The mess

As I mentioned we haven't put up any of our decorations so the dinning room table has turned into a storage area.



We had to empty all of our food out of the pantry to paint.
Byron has also been busy putting up shower doors.


And this is just a picture of our cute little puppies. The easter bunny sent them some flavored bones and they didn't sleep at all the night they got them. They must have been the best bones ever! Thanks easter bunny.

They have been doing good with the move and they really like the new much larger back yard with grass. They seem to like Tucson just fine. Byron and I are enjoying Tucson too. It is so pretty here. I cannot believe how green it is and the mountains are beautiful. We really lucked out and got great neighbors, yes we already know our neighbors and hang out with them on the weekends. In Vegas we lived in the same house for three years and I didn't even know my neighbors names. We are planning a camping trip next weekend and are so excited. We never got out camping in Vegas because you had to drive so far to get to anyplace you would want to camp. Hopefully I remember our camera so I can blog about it.

Oh and everyone is invited to come visit. The sooner the better because we are in need of some good painters :)

Painting

Here are some during construction pictures of the kitchen. Its finally starting to come together. Now we just need to get to the rest of the house.











Poor Byron is glad when Mondays come so he can go to work and rest. He has been a busy little bee, but he does good work. He is so handy to have around.

Making progress on our house

We have been living in a state of unpacking since we arrived. We cannot hang any of our decorations up because we need to paint. We cannot paint until we get all of the trim done. And so on and so on. We are so ready to be done with living in the mess of remodeling.

I have of course been doing my very best to keep Byron busy with as many "honey-dos" as possible. We started with the kitchen and it has been a big project. However, we have made some progress. The counter tops will be installed next weekend and then we should be done with that room.

Here are some pictures.

This picture serves two purposes. First look at the cute Easter decoration my Mom made for me and second you can see the bar that we decided to tear out. It was kind of silly and too high.


This is what our entry currently looks like. This is the next area we are going to tackle.

Before pictures





I will post some during pictures soon.

We made it...

We have finally made it to Tucson! Between both of us starting new jobs and the new house, we have stayed very busy. Most of our stuff is finally unpacked but we have yet to hang up our decorations. We are hoping to get paint up soon.

Our weeds are almost under control. We sprayed them with roundup hoping they would die. Apparently roundup doesn't kill weeds that are bigger than your bushes. It has taken three weeks to pull them all.

We don't have a pool, but our sprinkler system valve was stuck open for almost an entire day. When we got home the backyard looked like a pool. Unfortunately it washed away all the weed killer we had sprayed. I am sure we will have an outrageous water bill for this month.

Our new appliances should be here next week! I have been keeping Byron busy with a never ending to-do list. Luckily for me he is so handy. He is installing the shower door right now as I type away. I have been taking pictures and promise I will post them soon. We just need a few more days in the weekend.

Vegas Flashbacks

Byron's Dad, Gary, was able to come out to visit last year. We were so excited since he wasn't able to come out for our wedding and we hadn't seen him in a long time. While he was here we went to the Grand Canyon. Surprisingly it is only a couple hour drive from Vegas and yet this is the only time we made it. The rim that is closest to Vegas is on an Indian Reservation. When you see the Grand Canyon in pictures you always think wow that is pretty, but trust me pictures don't do it justice. And they don't have any fences up along the edges, you could walk straight off into the Canyon if you wanted. The entire time we were there I think all of us were a little weak in the knees.

Me and Gary posing at one of the lookout points...


Gary patiently waiting for the bus...

Byron and Gary so close to the edge it is making my heart race even now!

This is the new platform they built. It is glass bottom so you look straight down at the Canyon. We all decided it was too much money (yeah right, we were chicken!)

You have to go to believe how amazing it is...

Byron and I trying to smile even though we were afraid we would step too far back and fall in...

Byron and Gary...

Out for dinner...

We went down to the Strip one night and of course we had to watch all four of the Belagio fountain shows. If you get me down in that mess of downtown you have to take me to the fountains.


Me and Byron at dinner. We had a free meal on Martin Harris. It was delicious. I didn't even make the boys eat Sushi, although I love it!
We went to a baseball game. Clearly Gary was more into the game than me. I had my Miller Lime so I was happy.

I was stuck at work one day, but Byron and Gary went to see Hoover Damn. It is worth seeing too.
You can see the new bridge they are building in the background. Soon you won't even drive over the damn to get into Vegas.

We went out to the base that Byron currently works at. This is the Predator (an unmanned aircraft). It is crazy to think such a small plane plays such a big part in the war on terror. It runs off a snowmobile engine.


We had so much fun while Gary was here and cannot wait for Gary and Dana to come visit us in Arizona. I am sure we can find something to do there. After all the beautiful beaches of Mexico are only four hours away!

We also have to give a shot out to Gary for making the Honor's list for the Fall 2008 semester at DACC. We are so proud of you! Keep up the good work!

Vegas Flashbacks

Going to the Vegas Races has been a long standing tradition. This will be the first year since 2004 that Byron hasn't been at the track. We are actually moving the weekend of the Vegas Race. Hopefully we will make it to the Phoenix race at least a few times. We were spoiled in Vegas though because we got so many free tickets between the Air Force and Boyd Gaming. It is going to suck to have to pay for tickets again.

Well here is a look through the years...

2004. This was before everyone had a digital camera. Not too much to show.




2005. Notice how nice and warm the weather was this year.Our friend Saun.
Clearly Byron had so much to drink he needed help...






2006. Now notice how freaking cold it was this year! It is almost the same time every year, but Vegas weather can be crazy sometimes.

The one and only MARK MARTIN. Aren't we all so excited he is racing full time again this year. The only down side is that Jimmie Johnson is now his teammate. I am sure you all know how happy that makes Byron.
BRR cold. Saun came down to enjoy the race with us again.
The Mark Martin ride

I look like such a hard core fan! That is what happens when you marry a Midwest boy.




2007. We didn't get as many pictures this year. The weather wasn't too bad though. We got to enjoy the suites this year and we got pit passes. It was the first year the Neon Garage was open. Boyd Gaming hooked us up.

Pit road...
Neon Garage...

Boyd Gaming owns Sam's Town, who sponsors the Saturday race. They also do a children's charity auction. While I was helping out that night I just happened to meet Carl Edward and yes this one is real!

2008. We must have forgotten our camera this year. I cannot find any pictures of us at the race. My cousin Jess and her boyfriend Glenn came down. They got tickets to a suite through their work, and they had way too much fun! Too bad we don't have pictures to prove it (but lucky for you Jess).

It was great to be so close to the races and work for companies that had great perks to get us in. We will definitely be sad to leave that behind, but there is so many tracks to visit and such little time. As soon as I win the lottery, you better believe that I will take Byron to Daytona.

University of Arizona

Yippee! I got the job. I start on March 2 as their newest (and I am sure very best) Management Analyst. Watch out Tucson, here we come. And I can even get a discount on tuition, maybe I can make time for my Doctorate degree.

February 27 is officially our last day in Las Vegas. Thank god we will have movers to pack all of our crap and move it. We will miss our house in LV, but we are excited to start fixing up our new house.