In between running errands that had to get done Friday, we of course we went on a field trip. Unfortunately it was raining, so outside plans were cancelled and we made our way to the War in the Pacific National Park visitors center. It was an amazing little museum with a ton of information. I really loved how interactive it was, and how many details they were able to put in such a relatively small center. My favorite parts were reading through the books of personal accounts of events, and the display at the front that explained the different battles on the island and showed where they occurred on a map (it traced everything out and showed videos at the same time). After consulting the kids we skipped the video that they had available. There's a short clip in it covering decapitation (a Japanese punishment for locals when they controlled the island) and after reading through many of the stories the kids thought it would be too much emotionally for them to handle. Can't say I blame them, I was welling up quite a bit myself.
Interesting side note this is the first national park visitors center I've been in where everything is written both in English and Japanese.
Friday was also the little girl's birthday. We had a cake and a movie night at home to celebrate. Oh, she also asked for McDonalds so despite my goal to not eat there at all while we are here I ended up going there for lunch.
Saturday afternoon we went to the 25th annual Guam Micronesia Island Fair. It was an amazing event, celebrating the similarities and differences between the islands. We loved going through the delegation and craft tents, talking to the people, and learning about the cultures. The kids even got a lesson in how to properly husk and shave a coconut!
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| learning to shave a coconut |
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| husking coconut |
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| making traditional boats-told the kids to take notes ;)! |
The best part I think was watching the dancers from the different islands. It was so neat seeing how similar they were and yet how different they were. For example, the female dancers from Kosrae sat while they sang and danced. According to the announcer, this is because traditionally it was considered disrespectful for a woman to stand before the king even to perform.
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| Marshall Islands |
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| Kosrae |
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| Palau |
The older 2 and I could have stayed there for many more hours, but after 4 hours of being at the festival the little kids were done.
Sunday morning we went to church, then to the commissary for a few things, home to bake a cake and get ready, and then back over to Gab Gab beach for a small gathering of friends for the kids birthday. It was the perfect excuse for a beach gathering and all the kids thoroughly enjoyed it (unfortunately I forgot my camera). After a good 3 hours at the beach we headed over to a friends house for dinner and more kids play time. By 7pm, the baby was more tired than I've ever seen him before and was very vocal in his desire to go home and get to bed....so I indulged him.
I hope you all had a great weekend as well, and to my friends in RI enjoy the Arts Festival!
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