our weekend

we had a fun, busy weekend. poor ben is doing finals so in between activities he was studying & typing papers. one down, only 8 semesters more to go!

started off on friday with a trip to tempe to work on our application for a grant through the army. we ended up at a mall & found some GREAT deals in a couple of stores that were closing out.

saturday we had dinner with the beckers & then joined them for the phoenix christmas light parade. SO FUN! i was amazed at how much went into the parade, i totally underestimated it. great parking, great seats, great company!

caleb & kali watching the sights. caleb looks like he's crying but he's really just yelling at the top of his lungs in excitement. i'm amazed he had a voice when we got home.

our friends fawn & fran. they are as nice as they are good-looking. sorry we didn't get fran smiling, ben forgot to let him know he was taking their picture.

cute kai chilling with his glow stick.

us.

sunday we had the goldings over to exchange christmas presents & as always, laugh a lot. i have already made myself sick with the leftover yummy dessert (thanks andrea!). of course caleb bawled for 15 minutes when they left. i hope one day he loves his future sister as much as he loves his friends.

ethan & tyler opening their gift from caleb.

i was so excited ethan & tyler gave caleb lite brite!

preston & andrea...we love you guys!

now ben is off studying some more while i work on getting us packed, cleaning out the fridge, & preparing for some real cold in utah!

adventures in moving

well, we are here! in our own little apartment in sunny phoenix. i can't tell you how surreal it has been to just be "us" in, well...since honestly may of '07. that is the last time we lived as just the three of us. oh my it is quiet. the run down:

• may '07: lived with ben's twin sis & her family from may-july
• july '07-july '08: lived in the insanity that was the group home
• july '08: spent nights with (in order): the thompsons, ben's family in indiana, my mom's house, a getaway in park city, my MIL's house, my dad's house, and then with the goldings in AZ

we have had so many fun memories while being generously allowed to sleep on floors, in basements, on childrens' beds, and in teenager's bedrooms. i am pretty sure though that we have exhausted all of our resources until probably the year 2020. thanks again for everything friends & family, we will try not to bother you for a while. :)

so now, it is our turn again. we arrived here on saturday, but not without a few adventures along the way.

1. our moving company told us they were going to charge us an extra $150 to bring us our stuff on saturday. for pete's sake. so we decided to go anyway, knowing ben was pushing his 5th week of stay with the goldings & me my 4th. so here we are, with just some clothing & an air mattress.
2. as we were driving, and almost to the complex, two girls at a stoplight motion to me that our trunk is slightly open and we have been dropping things out of the back for a little while now. so, with a lot of backtracking & running out into the middle of intersections, and questioning some questionable characters at bus stops, we recovered none of it. now as we unpack, if we can't find something, we figure it must have been one of the "street treasures" that someone will uncover soon. i know if i came across an unopened box of nutri-grain bars, i would think it was christmas day.
3. starting over. because we were so gosh darn poor when we moved to NC, we decided to sell just about everything. (i am thinking we assumed that we would be in a different financial state once we emerged) but here we are, more destitute than when we started, and about $100,000 in debt (thank you graduate school!). so we took a little trip to target and had to buy the "basics" such as; trash cans, plates, cups, silverware, cleaning supplies, a vacuum, canned goods, you get the idea. almost $500 later, we put it all away and wondered where it had disappeared to. we were still in an empty apartment.

so just a couple of bumps in the road and we (hopefully) will be moving in the rest of our things today. the good news is this:

• so far, our apartment is fantastic. we have a beautiful complex, gated, and overlooks a golf course & million dollar homes. it is small and fits just what we need. we have heard very, very small peeps from the upstairs which is a fantastic sign.
• no sign of scorpions yet!
• 3 beautiful, sparkling pools that are hardly used. and yes, the water IS as blue as it looks in the ad! (i had to see it to believe it)
• our apartment has shade & is very nice & cool. we don't have to do much with the a/c to keep the temperature nice.
• ben started school last week. i think it has the potential to kick his rear, but more importantly, i think he is really, really going to like it. not only that but be fantastic at it.
• our ward seems great. small, and a mix of old, young, families & singles. met some very nice people yesterday & am hopeful. why do i have to be so shy though?

so we had two nice, quiet days with no t.v. and borrowing internet from someone in the complex...thank you wireless! it is really fantastic to be in control of my own environment again. it's so peaceful that i'm tempted to start a little argument with ben just to spice things up. :) i think after living in the group home, it brought to the surface an interesting side of myself. more about that later, this one is long enough. multiple bulleting? yikes.

home sweet home.

apparently....

...apparently it is hot here in AZ. don't let people say the words to you "it's not that bad" because they are either lying or delusional. i am hoping however that the phrase "you get used to it" is an actual truth, not just something people say to woo people out here.

i think what is most strange to me is that when i lived in utah & idaho, during the winters i would look outside, see cold, ice, snow, sleet & hail & think to myself "well that looks miserable, i'm not going out there." then sit down to a nice cup of hot chocolate. but here is the opposite. a wolf in sheep's clothing. a bar of nasty baking chocolate that is wrapped up just like milk chocolate. i look outside, see the lovely sunshine, and think that it would be a fantastic day for a little jaunt to the park. then i get all ready and head out there. only to have the soles of my shoes begin to melt off as soon as they hit the sidewalk.

so instead of avoiding outside activity during winters, i am now avoiding outside during summers. "park days" are held inside until september. at 8 p.m. it's 100 degrees, and that is with the sun down already. so apparently...it's hot.

...apparently i am no longer at war with smelly lotions. i thought our friendship would never return after practically vomiting each time i had to smell my b&b works body cream, didn't matter which scent. i got to the point of crackling knuckles & dry, tight skin, which was rough. slowly but surely, my sniffer is apparently no longer using nausea as a repellent to not be able to use up my ample supply.

...apparently we have some really fantastic people in our lives (this has been known for some time but i thought i would still mention). i can't tell you how many people, friends & family, have helped us during this past month. we are now here with the goldings and it has been like old times and they are so generous and kind. especially when they don't even mention that i still need my mid-afternoon nap. not to mention the scrumptious meals. apparently we are really lucky. thank you everyone.

...apparently caleb's new phrase is "oh dang it!" anytime he is mad at me, taking his little fist and pounding it on his thigh like he's a big ol' adult. could be worse. apparently he picked up his trash mouth from his dad.

...apparently i have several friends (all of whom i respect) at war with each other over "breaking dawn." i am amazed at how passionate these ladies are! i haven't read it yet (though i have read the spoilers and know what happens but that doesn't ruin it for me. i just couldn't stand not knowing what the big hype was) i mean, i know these vampires/humans-almost-vampires-drinking-blood-through-a-straw are important in our lives but is it worth emailing strangers to bash on their differing opinions? apparently after i do read it, i will NOT be posting my opinion on my blog. i'm not in the mood today to be yelled at (LIKE THIS) from a commenter.

...apparently "flipping out" is one of my new favorite shows. didn't watch much t.v. last year and it's been fun to catch up. apparently zoila is hilarious.

...apparently i am due 3.3.09. which according to the chinese birth calendar, makes this little one a boy. not that i know for sure yet. but come on, did you see the olympics? they know what they're doing over there in china. apparently my hunch was right.

...apparently i was picture tagged by julie. i want you to know i'm not ignoring you by any means. i just don't have a house to take pictures of and right now, and i also can't find our little picture downloader. but maybe when i get a chance, i will do one that is a little non-conventional. apparently i am homeless.

...apparently this is a lengthy blog. i guess i am just making up for lost time. ooh! we've had some updates on our kids at the group home. some good, most not so good. i will update about them on our private blog the next time i sit down at the computer for more than 5 seconds. but it is interesting stuff, as always. apparently though, i don't miss it. (though i do miss the people we worked with) a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders since we have left and i think it weighed about the same as 4 teenagers who loved to give us a hard time.