Finally Back!

Well, I've been back since Tuesday, but I haven't had a chance to post anything since then. The Phoenix trip was a lot of fun, and also frustrating, but mostly fun! The interview went from 8-2 on Friday, then I ran to sign the lease on our new apartment, Crown Court. We found a 2 Bed, 2 Bath, with a Den, and 1365 sq ft! Should be a great place for the next couple of years. Our new address will be on Princess Drive, but it's worth it! We are directly across from the TPC Scottsdale which hold the FBR Open PGA event every February. They have a signature hole, the Par 3, 16th, which they line with stadium seating and fit 30,000+ around one hole. It's awesome. Here is a taste of it: Tiger Wood's Hole-In-One.
Then on Saturday we got ready for Greg & Nico's Engagement/House Warming party. The Caldwell's know how to throw a party! The food, games, food, and people were great. Greg whipped up some hybrid chicken/bacon/BBQ snacks and brats/dogs/burgers. It was a blast. Then the $100 bottle of tequila came out...:) It was a lot of fun to meet everyone, and we look forward to hanging out with them again.
Sunday was a little rough for Greg & Nico who had to cancel sleeping in and drag my butt to the airport. Greg and I did find a couple of hours to play 5 games of Washers, which I won 3-2. I'm sure there will be a long standing competition between us. They dropped me off at the airport and when I checked in I saw there was not seat number next to my name...I knew something was wrong. I got bumped! They tried to find a volunteer to trade but no one jumped on it. They said the next flight would be TUESDAY! I can't complain being in AZ in March for 2 more days, but I hadn't planned on it and had labs to T.A. Tues, Wed, & Thurs. Not to mention the lack of clothes for an extended trip. Greg & Nico came back and picked me up and let me crash for 2 more days at their place. I did get some work done on my thesis, and also found time to work on my tan as well...:)
Greg dropped me off at 6:30am before work for my 9:30 flight. It gave me a chance to read a little and do some people watching. We boarded the plane and as soon as we started to taxi we were told the strut on the plane had broke and we had to deplane. The next 5 hours were spent people watching, reading, eating "breakfast", and wondering if I was going to be bumped again! We finally got out and back to Des Moines around 5:30. Allison was nice enough to come pick me up. When we got back Tim&Nate were all playing with Rohan and Mara was getting a short break. She did an amazing job single parenting for a week, and I can't thank her enough!!!
We had some time to play with Cameron & Rohan together. They were so interested in one another is was hilarious. Cameron is getting SO BIG! Of course Allison made us an awesome meal, and Tim was a constant source of entertainment. We were sad we couldn't stay, but I really wanted to get home and end this fiasco of a trip.
This last week I noticed what everyone else had seen since I left, that Rohan was smiling and giggling a lot more than he had before I left. He has been so funny to watch. He has a great "cheese" face with 2 dimples...so cute!
We also got Mara a new iPod since her old MP3 player was shutting down occasionally and wasn't very reliable. We also got her hooked up with the Nike+ system which tracks your running workouts. Michelle has had it for awhile and has 200+ workouts with over 750 miles logged! We thought it would be cool to keep track of Mara's as well, and you can see her little Nike+ Mini on the left side of our blog. The Nike+ system is a GREAT idea if you want some motivation for working out. You can set goals and they will keep you on track. A great idea for summer!
I hope everyone else is doing well, and hopefully out of the 4" of snow we got and the 8" Eldridge got! Can't wait to move to Phoenix! :)

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