Sports, Sports and more Sports!

So it seems we have really made the most of our time here in Arizona visiting every major sports team at least once! I guess that's what you get when you're married to a sports fanatic! Here are a couple of pictures of us at some of the games!



PHX Suns Game- Basketball

DiamondBacks Game- Baseball

PHX Suns take 2



Don't worry we also got the chance to see the Arizona Cardinals as well as the Phoenix Coyotes play... for some reason these are the only lame pictures I can scrap together, I must have been so engulfed in the game I forgot to snap some good pictures.... haha! NOT! ( really I was probably asleep:)

 

AZ Cardinals game- Football

Phoenix Coyotes Game- Hockey
 

I seriously dislike watching sports even more than playing them which is why as I look back at all these pictures and see all the games I willingly went to with my husband, I realize what a wonderful wife I am...and I am going to go remind my husband now :)

We're going gluten free

So it is official our little family of 2, is going gluten free! After several test and plenty of lab work, Joel has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease. For those of you who don't know much about it, "Celiac (SEE-lee-ak) disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is primarily found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. People with celiac disease who eat foods containing gluten experience an immune reaction in their small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients." (MayoClinic 2011). After several months of feeling progressively worse and worse Joel decided to find out what was going on. He visited dozens of doctors, all of whom told him he was completely fine. One even referred him to a psychologist, basically claiming that Joel was crazy and all the symptoms he claimed to be experiencing were only "in his head". Reassuring right? Joel wouldn't give up and eventually he saw one doctor who said she "just felt like she should test for celiac." Boy are we are sure grateful she did. Now that we have a diagnose we have a place to start and hopefully Joel will begin to feel healthy again soon.

Here's a picture of my handsome man, we found a recipe for gluten free fruit pizza... his favorite!!

The month of December in a nutshell

The first week of December my family drove down for a short visit which was soooo fun! All the boys went to a Dallas Cowboys/ AZ Cardinals game while the girls went shopping. It was really fun having them down, especially since the weather was absolutely beautiful... We definitely made the most of their visit and Joel really hooked us up... tickets to a Suns game as well as the Phooson in Phoenix concert. This concert was like the concert of all concerts, with a huge variety of artist it was very fun! Selena Gomez, Flo Rida, One Republic, Karmin, Nicole Scherzinger, Gym Class Heroes and Taio Cruz just to name a few. This concert was literally like 3 1/2 hours... we were exhausted but it was so fun!

This year, Joel and I celebrated our first Christmas 'alone' together! I have to admit it just wasn't the same. We both missed our families and it just didn't feel all that much like Christmas. We made the most of it though.

I had so much fun decorating. As Joel would say...
 "It looks like Christmas threw up in here!"

Christmas morning we skyped with my parents which was really fun. Then Christmas afternoon we went over to Joel's brother house for presents and a white elephant gift exchange. It was very fun! Sorry no pictures. I'll just leave you with these cute little Grinches :) Merry Christmas 2011!

 



Time to play catch up

So it has been an extremely long time since I last blogged, like over a year long! This last year has been crazy and our little family has been very busy. I am going to try and catch up on all of the exciting things that have been going on in our life up to this point so here I go.



I miss them!

In October 2011, I got hired as an ELD Kindergarten teacher in Glendale, Arizona. Being that we were moving down to Arizona at the end of August I had accepted the fact that I would most likely be subbing for the 2011-2012 school year, so when I was presented this opportunity I was THRILLED. I have to admit I was a little scared of the idea of spending all day with 5&6 year olds  but it seriously was the greatest year. I loved every moment, even the early mornings, late nights and long weekends spent planning... it was all worth it. Here are a couple pictures of my classroom/kiddos.


My classroom was HUGE, I embraced every moment of it
 knowing I will probably never have a room that large again!



Classroom library- my favorite part of the room!

Joel on the other hand has been busy working for the Arizona Cardinals.. selling tickets like crazy! More updates to come!

 



Our new adventure

Joel and I have been married for 2 years now and I decided it's about time for me to get in on all this blogging.... so here I am!! Instead of back tracking on all the exciting things that have happened in our life since being married I'll just start from now.

On August 13th, Joel and I packed up all our 'stuff'... (which turns out to be a whole lot more 'stuff' than I ever thought we had) and drove down to Arizona. Well actually we stopped in Layton, Utah on our way where Joel dropped me off so that I could spend time with my family and he drove the rest of the way on his own...what a trooper! He had a very eventful adventure of his own including loosing his wallet and a flat tire, it could have been worse and for that reason we are grateful! On Monday, Joel started his new job with the Arizona Cardinals, he will be doing ticket sales for them. We are really excited for this next chapter in our life. Stay tuned to learn more about our many adventures to come!