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!

Girls Night Out.

This was the last girls night I would have before I moved to Texas. The night started out with a text from Justin saying that he had some shots for us waiting at the Tavern to start the night off the right way. All the girls finally got to Mill avenue around 10pm and we met up at the Tavern to take our shots.

Thanks Justin!

Taking our Shots Justin got us :) 

Love these girls! 

It was great to have everyone out for a good night. There was no drama and a whole lot of fun. Cant wait to do this again soon!

The Search Begins for Rental Homes in Texas

For months now we have been looking at rental homes in the Arlington/Mansfield, Texas area. This was the weekend we were scheduled to go to look at them in person.  We left for Dallas on Wednesday night around 11pm. We finally arrived early morning on Thursday around 6am, our flight was delayed and with the 2 hour time difference we were exhausted. My boss and his wife let us stay at their house for the weekend so when we got there we took a short nap because we were scheduled to meet with the realtor at 11am. She took us around to a few houses, the first one we really liked, but it was the first one so we wanted to make sure we weren't missing out on something else. We decided we would wait until after we saw all the homes we were scheduled to see that weekend before making a final decision.

Thursday night we took a journey down to Fort Worth to get some sushi. We went to BLUE Sushi Saki Grill. It was a great atmosphere and pretty good sushi, Justin said it was the best he ever had.

I forgot to take a picture so I grabbed this one from their site. 

On the way to Sushi we saw "Texas Street" 

We got home around 9pm and went straight to bed, we were so tired we couldn't stay up any longer, plus we had an even busier day on Friday! I had an appointment at 9am with a client and Justin was going to a networking event with John (my boss). The networking event went really well, Justin met a lot of great new people that he is looking forward to  working with. Justin was able to make a connection with a gentlemen that promised him a phone call later that day. Sure enough he received the phone call and was basically offered a job on the spot, working with a company who is contracted with Home Depot's install team. They are the people that install tile, flooring, kitchen cabinets for Home Depot. The company is run by one of our clients so we look forward to Justin being able to work with them, even if it is for a little bit so Justin can get to know the area, suppliers, and some people in the field should he need to hire extra help.

After both of our meetings we went to look at a few more houses, nothing to promising and we were both kind of let down but still had the first house in the back of our minds, just hoped for something better Saturday. That night we just hung out at John's house, we BBQ'd, played Just Dance for Wii. Leah, John's wife, and Justin kicked our butts, John and I looked pretty goofy dancing. Then we stayed up playing Wii Bowling, guess who won! ME! I love that game!

Saturday morning came and it was the last day we had to look at houses and we hadn't found anything promising yet, with the exception of the first one we liked. House after house was just a let down and so we finally made the decision to put in an application on the first home that we saw on Thursday. We called the rental agency and told them we wanted to put an application in. What do you know, someone beat us to it. We were both SUPER bummed and I instantly went to panic mode. We didnt have a house and we were leaving the next night! I got on Craigslist in hopes of finding something and it must have been in Gods plan for us because there was the perfect house, in the perfect location, for a good price. We drove over to the house, and the drive alone made me fall in love with it.

My future drive to work. So green and pretty

When we got there we were so happy to see that the lawn was manicured and the house was taken care of. We met the homeowner and he was a long time resident of Mansfield and a great guy to talk to. He was open to us fixing up stuff in the house if we wanted and very reasonable on the rent and deposit. He even split the deposit in two for us. What rental company would do that!? We got so lucky on this one.

Our New street. 

Our new Home :) 

Let me tell you this is the perfect house for us. It is just big enough for the two of us and Levi and Indy. The backyard is full of tall mature trees, grass and a covered patio. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. It has a brick fireplace, hardwood floors in the living room, carpet in the bedrooms. We are both so excited for this place, and more importantly cant wait to live together :) Oh, and Justin cant wait to mow the lawn, haha he was already talking about hiring the neighbor kids to do it!

Saturday night we decided we would go out to celebrate so we went to meet up with Missy and Wes. We drove up to their house in Keller, TX, which is only about 30 minutes (with no traffic) from where we live. We had a yummy vegan pizza at their house and then headed down to Fort Worth for a night out on the town.

Fort Worth at Night 

Horse drawn Carriage in the middle of Fort Worth

Awesome Architecture 

Missy, Me, Justin and Wes

At Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Fort Worth

Sunday morning we woke up to a thunderstorm and then drove down to Arlington to go to Church. It was an overall great trip and we both look forward to moving there in a few weeks. 25 more days until we are official Texans! Yeehaw!

Happy Easter!

Ever since I can remember all of my family would meet at Fort Lowell Park in Tucson for Easter sunday. I have a lot of family in Tucson and the only other time we really see each other is on Thanksgiving so it is nice to get to see them. This year Justin got to go with us and we all had a blast. We all meet under a park ramada where we say Hi to all the grandmas, grandpas, cousins, aunts and uncles. Grandpa cooked some breakfast that morning so we had some left over chorizo and eggs. Yum!

Me and Grandma - And all the yummy food behind us.

Each year all of my cousins bring their little dogs to the park but this year our cousin Eddie brought his big 150 pound Malamute. It was funny to se the little 4 pound Yorkies up next to this guy. He was massive!

Justin and Yukon

As tradition goes we always say hi to everyone hang out for a few hours, at about noon we play a softball game with the whole family. Oh but lets not forget one of the most important parts of the day, and one of the reasons our Easter rocks!

Getting ready for the Softball Game :) 

The whole family plays softball except for the grandma's they just cheer us on from the dugout. We pick teams and the game begins, I knew that my cousin Joseph was good at baseball and so is Justin so I told them they couldnt be on the same team! We all ended up  on the same team and STILL lost. I got on base all three hits and Justin hit a home run!! 

Me, my mom and my brother

Justin in the outfield 

After the game we all head back to the ramada for some steak, pasta salad, beans, chili and tortila. We all ate more than we should have, it was so good! After we let our food settle a little bit we played a short game of Volleyball with another family at the park. Made me want to play volleyball some more, maybe Justin can teach me a thing or two. 

We ended up leaving the park around 4 or 5, my little brother drove us home since we had a few drinks and we were exhausted from all the days activities. On the way home we stopped at Picacho Peak for gas and some ice cream at Dairy Queen. In the Dairy Queen they had a little gift shop with just about anything you could imagine. I was looking around and I spotted a little cowboy statue. I thought it would be super cute for the new house, he didnt have price tag on him so I looked around and saw others were around $25 to $30 so I just let it be. Justin came walking up and said "I'll buy it for you" so I was pretty excited, we went up to the counter to pay and the guy went to look for a price and came back with a price of $2.99. How cool is that! 

Best $2.99 purchase we've made! 

View of Picacho Peak 

After we got home we just relaxed and watched movies all night. It was a great day and had a lot of fun with the family. 

Mt. Lemmon Climbing

This weekend we took the RV down to Tucson, AZ to meet up with our friends to go rock climbing.  A little concerned about the windy roads we left the RV at their house and took our friends jeep to the top. On the drive we were both shocked that we were climbing so high in elevation that pine trees were starting to show. Good spot for weekend camping we'll have to keep in mind.

Once we got to the top, the boys unloaded and got the gear set up. They were having a hard time getting the ropes to the bottom of the rock because of the wind. Here is the view from the bottom of the rock, they are at the top!

They eventually had to tie their bags to the ropes to get them to the bottom of the hill. Once everything was set up it was time to climb. Everyone took their turn, except for me, I decided I just wanted to watch this time, next time I will do it for sure, looked like so much fun.

Here is Justin with David, we met him that day, he knew everything a 12 year old could possibly know about climbing. Pretty entertaining little guy. 

 Almost to the top!

This side of the rock was a little more tricky for the boys to climb. It looks like there is a lots of spaces to hold onto from the pictures but the shadows are deceiving, so they say.

Here is a video of Justin Climbing! 

We were there for a few hours and the weather was gorgeous, a little chilly breeze but nothing to complain about. I'm pretty sure that Justin is hooked on climbing again. On the way home we googled all kinds of places he could climb when we move to TX.

Looking forward to a few more climbing adventures before we leave. Thanks again to Trevor and Mikala for inviting us out!