Horace

no more photos mama!

Fern thought it was pretty funny to try to put my lens cap on when I was trying to take a picture of her!

my girl is rad

We took Fern to Ritidian in the morning over the weekend. We found a perfect spot that has alot of shade well into the morning. It was also a bit overcast off and on, which may have helped with the shadiness. Regardless, we will be going more often now, I'm certain. Fern thought the hermit crabs were very interesting until...




...the little guy grabbed onto her fingertip when she tried to drop him, and he clung to her with all of his pincer grasp might. He finally let go, but Fern didn't know what to think of this little critter now. Her uncertainty is displayed below in the video. (I need to learn how to keep my mouth shut while I'm taking video, and they would be much nicer!)

She definitely doesn't want him on her shoulder, DAD. :)

After swimming and crabs, we went butterfly hunting (or they did actually, while I watched through my viewfinder). Fern already loves butterflies, but they are usually too quick for us to catch them around our house to show her one up close. At Ritidian, though, they like to hang out in the bushes and you can grab them while they are resting on the branches unaware:

See them in the trees?

Allen is a very good butterfly catcher. He's quite sneaky.

Oh, the anticipation!

Allen says that they play dead. Sure enough, this one took off moments later and fluttered on his merry way.

Then more swimming.

And finally a nap.

A good morning it was.

My girl is rad.

all around the mulberry bush

I was super excited to learn from a neighbor that there were three mulberry bushes within a 5 min walk from our house. I took Fern to pick some. She had a blast, but didn't get the idea that you should leave the red ones for next time, that the red ones turn black, and then taste much better. Fresh berries (blueberries, and strawberries) are about 10 bucks for 20 individual berries here on Guam, and they are already half-rotten by the time they get off of the ship. I had no idea there was an edible berry like this that grew in the tropics. It was my first time (and Fern's of course) to taste these berries and they are absolutely delicious and sweet. I have a feeling we'll be visiting those bushes several times a week. ;)





Q: Can you guess what's in this series of photos below?

A: It's a teeny tiny sagu palm tree! I found it, digging around a compost pile in search of rhino beetle larvae. It was a small chunk of trunk with some roots. Sure enough, after I stuck it in a pot of dirt, it sprouted a tiny frond. It's pretty neat to watch all of it's miniscule leaves unfurl!

Letting the cat out

She said "Ki-kat, potty outside?" Luckily for us, she can't quite manipulate the doorknob, but that won't stop her from trying.

eggs, eggs, and more eggs!

I know I'm posting this a bit late, but late is better than never for the grandfolks! Fern's daycare celebrated easter with an egghunt for the kiddos and I came to watch. Unfortunately, Fern had pooped her britches and I was changing her in the bathroom when they started the hunt, so there were only a few left by the time we made it outside. No biggie, since there were more egghunts to follow! Fern's best buddy Daniel is pictured below. They were using their pointer fingers to play in a puddle of water that was sitting between them while the basket decorating contest was going on in front of them... almost the cutest thing ever I think, the two of them in their matching Good Day shirts:





This year we used ingredients around the house to color eggs, such as achiote, turmeric, and coffee! Fern had fun putting stickers on the eggs, and we all had fun coloring them with crayons (I think I had the most fun with that part, but even Al colored one, and then asked for another, and there wasn't another because I had already greedily colored them all...).

Saturday, Xavier and Alisha joined us on an egghunt around our house. We were initially going to do it alone with Fern, but we are so glad that they decided to join us. Allen hid all of the eggs and the kiddos had fun collecting them and then meandering over to the park as the sun went down. It was a good day for sure.

We finished up the holiday with brunch at the Westin, treated by friends, and another egg hunt for Fern there. I still haven't uploaded those pictures yet... just a few more to come!

sunny delight

Taking pictures in full sun presents somewhat of a challenge, one that I've been trying to embrace lately. After all, most of my waking time is spent in full sun, is it not? Here we are lying around at the pool a few weeks ago. I have Allen to thank for taking these. Thank you Allen, :)



I told her to close her eyes and act like she's sleeping....
Of course, squinting eyes are the result of looking directly into the sun-something that can ruin a picture, but I sure think it is adorable here.

We went to the annual 'make a wish foundation' kite festival for a few hours yesterday. Fern ran around saying 'kite. kite. kite.' It's pretty cool to witness your very own child seeing things for the first time. Shortly after these pictures were taken, and while I was attempting to chat with some friends that we met there, Fern ran to the overflowing trash can, picked up a beer can that was partially filled with beer+cigarette butts. Before I could snatch it out of her tiny hands, she poured it down the front of her dress. Let me tell you, that smelled nice!! {I took these photos with my old telephoto (70-200) that I haven't picked up for a few years. It was alot of fun, but wow! it's a big, heavy lens. This was a perfect event to reunite with it and I hope to use it more frequently now.} Here's some more midday sun!

One last sunny shot....remember the coconut we chopped up for the orchids? This is how the local people use the coconut to hold orchids to palm trees. Eventually the orchid will grow into the tree and you can remove the coconut. This one we attached to our betelnut tree.

little hands

I love the hand on the hip here.

Isn't She Gorgeous?

{I was referring to our blooming pineapple, but Fern fits the bill too. ;) }

Blessing by the Ocean

I've got these gorgeous friends who have these gorgeous babies... we all gathered at the beach in Ipan so that these new little people could be blessed with some love and poetry. I was lucky to be asked to snap some photos. {Good thing I brought my camera. ;)}

Here are Luna Isa and Anna!

And here's a couple of my favorites:

Little Anna has the most beautiful eyes. They look extra sparkly here and if you look closely, you can see about 4 coconut tree reflections in her eyes. Gotta love island life...

Ekko, playing with a car while laying down! He is the mellowest of little boys.

Luna and her dad, Tom. And Ekko in back.

In the Garden

I wish I had more time to spend in the garden, if I can even call it that. It's mostly just a smattering of plants and herbs here and there. Someday, I will have a big garden, (flowers and food), and a big greenhouse, and many hours in the day to fiddle around in it. It is so relaxing. We bought an orchid yesterday for inspiration.

Orchids like to use coconut husks to grow on...

Thanks, Al. ;)

*You can also use woodchips or lava rock, but we are lucky to have coconut trees around (just one of the nice things about living on an island).

Fern is proving to be a fan of the garden too. And quite a big help she is! {Notice the dirt around her mouth. She doesn't mind getting dirty...that's my girl! I'd rather her not eat it, but she's pretty determined.}

She helped me weed out all of the aloe and put it in a box to give away. (not a bad weed to have, right?)

We've been waiting a long time for this guy to make his appearance. Our last pineapple took about 1.5 years to bloom, and this one waited just as long. It's makes the event one to celebrate, that's for sure. I'll be taking pictures of it as it grows- it it one of the most gorgeous fruit blooms I've ever had the privilege to see.

Lemongrass for tea. It grows like a weed here too, thank goodness.