One Year in Phoenix

This week is the official "Celebration of One Year in Phoenix Week." We arrived last September with no clue how many adventures we would go through under the heat of the Phoenix Sun.

Some memories:

We both graduated in August 2007. And then we packed up our meager belongings and left for Ahwatukee, a small suburb of Phoenix.

Mark started working at Ernst and Young a week after we arrived. And every morning before work, and every evening after work, and every Saturday he would sit at his desk and study for the CPA exam (to be a certified public accountant). Even I learned all about GAAP and FASB. All his hard work paid off! He eventually passed all 4 in six months, taking the last test 2 weeks after Nathan was born. Yikes!
We definitely had to adjust to the heat. I remember one night in September when we had just arrived, we were headed out on a date and stopped to get gas. Of course Mark had to turn off the car. And I only lasted about 30 seconds before it got too hot to sit in the car and wait for all that gas to pump. I retreated to the air conditioned convenience store. And it was 7:00 at night- not even mid day. ~ But this is a picture of the beautiful weather in November.

During the first few months, my great Aunt Beth and Uncle Marv were so nice to let us stay in their home. We loved having a nice big house for awhile, and it was so helpful to have time to look for a good apartment. Here we are in November, just moved into our new apartment, and still no kitchen table.

Christmas time! We went to visit the Phoenix temple grounds on a rainy night. It was beautiful! Our special camera technique didn't quite work, but what a handsome guy!!