Mesa, What a Place-uh!

Our drive to Mesa was a decent one. We hit a severe sand storm between Kanab and Flagstaff during MY turn to drive. There were strips of road where I would clinch my fists because we couldn't see a thing and our car was swerving from the strong wind gusts. We had a fun time, regardless, and Grace enjoyed the ride too. Mom, Emily, and the boys had two rooms all set up for us when we arrived, and for that we are so grateful. The plan for now is to live with them until August when Neil's parents and Sam and Spence leave for the Carribbean. Emily will be staying with us. Their assignment is for six years, but we aren't sure if we will stay in their home for that whole time or not.

So far we have really enjoyed our time in Mesa. We got to attend a couple of Sam's last volleyball games, and we went to the Sam and Matt's Westwood High School Choir concert, and Spencer's Carson Jr. High School Choir concert. Gracie and I have been getting in the habit of taking walks and runs every morning before it gets too hot. I don't think Grace enjoys them as much as I do, because she is always sleeping by the time we get home. For Mother's day, Mom, Emily and I went shopping on Saturday. I came home and Neil and Grace were playing in my Mother's Day gift. Neil is always thinking of gifts that will help me the most, so he got me a baby pool--for Grace. It will come in handy for the coming summer months. The temperature has been in the 100's for the last two weeks! Neil was also trying to help me free up my hands a little when he bought me a baby bouncer for our anniversary the week before. Grace has so much fun in it that I don't feel bad neglegting her for a while while I make dinner, clean, read, etc. As for Neil....he is working like a horse every day. I am so grateful for his work ethic and discipline as I watch him. He works mostly from home in Dad's office since he is away in SLC most of the time until July. It is nice having Neil at home, however, it takes a lot of self motivation to stay on task. We have worked out some rules that help. If I want to talk to him, I call him first or knock on the door to make sure he isn't in the middle of something. I try to think through the importance of what I really need to talk to him about. If it isn't that big of a deal, I just "wait until he gets home." On most days, Neil starts working at 7 AM and finishes around 5 PM with just a 15-30 minute lunch break. Even though he's working hard, he still finds plenty of time to play with me and Grace.