Happy Birthday Gene!

August 25, 1949



....Obviously Dave has control of the Blog!

Balloons for Nie

In honor of Nie, Mr.Nielsen,and their lovely sweet children we released balloons with well wishes and prayer.


Wanna know more, click here or here

My legacy

I may not be able to teach Madison how to sew without swearing.

I may not emit warm fuzzies when we're canning boonie pepper jelly - or canning anything for that matter!

But I sure get a little giddy when I see her version of the "Welcome" for the Back to School Breakfast.

That's my girl!

Today I'm giving up

. . . . .you guys win.

* Grandpa thought these were maggots. No - nothing that simple.

Subterranean termites - the Philippine milk termite to be specific. They LOVE damp wood. (jungle + tropical island=humidity: EVERY THING'S DAMP!)

What does a "LCDR select" look like?

A lieutenant.

Congrats Guy - (ahem) I mean Sir.

Great Grandma and apricot jam

After the excitement of the apricot jam arriving this morning we settled into the routine of household chores.

There's a feeling of back to school in the air - so I figured I should go through the old backpacks to see what can be salvaged.
(Don't you just hate buying new composition notebooks when only 2 pages were used from last year!)

Garrett's backpack is clean as a whistle and his is all ready to go (of course).

Madi's backpack is a different story however.
I came across last years daily journal she kept in the classroom and I started thumbing through it.

This particular entry caught my eye.
It was dated September 7, 2007 - only a month before Great Grandma Green passed away.

What struck me as especially endearing - we had missed our annual trip back to Utah last summer. Madi had been too sick to travel. And yet this was the memory she chose to record.
My Grandma Green passed away while Madison was being treated at Tripler Hospital in Hawaii last October.

I was touched remembering how excited Madison was when my dad asked her if she wanted to help him can green beans in Grandma's kitchen while we were just there. Now I understand.

And it makes me even more grateful I made the apricot jam this year.

A taste of home

The mailman delivered a taste of home to Guam.



















Our jars of homegrown apricot jam finally arrived safe and sound.

Hollywood & LaBrea

We decided to break up our bumnumbing flight back to Guam by spending time in both LA and Honolulu.

I was excited at the prospect of Madi and I getting to see Wicked.

Unfortunately, after dealing with what is now becoming our nasty Routine Delta Debacle - we were too pooped to think about rushing off to the show. (Besides - we didn't have any appropriate clothes to change in to due to that Delta Debacle!!!!)

David was all too eager to supply us with his own version of a wicked backup plan . . . .the corner of Hollywood & LaBrea.

Before I continue on - let me share a story from a few years back . . . .

While living in San Diego I learned that David had never seen the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
So one of the rare weekends he happened to be home with us I decided we needed to take a drive north.
It was a fun Saturday - taking in a Pokemon movie along the way after eating lunch somewhere in Orange County.
Unfortunately, we hit a snag on the 405 getting stuck in a huge traffic mess from an accident. We literally sat for 2 hours on the freeway. But once we were driving through the mystique of Beverly Hills and Bel Air - the angst of sitting in snarled traffic was forgotten.

Wahoo - the Tower Records building . . . we're almost there.
I remember animatedly telling the kids about the stars we were going to see on the sidewalk once we hit Hollywood Blvd.
By the time we hit Grauman's Chinese theatre - I was pumped! "O.k. - keep your eye out for the next parking lot. We'll get out and walk around."
My extremely thrifty husband replied very matter of factly, "I'm not paying to park so I can see some stars on the sidewalk."
And that was that.
There were no spots readily available on the street - so David and kids first Hollywood Walk of Fame moment was viewed from the windows of our Subaru Outback while driving by.
Oooooh - I can painfully remember how tense and incredibly quiet that drive back to San Diego really was.

Now . . . back to 2008. Bless his heart he really tried to redeem himself.

Not entirely though - we had to walk FOREVER (Garrett's word - and I concur) just to get to the corner of Hollywood & LaBrea where the "Walk" begins because David still wouldn't pay for parking!

And hey - as an added bonus we got to see Mariah Carey giving a free concert.
(O.k. - we really just saw the flashy sign above her and all the gazillion people. We felt too old to pursue it and the kids had no idea who she was anyway. So we just listened as we trekked forever back to the car.)

Who's the haole?

It's Mr. Kranz! (on the far right)
Teacher at McCool by day - Olympic wrestling coach by night.

Biba Guahan!
*photo courtesy of http://www.guampdn.com

Happy Anniversary

David normally comes bounding in the house after his morning run looking for any one of us to give a big sweaty hug.

Apparently he didn't realize his quiet entry this morning would tip me off that something was up.

Figuring I should play along - I feigned curiosity as I came out of the kitchen.

Honestly - I was surprised! (That doesn't happen too often - David's not so great at secrets)

I had figured our big 15 was in the indulgent few days we had just spent at the Embassy Suites Waikiki on our way home from Utah.

We've only been home 2 days and he managed to score a "find" from Leah. Plus he remembered I love the cinnamon bowls (the swirls on the bowl are actual slices of cinnamon sticks.) The scent when I opened it actually hid the musty mildew smell of the house for a bit.

As for the chocolates . . . . It's become our little tradition - no matter where David travels he always brings home a treat from the local chocolatier. These particular morsels came from Biagio chocolate in the Dupont Circle area of DC. Yummo!

P.S. - Look closely at the bottom photo - the back left corner of the new chest and also centered on the post of the shelf behind. (Go ahead, I'll wait.) Did you see the ORBS!?! I think our house is haunted by the spirits of the angry TERMITES! (Look again. I know you will.)

August 7th

I'm bored

- I took a 3 hour nap* without being woken up by:
1) any little nieces who happen to be hungry
2) any little nieces who want to play with my makeup
3) Grandma calling every 10 minutes
*jet lag! We were all up at 3:40 this morning, again!

- There are no apricots sitting around waiting to be preserved in any way.

- Dinner is really pathetic making it for only 3-4 people.

- There's no Costco to waste time at. But then again . . . only feeding 3-4 people, who needs Costco.

- I started a new book and I don't like it. I can't just run to either of my sisters and get a different one. I'll try to trudge through I guess.

- I've already mopped, vacuumed and dusted. Flylady's baby steps, pshaw! I said I'm certifiably BORED!

Life goes on . . . .

Last week we decided it was time to abandon the Lambourne Care Center. . . .
It was a hard decision this time - I wasn't quite ready.
But I know everyone is in very capable and loving hands.

And y'all can get back to your regular diets.

We're bunnysick

We're homesick for our bunns.

The kids are comforted knowing that our neighbor Amy is giving them lots of bunny love - but the fact remains that we're bunnysick.

We've made do with the "furry cousins" here on Lambourne -

Mr. Biggles is as big as Garfield and scares Grandma to death.

Daisy the dog loves our evening walks - even though she can only make it to the end of the street and back. Her age suits her well for living on Lambourne. Poor thing.

Unfortunately, neither one gets too excited about raisins

Sundays at Millcreek

Going anywhere with the whole family is a challenge - let's be honest!

So when Grandpa told me about Sunday's cookout up Millcreek Canyon I'm sure I rolled my eyes and made a terrible sighing sound.

Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest! Not loading up wheelchairs, packing up hot dogs and bickering about who is riding in what car! Besides - I'm sure I still have jetlag . . . .

But this Green Family summer tradition turned out to be just what our Sunday needed!

A story called "Laughing and Happy"

Once upon a time (July 17, 94) a baby boy was born. His Mama and Daddy named him Christofer Elias Vance II. His Grandma said, “His name is longer than he is!” And they laughed and were happy.
Baby Christofer’s cousin Adam said, “Let’s call him CJ for short – it stands for Christofer Junior.” And everyone said, “ahhhh” and smiled.

CJ had the fattest little cheeks in all the land and his daddy would bite them – often! Mama would say, “Daddy quit that” – but he wouldn’t and CJ didn’t seem to mind.
CJ had the tiniest little mouth in all the land. Aunt Chantelle and Aunt April would say, ”Look! Look at his tiny mouth.” And Grandma would say “It’s a rosebud mouth” – and Mama would tickle his bottom lip with her finger to see if he was okay and then she would kiss that sweet little mouth.
So – Daddy would bite and Mama would kiss and they would laugh and be happy.

On Christmas Eve C.J. got very sick. He had been sick before – but this time he was very very very sick. The doctors and nurses said he was going to die. Many days went by. Some people who loved CJ were standing around his hospital bed. Grandpa Vance and Farmor said, “He has such a sweet spirit – you can just feel his sweet spirit.” Everyone looked down at little CJ.
Then his Mama came back into the hospital room. CJ couldn’t see – but he could hear – and heard his Mama’s voice. Suddenly his fat little foot moved – just a tiny bit. And it kept moving more and more each day – whenever he heard his Mama’s voice. Then the other foot started moving. The doctors said, “Oh that’s just more seizures.” But it wasn’t. It was because the First Father had decided to let CJ stay. And Mama and Daddy and everyone gave prayers of Thanks to Him – and were happy.

When Mama took CJ shopping people would stop and say: “What a beautiful baby” And it was true. He looked just like his mama but he was stubborn just like Daddy!
He hated formula from the beginning. He was too weak to nurse so he had to have formula – but he hated it! Mama tried several different kinds. She begged him and begged him for two hours – just to drink two ounces. Finally he was old enough to try regular milk. “Oh good”, said Mama. “Hoorah!” But no such luck! He still hated it! Then one day Mama and Daddy gave him chocolate milk! He gobbled it up. “Well”, said Grandma “there’s certainly nothing wrong with his taste buds.” And Mama and Daddy laughed and were happy.

Every couple of months Daddy would ask Mama to bring CJ to his work so he could show him off to his friends. One day Daddy bought CJ a Raiders outfit. That was Daddy’s favorite team, you see. CJ was a chunk by now – and in that Raiders outfit he looked like a midget line backer. Mama and Daddy showed everyone. And they laughed and were happy.

Daddy gave CJ a bowl cut just like the big boys wear.
And for mom’s birthday he gave her a baby cart to hook onto the bicycle so CJ could go for a ride. CJ hated the ride. He frowned and frowned. Mama and Daddy pointed their fingers at his frown and laughed and laughed.

Grandpa Green would say, “He’s so fun to hold.”
And Uncle Brook loved to hold him too. Uncle Brook would hold him very still so CJ could sleep. And sometimes Uncle Brook would give CJ rides in the wheelchair with him. We would say, “Brook, your arms must be tired by now.”
“No.” he would say – and Brook was happy.

Mama and Daddy had another baby. This time it was a girl. They named her Amanda. People would ask Mama, “Are they twins?” Mama would say, “No, but just as close as you can get.” Mama was very busy. She said, “When Mandy is awake I hold her. When little Christofer is awake I hold him. And when they are both awake, I sit on the bed and sing primary songs to them.”

Daddy said, “If CJ never walks, no matter how big he gets – I will always pull him up and let him lie on my chest where he loves to be.”
And Mama said, “Every day I thank Heavenly Father that I have a little Christofer. I have the perfect babies. If I want to play I have Amanda. If I want to cuddle I have CJ.”

Last Friday Mama and Daddy and the two babies went camping. They played games – danced in the sprinkling rain and played with their babies.
On Sunday morning the First Father looked down on the happy laughing family and smiled. Then he said, “I knew that Mama and Daddy would love CJ with all their hearts forever and ever – but it is enough. It’s time for my little CJ to come back Home.” And so he did.

And soon all the darkness, black though it be.
Will give way to sunshine. Just wait and see.
It’s but a parting, tis nothing more.
And soon you’ll caress him Just as before.

And, we’ll all laugh and be happy.

With all my love – Grandma Dodee
9/7/95

Vance family July 2008

Ahhhh - a month of frizz free!

Madi and mom got to spend our first quiet day in nearly a week courtesy of the Bouncharon Salon.

My sister in law Phay pampered us at her salon in Draper.

Madi had agreed to get a cut, but didn't want just anyone to touch her long "mermaid hair".

Just between you and me - she abhors the "big Utah hair" and was afraid she would become victim to the look getting it cut here.

I think Phayvanh succeeded in making Madi happy (and mom too!)

Make All Preparations for Entering Port....

USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76) and Carrier Air Wing 14 (CVW 14), along w/ USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG 62), and USS THACH (FFG 43), spent the holiday weekend inport on the island of Guam for some well-deserved liberty. All three ships spent the past few weeks off the coast of the P.I. (Phillipines) assisting with typhoon relief efforts.

Here are a few pics of REAGAN's transit through Apra Harbor.

Educational Moment - Apra harbor is the largest natural harbor in the world.

If you know where to look, you can see our home in this picture.

We can walk to the pier.

Saturday night mourning

Emma found out while we were sitting on the couch chatting that church was in the morning.

4 year old Emma HATES church!

She asked her mom, "Is Chan going home at church?"

Esther answered, "No. Chan's staying here for a month. A lot more days."

Emma replied, "NO! Can I go home at Church with Chan like she did that last day."

Uh-oh - Emma ratted me out

It's true, I've gone home to grandma's (or Einstein's) during Sunday school and taken Emma with me.

Instead of playing the righteous aunt and telling her we should stay and enjoy church, I shrugged my shoulders and told her "Maybe."

She has a dang good memory for a 4 year old.

Oh my HECK!

We've arrived . . .Utah!

We're staying Camp Grandma . . . although I refer to it as the Lambourne Care Center.