New Grandson!!!

Congratulations Megan and Adam!  A new baby boy for you and a new grandson for us! 

When I got to work this morning and turned on my computer, I noticed my Skype connection was taking a long time to connect.  I also couldn't connect to the internet.  Then Skype finally connected and I noticed that Rhiannon and Megan had called me.  Something must be up.  Maybe the baby came overnight and I didn't get to hear first hand about the birth.  I noticed Rhiannon had called me just ten minutes before I had got to my office so I tried her first.  No answer but I did leave a message.  Then I called Megan.  She answered and told me they had gone to the doctor that morning and was told to get to the hospital right away.  They had called me on their way to the hospital and left their message on the Skype voicemail at 5:00 a.m. Majuro time.  She also told me that the hospital nurses said she would probably have a quick labor.  Wow, it sure was.  Rhiannon called me back when she was just pulling into the parking lot.  I didn't get to talk to her for very long because Adam was calling her.  Then about an hour and a half later later Rhiannon called back.  I thought it would be just an update of what was happening but she said, "He was born at 3:04 p.m."  What? She had the baby?  I couldn't believe it was so fast!  Six pounds eight ounces and eighteen inches long.  Healthy Baby Boy!  I can't wait to see him.  Thank you Megan and Rhiannon for keeping me informed.

Jersey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JERSEY!

WE LOVE YOU AND WE'LL SEE YOU SOON!

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

This is what I found one day at CMI.

Laura Beach October 17, 2009

On Saturday October 17, 2009, we went to Laura Beach with the Lytles, Bells, Hewstones, and Sister Diane Teichert.  Everyone brought something to share for a picnic lunch.  Elder Hewstones seranaded us on his harmonica by playing "Waltzing Matilda" and Diane sang along.  As you can see, the beach is made up of tiny bits of coral.  I also got a picture of a little hermit crab eating some coconut that someone left on the beach.  Sister Lytle, Sister Teichert, Sister Bell and I found some cool looking clam shells along with other shells.  The clam shells have scallops on them - almost like ruffles on the shells.  I didn't take a picture of them but I have a huge collection of them now.  Gary spent most of the time cleaning up the beach as much as he could (surprise). Here are the Hewstones walking out on the reef.And here is Gilligan, I mean Gary, searching for buried treasure?I guess not, just a life raft with a huge hole in it.

A few more views of Laura Beach.

October 10, 2009

The Long Island Ward Young Women had a picnic near the airport in October.  Sister Lytle picked me up with Sister Tiechert. Edit:  I didn't think this post was made because it was taking so long to upload and Gary was ready to go home.  Here is the rest of the post:  We met the YW at the picnic area.These were taken from the Lagoon side of the island. 

These were taken from the ocean side of the island.  Basically across the street from the first picture.  The island is very narrow in this area. 

Ocean Side

The trees in these pictures are Pandanus trees. They produce a fruit that the Marshallese call "bob" pronounced more like "bub."

This is the ocean side of the island. These pictures were taken on October 3, 2009. The tide is coming in. The people here use this area for bathing and other things. You can also see the trash that is on the beach. Right where the waves crest is the edge of the reef. This is not a sandy beach but is made up of dead coral. We also saw many hermit crabs.