Rota - Home of the handwave...

Rota is by far the most peaceful island you could ever visit. It is roughly 45 minutes away from Saipan and is about half the size. It population is about 2,000 and truely feels small town. We were in the middle of nowhere... cell phones didnt work, only a few markets on island to buy food, hardley a radio station came on in the car, and everyone was so friendly! If you ever come visit us, plan a few extra days to take you on a mini vacation to Rota.

There are ony 3 villages on the island of Rota. This is the main one, songsong, and you can see wedding cake hill in the background....

While on Rota we played real tourists and rented a car... we spent a good 3 hours taking a drive around this beautiful island and taking in all the must see attractions throughout the weekend.

The beaches are a little different then Saipan. Their reefline is much closer to shore then ours is in Saipan. So needless to say it is much rockier and rougher. While we were there it was pretty windy making it real rough, so we were unable to swim. But it was still beautiful just hanging out on the beach looking for sea glass and old chomorrow pottery.

For the first two nights on Rota, we stayed with a friend at his home. The third night we needed some time for just us. So we rented a great room at a local resort called the Coconut Village. Each of the rooms are raised up off the ground, have no TV, no phone and have beautiful views. We felt like we were truely staying island style... it was awesome! I can't wait to go back!

Our Room is the one of the left with the door open, and up top is mark still in bed enjoying our beautiful view of the ocean...

Rota has alot of Chumorrow history on it... Saipan has lost alot of it, but Rota and really taken pride in theirs. Here is Mark and a Latte Stone Quary. The locals used these stone 3,000 years ago to make their homes... They are taller then Mark...

And almost taller then me. Can you image how long it would take to chip away at these to get them just right, move them and make homes out of them... how many men would it take to move them! Yikes!

Our last day, Monday morning, we spent on the beach in front of the Coconut Village.... It was the most beautiful beach i think I have ever seen. We felt like we were really in paradise.

It was an awesome and relaxing trip. One we hope to take again very soon. We saw some amazing places and things (fruit bats - going exstinct, we saw them in their natural habitat)... We can't wait to go back to Rota! God definatly knows how to make things beautiful....


To see more photos of our trip and just life, go visit our new photo blog site: http://www.markandbrittany.shutterfly.com/

We will try and keep this updated as much as possible so that you can go and see our life happenings...

A Taste of the States...

The weekend of February 13-16, Mark and I were able to take a few days to ourselves and go on a mini vacation! It was the first time since we had moved to Saipan for us to get off of the island and enjoy some parts of this side of the world. We really didn't go to far, but it was a nice get-a-way!

Our trip consisted of 2 islands, Guam and Rota. We spend Friday and Monday in Guam and Saturday and Sunday in Rota... both great islands, but complete opposites... Here are some shots we took while in Guam... The Rota pictures will be in the next post...

Charlie and Esther Kionie, two great friends who we met through Marriage Encounter. They live on the island of Guam and were amazing and lent us their car for Friday while we were on island, allowing us to go shopping and do what we please. We also met up with them again on Monday and they gave us a great tour of the island... Thanks Kionies for your love and friendship!

One of the major attractions to Guam was Home Depot. Now as you look at these pictures, remember we have not been to any major shopping centers in 8 months... and we were soooo excited!

Yay! New clothes! Oh how I loved Ross that Day! And plan on Mark going back for me in March!

On Saipan any fast food we eat is McDonalds, Taco Bell, KFC, or Subway, so needless to say we are getting sick of our slim choices... but Guam saved us! We ate at both Wendy's and Burger King... We cant wait for Zips and Dicks this summer!

On the Island Tour with the Kionies.... a lookout built in during the Spanish Revolution.... amazing to see it standing still.

Charlie is a big boogie-boarder and surfer, and needless to say Mark has become one since living on Saipan. So during our island tour Charlie made sure to pull off to the side of the road and show Mark all the great places to boogie-board/surf on Guam...

They say its more fun to be a brunette... Do they really?

Here is the jist: Needed a change, wanted something totally different, had the opportunity, took it, now questioning... I like it, It will take some getting used to... but we will see...

What are you thinking?

"Take me out to the Ball Game..."

This last Sunday, Mark and I were enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon at home when suddenly there was a knock on our front door. Well much to our surprise, it was one of Mark's 8th grade student, Tae Ho Ko, also known as James. He came to tell us that the LG Twins were having a skrimmage at the field just down the road. This team, the LG Twins, are from Seoul, Korea and apparently come here every spring to begin their training.

Well we made the long trek down the road and watched the skrimmage with James and his family. Also, we came to realize that James's family knew alot of the players, giving us some great photo opportunities. It was definatly a new experience for us in baseball.. we couldnt understand what any of the fans were yelling, as it was all in Korean, we couldnt read any names on the jerseys, and we were the only Americans in the stands. But needless to say, it was a blast!

Mark, the Twins Head Coach, Me, and James.

James, One of the most popular players, Mark and I.

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!