New news and old pics...

Here's a quick update on life in AZ so far... We're living at Tom and Ashley's. They were kind enough to loan us two bedrooms and a bathroom for the time being. Tom and Shane are working for the family business and Ashley found a part-time job for the summer so I spend my time with Sarge, the dog. I've done quite a bit of reading lately. I'd forgotten how nice it is to read for fun! If any of you have suggestions for books you've loved, I'm game!

The most important news is that Shane and I found a house!! We decided it wouldn't make sense to move to Phoenix and then live 45 miles away from his family (in Mesa or Gilbert) so we started looking around here for a house. Shane's family, his parent's ward, and Tom's ward quickly started looking for us too. We heard through a ward member about a house in a newer development (they were built in 1994) that the family was trying to sell without a going through a real estate agent. He set up an appointment for us and we looked at the house. It's perfect for us to start out! It's newer so we don't have to do any work to it (except for the new paint job required by Shane, of course), but it's still in Tom's ward so we're near family. We made an offer, which they accepted so now we're going through the craziness of qualifying for our loan and the other many steps required to buy a house. We won't move in until July 31, after we get back from Peru, because we can't close until within 2 months of my job starting. We'll give more updates and eventually pictures once the move-in date gets closer.

You'll also be surprised to discover that Shane and I have taken up tennis as a hobby. Shane's brother, Bart, and his new wife, Ashlee, took a tennis class together last semester and asked us to play with them, so we took a trip to Target, bought some cheap rackets and a can of balls. We play tennis at least once a week, if not more. Although we're not the best players, I can tell you that we're definitely progressing!! We'll have to take some pictures in our tennis garb (Shane even has a Wilson sweatband that he wears every time we play)...

The only other news is that we got called as ward missionaries, which is quite a calling for me!! Tom and Ashley have the same calling so I guess they thought we'd feel comfortable having them around while we got used to the ward. It'll definitely be a new experience!

Finally, the reason I added old pics to this post is that I wanted to post some pictures from graduation since most of you weren't able to be there. It's crazy to think we're all done, but it's exciting at the same time. Although, from what I hear, I'll be wishing I was back in school instead of working every day in a couple of years...



Our families together at Tucano's the night before.





This is my new favorite picture!