Happy #4

Happy four year anniversary to us!!!!

Marrying you was the best decision I ever made, Brian.  I love you with all my heart and can't wait for our date tonight!

 Us on our anniversary date last year- Micro Beach, Saipan

2012 Xterra Saipan

It's hard to believe that it's already been a year since last years Xterra race.  This year was a special year because Guam and the Philippines are now also hosting Xterra Championship races in back-to-back-to-back weekends.  This lured in a fantastic group of pro's and international athletes to compete in what some say is the toughest and most beautiful Xterra courses.  This was my second time to race Xterra Saipan and I was hoping to improve my time from last year.  I changed some things up with my training and strategy, and ended up improving my performance.  

The race starts on the same beach where WWII Marines launched their attack in 1944.   The waters were a little rough and current was strong.  Nearly 80 competitors begin their swim.

This was my favorite section of the bike course, riding down the backside of Wireless Ridge.

With over 3000ft of climbing on the bike and nearly 1000ft on the trail run the race proved to be tough.

This is me finishing up the last section of the bike course.  In the background you can see me and Rachel's little red and white house.

Although I improved my run time from last year, I was cramping a lot and wasn't really happy with my run. I can definitely learn from this race to improve next time.

Rachel and friends volunteered at the transition area.

Some great people and amazing athletes.

I improved by almost 19 minutes from last year, click above to see a larger print of my results.

Me and Rach

birthday!

My man turned 30 this month!  Here's the whole day in pictures.

Brian's birthday started off at church on Sunday morning, when Bobby Winkfield, the principal of Saipan Community School, had the whole congregation sing happy birthday to Brian during the opening announcements!

Here's the cutest-baby-ever James Van Dam, with my friend Kara on the left and his momma Jackie on the right.

After church, hanging out with Nate, Will, and Jake, who just came back from an early morning spear-fishing trip.

... and onto birthday lunch!  Brian chose Spicy Thai, and we invited a bunch of our friends to come along.  Above is panang curry yum yum yum.

It was such a fun bday lunch- great food and great friends!

Next, I took Brian and Sam to Pau Pau beach for the afternoon.

Sammie's favorite thing in the entire world is her frisbee. Obsessed.

Cracking up from the large amount of sand Sam was shaking from her tongue.

These two love the beach!

Later we went home and I made Brian's favorite dinner: Chicken Parmesan Bundles from Kraft Foods.

I made this meal for him a looong time ago in Oklahoma City when we were engaged and it's been his very favorite ever since.

Sitting outside and enjoying the beautiful Saipan sunset.

I love keeping birthday secrets from Brian and surprising him and spoiling him.  I'm happy to be in Saipan with my love.

Guess who's 30?!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful man!

I loved celebrating with you yesterday.  Love you, Rach

Saipan Races

 Saipan has an awesome outdoor sports community. It seems like just about every weekend, there's some kind of race or athletic activity going on.  This year, Brian has been participating in a lot of races, either swimming, running, or mountain biking.  Up above is a picture from the Beach Road Magazine bike race in January.

This one is from the Northern Passage bike race by IT&E.  The race course wound through the jungles and up into the mountains of Saipan, into the Suicide Cliff area.

The whole group at the "Meek and Mighty" swimming race this Saturday.  The "Meek" was a 1km swim, and the "Mighty" a 5km.  The race was held in the lagoon just outside of PIC resort.  Brian swam the 5k as practice for the swimming addition of this year's Xterra race in March.  Thanks, Saipan, for all the great activities!

A warm-up triathlon in the weeks before Xterra.

Love day date

On Valentine's night, I didn't get off of work until 7:00, so Brian and I decided to order take-out from our favorite restaurant, Wild Bill's, and go have a little relaxing picnic together.

Tropical Valentine's flowers

We set up some blankets, Brian brought a candle, and we enjoyed the best little dinner together.  Here's the view of Saipan's night sky that we saw as we chatted and stargazed.

And...

Guess what else happened Valentine's day?  

Brian's brother and his wife had their little baby girl, Cambria!  We got to skype with them this morning and she is so beautiful.  Congratulations, Kristy and Eric!

Atulai "Big Eyed Scad"

Every morning for the past few weeks the locals have been gathering at the same place near edge of the reef of Lau Lau Bay.  Just before sunrise, with their throwing nets in hand, they are ready to catch some fish.  I had heard that there was a great ball of Atulai fish that had gathered in the Bay and that some of the net fishermen were pulling in almost 100 pounds of them a day.  Typically, the Atulai spend most of their time in deep waters, but almost every year they migrate in great numbers into some of the island's shallow waters. So with speargun and underwater camera in hand, my friends and I went to see what everyone was talking about.  

Gone Fishing.

 

Labor Day!!!  Today I went out to Lau Lau Bay to spearfish with some friends.  This will be my sixth attempt at catching a fish.  After my first five attempts I have been unsuccessful at catching anything.  Early this morning I loaded up the scooter and headed out. 

In order to get to the better fishing spots it's usually best to cross over the reef into deeper water.  I usually always get to see eagle rays, sharks, or turtles so even if I don't catch anything it's still a pretty rad experience. 

Today I hit my first fish!   

Rachel and I are eating Parrot fish tonight!!!

Here's my husband, Brian.  Isn't he the most handsome guy ever?

I love going to living in Saipan with him, and I love how I always feel safe when he's there. 

I love what a good man he is, and how he is kind to everyone.

I love spending lazy Saturdays with him, reading our books side by side at night, and how he always holds his hand out to help me when we are hiking.  Thankful for my man.

husband and I

A few pictures I forgot to post from our anniversary night back in May

Ahh how I miss this pool, now that we've moved out of this apt. complex. Luckily, our friends Laura and Joe still live here, so we can still go visit and swim!