Our Guamazing Adventure

Apparently I forgot I had a blog for the last few weeks. Sorry. Actually I didn't forget, and it really keeps me up at night... you know how much I need to make people happy... totally a quality I got from my grandmother!!! Not saying my blog makes you happy. But it should ;)

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind!! The rest of the trip was a blast. Having nephews really makes me want to have a whole litter of children (but not quite yet). We finally got back to Guam after a few flight cancellations, a few breakdowns, and lots of mai-tais in Hawaii. I'm sure your pity meter is at an all time low for us. Space A back was a TRIP! We started on a KC-135 in more or less cargo nets for seats, but after 2 hours on the runway, they found a problem with the radio and we had to go back to the dreaded Hawaii terminal (see Christmas, 2008). Fortunately we were able to get on a C-17 a few hours later. They were only doing a quick layover in Guam before heading further west for a mission so we were lucky they let us out. There were 6 seats available, since there was a group of Army airborne/rangers on our flight. It was a riot -- big ole cargo boxes in the middle of the plane that the Army guys simply climbed on and slept there -- "sleep when you can, eat when you can" takes on a whole new meaning when you see these guys. It was a great flight that for 8.5 hours actually went by fairly quickly - Chris and I spread blankets on the floor and played cards for a few hours, watched some movies on his laptop and of course, got a little sleep.I also had a ton of reading to do... turns out this whole grad school notion is STILL more work than I bargained for - which has also contributed to my lack of blogging!

We got back from Guam to find our neighbors (Todd & Jolene) had somehow finagled a huge surprise. A family moving back to the US was giving away their above ground pool, and Todd and Jo pounced on it. Chris and Todd decided it would work best in our backyard since there is a little bit of shade, and Pikes are leaving in a year. So we're pool people!!!! How bout that?? We have big plans to paint "FLY NAVY" on the side of it, buy an inflatable beer pong table, and at some point get our island tans back that KS and CO took from us. Big plans!

Other than you know, flying half way across the world, working on my masters and getting a pool, not much is new. We lost power for a few hours on Sunday night. Chris walked into our bedroom with a candle and all of a sudden jumped, shrieked (yes, shrieked) and blew the candle out. Apparently there was a lizard on him. He was on duty that night, so he used the duty cell phone for light to try and find the lizard, and inadvertently dialed the Commanding Officer. Oops. Chris hung up as soon as he realized it, but the CO called back about 30 seconds later to make sure everything was okay. Hearing Chris say "Skipper!! It's Robinson. Sorry about that sir, I was using the cell for light to try and find a lizard" really made my night.

Julie's husband (and a few other girls' hubbies) came home from Iraq at 4:00 am on Tuesday morning, so I went to the homecoming at the airport. It was AWESOME! Hard to believe her husband John left a 5 day old baby and came back to a 6 month old! I'm so glad they're back!!! The homecomings are very emotional for everyone - it's totally a scene out of a movie. Having these guys walk through the doors into the lobby to applause, their wives and kids sprinting up to them, is just incredible!! In the midst of living in paradise, it's a good reminder why we're really here. I'm totally in awe of these women!! On another note, I saw the CO at the airport, and he was cracking up about the lizard story. Good times. I'm sure he thinks I'm crazy, but so does our poor postman. So, in two separate incidents, I missed the postman delivering packages (one was a turkey from Annie for early Thanksgiving, one was my dress for the dining out from my mom), so when I saw him out the window, I took my pink slip that he left me and did what any girl (or stray dog) would do. I chased him. Both times I was barefoot, on the phone with someone, and a total mess. Both times I made it to Julie's house, so about two blocks. Two days ago, we had a fly in our house. The same fly that was in the kitchen, bedroom, EVERYWHERE driving me crazy. SO, I was sitting at my trusty computer doing some homework, and the fly landed on the window. I immediately shut the blinds, and started banging on them trying to kill the fly. Our office was an add-on to the house, so it's right off the dining room and is a little box. Our desk is set up in the corner, so to the left is the dining room, to the right are windows to the front yard (the blinds where the fly was) and behind the desk are sliding glass doors to the front porch.... SO, I killed the fly, but as I did, the postman was walking up, literally right next to me... so all he sees is me banging on closed blinds. Oops!! Poor man.

In other news, Jo and I were nominated at the last wives club meeting to be co-presidents of the club! We're going to do it, and have even thought about embracing "The Knives Club" mentality and engraving knives for new members. Too much? It reminds me of a sorority t-shirt: "If you're going to buy your friends, they might as well be cool." Embrace it!

So first, some pics from home:



The Robinson kids on Valentine's day




Valentine's day in the limo with the Robinson clan




"Aunt Teshie" and Buddy!!!




Chris and Declan :)




Cutest 2 year old ever :)




2 peas in a pod





Chris, dad, Kevin and Grandma took in a KU basketball game while we were home. They played the Cornhuskers, Kevin had 2nd row tickets, and Grandma (the biggest Nebraska fan ever) got to meet Bo Pelini, the head football coach who was at the game. SO FUN!!!



The girls and the boys right before goodbyes (the girls were crying, but not the boys)




Sitting on the floor of the C-17 playing cards. The cargo boxes I was talking about are to the left of the pic. And, you can see some of the guys sleeping on the floor behind me :)




Inside a KC-135. Note the cargo net seats :)


Back in Guam:


SO EXCITED




Todd & Chris filling up the pool




Little guy in a big pool :)



And, the homecoming:

Julie and Bea getting everything ready



Bea and her family. Her husband was in the desert for something like 10 months, and before that was home for only a few months in between deployments. This girl is incredible.





Julie and John




Jackie and her husband, Jeff. This will be the first time they've lived together since they've been married!!