Yer ridin' the crap outta that horse!

Wow! Much has happened since the arrival of the Merchant/DeVries/Risher party. They arrived on Tuesday and we've been busy ever since. We did some hiking and saw many wonderful sights like the Phoenix Zoo, Frank Lloyd Wright's Tallesin West, Cabella's, and we finished it off with some horseback riding in the mountains. Jenna's horse, Luna, had a little gas problem and when our guide, Preston, heard about this he responded with the line that I thought was so funny, I made it the title of this post! It was a lot of fun and very exhausting. We also scored some excellent dinners while they were in town. We finally made it to Macayo's and The Streets of New York...we tried to eat at Oregano's but there was an hour wait so we ended up at Jerry Tucci's. The in-laws left for Michigan this morning (and hopefully took their Michigan weather with them!). Now we're just waiting for the ball to drop...Happy New Year to you all!

Christmas Card outtakes...

Merry Christmas everyone...we miss you!

Wacky Weather

Well...for those of you who don't check the Weather Channel often...it's cold here! Colder than it has been in Michigan lately from what I here. And it rained today! So weird! I was working in my room (with no windows) and thought I heard someone turn a faucet on...then 45 minutes later, that faucet was still on! I soon realized there was a door to the outside nearby and checked to see that it was in fact raining. Very strange...usually there is blue sky all day long...no, I'm not bragging, it's just very easy to get used to! The big day is upon us, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Settling in

Well, each week we're feeling more and more settled. One of my new routines is having Sundays off...which is awesome! I wake up, get ready, and take the doggies for a nice walk. We work on being good doggies during this time...this is not always a success. I come home, make some coffee and call up my mom and dad in Michigan for a chat. Then I make some lunch and watch some football, I also usually have some schoolwork to do. It's really nice.

Yesterday we found a great dog park and took the dogs. They did surprisingly well considering their lack of training and we'd like to go back often. It doesn't really feel like Christmas, but I'm doing my best. I've put up our Christmas wreath outside our front door and sprinkled the living room with Christmas scented candles. That helps! Hope all is well in Michigan!

Christmas-time in Phoenix

Well, there's no snow, but it can still be very beautiful! Friday afternoon one of my co-teachers came in and offered me two tickets to Las Noches de las Luminarias at the Desert Botanical Garden. When we went last Friday it was beautiful and I couldn't imagine it at night. Unfortunately the pictures didn't really turn out...they wouldn't do the real thing justice anyway. We bundled up (33 degrees is parka weather for the desert-folk) and bought some hot apple cider and enjoyed some live entertainment under the stars in the desert surrounded by thousands of luminarias! It was spectacular and made it feel more like Christmas-time. Hope all you midwesterners are enjoying your snow!

Desert Life

Well, after an unusual but decidedly restful Thanksgiving day spent with friends, Dave and I finally got to get out and do some exploring. I received two free passes to the Desert Botanical Gardens located in Phoenix from a co-worker and Dave and I decided to use them Friday. What an amazing place! We saw all kinds of different cactus plants, wildflowers, trees, and even a desert oasis. This is a highly recommended outing if you are ever in Phoenix. After the gardens, we made a stop at Papago Park and took a few more neat pictures. It was near the Phoenix Zoo and I'd really like to make a trip there sometime, but we were both tired so we headed back home. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

A pathway on the main trail set up for Las Noches de las Luminarias.

The desert oasis.

A very tall saguaro cactus.

The Teddy Bear Cholla is not very cuddly!

A cool looking Prickly Pear Cactus

Dave is trying not to knock this boulder over!

A nice view of Hole-in-the-Rock at Papago Park

The long-awaited apartment pictures

Our porch...freshly painted.

Our front door...on the right behind the steps and the tree.

Our kitchen...washer and dryer are in the pantry-like spot between the fridge and the cupboards.

Living room setup...surround sound of course!

The master bedroom/bath...has a slider to the porch.

And finally, one of my favorite things...a picture taken while standing inside the closet.

Carryin' on

Things continue to hum along here in Phoenix. We're working hard every day and still have only had one paycheck to speak of. Next friday we'll each receive a paycheck...and that will be very nice! We're still trying to figure out where we'll be doing our grocery shopping...Meijer's is so awesome...I miss Meijer's.

Dave's work has been slow and that's frustrating for him. Not really sure if there's a busy season here...hopefully work will pick up soon.

I've been working very long days at school...we had conferences last week, which I did not deliver, but was present for. I'm really loving it though...I feel very blessed to have landed in such a wonderful school. Also, my fist grade team is AWESOME! If I need anything all I have to do is ask and it will be there for me. It's more than I could have ever hoped for! On Wednesday evening around 5:00 I was just getting ready to pack up and head home for the day. I decided to quick check my email and found a message saying my voicemail workorder (I needed to be issued a voicemail password and this took nearly 3 weeks) had been resolved. Not wanting to wait another three weeks, I immediately tried my new password just to be sure. I got in and spent the next few minutes setting up my outgoing messages. It said I had three messages...one was for the ex-owner of the room, one was from a parent regarding a missed conference, and the last one was from the office. It seems I received a new student as of 2:20 that afternoon. Now...I was really lucky to have happened to check my email, and happened to have gotten into my voicemail. They sure didn't try very hard to get this information to me. The kicker is that Wednesdays are Professional Learning Community days and all faculty were meeting in the library at 2:20, just about 50 feet away from the office. At any rate, I got the message and Donna and Linda, my two veteran teammates happened to walk into my room as I was listening to the message. They immediately sprung into action helping me find supplies for this new student. I don't know what I would do without them!

We were off today because of the Veteran's Day Holiday and I'm super excited to have a three day weekend. Hope all is going well in Michigan...send us some pictures of the snow when it arrives!

Job news and details...

Things have been going well...we're settling in and learning the ways of the Phoenicians! Dave and I both started our jobs (essentially) on Monday. Dave is a Tech II at the Sears Auto Center near our place. So far he likes it...no internet though to tool around on when there's downtime. I had students all week and it was pretty awesome! Thankgoodness Halloween is over, we had two half days with conferences to round out the week. Here, as promised, are pictures of my classroom...I'll have apartment pictures at some point. This post was started several days but I couldn't post pictures at the time...sorry!

We've arrived!

It was a long journey but we made it! Day 1 was the worst because we didn't get much sleep the night before (excitement combined with sleeping on an uncomfortable air mattress). Because of this I kept nodding off and we had to stop about every hundred miles...by the time we reached Tulsa, OK (and therefore our hotel and the comfort of a Cracker Barrel) we were both too tired to even speak.

Day 2 was much better, we were well rested and ready to hammer out some long distance driving. We managed to stop only 3 times and drive an average distance of 250 miles between each stop. The second day also provided some really excellent views. We drove all the way across New Mexico and into Arizona on I-40. New Mexico was gorgeous, we managed to snap a few pictures while driving, but they just don't do it justice. I wish I had the words to describe the giant red rocks that seemed as if they were glowing, or the stunning cliffs that were all around us, or suddenly coming upon Acoma Pueblo which is the oldest inhabited city in the U.S. Every time we drove through a new place I thought it was the most amazing place I'd ever seen, until we reached the next city. Night two was spent in Holbrook, AZ about 90 miles east of Flagstaff. It was very chilly the next morning!

Day 3, in addition to being our shortest day of driving by a lot (4hrs vs. 16hrs), was also the most beautiful day of driving. We continued West on I-40 to Flagstaff then took I-17 South to Phoenix. The views driving into Flagstaff were amazing...we could see the mountain peaks from at least 80 miles away. Once we reached Flagstaff and on the descent to Phoenix (we were at an elevation of over 6000 feet) there were mountains everywhere we looked. Coming down from Flagstaff looked surprisingly like Northern Michigan (save the mountains). Dave and I agreed that we should own a villa in Flagstaff someday!

We arrived around noon in Phoenix and were unloaded by 3:30pm. Dan (our roommate and friend) was there already, and Zac and Teresa (our friends from Tucson) met us soon after we arrived to help unload and unpack. We rounded out our evening by having a LOST party. Our first night was a little exciting because we weren't sure the fridge or the oven were working properly and we ended up setting off the smoke alarm while baking our pizza. All in all, we're safe and sound and very excited! Also, I have everything I need to start working, we're just waiting on a medical test to come back and a timeline from my Principal. Dave scored a job waiting tables at a local bar called Voodoo Daddy's and has an interview at SEAR's on Monday (there was a mixup on SEAR's part with the original interview).

Check back soon for pictures of our apartment! (Don't forget, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them!)

Today's the day!

The day is upon us...we're packed up (mostly), cleaned up (mostly), and ready to go. All that's left now is to get out there and then clean and (un)pack again. We'd like to thank all those that lent us a hand or stopped by to say farewell or hosted a farewell party for us (for those of you keeping score, that's nearly everyone we know!) We will miss you all, but look forward to exploring what the Southwest has to offer!

To the wire...

Wow...we're really coming down to it now. That is an actual picture of our living room right now (click on it to enlarge). We are used to the mess, it's become a necessary part of our lives. We got some interesting news on Friday night: instead of third grade, I will now be teaching first grade. A big and unforseen change, but I can deal...I'm flexible. Dave has an interview at Sears on Thursday after we get there. We will be loading up the moving truck Sunday and leaving early Monday morning. There's no stopping us now! In other news, we had a lovely, albeit interrupted, dinner on Friday night with our family, Grandma and Grandpa Crane, and Aunt Ruth and Rachel. We're so happy we've been able to spend time with our friends and family before we leave. We also got to welcome baby Brody into the world today...congrats Nina and Steve!!

Success!

We came, we saw, we conquered...we now have a place to live in Arizona! We spent all day Saturday apartment shopping, and decided on a place called Greenspoint. They were nice enough let us in even though our fat dog exceeds their weight limit by about 9 pounds. Saturday evening we met up with some long LOST friends and ate at Rosita's Fine Mexican Food...and it was fine Mexican food if I do say so myself. We're now more excited than ever and will keep you all posted on our moving date and things of that nature!

Leavin' on a jet plane

Today will be our first venture into desert-land (that's 'desert' with on s 'cause you only want to go there once...not 'dessert' with two ss 'cause it stands for strawberry shortcake). Anyway...we'll be searching for an apartment, meeting our friends for dinner, and I'll be getting my first glimpse of my new classroom (pictures to come). For now I need to get packing and be sure to safely secure all my liquids and lotions in the belly of the plane.

This is not a test...

Wait...I think it actually might be a test. A test to see if we can survive being away from family and friends (mostly), my first real full time job, the extreme heat of the desert, and each other after moving across the country. Wow...it's gonna be an adventure, so hold on tight!