February Sunshine

We've been keeping ourselves busy this month, folks! Here's a glimpse of just one weekend.

We chose a site in the yard to build our composter...

And we built it! Using wooden pallets for $0. Admittedly, Chris did most of the labor while I took pictures of plants in the yard. I was on call when he needed help, though :)

Ever wonder how a coconut tree starts? 

A very popular way to grow orchids on the island: fill an old coconut shell with a young orchid, strap it to the side of a palm tree. Ta- da (eventually)!

Some friends of ours invited us on a hike Saturday morning. We knew nothing about it, except that we might be getting a little wet. 

I'm smiling becuase I'm still unaware of where this cave leads.

Yes, into an underwater pool! Fresh, clear water. The only caveat: it's completely pitch black, everywhere. As far as I was concerned, there could be monsters in the water! But after a while, with the help of Chris and some flashlights, I got in. As the picture shows, I actually enjoyed myself! We also found that our camera is, in fact, waterproof.

The rest of the hike held some ancient Chamorro village artifacts, such as this stone used for grinding wheat (like a giant mortar and pestle). Chamorros are Guam's indigenous people. Someone figured out they have been here for 4,000 years. The first outsider to discover Guam was Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. This history lesson is brought to you by Wikipedia!

I spy a toad.

The end of the trail...well worth it! In calmer weather, people jump into the ocean from this cliff. Not in my family! 

Our weekend didn't end with the cool hike. Chris went on his first boat dive - he just received his diving certification! He explored the "Seabee Graveyard," where Seabee construction equipment (bulldozers, etc) was dumped into the ocean after WWII. He loved it!

Here are a two photos from scubaguam.com of the dive site:

 


Our fun weekend finally came to an end...and we somehow had time to finish The Lord of the Rings trilogy (I had never seen it...it took 2 weeks to watch!).

Also, on Monday Chris gave the Charge at an Eagle Scout ceremony. "...Build America on the solid foundations of clean living, honest work, unselfish citizenship and reverence for God...". It gave us all a good reminder of how to live!

We miss you all back home and send some Guam sunshine your way :D

At Last

Today marks 6 months since we were married...and there is more to celebrate than that: we finally have a home for the next 3 years! We have lived in 4 different temporary homes and traveled all over - to finally end up here. At last, a place we can truly call ours!


Yes, I couldn't resist the silly urge to welcome Chris home from work our first day in the house. Growing up, my family always made signs to mark memorable occasions, and I have definitely clung to the tradition!


Here is the street view of our home. Lots of of foliage and greenery, yet we are 5 minutes from the Navy base. Just what we were hoping for!


Some coconut trees by our back porch. We are thrilled to have those plus guava, lime, and mango trees, and a giant bush of the local "boonie pepper."


Chris loves his new machete... it didn't take long for him to cut down the first coconut at our new house. DElicious!


In this area below our deck we are going to have several raised beds for gardening, as well as a chicken coop. Wild chickens are everywhere on the island, but rarely raised for eggs. We will be one of the few people on the island to give it a try! Updates on that adventure to come...


Also, for the first time, we have a real mailbox. I am SO excited! Email us for our address.
elizlowery@gmail.com
chstjoseph@gmail.com

The interior of our house will be quite barren until our household goods shipment arrives mid-March. (Until then we will borrow furniture from the Navy.) I'll refrain from showing the undecorated insides, but I must show one of my favorite aspects of the house:


The built-in wine rack! Some celebratory champagne and a house-warming Malbec fit in quite nicely. Not sure we will ever fill the whole rack!

We clearly love our new home, but there are a few things we will miss about the beachside house down south that we enjoyed for our first month. We think of it as the tropical paradise honeymoon we didn't get a chance to take before! It was an amazing place to spend our first few weeks on Guam. We had some friends over for a BBQ as we enjoyed our last weekend there.


The peaceful sound of waves crashing right out the window, the velvety grass, gorgeous sunsets, going for morning and evening swims, feeding the fish...just a few things we will miss.


The awesome roof porch...perfect for stargazing at night!


Chris and the guys grilling ribs, burgers, and hot dogs...all on the grill Chris picked up for free and refurbished!


Chris demonstrating how to feed his special concoction of cereal and sardines to the fish and eels.


Everyone on the pier at sundown looking for eels. Those eels - or water snakes, as I call them - are not something I will miss!

Even though we moved, there are still many beaches a few minutes away. There's no escaping the water on this tiny island.

Thanks for taking some time to catch up with our lives. Hope you all are well!