Sedona

Tyler and I just got home from a pretty cold trip up to Sedona for Spring Break.  It was beautiful up there, but pretty chilly compared to down here in Phoenix.  While we were up there we had the heater on the whole time.  We also were wearing jackets and sweatshirts when we went out.  Then we drove back here, and it is 80 degrees today!!  It's crazy that it is already getting this hot!

While we were up there we were able to enjoy some of the beautiful parts of Sedona.  We went back to Savanah's for dinner on Sunday night, and had another delicious meal.  This is where we went the first time we went up there, for our 1 year anniversary as well.  The food and service was outstanding again, and we would recommend the place to any one! It's a little pricey, but delicious!

Monday we decided to try and go hiking.  Tyler took me to a spot he went in high school.  The hike was supposed to be three miles long.  While we were driving up to the hiking spot, we were met by some snow though.

I had to jump out of the car, run across the freeway to take this picture!  I was so excited!

Tyler was having fun taking pictures of the snow, mountains, and river!

Our only picture from the trip of us together!

We found where we were going to go hiking, and set off.  We were a little nervous because we had no cash with us, and you were supposed to pay $10 to just park and hike.  I'm a little glad we didn't know, and you'll find out why.  We started off on the hike, with our lunch in our backpack because we had planned on eating on the trail.  The hike starts in the dirt, and then all of a sudden we are in the SNOW!! There is snow all over the place, and you are walking through the snow trying to find the trail.  Eventually we made it to a creek, and we knew we weren't going across.  It was way too cold, and who knew where the trail was on the other side.  A family came up behind us, and the dad was determined to figure out how to get across the creek.  We didn't wait long enough to watch him fall in, but while we were walking down the trail, we heard a yelp and figured he fell in!!

Monday night we went to watch the sunset up at the airport.  There were a lot more people than I expected.  I don't know why I didn't expect that many people to be there.  It was really chilly as the sun started going down though, so we didn't wait until it went all the way down.  It was really pretty though, and fun to see the city from up high!

Up at the airport watching the sunset, 6:20 at night.

Tuesday we just relaxed, and played a lot of games.  We were very excited to be on vacation, and enjoyed ourselves.  Now we are back at home, and getting ready for school to begin again on Monday.  Can't wait for two more weeks, when we are on vacation again for Easter!

New Stuff

Our house is now complete!!  We were lucky enough to be able to buy our house one year ago, thanks to some help from some very special friends.  Due to that, we were able to receive a new refund from the government this year.  With that money, besides saving, we decided to purchase some things for the house that we really wanted!!  Here are our new friends in our home!!

This is what the living room looked like when we took out our old couch.

Now with our new couch, which fit perfect!!

We were also able to purchase some new storage space!

Tyler was really excited about his newest toy!  He was able to buy this with money he received from Christmas presents from his kids at school.  It has come in very handy!

We were also able to finally buy a bedroom set!!  I was so excited to not have to sleep on the ground any more!!  Before our mattress was just on the ground.

We made friends with Greg at JC Penny and he was able to give us a very good deal!  We bought the whole bedroom set, and the couch from him.  Now he sends us cards telling us to come back all the time.  He must think we like to shop!  :D

Our last purchase, and probably our favorite!!

We'll finally have ice!!  Won't have to ask Matt and Katie to bring some down the street any more!!

I just realized Tyler's favorite new purchase isn't in the collection.  We have had this since the day after Thanksgiving, so it's almost not as exciting, even though we have very happy with our new washer and dryer!!

Tyler was so excited to do laundry in these that first weekend.  We sold our old ones to our friends Ben and Allison and ended up in their wedding sermon because of it!!

1 year!!

It's crazy to think that 1 year ago TODAY we were moving in our home!  So many things have changed in the last year, even in our house!!  I am so blessed to have a husband who loves me, a roof over my head, amazing friends close by, and a family who supports me!!

February

What a month!!  I can't believe that February is already over!  We had a very exciting month.  We were able to finish our taxes, and get back a pretty nice rebate.  We decided we wanted to finally buy a bedroom set, so we did!  It's really nice.  We were able to buy the bed, two night stands, and the dresser.  We love finally having a bed!!  :D  Pictures will come!

Then we also bought a new couch!  It fits the room so much better.  Then we moved the table into where it should go, and made a little reading room in the fireplace area.  It is so cozy now!  Our last purchase will be a new fridge.  We are just waiting for a good deal!!

Tyler and I are both still plugging away on our masters, and trying to finish as much as we can!  Spring Break is in two weeks, and we are so excited!  We are going to Sedona thanks to mom and dad for a couple of days!  It will be beautiful!

Happy End of January

It is crazy to think that we are almost in February of 2010!! Where has the time gone! At school I just got an interactive white board installed yesterday! It will be a lot of fun, but I feel way out of it because my room is a disaster in the process of moving everything around!

Had to share a funny letter with everyone that we got in the mail today from our HOA. Tyler cut down the tree in our front yard when I went to visit Nicole in October, and just took our Christmas lights down on Sunday. Yes, we were a little behind the times, but we love Christmas, and are a little lazy. Here is what the letter said, "There are holiday lights and/or decorations visible after the holiday. Also, there is a tree stump left in the front yard. See that all holiday decorations are removed and the tree stump is removed." Really though, is that what my $240 a year is paying for!?! This is crazy!! I hate the HOA! First they write me a letter to tell me my tree branches are in the way of the sidewalk, and now they tell me something is wrong with the stump!? Crazy!! Guess what Tyler will be doing this weekend!! Amen for the rain!! At least it made the ground soft! I'll try and get a picture of the stump before it's gone to share with you all!

Happy New Year!

I know it's been a while, so I thought it would finally be a good time to update!

At the beginning of November Breeann and Kevin came out to visit us. We had a lot of fun with them, but I don't have many pictures because my battery died the day we went to the zoo. We didn't do much while they were here, a lot of lounging around, but we did go to the zoo one day, Howl at the Moon one night, and of course we ate A Lot!

The four of us at Howl at the Moon!

The holidays were super busy for us. For the beginning of Thanksgiving break we traveled to Palm Springs, CA for teacher's conference. While we were there Nicole came out and spent a day with us! It was a blast to see her! We headed back to Phoenix on Tuesday so that way we could get ready for Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving Day, Tyler's parents, Jeremy and Rachel came over to share a meal with us. We had way too much food for just the six of us, plus Kyrie, but it was still a lot of fun to share the meal with people we love.

Our table set before everyone got there! So much more food was on our table!

For Christmas we celebrated early when Dan and Megan came out to visit. That was a lot of fun too, and it was great to see them. We only wish that they lived closer so that way we could see them more. We were able to hang out with them for the weekend they were here, and we took them to Howl at the Moon too!! (Seeing a theme yet, if you come to visit, we'll take you there too!!)

I did a lot of baking!!

During Christmas break we traveled to my parent's house, up in Northern California, to be with my mom. She had knee surgery a week before Christmas, and I wanted to be home to help her get ready. She did great though, and was up walking around by the time I got home. She actually went back to work the same time Tyler and I went back to school! Yes, she is crazy! While we were home with my parents we were able to spend a couple of meals with Breeann and Kevin! It was great to see them again so close together! We can't wait for their wedding this May, and all of the fun activities before then! We were very blessed to spend Christmas day with my family, and they spoiled us of course! We were able to see my aunt, and cousins too, and his babies! I love those kids, and only wish we could see them more!

My mom and I enjoying the warm fire!

My dad making his AMAZING tacos!

After we left my parent's house, we traveled down to Bakersfield to hang out with another set of our parents. Kris' parents are wonderful, and we always have a blast staying there. We were able to spend a day with them, and to see Kris and Ross too! We love them, and are so happy that we were able to impose on their family time and hang out! Of course our time was way too short, but it was a blast!

My beautiful friend Kris!

We came to visit mom on her lunch break!

We then headed down to Orange County to spend the rest of our time with Nicole and Jon. We ended our break in an amazing way!! We just hung out, read a lot, played a lot of Wii, and ate! They are a blast to hang out with, and our New Years was a lot of fun! We miss them, and were very happy to have a couple of family meals!! :D We even got our annual family Christmas picture in!

Our annual family picture!

Now we are back in the swing of school. We have today off, which has been a nice and relaxing day. Tyler and I are both working hard on our masters, and keeping up our grades. We are both hoping to be done by spring 2011, so we are pushing through it.

We are looking forward to amazing summer plans, and can't wait to see you all again soon! Please keep us in your prayers, and I promise to be better about updating our site!!

Love you all!

Skype

We just downloaded Skype so Tyler could talk to his girlfriend, and for those of you who don't have an apple, it is an awesome free way to talk. If you want to chat, just let us know, and we'll set up a date!!