Arizona

We made it! We're here! We left Kansas the Sunday after Christmas and arrived in Arizona on Tuesday. We split it up into 3 days so we wouldn't go crazy in the car. And by that I really mean so Josh wouldn't go crazy, 'cause I'll be honest, Eli and I are not the best long-car-ride companions. But we made it!

Eli and Josh on our front porch in Kansas. The car is all packed and we are heading out!

For the most part, Eli did not sleep very much in the car, and when he did it would only be for 20-30 minutes so he would most likely wake up cranky. He asked for his bear and his puppy and his blanket every time and I would have to lay the blanket out over him, even if it was already hot in the car.

The day after we arrived to Arizona it rained and then snowed up on the mountains. Snow! In Arizona! Aunt Carrie said she doesn't remember ever seeing snow on the mountains around Phoenix. You can just barely see it in the picture, but it's there!

A few days later, after warming up a bit, we went to a park with Aunt Carrie and Uncle Alan and Grandma Sue. They had a train you can ride. Eli was so excited! When he is in new situations, he doesn't talk very much and doesn't interact or smile. But I promise, he loved riding the train. 

Sitting, waiting for the train to go. Eli took my phone and took pictures of Daddy and Grandma 'Soup'.

After the train ride he thought he just had to ride this car too. I promise, he loved driving the car. :)

We asked him if he wanted to ride the jet ski (we had one ticket left, so why not?) and he said yes, so Josh helped him on. He was very serious about riding it. We cheered him on every time he passed by! He couldn't hide his smile as he passed us...

But then he would turn away as he came near us! My two year old is embarrassed of his family! What will he think when he is 16? 

We stayed with Grandma Sue for a little over a week after we came to town, until we were able to move into a apartment (and get internet!). I love we were able to find something close to the hospital! I've never been this close to work before (unless you count when I was 14 and worked at the little league baseball field two blocks from our house), and I love it. We also have a great park just a block down the street. Eli loves the slides! 

This is actually a park we met Carrie and Alan at on Sunday afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny 70 degrees, and apparently eveyone had the same idea, but it was still lots of fun! He went down ALL the slides (and they had a lot!) more than once, and they also had a pond with ducks! 

And a fountain. He wanted to 'get in', but I promise we didn't let him!

Watching the ducks. 

His favorite slide was this big one. Josh had to lift him up to get to it, but he would slide down and run back to Josh to have him lift him up again and again!

After the park, we headed over to Bass Pro to see the big fish! This was awesome. He sat in front of the tank and watched the fish for a good 10-15 minutes (super long in Eli time). 

"Fish" 

After watching fish, we walked around the store. So many things to see! He 'drove' a gator, 'slept' in a tent, followed animal foot prints and saw lots and lots of animals!

2015 Adventures!

We are setting off to a new adventure! As most of you know (but some may not), we will be starting off the new your in a new state; Arizona.

To explain from the beginning, I need to go back to August; this is when we first started thinking about change. Our initial thought was to move towards the Joplin Missouri area to be closer to Josh's sister Rachel (but mostly her two kids, Scout and Rhuey, who are around Eli's age). We love you Rachel and Vance, but we love your kids just a little bit more. Not even gonna try to deny it.

Anyway, in thinking about trying to find a new job, in a new city, in a new state (for me, Sara), I contacted a travel nurse agency (see below for more details on travel nursing), thinking they would be able to help me with getting a Missouri license and finding a job. They can, but as we began going down that road, we started thinking, "why move NOW? What's stopping us from [nurse] traveling for a while before we settle down in a new place?" We would both be quitting the jobs we have now, selling our house and packing up everything anyway. Why not? Eli is not in school and he's young and generally more flexible now than he would be later.

We decided to try this travel nursing and spend time with some family we don't get to see as much; first stop, Arizona! Most of Josh's mom's family is in the Mesa area, so that is where we are headed. I start work at a children's hospital in Mesa on January 5th and my contract ends April 4th. For now, that's what we know. If we don't hate the travel nurse life, we would like to visit the Seattle area next, but that is not official in any way; just an idea right now.

FAQ:

How long will we do travel nursing? Will we go to other places after this? We don't know yet.

Are we still going to Joplin after travel nursing? No. For several reasons, we have decided against that idea. I think it was more of a stepping stone idea God used to get us to where we are now. Funny how He works sometimes, isn't it?

What WILL we do after travel nursing? Not really sure right now. (You love my answers, don't you?) :)

A lot of things are in the 'wait and see' file. We feel this is where God has brought us for now, and what He does next or where He leads us is up to Him!

Pray for us, email us, text us, keep up with our adventures on the blog and Facebook; we would love to hear from you! We are already missing the people we are used to seeing most often, and I know we will miss other people along the way, but we will also be making stronger relationships with family and friends we would otherwise not see or be around. What opportunities! What adventures!

**A note about travel nursing:

for those of you who might be wondering "what in the world is that?" or, "how does that work?"... I am employed by an agency that hospitals contact to say they need specific help for a specific period (i.e. a pediatric nurse from January to April), the agency then sends applications from the nurses they employ that fit the requirements set by the hospital. The hospital will conduct phone interviews with applicants to determine who they would like to hire, if they like me and I like them, we sign a contract saying I will work for them for the specified period. Technically, I am not 'moving' every time we go to a new hospital, the government sees it as 'business travel' (as long as I don't stay in one place for more than 52 weeks) and I get reimbursements for mileage, housing and meals, along with regular pay. The agency helps me find the jobs themselves, but they also support me every step of the way; they help get paperwork lined up (trust me, it's a lot of paperwork!), my nursing license for the state I'm going to, housing, etc. as well as moral support. :) They do this all the time!

Now, some very,very late BIRTHDAY pictures!

I made this cake for his birthday; two layer chocolate with cream cheese and oreo filling, with chocolate ganashe and 'dirt' on top. It was good, let me tell you. Even those who may not love chocolate would like this.

You would think Eli is reaching for the cake, wouldn't you? But, no! He loves his tractors! That's all he wanted. I had managed to hide the fact that I borrowed his tractors for the cake, but as soon as he saw them, it was, "oh, my TRACTOR!"

On his birthday, he also got the special treat of riding in the car at the Walmart entrance. He doesn't look too thrilled in the picture, but trust me, it was greatly enjoyed and not soon (ever) forgotten.