Our first house guests!

Thanks Patrick, Natalie & Ava for making the long drive to visit us! They arrived late Wed., and left us this morning (Sun.). We enjoyed every minute of it. My cheeks still hurt from our late-night laughing sessions.
Click to enlarge.	"Ava, smile."
Day 1: We hit Zoo Boise which I admit is nothing to brag about. It certainly doesn't compare to the Henry Doorly in Omaha, but we had fun nonetheless. Small zoos have their own charm about them. We got to see all of the good stuff up close and in a short amount of time. I think Ava's favorite part was feeding the goats. You may not be able to tell by the pictures, but she was fearless.
After the zoo, we did a little tour of Eric's office and then ate out at Cafe Ole downtown...
Day 2: Morning work-out. Picnic. Frisbee golf. Smoothies. Paintball.
They were out for blood. Literally. If Eric would let me, I would post photo proof of all of his battle wounds. His body is covered in paintball welts.
Day 3: Another morning workout. Rock climbing/bouldering gym.
None of the boys are very experienced at climbing so by the end it turned into a competition to see who could push/pull/kick/pinch/slap their opponent enough to make them fall. (see video above)
And finally, we ended the week with a Thai feast. Our awesome builder treated us to a catered dinner for EIGHT at our new home. I was proud of my meat and potato brothers for being brave and experimenting with some new dishes (sushi, sashimi, etc.). We spent the rest of the evening sharing embarrasing stories and laughing until we were all in tears. Ie. Jason's MC Hammer pants days, first kiss stories, honeymoon stories, pre-wedding night talks, brutal break-up stories (and near break-up stories), interspersed with a little adolescent bathroom humor. Thanks again for coming Pat, Nat & Ava. We miss you already. More photos here.

Work & play...

These past few weeks have definitely been busy (emotionally, mentally, spiritually, physically). Eric seems to be going non-stop...and he won't be slowing down any time soon. Examples below:

1. Temple trip - still finalizing plans, and scheduling temple interviews.


2. This weekend - General Conference weekend (we use DVDs). AND we have a patriarch on island! We just learned a few days ago that he would be visiting which was very exciting considering we don't have a patriarch on Saipan or even Guam so he came all the way from Japan to do 20 patriarchal blessings in 2 days (20 interviews for Eric, scheduled and completed in record time).


3. Mock Trial - The team received their new "problem", and now they're preparing for nationals in Atlanta May 4-May 11. Eric has to fly back to Saipan early so he can turn around and hop on a plane again for Manila May 12.


4. The unexpected - In the past few weeks we've had 2 terrible family crises in the branch.


5. Next week Eric will be responsible for his first wedding and his first funeral.


6. Job search - Still hunting (contract's up in Aug). Any firms out there looking to hire a highly qualified and very attractive young attorney??


7. Play time - Always have to make time for play (for sanity's sake). Last weekend Eric and I decided to hit a new beach, Marine Beach, and yesterday we went to the zoo! It was a hard sale, but I finally convinced Eric. The zoo here is known for 3 things: 1. being over-priced, 2. being tiny (mostly chickens and rabbits), and 3. having a lion that pees on people. However, we still enjoyed it. The nice thing about the zoo being so small is that you get really close to the animals and you get to feed them (bananas, carrots & popcorn). We especially enjoyed the Bengal tiger, the black bear, the pigs, the coversation with the parrots, and Eric always feels a special connection with the monkeys (the "friendly" lion was asleep sadly).
   
   Oh yeah, and last night we went to the Facey Farms Fajita Fiesta which I'm sad to say I don't have any pictures. All of the boys drew themselves very convincing mustaches (handle bars, horseshoes, etc.) It was hilarious. And we ended the night with a llama pinata.