The Last 2 weeks of the 08-09 School Year....

School is out for the summer! Wahoooo! And about time. I think since school got out on Friday Mark and I have both slept atleast 9 hours a night, plus 2-3 hour naps each day =). AND we have good reason. The last few weeks of school are finally finished and were they jam packed with events..... here is a little run down of the last two weeks..... starting from the most recent....

On the last day of school, that evening, the Staff got together for an end of the year staff party, and was it a hoot! from Dancing, to singing, to skits, to games, it was a great night, just to hang out together as friends, not just staff, be able to laugh, eat, and just hang out!
Marky and I....

Esther (sub-teacher), Merci (Businss Manager & mom of one of my kiddo's), Me, and Fellie (Teachers Aide).

Mo-town is back.... Debbie Flores (2nd Grade), Debbie Winkfield (Art, Bible & Uke), Tamiko Winkfield (5th Grade), and Bobby Winkfield (Principle).

Last Day of School! Hanging out at carline with my kiddo's. Daniel and I.

Sophia, Kento, and I.

Ryosei (Toda-boy) and I.

The SCS Staff at the 8th Grade Graduation.

Mark and I with our adopted son, James Ko, who was an 8th grade grad! Congrats Son!

To raise money for the Junior High Lockers there was a fundraiser where kids had to guess how many prizes were in a jar... This is Nichol Lu and he won with the closest guesstimate... one of the prizes was a pie in the face for Mr. Sawyer... The best part is were were counting down from 10 to 1 for him to smash that pie, and all we said was 10.... 9..... 8.... and then he did it! Totally unexpected... but as usual, my sweet hubby was a great sport and just laughed as whip cream came out his nose =)

10...... 9.......8........ SMACK!

Field Day 2009! The teams were made up of one or two students from every grade level.. and my team won! Congrats Team Camera!

One of the teams with their completed sand castle... this was the station i was assigned too... not a bad place to hang out on a school day =)

With the school year coming to an end, that meant tutoring was over also, which was nice relief, but to celebrate, Mark and I took my 4 3rd graders out for a treat at McD's.... Mark and Julie.

Me, Dominic, Isaac, Daniel and Julie... What a group!

The Last reading buddies of the year.... kindergarten and 3rd Grade.... party time! Me with Min, Yun, Jayson and Isaac....

Well, with that we are done... now we have one teacher workday to complete, cleaning an apartment to get done, packing to do, and a flight to hop on! We fly out Friday morning at 8am and will soon be joining the rest of the Sawyer Family in Freezing cold Seattle! We cant wait.... 4 days!

HERE WE COME CONTINENTAL U.S. of A!

As Promised...

In one of my earlier post's I talked about the Flame Tree Festival and promised to get some good pictures up of the flame trees on island... so as promised, here they are... I just took these today off the balcony of our apartment... we live in simple beauty!

We are now House-Renters!

Back in April when Mom and Dad Oliver were here to visit Mark and I stumbled across a quaint little island home on the south end of the island... after making a few phone calls we were able to go and look at this little place, and with in the week, we had signed a lease starting August of 09!

We are so excited to have a place of our own while living on Saipan, a place to call home, to entertain in, and make our own!

We will be moving in August. Well I will be, as far as painting and cleaning, etc... but once Mark arrives back on island at the end of August, we will be fully moved in!

It is just a tiny two-bedroom, 1-bath home, but a good size just for the two of us. It has a great sized yard, in a safe neighborhood, and delicious fruits in the yard (mangos, coconut, banana) and a great cross breeze! So excited! Come visit! More pictures will be up in Aug. once we are all settled!

Front View of the house... Kitchen, one bedroom and dinning area view from living room.

Side View....

A Mother's Day Bike Ride...

On Sunday, Mark and I enjoyed a later afternoon bike ride together on the north end of the island. The ride ended up being about 9 miles and was it all worth it. It was a beautiful day for it! We started off at the Last command post, did a back trail to the Grotto, on the Bird island, back, then the cow town trail to Bonzai Cliff and back to the car at The Last Command Post! This is why we love living here... look at how beautiful it is!

Road to Bird Island...
Photo-Op!

Mark and I at Bird Island...
At the End of the Ride, we were met with a beautiful Sunset at Bonzai Cliff... ahhhh Saipan Sunsets... nothing can get better!

Julie and Rob, we kept thinking about you... ready to come visit and go for some rides?

Girls, Spa, Gossip, What could be better?

On Satuday while Mark took the 8th grade SCS boys out for a hike and snorkeling, Jen, Jackie and I hit up Mandi Spa for a relaxing afternoon! It was so much fun hanging out with the two of you... I am so happy you two are sticking around next year! Can't wait to do this again....

Marriage Encounter- STEPS Group BBQ.

On Friday night, we were blessed by our Friends Scott and Lorraine, who hosted our last official get-to-gether as a step's group before some move off island, and some of us leave for the summer. It has been such a blessing getting to know these beautiful couples and their families... We are going to truly miss them and our weekly meetings... Thank you guys for your love and support, and friendship!

I Like Banana's, I know that Mango's are Sweet!

It's Mango Season here on island, and has it been delicious!

We have been blessed with a bounty of Mango's and have enjoyed it! We have cut and frozen most of the mango's we have recieved and have enjoyed many mango smoothies!