Happy Birthday Alee!

Today was a very special day. After Sunday School, we celebrated Alee's Birthday. She turned 3 today. Happy Birthday, Alee!

Alee posed with her Mom Ann Margaret, her Dad Ray and her little sister Lica.

We wanted something special and creative for Alee's Birthday cake and after some thought, Annie decided to try a cake made of cupcakes. She placed them together and iced them, so that they were a single cake of sorts, with faces. Everyone liked the idea and it appears that the cake o' cupcakes might become a tradition here at the Saipan Outpost!

There were party favors but they didn't last long. William managed to hold his together longer than most. Note that he has juice close at hand!

As always, there was plenty of food, including my fabulous teriyaki chicken. Our middle son Mark taught me how to make it and now I've become a Teriyaki makin' fiend!

April 23, 2006 Meeting

Our special visitors today were Quinton and Liberty. They're sweet kids!

Alee sported nifty sunglasses today. She didn't wanna take them off. The snack of the day was bannana pudding. The kids wanted it in cups.

Sally and her daughters Rita and Ree paused for a photo. Ree is a very quiet baby and loves to play with her sister. I'm her favorite Uncle, of course.

We played "Bible Jeopardy" today, which is our way of reviewing about a month's worth of material. My eldest Granddaughter Naiomi is always our "Scribe". She has a lot of other responsibilities and does a splendid job!

Joel is a serious student and used the time before our Church services started, to get in a few extra minutes of cramming. He and the other Amigos are smart and talented. They have bright futures.

Finding Nemo Continued

...Continued from the posting below. This shark was lying on a ledge. According to the documentaries I've seen, sharks do not have to be moving all the time. They can rest and sleep. Some of the staff at Underwater World thought this one was beginning to deliver (some sharks have live young, while a few lay eggs).

Nemo found! The cartoon Nemo was patterened after a Clown Fish. This one is nosing around its Anemone. The relationship between Clown Fish and Anemone is symbiotic. Clown Fish use Anemones for protection and in return, clean their host and provide other services. Most Anemones have stinging cells and other fish touching them will be stung to death and eaten. Clown Fish are thought to have a special mucous coating that render them immune to the Anemone's poison. If you are thinking of adding Clown Fish with anemones to your marine aquarium, it is best to purchase both at the same time and ensure that they have a relationship. If you get them at different times, your Clown Fish might not recognize or accept the Anemone.

Finding Nemo

Several of our Outpost congregation traveled to Guam recently. William wanted to find Nemo, so they all went to Underwater World. Hmmm...I could only get 5 photos on this posting, so I'll have to put Nemo in a subsequent posting, above.

While in Guam, they all went to Funtastic Park in the Micronesia Mall. William spent a lot of time on the rides and is seen here waving from the carousel.

A good shot of a Lion Fish. These make great aquarium specimens but sometimes go blind, if the lights are too bright. They have venom in their spines that is lethal to other fish and very painful to humans. Those who are allergic may die if stuck. Always be careful around these and never touch them. They also have stinging cells on their fins. Lion Fish are carnivores and only eat live food. Small goldfish are good food for them, if you are thinking of adding them to your marine aquarium.

A really good shot of an Octapus that was crawling on the tank glass. It isn't an albino. It is frightened. They (and some fish) fade out when frightened or stressed.

Most of these fish appear to be Tangs and/or Surgeon Fish. They were feeding.

They have several nice eel specimens at Underwater World. This one was peeking out from behind cover.

April 9, 2006 meeting

Taisha wanted a photo op today. She was in an especially good mood and had a great time in her Sunday School class.

As I came in from picking up the bus route, I found these guys gathered around the copier. Turns out that they were taking turns removing the printed sheets as they emerged and were getting impatient in waiting. I figured I'd have to referee but they handled it well. Our kids can make a game out of anything....

....as they demonstrated later, with their coloring pages from Sunday School class. They discovered that they could skate with them and turned the living room into a rink.

Mothers seeing this photo will instantly know what Lica is really up to in this shot. I didn't notice until my wife pointed it out. I had thought she was just using the chair to help her stand, as she is just beginning to toddle. I'm chuckling now, wondering how many guys won't be able to figure it out and will have to ask their wives to decrypt it.

Special Visitors

We were thrilled to have special visitors today. They were: Major Dave Hudson, Divisional Commander of our Hawaii and Pacific Islands Division and Majors Dave and Linda Harmon of the Guam Corps. We began our day with breakfast at Coffee Care, a local Restaurant with a beautiful ocean view. From the left: Major Hudson, Major Linda Harmon, my wife Annie and Major Dave Harmon.

We took them to Bonzai Cliff, which is infamous for incidents occuring there in World War II. That will be the subject of future posts.

We also visited the last Japanese Command Post from the Japanese occupation of Saipan in World War II. There's an old tank there that's falling apart but enough is left to give some idea of how Japanese tanks of that era looked.

Here they are at the back exit. The ceiling is really low in the front and this is the only place in the Command Post where most people can stand up. Click to enlarge.

Early Easter Egg Hunt

We adult types had discussed having our Church Easter egg hunt a week early this year, so as not to conflict with the kids families' egg hunts. The Munchkin Mafia (2-5) must have overheard and they got it into their heads that they would be hunting eggs today and there was no convincing them otherwise, so now you know why it was early. Besides...who could look into all these cute faces and tell them no?

We had our fellowship at the top of a sloping beach. This is a view. Most of Saipan is enclosed by coral reefs. That's why you don't see any waves. The reefs act as a barrier and the waves that wash over them are pretty much spent by the time they reach shore, unless the reef is close or the tides are unusually high. You can see some small ones coming in over the top of the reef, in the upper left.

Devan didn't create cryptic lyrics today. He lives on Guam but visits us every now and then. He's pictured here with his Gradma Doll (some refer to her by her actual name "Deloris") and his Sunday School Teacher Bea.

Escalo had a keen eye for hidden eggs but preffered the small candy ones for munching. His Mom Christine handled the feeding chores.

Dustin was quite successful and was proud to show off the booty.

One of Devan's eggs had a toy camera inside. He spent a lot of time playing photographer. In this shot, he had his finger over the lense.....Doh!

Early Easter Egg Hunt...Continued

Feneca found a bunch. She's a bit camera shy but wanted to pose with her Mom Jessica and Dad Jeffrey.

Lica found a bunch of eggs but seemed to favor the yellow one with candy inside. She also got a ride on her Dad Ray's shoulders.

We ate, of course. Annie and our ladies cooked a turkey and a huge amount of spaghetti. William liked the spaghetti!

We make things interesting for the kids with "money eggs". Alee found the silver egg, which pays $5.00. William found the gold egg, which is big prize and pays $10.00. They're posing with their eggs and loot, although the wind blew William's bill flat and it's hard to see. Alee seemed to be suddenly distracted by the color of the gold egg.

Feneca cleaned house on the single dollar eggs. Looks like she might have been the day's big money winner! She and her Mom Jessica show off her takings.