Josh and I have been able to do a few fun things since we've been in Arizona so far. My work had a fall picnic at a lake east of Phoenix and on the drive we passed this little old-school cowboy town that is all set up for visitors. Apparently they still have shoot-outs and all of that sort of thing to watch .... it just goes to show you that there are quite a few old cowboys in this area!



For Halloween several of us medical school students got together for one last night of fun before all of the husbands started studying for finals. We've been so lucky to have such a great group of friends here. It's so nice to have friends to study with and have fun with.

Josh made it through the first round of finals and had a 2 week break. He's starting school again on Monday and is ready to go again.


During the break from school we went over to Las Vegas and met most of Josh's family there. His sister Marisa had a volleyball tournament so his parents and 2 of 3 sisters came so we had a great time. Unfortunately the volleyball team didn't do as well as we were hoping so instead of watching games every day we had time to go the the temple and see the sights of Vegas. The temple was beautiful and we had a great time there with Jessica and Mike and Kalise and Brian. This is just one of the many casinos/hotels on the strip that are just unbelievable. It was fun to see the sights, but we're glad to be back home again.

Josh's next break comes just a few days before Christmas and we're going to be heading to Utah for the holidays. We're so excited to see everyone there and can't believe it's less than a month away. We miss you all and love you!

Finally time for fall!

It's finally turning to fall here in Glendale, and we're so ready for it! For a couple of weeks it was really nice - the highs for the daily temperatures were in the lower 90's and we were thinking fall was here for good. Unfortunately this last week it's been back up just over 100, we're hoping it doesn't last too much longer. Josh is officially half way through the first term of Medical School (as of this last Friday). He's totally in his routine as far as studying and all of that. I'm constantly amazed at his dedication and determination to do well in school. He's been working hard and has been learning a lot even in these short 5 weeks. So here are a couple of pictures of Midwestern University. The one on the left is of the guard's booth just as you drive into the school.

There's always a guard in this booth 24/7 and they're super nice and smile and wave at everyone that comes through the gate. The other picture is looking straight at the main building which has the library as well as some lecture halls. It's a pretty condensed campus with all of the buildings in a circle with a couryard in the middle with some basketball courts, a BBQ area and such. I've been able to go and eat lunch with Josh a couple of times since it's so close.

It's crazy to think that it's the end of September, yet everything is green and warm .... not anything like fall in Utah. The palm trees and desert landscaping is actually starting to grow on me a little bit. When we first got here I couldn't understand how people could have a yard with no grass to play on but that's just not how it is here. In each apartment complex and in subdivisions there is a common area that has big areas of grass but that's about it.

In my spare time among other things I've been taking a cake decorating class with a couple of friends from the ward. It's been lots of fun and I'm slowly getting better but still have a long way to go. I have one more week of the class and am hoping that by then I will be able to make roses and all other sorts of flowers!

Josh and I have been able to go to the temple a couple of times since we've been here and I've been able to go a couple of times during the day with various people from the ward.The temple is in Mesa which is about 35 or so miles away. It's nothing like any of the temples in Utah but is still beautiful and such a wonderful place. We love you all and miss everyone tons!

Movin to Arizona!

WELCOME TO ARIZONA!!! We moved to Arizona a week ago last Saturday and are so glad to finally be here. We live in what's turned out to be a great area with an awesome ward and have tons of other MWU students in our complex. Life here in Arizona is pretty much what we expected it to be - lots of heat and fun unpacking so far. We're actually all the way unpacked which we're counting as lucky since after our last move it took us just over 1 year to get through all of the boxes. These are a couple pictures of our little place..... Josh officially started Medical School today and Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (if that's not a mouth full I don't know what is!) so we're both really excited that today is finally here. Other than that, I'm still looking for a job and hope to find something that's close to home and not too stressful.

We love you all and miss everyone tons!