Dave and Kara

Arkansas Weather

We have been in Arkansas for barely a week and a half and we have already had some quick lessons on Arkansas weather. Let me share...
This is a typical Utah snow day. As you can see, the snow must be covering your front door, windows, driveway, and possibly even your entire house before a snow day is initiated.

Here is a typical Arkansas snow day... Yes folks, that's right- all it takes is 2 inches (sometimes less) of the wonderful white stuff on the ground and the entire city shuts down!

Again, just to clarify for everyone- a Utah snow day...

And an Arkansas snow day...

(This picture was taken from our new neighborhood-as you can see there are not too many homes yet, it is very peaceful! If you can spot Dave's red truck, that's our house.) Now when I say the entire city closes down- I am not joking! Dave's company actually sent everyone home from work early.
The night before the storm hit, we went to Sam's club to get a few things (not knowing about the storm) As we sat in our car, in a mess of a parking lot, I observed some of the most crazy people I have ever seen in my life. The entire parking lot was a madhouse. People were honking their horns and cutting people off- it was busy and crowded. I also watched as people made a mad dash for what few shopping carts were being brought in from outside and I saw people fighting to get a cart. I could not for the life of me figure out what was causing Sam's to be so busy. We had arrived right around 5 o'clock, so I figured maybe that was what was causing the rush. Dave and I then received our first Arkansas weather lesson. When there is a snow storm predicted in Arkansas everybody goes into a complete panic and tries to stock up on groceries and supplies (considering everything closes down). We found it to be very entertaining!

The dogs were very happy to play in the snow. It was Tuckers first experience in snow and he had a great time.

Sadie attempted to make a snowman by rolling her round ball all over the yard- but every time the snow would begin to build up on the ball she would knock it off or eat it!

Now onto weather lesson number two! When they say there is a thunderstorm here in Arkansas they really mean a Thunderstorm!!!!

We had our first last night and it was the biggest Thunderstorm I have ever seen in my life! It started around 6:30 and lasted through the entire night! We lost power around 7:30 but we did get it back shortly before bedtime! It was the first time since I was probably a kid that we lost power at night. Dave and I had beautiful Candle lite dinner (Luckily dinner was already on the stove and hot when we lost power)! I had to go searching through all of my boxes in the dark looking for flashlights and candles- but it made it all the more interesting and fun! I wanted to go out an photograph the lightening because it was amazing, but the storm was too close for my comfort! (The above image was the only good one I got before I came inside).

We then received hail with the lighting. Dave and I had to rush outside to bring my fruit trees in before they were pelted- but in the process we were pelted! The hail started out around pea size and then grew to about dime size.
Hopefully I don't have to ever report on my Arkansas Tornado weather lesson but I am sure it is inevitable with the start we have had here in a week and half!

Roadtrip

I am so sorry it has taken us so long to post about our move! It has been very hectic and we have not had Internet service and won't until the 13th (I am currently at the public library). The move went about as smoothly as expected. There was a lot of fear about bad weather but we didn't seem to catch any of it. We crossed five states in 3 days (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas). Luckily the ugliest part of the drive, Texas, we did in the dark (although, I am not sure it would have mattered too much to me- all I did was stare at the back of a Budget Moving Truck for three days straight)! The dogs did great and thought that staying in a hotel was pretty cool! Their other favorite thing to do was clean my car windows

for me (so sweet of them)! On day two, we stopped for a bite to eat at a fun restaurant in Amarillo, Texas where they offer a 72 oz. steak for free if you can finish it all in an hour! I wish I could say we did it, but instead we opted for a 21 oz. steak which we shared between the two of us and still had leftovers! They did have one of the 72 oz. steaks on display and it was about 3 inches thick and 10 inches in diameter! Now when they say "everything is bigger in Texas" they aren't joking! We both had walkey talkies and communicated through them, along with singing each other songs and informing each other what we were listening to! It was a memorable trip. The following slide show includes some images from our three day road trip.

On day three, we arrived in Little Rock around 3:30 and had to rush to the title companies office to sign papers and get the keys to our new house. We were very stressed that we weren't going to make it-but we did.

Once we arrived, we had to wait for the title lady to show up and Dave sat down and it looked like all the stress and exhaustion from the trip was catching up to him. He looked pooped (I wish I had a picture, but he wouldn't let me take one)!

Once that was complete we arrived to our new house we smiles on our face and a huge sense of relief! We let the dogs into the back yard fist thing and they new they were home.

They ran from one side to the other about 10 times and were very excited to have a place to run and play of their own (with grass-which of course was initiated very quickly)! We really love the scenery here- it is beautiful and green! The people are very friendly (there is certainly something to that southern hospitality). Everyone always waves when you drive down a street, all of our neighbors immediately came over and met us and offered their help with whatever we needed, and the people at church went out of their way to introduce themselves. Come visit soon!!!!!

Hugging Arizona Goodbye

It is really hard to believe we have been here for 6 months, it seems about half that time to us. It has been lots of fun being here and there are many things that we are going to miss! We finally have an official moving date of Feb. 29th. Now for those of you that who aren't good at math-that's this Friday!!!!! I hope I can get ready that soon. We will load up the truck Friday and Saturday, leave Sunday and stay in Albuquerque the first night, then Oklahoma City the second, and finally our new home on day three! So this week we are hugging Arizona goodbye.
I have been working on my red neck talk in preparation for the move and these are the words I have learned:

y'all, all y'all- everyone

critters- bugs (they have a exterminator called "critter getter's")

Now for the complicated ones:

infamy- another person's intent to extract physical punishment. "Ever since I went on that crime spree, the cops have had it infamy."

widow- a phrase promising future obligation for more than one person, including the speaker. "I tell you, if you did us this favor, widow you big-time."

time- to fasten things together with a knot. "Don't know what the heck's wrong with my shoes, but I can't seem to time."

sentimental- to have caused telepathic delivery. "I could pick which card you're thinkin' of, if you sentimental picture to me."

ostrich- one engaging in the art of muscle elongation. "I'll be there soon as ostrich my legs."

neuter- unfamiliar with. "I'm neuter town, so I get lost a lot."

monorail- stating the authenticity of intensity of one's current state. "no way am I folding now, baby, monorail streak."

marsupial- a phrase suggesting an expected result of a males ingestion of any additional quantity of a liquid food made with cooked meats or vegetables. "if he eats any marsupial explode."

hollandaise- a period of time in which one transported foods. "I had a real sweet eighteen-wheeler back in my hollandaise."

Well hopefully all of my practice and studying has prepared me for Arkansas! Our next blog will feature all the fun adventures of our move, with, of course, lots of pictures. Stay tuned...

Arizona Weekend

I know many of you have heard about our walks that we love to do here in Arizona. This time I thought I would share some photos of the 3 hour walk we took on Saturday!

There is a beautiful walking trail just up the road from where we live. We love to take the dogs for a walk and enjoy the beautiful nature and wildlife that Arizona has to offer. There are coyotes, rabbits (lots and lots of rabbits), and all sorts of interesting birds (luckily, I have yet to see in scorpions or snakes). Sadie and Tucker love to chase after the rabbits and birds (but don't worry, they could never catch one, they are way too fast)! It is the best exercise EVER for them!!! They go running all over after them and chase them all away and then they come running back looking about as proud as can be for their accomplishment!!!! It is the funniest thing to watch, Dave and I both just laugh.

A few weeks ago Sadie had a little run in with a Cholla Cactus. Now if you have never lived in the desert, here is a lesson on Cholla Cactus. It is this terrible thorny cactus that breaks off into pieces if anything makes contact with it and embeds into the innocent culprit. It looks like a bunch of green stems that have a white fuzz covering it (please see above slideshow for an image). That white fuzz is actually thorns that have a barb like structure to them, making removal very painful! Our poor Sadie had chunks of the Cholla embedded in her shoulder, paws, and inner thigh, and to make matters worse, she tried biting at it to remove it before we could get to her, causing to also to be embedded in her mouth. Just as this took place, the rain started to poor and we were stuck out in the rain trying to remove this terrible cactus from her as she yelped (I felt so bad!) I had a sweatshirt on that I removed to use to pull out the cactus. We had it all wadded up and it was still penetrating through the sweatshirt! We were able to get all the big pieces out but had to take her home and remove the rest with tweezers. Once they were removed she was as happy as can be, and of course, ready to play ball. So now you know why I think the Cholla Cactus is the meanest ever!!!

We love all the unique nature that we see on the walk. I think my favorite is the Saguaro Cactus. They are so fascinating and majestic. On average, it takes a Saguaro 50 years to begin to grow it's first arm. They have an average life span of 175 years, and are a very important and crucial part of the Arizona ecosystem, providing homes and food for many animals, especially birds. The oldest Saguaro's have at least 5 arms and stand around 30-50 feet tall- these are estimated to be around 200 years old. When these Saguaro's are transplanted they must be placed facing the same Eastern direction as they were in the original location, otherwise they will die. After a good rain fall a 30' Saguaro weights around 6 to 7 tons! What an amazing plant!!!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed a little peak at the Arizona landscape- now onto Dave and I's other favorite thing to do in Arizona (which frequently is followed after a long walk), playing at the park.

We love to take the dogs to the park and throw the ball around with them. If you have ever met Sadie, you know what a ball freak she is. She can never get enough of playing ball. Now Tucker on the other hand, he is pretty disinterested in the ball (despite our efforts). His favorite thing is to run after Sadie and attack her the whole time she is trying to get the ball. It is pretty entertaining to watch. Either way, they both get their exercise! I hope you enjoyed the preview of our weekend fun!

Our House!!!!

For the meager two who chose house number 1, you have good taste! As for the rest of you, well...I am not so sure (just kidding). We finally settled on house number one and we are very excited about it. Our offer was accept and so everything is just moving right along. We both agree that the pictures simply do not do the home justice.

It has three bedrooms, 2 bath, 14' ceilings in main area, 8' French entry doors, 1966Sq. Ft., a huge master bedroom (with tray ceiling), bath, and closet, mostly landscaped, there are lots of tree's everywhere, it is a quite little area, brand new (hence all of the construction debris everywhere in the pictures), 1/4 acre, extra deep and large garage, laundry w/ lots of storage, and much more.

I have decided that my career choice does not make it easy to choose a home-I have been trained to critique everything I see, and I am very particular! I am looking forward to getting my little fingers on all the things I would have done differently had I built the home (I don't think Dave is excited about that). But it is a wonderful home, nonetheless, and more than either of us thought we would have at this stage in our lives! We are excited to get moved in. Please let us know what you think, good or bad.

And the winner is...

I know everyone has been anxiously awaiting to find out what home we chose, and after much diliberation we settled on this beautiful "high rise" trailer. It had so many of the features we were looking for. The view is absoultly amazing out of the east windows, not to mention the fact that it has a covered driveway for Dave's new truck! Another bonus is the wheels, we really liked this feature just in case we decide we arn't so keen on Arkansas or Dave's company decided to transfer us again! The only down side is going to be trying to get our fridge up all those stairs, maybe we will just have to leave it out on the front porch along with the sofa. Well I hope you all like it- it is hard to think that I have my dream home at the young age of 23.

P.S. Stay tuned for the REAL selected house on Wednesday.

Help Us Pick Our New Home!!!!

Okay everyone, here is your chance to help us pick our new home. I have had a bunch of people asking to see pictures of the homes we are looking at in Arkansas so here they are! Dave and I are flying down on Friday to choose our home and we thought everyone might want to give us their opinion (although, it doesn't mean we will listen to it-Ha Ha). Please check the homes and the features listed for each one and then vote in the poll according to your favorite home (you can vote on multiple homes). Thanks for your help and enjoy!!!!!

House #1

Features:

Bryant- 21 Miles
3 Bedroom/2 bath
1966 SQ. FT.
Trees, Wood Floors

House #2

Features:

Sherwood- 12 Miles
3 Bedrooms/ 2 Bath
1905 SQ. FT.
Oil Rubbed Bronze Fixtures, Nice Trim, Granite Tile Counters

House #3

Features:

Mabelvale- 17 Miles
3 Bedroom/2 Bath
1850 SQ. FT.
1.8 Acres, Trees, Wood Floors

House #4

Features:

Maumelle- 19 Miles
3 Bedroom/2 Bath
2092 SQ. FT.
Beautiful Trim, Oil Rubbed Bronze Fixtures, Stainless Steel Appliance, Wood Floors, Most Expensive, Corian Counters

House #5

Features: