Christmas

Yesterday evening Rob, Sonora, and me just returned from Colorado for Christmas! We drove out there, and it is only a 12 hour drive and therefore was more financially viable than flying. We left Wednesday afternoon after Rob got home from work. On our way out of town we stopped at Margaritiville at Westgate to pick up Vern's gift (a polo). We then headed out of Phoenix right when the sun started to set.

We drove through to Alburquerque where we decided to stop at a hotel and rest for a few hours. We had to leave Sonora in the car because the hotel didn't accept pets, but it was fine. We got into bed at 11pm and the alarm went off at 3am. We got up, got the puppy ready, and headed out. About an hour out you could tell that Rob was still tired so I drove for the next two hours. Rob took over again around 6am and we pulled into Colorado Springs a little before 8 am.

My family weren't expecting us so we surprised them on Christmas morning! We had talked with Vern so he knew we were coming, we had to do this for logistical reasons (aka there was food for us) lol. We knocked on the door around 830am and Brian Jr. came and answered the door. He was like "oh my gosh!" it was pretty cool. :) We enjoyed surprising the family. We ended up relaxing around the house that day and ended it by watching one of the "Scrooge" movies; however, Rob and I were exhausted and in bed by 8am.

We spent time with my family, dad, Aunt Dee, and friend Jeremiah and his brother Morgan who was home from college. We spent lots of time eating out, playing with the dogs, playing pool, playing the computer game Age of Empires with Brian Jr., Old Chicago's, and Bristol Brewery.

The weather was cold, but clear skies for the most part. We really enjoyed being home but I realized why I loved Phoenix weather so much :)

We left Sunday morning at 5 am and Rob drove the whole way back to Phoenix. We got home (to Avondale, specifically) a little after 6pm. We watched Planet Earth and ordered pizza. We were ready to be home, and it felt so good to be home, too! All our pictures will be uploaded on Facebook here shortly.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas like we did! God is good.

Finals upon us

So last night I fell asleep studying for my Greek final. And that was at 7:30 or so. At least it's because I had had 3 straight late nights. My final paper was due in my Early Church History Class, and I have two finals to do prior to tomorrow officially. Unofficially, I have until Monday to finish up one of the two. But then my first round of classes is over--and fairly successfully I believe, too!

And Amanda's busy wrapping up her semester as well. She just had her last clinical yesterday up at The Mayo Clinic. I know she's been liking this rotation and is thinking that critical care is forerunner for the specialty that she'd like to get in! She's finishing up her requirements, some due this week, others next week, which are her finals as well. After this semester is done, it's only 3 more to go! And this one she is wrapping up is considered the most difficult.

As for the rest of our lives outside of school, we are doing a little, fairly impromptu, Christmas party this Saturday night. There will be a few people there, but we only asked a week out so the numbers are still staying kinda low, but it should be fun. It is a champagne tasting and white elephant gift Christmas party. Should be fun, I think!

Work is work and still progresses. I definitely see a difference in the economy there. My work has had to make some cut backs, not because we aren't solid, but simply because there are no jobs for us to get here in Arizona. There are a few on the horizon, but we have to get there. And even out here on the job I am working on, you can see the different subcontractors are scaling down their operations because there just isn't the work that there was. Construction is definitely not the boom industry it was even a year ago. But it is all a cycle, and our company should be fine long term. Amanda's work is great - only 12 hours a week! She's going to apply, most likely, for an extern position at her hospital, which will require a couple more hours, but also gives her increased duties at the hospital and better pay. It should also help her transition into nursing once she graduates!

Morning After

The wonderful Thanksgiving holiday has come to a close! Rob is already at work and I am getting ready to jump in the shower to begin my day of class and work. I will update more on the Thanksgiving weekend this week but just wanted to update the blog real quick so everyone knows we are still alive :)

(Rhonda, Rob, and me the Thanksgiving morning)