Osaka

Posted on by Caroline
Right now, we’re about 40,000 ft above the Pacific Ocean, on our way to Osaka. I had imagined that before this trip, I would have researched the history of Osaka. Learned about the local architecture. Looked up the best restaurants for okonomiyaki. Found the best kid-friendly attractions. But it’s been a crazy week. Last Friday, they dropped off all our household goods at our new house (yay!). On Saturday, Duke and I were diagnosed with strep throat (boo!). On Sunday, Amelia came down with strep (boo!). On Monday, we checked out of the hotel (thank goodness we had the hotel for a few extra nights!). Our house is still buried in boxes, and I don’t know where anything is, but...Read More

Why Homeschool?

Posted on by Caroline
Before we left Davis, we got a lot of questions about why we decided to homeschool and how we would know if we’re doing it right. Homeschooling has gotten a lot more mainstream in the last decade, but it’s still a relatively unusual decision. In these first few months that we’re in Guam, the decision to homeschool has largely been a pragmatic decision. When we were first exploring the possibility of coming here, we had a hard time evaluating the local schools from a distance. We were also moving in the middle of the school year. We decided to buy ourselves some time by homeschooling for the rest of this academic year. Hopefully, by the beginning of summer, we’ll know...Read More

Coconut Experiment

Posted on by Caroline
[modula id="212"] We've been obsessed with coconuts.  We just can't get over the idea that they're everywhere.  Everywhere. The welcome packet we got when we were first assigned here included a warning not to park our car under a coconut tree, or else you may get unwanted dents.  It may be my favorite piece of advice before moving to a new place. The Polynesian Dance performance at our hotel includes a demonstration of how to crack a coconut and get the juice and the milk out of the coconut. Within about 90 seconds, they go from intact coconut to husked coconut.  They make it look so easy.  As we've walked around and driven the island, coconuts are just laying on...Read More

New Year’s Hike

Posted on by Caroline
We have always enjoyed celebrating New Years Day even more than celebrating New Years Eve. When I was younger, I tried to start the new year with a dawn nature hike. Lately that’s been harder to do, but this year we managed to get out to a trail by mid-morning. The trail we chose started in Umatac Bay and followed the coast line to the south. We didn't actually travel very far - we got distracted by hermit crabs and coconuts and the incredible scenery. There will be other days for long, vigorous hikes. This hike along the coast was the perfect introduction to our new home.

We’re off!

Posted on by Caroline
Amelia and Duke and I left my parents house at 5:00 AM. We’re on our way to San Francisco, where we’ll meet up with Tim. From there we’ll fly to Honolulu and then on to Guam. We’ve had to say some hard goodbyes. We’re lucky that we have so many people rooting for us and wishing us well. We’re looking forward to some pen pals and occasional visits back to the states and sharing our adventures along the way. In the meantime, I think I’m done with lists now - finally! We’ve packed our last box and everything we own (almost) is on its way to the island. We’ll have work to do to get ourselves unpacked and settled in,...Read More

Moving

Posted on by Caroline
I woke up this morning thinking about the moves that I’ve made in my life so far. This move to Guam will be my 15th out-of-state move. If I make a guess of how many times I’ve moved across town between out-of-state moves, I would guess that I’ve moved approximately 30 times in my life. I should be proficient at this. But it’s been over five years since we’ve moved to this house. Our family has been through a lot during those five years. It’s the only house that Duke has ever lived in. Amelia may have hazy memories of the townhouse we used to live in around the corner, but by and large this is the house that she...Read More

Guam….?

Posted on by Caroline
If you had asked us earlier this year to tell you our five-year plan, I can confidently say that Guam would not have come up in the conversation. Not that we had a defined five year plan. But if we did, it would have included trying to get Tim to a major airline (preferably United) and trying to find a way to re-balance my life toward family and kids and (at least slightly) away from career and work. But Guam? Guam definitely wasn’t part of the plan. So how did we get to this place? At this moment, we’re renting out the house in Davis, I’ve got two more weeks at work, and Tim is a 737 first officer based...Read More

Intrepid travelers

Posted on by Caroline
After an early-ish start, we had an uneventful trip. We didn’t have quite as much time in Hawaii as we were hoping, but we managed to fit in a poke lunch and finding some leis for the kids. After another 7 1/2 hour flight, it’s starting to dawn on me exactly how far Guam is from San Francisco. We finally arrived at 7PM on Saturday. (Another reality that I’m finally beginning to actually understand - the 16 hour time change) After collapsing into bed, the kids were up at 4 AM. So we’re sitting in the room, waiting for the sun to rise. Waiting to see the outlines of our new life. So far, not a bad start.....