Our First Blog

Well...this blog is intended to keep family and friends across the country, and the world for that matter, updated on our lives. You know, moving away has been a wonderful experience for us, but being so far away from those we love hasn't been easy. So much has changed since our wedding in June...and we want to feel that although we may be separated by miles, you are all with us on our journey.
So...that being said, what exactly has happened since our absolutely amazing wedding?
For starters, we spent the week after our wedding on a much needed honeymoon in Hawaii. It was the first time experiencing Hawaii for both of us, and it was incredible. We are already hoping to go back one day for an anniversary. Upon returning for the honeymoon, we were in newlywed limbo, living with Santi's parents and not sure what our next move would be. Luckily, after over a year of searching, in mid-July I FINALLY landed a teaching job...and we had a WEEK to move across the country to Arizona!!!!!
The week after accepting the teaching position was a whirlwind. We quickly packed up all of our wedding gifts and the few other things we owned. After a quick search for apartments online and a goodbye to friends and family, we packed up both cars and began our first and biggest newlywed adventure.
After a ridiculously long drive across the United States, punctuated by a torturous last leg through the desert in the blazing sun, we arrived in Phoenix, AZ...and it was 120 degrees outside! One might think we would question our decision at that point, but we were too exhausted to care. Thanks to Santi's parents' help in driving our other car and my parent's help in shipping our things that wouldn't fit in the car...we had made the big move.
Our apartment was nice, minus the fact that our belongings weren't scheduled to arrive for 2 more weeks and we didn't own furniture. I started orientation the very next day after we arrived. While I was caught in a whirlwind of getting ready to begin my first year of teaching 5th grade at Desert Oasis Elementary, poor Santi was stuck in the apartment looking for jobs and sitting on the floor to watch TV.
Finally, after our air mattress popped, we decided it was time to buy some furniture. I had a moment to breath and we went to IKEA (greatest store ever) and picked out some great new digs for our apartment. It was starting to look like home, and Arizona was growing on us.
BUT...what would a home be without a dog? So....you guessed it, after checking out the ads in the local paper, we settled on a beautiful Golden Retriever puppy named Tevez (some may guess he was named after the soccer player, and you are correct). Tevez settled right into our apartment and turned us into a little family. He is a happy-go-lucky guy that has grown from
9 lbs to 50 lbs!!! He loves to chase other dogs at the park, eat Frosty Paws ice cream treats, and pretend he is a lap dog. We adore him.
After a short job search, Santi finally landed a job that he has grown to love. He is working as a sales rep. for Verizon Wireless (anyone need a new phone?). This job has been a challenge, and an exciting one. Despite the sometimes less than convenient hours, he has enjoyed the opportunity to work his way up and make money based on performance...and my favorite part, they are paying for him to finish his degree! So...besides working full time, being a great husband, and chasing the dog around, Santi is working on his marketing degree from the University of Phoenix (not the online one, they actually have a campus).
I am still busy at school...trying to keep up with my street smart 5th grades:) They make me want to scream sometimes, and other times I can't help but laugh at them. Working in my school is a challenge, but it's worth it. My students may be hard to reach, but when you do reach them it makes it that much more special. Next year I will be most likely teaching in an ELD (English Language Development) classroom. A new state law has passed requiring these classrooms for all schools with ELL students. Our school is 50% ELL, therefore we will have approximately 1 ELD classroom per grade level. I am hoping this will give me the opportunity to move down to a lower grade as well.
Our love of Phoenix has grown as the cold temperatures have arrived in the midwest. We have experienced mild weather for most of the days from November-February. We had a little bit of a "cold" spell (40 degrees or so) over Christmas and parts of January...but this week has brought back the sun and some 80 degree temperatures. Mom called this morning and complained about her 12 degree drive to work...we don't miss that...at all.
Another wonderful thing about Phoenix has been our close proximity to some really great new travel spots as well as a variety of entertainment right here. So far we have been to Sedona twice (amazing), the Grand Canyon, and Los Angeles to visit Santi's family. We are about 4 hours from Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Mexico. I am sure we will be enjoying lots of weekend getaways in the next few years! In September we won tickets to see one of our favorite Latin rock bands (Mana), who rarely venture out to the midwest. We also got to experience the craziness of Super Bowl as we played host to the big game right down the road from our apartment. All I can say about that is...TRAFFIC. We didn't even dare go near the stadium on game night, although I am sure it would have been cool to see. I am just glad the Giants won.
This brings me to our most exciting news of the year: we are building a house! Phoenix is a buyer's market right now and with the always increasing property values here in the Valley of the Sun (no one ever retires and goes north), we decided it would be a great investment for us to purchase now and possibly cash in a few years down the road. Plus, rent here is comparable to mortgage payments, and our dog is taking over our tiny apartment. Our house is currently under construction and will be located in a suburb called Goodyear. Goodyear happens to be the 4th fastest growing suburb in the U.S. right now! It is a beautiful, quickly growing city, located just about 20 min. west of Phoenix. Our home is going to be about 1,400 sq. feet and located in a beautiful master planned community. The estimated closing date is May 23rd, but we are anticipating some delay as is typical with new home builds. We are thrilled to move into our first home...and finally be done with musical apartments ( I have lived in 4 apartments in the last 3 years). So...all of you out there who would like to escape the winter weather, come on out!
Well...I don't think I will typically write such long posts, but this being the first one, I had to catch everyone up on what we have been up to these past 8 months. We will keep you all posted on the house, Tevez, work, and school in the upcoming months. We will be home for a visit March 28th-April 5th and hope to see many of you then, however you better warm up the weather before we arrive...our tough Indiana blood has worn thin!