Heading Home for Christmas!

Daniel and I grew up 20 minutes from each other, so one would think it would be easy to make trips home... not so much though. Our home visits are few and far between for no good reason. We will be in our hometowns this Christmas. Daniel has been in Eatonville the past few days. He drove out with Timber this past weekend. Sounds like they're enjoying the down time and playing catchup with fam. I'll be heading out tomorrow for Elbe. Hopefully the Hailey airport doesn't get shut down due to weather! Looking forward to seeing my fam. My mom remodeled her house (the one I grew up in), and this will be my first peak at the progress! Exciting!

The boys, just before the took the open road...

The Lift- Tribute to Patrick Swayze

We're really good at lifts. Hate to brag, but it's true.

Just a little party trick we like throw out at large gatherings :)

The Blazer

The Blazer is my car. It has been passed on and on, and has landed in my lap. I LOVE The Blazer. It is a tank! Love driving it. The Blazer has had a rough fall and winter though. But... thanks to Daniel, she has new shoes, new drive belt, new pully, newly grounded lights, new fuel pump. I helped with the belt and pully, and replaced a headlight, a couple brake or tail lights, and the back window hydraulics. Just figured it was time to give her (and Daniel) a little shout out in hopes that I'll have a fantastic 2010 with The Blazer. :)

My First Tri

3 1/2 weeks out from race day, I decided to do a triathlon. Not the best training regiment. I was meeting Kim and her friends down at Lake Mead and we were all doing our first one. Long story short... I finished... and trust me, that was a huge feat!

The run down: I had a complete meltdown about 20 times during the swim. It took me FOREVER to get through the swim. I had a kayaker follow me the whole way b/c I was hell bent on not getting disqualified but I was so freaked out that I needed someone by me. I think next year I'll make Daniel come and paddle next to me. Think the race people will mind? :) The bike went awesome. Felt great. Same with the run. Feeling great on those 2 were a surprise to me because when I was practicing doing all 3 events it did not feel so good. Race day adrenaline I guess.

Gorgeous Start

Just before the 1/2 mile swim. If anyone knows me... I'm the WORST swimmer ever! I took a strokes class in college. Never left the shallow end. This tri was part of my personal vendetta with swimming. In retrospect... open water swimming is not the best venue to try and swim more than a length in a row for the first time.

On the bike portion. Yup. I took my camera with me on the bike ride.

When it was all said and done :)

Overall, the triathlon was an awesome experience. DEFINITELY need to train to swim more and train in open water to avoid the "black water freak out." Not so sure I want to do another in the nearest future, that is how bad the swim went. But I'm glad I took the plunge and got one under my belt.

We stayed in Vegas at the Palms after the tri. Had a great time in our room. It was one of the nicest rooms I've ever stayed in. We even went down and gambled a bit. Jeff and I won some cash on the Blackjack tables. First time I've ever played the tables.

All About Timber

Timber turned 2 on October 11th! He's 2 but still acts 2 months old. Here is his cake that he ate... he had a belly ache for a day after that. But most people do after splurging on their birthdays.

This is his octopus. He gets an octopus every birthday and Christmas from Sue and Greg who rescued him back in Seattle. They're the best god parents.

He ripped the head off of this within 5 hours. He's slacking!

It usually takes him and hour, maybe 2.

A stroll down memory lane... little Timber. Look at his shaved butt!

I never thought it would grow in

Grown up Timber at the dog park last week. He's exhausted from playing in the river and chasing his ball.

Sometimes I wonder if we're good parents... Daniel threw Timber in the river (in the middle of winter!!!) when he was a pup. Timber hates swimming now. He only likes to lie down in water.

I threw Timber in the snow when he was a pup. He LOVES snow.

1 for 2 on parenting tactics isn't so bad :)

Property Hunt

Daniel, Coach, the dogs, and I headed a couple hours north a few weeks back to check out some property in off-the-grid-Idaho. It was 3.5 acres north of Challis, ID. GORGEOUS area. Tons of fishing, hiking, biking, hunting, etc... outdoorsman's dream area. Across the street from the Salmon River. We've been toying with the idea of getting a pice of property somewhere. This piece was steal. We found out why... the majority of the land was mountain, just a small building plot cut out was usable. So, unfortunately probably not our cup of tea, but it is fun researching property throughout Idaho and Montana and exploring them when we have free time.

Look at this view! Coach & Daniel

The stream at the base of the hill.

Daniel's New Bike

Daniel got a new mountain bike late this summer. His old one had a blown shock for a year or so. Not so efficient to ride. He loves his new one. Here he is out Corral Creek just outside of town. We went camping after an afternoon of riding.

And Timber with his glow necklace on so we don't lose him in the dark.

Welcoming Sylvia Marie Fy!

This is Sylvia. She was born on September 2nd (2 weeks late!). Vanessa and Jason are making GREAT parents. She so sweet, little, and precious.

This is Sylvia's bear that Daniel and I picked out at a thrift store for her.

Wagon Days

Wagon Days is Ketchum's Labor Day Parade. It is one of my favorite events here! The entire weekend revolves around Ketchum's Wild West Days. Only horse drawn wagons are allowed int he parade...nothing motorized. A lot of dress up takes place to mimic the old days and the attire worn back then. The Y has a wagon each year. Here I am with Ivana and Danna who brought their kids, and Monica helped me chaperone the other15 kids. We cruised through the packed streets of town singing the YMCA song (standard). Good time.

Here are 2 of my favorite wagons. The Wells Fargo Stagecoach &

Ketchum's very own Ore Wagon.

5K Fun Run

For the 2nd year, running our YMCA has teamed up with the MS Society in their annual 5K Walk. We add a Fun Run portion to try and hit a different demographic (the runners) in our area. This year we held it at the Y, which was awesome. This dominated a bit of my time, but thanks to Daniel, Timber, and Coach, our small town fun run went great. The entire event brought 150 folks out on a Saturday morning. Together, the MS Society and the YMCA raised over 15K that all goes to support the MS Research!

Liz Goes to LA

Back at the end of August I made a trip to LA for Darla and I's annual baseball randevous. We invited Drew this year too. We all went to George Fox together and were all roommates and now we all live in different states, so it is SOOOO great to figure out how to see each other here and there. Last year we all met up in New York City to watch games in the original Yankees Stadium before they tore it down. Darla lives in Pasadena, so we chose to do a Dodgers game this year. It was hot as blazes! 40,000 people packed in Dodgers stadium sweating on each other. Everyone's backhalf of their bodies were a different shade in color due to sweat drench...

Dogders Stadium and the gang

We even managed to trek down to San Diego for a Padres Game. Petco Park is GORGEOUS! Unfortunately the Padres aren't so good, so the scene was much lower key than the day before in LA. But... we did get to witness the dugouts clear!

And we're back!

After a little hiatus, Daniel and I are back in Blog action. We even upgraded our lives and took a BIG step by getting internet at our place. Not much out of the ordinary has happened since our summer road trip (which was our last update, lame!), but we'll fill you in anyways...

This is what we look like in case you forgot :)

Still Catching Up... MOAB

On our way to Moab we stopped in at Mesa Verde National Park. It's a pretty amazing site, that's for sure.

We met up with Kim and Jeff in Moab. They live in Aspen, so it was a perfect meeting point.

Kim and Timber

At this point I think Daniel wanted to throw my camera out the window while driving down the freeway :) But this is us under the south window of the Double Arches

The desolate walk to the famous Delicate Arch

And what is camping without some chili dogs!

The gang. It was about 113 degrees in Moab while we were there. We had meant to do some mountain bike riding and maybe even more hiking, but a trip through Arches Nt. Park is all we had in us in that heat. Instead we bought some $2 floaties and laid in the river most of the time. It was a PERFECT ending to a vacation before we all had to head back to work.

More to come, until next time... Loves! L&D

Playing Catch-Up... AMY'S WEDDING

This was the cathedral the wedding took place. It was in downtown Sante Fe. Gavin is from Sante Fe, hence the location.

Inside, during the ceremony. It was so grand and beautiful.

The electric cars the wedding party took to the reception site. The cars had some trouble making it up the hills out to the lodge. The groom and his men even had to jump out and push the last little bit...

Hyde Park State Park Lodge... where the reception was held. It was a gorgeous setting.

The ladies of the bridal party after they got pushed the rest of the way in the electric cars :)

The beautiful bride and her parents.

And the first dance.

Father/daughter dance.... please notice Dave's socks. :)

Michelle and Kirin (Gavin's brother) giving their speeches. Michelle was quite hilarious during all of this.

The "cake."

Mark and HIS beautiful wife Heather. And their baby Eric. He's about 3 months old here.

And the partying began!

All of the Uberuaga women looking class as ever :)

All of the UP roommates...

And the lovely couple and myself.

I am so happy we made it to Amy's wedding. It was a great time in a great city. Gavin and Amy are going to be so very happy together, and I'm just glad we got to witness their wedding day.

Love you Amy and Gavin!

Loves, L & D