair done. The only thing was it took 2 1/2 hours. It has never taken that long for anyone to do my hair, let me tell you this woman was a talker!! That is a good thing though, it is uncomfortable when you get your hair done and the person doesn't speak to you. The price wasn't bad either, so I think I can spend 2 1/2 hours every few months to go and get my hair done. I finally feel like things are coming together out here. I am getting around pretty well, have only gotten lost once and not for too long thank goodness. It was so nice to have some time to myself today. I admit I really needed it and I enjoyed it tremendously. In just 2 days, I have talked to so many family members and friends it's unbelievable. I called my brother for the first time since I have been out here and it was nice to hear the expression in his voice when he figured out who it was. The boys and I talked to Granny janny and Uncle Coy the other day on Skype and it was so nice to see the look on her face when she saw the boys. I couldn't see her very well, but Janet did you maybe have a tear in your eye? The support of everyone has been awesome!! I always have emails of encouragement and receive them at the exact moment I feel that I need them. I even called my mom the other night when it was 2:30 a.m. her time and she didn't mind at all. Mom, you did say to call ANYTIME!! I have some really exciting news to announce now. Our friends from VA are getting stationed out here!! Yay!! Nick and Jenn are coming next March and I can't wait!! Jenn was one of my first friends in VA and I can't believe that has been four years ago. She was pregnant with her daughter when we moved there and Lee was only 2 months old when we met. You are going to kill me Jenn, but my favorite memory is that she always used to come over to our apartment and we would watch Maury for hours and I always used to have peanut butter M&M's and she would eat those things up. Now, they have three little ones. Lee will be so excited to see Ava, she was one of his first little friends and they play so well together. I don't think that March can come soon enough. I guess this is enough blogging for now. Oh yeah, one more thing. Lee is loving school!! The only bad thing is they insist on calling him by his real name which is Harley. It makes the poor boy so mad. He got in the car the other day and said "Mom, they are trying to change my name". He still doesn't know that is his real name, it is hard for him to understand. Harley and I have both tried to explain in to him and he says he doesn't like it. " I am Lee Ragle" he says. I have to admit it is weird going to his classroom and seeing all of his things with the name Harley written on them. Oh what I have went through for tradition. I wonder if Lee will want to keep it going or if I should threaten him.

Boys will be boys

I don't even know where to start. Lee has done so many unthinkable things in the last week that has completley shocked me! Well, number one you all know he drew all over our living room floor and I am still trying to get it all off. I was told by a few people to get the mr. clean magic erasers so I am off to the store tomorrow to look for some. Then last night he said something about flushing the toilet, I didn't think he maybe flushed something down the toilet. Well, today the boys' toilet was overflowing like crazy all over the bathroom and Harley was at work. I run and get the plunger and it wouldn't help, at least not much. Ya'll I was gagging!! So, I ask Lee a million times today if he flushed anything down the toilet. It took him while to answer me, and he said he flushed his toothbrushes!! Notices I said toothbrushes, as in pleural!! Not one, not two, but three toothbrushes!! He had four toothbrushes total and three are missing. I asked him why he did that and his reason was because he just didn't like them anymore. Oh my, the toilet is still not flushing properly, Harley has a big project waiting for him when he gets home from work tonight. Then today, I was talking to my Aunt Betsy on the phone so I went down to our bedroom to talk so I could have some peace and quiet while Lee was watching his movie and Easton was napping, so I could actually hear what she was saying and he wasn't trying to talk to me at the same time. I get off the phone come into the living room to find a whole box of kleenex had been emptied one by one and obviously wadded up and thrown into the air. There were tons of kleenexes everywhere. He said "Mom, I am having a party!" Believe it or not I do watch my children, but these things still tend to happen very much. The last thing so far he has done today was rub his chapstick ALL over our microfiber recliner. It is my favorite chair, I sit in it all the time. He said "Look mom, I wrote my name and your name on the chair" It looks like someone literally took some oil or crisco and rubbed it all over the chair. Now, how in the world am I supposed to fix this one?? Any ideas? *Sigh* 2 1/2 more hours til Harley gets home from work, he will be so proud. I keep asking myself now, what could possibly be next? I remember last year when I was at work I went to get some money out of my purse for lunch and found a chicken nugget in my purse, oh the joys of parenting. I wouldn't change anything for the world. I love my boys and can't wait for the adventures to come. Once Easton is up and running around I will definitely be outnumbered.

Trip #2 to the PIC

We had decided back when we first got here and stayed at the PIC hotel that we would definitely go back and visit for a night or two. We went this last Saturday and stayed through Sunday afternoon and got really lucky with the weather. It rained all day Saturday morning until about 3:00 and then stopped right after we checked into the hotel. Needless to say it didn't rain the entire time we were at the hotel!! It was great! Both boys love the water and love to be outside. Lee is finally to the point where he isn't afraid to be in water that is deeper than he is tall with a life jacket on. We got a better room this time than last time and the view was gorgeous! I still loved the food this time as much as I did the last time also. The only thing that was the absolute best was knowing that we didn't have to live out of our suitcases for more than a week there and that we could come back to our home the next day. I didn't get a massage this time although I did want to go get one really bad but they are a bit too pricy to spend the money on. We all had a wonderful little getaway weekend together as a family, and it tops it off having a blog to share it on. I often wonder if my blogs will be in cyberspace forever or will they someday just disappear. LOL! The view from our balcony, breathtaking!

Another view from our room.

Easton playing in the water.

Lee swimming to daddy!

Mommy and Lee

Mommy, Lee and a big red snake

He sits up now really well, but I just happened to get this picture while he was starting to fall over.

The Words I Would Say

I had gotten a very special email today from a wonderful cousin of mine. Alicia, I hope you don't mind me posting this. I talked with her the other day on the computer for quite a while and we talked about many things, goods and bads. She sent me an email today telling me that she had been thinking about me and my family and what we have been going through and the things we may endure. We have had many changes in the last few months but have also been blessed in so many ways. She said she was on her route as she was thinking of us and wished that she knew something to say to make things better. As she was driving a song came on the radio and she said that this song came on for a reason, it is called The Words I Would Say. If you want to listen to a wonderful song please click on this link http://www.myspace.com/sidewalkprophets I was blown away when I heard it, I even had goosebumps. The song spoke right to my heart! Alicia, I am so glad you are my cousin! Thank you!!

A little change in plans

Our plans had to change a little for the weekend. Harley had to be on call today and of course the phone rings at 4:30 this morning and he had to go into work. He got home around 1:00 this afternoon. It has been raining all day so far but we made hotel reservations anyways hoping that the sun decides to come out sometime today and hopefully shine all day tomorrow. I also had a hair appointment made for this morning that I had to cancel :-( I desperately need it too. I rescheduled for Wednesday, I am just hoping they don't put him on call for that day also. I found out today that Easton is definitely a free spirit. I walked into the living room once and he was buck naked!! I thought this was an accident and maybe his diaper got caught on the carpet or something and came off. Well, needless to say about a half hour later it happened again. My little baby loves to be naked. He was just laughing at me when I saw him and asked him what had happened. Now, I am going to have to always have him in a onsie or a pair of shorts. Even though Harley got called in the boys and I had a great day. There were all kinds of things going on that we could listen to and smell. The rain on the roof of the house, the dishwasher, the washer , the dryer, tea brewing, candles lit, and the best of all the smell of brownies baking in the oven. I got so much accomplished today, everything is clean except for the clothes on our backs!! Yep, all the laundry is done!! Harley and I tagteamed last night and cleaned the rest of the house together. Lee has had a lot of fun today drawing all kinds of pictures and we have about 9 of them hanging on the fridge right now. Let me know if you want one, I am sure he would be happy to draw you one and we can send it to you!! So, we are all packed now just waiting to drive to the hotel for check-in time. I am so excited. As you have read in my past blogs, this hotel is unbelievable!! Beautiful!! Of course I will take pictures and post them when I have some time. If you know my sister in law Lindsay, please congratulate her. She just got hired in Watseka to teach English. I know that she is very excited and we are very proud of her. This will be her first class ever and I know that she has a lot to do so also please keep her in your prayers. Well, that's all for now, off to have a good time!

Underwater World

What an amazing afternoon we had at Underwater World!! I was thinking, would it be like Virginia Aquarium?? In some ways yes but other ways no. Almost the whole thing was exactly what the name says, a huge tunnel under the water. It was so neat! I have never walked through what I thought under water would be like. It was so neat to see all of the sea creatures at every possible angle they could be seen. My absolute favorite are the sea turtles. The are HUGE! There were only two, but wow! I can't even believe I could upload all of these pictures on here. This isn't all of the pictures, these were just some of my favorites, I figured not everyone wanted to see every little thing I took a picture of just because I liked it. Lee was amazed!! He had been to aquariums before but everything he saw was "Daddy, look a huge fish, a shark, a lot of sharks!" It was so neat to see how he reacted to what he was seeing. Easton enjoyed himself too, not like he will remember this trip but hopefully by the time we leave here he will be able to remember some of the beautiful things about Guam. He will be 3 when we leave here, crazy to think that. The weather has been pretty good today. I was actually riding in the passenger seat of the van and looking at the ocean very carefully. I hadn't seen the waves rolling so big until today, the ocean has usually up until now been very calm. The water is crystal clear blue in many places, you can see the bottom. I told Harley that it looks like a huge quilt of beautiful blues, and that is exactly what it looks like out here. There are so many shades of blue (dark blue, light blue, teal, saphire) in the ocean that makes it so beautiful. I see many people parasailing every day. Lee always says "mom, look at all of the parachutes". After the tunnel part of the aquarium we got to go to a part where you could pet the fish, yes pet the fish!! In Virginia I remember a part where we could touch the stingrays. Today, you could touch all kinds of fish if they would let you. Some were begging to be touched by showing off and flapping their fins around and doing flips and twirls and others would swim as fast as they could away from anyone's fingers. The only thing I touched was a starfish, did you know that there are blue starfish? There are, and they are so pretty. I had never touched one before and they are so hard, it is hard to believe that this beautiful thing I was touching was even alive. I find the stingrays to be very interesting but scary. They scare me because I know they are deadly, but at the same time they are so neat. When standing underneath them, they look like they have this huge face and they look like they are smiling. They also move so gracefully through the water with these huge long tails. Some are so huge!! There were a lot of sharks there also, we had just missed them being fed by minutes. Someone actually gets in there and feeds them by hand. Can you believe that? I would be scared out of my mind to even think of doing that. In one picture I have posted you will see that a lot of the fish eat lettuce, I never thought I would see that. There was one fish that stood out among the rest, he was absolutely HUGE!! All I could wonder was how old this fish was. He looked so old and he looked so sad, but he just kept moving along slowly doing his thing. We ate at a wonderful restaraunt for lunch, I can't remember the name, but I had crab legs and they tasted GREAT!! They were the biggest I had ever eaten. I told Harley and Lee that this crab was probably once part of the aquarium and now I am about to eat it's legs, LOL!! Anyways....that was our day so far and it was so nice to get out and do something fun as a family. If it doesn't rain tomorrow we are going back to stay the night at the hotel we stayed at when we first got here. We liked it that much. Hope you all enjoy the pictures!

Some fish were so bright it was unbelievable, and some were neon and were actually glowing.

The Nemo fish, as Lee called it.

Oh my, the sea horses, amazing!! I hadn't seen them so close before and I didn't know that they had quite a few fins on their back and they move so quickly like a humming birds wings.

Yuck!! An eel.

A stingray. Can you see the face and smile?

Look at this happy face!

One of the blue starfish!

Watch out, shark!

Here is the fish that stood out so much, doesn't he look old and sad?

The huge sea turtles.

Fish eating lettuce.

Getting ready to go into the tunnel under water.

Look at these cool guys!

My big boy!

This is the view from outside the building and it is also on the strip.

Another view of the strip I could get from the top of the parking garage. I wish we could have parked somewhere else and I could have gotten some really good pictures. Maybe next time.