A loooooooo HA

According to Emma

Here's the background . . . .
My mom was at her desk writing out a few notes of what to say at Gramma's funeral.
Mom: Chan, what is that scripture that says something about Love is patient . . . .
Emma (without skipping a beat): Patience is waiting a REAL LONG TIME!

A sad day

Part of any packout is the accompanied "get rid of the junk" survey you do of your home. This time around David had to part with is ever-present sandles. These have been worn EVERY DAY for four plus yrs. Can't you just see the funk growing on them?

Glimpses of Gramma Hart

My Gramma Hart

All the many things she does, whether they be great or simple.
Shows that Gramma Hart loves me.
(She has since I was just little)

“Gramma read us a story, please? The Mittens and the Three Little Kittens”
“It was about Rachel, Tiffany, Esther and Chan” . . .

(She told them better than they were written)

Don’t go into the front room, Gramma’s hiding a prize.
“OK it’s time . . . . .Hot or Cold”
I’m sure it just lit up our eyes.

Sunday afternoon at Gramma’s house quickly turns into night.
Eating her dinners and sneaking a treat.
She makes everything just right.

“I love you a bushel and a peck!”
“Yes Dear. I’ll give you a quarter.”
My memories of her just go on and on.
What she’s given will last me forever.

Grandpa

“Grandpa let’s play cut the cheese!
You know – where we run all the way to the bridge”
"Well take hold of my finger and hold real tight. On your mark, get set, ghost!”

“Don’t you dare laugh, I say, or you’re going to make Grandpa cry”
Then he’d chase us and run throughout the house,
Just dying to shake a jaw!

“You know what will keep you healthy?” he’d say.
“Water! That’s all I drink”
Then he’s raise his canister from the brown fridge and refill it there at the sink.

My grandpa, he’s made of bananas and mush, Fig Newtons and milk chocolate too.
Grandma’s homemade vanilla ice cream.
But mostly . . . .Poor Man’s Stew.

Grandpa is really just a kid at heart.
His legacy will last us forever.
Not only in the music he writes,
But also in his grand kid’s laughter.

It's raining again

Bad weather always looks worse through a window. ~Author Unknown

A sign of the times

You can tell a move is in the works on 8 Anderson.

Nothing screams temporary housing to me more than base white walls!

Wishing you were here . . .

So you don't feel so far away - catching up on the last few days:

Look at that water - I think a storm's brewing somewhere out there. Dadi misses us. . . . .. . . .And we miss you.

You mean some people don't have passports? *

* A direct quote from Madi, age 7

Living this military lifestyle is so far off from anything I could have imagined while growing up.
I still struggle with with many aspects of it.
The constant changes are the most difficult for me.

But it's also given me so much more than I ever dreamed. I have friends (that I consider family) from every background imaginable - from every part of the country (and world, for that matter)
It has made this world such a smaller place.

In a recent email conversation with a dear friend, she asked:
"Ok I just have to ask - how the heck* do you afford to take all these exotic trips around the world? Do you get a special discount or get to go free with Dave being in the Navy?"

*Bonus points if you can guess where "the heck" this friend lives.

I have to answer the exotic trip query. . . .(and yes - it gave me a little chuckle)
The secret is POINTS/Frequent flier miles.
Because we're so close to these exotic locales - it's only 25,000 points/ticket.

Another dear friend on FB chimed in:
"marry a Navy man and see the world - I've done Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China, Palau, Australia, Cambodia, Thailand, Bali and maybe more (can't remember) in the 5 years we've been this side of the world!"

Between our AmEx points and David's travel - our miles add up pretty quick.
I have to take advantage!
Once we move to Colorado that same 25,000 will get me to Kentucky or something. (no offense to the continental US or Brandi - but . . . .)

No military freebies to be found - Darn IT!

Gramma Hart

After we got home from Australia last week - we got word that my Gramma Hart had been moved to an assisted living home.

I haven't seen Gramma since last summer, but I know it's been a difficult few months over at the Lambourne Compound. So I can't say I was completely surprised at hearing the news.

Still, it makes me sad not knowing what to expect when we visit in a month or so.

No matter what - I LOVE, LOVE. LOVE! Gramma Hart stories. Whether it's memories that are shared with cousins, laughing about toasted tuna with Dave, or hearing her say "Channy' or 'Dear" in my memory.

My cousin Liz has given me permission to share some of her memories she posted last year. Thanks Biz!

Enjoy:

life with gramma

so from the ages of 8-18 i lived with my grandparents. and then moved back in after college, during my 22nd and 23rd years of life.

living with grandpa was a dream. when we {my cousins and i} were kids he'd play hide and go seek with us.

he was always the seeker.

one time i hid behind the velvet orange living room curtain and after an hour or so he gave up looking for me. so i came out and he named me "the best hider he'd ever played with."

i loved that.

now living with gramma was a different story.

she has the exact personality that drove me insane. she was interested, concerned, accommodating, kind, worried, and a questioner.

sounds like the perfect grandma right?

well i, especially as a teenager, just wanted to be left alone.there were many a night when i would go to bed, the lights would be out, my door closed and then a knock, the door would open and there she was "lizzie, is there something wrong?"

then sheilding my eyes from the lighted hallway, "no gramma, i'm fine. just tired."

"okay dear." the door closes only to be opened again 5 minutes later {this time without a knock} "are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"yes, gramma. i just want to go to sleep."

"alright dear."

a few minutes later the door opens once again, i beat her to the punch and say "please, can i just go to sleep? i have to wake up in 5 hours."

"yes, dear."

and then one last time, for good measure... "if you ever want to talk about what's bothering you, you can."

"alright. thanks gramma. goodnight."

"goodnight"

one thing about gramma though, she's funny. sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. here are a few of my favorite examples:

my grandpa, being a composer, had an article written about him in the newspaper when he turned 100 years old. well i came home that day and gramma had a slight cold at the time so her voice was a little raspy when she held up the paper and exclaimed "in the paper, your grandpa is." she sounded just like yoda. hehe.

another time a bunch of my cousins and i were playing a card game around the kitchen table. we had the tv on and gramma was doing dishes while watching the tv when a commerical came on. i think it was for some local car dealership. anyway for some reason it had a midget dancing on a table. gramma looked up from the dishes just in time to see it and said in a very matter-of-fact tone "ha, look at that little guy."

this last one just happened a few weeks ago and goes with the picture above.

so my gramma starts yelling for my dad. "Richard! Richard! Richard!" he comes running into the kitchen. "What is it?!" "Someone's taken my little girl." my dad thinking she's talking about the grandkids replies "No, mom they live across the street."

now with more frustration in her voice "No, my little girl that I had in this" as she holds up the lid of the utensil crate from the dishwasher {the blue thing pictured above}. then she says "Someone took my cute little girl and i want her back."

well my dad confessed that he had seen the display {pictured above} and thought one of the grandkids had done that and left it on the counter so he went and retrieved the little girl out of the toy box and now gramma's display greets everyone who comes to visit.

Please help Dave....

Do you want to keep this from coming to your city...?

Go here and vote for Honolulu (use zipcode 96818) so they come to ours - we move there in two short months.

The KISS ARMY will dictate the North American leg of "Alive 35"!

Yes - I know I'm a freak.

And by the way....Madison is a closet KISS fan.

And they're off. . . . .

Spring Break in Oz!

Observations while traveling. . . .

Traveling teaches us life lessons.
I noted a few observations during our Thailand trip that I wanted to share.

1. Travelers in general, are a pretty happy bunch. Everyone that we came in contact with - whether they were visiting from Dubai, France, New Zealand, England -was so friendly and willing to share advice, swap stories or simply give us a smile. It made the trip that much more memorable!

2. Madi's the best travel partner.

Such a silent observer herself - I loved hearing her take of things when we had our quiet moments together.  I can't put into words how neat it was having her experience Thailand with me.

3. The ladies I traveled with were all great.

Each one brought a different personality and background that collectively made such a fun and colorful dynamic.

Amy: Crazy camera lady Julie McCoy (Dot's addition)

Dot: Crazy camera lady massage freak

Tori: Eco crazy camera lady

Shelly: Crazy lady!

And thank goodness they were all camera lovin freaks - we got some great shots to help us remember every moment!
In all honesty, thank you for being such good examples to my daughter.

March 26th

Everyone should feel loved on their birthday.
Misson accomplished.

Noodle Nirvana

Papa G's Noodle House on Marine Corps Drive next to Feather's N Fins.
Divine!

Beach Hair

Works for some . . . . .

















Just not everyone.

Popcorn Monster

Don't let this sweet face fool you!

If anything gets between Molly and her popcorn - you better watch out!

Click on the video to watch just how serious she is . . . .







C'mon, who's getting excited to meet her!?

As cute as she is . . . .

Molly is still a dog!

Crazy for Ko'ko'

Once the sun starts to set and being outside is bearable, we love to hang out in the yard.
The neighborhood come alive! Kids are out playing, parents are out chatting, Molly is out greeting.

A while back, we spotted this unusual looking guy hanging out - trying not to be noticed.
But how could we NOT notice him! Have you ever seen such a creature?
Me neither!
It turns out he was an endangered Ko'ko bird (just a baby - which is why he's sporting such cute legs and head fluff!), trying to spot some of the neighborhood action.
















Here's what Guampedia says about this unique and unusual little guy.

• The Ko'ko or Guam rail, is the Territorial Bird of Guam.
• The Ko’ko’ is a large rail, standing eleven to twelve inches or about twenty-eight centimeters tall.
• It nests year round laying one to four eggs in a nest of leaves and grass on the ground. The eggs are tended by both parents. Chicks can run after four days.
• Considered flightless, the ko’ko’ can only fly very short distances. It is an omnivorous feeder but seems to favor animals. It feeds on seeds and leaves as well as snails, lizards, insects and carrion.
• Considered endangered by both the Government of Guam and the federal government. It has been extirpated from the wild and is held in captive breeding programs on Guam and the U.S. mainland. There has been an experimental population release on Rota, CNMI and in two locations on Guam.
• The Guam Rail was once abundant, commonly seen in backyards and agricultural fields. It was once hunted for food.
  Threats: Habitat destruction and predation by the brown treesnake as well as feral cats, possibly pigs and monitor lizards.

The bobbin is the Devil!

I hate sewing!

Sure, I pretend it's fun:

Picking out something to make.

The cute patterns of the fabrics -

the thought of it turning out just like the picture.

Until I actually USE a sewing machine and start fighting with that dang bobbin and tension . . . Well let's just say it brings out my not so nice side.

It brings out my "sewing words" and everyone scatters!

But then somehow, the project comes together.

And it's so dang cute!!!

It makes me almost consider taking up sewing.

Happy UnBirthday

David has issues with being a Leap Year Birthday Boy.

He always claims "There's no need to celebrate if I don't have an actual birthday."

I've learned through past experience - that he feels bad if we take him at his word.

We compromised this year with just a mellow night in Tumon.

Dinner at Hot Diggity Dog followed by Dolce Fruitti gelato right next door.

And you know what?

On the ride home he claimed it was his "Best birthday ever!"

(I hope I can take his word for it!)