What have the Fox's been doing?

When we first moved to Guam we made a conscious effort to go and play tourist on the island as often as we could. Initially it was more like an extended vacation. We really wanted to be happy here and the beautiful sights eased the distance. The last few months we have been in a slump. We bought a car on Craigslist and were scammed. We took it to a repair shop that kept it for two months, and were scammed again. We are currently driving a car that literally has the head gasket glued together. We poured a lot of money into this car and not wanting to waste another dime on our Guam bomb have been without a consistent reliable vehicle. A few kind people lent us a loaner for a while, but there were weekends we were stuck at home. January rolled around and we were broke. Glenn was on winter break and only receives paychecks on the months he works, so it was tight. We were happy to spend days swimming at the pool in our complex. We kept saying how lucky we were to be swimming in January. Life in Guam has really surreal moments and the year around swimming weather is a perk, especially when you have a baby who is a natural born bubble guppy in the water. We discovered the video store across the street rents three movies for $5! We binge watched TV shows on Netflix and spent more time with the characters from Chuck than actual real people. We were living life on the cheap and kind of stopped exploring the island. The last month we have started to emerge from our shells again and have been able to enjoy some fun family outings. Here are a few of my favorite moments recently. 

Our Valentines Day dinner date turned out to be very memorable and kept us laughing the whole time. We ate at a new place called Tapenade and didn’t know any reviews or anything at all prior to walking in the door. We asked the hostess what it meant and she said it was a serving for two. The menu looked delicious so we ordered a few things with the plan to share. I asked for a strawberry lemonade to drink which wasn’t on the menu. The bartender said he could whip it up no problem. We watched as he sliced strawberries, juiced lemons, shook it all around and created his masterpiece. Since there were no refills on this creation I savored and drank slowly. Throughout the entire meal the bartender kept walking over and adding to my drink. He dropped in diced orange and apple and garnished with extra fruit. He just couldn’t stop! When the food came it was delicious, but turns out Tapenade means a taste for two. We had two skewers and split between the two of us it was three bites of meat each. We ordered two other dishes and joked about hitting up the Wendy’s in the parking lot on our way home. Neither of us had ever eaten at one of those tiny bite size portion restaurants before. It made for a memorable dinner and the food honestly was fantastic.

Last Monday Glenn had a surprise day off work that we weren’t expecting. Guam literally called a Holiday out of nowhere and schools were closed. One of our favorite places on the island is a place called Tumon. This is the capital of everything touristy on the island. You have the best shopping, restaurants, resorts, and therefore the best beaches. We spent the first part of our day wandering around the stores and waiting out the buckets of rain that were pouring down outside. We ate lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. To some it’s just pizza. To me anything that I enjoy in the states and can still enjoy on this island feels like a little piece of home. Once we finished the weather was all cleared up and we were planning on swimming in the ocean. When we walked down to the beach we were warned about jellyfish. Being the cautious Momma that I am I chose not to risk going in the water with my baby. Glenn however thought he could dodge any jellyfish that he saw, put on a snorkel and mask, and proceeded with caution out into the water. He was back on the beach five minutes later after getting stung. Lesson learned we chose to take a casual walk along the beach taking pictures. Immediately we noticed the beach was littered with these Pacific Men-Of-War, dozens and dozens of them just washed on shore. They are a bright royal blue and look like chewed up spat out pieces of bubble gum with a giant clear bubble stuck to them and a single long tentacle. Unlike anything I have ever seen before at the Monterey Bay Aquarium that I visited many timed during my childhood. We came upon a catamaran that was a perfect posing my baby moment. We saw this triangular glass home that had a wedding going on in that exact moment. This little beach walk was my favorite part of the day. I experience a lot of emotions in Guam, some good and some not. This day I was grateful that we will have so many cute family photos on the beach because of our time here.  

I feel like each time we go out on a Guam exploration I think that’s the most scenic place on the entire island. Seriously though I really think this hike we went on to Tarzan Waterfalls last Friday was my favorite so far. We have talked about hiking pretty much every weekend, and up until now have only done one very small very short hike down to a place called Haputo Beach. Tarzan Falls was a 3 mile roundtrip hike and perfectly baby friendly. The trail was so wide and kept opening up to these gorgeous scenic views of the island. It was absolutely impossible to get lost because even when the trail split off it always converged back into one. The weather that morning was spectacular and we had a nice little breeze. There were some muddy patches and one place we had to do a little bum scoot down a crazy steep slippery hill but that’s the reality of nature. I can’t say enough good things about this hike and this day. The funniest part was this group of Japanese tourists that were taking an ATV tour down to the waterfall and as they kept stopping to navigate we kept catching back up with them while walking. They were shameless about photographing our beautiful baby. When we were down at the waterfall one of them just randomly put his arm around Glenn and Deliah to take a picture with them. I feel like wherever we go our white baby is such a novelty and we’re constantly getting compliments on her beauty, her gorgeous eyes and curly locks of hair. People can rave about my baby all they want, this Momma eats it up. The waterfall was spectacular. Who doesn’t love a waterfall?! The water was so refreshing to jump in but was a little cool for Deliah’s liking so we didn’t stay in too long. Deliah got real worn out hiking and being so photogenic that she slept the entire hike back. All in all it was great family day and I was feeling very lucky by our surroundings.

Not every day in Guam is all rainbows and unicorns and waterfalls. Those days it’s effortless to see the magic in my day and the unique experiences that Guam has brought us. Whenever I’m out of the house and we’re trying something new and exploring the island that’s when my mood is at its best. The most challenging aspect of living here is the feelings of loneliness that can creep up on you. I have never struggled as much socially and felt like it was so difficult to make friends as it has been here. Some days I am perfectly content at home tending to my Mommy and Wife responsibilities. After too many days without venturing outside those walls I start to get bored. I love spending my days with Deliah but I think about how awesome it would have been to have Deliah while we lived in North Carolina. There are a lot of young moms in our previous ward who supported each other and were excellent about keeping a playgroup going. They always invited me even without a baby, but now that I have a baby I see how crucial those groups are to both baby and Mommy. I love showing off Deliah and her new tricks on Skype, but it’s not the same. I’m already looking forward to being back in California and having games nights, and people over for dinner, and meeting friends at the park with their kids. We really do lead a pretty good life and have exceptional options for fun weekend outings but I do wish Guam wasn’t in such a stupid location on the Globe.

 

 

 

 

A walk along the beach in Tumon. March 3, 2014

 

 

A hike to Tarzan Falls. March 7, 2014

 

 

 



 

Deliah at six months. (12/28/13)

 

Milestones: We introduced Deliah to stage 1 baby foods the day after Christmas! First up on the menu - squash! She had been giving signals that she was ready and was getting grabby with her hands and wanting what her Mom and Dad were eating. The kicker was when Deliah dive bombed her face onto a McDonald’s mighty wing her Dad was eating one night. OK Deliah we get it, you are ready now! Her absolute favorite so far is carrots! She constantly has her mouth open towards the spoon and devours the entire container, unlike the squash where she would eat 1/3 to a 1/2 a container at a time.  

Discovering: Deliah is learning how to use her hands to grab onto things. She can take her pacifier out of her mouth and will attempt to put it back in her mouth by herself, normally backwards. For a long time chewing on her feet and hands was the most entertaining thing for her. Now that she can control her hands playing with all the new toys she got for Christmas is very fun. She has hung up on people while on Skype a few times because she wants to press all the buttons. She is not quite crawling yet but so close. She does little baby push-ups and gets her butt and knees so high in the air but hasn’t taken off yet. Instead she maneuvers her way around the floor by rolling over and over and scooting. We have had to invest in lots of those soft floor puzzle pieces because her play mat just didn’t cut it anymore.  

Sleeping: Deliah is not ready to give up her middle of the night feedings yet. The girl has an appetite and still wakes up anywhere from 2:00 to 3:00 to breastfeed. She will wake up again anywhere from 6:00 to 7:00. As far as bedtime goes she is getting better and will crash around 8:00ish and stay asleep when we are ready to carry her to her crib for the night. We have stopped swaddling Deliah when she sleeps because she is way too strong and just frees herself easily now. Her preferred method of sleeping these days is on her stomach, on a pillow, with a stuffed animal to wrap her arm around, a pacifier in her mouth, and her baby jams in the background. She is particular and knows what she wants!  

Eating: Since day one of her life, I have breastfed pretty much Deliah’s every meal. She took to it so naturally and judging by her arm rolls and adorable chunky thighs she was eating plenty. So this is a huge deal to be starting solid foods. For now we are just replacing one meal a day with solid foods, either her Gerber veggies or some rice cereal. She loves it! No surprises there. On occasion her Momma and Daddy like to dip her pacifier in something sweet, like frozen yogurt, Wendy’s frosty, or icing from a cinnamon roll to see what she thinks. All you parents know you did the same thing! Just today Deliah tried banana flavored baby puffs for the first time. Her Auntie Kayla sent them and wanted to see her try them while we were Skyping. I wasn’t sure she was ready because she has never had anything not liquid or super soft, but she swallowed them just fine.  

Disliking: She has no teeth yet, but poor baby has been suffering from sore gums for months now. She also doesn’t understand why all her friends live inside the computer box!  

Liking: Deliah’s favorite activity and always has been is playing in water! The bathtub, swimming pool, ocean, she loves to be wet! My favorite game she plays is when Glenn will balance Deliah on one hand and she bobs around like a little baby seal. Deliah kicks her legs and floats, and I’m confident already that we have an Olympian swimmer on our hands. At just two months old we were already able to dunk her head underwater, which made me so nervous that first time. Deliah looks adorable in her swimsuits but sometimes we can’t resist letting her swim naked because she has the cutest little butt! She loves her Jumperoo that she got for Christmas, and enjoys the music and all the lights and fun toys to touch and chew on. She loves watching her new Bubble Guppy movies that she got for Christmas and literally tries to crawl into the computer screen to play with her friends.  

Stats: First off I’m a slacker Momma who has yet to record her 3 ½ month stats for her last Doctors appointment.

3 ½ months.

Weight: 15 pounds 9 ounces – 94^th percentile

Length: 25.6 inches – 95^th percentile

6 months.

Weight: 18 pounds – 90^th percentile

Length: 27.3 inches – 90^th percentile 

Yes, I have a big baby! She wears some of her six month clothes just fine, but fits better into 9 month and for whatever reason 12 month jammies fit her best.   

New Mom thoughts: There are times where my baby doesn’t seem quite so baby like anymore. Deliah is transforming into a little girl right before my eyes and the six month age is filled with so many new discoveries for her. When Deliah was just a newborn my mother in law told me that whatever stage your baby is in at that moment always feels like the very best stage. I was pretty certain that I wanted Deliah to stay a tiny newborn forever that I could cuddle constantly. But, I have to admit that I love watching Deliah learn and discover new things. I love when she uses her voices and I laugh when she uses her voice to yell at me and let me know something is wrong. As a new Mom I pretty much don’t do anything without my baby constantly by my side. She is my sidekick in the kitchen and will assist me while sitting on the counter in her Bumbo, maybe getting a taste of brownie batter ;-) She folds laundry with me while rolling around on the bed. She checks my e-mails and catches up on Facebook. We play with her toys together on her floor. My whole world revolves around trying to keep Deliah happy, and we really do have a very happy, cute, perfect baby. I’m a lucky Momma that she picked me!

 

Fox's can do hard things.

A month has passed since I have given an update on life in Guam, and more importantly Deliah, I apologize! Deliah deserves a dedicated post so for now I will say that she has grown A LOT. Deliah started wearing her six month clothes at only three months. I have an ever-growing pile of clothes that she can no longer wear. Makes me a little sad. At the same time her personality is developing and she is so much FUN!!

I adore every moment at home with Deliah and being her Mom brings me tremendous joy. The ability to stay home with my baby is an absolute blessing and I thank God that financially that’s a possibility for us. My Mommy responsibilities are my number one priority and keep me plenty busy. However, in other areas of my life I am feeling unfulfilled. I feel bored with my life. I have struggled with these feelings before and something about being here in Guam has amplified them. I try to keep myself busy by being the perfect Miss Susie Homemaker. I cook scrumptious dinners, laundry is always done, house is clean, and now being a new Mommy I am there for Deliah’s every need. Somedays I literally spend all day holding my baby, and I am 100% ok with that. These days fly by way too fast as it is, and I never want to feel like anything is more important than snuggling my baby. In some ways I feel slightly guilty that being a ‘stay at home’ Mom isn’t enough to make me feel fulfilled.

What I feel like I am missing is something that I do just for me. I need a hobby. I need to start exercising again. I would love to do something with my journalism degree. It pains me to see all the debt I accumulated for a degree that is just sitting there unutilized. I need a change of scenery from the bland white walls inside our home. By the time the weekend rolls around I am practically begging my husband to entertain me and go sightseeing. It amazes me that even with how much time it takes caring for a baby, I still feel like I have way too much free time. I have watched way too much TV. I have been making a conscious effort lately to limit TV during the day and start reading more books. I got a library card and am pretty excited about it. As Arthur says, “Having fun isn’t hard when you got a library card!” I think what I am saying is that I have not been feeling like a very well-rounded person. I need something more so I don’t feel quite so lame. When my husband comes home from work and we talk about our day sometimes I literally have nothing better to say than that our baby finally pooped after three days. True story.

What I really need are friends! I have really gone out of my comfort zone to try and meet some people here. I am friends with people on Facebook that I have never even met! I have literally sent messages to potential friend material that sound like this…

“I just moved to this island with my husband and beautiful baby. Let’s be friends. So and so that we both know thought we would have a lot in common. Let’s be friends. You have young kids, I have a baby. Let’s be friends. Please please please. I know how to bake. Let’s be friends!”

Would you be my friend if I sent you this message? Normally these are friend of friend types and always accept my requests and are way nice because they understand. From what I hear from other women who have been in my position not too long ago, everyone goes through this trial period. It takes time to settle into living on this island. It takes time to get used to all the quirkiness of Guam. It takes going out of my comfort zone to make friends here. It takes going out of my comfort zone to a whole new level. It takes doing things differently than I would have done them before. It takes patience, optimism, and compromise to adjust to life here. I might feel alone, but I am not alone in feeling this way. It takes effort to be happy here. I am learning that I am very much in charge of my happiness here. I will be completely miserable if I don’t take control of my life and make some choices to find happiness here. I actually get angry with my husband sometimes because I feel like the plane landed and he was already happy here. I don’t know how he does that so naturally. One day at a time, I am working on establishing a routine here in Guam that will make me happy.

I can do hard things! This is what I tell Deliah when she gets frustrated with herself trying to roll over and she gets tired. I need to take my own words to heart. I know so many people were thrilled for us when we moved to Guam, viewing it as this complete paradise where the sun shines all the time. I’m sure some people look at the beautifully scenic pictures that we share and are maybe even a little envious of this opportunity. I’m sure a few people will read this and have trouble being sympathetic to someone that literally lives 5 minutes from the beach, woe is me right? Well I’m not asking for sympathy. I merely just want to express that moving 6,000 miles away to another country is a challenge. Some days I am so homesick for my family back in CA. I miss all the wonderful friends that we had made in North Carolina. I miss my puppy! I am jealous of all the Fall weather related statuses, knowing that we have just two types of weather, humid or humid/rainy at the same time. I hate knowing that as much as we have the desire to visit plane tickets are just way too expensive. I hate not being able to share and show off our pretty pretty baby, and know she will seem enormous to all our families when they finally get to see her again. Some days I’m a little sad. Some days the door to a kitchen cabinet literally falls on my head. True story. On days like this my husband comes to the rescue. Some days all I need is a tapioca bubble drink from Shinny’s, this cute little place up the street that we’re totally hooked on. Other days I need longer pep talks and a reminder why we moved here in the first place. Sometimes I need to view a sunset that looks like it belongs on a postcard, or watch my baby splash happily in the ocean. Whatever it is it helps me have good times here in Guam too.

Right now I’m going to take a second and count a couple of our blessings in Guam. All our boxes arrived! This one was a huge deal and even came a couple weeks earlier than expected. We have more furniture now! We splurged and bought a bookshelf last night at Home Depot, and slowly our home is getting more comfortable. We found a $5 movie theatre. Seafood is really cheap, which is great because that’s about the only thing that doesn’t cost you a kidney at the grocery store. We are never more than five minutes from a refreshing bubble drink at Shinny’s. Glenn loves his job. We found a loophole for texting free to the states and I’m now hooked on WhatsApp. I have a cell phone now. We had a car. We had a car about a month when the engine died, never to see another day. We were sold a lemon and I’m sure the punk saw us suckers coming and laughed his way to the bank. The brightside, this amazingly generous and kind family the Moore’s are letting us borrow their spare truck while we figure out a more permanent solution to our car dilemma, yet again. After going to a few different places we found a favorite beach spot. We just watched General Conference and are feeling renewed and inspired to improve ourselves and be happy! We are creating lots of memories. We have the most precious daughter in the whole world! Deliah’s smile will always be my happiness during the days the waters in Guam aren’t quite so calm. The photos are from one of my favorite days in Guam, and this spectacular beach spot we found!

The first two weeks.

First off, I need to say what a labor of love this post is. Last night I was making zucchini pancakes for dinner. I just finished commenting how much I love our new cheese grader because it’s so sharp and makes the process so easy. Not even 60 seconds later I grade off my fingers instead of the zucchini. My husband ran to the store, bought me princess band-aids, and forced me to eat a Twix because he was worried I was going to pass out. It was a lot of blood. Thanks to my kind husband and the healing powers of princess band-aids I’m going to live, but am now afraid of our VERY sharp cheese grader. Anyway, when you’re missing the top of your fingers it hinders your typing capabilities.  

Now for our first two weeks in Guam. Guam is absolutely breathtaking and much prettier than I imagined it would be. We have been able to do some sightseeing and the more we see the more we like. When I first arrived on the island we had a date night at Hard Rock Café Guam. I’m really interested in knowing peoples stories of what brought them to the island, especially the white people who aren’t military, people like us. Our server Patrick began saving money at 16 to come here and surf with his best friend, who happened to be Chamorro but never been to Guam. As an 18 year old surf rat he came and never left, traveled, married, had kids, started a business, was happy. It’s always comforting to hear people’s positive opinions of the island. I talk to people and they either love it or hate it on Guam, no in between. I’m hoping we love it. Hard Rock is part of the main tourist strip and has lots of shopping. There were so many cute clothing stores, erasing any fear that the only place to shop here was the World’s largest Kmart. It’s funny how some of the stores are organized. They will have one rack of clothes that’s Abercrombie, one rack that’s American Eagle, Hollister, Victoria’s Secret, etc… all in the same store. There were lots of cute local shops too and I’m excited to wear skirts and maxi dresses to my heart’s content, since it’s humid all the time.

A recommendation of somewhere we had to visit was Two Lovers Point. It’s the best place on the entire island to watch the sunset. There is a story about two star crossed lovers, whose families didn’t approve of the relationship so they tie their hair together and jump off a cliff to their death. It’s basically Guam’s Romeo and Juliet. You have the most incredible view of the entire island and the colors of the sunset were beautiful. I envision lots of future sunset watching here.

Talofofo Falls was another recommendation, so last weekend we packed up our baby in the Bjorn and some sunscreen to spend the day swimming at a waterfall and swan diving off the top and stuff like that. We were lucky to get here because of downed power lines blocking the road, and when we did it was pouring down rain. One thing I have learned is that it rains, every single day, off and on, all day long. It’s not like the rain is cold so there is no reason to avoid it or change your plans because of it. I love the rain, and here you’re hot and sweaty all the time anyway so why not throw in a little rain. The sunscreen was unnecessary, but mosquito repellent absolutely was, so of course we had none with us. Little did we realize that what we were actually doing was taking a gondola ride into the jungle, with Glenn whistling the music to Jurassic Park on our way down. Luckily, the one other person there was an always prepared Japanese tourist who sprayed us down with something from a tiny brown bottle. Which I hoped was bug repellent, but I literally had 50 bites at the end of the day so who knows. The waterfalls were picturesque and beautiful, of course, who doesn’t love a waterfall? Seriously though we were in paradise! We had the best day walking along paths surrounded by cascading waterfalls, lush jungle, across suspension bridges, up and down steps that become really treacherous when muddy and wet and you are wearing sandals. We saw Yokoi’s cave, a Japanese soldier who sought refuge and built a simple three foot cave in which to hide. His resourcefulness was so great that he was able to stay alive in the jungle and the conclusion of WW2 went unnoticed for 28 years! Glenn with reckless abandon ignored all the signs about no swimming and jumped in the water. We concluded our day with a walk through Loveland, an exotic statue park with men and women in scandalous positions and statues of dogs in overalls. Ummm...yeah. Kind of interesting to have at a waterfall park and made me blush deeply walking through something like this. Overall we were sticky, dirty, mosquito bitten messes by the end, but had a fun and enjoyable day taking lots of pretty pictures and family videos.

I know it appears to be all life is perfect but my emotions have been on an up and down roller coaster. I love visiting all the pretty places, but I feel at times like I’m on vacation not actually living here. I snapped the other day when I was making dinner and we had no can opener, and no way to reach my husband, and no car, and I had to stop cooking in the middle. It’s frustrating when you’re accustomed to having a kitchen full of everything you need to having only a couple miscellaneous items.  I’m frustrated because we still don’t have a majority of our stuff. We don’t want to go out and purchase items that we know are on a boat somewhere and will reach us eventually, hopefully, who really knows? The shipping situation here is a nightmare! I shipped a box filled with all of Deliah’s baby stuff, swing, bath, bumbo, etc… and was told it would take two weeks. When I get here I learned that our home address isn’t actually the shipping address. There is no mail delivery system here, so you can’t get mail direct to your home. Most people have P.O. Boxes, but we’re allowed to use the University address and ship to Glenn’s office and that’s what I needed to use. We Wanted to stop the post office before they ship the box back to the states so Glenn goes into the post office with the tracking number. I was told wrong information when I shipped the box and turns out when you ship a box standard mail it goes on a boat and takes 6-8 weeks!! That’s a big freaking difference. In addition to all Deliah’s stuff two other boxes were shipped standard mail with basically everything we decided we were taking with us to Guam, which wasn’t much to begin with. What did reach us were the three very small boxes that shipped priority. Thank goodness we have some pans, cookie sheets, a kitchen mat, and Settlers of Catan. Really though, 6-8 weeks of no Catan really would have been tragic. 

I get frustrated by my lack of cell phone, and wish there was a simple affordable option here that I can call and text to the states. So far Skype, Facebook messages and e-mails have been a huge blessing! But when you’re used to having a cell phone and suddenly don’t you feel like you’re living in the Stone Ages. I especially hate not being able to reach Glenn during the day, especially if there were some kind of emergency where I might need him. We do however have a landline, which I jump up and get really excited every time that rings. I freaked out when I saw a cockroach scurry across our bedroom floor and now open the door with caution every time. I actually like all the geckos we have though, and appreciate that they eat any bugs. I think they are so cute and I’m fascinated by how fast they scurry around on the walls. I am saddened by how difficult us moving to Guam still is for my Mom, and hope that time will heal.

I really am trying my absolute best to keep everyone updated on our lives. I feel so loved with the vast support we have received from so many. Each time I open Facebook I have kind messages from friends just wanting to check in and see how we are adjusting to life in Guam. Thanks for not forgetting us a million miles away over here! Like I have said before, I was extremely apprehensive about this move, I have doubted that this was the right decision, but I am hopeful! I am hopeful that we love it, and believe that life is full of hard choices and this is where we need to be right now. For whatever reasons we may not understand yet, I believe there is purpose behind this journey.

 

Two Lovers Point

 

 

 

Fire in the sky.

 

Wild boar hanging out in the parking lot. Not strange at all here.

The Fox's at Talofofo Falls.

Coconut on a ledge.

I LOVE this picture.

We're in Jurrasic Park for sure. We found prints as proof!



I think the above ground root systems on these trees are neat.



The Guam Chapters.

A while back I wrote that Glenn had a job interview with the University of Guam. I wrote about the fear and anxiety that just the interview brought me, and the heartache that was sure to come with living so far away from our families. Well, Glenn was offered the job. We woke up on day two of our journey back West this summer to an offer and a five day timeline to decide. Good thing we were in the middle of a five day car trip to agonize over this decision. For the first time in our two years of marriage we were split on our choice. Not just an I don’t really care, I could go either way, you choose, kind of split either. Like, I was an adamant this move terrifies me. Glenn really wanted the job, the only thing holding him back was me. Ultimately Glenn accepted the job, and we are now in Guam. It broke my heart not to be unified on this decision and have to admit created a rift between us. I know in my heart why Glenn accepted this position. I understand that it was more than chasing his career dreams, but wanting to be a good provider for his wife and baby. I trust that Guam could be a really good thing for us, I just so wished another closer job surfaced instead.

All summer I never really relaxed about the move. I was confident that the Universe was fighting against us and all the preparations we needed to make. There are so many complications that come with moving to another country! And we still have loose ends in California. For starters we needed to figure out what to do with all our stuff. What to bring, what to sell, what to store? We tried having two garage sales. My parents live directly across the street from a very popular soccer park, and the two Saturdays we sit outside, empty! Sign? We also had two cars that we were trying to sell and some larger furniture items on Craigslist. I swear every time we were in talks with someone and they were for sure coming with money to pick it up disaster strikes. These are some of my favorite excuses for why people never showed. I lost my phone. My car was stolen that morning. My daughter was in a car accident and lost her spleen. What the heck?!

The most difficult preparation came with trying to get our dogs to Guam. There is a vast checklist of shots, blood work, and paperwork that needs to be done, and a lot of money. We made the difficult decision to leave Lexi with my Grandma, who we knew would do nothing but sit there and give her attention 24/7. We did all the necessary vet work with Rocky and thought we were good to go. I stayed in California an additional two weeks after Glenn already left for Guam so that we could wait out the processing times on Rocky’s blood work and avoid a long quarantine when we arrived in Guam. The next hurdle came with the airlines. We were told by the airlines that Rocky wasn’t allowed to fly in cabin and would need to fly with their Petsafe program. This made me very nervous! I hated the idea of my dog flying in cargo and worried about the trauma that might cause him. When it came time to make his reservation I found out that Rocky wouldn’t be on any of the same flights as me. First off I was on an express flight, and dogs flying internationally with Petsafe aren’t allowed on express flights. Second, Rocky would need a quarantine in Hawaii. Meaning, Rocky would miss my flight to Guam and need to fly out on a different flight. Also, lots more money! I hate United Airlines! I hate that they made it virtually impossible to bring my dog with me. It broke my heart to leave Rocky with my parents. It broke my heart when my Dad told me that Rocky sat outside the door to the room we stayed in all summer just waiting for us. It makes my eyes watery just thinking about it. I’m grateful my parents love him too, and know they will take care of him. I just miss him a lot!

The most difficult aspect of moving to Guam was Deliah. Not just the fact that United Airlines once again made me their enemy. I had to pay an ‘infant tax’ just to bring my baby with me. The woman on the phone seriously posed it to me like this, ‘well if you want to bring your baby you need to pay’. Like it was actually a choice. United Airlines is a bunch of heartless people! What tore me up inside were the feelings that I was taking this beautiful baby away from so many that love her. I love my family and want them to have a relationship with Deliah. She is growing so fast and will be so different when they get to see her again. All summer I felt like I was on borrowed time. I view the two months we spent in CA as a gift. A way that everyone we love could meet our baby and bond with her. But, it was always in the back of my mind that this was all temporary. I know I will never be able to send enough pictures and Skype long enough to satisfy my families desire to see her.

Finally, I make it to the airport, accompanied by my entire family. After a really sad goodbye Deliah and I arrive at our gate. Flight delayed an unknown amount of time. Really, why did everything about this move have to be so gosh dang stressful?! I only had a 1 ½ hour layover so the woman at the counter set about booking me backup flights. She wanted to put me on a one way to Honolulu, skipping San Francisco all together. I was rejected by Hawaiian Airlines for this flight because I didn’t have a passport. A passport to fly to Hawaii? Why even consider it one of the 50 states? Anyway, my flight to SF departs exactly 1 ½ late. I make it to my gate for my next flight literally as the doors are closing. When I arrived in SF and asked what gate I needed to be at, a nice man escorted me all the way there when he learned it was already boarding. He began swiftly walking and then quickly turned into a brisk jog. Him pushing my stroller and me jogging besides carrying my baby in the Bjorn. I made my flight, and honestly from here on out traveling was easy. Deliah was a travel delight. In three flights she never cried, not even a whimper. I was worried the air pressure would bother her and she would be fussy. I was worried she would have a massive poop blowout, because such is my luck. Nope. She was a gem! I think I deserved this because the idea of traveling alone for almost a full day, with a newborn, all alone, made me a little nervous. I had to laugh because after three flights with a happy baby, she screamed the second we got in the car leaving the Guam airport.

Now the real adventures begin. All summer I felt like we were sacrificing so much, and waiting impatiently for things to get easier. All summer I hated anytime someone said the word adventure to me. All summer I was so unenthusiastic about this move. Don’t get me wrong, I am not planning on being miserable while I’m here. I am hopeful that this will be a positive experience for us. I am excited about traveling somewhere new. I am hopeful that when we look back on these Guam chapters one day they will be filled with wonderful new friends and fun stories. Stay tuned.

 

Deliah's first time on an airplane!

Perfect travel baby!

Deliah watching Free Willy on the Kindle during one of our flights.

A Daddy happy to see his baby again after two long weeks.



Fox's together again!