theme thursday: remember

I'm not super into scrapbooking, but here's what I've got. The blue one is our wedding scrapbook-- we were broke med students, so I did it myself instead of getting the professional one like all the kids do these days.

Head over to Clan Donaldson for more remember-themed photos! (I'll post the link once there is one.)

theme thurday: dirt

Aaaaand again with my using the time-difference excuse to publish my Theme Thursday post on Friday morning. 

This is a decidedly embarrassing view of the space under the bookshelf. (Well, one of the bookshelves. We have, um [goes off to count] seven, not counting the kids' three sling bookshelves in the playroom. And still short on room for books.) 

Clearly I need to spend less time reading and more time vacuuming.

Click over to Clan Donaldson for more pictures of dirt!

theme thursday: fences

Here we go for day 4 of the 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge!

A few weeks ago we had a week of "staycation" when we visited various Guam tourist spots. Here are Faith and Jack walking back to shore after checking out Fish Eye Marine Park. (Fortunately there are fences because it's a long pier!) It's an underwater aquarium with windows you can look out into one of the Piti Bomb Holes and see the coral and fish out in the real ocean. Pretty fun.

Head over to Clan Donaldson to see more fences for Theme Thursday! 

theme thursday: hearts

Here's my super crafty Valentine craft for your viewing enjoyment!

Because I'm a terrible blogger, I didn't take any "in progress" photos to do a tutorial. But here's how you do it:

1- Grab a cheap wire hanger and bend it into a heart shape. Pliers help.

2- Wrap it in floral tape (leftover from your wedding five years ago) to make it grippy.

3- Make a bunch of yarn pompoms and tie them on.

I'm an excellent tutorial maker, right?

Go get your Valentine on at Clan Donaldson!

theme thursday: church windows

The base chapel (which has a weekly mass but is multi-denominational) has an interestingly-constructed, almost pyramidal shape with stained glass windows built into the roof. Unfortunately, I didn't remember about this week's Theme Thursday last time I was inside, and it's not accessible on an anytime-you-want-to-go-in basis, so this was the best I could do.

Head over to Clan Donaldson to see more (and more beautiful/interesting, I'm sure) pictures of church windows!

theme thursday: bare

On Guam, there aren't any starkly lovely bare winter trees. While the eastern half of the United States is gasping through the coldest temperatures in decades, we're going to the beach and eating popsicles in the air conditioning.

But you know what that does mean? Bare feet. Bare shoulders. And bare babies!

My roly-poly Josie posy (or Ro Po Jo Po, when I want to sound like the Judoon) in all her rolled and dimpled glory. The cuddliest baby ever.

Head over to Clan Donaldson for more bare pictures!

theme thursday: orange

I did it again and neglected the blog.  Whoops.  Let's blame studying for the boards, shall we?

Faith has been very into these colorful, rubbery ABC blocks she received as a gift when she was a baby. She stacks them, she knocks them down, she sorts them by shape, she sorts them by color.

And just as I was looking around for something orange, what should I spy but this little vignette?

What a convenient Theme Thursday situation for me! What an excellent developmental-skills-building situation for her! We're all winners. I love it when that happens.

Go see more orange stuff at Clan Donaldson.

theme thursday: double

This was an easy one for me, with two kids. If only they were twins!

Hahahaha... not!

(I have nothing against twins. I think identical twins especially are fascinating to see. But one 2-1/2-year-old at a time is plenty for me, thank you.)

Do you remember those old commercials? "Double the pleasure, double the fun! Double mint, double mint, double mint DOUBLE mint, double mint, double mint... gum."

That jingle is stuck in my head now.

(Why did they need to say "double mint" so many times?)

Anyway, without further ado, my double-the-pleasure, double-the-fun duo:

Josie age 3-1/2 months, Faith age 2-1/2 years.

Head over to Clan Donaldson for more Double posts!

theme thursday: out

(Apparently when I hit publish on this last night, it didn't work. Oops.)

One thing that's a slight bummer about our new house is that the backyard isn't fenced in, so whenever Ollie goes outside, he has to be on a leash or a tether.  That's why, ever since we noticed that our neighborhood has one, we've been meaning to take him to the dog park.  But what with moving in, starting new jobs, etc, we hadn't gotten around to it... until this week.

This is how we got there. It's less than a mile from our house, so I thought it would be nice to walk there.  And it was... kind of.  I knew it would be tricky (read: impossible) to steer a double stroller while holding Ollie's leash in one hand, because he has a death wish and tries to leap out in front of cars as they pass by.  So I attached his leash to the front of the stroller with this gigantic carabiner I was given as a baby shower gift (it's stamped with the hilarious name "The Mommy Hook ").  It actually worked out decently well -- Ollie tugs so hard on the leash that at times he was pulling the whole weight of the stroller, which was awesome for me. (Mush!!)  But he still tried to jump in front of cars.  So that was less awesome.  But at least I could steer with both hands.

The dog park was fun, though.  He made a doggy friend, rolled in the mud until he was unbelievably filthy, and played fetch to his heart's content.  What could be better, right?

Head over to Clan Donaldson to see more!

theme thursday: store

You know you're grocery shopping on a Pacific island when....

 Head to Clan Donaldson for more store pics!

theme thursday: text

This is the part where I confess that I'm almost 30 years old and still love Harry Potter, and always will.  Especially when I have a cold, like today.  Faith has it too, so I'm not sure whether to blame the kids at daycare or the kids I saw in my office.

Head over to Clan Donaldson for more Theme Thursday pics!

theme thursday: shadow

Long early-morning shadows cast by palm trees at Asan Beach Park.

Go see more shadows at Clan Donaldson!

theme thursday: food

It's actually Friday morning for me, but it's not for (most of) you, so what the hey.

 I made hash browns for breakfast. They were super yummy. When Faith woke up she immediately demanded food (as usual) so I served her up a bowl of deliciousness. She ate one piece of corn and then abandoned her food to go play with her ABC magnets, and refused to eat anymore.  Alas.

Head over to Clan Donaldson for more Theme Thursday pics.