Happy Birthday to my favorite brother-in-law, John, Yesterday!!! I remembered it yesterday and I kept thinking I would get a chance to mention it on here last night, but unfortuanetly the chance never came. Sorry, John! I hope you had a great day... studying for finals... oh well, anyway... maybe we'll all do something fun to celebrate when you come back to Lima. =)

I arrived in Ohio at 6:20 pm on November 30th. I am happy to be home and very glad that all of my luggage made the trip, too. We had sort of a rough start of our trip because when we arrived at the Phoenix airport we were informed that we were only allowed to have 2 checked bags each, and I had 3. Every flight I have ever taken I have been allowed 3 checked bags, and I thought that I had flown Northwest before with 3, but apparently I haven't flown with them before. They were going to charge me 80 bucks for my extra bag, so I repacked at the airport and shoved the smallest suitcase into one of the bigger ones and stuffed it as full as I could get it, then had to stuff the remainder of my belongings into mine and Becca's carry on bags. (Some of her stuff was in my carry on bag to start out with... ) Anyhow, we all made it safe and sound and with all of our stuff in tow, so that's good.

Friday, Becca, Brandon, and I went to see Jess at the school where she teaches. We got to see Janessa and Faith, too. The two little girls then went home with Becca and baby Brandon to spen the afternoon before Becca headed up to Canada to spend some time with her family. She will be up there for three weeks.

I stayed at the school for a couple hours with Jess, helping her out with an art project for the kids. It was really alot of fun, and some of those kids are nuts!! She has to be insane for being a teacher!! Talk about wearing someone out!!! =)

Becca and Brandon made it safely to her parents despite some rather inclimate weather in Toronto. So far everything is going swell.

Mom's store is even more impressive in real life than it is on this blog, so it's really, really awesome!! I am very excited about it. I know that it is causing her alot of stress and no doubt quite a few headaches, but I seriously think that it is all going to be worth it in the end. =)

I will probably not be writing much while I am here in Lima, (busy... busy... busy...) but I will catch everyone up when I return to the land where things are dull. =)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!!

I hope everyone has a fabulous day and doesn't eat too much!!!! Don't make yourselves sick, remember, leftovers are almost as delicious as the actual meal!!

Love ya all!!!

Well, Thanksgiving is almost upon us. As this special holiday approaches, I am reminded of Thanksgivings past. This year will be vastly different for me than all the previous years, because I won’t be celebrating with my entire immediate and extended family.

This year I will be celebrating in Phoenix with Danny, Joanna, Josh, Becca, Zion, and all the kids. While I am looking forward to see how Zion’s family does Thanksgiving, I know that I will miss all my previous Thanksgiving traditions as well. I’ll miss uncle Vic’s prayer, Uncle Jim’s James Bond marathon, Melinda whipping us all in Dominoes, Aunt Deb’s noodles and Aunt Barb’s rolls…

Becca and I are attempting the noodles and rolls to try to recreate my aunt’s recipes… I’m not entirely sure how successful they will be, but they do look pretty good. My aunts have a little more experience than we do…

I’ll let you all know how this years goes, I just hope they have enough butter in the house for me….

Happy Birthday, Zion!!! I love you and I hope you have a great day!!! =)

Gone but not forgotten.

Delbert_Barnhart_1932-2006

Hey, Israel, is your rubic's-cube doing relatives name Tyson?

Last night (Wednesday) Zion and I went to a UofA basketball exhibition game with Josh and Becca. The Wildcats played a team called Victoria (Vikes) From British Columbia. The Wildcats crushed them, 111-55 or something like that. It was actually pretty boring for the most part because the UofA team was pretty much double the other teams score the entire time. Toward the end was fun because we went down to a section of really nice seats there were vacated (because of the blowout, no doubt) and sat right behind the team for the last 10 minutes or so. Zion and Josh seemed to think it was just the most awesome thing because we kept being on the big screen above the court and Josh even called a buddy on his cell phone and the guy kept seeing us on TV, too. =) All in all, it was an okay time. Go cats!! (Now, am I talking about the wild, or the bear? You figure it out!) =)

Sorry I haven't posted for a while; my internet has been acting kind of hokey. Here is what I have been up to lately.


On Friday evening, we were invited over to Brother Mark and Sister Tina Steinke's house for dinner. (They attend our new church.) Brother Mark Strohkorb(the pastor) and his wife Jenna were also in attendance. Sister Tina made a delicious dinner with grilled pork chops, yummy twice baked potatoes and some other savory sides, all without using butter, eggs or milk so that Brandon could have some of everything!! She was so sweet to have planned ahead like that!! After dinner, we all fellowshipped around the table for a while getting to know each other, before finally heading home. It was really a lot of fun!


The following day, we went to Elijah's football game. It was his team, the Wildcats, playoff game. While Elijah and his teammates did an awesome job playing, unfortunately, the other team came out with the victory to go onto the finals.

After the game, the 6 Ramirez and 3 Holsapples(that makes 9, Jariah... ((Inside joke) haha) present went out to eat at Applebees.


Sunday after church we went out to eat with another couple that we just met that also go to our new church. Herb and Anna... I can't remember there last name. They seem like a really nice couple and they crack me up. (1. He is a complete Jonathan Jenkins double and 2. They ride a motorcycle to church!!! LoL)

They actually own a little townhouse not very far from where we currently live, but far enough that it doesn't feel scary, and we might rent it when we get back from Ohio. =)

Rudy Giuliani just called. He wanted to tell us to vote for Jon Kyle in the upcoming election. Of course, it was just a recording, but still, we feel pretty special considering that the President has also called us. He called and left a message a couple days ago... We still have it on our machine and I will try to have the guys put it on here so everyone can have the pleasure of hearing it. =) Unfortunately, I answered the phone when Mr. Giuliani called, so there is no message for that one. =(

Today was Becca and my second outing… and power outage. We woke up to no power this morning. There was power when the guys left for work, but when us girls got up a couple hours later, nothing, nada, zilch!

Becca got dressed and went outside to check the breaker box. They were all flipped to the ‘on’ side. She used her cell phone to call Jariah and see if he had any ideas. He just told her to turn them all off and then back on. It was a miracle and came back on… for a few minutes, then shut back off again. I don’t understand it, because we didn’t plug anything new in, but, I guess that’s what you get with wiring like there is on this fine, fine home.

Becca went back out and tried again, nothing. She called Jariah back, and he told her to check some weird plug thing in our hallway. We changed all 4 of those plugs, and then Becca headed back outside to try the breaker again. Nothing. So she called Jariah yet again and he just said he would come home and check it out. Becca and I headed out to get Brandon something to eat because he was starving and not very accepting about the fact that we couldn’t make him anything.

When we came back, Jariah had already figured it out and got the power back on for us. There is actually a whole other power box up above the one Becca kept messing with that controls everything else. We were just going to come back in and stay at home, however, there was a vagabond/gangster looking guy standing across the street watching the whole proceeding, so we jumped back in the car and took off the same time as Jariah.

We went to Olive Garden for salad, breadsticks and of course some Bellini Iced Tea!!! Then we headed back to our house because Brandon was ready for a nap. When we got back to where the house is, there was a group of about 6 shady looking characters hanging out right in front of our fence, so we decided to drive around the block, and wait them out. When we came back by about 10 minutes later, there was no one around, so we got the gate unlocked and got into the house safe and sound. No other incidents to report at this time. I’ll keep you posted. =)

On Friday, Becca and I had our first girls only (plus Brandon) outing since Jess and Ness were here months ago!!! We had to go to the bank, and then we went to the mall for a while before heading off to Wal-mart to get some much needed items. The day started out with Jariah not being able to find his keys, which meant that the guys had to drive Zion’s black car (with its expired Ohio plates…) so I would have my car. Jariah looked everywhere for his keys before he and Zion absolutely HAD to leave for work, then Becca looked for about 2 more hours before giving up and we were ready to go.

Just before Becca and I headed out the door, I double checked my purse to make sure I had put my credit card back, (it was out the night before to purchase airplane tickets…) and what did I see? JARIAH’s KEYS were in MY purse!!! Weird, right? I thought so, too, and said to Becca…. “Hey, here are Jariah’s keys right here in my purse, I wonder how they…” and mid-sentence, I saw that Brandon was trying to shove a Veggie-Tales video into my purse…!!!! Mystery solved!!!!!!!!

Okay, so we walk outside (which is always a bit nerve-racking…) Becca with both sets of keys so she can get the stroller from her car and put it in mine, and me with Brandon, the diaper bag and my purse, and Becca opens her trunk, grabs the stroller, hands me her keys and uses my keys to open my trunk, drops the stroller AND my keys into the trunk of my car, and shuts it up!! ACK!!! Okay, so now we figure that we are probably gonna just have to take her car and not have a stroller, but luck is on my side and Zion had left the driver side door unlocked, so we just had to remove the car seat from the back, and Becca had to crawl though into the trunk with a flashlight and grab the keys.

Meanwhile, since it took both of us to get the car seat undone, (it’s the newer one that we keep in my car, and we haven’t ever moved it since Jariah installed it, so it took us a couple tries…) Brandon was sitting in the dirt (affectionately known as our ‘yard’) playing with some plastic cookie container that must have fallen out of the trashcan when the guys took it outside the gate. We picked him up, dusted him off and hopped in the car and were off!!.... to open the gate….!!! We finally got on our way, and once we were away, everything was smooth sailing!! We got everything done that we needed to do and we even had some fun!!!

All in all, we did a snap-dog-job!!! (That’s my new expression...)

ZION AND JARIAH GOT THEIR TICKETS!!!!!!!!! They get to come to Ohio for Christmas, too!!! (Zion is beyond thrilled...) We're SO excited!!!!!! It's gonna be GREAT!!!!!!!! I Can't wait!!!!!! I think I should go pack now...... hehe, just kidding....... or am I?!!

YIPPIE- KY- YI- YEAY, and quadruple w00t!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, the 14th, we all went up Mt. Lemon and spent the day hiking and enjoying the views. It was actually kind of cold, we needed jackets or sweatshirts, but I was the only one who had thought ahead and brought one. I kept trying to use it to cover Brandon with, but he wanted nothing to do with it!! (Too girlie, I guess...)

Anyway, we had fun and here are some pictures...

Some pictures of the display cases and other stuff that is going into the new Love and Learn store at Levis Commons in Toledo, Ohio. It looks to me like the finished product will be amazing, and this store will do awesome!! I can hardly wait to see it all in person!!!

Today after church we went to Reid Park for a picnic lunch and when we got there we decided to go ahead and go to the zoo, too. Becca and I were a bit hesitant because our first experience there was, shall we say, gross. This time, however, it was much less smelly, and not so kill-me-now hot, so that was good. Brandon loved seeing all the animals!! He actually knew what most of them were and can say many of them, too!! (Holsapple kids are cool, too!!)

I can hardly believe it, but Zion and I have been married for 6 years today!!! And we haven't killed each other yet!! It has gone by so fast!!! Happy Anniversary, Zion!! I love you!!!

And Happy Birthday to Ember!!!

It only took us one try to get this song just right for you, are we a talented quartet or what?! Hope you have a great day, mom, we love you. =)

PUSH PLAY, THEN READ!!!!

I'm GOING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!! Woot!!!!!!!! WooHoo, Yayay, and hip-hip hurray!!!!!!!! Becca and I both have our tickets to go to Ohio for 5 weeks surrounding Christmas (of course Becca will be in Canada with her family for 3 of those weeks, but I get to go to Ohio for 5 whole weeks!!!) Double w00t!!!!!!!! I will be helping my mom in her new store and most likely helping out in the old store and just hangin' out with my whole family! I'm so excited!!! Zion and Jariah will be coming the Friday before Christmas and staying until Tuesday after Christmas, (hopefully) we don't havtheirer tickets bought yet, but we are going to try to get them soon!!!

Well, I have now ‘lived’ in Arizona for about 6 months, and I really don’t know how much longer I can stand it. I long for our old trailer (which I have a sneaking suspicion we could buy back without too much hassle) with its nice carpet, 2 full bathrooms, convenient closeness to everything and the beautiful trees and grass in the yard. We even had flowers that I planted and maintained myself. My mums are no doubt in full bloom right now and looking absolutely gorgeous!!

I miss my job and my old friends from the Holiday Inn and all my friends from church and of course my family! I miss being able to wear something other than flip-flops and t-shirts. (I can wear other things here, too, if I don’t mind feeling faint from the heat)

Right now in Ohio it is my absolute favorite season, all the leaves are starting to change to the oranges, reds, and yellows they always become before falling off the trees, the corn is all a wonderful golden color for a few weeks before the farmers harvest it, and the air is crisp and cool, just right to get you into that holiday spirit! It’s the perfect time of year to have a hayride, or go to the property for a bonfire, complete with my cute, clunky, brown leather shoes, a comfy sweater and s’mores!! It’s also the perfect time to be drinking hot apple cider, making caramel apples, (and eating them) going to a football game with friends and having a tailgating party before the football game using all our beautiful Longaberger baskets for transport. (with people who actually know what a Longaberger Basket is…)

I miss being only 4 minutes away from everything! (Here it takes 4 minutes just to get the gate unlocked, pull the car out and lock up again.) I miss having a house that has enough insulation that when a neighbor has annoying music playing, at least you can’t hear the words. I really miss breathing. I used to be able to breath, for years I have taken it for granted that I could breathe, but since moving, it is always a challenge just to get a decent breath. (must be the dirt) Also, I miss having a smooth complexion; I have been so broke out since moving that I look like I have had a severe case of the chicken pox for the past 5+ months, and excuse me, but, been there done that!!

McDonalds in Arizona doesn’t even have hot chocolate, so that should give you an idea of how lame this entire state really is. Plus, if you think about it, their big claim to fame is a giant hole in the ground, which I now believe after living here for some time was most likely someone detonating a bomb in order to destroy this entire mistake of a state, but they didn’t calculate the size of the bomb correctly and The Grand Canyon is what they ended up with. The genius behind it was probably killed in the explosion and that’s why he never came back to finish the job. Poor guy.

So basically, I still really want to go back ‘home’, as do Jariah and Becca; but of course, none of us can do that unless the guys get completely awesome jobs in Ohio, in the computer related field. (And before Zion would think of moving back, it would have to be like a dream job of a lifetime where he could play video games for $100 an hour or something equally impossible to find like that.)

Now, how ‘bout them apples?!

Ok, I have nothing new to report, so here's some jokes about two of my favorite Bro- In- Laws!!!


You Know You Need A New Lawyer When...

* When the prosecutors see who your lawyer is, they high-five each other.

* During your initial consultation he tries to sell you Amway.

* He tells you that his last good case was a "Budweiser."

* He picks the jury by playing "duck-duck-goose."

* During the trial you catch him playing his Gameboy.

* He asks a hostile witness to "pull my finger."

* Every couple of minutes he yells, "I call Jack Daniels to the stand!" and proceeds to drink a shot.

* He frequently gives juror No. 4 the finger.

* He places a large "No Refunds" sign on the defense table.


Lawyer Jokes

What do lawyers use for birth control?
Their personalities.
___________________________

What is the difference between a tick and a lawyer?
A tick falls off of you when you die.
___________________________

What do you have when 100 lawyers are buried up to their neck in
sand?
Not enough sand.
___________________________

What's the difference between a dead dog in the road and a dead
lawyer
in the road?
There are skid marks in front of the dog.
___________________________

What is black and brown and looks good on a lawyer?
A Doberman.
___________________________

Why are lawyers like nuclear weapons?
If one side has one, the other side has to get one. Once launched,
they cannot be recalled. When they land, they screw up everything
forever.
___________________________

Did you hear that the Post Office just recalled their latest stamps?
They had pictures of lawyers on them ... and people couldn't figure
out which side to spit on.
___________________________

Lawyer's creed: A man is innocent until proven broke.
___________________________

What's the difference between a female lawyer and a pit bull?
Lipstick.

Oh, and here's a little brain teaser for you.

Is it legal for a man in California to marry his widow's sister? Why or why not?

I taught Brandon a new word a little while ago and now that he's really good at it, I'm putting it on my blog. He had the hickups when we were trying to get him to say it on the microphone. Can you figure out what he said??!



Also, a few minutes ago while I was trying to get Brandon to let me put his pants back on (Jariah had just changed his diaper) he wasn't going for it at all, (he's his daddy's son...) he said the funniest thing. I said, "Come on... Nanny is dressed, Mommy is dressed, and Daddy and Uncle Zion are dressed, why don't we get you dressed, too?" He said, "No!", (his favorite word lately...) so Zion offered to take his clothes off to be like Brandon and Brandon said, "Whoa!!"......."GROSS!!" It was hillarious!!!!

Okay, this is a little late, but since we're on the birthday train, happy belated birthday to BekahY on the 20th!!!

(sorry I forgot to mention it before, but you did help break my nose that time... ) =)

Happy Birthday Aunt Barb!!!!
Thanks for the card, Sorry I didn't send you one, but... I am my mother's daughter. =)

It's my birthday... yeah, it's my birthday!! w00t...w00t!!!!!


(or something like that.)

Zion took me to get some Creative Memories stuff on Saturday, so I have been working on my albums since then. I am actually redoing my entire wedding album because I have never been very happy with the way it turned out, so I ripped it all apart and started completely from scratch. It's a pretty big job, but I think it is going to be totally worth it!!

Since I am scrapbooking again, it makes me think about a lot of other old memories that we might not have 'snap-snap' pictures of, so I am taking a little walk down memory lane. (Normally this sort of stuff is reserved for campfire conversation or Christmas eve, or even a journal, but I don't write in a journal, I missed the recent campfire, and I'm not entirely sure where we'll be for Christmas eve.) If you'd like to join me on my little walk, read on!


Remember when Dad fell in that huge mud puddle on our church camping trip to Brown County? (He was walking me back to his and Mom's tent from the one that about 5 of us little girls were staying in. We had gotten scared because we had played a prank on Justin and Jariah by putting hotdogs around the truck that they were sleeping in and when we heard animal noises later that night, we thought for sure that some horrible wild animals were attacking my brothers!!!)

I remember when Dad fell down (again!) getting out of his truck while coming to rescue Mom and I after we got the van stuck in the ditch just after a snow storm. I won't mention why I was the one who had to go into the stranger's house to call for help, while Mom sat comfortably in the van, but she didn't want to hippety-hop to go use the phone... you're welcome mom!! (Evil laugh)

I remember Justin jumping into the lake to rescue me from 'drowning' when it was my turn to go tubing behind a PONTOON boat!! (Probably not the smartest thing we ever did, but it was kinda fun!) John was driving and went faster in the pontoon than I wanted him to and the tube started to go under water because of the current. (I never forget, John!) Jariah jumped in, too, but Justin had superman like reflexes and was there in a flash!!

I remember how Jess ALWAYS found a mud puddle to accidentally step in on the first day of every vacation we took there for a while. (She probably would have found one in Arizona, too!)

I remember when Jariah got burned so badly in that fire. And of course, who can forget how Justin swallowed a nail!!

I also remember Justin getting Rocky Mountain spotted fever, no doubt from spending all the time down by the creek building his mansion of a tree house. (I'm not kidding, the thing had 3 stories!!)

And then there was that fire in the trailer while Mom was at work and Jess was doing the laundry. She and Justin had it put out BEFORE the fire department even arrived and although they didn't even let me near the trailer while there was any fire or even smoke, the ambulance people just had to check me out in case I was too stupid to know that I had been burned. (I had marker on my hands and they were really closely examining that like it was some terrible burn and I remember thinking, you guys are idiots, if this was a burn, I would be bawling my eyes out, I was like six or seven years old, believe me, if I was hurt, you would have known about it BEFORE you even pulled in!!!) I am still curious about how fast Mr. Steaman and Mom both drove to get there after calling 911 for us... the trip from mom's work USUALLY took 15 minutes, but Mr. Steamen got there about the same time the fire trucks did, and mom was only about 20 seconds behind!!!!

I also remember falling into the swimming pool that was frozen over. (man, talk about your cold water!!)

Oh yeah, I also remember something concerning BekaY and my own dear sweet sister, Jess. You guys remember, right? How you BROKE my NOSE right after my EYE SURGERY?!!!! And then you ate my milk duds!! Or did you eat my milk duds, then break my nose? It's not like I'm holding a grudge or anything.... but I want more milk duds!!! Moral of that is, don't play 'popcorn' on the trampoline!!!!

I almost forgot one of my favorites, remember when Zion had his car taken into the shop only to discover that it was out of gas?!

Well, that's all for now, we'll walk again later...

It's a Christmas Miracle!!!!!!

(Well, I guess not cause it's not Christmas and no one named Timmy can suddenly walk, but it's very exciting just the same!!!)







Wait for it, wait for it....




We can wash our hands and brush our teeth in the BATHROOM SINK!!! We don't have to use the tub, and we don't have to use the kitchen sink! No way, cause we have a bathroom sink that WORKS, baby!!!!! I'm living the good life now!!!! w00t!!!!!!!

(Some of you know that we bought a new bathroom sink when we purchased everything else to remodel the hovel, but we had some technical difficulties meshing the old and new plumbing together. Well, the guys finally had enough cash to go get the right part and the know how on what part they actually needed at the same time, so we now have a working sink!! It's a beautiful thing, really.)

Today my room smells like it does outside in Ohio after it rains and the worms come up out of the ground.
That's all.

I haven't written much lately because not much has changed. (I have now seen cockroaches number four and five... but, I don't want to keep reporting on that because it's so disgusting. Although I gotta say, number five was the absolute worst because Zion and Jariah were at work so it was up to me to kill it. I chased it around for a few minutes trying to muster the courage to actually step on the nasty mammoth thing before remembering we had an ant and roach spray. I got the can and sprayed him really good before he fell off the wall down behind our couch. I must have killed him, but we weren't entirely sure, so we stayed in our office chairs in the middle of the room with our feet off the ground and eyes wide open the rest of the day!! I would like to add that until Saturday, (after that incident) Becca and I didn't know if they were poisonous or not.) I also have continued to do laundry a few times a week, but that gets boring to talk about after the first time... soooo...

Oh yeah, here's something fun... On Saturday we went to Sierra Vista(where we learned that the cockroaches aren't poisonous) to watch the UofA game with Sam and Christina! Only, (thank goodness) Christina apparently likes watching football about as much as Becca and I do, so we didn't have stay there for the game, us girls went for a drive around town instead and then we stopped at the mall.

Sierra Vista is very pretty, it's a lot cooler then Tucson or Phoenix and they've had a lot of rain so everything is nice and green. They even have trees!! It's a nice little town. I think it's even smaller than Lima, they just got their first mall and they don't even have a Super Wal-mart yet!!!

On Sunday we headed back up to Phoenix for church. After service we went to a Mexican restaurant, the best one, in my opinion, that we've been to since moving. (Besides Taco Bell, of course!!) We then went over to Danny and Joanna's with Lily and the boys to wait until it was time for second service. (They take second services off during the summer and start them back up in September, so this was the first time we've been to a second service since moving here.) Second service started at five and Bro. Ron preached, then we had communion and foot washing. (Not trying to be sacrilegious or anything, but I think for the foot washing water they stuck a huge block of ice in the basin earlier in the day and then just let it thaw out before we went and washed each others feet. That was some of the coldest water I have ever had on me. (It was all I could do to keep from bursting out with the Holsapple family favorite, "Cold Water" by Heepie Bapple!! Thankfully, I refrained...) Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep from laughing as my feet turned a weird shade of fuchsia!! I kept my head down with my hands over my face as I tried to get a grip, hoping that everyone would assume that I was crying instead of cracking up!! It was definitely a low point in my life...And my poor feet were seriously beet red for a full 10 minutes!!) After foot washing we went back in and ended up singing for two more hours. It was awesome, but made for a very late night for those of us who had a two hour drive back home after church. We didn't get back home till after mid-night.

Today, Becca and I did a 20 minute workout video! It was funny! It's her video, and I have never done it before, so I kept almost falling down with the wierd moves we had to do! I miss Julie's excercise classes alot!!! I could actually do that workout without looking like a complete moron! I'm really hoping that she makes a video like she said she might!!!

Happy Labor Day!!! (For those of you who actually care about Labor Day.)

Today, Jariah, Becca, Brandon, Zion and I went to a rodeo in Sonoita, about 40 miles south of Tucson. We found out about it online and thought it sounded like fun, so we went. About 20 minutes after we got there, it started pouring down rain. But I got to dress up like a cowgirl, (including a hat and boots) which really makes it all worthwhile!!!

We then went to Pinnacle Peak for our free meal!! It was delicious and we had a good waiter this time!! The show was cancelled (obviously) because of the rain, but that was okay since Brandon is terrified of it, anyway!! (It was so windy when we first got to the 'trail dust town', that my hat actually blew right off my head, and part way down the little road just prior to the picture of Becca and I holding onto our hats. (I have to explain all of this so that Jess knows that my belt didn't look that funky all day!! I had just chased my hat down the street and was still a little askew when Zion said, "Smile!") All in all, it was a great day!!

Oh, yeah, and here is a little something special for all the goats out there (and Becca) on this fine Labor Day...

Wonderful News!! The ZVX's were granted a 5 year restraining order against the monster!!! We were afraid it would only be good for Ms. ZVX, but it includes the girls, too!! Praise the Lord!!

I'm bored now...

Republicans Rule!!!

Maybe now we'll have some fun!

Well, I just saw my 3rd cockroach and I gotta tell ya, the 3rd time is not a charm! YUCK! I feel like those poor Indians living on the reservation that Dana used to tell me about at Mr. Appliance. (Man, I can't believe it... I actually miss that job!....) Luckily for me, Zion was here and I just had to scream a girlish little yelp and go get him to come. He rescued me from the killer cockroach!! (My hero.) I was jumping up and down on the bed trying to shake off all the other cockroaches that I just KNEW were crawling all over me (I can still feel them...) until he came back and told me that the cockroach was gone. DEAD!!! (Insert 'sigh of relief' here) All cochroaches must die in my opinion!!

We went to Pinnacle Peak the other night. The waiter was pathetic, (I even had to get up and go get my own refill of pop after waiting for him to come by for at least 5 minutes) so we left a very small tip, then we were going to go watch the show, but we decided we wanted to explain the small tip to someone, so the waiter didn't just think we were cheap... (we're pretty sure that's why we got such sad service, because there was another party of about 8 seated close to us and he took excellent care of them....) so we went and explained everything to the lady at the desk(who happened to be the same lady who actually poured my refill when I went over there, and who also happened to be a manager...) and she apoligized to us and gave us each a coupon for a free dinner including sides and desserts!! So now we'll get a chance to go back and hopefully Jariah and Becca will see that we aren't crazy next time! Isn't that awesome?! (We had really been playing up how fun it is basically since we moved here, and that was thier first experience! They didn't even have the show because there wasn't enough people!!) This is way better than gummint cheese!!

Well, Zion has now been at TEP for a week, and so far he seems to really like it. He is working with a bunch of people who knew his dad pretty well, so that's kind of cool.

Jariah's job is the same as Zion's... (actually, Zion is training him today). They will be working the same hours, so they can carpool, which is nice. Jariah doesn't seem to love it, but he thinks it'll be okay. We'll keep you posted and update this when they get home today.


Interview with Jariah about job:

Jeshanah: So, what do you think of your job?
Jariah: "It's groovy, but, actually I hope to move into a programming job as soon as possible, but, it's not bad."
Jeshanah: What do you do at your job?
Jariah: "I transfer balances from previous accounts to the present accounts. I'm everyone's worst nightmare!"
Jeshanah: How was Zion as a trainer?
Jariah: "Well, he actually has excellent notes for the whole thing, because he just learned all the same things, so I basically can just work off of his notes."
Jeshanah: Anything else you would like to say?
Jariah: "The last half of the day was pretty boring because Zion just made me sit there and watch him work, the big meany!"


Interview with Zion about job:

Jeshanah: So, what was it like training Jariah?
Zion: "It was fine, except at the end of the day, I had to do my own, uh, work, and we couldn't work off the same log-on screen, so he just sat there. I'm not a meany! You lazy bum!"
Jeshanah: How do you like your job?
Zion: "It's okay, but, I would rather be doing my job that I want to be doing, which is CEO of TEP!"
Jeshanah: What does your job entail?
Zion: "My job entails, uhh, catching those sneaky crooks that try to rip the electric company off, and training Jariah."
Jeshanah: Anything else you want to add?
Zion: "Umm, No."
Check back later for a in-depth interview with Zion!

Here is the picture of Chewbacca as per your request, Israel. He is not technically a member of the family, but he worked for my Dad's construction company last year. This picture was taken at the annual company picnic last summer. We were sad to see him leave, he was great pitcher, and always good for a laugh!

I am waiting for some pictures of other family members from my mom. I guess I won't be posting pictures of the girls though, because I have been asked not to by parents. If you want to see pictures of my neices, and I know you, just ask and I'll email them to you. Meanwhile, here is the rest of my family tree. Each branch is a different, well, branch of the family.

Here is the Family Tree that you requested, Israel. You can scroll over our names to see our faces. We don't have all the pictures uploaded yet, but as soon as we get them, they will be added. Thank you, Jariah, for doing this page for me! -Jeshanah

You know what I think is funny? (Well, there's lots of stuff, but let me tell you about one thing in particular...) My whole life, all of the church people have called me Jeshanah...(except for a select few close friends who called me Shan.) My immediate family has always called me Shan, but my extended family (aunts, uncles, cousins) have always called me Shannie. (Thanks, Uncle Vic!!) And my school friends and co-workers have all known me as Shanah.

For some reason it kind of strikes me as funny that each one of the Ramirez Guys have taken on a different one of my many nicknames. Israel called me Shanah on John's blog. Josh called me Shan on my blog, and Danny calls me Jeshanah (only most of the time he pronounces it Jeshawnah...) so I guess that means Shannie is reserved for Sam!!

I'm sure everyone reading this will think I'm wierd for even noticing any of that, but, I don't know, it just struck me a funny. (My funny bar must be low right now... I'll work on it.)

Last night Jariah, Becca, Brandon, Zion and I all went to Josh and Becca's house for the evening. We played Scattergories teams, and team Josh/Becca won hands down two times in a row!! Josh had to be feeling pretty good about himself because he had also just beat Zion at some basketball game on playstation! It was a really fun night!!

Mom wanted some pictures of the Holsapple kids on here, so here they are!

*Update*
Well, John asked me not to put pics of Ness on here, so I had to take them off. (Sorry, Mom)

Zion is so mean...

He was watching Brandon for just a few minutes while Becca cut Jariah's hair. I was making brownies, so he was keeping an eye on Brandon in his room. Zion was just sitting there watching him try to climb up on his little rocking horse. Brandon was working and struggling to get on this horse and kept almost falling off!! Becca finished up with the hair and walked into Brandon's room to see Zion cracking up laughing at her poor dangling son. What a terrific uncle!

He also claims that when we have kids, he is going to have a soundproof, padded room built in our house, with windows and little door to pass food through. Kind of like a gerbel or hampster cage. Cool, Huh?

And people wonder why we don't have kids yet........

We have had, that I have seen, two cockroaches in our house in the past 48 hours. The only other time I have seen one was on Fear Factor (about two years ago and they were eaten... it was quite repulsive, to say the least.) They are even grosser in real life.

What happened to everyone?? I know that my family is moving, but where did everyone else go?? This place is a ghost town!!

Yesterday, Zion and I went to Phoenix for church, then to Danny and Joanna’s for lunch. After lunch, Lilly (hi Lilly!!) came and all of us girls went to the scrapbooking store… (A.K.A., a little slice of heaven on earth!!!) I got some great stickers for our trip to Washington D.C. last year, and an awesome book full of title ideas, called “The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Word”. I have been looking at it all day and I am pretty pumped about it!! (I’ve been having a hard time coming up with new things to say at the top of my scrapbook pages, now all I have to do is look in this book for ideas!!) w00t!!!

New Post..... Go Nuts!!!

I was re-reading this post and I think I came off as a little too harsh. I have toned it down a bit, and I do apoligize to Israel for my rude comments. I would have deleted this post, but I didn't want to lose all the comments from the other bloggers.

Israel,

Wasn't your OWN father a republican? Why would you say that you want republican people to be shot in the face? Once again, I have to ask, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??

I am a republican, My Mom, Dad, Brothers, Sisters and Most of my Friends are republicans, and need I mention my Husband...YOUR OWN BROTHER is a republican. You might want to consider your audience before airing your bitter diatribe about republicans on this blog.

I have used this blog to complain about the great state of Arizona, but those negative comments have not actually been directed towards the people of Arizona! (Except the big guy on his front porch in the recliner, when I talk about him, I guess I AM complaining about the people of Arizona, who sit on a recliner on the front porch.) The only people we have really spent any time with is Danny and Joanna, and I would be hard pressed to come up with something negative about them, they are both very sweet people and Christ really shines through them. Plus, Danny cracks me up (and kinda freaks me out) because he reminds me so much of Zion, so I have really loved getting to know them both a little bit better!!

You told me that this IS my home and I need to get used to it, well, that is not entirely the case. Tucson is now my home, that part is correct, because this is where my husband is now, but THIS house will NEVER be my HOME. (I can't see myself ever getting so attatched to a prison that I would think of it as a 'home', and that is what this place feels like to me,) because I am scared to leave the house without Zion or Jariah with me. I have always been pretty independent and proud to be, before I moved here. I had my own job, I had my own car, I had my own friends, I had my own life and I wasn't afraid to go out and live it. I know bad things can happen anywhere, but aren't bad things more likely to happen in a crack den than in a candy store?? This house and neighborhood is a much lower standard of living then I have ever had to deal with and I really can't stand it! Our old house might have had wheels, but we had it all fixed up and it was actually kind of cute, and not at all scary like this neighborhood... that YOU admitted before was a pit!!! Even though we have fixed up the interior of this house here on Castro, we are scared to go outside so to me this house is like a prison sentence because I am stuck here and it really stinks!! (Prison might not actually be so bad, at least they have air-conditioning...)

One more thing about the 'Hood', telling us that THIS Street is fine, but ½ block away is a real bad neighborhood, doesn't make much sense to me. People can walk ½ block pretty fast, and they can drive it even faster. If ½ block away isn't safe, then it's not safe here, either.

YES, YES!!!! PLEASE ANYONE WHO READS THIS BLOG YOU ARE ALLOWED TO POST WHENEVER YOU WANT, I CHANGED THE SETTINGS SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MEMBER AND QUITE FRANKLY I WISH MORE PEOPLE WOULD POST, THAT WAY MAYBE THINGS WON'T GET SO OUT OF HAND!!!!


Okay, hopefully THIS post won't start any controversy... and we'll all get to know each other a little better!!

Name? Jeshanah Ashley Ramirez
Age? 23
What's your sign? I'm a Libra! (In the Chinese Zodiak I'm a Dog....)
Favorite Color? Purple!!
Favorite Movie? Pride and Predjuce
Favorite Movie Line? In The Princess Bride when Wesley stands up after being 'mostly dead' all day and says,"Drop your sword!"
Favorite Musical Group? The LaFontaines
Favorite Song? Lord, Lord, Lord You've Surely Been Good To Me.
Favorite Food? Pepperoni Pizza
Favorite Snack? Anything Chocolate as long as there's no coconut with it.
Favorite Actor? Matt Damon, but Brad Pitt is hot!!
Favorite Actress? Reese Witherspoon
Favorite T.V. Show? C.S.I. or Gilmore Girls (Completely different genres)
Favorite Animal? Horses
Favorite Pastimes? Reading, Horsebackriding, Scrapbooking, Sleeping.
Favorite Sport? To Play: Volleyball, To Watch: Basketball
Favorite Book? Whispers In The Moonlight by Lori Wick

Now that you know all that about me... you can answer the same questions so we can get to know you, too!!! It's lighthearted and FUN!!!!!

Well, Zion got another call from TEP today, saying that he HAS a job. Apparently the job that they interviewed for the other day was filled from inside the company, so they have to replace the guy's position who took that job. They called Zion and told him to come on in, and that he IS actually hired. (He's not holding his breath, but he went on in for the job or interview, whatever the case really is.) Hopefully it IS actually a job, because for some reason, we can't get "gummint cheese" or $$$ in any other form from the government, so if this isn't really a job, we're gonna be in some serious trouble before too much longer.

This whole thing is completely absurd!! I'm not sure why I'm so surprised that they can't get jobs, (I never thought that there was alot of job opportunity on mars before I moved here, I don't know why that would have changed in the past 3 months.) but common, this stinks!!! The way things are going we'll be stuck in this dump of a house forever, or worse kicked out because we can't pay our stupid rent, and living on the streets!! (Mustard bread might become a real treat, and I HATE mustard!!) Life was so much simpler when Zion, Jariah and I all had jobs back in Ohio... Only 635 days left!!!!!

*****UPDATE*****

Zion DID get the job!!!!! It's some sort of administrative position and he starts tomorrow!! Now maybe we can finally get out of this house!! Woohoo!!!!

Yesterday Becca, Brandon and I went to the Tucson Mall while Zion and Jariah were at thier interviews. Zion has been in desperate need of some new church clothes, and I found them!! I got him 7 new shirts, 5 ties and 2 pair of pants. (I'm still looking for some navy blue pants to complete his new wardrobe, but this is a great start!!) He now has a bunch of awesome new clothes, including a PINK shirt!!! I'm really excited about them, and I think he looks great in all these new clothes!! What do you think?

Here's the bad news... Jariah and Zion don't actually have jobs. The lady who called Zion was confused or he got confused somehow, but they actually just had interviews. They both went to the interviews and neither one got the job. (Actually, TEP decided not to hire for that particular position at this time, so no one got the job.) They are both now signed up for un-employment and will go to get food stamps tomorrow. This is such a higher standard of living than having to work at Sam's Club and Holiday Inn... I'm so proud of all of our excellent accomplishments since we have arrived in the land of opportunity! It's not for lack of trying, Zion and Jariah have both been looking for a decent job almost every day since we got here, (excepting the time when they were at work all day and night for those 6-7 weeks) with no luck. They have both had some interviews, but that seems to be the favorite thing for companies to do around here, interview but not hire. Well, anyway, the good news is, at least we won't starve, we might melt, but we won't starve.

I can't catch a break. I think that Karen Kingsbury just beat me to the writing of my book. I was just looking at her website to see when the next book in the "Firstborn" Series will be out, and I stumbled upon a new novel called "Divine". My life is officially annoying.

Okay, here goes nothing. I'm going to be complaining about the state of Arizona, or the weather, or this hovel we are currently living in... if you are going to take great personal offence to this, or if you are a little crazy and will assume I am complaining directly about members of a certain family which by the way I am a part of...
DON'T READ THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS!!!!!!

The rain is actually not a good thing. It's bad. It makes this entire house feel like the tent did the time we stayed at Brown County and it rained the WHOLE weekend!!! (Another story for another time...haha, Dad) You know what I mean though, all the mugginess, with the moisture on EVERYTHING including your sheets that feel way gross when you get ready for bed. The rain does however cool the place down, so that's a plus, I guess. (It kinda depends if you would rather actually be dripping sweat, or just feel like you're going to.)

NOW FOR YOU FAINT OF HEART, YOU MAY READ THE FOLLOWING...

Oh, look, I'm out of things to say.

Okay, my life is too dull to even write about. Nothing has happened in days. We have looked at some houses, I have done some laundry, I have had a migraine-style headache, and I have also done some scrapbooking, but nothing at all exciting has been going on since I have been back here in the beautiful state of AZ. It has rained almost nightly since we've been back, but that is seriously the extant of the excitement around the Ramirez/Holsapple house. I haven't been writing because I have a reputation as an adorable and beloved "Riot" to live up to, and it's much too much pressure for me when nothing is going on.

Here you go, Zion.

I'm Baaaaccckkkk!!!

Becca, Brandon and I finally came back after being in Ohio for a month. Boy it's nice to be "home". (See, Israel, I know what sarcasm is, too.) As I am typing this at Zion's computer, a stupid fly keeps attacking me, and even though it's only 9 am, it's already hot and stuffy in this house. (I should have waited to come back until Zion and Jariah found a newer house with ac... aww well, what's done is done.)

Nothing of truely important significance has happened yet, we got to Phoenix at about 3:30 pm, went out to eat, drove back to Tucson to our house, talked for a little while, then crashed at about 9 pm (AZ time, that's midnight for Becca and I still) then I woke up at about 9 am, got a shower hoping to cool down, then decided to come let everyone know that IT'S TOO HOT!!!!

Talk to everyone later when something happens, I'll be busy house shopping for a while...

Today I washed all my laundry that I had from Family Camp. It was soooo much fun.

I was origionally supposed to be back in Tucson tonight, but we decided to stay an extra week because things have been so hectic around here that we haven't really got to spend much time with anyone, and since it will most likely be at least Christmas before we come back, I wanted to get SOME time with all of my friends and family.

Happy Fourth Of July!!! Today is the first day of Family Camp!! It should be a great time! Talk to everyone next week!! Enjoy the boring blog without me!!! =)

I did more laundry today.

Zion called from AZ and told me that our unity candle from our wedding fell off the table and broke. That is sad.

I will still come back to Arizona, Zion, I said I would.

We just got back to Lima from Cheo (Christian Homeschoolers Education of Ohio). It was a fun but crazy 3 days. There were 80 mile an hour straight line winds in Lima the day we went to Columbus. There are trees down all over town still. (It reminds me of the ice storm last winter)

Becca, Brandon and I arrived in Lima late last night.
Today I am going to Love and Learn to get ready for Cheo.
I will be working with my Mom and sister, Jess.
We'll have fun.

I did laundry today.

Today we are packing for our trip to Ohio.
Yesterday our car broke down and when I jumped out to help push, my flip flop BROKE.
My flip flops were almost 2 years old.
I bought my flip flops for Family camp two years ago to wear in the shower.
They came from the dollar store.
I got my $1 worth out of them.
I threw them in the trash after they broke.
Tomorrow we will go to Phoenix for church.
We are going to stay at Danny and Joanna's.
Danny or Joanna are going to take Becca and me to the airport on Monday.
Monday night we will be in Ohio.
I will write more later.

All right, already! That's quite enough!! You won't even believe what I am about to tell you. This is what happened tonight...

Well, first things first, today Becca and I went shopping at the Outlet malls in Casa Grande and had a jolly good time!!! We each got a bunch of adorable clothes for camp without spending a fortune!! (Very exciting in my book!) And when I got home from the mall, Zion told me that BOTH cars were repaired and it only cost us just under $300!! Plus, hurray, Jariah's car is repaired, too, we just have to go pick it up in Phoenix next time we're there!!

Then, when we got home, Zion wanted to take us the Tanque Verde Swap Meet. On the way, OUR STUPID CAR BROKE DOWN AGAIN!!!!!
Can you believe it??! My '03 is down for the second time in a week! UGH!!!

I know you guys are all going to say that how much I like or dislike AZ all depends on my attitude. But, contrary to popular belief, I have been trying NOT to read too much into all this nonsense that keeps on happening from the minute we arrived here in Tucson. Seriously though, how much more can one person be expected to take??? This is ridiculous!!!!!!!

I am getting the impression that I’m making the Ramirez boys mad at me, (I’m very astute like that) and (believe it or not) that was NOT my intention in starting this blog. The reason I started it was so that some of my buddies back in Ohio could kinda keep up with what’s happening with me. I was mostly doing this for my Holiday Inn buddies so I didn’t have to email them individually. I wasn’t planning to talk to all you Ramirez guys on here, after all, we live HERE now, why should we have to keep in touch over the web? Well, anyhow, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you by “whining” about your precious Tucson, like I said, that wasn’t my intention, but I am also using this blog to express the way I feel so if you don’t like it, don’t log on. I don’t keep a diary, this is it, and sometimes (especially since I moved) I need to vent. It’s very therapeutic and it’s nothing personal. I would have had similar problems if I had moved to Wyoming, Vermont, Egypt, wherever!! And yes, Josh, I know that I am blessed to have such a wonderful Husband and family, but don’t forget, I have a whole other family 2,000 miles away and it should be understandable that I wouldn’t be overly thrilled with leaving everyone and everything that I have know behind, but I did it and I’m willing to stay here for 2 years and to give it a try. I’m not superwoman, so I shouldn’t be expected to act like I have no emotions or that I love to live on (what looks to me like) mars. (Venus, maybe… mars, no) Well, you know where I stand, I’ll be posting what I’m feeling on here, regardless if you guys approve or appreciate what I say. Like I said, it’s nothing personal. How could it be?

Praise the Lord, MY car is fixed, and it only cost $72.00!!! WoooHooo!!! Something was messed up with the ignition. I don't know what it was exactly, but it doesn't matter, because it's fixed now!!!

Now we just have to get Jariah and Zion's cars back, and we'll be back in business!!

You've heard the old saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side..." And I have always heard "of the fence" to complete that saying. Whoever made that up, had never been to Tucson, Arizona! I would like to change that well known saying to "The grass is always greener on the other side of the Country!" Zion keeps telling me that the only reason I'm not liking it here, is because I live in a hovel and we are sharing it. I don't think that's necessarily true, because we drove through one of the "really nice" million dollar homes neighborhoods on our way to Sabino Canyon about 2 weeks ago, (Zion turned too soon) and to be completely honest, I would rather have a $120,000 home in Ohio than a Million dollar home in Arizona, because their "yards" are not yards, they are dirt with catus and other dangerous looking plants. It's all dirt! Everywhere you look is dirt! Then, there's huge mounds of dirt that they call "beautiful mountains". Blech!!

I will admit, that the mountains look pretty cool, FROM A DISTANCE!! (Then, only because you can't tell that they are just big piles of dirt.)

P.S.
The reason I refer to my house as a "hovel" is because of all the leaks, and electrical problems, and non cool cooler. Below is the actual defination of the word, but I still think it fits. =)
hov·el
1. A small, miserable dwelling.
2. An open, low shed.

Well, today it reached 110 Outside, so it was HOT Inside!! Beccca and I didn't go anywhere today, so there aren't any fun driving mishaps to report.

We both started packing for our three week trip home!! I never thought that I would ENJOY packing after packing up my entire house to move to AZ, but today it was a real joy. (Probably because I know that the final reward will be I GET TO GO TO OHIO!!!!)

I called and got all set up to go to Family Camp, Becca and I will have a cabin again this year!! Woohoo!!! It's so much more fun to GO to camp if you actually get to STAY at camp! I can hardly wait!!

Okay, so, I'll write more later, Thanks for reading!

Isn't this the prettiest blog you've ever seen?

Ok, so here's what happened today, and I'm not blaming AZ for this, I'm just going to say, Big City+ Jeshanah Driving+ Strange Car= Disaster! Now that we have that cleared up, let me explain.

Becca and I took Jess and Ness to the airport today. On the way, we had no problems; we went to the Tucson Mall first thing to charge Jess’ cell phone for the last time, then we headed for Phoenix. On the way to Phoenix, we stopped at the Gap outlet and found a bunch of really great clothes for Jess for camp. (Becca's going back later, and all I really want is a $6 bag.) We had no problems getting to the airport, no problems checking the bags, no problems getting them to their gate, no sweat saying goodbye because we’ll see each other in only 6 days. It was wonderful! Finally, an “easy” day despite the fact that we were in a different car.

After saying "see ya later" to Jess and Ness; Becca, Brandon, and I headed back to the airport shuttle bus stop to take us to our car. We walked to the wrong place (we think) the first time, so after giving it a second, we walked to another section of the airport(the RIGHT place), but then we doubted ourselves and went back to the original place. Of course, we then had to walk BACK to the right place. It took us about a half an hour carrying Brandon and the diaper bag, it was fun!! <- Sarcasm (After we were actually ON the shuttle, we figured out that the first place we went would have worked, too. I hate airports!)

Something very strange, and embarressing happened ON the shuttle, I scratched my ankle and it started gushing blood. (apparently there was an ant bite there) Now there’s blood all over my nice white sandals that will probably never come out.

When we finally got to the car, I was pulling the door shut and got some disgusting melted chocolate candybar all over my hand. One of the perils of driving a borrowed car I guess. Luckyly I didn't get any on my white skirt.

Then we were on our way! We were supposed to meet Joanna at another outlet mall because we had to pick up an air conditioner for Zion’s grandma on our way to Tucson from her. Somehow on the way out of the airport, I made a wrong turn and eventually ended up heading west on I-10. (A.K.A. the opposite direction of where I was SUPPOSED to be going). No big deal, right? All I had to do was exit and get back on going the opposite direction, right? Wrong! If only it were so easy. Joanna had to wait for us for like an hour, while we were aimlessly driving around Phoenix looking for a way to get back on I-10 East! I finally got onto I-10 East and it was naturally rush hour and no one was moving. Traffic was finally starting to move again and Becca was on the phone with Joanna when we found the road that we were looking for and I proceeded to DRIVE RIGHT PAST it, helpless to get over and get off because there were WAY too many cars for me to get through. Joanna was so sweet and just came to us at the next exit so we didn’t have to get back off and on. We went to the McDonalds and Joanna was there just a few minutes after us. We got the air conditioner and some food, then hit the road to come home. Whew, Just another day in the life of Arizona. 693 days and COUNTING!!!!

John, I haven't figured out how to make paragraphs on a blog yet. I'll work on it. =)

Only a week from now and I'll be back in beautiful, green, muggy, humid Ohio for three whole weeks, where they have actual air conditioned houses!!Coolers are the pit in my opinion. (For my Ohio friends, "coolers" are what people in AZ use to keep their houses cool, but they aren't that great because they only keep the house about 20 degrees cooler than the outside so when it's 105 OUTside, it's 85 INside. However, in our case almost all they have done so far is leak nasty water all over our new floors and on all my scrapbooking stuff. They have also broken down at least 4 times which makes the guys have to climb around on the roof to tinker with it at all hours of the day, including the hottest hours)
I can hardly wait to get to OH and see everyone again! This has to have been the longest 36 days of my life! Plus, I'm probably going to stay at my brother Justin's new house!! Wooohoo!! (It was mine until a month ago when I moved and he bought it! I'm REALLY going home!!!) The only bad thing about it is, Zion doesn't get to come with me, but I'll be back here in this lovely town soon enough!

Oh yeah, and Becca has a wierd rash on her back now. Probably from getting fried the other day, but...Man you gotta love this place.

Today, Monday, June 12th, Jess, Ness, Becca, Brandon and I all went to Old Tucson! We had a lot of fun and Ness even got to "Drive" an old fashioned car. (It was one of those cute little things on a track. She thought it was so fun!) We saw a bunch of different shows and movie memorabilia and just had an overall great time! Okay, so after today, all the fun we had, I was thinking, alright, maybe Tucson's not so bad after all. I WAS WRONG!!! WAY WRONG! IT'S HORRIBLE!!! We moved with 3 cars from Ohio. We now have 3 cars that DON'T WORK!! Jariah's car has had problems in the past, so that wasn't such a big surprise when it broke down about a week and a half ago. And, our old car(Zion's car) wasn't a huge, huge surprise when Jariah called and said that it was overheating on the way to Pinnacle Peak this evening...(it's a '97) But when Zion went to rescue them, our new car (MY car) stopped! And wouldn't start again. For hours. And hours. So Jess, Ness, and I were stuck at Pinnacle Peak the whole time, which was better than Jariah, Becca, Brandon (and eventually Zion) who were stranded along the side of the road forever. Olga and Andy came to the rescue of Jess, Ness and I. (I have never been so happy to see Olga before!!!) Andy let us use his cell phone to call Zion, (because of course, Jess' phone was dead, and Jariah had mine) to find out where we were supposed to go. Olga loaned us her car and Andy and Olga led us to one of the main roads that would take us to our house, but it took us a few seconds to get out of the Pinnacle Peak parking lot, then we had to do a few u-turns, and by the time they waved us past, we were both so confused that we weren't even sure if we had been following the right people!!! We were laughing (Nervously) so hard that I'm a little surprised we didn't wreck! It was funny and scary all at the same time, made worse by the fact that it was almost midnight Ohio time while all this was going on and Jess and Ness are still very much on Ohio time. I have no idea what's wrong with either car, plus I don't even know where MY car is, which is making me kinda nervous, but I do know that I want my Daddy!! And I WANNA GO HOME!!!

Oh yeah, how could I have forgotten about this very interesting detail. On the second day that we were all here working, Dad needed some water to mix grout for our tile floor in the kitchen, so Zion sent Mom and I off to go get some water. We went to the gas station to get them the water, and there was a cop car sitting in the parking lot of the gas station. We didn't think all that much of it (Gas stations have coffee and doughnuts, hehe) so I jumped out and ran in to get the water, but alas, they had no water to sell to me. By the time I got back to the car, two police officers were talking to my mom and saying, "Why are you here?", "You shouldn't be here", "Two girls from Ohio have NO BUSINESS being here, it's not the best neighborhood, get away from here as soon as you possibly can", and things like that. It was very scary and none of us girls wanted to stay in this house after hearing all that. But we did and so far we are all fine, even though we aren't huge fans of the neighborhood.

Hello, I am starting this blog to keep all my friends back in Ohio up to date on my move and new life. Since this is my first post and I have been living here for 36 days now, it will be a long post. (A lot's happened) I recently moved from a very small town in Ohio, to Tucson, AZ, and so far I'm not a real big fan of big city life. (I will say that I have discovered an unexpected weakness for Starbucks that took me completely off guard. White Chocolate Mocha Latte- Wow! ) We arrived in Tucson on Sunday, May 7th. My Mom and Dad drove a trailer full of Jariah and Becca’s stuff, my oldest brother, Justin drove our second car, and it’s a good thing they all came because our “new house” was in BAD shape! (It seriously made me long for my trailer, if you can believe that!) When our friends Asa and Tim arrived with my stuff, I wanted to jump in their truck and tell them to head back home to Ohio because I felt like I had landed on mars! (I never really wanted to live on mars… hmmm…) The guys ripped out all the old nasty flooring and cabinets and we replaced it with nice clean laminate flooring and new base cabinets. We also got the whole house painted, and it’s looking better all the time. By the 11th, everyone who came with us from Ohio was sick. I even lost my voice completely for like 3 days, it was horrible. I could barely even say goodbye to my Mom, Dad, and Justin when it was time for them to leave on Saturday night because I had no voice! I was sick for the first 3 weeks that I lived here with some sort of cold/flu thing. Less than a week after my cold ended, on June 6th, I was off to Phoenix (2 hours away) to pick up my sister Jess and niece Ness from the airport!! It had been 30 days since I‘d seen them so I was very happy to have them!!! On the way home from the airport we went through an InsAnE sand storm. Whoa! I have only seen stuff like that in old western movies!! (Centennial comes to mind, and as I recall, the lady who lived through those storms later killed her whole family…) Talk about scary, we couldn't see a thing! I pulled my car in between 2 semi-trucks and just made sure that I could see the truck in front of my car the whole time. The truck in front was my "Knight" in shining armor. (It was a truck from a company called "KNIGHT"). The next day, Wednesday, June 7th, I got bit by about a million red ants (Zion says that they weren't actually red ants, but they sure looked red to me) and my leg and foot are still itchy 4 days after the fact. Two days after the ants, on Friday, Jess, Ness, Becca, Brandon and I went to a water park and got fried, despite the fact that we were all wearing sunscreen SPF 50!! Ouch!! We did have a lot of fun at the park though; and Ness even went down a huge water slide all by herself! I was soooo impressed! The good news is, Becca, Brandon and I will be coming home to Ohio for 3 weeks very soon and I can hardly wait! Woohoo, I'll be home for family camp!! Unfortunately, that means I’m stuck doing activities for John, but on the bright side, I get to see John and everyone else!!! Oh, by the way, What was I thinking?!?!?!