West Coast bound

*I just want to apologize for stealing Jess's pictures ahead of time. I haven't figured out how to get them from my phone yet.

I know I am super late on posting our last weekend in Arizona, but I finally have time. We drove the long 10 hour drive to Mesa on Thursday, 8/12. It was the most beautiful drive, we thought we had taken a scenic route instead of the normal way to go. Josh was such a great husband and drove the whole way! We drove for five hours without seeing any fast food. It was torture! We finally got food in Fladstaff, AZ. We arrived in Mesa at around 1:30 am Utah time. It was dang hot when we got out of the car at that hour. But I must say, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Josh and I were both expecting not being able to breath...but it wasn't that bad. We were never outside for very long and maybe that's why.

Friday
Our day started early as Josh had to be in Downtown Phoenix for an office visit with PriceWaterhouseCooper (one of the "Big 4" firms). He had to be there at 10:00 am and we got there a half hour early. I let him out and told him I would just drive around and find a mall or some kind of shopping center. Boy was I wrong!!! You'd think being downtown in a big city that there would be something to go walk around. Oh no! I drove around for an hour and fifteen minutes looking and found absolutely nothing. It was fine though. I got to see what Downtown Phoenix was like...business after business, building after building. It was so confusing. I finally picked Josh up and he was able to get some really helpful information about working for the Big 4 firms. A recent BYU alum showed him around, talked to him about salary, the daily routine, and other things that really helped Josh to understand the business. Afterword, we went to visit Adrian, Emily and Morgan Vanzulli. It was so fun to see them and just chit-chat. Pretty sure we were there for two hours. Hope we didn't over-stay our welcome!! We got to see their really nice house and eat yummy pizza. Right after we left, they left for California. We are so glad we caught them in time. On the way back to Mesa, I am pretty sure we went the wrong way. But we finally got back and had a really fun evening. We went out to In-N-Out for dinner with Jess and Trent and then met up with the rest of the Christensen ladies for gelato and walking around a really neat outdoor mall. Then we ended the night back at Jess and Trent's adorable apartment and talked ALL night. Love when all the cousins get together. We talk about EVERYTHING!!!

Saturday
We began by making a trip over to the Mesa temple. We did not do a session, but went in the Visitor's center and walked around the temple grounds. It was gorgeous. And I saw a friend who is serving her mission at the Visitor's center, Sister Sarah Dyer. What a treat that was! We participated in a little presentation of how families can be together forever. I just don't understand how people can learn of that message and deny the Holy Ghost. The feeling I felt was overwhelming and I already know the message. Wow! It was a great experience.
We then went up to Scottsdale, which was a very nice part of Arizona. We went to the Scottsdale mall, which I could have spent a TON of money in. Luckily, I only spent $5 on cute gold rings. We ate lunch in the gigantic food court and enjoyed ourselves just by walking around. When we were done there, we went across the street and got Sprinkles cupcakes! It was Jess and Trent's first time there. Josh and I got the red velvet (of course) and then tried a new flavor, cinnamon sugar. I loved it!
That night, Jess's parents had us over for dinner. It was a great pot roast and great side dishes. AND peach cobbler for dessert! After dinner we went for a walk around the neighborhood, which Josh and I really need to make a habit of. The night ended with more talking and some intense games of Nerts.

We had a lot of fun in Arizona. It has helped us to really see what we want and what we don't want and helped us understand how starting out in the Accounting world just a little bit more.

Our next stop is Orange County. We fly out next Tuesday night and come back Sunday morning. Josh is going to different firms for more office visits. He has one Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I am so excited for him and how he is really being proactive about everything. Jess and Trent are also coming to stay and play with us. Our main priority is babysitting the twins, but we are still going to have lots of fun with them! Can't wait til next week!!!

Amy, sorry it took so long to update my blog ;)