Summer's end is here...

Okay, I know it's been awhile since the last post. These past few weeks have been VERY busy! After enjoying some nice relaxing "me" time in June, things really picked up in July. We started off the month enjoying a Fourth of July fireworks celebration at Tempe Town Lake. This being our first 4th in Arizona, we weren't quite sure where to go. We had heard that Tempe Town Lake was the place to be, so we decided to check it out. There was a huge crowd with lots of food, live bands, and the local news. We enjoyed some dinner and then sat by the lake and watched an amazing 45 minute fireworks show on the lake which was done to music. It was by far the best fireworks show we have ever seen! We also got to check out the Mill Ave. District which reminded us a lot of Kirkwood in Bloomington. Because ASU is in Tempe, it is very much a college town. It kind of felt like home:)
At the beginning of the month we also joined what is called a "Home Team" through our church. It is basically a Bible study. There are probably over 30 Home Teams throughout the west valley of Phoenix. It is really quite amazing that so many people are involved in weekly Bible studies. We decided based on our schedule to join one that meets Friday nights. We noticed that one of the Friday night options also happened to be a Spanish-speaking group. We decided it would be a great opportunity to connect with other Hispanic families, not to mention I could use the practice with my Spanish. It turns out they are trying to get a Spanish ministry started at our church, and the Home Team is pretty big. They are a great group of people, and although we have only been a couple of times, we really enjoy going. We are hoping to get involved with the mission of creating a Spanish ministry and eventually a Spanish service at church.
Just last week my parents came out to visit, see the new house, and help with painting. They arrived last Saturday and spent 5 days here. It was so great to spend that time with them. It is hard being so far away, but it also makes the time together that much more special. On Sunday we took them to see the Diamondbacks play the Dodgers. We were up the whole game until our closing pitcher blew it in the last inning. Even though we lost, we had a great time. It is nice to have so many pro sports teams so close. Going to games is a lot of fun. I think my parents enjoyed themselves too. They love baseball. On Monday we spent all day painting the living room, kitchen, entryway, and hallway. My dad also hung up two ceiling fans and he and Santi put together our frames and paintings from Ecuador. On Tuesday they finished up with the painting and then we all went up to Scottsdale for the day. We went to the mall and rode the trolley around Old Scottsdale. On Wednesday Santi had work and class so I took mom and dad shopping at the outlet mall. Before we knew it, it was time for them to head home. It seemed like their visit flew by! Hopefully next time they come out we won't have work to do on the house and we can do some more traveling and exploring. I really want to take them up to the Grand Canyon. We really appreciated all their help though. I will be home in September for Amanda's wedding, so I am looking forward to seeing everyone soon.
This past week or so I have been in and out of school and the teacher store trying to get my classroom ready. I feel like it is still a mess! I have so much to do that I don't even know where or how to start. The beginning of the school year is always a bit overwhelming, especially since I am teaching a new grade this year, not to mention I am teaching ELD (English Language Development). We are all still unsure how the new ELD program is going to work, so it will be challenging. I am looking forward to September when our routines have been established, I know my students a little better, and we are really in the thick of learning! I am also hoping that our new principal can really help us turn our school around this year. He seems great.
On top of all of that, I am applying to start grad school September 1st at Grand Canyon University. I will hopefully be getting a Master's in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).
Well, that about sums up my summer! Tomorrow I have to be back at school officially. We are swamped with meetings this week, back to school night Friday, and then next Monday is the first day!

Long Summer Days...

It's summer in the desert, and it's HOT. Well, what else would you expect? Santi and I have been living in Arizona almost a year now. It's amazing how time flies. As we move from June into July...I am hoping my summer heats up a little, and I don't mean the weather! I know, I know, I said I wanted a boring summer. Well, I enjoyed being lazy for most of June. I am now getting a bit restless. I am actually missing those Indiana summers. Not the humidity of course, but just missing having friends and family close by, fishing, the smell of fresh cut grass, barbecues. Right now Santi is busy working, most of my midwestern teacher friends are traveling, and to be honest we still haven't met a lot of people.

The Green Monster

Well, we have been in the new house several weeks now and we are slowly getting settled in. We are continuously working to make it reflect us and our personalities. So far we have painted the master bedroom and bathroom, and yesterday we decided to paint the office since Santi had the day off. We really wanted to paint the office green because we thought it would look really nice with the black furniture. We picked a green that looked almost like fresh green grass. We all know that paint never looks the same on the sample as it does on the walls. As we opened the can it was a shock of bright lime green. We went with the assumption that paint always dries darker, so we went for it and started painting. As the paint went on we went from "ooooh it will look nice when it is dry", to "it looks like a leprechaun threw up in here". We went ahead and finished, deciding that a second coat would help. After the room was finished you needed sunglasses just to step foot in it. We went to bed and decided maybe in the morning with the sunlight it would be better. Morning rolled around and Santi asked if I wanted to go check on "the green monster". We peeked in, and surprisingly it wasn't as bad as we had remembered from the night before. Our textured walls had absorbed so much of the paint that it was in definite need of at least one more coat before it looked decent, but it definitely wasn't the green monster from the night before. We are planning on completing the second coat on Wednesday, so hopefully it will turn out with the look we were going for!

One Year of Marriage

These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity with moving into our new house, ending the school year, and having my brother here to visit before his trip to Indonesia. In the midst of all the chaos, Santi and I were able to take some time to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary. Santi had the day off work, so we were able to spend the whole day together which was very nice. During the school year it is very difficult to spend time together because he often works weekends when I am off. After we dropped Andrew off at the Food for the Hungry headquarters downtown, we headed to the Desert Botanical Gardens. I have been wanting to go for awhile, so I was very excited. The garden was beautiful...if only it wasn't over 100 degrees out. I guess that's par for the course when you live in the desert. We made our way through the garden jumping from shade spot to shade spot trying to stay cool. We found out that they have a flashlight tour on Thursdays and Sundays, so we decided that we will return later this summer and give that a try. All in all, it was a really neat experience. After the garden we wanted to go somewhere with AC, so we stopped by the teacher store and checked out the sale items for my kindergarten room this fall. I found a few good deals...but I still need a lot of things. Then we headed to the Chandler Fashion Mall and purchased some soap and candles for the house. After the mall, we grabbed a romantic (ha ha) lunch at El Pollo Loco (for those of you from the midwest, it is like the Mexican version of KFC). After lunch we decided to keep cool and see a movie. We went to see Baby Mama, which was actually very funny. By then it was time to pick Andrew up, so we swung back by the headquarters. On the way home we stopped at Rancho Market (the Mexican market) and picked up some food to grill for dinner. Yes, we bought a grill. I finally gave in, and I am glad I did because we have used it every night since we bought it. After dinner we enjoyed a piece of our frozen wedding cake and some dessert wine from the Oliver Winery that we brought back over spring break. It was really special being able to spend the entire day together, and honestly it didn't matter what we did. Yesterday I took Andrew up to the headquarters again and then ran some errands. Santi was back to work again, so I tried to accomplish some of the things that needed to be done around the house.
Andrew leaves tonight for Indonesia, and last night he stayed at the house of one of the guys he is going with. I am waiting for him to call and let me know exactly when his flight leaves. Depending on when it is, I may try to head up to the airport to see him off. Santi has class tonight and gas prices are through the roof, so we will see. I am so proud of the work he is doing, and I am hoping and praying that all goes well during his time there. I am not going to lie, I worry about him going there a lot. I will be happy when he is back in the U.S.!
On another note, now that things are finally starting to calm down and I have the summer to get settled into the house, one of the goals Santi and I have for the summer is to successfully get on a budget. It has been so difficult to get on track financially lately because of the move and all of the costs associated with a new house. Not to mention we still have our lease (and bills) at the apartment until the end of July. We are basically paying double right now on most bills. Making things even more of a challenge is the fact that I won't see another pay check until the end of August. On the last day of school they gave me a check for the rest of my salary, and that has to last us all summer long. If anyone has any tips for getting on track with a budget, pass them my way!
Wow...that was a lot of updating. I am not sure how much I will have to write over the next few months because we for once don't have a lot planned! I am just looking forward to a relaxing summer!

Looking Forward to BORING

WOW...what a hectic month May has proven to be. I knew we would be busy, but I had no idea how much it would wipe us out. Really, this past year has been a whirlwind of major life events. In the last month alone, we have had a visit from Santi's grandfather from Ecuador, spent a weekend in LA for his cousin's first communion, closed on our house, moved in, bought new furniture, and began painting. This week I am finishing up the school year, and my brother is coming for a visit tomorrow before he leaves on a mission trip to Indonesia.
Because I am lacking on all of these updates, I will give you a brief run down.
A few weeks ago Santi's grandpa made a stop in Phoenix after visiting Santi's parents in Indiana. He arrived on a Wednesday night. Of course he arrived with all sorts of Ecuadorian goodies, including two beautiful paintings from Ecuador for our new house. I can hardly wait to get them on the wall. Thursday we went to see the house (it was a week before closing). He was able to see the house completed before any of our other family members, and he loved it. He was showing us exactly where to put the paintings. On Thursday night we took him to a Diamondbacks baseball game. He said he has always wanted to see a pro baseball game, so it was really neat to experience that with him. We decked him out with a Diamondbacks shirt and cap. That was also the first time Santi and I had been to a Diamondbacks game, and we had a really great time. The field is incredible. We are definitely Diamondback fans now!
On Friday afternoon we took Santi's grandpa out to LA for Santi's cousin's first communion. We spent Saturday touring downtown LA and shopping. We also go to go out to eat at a Brazilian restaurant in Beverly Hills. Santi LOVES Brazilian restaurants, so he was happy. It was definitely a very classy place we would not have gone to on our own. On Sunday morning we attended Andres' first communion. He was so adorable! The party then followed at Coco Palms Cuban restaurant. I LOVE CUBAN FOOD! The food was incredible! We really enjoyed spending time with Santi's family. After the party we all went back to Gonzalo and Noemi's house and jumped in the pool because it was HOT that weekend!
The following Friday after returning from LA, we closed on our house! The closing process was much smoother than I had anticipated, and in less than an hour we were officially homeowners! We swung by the furniture store on our was to the house and picked out a new bedroom set for our anniversary. That night we spent painting our master bedroom. We couldn't wait to get rid of the white walls, white does not suite us!
Since the closing we have stayed busy changing the colors of the house and shopping for furniture and accessories. The next task will be landscaping the backyard, which I know is going to be a LOT of work. Thankfully school is out in 3 days and Santi and I will have much more free time to work on the house.
Tomorrow my brother will be arriving to spend about a week with us before he leaves for his mission trip to Indonesia with Food for the Hungry. We are excited for his visit and are looking forward to spending time with him. He is such a neat kid and he has such a big heart. It is hard to believe how grown up he is! I am so proud of him, and I am honored to be his sister. He may be my little brother, but I definitely look up to him.
With all that has been going on lately, I am actually hoping and praying that I have a BORING summer so by the time school resumes in August I am full of energy and excitement (which I will need now that I am teaching kindergarten)! Our lives have just been so crazy this past year and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. All the madness is about to come to a close for now and we can hopefully relax until our next adventure begins.