Guammin' It

Notice their feet are in the water and they are still smiling.  Water temp is 86.

We arrived!  It has been crazy for the last few weeks. At one point, I thought we were never going to find a house and car.  Staying in a (small) hotel with five kids and loads of luggage stacked everywhere got old quick.  To make matters worse, there were lots of Marines arriving on Guam and hotel rooms were hard to come by.   After a few days, we had to move to a smaller room and even more interesting arrangement.  We went from eating fast food less than once a year to surviving on it for two weeks with some microwave meals mixed in.  Out of desperation, the original list of requirements we had for house, were abandoned for any place we could call home.  Finally, it was the third house on our list that panned out (#1 had a pool and 5 bedrooms, #2 was ON the beach, #3 was available).

Hotel Living

Some of us are always happy, even living in a hotel.

Addie took to snorkeling no problem!

Moving day is pretty easy when all you have is a few suitcases.  Now that we are settled and have WiFi, school is in session.  We haven't gotten to enjoy the island much yet, but are looking forward to it.  Everyone was excited to try snorkeling, by the time we bought gear for everyone and got suited up, we didn't have much time before it got dark.  The sun sets here about 6:30 year round. There are beautiful beaches, plentiful palm trees and interesting things to get used to at every turn.  I'll post pictures as we explore.  Stay tuned...

Dinner on our deck, ocean is in view.

Ocean Park

We saved the best for last, at least in the kids eyes.  Today's adventure was a theme park.  The highlight of the day was the pandas.  We headed  to see them first thing and they did not disappoint.  Stuffing bamboo in, looking right at us while we took pictures to our hearts content, the pandas were amazing!!

Posing Pandas

The day was filled with brain-rattling roller coasters, shows, and kiddie rides for Bugs.  It was a ghost town in the kids area, David had it all to himself, at least till his sisters showed up.  I was a good sport and went on the "Rapids."  I 'll admit I was warned I could get wet, I got drenched and walked around looking like a drown rat the rest of the day, so much for being a fun mom. 

Loving the rides

I think our favorite thing about the penguins was the temperature of their habitat.

Fun dolphin show

 We had a good time at the dolphin show and loved the aquarium.  Seahorses, HUGE sting rays, sharks and octopuses were some of the faves.  The day finished with a light show and we headed for home, beat tired and worn out. 

Bugs passed out while eating his dinner

Memorable moments on the trip...having to load 7 large suitcases, 6 carry-on bags, 7 back packs, 8 people and  a several pillows into a mini van...twice.  Bugs' popularity with the over 50 female crowd where ever we go.  About 4-5 of them asked to take his picture.  Suzy helping me curl my hair for church.  Not sure about how electricity converters work, but all I know it I was smelling burnt hair.  I told her to take it out, but too late.  We had a Little Women reenactment with my hair.  On the way to the airport, Bugs had to go to the bathroom about 10 minutes into a 40 minute drive.  Knowing getting off the bus and then getting another one was not an option, I offered him a water bottle to pee in.  He told me he had too much pee and would fill the water bottle- it holds about 3 cups.  I did what any desperate mom would do and "persuaded" him into using and it (yes, while riding the bus) and discreetly disposed of the water bottle upon arriving at the airport. 

We have thoroughly enjoyed Hong Kong.  So much to see..hard to believe that even with how incredible it is and so different, it all stated to seem a little normal after a few days.  The kids got to where they could navigate the streets and were pros when it came to riding the MTR.  Each person has their own way of doing that too.  Addie always manages to find a seat, no matter who it is by.  David wants some one to hold him up do he can hang from the handles up near the top.  Sierra spent a lot of time working on a pull-up on the bar.   As we walk through this always busy city, Bugs still runs (weaves in and out of people and jumps on and over everything he can) around trying to shoot everything in sight, Addie is working on her cartwheel and does them all the time, Sierra has questions about everything and loves the foreign currency, Suzy is always holding someone's hand and helping look after her siblings, but is anxious to rush back to the apartment to check Facebook, even though it is often the middle of the night in the states, Isaac is taking it all in, and  a huge help with luggage and being Bugs' buddy.   What an experience for all of us, a great memory for sure. 

One Big Buddha

Wow, what a big day.  Up early again  headed to see the biggest Buddha around.  We started with a gondola ride that gave us awesome panoramic views of Hong Kong and took us up to the Ngong Ping Village which is popular because if its huge Buddah statue and  the monastery there.  Although I am not familiar with Buddhism, it was neat to see the monks and observe some of their rituals.   We tried the restaurant there near the monastery where the monks eat.  It was obvious they enjoyed it more that we did, the kids were all good sports and tried everything.  I'll be honest, it wasn't very good and I even like Chinese and vegetarian. 

Cool sign, gives distances to places around the world

Near monastery with Big Buddha behind

Front of monastery

Monk banging bell

Big Buddah

Lots of steps up

 Next we took a bus to Tai O, a nearby fishing village.  It was very different from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.  Many of the homes are built on stilts right over the water and the pervasive smell gave  a good indication of what the small town thrived on.  We enjoyed a boat tour of the village and had some warm coconut buns from a bakery there, delicious!

Tai O fishing village

Market in Tai O

Woman in Tai O

To finish out the day we took the Star Ferry over to Kowloon.  Although most people traveling back and forth between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island now take the MTR (subway), they still run the ferries.  The gentlemen manning the ferries still wear sailor type uniforms, I think a nod to the old British ferries.  The views of Hong Kong Island at night are beautiful. 

View from the ferry

 

View from Kowloon

Out on the Town

We had a great Sunday.  Abe and the boys headed out early to look around and watch the locals do their tai chi in the park.

Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island

The "green-shirted" tai chi group in Victoria Park

The "come as you are" tai chi group

It is obvious we are still getting used to the time change.  All this and still time to walk to church for 9am sacrament meeting.    It  was so nice to meet people we could actually communicate with.  For the first time I remember, we are in the vast minority here, but at church we fit right in.  Funny, Abe and I have been talking about what an adventure this all is, but as we talked with others at church, what we are taking on seems like a walk in the park.  So many of those we met have lived overseas for years and in places much more adventurous, they were an impressive group.  We felt like rookies.   It was so good though to see that the gospel is as much a part of their lives as it is ours.

Church building, we had classes on six different floors

View from bridge in front of  the church

Later  we enjoyed taking a double-decker bus to the top of Victoria Peak.  Driving up gave us such a feel for the city.  Countless apartment towers, graded cemeteries built on the hill sides, soccer fields in use, and we noticed all the cars here with the exception of the taxis are new and pricey...we're talking Ferraris, Rolls Royces, Porsches, Maseratis, the list could go on. The views from the top were nothing short of spectacular.  We took a trail a couple miles long that circles the top of the mountain allowing views on all sides.   While the sun set, we walked around, just as the lights began to illuminate on both sides of the harbor.

Largest spider I have ever seen!!

Post card worthy views

Hong Kong

 There is much to discover in this city.  For starters, it is FULL of people, most of them rushing to get somewhere.  The city, which is actually made of a few islands is fairly small in size so the buildings must go up.  We are staying on Honk Kong Island in Causeway Bay with a great view across the harbor to Kowloon.  Here's a shot during the day...

... and one at night.

 We began our day with a trip to the temple.  We decided to have Abe head out with the older kids to do baptisms and I would follow and meet up with them with the younger kids.  After looking at the maps, I figured our route to the temple would require 3 train changes on the MTR (subway) and walking a few blocks.  It all seemed pretty intimidating for a girl who gets nervous driving into Portland.  It actually was relatively easy, thank goodness for signs in English, and Sierra loved helping me navigate.

Notice the Church's name in both Chines and English

After the temple we headed to the outdoor markets.  So much to see, smell, and wonder about the origin of the food items.   We wanted to be brave and try some local fare, but after a little perusing the kids were relieved to see the golden arches and we gave in.  The prices at the markets are not marked and there is much bartering to be done.  The exchange rate is roughly $7HK=$1US, that requires some quick thinking when trying to haggle and get prices down to something you are willing to part with.  I was trying to get a tea set and doing the figuring, I got kind of frustrated and walked off only have the seller track me down and cut her price in half.  OK, so is that how this is done?  We took in all that we could walking through the ladies market, goldfish market and flower markets.

 

 

Guess how many salted, dried, anchovies we bought?

Bonsai tree in the flower market

 Tired from the heat, jet lag and having our body clocks still in another time zone we called it a day and headed for home.  It was all I could do to drag myself to the corner market with Abe to grab some food for tomorrow.  When we got back to the apartment all the kids were sacked out - still in their clothes.  It was only about 6:45pm. 

On our way!

This is it!  We are on our way.  Our family is moving to Guam.  Yesterday as we boarded a plane bound for Hong Kong, a quick stop over trip on our way, my hear was so full.  As the plane gained altitude and everything below was reduced to ant-size proportion, I realized the magnitude of what was happening.  We were leaving behind a life and place we had lived and loved for seven years.  Although we are looking forward to all that lies ahead, I began to wonder if this was a good decision.  We have been so happy in La Center.  I can only hope and pray that what lies ahead will also be for our good.  As I was thinking about all we were leaving behind and how hard it was to say good-bye it was definitely a bitter-sweet moment.

Thankfully, the gentleman that checked us in upgraded us to business class.  He probably took one look at me and the bags under my puffy eyes resulting from a severe lack of sleep and crying for the last few days and took pity on me.  Although I must say, if one has to endure a 12 hour flight, this is the way to go.  From a six-course meal served on a white tablecloth to a seat that reclines into a completely laid out bed, it did help ease the pain and best of all, really wowed the kids.   It has been so fun to see the reactions of other travelers, 99% of which are Chinese.  I can't tell if they are more drawn to the very blonde hair of David and Addie or the fact that we have FIVE kids.  Due to the language barrier, we just get smiles and nods and many want to touch Bugs' hair, something an over-tired and sometimes shy boy, didn't like.

Posh traveling

Loving the service

Still smilnig, after 24 hours of travel

 With all that has gone into our preparations, I have been so overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we received from so many to help us transition.  An amazing amount of effort was needed to make this move a possibility and there is no way we could have pulled with off without the help of so many amazing friends, which made leaving them all even more difficult.  I am looking forward to this new chapter in our lives, nothing short of an adventure when moving and traveling overseas with five kids in tow.   Here we go!