Our new house?

After many hours of house hunting this is still our favorite house.  Its a 2,600 square foot home, has four bedrooms, three and a half baths and would be built brand new on a large lot.

The just dropped the price by $15,000.00 so it is now comfortably in our price range.  We never really thought about building a house but we LOVE this home.  Luckily we have the time to really think and pray about such a huge decision. 

In the meantime enjoy the tour.

When you walk into the house on the left is the study. 

We would add french doors and turn it into Jordan's office. 

The house then opens up to the family room/dining room and kitchen.

The pantry.  Love!

I love having the dining room in its own area but still open to the rest of the house. 

The Master bedroom

The master bath that has a walk in closet.

 Upstairs has a loft which we would use as a playroom and then turn into a theater when our kids are older. 

So weird to think that far into the future!

 Closer look of the loft

First bedroom upstairs has a bathroom right outside of the room. 

We would use this as our guest bedroom until we needed it for a bedroom. 

 On the other side of the house upstairs are two more bedrooms that share a Jack and Jill bathroom. 

View from the loft.

 View coming down the stairs

 The backyard has a covered pateo with a fan.  Perfect for playing games outside at night. 

We still have a lot more homes to look at but always seem to keep coming back to this home.   It will be interesting to see if this is our home or if something even better is waiting for us. 

House hunting can be stressful but this is so much fun!         

Camel back Mountain

Saturday while I was at work Jordan hiked to the top of Camel back Mountain.  He said that it was an easy hike but really crowded with a lot of Oregon and Auburn fans in town for the national championship game.  I am looking forward to hiking this year and was a little sad I couldn't go because of work.  Blah.         

In the meantime I enjoyed Jordan's hiking adventure narrated by pictures...

Happy New Year

For New Years Eve we went to Texas Roadhouse with the Echols.  We thought it sounded like a good idea and apparently so did the rest of Arizona.  There were so many people there!  Luckily Shawn had called ahead and put our names on the waiting list so it only took us about ten minutes to get a table while everyone around us waited over an hour.  I was very happy we had called ahead.  Everyone got steak and potatoes while I had BBQ chicken.  It was so good!  A great way to begin our night.

After dinner we played games. 

We played a few rounds of our favorite game Bang and then catch phrase.  It started out as couple against couple but quickly became too competitive so we switched to girls vs boys instead.  A much better idea when playing with husband and wives.      

At midnight we quickly lit off fireworks and drank sparkling cider.  It was so cold outside that night!  We are not used to anything below 70 degrees so having 30 degree nights is quite the adjustment for us.   

The next morning Jordan took me to Shawn's brother house so I could see how to use a potato gun.  The drive home was rather entertaining.  I told Jordan that I really tried to enjoy myself because I know that he enjoys doing things like...shooting potato guns.  I just don't get it.  I find it boring and pointless.  You shoot a potato into the air to see how high it will go.  Really?? 

We just grew up differently.  He grew up shooting potato guns with his brothers and learning about cars with his Dad.  I grew up playing house with my sisters and going Saturday shopping with my Mom.  Luckily our differences work for us and even if we don't always enjoy the activity we are doing, we love spending time together.  It will be interesting to see how our children grow up and to watch them discover their own interests.              

With the start of the New Year we are excited with what is in store for the upcoming months. 

We plan on buying our first home this September and have already started looking at homes.  We are debating between building or buying an established home.  Luckily we have a few months to look, pray and decide before making such a huge decision. 

We are continuing with fertility treatments and hope to become pregnant this year and are anxiously awaiting the day we start our family.  

And with my new job we should be able to meet our goal of becoming almost completely debt free this year!  

We are so grateful for the many blessings we have received over the last year and look forward to a happy new year.     



Gingerbread houses

For family home evening last night we invited friends over to make gingerbread houses. 

Here is what Shawn and Nicole built together.

Jordan went for an adobe style house.

And I built an A-frame style house.

Happy holidays!

The Mesa Temple Christmas Lights

The Mesa Arizona temple Christmas lights were beautiful.  We went with friends this weekend and surprisingly I was the only one who had never been before. It reminded me of the Christmas lights on temple square in Salt Lake.  They had a life size nativity around the grounds that told the story of Christ's birth.  They also had a concert playing Christmas music while we were walking around and nativities from around the world displayed in the visitors center.  They say about one million visitors come through each year and I would believe it.  It was crowded!  It was hard to truly appreciate the beauty and true spirit of Christmas when running into people, weaving your way through the crowds and trying not to get lost from the group.  Next year we may try going during the week.

       

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

Jordan surprised me when he brought home a live Christmas tree after work.  We realized it was the first time we had decorated our own Christmas tree together and soon discovered that we don't have very many decorations.  Its pretty bare but we love having it up in our apartment. It makes it feel like the holidays and smells amazing.        

 

Right before we left the resort I bought this Christmas ornament. 

I wanted to have something that would remind us of where we met and fell in love.  It was really fun to hang it on our tree this year.   

I also made some salt dough ornaments and added cinnamon and cloves to the dough.  They smell amazing.  I am going to paint and hang them on our tree with ribbon.

This week also came with a lot of excitement.   After an intense interviewing process I accepted a job at Ebay.  I will be working with paypals new pay ahead program.  On Monday I start four weeks of training and then will work part time four days a week.  It is the perfect job for me and I feel so blessed to have found it.         

Jordan and I were also called to be the CTR 4 teachers in our ward.  We had substituted in nursery and primary a few times and knew it would only be a matter of time before we were called to be teachers.  They told us that they thought we were so confident, loving and great with the kids and that they had wanted to call us into primary since we moved in.  Jordan and I laughed at that because we have no idea what we are doing.  It will be quite the experience but we are excited for the challenge.    

Our Thanksgiving Weekend

Our Thanksgiving weekend started out Wednesday.  I got up early and began my morning by making sugar cookies.  This quickly became a very large project.  Let me explain why.  Last year I burned out the motor on our hand mixer and we just never got around to buying a new one.  Why?  I have no idea.  So anytime something needs mixed,  I grab a sturdy spoon and start stirring.  This morning trying to make a triple batch of sugar cookies with a wooden spoon was challenging to say the least.  But after hours of baking.  I had enough cookies for Thanksgiving and was even able to put some in the freezer for Christmas.     

Jordan had gone into work and was sent home early and told to enjoy his holiday.  So we went to the movies and saw the new Russell Crowe movie 'The Next Three Days'.  We thought that the acting was good but that the story line was depressing and didn't flow very well.  It was OK.  After the movie we came home and I started making frosting for the cookies.  (For future reference making frosting without a mixer is way more work than cookie dough.)  I mixed all the colors and filled my frosting bags.  Picked out the tips I wanted to use to create cute turkeys on circle cookies.  I started with the feathers and realized right away that they were not going to work.  The looked horrible.  I had to start all over.  I made another batch of frosting and went for a more simple look of frosted circles. 

We were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Shawn and Nicole's family. The idea of going to a strangers home for the holidays, knowing very few people, felt a little strange.  But once we got there it felt like Thanksgiving.  They were so welcoming and friendly and within minutes we felt like part of the family.  We had such a great time and although we missed spending the holiday with our families we couldn't have asked for anything better.  They had a traditional Thanksgiving feast with two turkeys, a ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade rolls, stuffing, and cranberries.  They also had a snack table set aside for those waiting in line which I thought was so smart.  It was full of cheeses, a vegetable platter, crackers, and olives.  After dinner we had my cookies, pumpkin, blackberry, chocolate and key lime pie especially made for Jordan.  Then began the afternoon of Bang.  Bang is a wild west card game that Shawn and Nicole introduced us to and we LOVE playing this game.  There is a lot to grasp when you are just learning but once you have the rules of the game down and can come up with strategies it gets fun, really fun.  It took awhile to teach everyone the game, but once they had it down they were hooked and we spent hours playing. 

Right before we left Nicole asked if we wanted to go shopping at Target in the morning.  We got online checked out what was on sale and what did I see.... a $3.00 hand mixer!!!  We were going black Friday shopping!   At 3:00 A.M. the alarm goes off.  We roll out of bed, throw on some shoes and a coat and are hit with a blast of cold air.  Luckily Shawn and Nicole had arrived earlier and had saved us a spot in line so we only waited for about a half hour in the cold.  It was crazy.  Hundreds of people were waiting in line.  They handed out maps showing where in the store the items on sale were.  Right at 4 A.M. the doors opened.  Jordan headed to the movies with Nicole while I went to find my hand mixer.  I turned down the aisle where the mixers were and there was a woman using her cart to block the mixers on sale.  Much to her dismay I politely moved her cart and started handing out the mixers to everyone around me.  It felt a little like Santa Claus and I left with last mixer in the store!  We ended up getting five new movies, the games connect four and battleship and my hand mixer all for $30.00!  Not too bad.  It was a crazy experience. I am not sure that I would want to do it every year but it was fun and worth it this year.

I am thankful for Jordan, his job and the move we made to Arizona. 
I am thankful for our families and the love and support that they give us no matter where we live. 
I am thankful for the gospel. 
I am thankful for science and the hope it gives us that someday we will be able to start our own family.
I am thankful for friends who have welcomed us into their lives and made our move so easy.
I am thankful for the uncountable blessings we have been given this year.

Happy Thanksgiving!     

Harry Potter and the ticket thieves

A month ago Jordan won a gift card at work and surprised me with tickets that he had bought online to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part1 at the Imax. 

Last week we were anxiously awaiting the opening night of the movie and decided to go pick up our tickets a few days early.  We got to the ticket booth with our printed receipt and were politely told that we had to have the exact card we made the purchase online with in order to retrieve our tickets.  We explained that we had paid for our tickets with a gift card and after the card was used that we had thrown the card away, like most people do.  They told us that they were sorry but that there was nothing that they could do.

Frustrated we walked back to our car and I decided to call the customer service number on the receipt.  We explained the situation and were told the same thing.  Very frustrated we went home. 

The next morning I did some research online and found their corporate customer service and sent them an email.  The response we got back told us that we should have read the policy and agreement before making our purchase.  There was nothing that they would do for us.  It was simply our mistake and not theirs.  This response well...brought out the feisty side of me.  I called customer service and demanded to speak to a manager.  I told them that we had paid for a product and that regardless of their retrieval system that we wanted either the tickets we paid for or our money back and that they had one day to figure it out before the movie opened.  

The rest of the afternoon was spent sending emails back and forth and ended with the same statement.  They would not give us our movie tickets and they would not give us our money back.  We were so frustrated!!

I filed a complaint with the better business bureau but in the meantime we missed the movie.  Jordan and I talked about when and where we wanted to see the movie and decided to wait a few days.  We instead spent the night watching the Boise State broncos play a great game against Fresno State (51-0).  Although we missed the opening night of the movie we were glad that we didn't miss out on such a fun game.

This afternoon Jordan surprised me again when he came home from work early to take me to see Harry Potter.   Five days late and $50 later we finally made it to see the movie and LOVED it.     

  

 


  

The Phoenix Sun's Game

Jordan won tickets at work to the Phoenix Suns/Denver Nuggets game. 

Not only did he win tickets to the game but they gave us tickets to the club annexes that included leather seats and an all you can eat buffet during the first half of the game. 

 

Jordan and I finally went to the eye doctor and both got new glasses.  Here are my new glasses.  I went for a more square shape and brown color.  I can still wear my black frames, so now I have two choices which will be so nice.  (Jordan got glasses as well but would not wear them in the picture.  He is still getting used to wearing them.) 

Jordan and I are not huge basketball fans but we like going to an NBA game every once in awhile.  The Suns game was fun and we really enjoyed the first class treatment we received.  The suns won 100-94.

After the game we had a long trip home.  The city offers free rides on the light rail to the games so we thought we would try it.  It was great to just be able to hop on the light rail after the game and not have to deal with traffic.  We did however have to deal with some questionable people.  (The guy sitting next to us proudly announced that he had just been released from prison and how he couldn't wait to take a shower and eat real food. I will admit it he made me a little nervous.) It seemed to take forever to get to our stop where we had parked our car.  An hour and a half after the game we got home.

I would probably ride the light rail again if we were going to another game. A little longer commute home for convenience and cost.  Its a decent trade off.

We love having the benefits that come from a good job.  Jordan has needed glasses for years and finally with a great health plan we were both able to get new glasses.  And this last week alone Jordan won tickets to the game and a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.  It is allowing us to be able to do so much.  We feel so incredibly blessed and are thankful every day for this job.