Life in Guam

As you all know, Daniel is spending this month in Guam. He'll be back in Japan the first of November. Here are some pictures which he's posted on Facebook along the way. I know nothing other than the Internet connection is horrible and we don't get to talk as much. He is doing great though and we officially have 2 months down, 5 more months to go.

Cpt. Caleb

After many pirate costumes, we found the one. He is so excited about it and can't wait for Halloween!!

Our Fun Filled Weekend!

This weekend was very busy for us. Caleb finished up with school for his little vacation (yes he considers having Saturday and Sunday off a 'vacation'), I finished up with work for the day and we made it home to unload our days work and walked down to our local Farmer's Market. We went down there for a few minutes (I had to get a cheesecake fix) and I let Caleb play on the local pirate ship playground while I purchased my goodies. While we were there I met with an amazing person which will be allowing us to use her Green Room and her karaoke services during Caleb's birthday party. She told him he was getting the works so start thinking of the songs you would like to sing. Oh my, he went crazy at that point. He named so many different songs, so we've started making a list.

Later that evening we had the pleasure of babysitting a beautiful little boy which turned 1 in June. He and Caleb played so well together and had the greatest time! Caleb just loves "Markie" and loves teaching him and showing him new things. Here's a few pictures of them playing.

He passed out a little after 8PM (such an amazing little baby boy).

Later that night we talked with Daniel and Caleb was able to tell him goodnight. Caleb has really enjoyed Skyping with Daniel. He really misses him and will have those sad moments where he talks about him and questions why he's gone, but overall he does great and he's such a trooper to go through something that's still really hard for the 'grown-ups' to deal with. Here are a few pictures of our Skype date.

Caleb holding the computer as still as he can manage as he poses for the camera.

Daniel still in bed (we were his wake-up call) and trying to manage a smile (I know it's dark).

After the boys went down, Caleb was out at 9PM, I watched a little TV until the parents arrived to take Markie home. They enjoyed a date night with dinner and the Lt. Dan Band Concert which went really well. The weather was perfect here for that concert for sure!

Saturday started a new day. Caleb, unfortunately, woke up around 7AM begging for breakfast, so we were up earlier than I had planned. I had to be at work around 9:30AM so Caleb went over to Markie's house for the day until I got off which was around 3PM. Once off, we went to a birthday party at Pigeon Point Park which we had never been to. It was beautiful!! Definitely a new favorite and it was packed (probably because it is so nice).

Caleb's classmate, Eric, had his party at that park that afternoon so we stopped by to enjoy some playtime and some cake of course. Here are a few pictures from that day.

The park is full with these trees and has so much to play on underneath!

Caleb had a blast. He loved hopping around on this thing and keeping balance.

The party was themed Star Wars and once the pinata was broken the kids posed with the helmet.

After the birthday party we had a bowling event planned with the Silver Eagles deployed families. Everyone who wanted to come out and enjoy free dinner and bowling that is with Daniel's unit was invited. We met up with a few families we had already met and we also met a few more. It was a nice event and Caleb loved bowling - as usual! The event lasted until 7PM so after that we had to come home, get baths and crash. I think we tried to Skype that night but Daniel's internet was on the fritz. Caleb did have the chance to say goodnight, so that's all that mattered.

Sunday, now Sunday was better. We slept in until 10AM. I fixed Caleb some breakfast which was his most frequent request here lately, his apple jack kind of cereal (cinnamon flavored Cheerios). After eating and getting dressed we enjoyed church and came home to change afterwards. After debating on lunch options, we both agreed on Ruby Tuesday's and took off (a whole 5 minutes away) and enjoyed some brunch. Caleb had breakfast and I enjoyed my salad as usual. Afterwards, we browsed Belk and got swimsuits 70% off. I bought for all of the nephews (sorry Madelyn - nothing your size this time) and Caleb got himself a new one for next year as well. I also found a few things to wear out to the beach/pool within the next month or so and hopefully next year if things still fit!

We had another Skype date with Daniel as he got ready for work, and we finished up with dinner at the house, followed by getting a bath and watching a little bit of America's Funniest Home Videos, Caleb's favorite! We read our devotion and Caleb was out by 8PM.

There you have it! Sorry, this post turned out to be a bit longer than I had originally thought it would be. Nonetheless, if you made it to the end, I hope you enjoyed it. Goodnight or Good day!

Jess

Way toooooo LONG!

As most of you have probably noticed or simply not cared, I have let my blogging days pass me. It's been almost 2 years, since I've last posted. Needless to say, a lot has happened!!!

The most recent update is that Daniel has deployed to Iwakuni, Japan while Caleb and I stay at home. He has 1 month down and 6 more months to go! We moved back to Beaufort, SC (oh what a long story) in June and Caleb started Kindergarten on August 15, 2011. He LOVES it which is wonderful for me and makes my life much easier. I work at an event rental company now as an Office Manager, so Caleb has to go in a little earlier than normal school hours. He gets there around 7:15AM and school lets out at 3:25 which is when I'm there waiting to pick him up! One thing I'm not sure if I love or hate yet, is the fact that the kids here in the school districts must wear uniforms. This makes life easier, sure, but who likes the same colors every day?! His colors (quite unlucky I must say) are: white, black, grey and burgundy. Yuck. I hate that he has absolutely no light colors (other than white, but come on) to wear and he'll even ask, why do I have to wear the same colors all the time?? I'm sure within the next few months we'll continue to ask this question occasionally but for now, we're good with picking out the color of the day. All khakis too for a little boy is also quite the challenge. The bigger challenge comes in when there are to be no cargo style pants or shorts. Who makes the no cargo style any more?! Well, I know if you need to know, but having no cargo on the pants/shorts is definitely not easy to find!

Caleb likes riding in the car, but what 5 year old doesn't want to ride the bus?! Mine had to do it, so I let him one day I knew I would have time to be exactly where I was told. Unfortunately, there are no signs where I was and the bus can't turn around in that area, so I waited...in the road :) It was a horrible experience for me, but he's so ready to ride that bus again! Maybe soon. I know of another location now that the bus will pick-up and drop-off at so I know it wont' be as bad if there is a next time.

We live in a new house (condo) in a town called Habersham, located within Beaufort. I'm 3 miles from Caleb's school and within 10 minutes to work. Daniel's within 10 minutes to work as well when he's here, so he's pleased with that as well. We couldn't be happier living here and it's such a nice little place to be. My favorite thing has to be the HUGE Oak trees with the Spanish Moss. Just breathtaking! Habersham also plays host to the local Farmer's Market each Friday from 4-7PM. The last Farmer's Market we went to (Sept. 2nd) the roads were blocked and Caleb and I enjoyed some cheese dip from the Mexican restaurant and also some dancing in the street. They played music and asked all of the men to dance with their 'loves' and no one took part of that. Right before it ended Caleb asked me to dance and we twirled each other in the street. The man then announced that the only person that had the nerve to dance with anyone was a little boy with his mom. Too sweet :) After that and our cheese dip, we line danced in the street to various songs. Caleb and I did the Cha-Cha, Cupid Shuffle, and the Chicken Dance (his favorite).

As far as the rest, I'll update here and there, but hopefully more frequently than not. I need to do a daily update for Daniel, so we'll see what happens!!

The front of our Condo. We're on the 3rd Floor where the window is and to the right.

This is one view of the street and some of the surroundings. This is part of the area where the Farmer's Market takes place.

Caleb riding his bike down the sidewalk to lunch. Nana and Poppy came down for a visit one weekend and we all walked down to enjoy the local cuisine (subs and pizza that day) before they left to go back home. Caleb really enjoyed his bike ride (as he usually does). Training wheels to come off soon. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that challenge because Caleb is very stubborn with me (not 100% where he gets that ;) ), so who knows what's next!!!

This is Caleb on his very first (of many first) day of school. Welcome to Kindergarten!!!

This is Caleb after his first bus ride. He was so happy that he got to ride and be a part of that. He asked me immediately if he could ride the very next day.

Thanks for looking and catching up :) More to come - eventually!!