House sitting

 It's been so much fun house sitting on top of Mt. Topochau this past week!  Here's the beautiful view of the ocean below from the yard.

 Brian playing with the dogs in the yard.  Can you spot the big ships in the ocean below?

 bebe dog

 Seriously we find her sleeping in the weirdest places sometimes... bookcase?

This is just the best dog in the world, Chief (besides Sam, of course!)

Weekends lately

 Our weekends lately have been spent taking our dowgie to the park...

 Enjoying American Memorial Park

 We're house sitting for another couple here on the island for a few weeks, and their house is way up on Mt. Topochau.  We've been enjoying the wonderful breeze they have up here- you really don't need air conditioning at all.  On Saturday, we had some friends up to enjoy some good old cable... something that none of us have had all year!   MTV, TLC, VH1... I really missed you guys.

Little Sammie dog

 Cable watching party :)  Sitting by Brian is Chief, the best dog in the world!!  We are watching her too while her family is away, and she really is the most well-behaved, sweet dog I've ever known.  Her and Sam love to play together, even though Sam really annoys her at times.

Brian chillin with Chief.

End of the Year Pool Par-tay

It's a true fact that our friends Laura and Josiah host great parties.  Last weekend, they had a bunch of us over for delish deli sandwiches and then a pool party.  Here's some pics that us girls took...

Me, Amy, and my Bubba!  

All of us girls

What would make my scooter even cooler???

     Brian

Guess who's learning to swim?

This week we taught Samantha how to swim in the ocean!

Yes, I realize that most of our posts lately have been about our pup... I can't imagine what our blog will look like when we have a baby!

It cracks me up how scruffy she looks all wet.

On Monday night, Brian and I took Sam for her usual walk at the park, but this time we decided to introduce her to the water. We took turns getting into the ocean with her while the other waited on shore to encourage her to come to us. We put her in and held her up (our hand under her belly) while she clumsily paddled back to whoever was on shore.

She loved it and would go ballistic when she got to the shore, jumping and pouncing all over the sand. After a few tries, we were just holding her tail up while she did most of the work herself. Everyone says labradors are natural swimmers, and I really believe that now... it was just about the fastest swimming lesson ever.
Brian took her swimming again later this week and she did great once again! Water doggie.

Only downside to taking Sam swimming: she is literally covered head to toe in sand by the time we leave and our car is currently resembling a sand box.

Swimming at sunset!

Bright City

It's hot in Saipan right now. I've developed a very clingy relationship with my air conditioner right now, although we (like most people in Saipan) only run it during the evenings because electricity is so expensive here. We've been taking the scooter out a lot to enjoy the cool ocean breeze on our faces. Here are some pictures of a recent scooter trip around the island, capturing some of the unique places and things we have here on Saipan.

Above is a fruit/veggie truck that is frequently parked on beach road. We've never bought fruit here, though, as we have a stand near our house where we always buy our produce and can speak Chinese with the owners.

Tiny apartment spotted in Garapan (the tourist district of Saipan)

Biggest souvenier shop in Garapan. At night, there are hula dancers and drummers that perform out in front.

Memorial day flags at American Memorial Park

I love this park

Seaside

I'm reading

Right now, I'm reading this book and really liking it. I love his creative, unique writing, and I love the stories of the way he and his wife raise their 6 kids.

Best thing I've learned this week from this book: "We are never more like God than when we give." And a reminder that giving means so many things: Giving our time, money, love, encouragement, words of affirmation, help. When we give, we are learning to become more like God.

This cute face

We brought this little girl home Thursday. Her name's Sam and the vet told us she weights under six pounds!

She's a crazy girl and spends most of her time sleeping, jumping around in the grass, and chewing on toes. We're working hard with potty training her to go outside (and oh man, it is hard work!) and she's doing pretty well so far. Brian and I love taking her to American Memorial Park and the beach, where she goes crazy in the sand, biting and attacking it.

Right now, she's lying next to me on the bed, twitching in her puppy dreams.