YES WE DID!!

NOT too good to be true!

History was made tonight, but now comes the fun part. Though he is young and has less Washington experience than some, I think he is humble, teachable and intelligent. I think he is thoughtful and deliberate and will support the initiatives that will benefit this country and the world. He IS the change we WILL believe in!

Pray for President-Elect Obama, no matter your political affiliation. He is no longer a Democratic Nominee, he is our country's future leader.

Here's to the next 8 years!

Halloweeny

I went to San Diego for the weekend to hang out with all the Petts for Halloween. I got there too late for trick or treating, but Katya kept her costume on long enough for me to see her. What a cutie!!
I felt rejuvenated after spending some time with Mat and Dave, Marina and Katya. Katya is SO cute and I was glad that she recognized me, even if she does loves Mat more :).

Once again, I was suckered into dressing up! Mat took me out on the town on Halloween and we had a great time with his friends. We were dressed like we were from the 50s (kind of lame, but my idea of a costume is one I can put together from my own closet).


Thanks for the great weekend San Diego Kids!!!

New City, Old Friends

I was excited to find that my move to Phoenix hasn't left me friendless. My first night alone here, I drove around the area to get my bearings, find a grocery store and of course, a Target. As I was driving, I was contemplating my move and what part it might play in my life journey. I got lost in this little neighborhood in Mesa, and as I turned the corner I saw this...

The Mesa Temple. It was a confirmation to me that I am in the right place, and that temple is always a place to go to find companionship and feel of the love God has for me.

My old mission companion, Kim, lives here and we've been able to reconnect and have had a lot of fun. A couple of weeks ago, Kim invited me to attend an event at Macy's with her to see Clinton Kelly, from my favorite show "What Not To Wear". It was fun to see his cuteness in person and get some great style tips. He also had models with great fall fashions (though I'm not sure I'll ever have to wear those warm fashions in this hot hot place.

Kim and I have had a great time catching up and getting to know each other as "civilians".

Another welcome surprise was running into my old short-time roommie from D.C., Sara. I was so glad to see a familiar face as I walked into church! It's always hard to start a new ward, her presence and friendship will make it a much smoother transition.

Yay Friends!

Arrival!

Sorry for the delay, I've been waiting to take some photos of the casa during the daylight so you can get the idea. Some of you have heard the harrowing tale of our arrival here into town.
Annzy was gracious enough to accompany me on my trip south. We had a good drive. Ann read to me for most of the trip from Persuading Annie, which was the BBC book for the month and was an entertaining outloud roadtrip read. I was happy to be driving my new car, since after packing "just the essentials" we were full to the brim with no extra room to speak of. We were quite the site as we pulled up to the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, valeting my life possessions with all the other gambling fools. We ate great food in Vegas and were happy to have a good nights rest. The next morning we took off towards the Hoover Dam, it was cool to drive across the dam, I dont think I've ever done that before. They are building a bridge that goes high above the current road, so it is almost complete, so next time might not be so adventurous. The road from Vegas to Phoenix seemed long, deserted and hilly. I was disappointed to find this true since I had imagined many a road trip to Vegas for weekends, but now the thought of it isn't so enticing. (I promptly bought a ticket to Vegas for Thanksgiving - not going to risk that deserted road!) When we finally arrived in Phoenix, after a stop off for lunch in Flagstaff, we pulled into Mesa with my directions to my new dwelling.
I had explicit directions to my new home, it was the corner of two streets. Enter the back yard, go to the second set of french doors, we will hide a key for you there. I knew my mission, and I chose to accept it. So Ann and I pulled up to the house, jimmied open the back gate and walked into the backyard. By this time it was dark outside, so we crept into the backyard with only my cell phone light to guide us. As we walked in, I noticed there were lights on in the house and Ann said "There are people in the house". My first intinct was that my roommate and her family might be there. I walked up to the window, and a teenage boy was doing dishes at the kitchen sink. I knocked on the window, he looked up smiled, and then went back to washing dishes. UH - Hello! I'm a stranger in your backyard - aren't you a little bit curious what I am doing here??? It was hilarious. His mother finally looked up, and of course, I got the expected reaction - SHOCK! We met at the back door at what point I said "Hi, I'm Amy...." look of non-recongnition "Amy Pett?" still no reaction... "is this the Jackson house" and then finally - "oh, no, you want the house across the street!" WOOPS! Good thing it was only 6:30 and not midnight. I was a bit embarrassed, but Ann was thoroughly amused. We got back in the car, drove into the driveway across the street (on the OTHER corner of the same two streets) and successfully found the key and let ourselves in to my new PAD! Hilarious!! What and entrance, huh? :)

My good friend Amy E. from my last job hooked me up to stay at the home of her aunt and uncle in Mesa. Her aunt and uncle are on a mission in California, but her other aunt, Laura, is staying in their home during the week, running the preschool that is above their garage. Also living there for the first couple weeks I was here was the grandparents of one of the son-in-laws was also staying here. I think Mat said it best when he said "sounds like you are a bunch on squatters". Yep, that pretty much sums it up! All of my "roommates" are very nice people and the house is big enough that everyone can be in their corners and nobody is bothered.


















This is the grrrande entrance into the home and up at the top right corner is my suite:





I have a great set up, bedroom with bathroom, my own thermostat (currently set to 75 degrees), internet, small TV thanks to Aunt Carolee, and my privacy :) I grateful for the place to stay while I wait for my condo to find its new owner. Who knew pimping out your dwelling would be so difficult. Darn Recession! I am feeling a bit more settled in!

A special shoutout to my Annzy! Thanks for making the trip with me and being a constant beacon of strength and nurturing, even when I broke down at the airport! I love you! Thank you!!

conte partiro

So I have arrived in the Valley of the Sun, but before I got there, I had to say goodbye to some good people who I will miss very much. (In order of goodbyes)
A couple of weeks ago I attended my last BBC. This photo was from December, and we've changed a bit since then, but you get the idea. I was sad to say goodbye to these girls. What a surprising eclectic group of smart, opinionated women. Meeting with them was a definite highlight of each month. Don't worry girls, I plan to keep up to date on the books, Ann read me the entire book of Persuading Annie on our trip down, very entertaining!! I bid farewell to my time with the cookies and the yogurt. I can't say I will miss the job too much, but I will miss the people. I had such a blast with this group. I don't know if a group of coworkers will ever compare.The girls, Lori, Kelly, and Ann, gave me a great send off at Chili's on one of my last nights of Utahness.  Lori and Kelly hooked me up with great road trip mixes and momentos to take with me.  LoLo posted the hideous but hilarious photos of our shenanigans. Thanks girls for being my buddies through it all the pass couple of years, your friendships were really a lifeline to my sanity!! I'll miss you all!

And then of course, my family.  I am going to miss them most of all!  I hate that Lucy won't remember all the great bonding time we spent together the first 10 months of her life.  I don't know when Curtis and Noah will notice I'm really really gone. probably when summer rolls around and the "hotel" pool is permanently closed to their use.  I'll miss my Kath, just hanging out with her made for some fun and memorable times.  And I don't know who will take care of me now that the Muel doesn't live down the street.  And most of all, mom and dad.  I LOVED being close to them, I think living away from them in D.C. made me appreciate them even more.  I loved talking to them about real things and not just parent things.  I LOVE YOU BOTH!! (Sorry no photos, I was too emotional too click the pics!) My time in Utah was a very reflective time, and even after being here only a week I can see reasons why I needed to be in Utah. Funny how you can't see the blessings of an experience until after it's over.

So, there, that's the sappiest I think I've ever been here at the fromagerie, but I think it was warranted.

Good bye UTAH! Hello the Crazy AZ!! (more to come about roadtrips and breaking and entering...)

So You Think You Can Dance LIVE!

Last night Mom, Dad, Kath, and I went to see the top 13 So You Think You Can Dance Dancers (it's usually just top 10, but they have alternates and we are so glad local boy Thayne was there!) in Concert at the E Center. It was a fabulous show, equal to last year's performance in San Diego (do I sound like an obsessed fan?).

proof we were at some sort of event... we couldn't seem to get a photo w/ the sign!

All of the performances were fabulous, they did all the favorites from the show. It was fun to have three local kids up on the stage, the crowd went wild for Gev, Chelsea, and Thayne! For me, Gev totally stole the show, I don't know if it was because the crowd loved him so much, but he performed great and was the most entertaining during the introductions. The format of the show is that the dancers will introduce the next number and they have some joke or story the tell about the upcoming number. The jokes were much more funny than last year's attempt.

They did dances from around the world and the "emcees" came out in the traditional dress of whatever country's dance was next. Gev came out every time, and deciding that women got the better costume, he came out in a traditional Russian dress and then announced Twitch and Joshua's Russian Dance in RUSSIAN - I wish, wish, wish, I would have recorded it for my Russian friends, but totally missed it. But it was awesome! Below is a picture of his next costume - introducing the Viennese Waltz...

It was all together an awesome show and I screamed like a teenage girl through the entire thing (I screamed extra loud for you, Marina!) Here is a clip from the finale number, which was the same as last years! They all looked so cute!