Another year older and wiser too

Yes friends, I have recently celebrated another birthday (eek!!).  Two of our neighbors & I have birthdays within like a week of each other.  They had been planning a birthday party together and surprised me by celebrating my birthday too.  It was so incredibly sweet of them to include me!  People were invited over, we had pizza and relaxed. They made a football birthday cake for us & we exchanged gifts. (our next door neighbors are from Alabama too...small small world) The hubs gave me a kitchen aid mixer! Man, I tell ya he spoils me way too much!!  It was a great night of celebrating! I'm such a lucky girl. I have a wonderful husband, terrific friends, and family who loves me. 

Roll Tide Roll

I just have to give a shout out to the college football team I grew up watching,

 University of Alabama.  They're heading off with Texas for the BCS Title Game.  Alabama has had a fantastic season and I cannot wait for the game in a couple of hours. It's at times like this I wish I was back in my home state. You can taste, see, & feel the excitement during the regular football season. I can't even imagine the ELECTRICITY with them being #1 in the nation & playing for the National Championship Title.  Oh, how I wish I was there.  Just know, I'll be here in Guam on this beautiful friday morning rooting you on!

Roll Tide Roll! Give 'em Hell Alabama!

Our First Christmas in Guam

A gift this big has gotta be good...

What could it possibly be?

       

Man's 2nd best friend, a hot fiery grill

  

I love watching him open gifts, he's like a little kid when he does

(I'm excited he gets to cook occasionally now... so it's kinda like a gift for the both of us!)

Christmas Dinner

   

We had a lovely Christmas this year. Aaron & I spent the morning eating a quiet breakfast exchanging gifts with one another.  I'm just thankful he made it home in time to spend the holiday with us. He had an unexpected overnight delay in Tokoyo.

Anyways, my sweet husband picked up bath items from Bath &  Body Works as my gift, before he left the states. Stress Relief,  (I'm not sure if he's trying to tell me something) but I love it! It makes my skin all tingly feeling & very relaxing. My mother had sent me a necklace that is too cute. We spent the evening with family and enjoyed our fabulous Christmas dinner of fondue & finger foods. I hope all of you had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with your families.

Sending our love and best wishes for the New Year,

Aaron & Britney

Thanks Gran & Mom!

I don't have many Christmas decorations. I have this little 4 ft. tree & a few ornaments. We've lived in apartments and didn't have the room for anything bigger. I really wanted to decorate alot this year to make our first Christmas in Guam feel like home. However, I didn't have a few hundred dollars lying around to purchase a new tree & go all out with decor. So I decided this will do for now and after Christmas I will buy things when they go on sale (or whatever's left at the base exchange).  I made our little tree as beautiful as I could. I was happily content with our small quaint Christmas.

Then one day I received a rather large package in the mail.  Confused and excited I opened it  to find a surprise that made me tear up a little. I had a conversation with my mother a few weeks prior about Christmas and what I planned to do.  My grandmother and her decided to go in together and purchase a Christmas tree for us.  This meant so much to me! I love surprises and this one is definetly at the top of one of the best.  When I called to thank them for their generous and thoughtful gift they asked me not tell Aaron while he's away. Their hopes were for me to decorate  & let him enjoy the surprise  too. I can't wait for him to come home tonight and see what my family has done for us. I know he's going to love it too. I love them so much for this. It's really going to make our Christmas a little merrier. Thanks Gran & Mom!

(oh yeah, the side without ornaments is facing the wall...I still didn't have enough to cover the whole thing!ha!)

What do you think?

 Last week I had an appointment to have my hair trimmed & colored.  I thought I had explained well enough what I had wanted. I had the itch to do something a little different. This isn't exactly what I had in mind, but I thought it turned out o.k. I've never had my hair this dark;and it's growing on me. I know it sounds silly, but I am confused how to 'identify' myself! Am I a blonde? Brunette? In the sunlight you can see red? What am I now?! I did this while Aaron's gone. I'm anxious to hear what he thinks about his 'new' wife? I guess in my heart, I will always be blonde. Maybe I'm not as good with change as I once thought.

So, what do you think?

Then:

Now:

Thanksgiving 2009

So here we are celebrating our first Thanksgiving in Guam with the Greenwoods. It really was a lovely dinner. Plenty of delicious food and desserts. It was very special to be together as family so far away from all our loved ones back in the states. We made a Thanksgiving Box for Family Home Evening a few weeks before and then at dinner we opened it up and read what everyone said they were thankful for. It was a fun activity to do for Thanksgiving. Of course after stuffing ourselves the appropriate thing to do was lounge on the couch. Another special Thanksgiving Dinner.

Welcome to Guam!!

Last week, I took the opportunity to take an orientation class about our new home. The first day was a classroom setting. We learned various things about Guam, military life on Guam, some history & the culture of the Chamorros. I'm very happy I took the time to do this. I learned alot & became more comfortable with our new life here. The second day was an island tour. We drove around most of the island (and yes it did take all day, even though it's only 30 miles long). The bus made several stops along the way so we could take pictures and visit sites. It was incredibly breathtaking & I couldn't believe that I actually live here, not just vacationing. I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them

Make a Smilebox photobook