Winter is (almost) here

It's starting to cool down, which means the golden days of Phoenix are coming. It's in the 90s now, but that is a far cry from the 110s of the summer. When it consistently hangs in the 70s and 80s, that's when it's quite glorious.

Chase just got back in town a few days ago from a business trip to LA. He was doing training with other Cintas Fire locations about how to make the company more efficient in certain areas. Of course it's always quite boring when he's gone. I missed him!

Last Saturday we went on a date to dinner at the Wrigley Mansion. Yes, the gum maker. It's an old mansion, built in the late 1920s. It was built on a hill and has a SPECTACULAR view of Phoenix. We got there just as the sun was down and enjoyed seeing the completely clear sky show a range of colors with a deep red at the horizon, blending into a brilliant orange, soft blue, and a dark midnight. You could see the whole skyline of downtown Phoenix. It was fantastic.

We'll both be traveling to a dear friend's wedding in November. Chase's best man, Josh Moore, is getting married in Raleigh, North Carolina. We are so excited to be able to BOTH go. I love weddings, and it'll be a blast to see North Carolina again - I haven't been there in almost 2 years. Chase is a part of the wedding party and is so excited to see Josh get married. They've been talking on the phone a lot about marriage in general...it's pretty cute.

Then shortly after that we will be in Indiana for Thanksgiving - first holiday I've spent with my family since 2009, so I am quite looking forward to that. Wish it was Christmas, but I work Christmas Day (and new years eve). Last year, I was unemployed for so long after we came out here, we had to conserve our money so tightly, and couldn't afford to fly anywhere for any holidays. It was so sad! But we are more thankful now than ever at how the Lord has provided so much in a year's time.

Excited to enter a busier season of life!

5k Race for the Cure

I signed up for a 5k so I could get some training in. This was my first race ever. There were thousands of people there! Chase came to cheer me on. It was pretty fun, especially after the race was OVER!

The start of the race

After I finished

Racers crossing the finish line

I have a great husband!

Making an "M" with my hands for Melinda and Marilyn,

Chase's mom and grandmother, both had breast cancer.

We went out to a delicious breakfast afterwards at OverEasy. We split pumpkin french toast and a bacon, egg, and cheese mixture smashed between hash browns. Yea, it was so good. We headed over to church, and finished up the day by laying in bed and having a movie day with mimosas. It was a fantastic day!

Camelback Mountain

Chase and I climbed Camelback Mountain last Saturday. It was around noon and 100 degrees. We went through about 3 liters of water, and it took us about an hour to get to the top. It was insanely difficult, but one of the most famous hikes in Phoenix.

No changing weather to cue the seasons here!

I feel like times flies by in Arizona without me noticing it. This is because (well, the conclusion that I've come to) the seasons barely change. In Indiana, or pretty much any other state, there is a stark contrast in seasons, and it's a noticeable difference when one seasons begins to melt away to the other, and it reminds us that "it's that time of the year again!" In Arizona, it's just always hot and sunny. It's almost October and it's still 100 degrees outside. It will start to get a little cooler, but only marginally. There are no leaves changing color or cool October breeze. Just brown desert. I want to burn some fall smelling candles or drink hot cider, but I can't bring myself too because it still feels like summer! I do really miss the fall weather from Indiana. It was such a beautiful time of the year. Oh well...

september update

It's crazy how time flies by...can't believe we're already half way through September! Here are a few updates.

• Chase is operating the role of Regional Repair Specialist. I don't think he has any traveling scheduled in the near future. He will be training other Cintas employees from other states in the regional repair specialist role. Luckily they are flying in to Phoenix so he doesn't have to go away on business!
• I am still loving working on the 6th floor at Scottsdale Osborn. I have been trying learn more about neuroscience and neurosurgery. I try to be in my patients room the entire time the neurologist/neurosurgeon are talking to them. This works if I have time and my other patients don't need anything! I am learning a lot and I ask the doctors explain the scans (MRI, CT, etc.) when they pull them up on the computer. These scans are essentially impossible to read unless you know what you are looking for and have extensive training. Most doctors are pretty cool with this...and I've learned which ones will give me the time of the day and which ones won't.
  

• Chase and I went to Flagstaff last weekend on September 11th to see my collegiate soccer team play in a tournament. I remember in 2006 when I was on the team and we flew out to Arizona to play in the same tournament. I was my first year starting and playing every game...and thankfully not my last! I am so fortunate for the opportunity to have been able to see and do so many great things through playing soccer. We had a blast. Ball State won the tournament (a feat that we were unable to obtain in 2006...but hey...we went on to win back to back MAC Season Championships).

With Abby and Sarah, my old teammates who are currently on the team

After the game, we checked out a 9/11 memorial

Lunch and brewskis at the Beaver Creek Brewery

• Chase and I are also doing lots of projects around our apartment. I found some awesome fabric at JoAnn's and reupholstered our Ikea kitchen table chairs. No longer is there just boring white. We also found this vintage, old little writers desk in Flagstaff for $40. It was scratched with graffiti and stickers all over it. Chase sanded it down for me and we primed and painted it in this beautiful white color. We will distressed the trim with a sander and then finish the piece. It is currently a work in progress. Will post pictures when I am finished!
• Also - I signed up for the PF Changs Half Marathon in downtown Phoenix in January. Not something I want to advertise as I am only barely into the beginning of my training. I just want to finish! The thought is overwhelming...but hey, I paid for it and by golly I will follow through!

staycation at the princess

Last weekend Chase and I had a lovely and wonderful "staycation" at the Fairmont Princess. This is what the local phoenix/scottsdale residents do in the summertime when all the resorts are offering cheap rates. Chase has been given a lot more responsibilities at work, and with that comes longer, harder hours. So this was a much needed break for him.

The Princess is literally across the road from our apartments! But that didn't take away from our weekend at all. It may be close, but once we stepped on that huge resort, it was like a different world. We enjoyed lying out at the pool, getting a little tan on our skin, and the delicious breakfast bistro.

On Saturday night, we ventured off the resort and went out for dinner at the Scottsdale Quarter, a new, luxury shopping center down the road from our apartments. It's a relatively newer center, but for some reason, Chase and I haven't explored this place yet. It was beautiful! All these fun shops (a nike store, west elm, pottery barn - all great places for some window shopping), and some new, cool restaurants. We had dinner at a Fox Concepts restaurant called True Kitchen. It's all organic with some vegan options, so it was interesting to say the least. Chase got an amazing bison burger with parmesan cheese and sweet potato hash on the side. I ventured out and got pangang curry. Chase's burger was DELICIOUS. But this was my first experience with curry (and a little coconut milk), and it was OK. The overall atmosphere was AMAZING. A beautiful, modern restaurant with huge light fixtures, long wooden tables, and an open kitchen

Date nights are fun - but date weekends are the best!

Decorating our apartment!

This past month, we decided to decorate our apartment by painting some walls and re-doing our furniture. Here are some pics!

Before

After

Painted the walls, painted the furniture, and hung some decoration! The mirror in the middle, I found at goodwill. It was an ugly wood color. So I painted and primed it and fixed it up!

We went to ikea and bought a few decor items to go on the other side of the room. We only painted two accent walls in our room, so these walls were left white.

The candlesticks were found at goodwill. They were so cheap and so beat up! The were a dark brown wood color with plenty of knicks. nothing a little martha stewart paint couldn't fix!

My little bit of purple I snuck into the room:)

Hope you all liked our changes! Still have a few more to make!