A Note to Sadie....

Yesterday, as my 3rd graders were saying, "Mrs. Sawyer's head is on Fire!" Due to them exhausting me and driving me almost crazy, I quickly checked our email and saw that we had an email from John and Betty... This is what the first line said:

We were looking through photo albums at Lenssens (or works of art, that Angela has put together for her kids).....   and Sadie pointed to you two in one of the Christmas pictures and said "Oh, what a cute couple."  Then she went on to say,  "I really miss them."

SADIE NICOLE,

We love and miss you too! Like Crazy! We can't wait to see you this summer and play with you and your brother and sister... 

Thank you for being such a sweet niece.... We can't wait for a giant Sadie Hug! 

Now stop growing up! =)

Love you Sadie Bug,

Love,

Aunt Brittany & Uncle Mark

xoxoxo

This photo is for Sadie, We hope she can get a little giggle out of it!

Tag Your It! Well, atleast not yet!

Okay, so I am it... Suz tagged me after being tagged by Angela, who was tagged by Shelle...

In this little game, we are to reveal 7 "interesting" things about ourselves, that not many people may know..... so here it goes......!

1. Raviolli... one of my favorite italian dishes.... and when I am not in the mood to cook, I still like a good ol' can of Chef Boyardee Raviolli, but it gets worse then that... Well, I don't think it is that bad, but Mark does... When I was little, for a quick meal mom would make i\us Chef Boyardee, and for a side, apple sauce... well if it was too hot, I dipped my raviolli into the applesauce to cool it down, and it worked... Gross, I know that is what you are all thinking... but to this day, I still can't eat a can of it without the applesauce, and I just love it. Oh and Mark puts in "No, its mixed..." But its not, I dip and then eat =)

2. Pies... Oh how I love to make fresh fruit pies... especially for Mark because he loves them too! But he has a different love of them then I do... I love to simply make them and do the decorating, he loves to eat them, I on the other hand do not. I don't know what it is, but I just dont like eating them. Now give me a cream pie of any sort and I am a happy eating camper!

3. I am a neat freak... well for the most part... I love having a clean house, and especially when company is coming over, or before we take off before vacation. Everything has to be in its place and organized... except for one thing. Our Bed. That is the one thing I could care less about doing... I could go a week without making the bed (granted I do change the sheets once a week). Mark though, that is the one thing he does care about... Thank you sweetie for being neat and tidy with our bed =)!

4. Toothpaste... it could by far be worse to me then baby poo... I can't stand it. Everytime i brush my teeth, I gag. I am not kidding. I don't know what there is about it, but I gag....

5. Growing up you are always asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Well to this day, there are a few jobs that I would love to have... not that I would be good at some them, but it would be a blast, atleast for awhile.... a country singer. an interior designer. a nurse. and a momma.

6. I am a blogger and facebook stalker... Okay, not that bad. But I do love to look at everyones photos and love looking and seeing what others are doing. And it gives me alot of great ideas as to what I want to do, but personally, family, creativly and physically.

7. And lastly, I guess this should be a good one, but I am running out of Ideas... so All the places I have lived: Born in Laramie, Wyoming. Moved to Kodiak, Alaska and lived there for 8 years... then moved to Spokane, Washington... lived there for 12 years. Lived in Slovenija ( alittle country next to Italy) for 2 months. Moved to Moscow, Idaho for college, then to Kahlotus, Washington, and now am living in Saipan...

Alright, well with that said, I guess it is time to tag someone else... sooooo..... I am going to tag... JACKIE! Your it darlin' enjoy!

26 years ago today...

HAPPY 26th BIRTHDAY MARKO!

Steelers vs. Cardinals

All we can say now is...

GO STEELERS! 

Yes, our Steelers are going to the Super Bowl and we are soooo excited! We have already requested the day off from work and we will be watching the Super Bowl... Yes, we took the day off from work! =)

Please don't tell us who wins, as we will have to watch it a day later then  you in the states, but needless to say, we are stinkin' excited....

A Great Beginning to a Great Year

Happy New Year from the Sawyers!

This is our hope: That the New Year will bring much joy, blessings and love. That we will stay focused on what is true and that our eyes may stay fixed on the Lord through all his loving promises and trials.

2009 has already been a year of both goodies and bads; simple everyday life situations, but we have already been blessed beyond words this year!

1. After Marks parents left, Mark and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary with a relaxing day at the spa (given to me by one of my students) and a wonderful dinner treat from my parents. We went to a delicious dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel's "Giovanni's". It had delicious italian food and wonderful champagne!

2. Mark and I were able to arrange our flights back home this summer at a cheaper price then expected. We arrive in Seattle on May 29th! But with the cheaper flights, we were able to book a miny vacation of our own, in February we will be flying to the islands of Guam & Rota for a 4 day weekend! Can't wait!

3. I recieved another girl in my third grade class, which has been a great blessing to me and the 3 girls already in there!

4. After finding out my parents flights were booked during a time when we were still teaching, we were able to reschedule my parents flights (wish some extra cash spent) to our spring break! So now we will be able to spend 12 whole days with them! They will be here March 31 - April 13!

Just 10 days into the new year, God has already blessed up richly and we are so thankful!

We pray that each of you spend the 2009 year keeping your eyes fixed upon the Lord and open to all his blessing and trials.

May the Lord bless you and your families in this New Year!

All our Love,

M & B

Anniversary Relaxation Weekend...

December 30, 2006, our wedding day! Yesterday, we celebrated both the new year and our 2nd wedding anniversary at the Mandi Asian Spa. For Christmas I recieved two gift certificates from one of my students and it was the best Christmas gift! It was a day of relaxing, tropical drinks, snuggling, sunshine, and us.

If you are ever in Saipan, I highly recommend hitting up this spa... there was a cold bath, hot bath, pool, hot tub, plumeria bath, saunas, lounging and a great snack bar... The best part was the mirical i witnessed while at this spa... my husband lounged around for 5.5 hours and didnt complain once! So glad that is the man i married 2 years ago!

I love you Mark and Here is to another great year!

And as my Mom and Dads anniversary card said " Love is in the wind, the tide, the waves, the sunshine." It certainly is mom!

Living the sweet life...

A miricle taking place...

Hot & Cold Baths that overlook the ocean...

Plumeria Bath

But the anniversary honeymoon dosent stop there, tonight dinner, tomorrow a movie and sunday we are headed to the waterpark!

Day 8 - There is always an ending... can we change that?

Well John and Betty's time here on Saipan is coming to an end and Mark and I both are already missing them... Our last day together was celebrating the incoming new year... We spent the day cleaning up and packing and spending the afternoon on the beach at Pau Pau once again... we all indulged in a little snorkling one last time and were highly entertained by the corona commercial john and betty tried to create... hopefully soon Mark will have that edited and ready for viewing =).

a photo of the commerical process.

With the count down on the way to the new year, we bbqed up some hotdogs and had a bonfire on the beach with the VanDams, with all of us asleep before midnight rolled around... until the clock struck 12 and we all eneded up on the porch watching the hundreds of fireworks fill the night sky..

2 hours later we were piling into the car and driving John and Betty to the airport...

It was definatly not an easy goodbye, but a vacation for all of us to remember. John and Betty, thank you for coming all this way to see us and our island... We hope you have a better understanding as to why we are here, and why we feel God calling us to stay another year. We love you both so very much and cant wait to see you next when we are coming off the plane in June!

We love you and hope you had a great tropical vacation, away from the snow =).

HAFA ADAI!

Day 7 - Last sights of the island & 2 year Celebration!

Well today we indulged in more sight seeing and snorkling...
We began our day with a trip to the northside of the island where we visited three sights to see on the island, Bird island, Kalabera Cave and the Grotto... Here are a few shots at bird island..

After taking in a few sights we hopped back in our car and made our way to Pau Pau beach where some of the best snorkling can be done... Once again the fish came out in all of us...

Pau Pau Beach...

And for the evening, we took john and betty back to the Hard Rock Cafe (their request) to see Jerry play again... as always, great food, great music and great company. Tonight was even better though, because we were out for dinner for Marks and I two year wedding anniversary! It is amazing how time flys... But Jerry sang us a wonderful love song and the night was perfect!

Day 6 - We are getting off this Rock...

And heading to another! =). Today we took John and Betty some of the prettiest water, most beautiful fish, and soft white sand beaches... John once again made the comment "Another piece of heaven" and he is quite right. We took them to Managaha Island... Words dont explain the beauty you will find on this island, and pictures almost will, so take a look for yourself and enjoy....



Coming up to the island on the ferry.


on the ferry...

Love this photo!

John did it, and loves snorkling! WAHOOOO

We think betty was once a fish =)

Mark and John playing around...

Day 5 - Visiting the Old man.... a hike through the jungle...

Sunday after church we introduced the Sawyers to our weekly Sunday activities, a hike with a wonderful group! This weeks hike was to "Old Man by the Sea." If you look at some of our older posts you can see our photos from there. However, here are some pictures from todays hike... Both John and Betty understood why we love this hike... you are hiking through the jungle and then all of the sudden you have a breath taking view of ocean and rock boulders.. =) We were so excited to show them one of our 'many' favorite places on island...

Betty pretending to eat a giant cattepillar we found! It was huge!

John Smoothing the old man! a Traditional photo that everyone must take!

The Fam.

B.S. squared...

Stuck with two Sawyer men =)

Day 4 - A day for both the Ladies and the Men...

The day turned our great for both sides of the family... We started out the day together eating breakfast at Wild Bills, a Haulie bar with great food. The breakfast is the closest we can get to good old' idaho breakfast, and we still dont have to make it. We heard this was Butch Smiths favorite place to grab a bite, so we snapped a shot for you =)

After breakfast we hit up the local farmers market, where both John and Betty were able to see some of the local fruits and veggies, some you will never see back in the states...

Here is Mark buying some tangarines, tha stay green when they are ripe..

Our next stop was Mt. Topachau, the highest point on the island... this point allows your to see as far as your eye can see north, south, east or west... It really puts into perspective how small the island really is, and that you truely are surrounded by water...

John and Betty with Garapan in the background.. the islands main shopping center.

After hitting up the mountain, Betty and I dropped Mark and John off at the pier where they met others and were able to go out into the ocean and take a tour of the Lumus, a navy ship that is usually sitting a few miles off the island. There are three of these ships and each one is full of supplies incase the US were to go to war with Korea... a little scary, but either way, Mark and John both enjoyed their tour....

While Mark and John were off learning about military supplies and ships, Betty and I headed to Garapan where we indulged in what all woman love, a pedicure.... So good. An hour and a half pedicure for $20... cant get much better then that!

After we met up with the boys we all headed to the north end of the island to FEBC (Far East Broad Casting) where we were given a tour by two good friends of Marks and I. Irene & Owen Gabbie. FEBC is a christian broadcasing station that broadcasts christain radio all over Russi and Asia! A great Ministry. They are always looking for extra hands if anyone is interested in taking a month or two and helping out, or you could apply for a job and move here =) Thanks Irene and Owen for the tour!

Well to finish off the day, we took John and Betty to the Thai House, our favorite place to eat on island. However, John and betty didnt care for it, or atleast their tummys didnt. =). Well atleast they got to see where we like to spend our $$$.

Day 5 next....