Scouting out for the Super Bowl

We had to give the new "University of Phoenix" Stadium a test-run before it hosts the Super Bowl this year.

The venue is great, but you can be sure neither the Cardinals nor the 49ers will be playing in the Super Bowl...the game was a fight to see who could screw up less.

At least there were still cheerleaders to watch, right?

Back to the Fair...

We had so much fun at the fair a few weeks ago that we decided to go one last time before it closed down.



Biggest donut I'd ever seen!




View from the HUGE ferris wheel. I'm not afraid of heights...I'm just afraid the ride is going to fall apart while we're at the top! Kind of the same fear I have of flying in a plane. At some point I'm just SURE the plane is going to fall out of the sky. I mean, why wouldn't it?




Yes, we gave in and paid a buck a piece to see the "WORLD'S SMALLEST HORSE!!!" Poor little guy, he was munching away down in his little pen minding his own business, probably had no idea he was part of a freak show. Honey, can we take him home?

DEMOLITION DERBY

Steve dragged me to the Demolition Derby Friday night at the state fair...I thought it was going to be some boring event that only guys care about cuz it makes them feel more manly or something...but it was AWESOME!!! I think I had more fun than Steve! There's something about watching cars ram eachother to shreds that is just so entertaining! What a great way to get out your agression :)



Getting ready for the derby. So funny watching them smash in their own cars before the derby started. Apparently, a smashed up car is either better protected or is a better weapon once in the arena.





All lined up ready to go at it...they line up facing away from each other on opposite sides of the arena. After the countdown they all gas it up and get up as much speed as they can and ram the cars on the other side. Then they go at it everyone against each other until only one car is still running.







In the finale there must have been 25 cars out there! Several fires started up and had to be put out but the fight went on for more than 30 minutes! To the death...





After all was said and done and the winner was declared, most everyone else had to either be towed away or carried off by a tractor...notice the driver still inside. Red flags were thrown when fires started up. The announcer would then yell at any drivers who were stuck in demolished cars and wanted to vacate the arena, that if they wanted to escape, that was their time, run for it! Some chose to stay anyway. Now that's dedication.





The stadium was packed. Oops, not looking at the camera, but hey, you can see my new haircut.

Hiking Hayden Butte ("A" Mountain)

Last weekend, in honor of it being ASU homecoming (ASU is undefeated by the way!), we decided to hike Hayden Butte, where the big "A" is painted. It's really not that much of a mountain, more like a really steep hill that's rocky. But I was sure sore the next day! No switchbacks, it just goes straight up.




The view from the top. That's the Phoenix skyline in the distance.







A dried out cactus. Sometimes not even THEY can survive the dry heat apparently.

Finals are over, time to celebrate!

The MBA program just finished their first trimester. So of course we all went out to celebrate! One down, only 5 more to go...

Steve seems to really be enjoying himself and soaking it all in. He just received his grades and I am (as always) very proud of my amazingly wise and intelligent husband. He even received a letter from the dean this week, congratulating him on his outstanding performance. This next trimester he'll have his first official supply chain course, which is exciting since that's the direction he plans to head. He has been working for a supply chain professor as a graduate assistant, putting together exam questions, grading exams, and researching topics for the professor. He's been kept quite busy not only with his courses and groupwork but with clubs, happy hours, information sessions and interviews. Within the next few months he'll know where and with whom he'll be doing his internship this summer.


Sabrina and her husband, Jose. Sabrina is in Steve's group, Jose completed his ASU MBA last year.




Dilyana and David, both also group members. One group member, Patrick, couldn't be there. They have all been mixed up and assigned to new groups for the 2nd trimester, which is bitter-sweet. They worked really well together and made good friendships. I had actually met Dilyana back in DC, she also worked as an accountant for a not-for-profit so we had a lot in common.

Arizona State Fair

Last weekend we went to the state fair to see Chris Daughtry in concert. We saw a lot of other things as well, what a fun place!

The view from our skyride.

Phoenix skyline.

Anxiously waiting for the concert to begin.

Chris rockin' out...with a really annoying guy who thinks he's a "back-up" singer standing right behind us! Can you hear the nasally voice at the end of the video?

More ASU Football

ASU Tailgate - Steve with some of his girlfriends...I mean, classmates.

Happy 6th Anniversary!

We meant to take more pics while down in Tucson visiting family and friends a few weeks back but somehow always seem to forget. I think Steve's mom took this one. It happened to be our 6th anniversary. And we're still head over heels in love. I lucked out and snatched up the best of the best!

Best Cousins

My favorite cousin Krista got married in August but had a reception in Arizona where I got to see her, isn't she the hottest bride ever?!

Here's my home away from home, the business school building.

They're keeping me plenty busy but it is fascinating stuff.

And it has it's perks, the Sports Business department gets us season tickets on the 50 yard line.

Becca's Wedding

My sister Becca got married July 28th in South Jordan, Utah. This is all of the siblings minus one (Dean is on an LDS mission in Minnesota and will be home in November). It was great to have almost all of us together!

DC Photos

Here are some of my favorite photos from my time alone in DC.

Conjugal Visit

Living on opposite sides of the country certainly has been hard. Bad cell phone reception, limited email access, time zone differences...countless things seem to get in our way of expressing our love to each other. I have vowed to never take my amazing wife for granted again. While I may never be able to live up to that personal expectation, I'll have these last few weeks as a reminder of what I am without her...nothing.

Lucky for us, we're just a rental car, a delayed flight, and a jump away from each other, so we got to spend a few precious days after the 4th of July together.

Don't worry, we were parked at the time.

Virginia Beach May 2007

Our last trip to Virginia Beach before the big move across the country.

New York Trip - May 2007

Steve surprised me with a weekend getaway trip to New York for my birthday. The surprise also included tickets for the Good Morning America studio audience where we met Diane Sawyer and Wolfgang Puck. Steve sure has a knack for making his way onto national television!

Announcing...our first blog!

We decided to jump on the band wagon of blogging because we love being like everyone else. Well, to be honest that's exactly why we have NOT been bloggers. But the usefulness has outweighed our pride and we have given in...if only to lessen the number of phone calls and emails we have to keep up with to stay in touch with family and friends ;) Just kidding, it's fun reading all the blogs and definitely a great way to keep in touch!