Paddleboarding at Eagle Mountain Lake!

So this weekend was memorial day and we didnt have much planned, figured it would be nice to just do nothing for once. Of course, that never happens with us. Friday night we went out to dinner and a movie. We had dinner at the sushi place down the street it was pretty good, a little expensive but worth it. Not knowing what movies were out we just drove over to the theater to see and we were going to see the new movie with Zach Efron, I was so excited! BUT, Justin wasnt so much, we saw Men in Black 3 instead. Pretty funny movie if I do say so myself!

The next morning we woke up and went up to Eagle Mountain lake for some paddle boarding. Thought we were going to get up there early in the morning but on a saturday morning it was harder to get up than we thought! We went out to the lake with some new friends that we met through my work.

Eagle Mountain Lake!

When we got there we had to wait about an hour for the paddle boarding rental people to come back to rent us some boards, which was ok. We met the marina maintenance guy and he was a character. He showed us a picture of an alligator that they caught in the lake a few weeks prior. Made us all a little hesitant to get in the water, the thing was huge. Here is the report that the news did on the alligator before they caught it.

http://www.redlasso.com/entertainment/big-gator-spotted-in-eagle-mountain-lake/

We put the alligators in the back of our minds and hopped into the water. It was perfect, not cold and not too hot! They gave us a quick lesson on how to paddle around and we were off. Justin brought his GoPro but unfortunately we didnt switch off in time before the memory card got full so there aren't any pictures of him :( We will have to get some next time!

Paddleboarding! 

Looks like alligator country! I got tired of standing up, plus sitting is way easier.

I think i hit justin a few times with my paddle! 

We stopped on the docks for some snacks and a few drinks, while we were sitting there some baby ducks came up and were getting on and off my board. THey were so cute and they were coming super close, I finally tried to reach out and touch one and they let me! Momma duck got pretty upset though, she was quacking super loud at them to go back to her. After 2 hours of paddling around we were all pretty tired and went up to the marina bar to get some food, we were starving!!!

That night we came home and we were exhausted. We had planned on going salsa dancing with our new friends but we didnt have the energy. We fell asleep for a nap around 6 and didnt wake back up until 10pm! Oops! Made going back to sleep that night really hard! The next day we slept in as much as we could but we were supposed to go over to my bosses house for a cook out. We eventually got off our butts and got going, We hung out at their house BBQing and playing cards until late that night. The next day we relaxed and did absolutely nothing. Overall it was a great weekend and we look forward to hanging out with our new buddies some more!

TV's and Lawn Mowers

Ahhh I was right! This weekend was awesome. We didn't do anything except for relax and put the house together some more. Saturday afternoon we drove up to Irving, TX to go to the IKEA because there were a few things we wanted to get. Most importantly though we wanted to get a stand for all of our stuff for under the TV. We left the place with a bunch of odds and ends, a TV stand and some stuff to organize our closet.

When we got home we didn't realize that the TV "Stand" that we got had screw holes in the top of it, that you could see when you walked by it so Justin went to home depot to get a few things to fix it up. After it was all said and done we have the most awesome TV set up ever!

We got lights that stick to the back of the tv to make it glow.

We hung the top of a Hutch under the TV so it looks like its floating under the TV. 

Oh and Sunday we went to WalMart and bought a lawn mower and weed wacker since we didn't have one and didn't have enough room to take the one my dad was going to give us. 

Bought him a lawn mower, he looks so excited huh?

Mowing the Law in Sandals.

Workin hard!

The Finished Product! 

Overall we had a great weekend just hanging out at home. Pictures of the inside to be posted soon!

Moving to Texas

Well the day has finally come for us to move from Phoenix, AZ to Mansfield, TX. The day started out a little hectic we had a lot more stuff to pack up than we thought. Both of the beds of our trucks were jam packed, we couldn't have packed one more thing. We started our morning around 7:00 am and left the house around 9:00am. Indy and Levi were all ready to go, they were excited, probably thinking they were going to the dog park. We picked up Kelci and my dad and we finally on our way around 11:00. We had to stop for breakfast and gas.

Packed Up and Ready to Go!

On the way before we hit the road we stopped to get some walkie talkies so that we could talk between the trucks. The drive went well, for how boring it was.

Just east of Flagstaff

We hit a little rain in between Arizona and New Mexico

Continental Divide, Somewhere in Arizona I think?

T-Rex! Somewhere between Arizona and New Mexico

Justin's truck threw a rock at my window :(

So the Bugs got him back!

We made it to New Mexico!

New Mexico

We stopped just after the New Mexico, Arizona border to grab some lunch. We had leftover pizza from the night before. We took a little longer break than normal for the pups because they were getting a little stir crazy. To be honest I think we all were at that point! 

Indy slept the majority of the time in her bed. 

Levi making sure we were on the right road.

When we got to Albuquerque, NM we were finally half way to Amarillo, TX where we were going to stop for the night but we still had about 6 hours to drive. We switched drivers because Justin and I were both pretty tired from driving all morning. 

New Mexico Painted Desert 

Sunset after the small storm we drove through

First Bull we saw on the drive. He's in the shadows and hard to see.

We had to stop because Indy started getting a little car sick.

Such a pretty sunset!

We didn't cross the New Mexico, Texas Border until after dark and none of got a picture of the "Welcome to Texas" sign. There was only about an hour left until we got to Amarillo where we stayed overnight. About 30 minutes out we got pulled over, the sherif was a jerk and was not very nice to us at all. Dad and Justin pulled off the road ahead of us while we dealt with this guy. He pulled us over for 6 MPH over the speed limit but we were all in a pack, he had to get in front of someone to pull us over. What a meany!! Anyway he just gave us a warning for the speed but I got a ticket for not having current proof of insurance, I forgot to print the most recent insurance card before we left. 

We finally got into Amarillo, TX around 11pm but since we drove through a time change it was 1am Texas time. We were all exhausted and none of the restaurants were open for dinner so we just went to bed. But first we had to unload the bed of the trucks so that no one would steal our stuff. It was pretty funny we had Justin's big tile saw in the hotel room with us and we were able to put just about everything else in the cab of the trucks. 

We got up in the morning and we were finally in the home stretch, only 6 hours of driving for the day! It was pretty overcast when we woke up but the cool air was a nice change from the heat in Phoenix. We had the free breakfast that the hotel offered and we were on our way. The drive from Amarillo to Ft. Worth is even more boring than the drive from Phoenix to Amarillo. The closer we got the more excited we were! And  yet again, about an hour and a half out of Mansfield I got pulled over again. Justin thought that he was going to get pulled over but nope, it was me. Luckily, this time the guy that pulled us over was a lot nicer and he explained that the highway we were on was a common drug trafficking highway and since I had Arizona plates he wanted to make sure nothing fishy was going on. I just got a warning for the speed, 4 MPH over by the way, and he let us go. 

Justin, TX

Sitting in Traffic before we got to Fort Worth. Walkie Talkie Fun!

We finally made it!

Indy Checkin' out her new home!

These crazy people were on the side of the highway trying to cross it. Cars flying passed them at 65mph! 

Side of the road, Looks like they need some rain! 

Factory outside of Ft. Worth

Mansfield, TX - We're Home!

Our first stop was to the bank to get a cashiers check for the landlord, then to our landlords house to get the keys. We picked them up and then to the new house. Such a relief to finally be there. We took a break from driving, changed our clothes then headed to Texas Roadhouse for a good meal and a cold beer. After dinner we stopped at the grocery for some necessities and then went home to wait for the Pods to arrive. 

Our Stuff was finally here!

We unloaded the pods and put everything, except for our beds into the garage so we could sort through it the next day. 

Our "Groceries" - Told you we got the necessities

The next couple days we spent going through our stuff, organizing and getting the house ready. I told my dad and Kelci that while they were there to help all I wanted to get done was get the walls painted (they were pink!) and get everything into the house. We painted for about 3 days straight and still have some painting to finish. 

Painting! Pink was NOT going to work for us.

A big storm came through the 2nd day we were there. 

On Saturday we went out to my friend Missy's graduation party and then headed to downtown Fort Worth to celebrate and have a little fun since we had been working so hard. My boss and his wife met up with us, we went to the Library where the drinks were SUPER cheap and then headed up to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar for a great atmosphere and some good music!

Me, My dad and John, my boss.

Cant wait for next weekend to just relax!!! Its been a crazy month and and even crazier last week I need a break. Oh and work starts Monday! Phew, I plan on sleeping all weekend next weekend!

I did it!

I finally graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. This day was a little hectic. The night before we went to pick up my boss and his wife from the airport around midnight. Needless to say we were already exhausted from packing and we had been sleeping on a futon mattress for the past few days because all of our stuff was packed up and on its way to Texas. In the morning of the graduation we all got up to eat breakfast and I took my precious time getting ready while everyone chatted, I was upstairs getting a little bit nervous. I was about to walk across the stage to get the degree that I have been working for.

Got a degree, baybeeee!!!

About two hours before we were even supposed to be on campus I got a text from my dad saying that he was so excited he was already there waiting for us, that he was so proud that he couldn't wait. Made me calm down a little bit but I was still feeling pretty antsy. As we were driving there I was thinking how embarrassing it would be to fall on the stage. Luckily, I got it over ahead of time and as we were walking in my heel on my new shoes caught a crack and I hit the ground. Scraped my knee a little bit but other than that, I was good to go!

At first I was nervous when I walked into the area where all the graduates were, I couldn't find the spot where I was supposed to be. After talking to mane 5 or 6 people in charge I finally found my name card and got in line. The longer we waited the more nervous I got and the more hot it got. I swear that room was 90 degrees and under the cap and gown I was drenched in sweat. As we walked around the building to go into the arena everything came to reality. Wow! I did it, I was really graduating. It was hard to believe but I was so proud of myself and then I saw my entire family and the people that mean the most to me waving and cheering me on. I'll be honest, I was a little teary-eyed.

Ugh they caught me. Holding back the tears.

Throughout the ceremony I kept looking up at my family and had to fight back the tears, the way that they sat up in their seats a little straighter and more proud was a really good feeling. Then it came time for me to walk across the stage. What a blur. It went so fast! Shake hand, take 2 steps, shake hand, receive diploma, walk 2 more steps, shake hand, smile for the camera, 2 more steps, smile again. It was crazy but I am SO glad to be done with school what a relief. Next step...Texas, in 6 days I will be getting in the truck an on the way.

My Number One Supporters!

John Mints, his wife Leah and Me
See ya guys in Texas soon!

Their first grandchild to get a Bachelors Degree! 

Tiffani got on the Big Screen! Woooo!

Oh and on a side note, thank you for everyone who came out to my graduation and going away party, I had a blast. We all have such great memories together and I can't wait to share more. Ps you girls that made me cry, you stink! Although I wasn't getting teary with you it was killin' me on the inside to see you with tears. I love you ALL! We'll be back in November!