**HAWAII**

Beautiful. Serene. Dreams fulfilled. Message. Turtles. Complete Bliss. Relaxing. Green. Totally active. Warm. Palms. Big surf. Blue. Colorful. Breath taking. Snorkeling. Surfing. Amazing waterfalls. Kayaking. Flying. Wonderful food. Tan. Celebrity. Endless fun. Natives. Culture. Winding roads. Learning. Exploring. Open views. Volcano. Beaches. This sums up the majority of our trip. Most if it is hard to describe. It was worth the wait and the money. We learned to surf and thus one of my lifetime dreams has been fulfilled. Each island had something completely amazing to offer. We loved the food in Kauai the most and would most likely go back to Maui. It was all time well wasted and just what we needed before coming home to pack, move, and start work again. I have around a thousand pix...so here are quite a few, but it's hard to pick with as much as we saw and did. It will definitely be a trip that is never forgotten.

Pending...

It's crazy to think it...let alone say it, but our house is pending contract. I almost don't want to say anything for fear that it won't go through...but I really have felt God's guidance in this. It just feels right. There are so many great things I will miss about our house...amazing view, walkout basement (that we haven't even used), beautiful tile work, constant antelope (the babies are so cute!), our newly finished front porch, room for everything, large garages, double sinks, walk-in shower, and the list could go on and on. It's with mixed feeling that I think of selling...I am soooo excited to think of new possibilities, but sad to think that I won't get to experience the fully finished product. I am excited to pass our house on to someone who I know will take great care of it---and love it as we have. They are also going to work hard to finish it and bring it to it's full potential. When we were building I know I said that it was like a baby...all the time and energy, so I guess this is like sending a child off to be an adult. You wish you could keep it forever because you want to be sure it reaches the full potential that you see for it, but alas it gets passed on to someone else who you hope will make it all it can be. I can't wait to start another chapter in our lives...and I am positive that it's going to get even better here soon. Change is coming-I can feel it, and know God is preparing us for something...not sure what, but I feel an odd mix of calm and excitement. Wish us luck-we might need it :0).
Blessings for all my friends!
Liz

.:29:.

Eric turned 29 on Friday...kinda a big day. I mean in the realization that he is almost 30-it's a scary thing people. We went to Cody and ate Sushi-a cheat in his super strict eating, but well worth it (Cody has an amazing sushi restaurant...if you ever go I recommend the Rainbow roll and the Fried rice bowl). We competed in a crossfit competition (see the post below), hung out with family, enjoyed the sun, and watched Cam play baseball. I think it was a pretty great birthday for him in one of his most favorite places with some of his most favorite people! Here are 29 things I love about my 29 year old hot hubbster:

1. He is an amazing teacher
2. His zest for life
3. His give it a 150% attitude...if he wants something there is no holding him back
4. He is a great brother
5. He is awesome with his mom
6. He is an amazing coach
7. He started a new program at Pinedale with very little support
8. If he doesn't know something he will do research to learn
9. His devotion to his health
10. He is money savvy
11. He is great with kiddos
12. He can encourage and reach kids that most people can't
13. He is willing to go above and beyond without recognition or pay
14. He lets me be me
15. We can travel together
16. He isn't afraid to try new things
17. He rarely complains about my cooking
18. He is becoming a grill master
19. He has an amazing bod (yea, it might be TMI...but he's worked hard for it & since he's my hub it's okay-lol)
20. He is a great fishing guide (I am basing this off the one time he has taken me...he was pretty patient and didn't freak too bad when I ran his boat into the rock wall-whoops!)
21. He is always trying harder to be better
22. His basketball skillz
23. He lets me be me
24. He goes to church with me
25. He works hard to support us
26. He'll get dirty and work on the house
27. He's level headed
28. He is silly...and usually it's funny
29. His story telling abilities

Happy birthday Mister Oram...I hope it was a great one!

Crossfittin'

I told Eric for his birthday to pick what we wanted to do. After some debating he decided to go go to Cody to compete in their first crossfit competition versus staying in Pinedale to camp in the rain. The competition was called The Amazing Race...and amazing it was. We put a team together with T & Lib. They have never done crossfit before and I have only done 3 workouts so we were definitely the underdog. However we came in 5th of 6 teams. The teams we competed with were amazing-so friendly and encouraging...great since Eric is the only one who really had an idea of what we were getting into. Eric has been doing Crossfit for about 8 months and is looking for a place to certify as a level one trainer. We will be in Hawaii when they're offering the certification he wants to go to...so he is keeping his eyes open for the next one. This was one of the hardest workouts I have ever done...there is a reason why crossfit is so successful-it works! Eric is a testament to that-he looks amazing! Here is a lowdown on the relay style competition...because I know you all are going to want to try it:
*20 Burpee's
*20 95lbs (deadlifts for girls and overheads for guys)
*20 Kettlebell swings (35lbs for girls and 55lbs for guys)
*20 walking lunges
*Run 3/4 mile with sandbags (20lbs, 30lbs, 40lbs)
*As a team complete: 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 overhead raises (girls 20lbs, guys 40lbs), and 100 squats
*Swim across the pond-that has the coldest water you will ever experience...try to find something around 30 degrees (think you might drown because you can't breathe...empathize with those who have gone through hypothermia)
*Re-do the first 4 drills in reverse: 20 walking lunges, 20 Kettlebell swings, 20 Deadlifts, and 20 burpee's
...that will take around 30 minutes (if you want to be competative) and then you might find yourself on the ground trying to decide if that was the greatest gift you could have ever given your husband...or the cruelest way he could have ever wanted to celebrate his birthday. The next day you may also find yourself unable to lift your arms to do your hair or get a shirt on. ({lol}) It was a great way to jumpstart my working out (better than P90X could ever be) and it was awesome to be able to say that I comepeted. I am glad Eric pushed us all into doing this-he is an inspiration as far as eating and working out are concerned...hopefully he will have whipped my flabby buns in to shape by the time we head out for Hawaii.

Sore muscles for all my friends!
Liz

Learning...

I am always thinking I would love to take up this new hobby...or that one...or maybe both. Usually it ends up becoming overwhelming, or sitting on the shelf until next month I might actually have time. This one has been sitting in the garage for about a year and a half...but, I finally learned something new with one of my most favorite people-my mom. She helped me to tackle this old chair I got for free (or stole from a garage where it had been abandoned{with permission from the actual garage owner}...I like to think it was rescued). I think we did a pretty great job for first timers, but I know I couldn't have done it without my mom, especially since I was sick on and off throughout the project. We pulled out about 10,000 staples, but we were able to put it all back together with very few problems. It went from nasty dirty mauve to a soft new brown to put in our bedroom.

I can't wait to see my parents again-they're always teaching us new things. I love when they are here and I loved having my parents come for the long weekend! I hope next time they can come in sunshine with no projects to do...and no illness!