My First Ever Blog

Ready or not, here we come -- to the blogging world. I have always loved the concept of these things, but until now I haven't taken the time to see what it's all about. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure how this is going to work out seeing as it took me almost 3 weeks to make a layout for my blog and then another week after that to actually publish something. Myspace just seems so much simpler than this, but I'm willing to give it a whirl.

Dave and I are living in Arizona still. It'll be 5 years in September. We live in Central Phoenix, or what my friends lovingly refer to as "the ghetto". We've got crack-dealers living next door to us and we produce "serial" killers like no other place on earth, but we love downtown anyway. It's fun to be just a couple minutes from all the action of pro sports and art museums. I wish we could afford to live in a bigger place, but at least we've got each other, right?

Dave just completed his NEPA Master's Certificate program at Duke and is in his final year of his Master's Degree in Historic Preservation through University of Leicester in the UK. We are hoping that these two degrees will make him more marketable and give us that chance at buying a house we so desire. We have no idea where we'll end up, although we'd like to get back to family in Idaho. Only time will tell.

Phoenix is turning 3 in July and Grace just surpassed 3 months. They look just like their daddy and I'm not bitter at all (maybe just a little bit). Phoenix is a spitfire, but only when she feels comfortable in her surroundings. Otherwise, she will remain still and quiet, studying her environment and sticking close to what or who she is comfortable with. Lately I have noticed that as much as she looks like her daddy, she sounds just like me! She picks up on my influction and uses my same vocabulary. She is sassy as hell! I hear her say things like, "let's put it right here so it's nice and safe, OK?" (it's always OK???) or "put your seatbelt on, mommy! Don't wanna call the cops on you!" (thank you for that one Grandpa Ruchti). She says "that's so cool" and "oh, awesome" and "nice" or "sweet" and my new favorite "no worries"! It's so funny!

Gracie is still just starting to show her personality. So far I've notice she is a sensitive little soul, even more than her big sister. She jumps at loud sounds and cries if you pick her up even the slightest bit too abrasive. But, she LOVES to smile. As long as she is aware that you are near her and giving you her undivided attention then she is perfectly content and sociable. The moment she feels like you've turned your interest away, she sticks out the bottom lip and the waterworks begin! I kid around at times and refer to her as high maintenance, but that is probably a bit of an exaggeration. As long as I don't get lazy and am sure to give her the one-on-one time she craves, then she gets drunk from her happiness and falls fast asleep for a couple of hours, giving me what I crave so much lately -- a break!