Each day we get a few more things done and think of a few more things to do. The apartment is finally starting to feel more like home, though, which is great. Today, we finished unpacking and organizing all of the books, which, as some of you know, was quite a project. (Thanks, Katie, for all your help with the alphabetizing--we just kept finding more boxes of books to add!) In the last couple of days we also got new AZ driver licenses, took care of some business at the university, and went shopping. I've also now cooked two dinners in my new kitchen. It's so huge compared to the last two kitchens I've had that I hardly know what to do with myself! We also have all brand new appliances, which is such a treat. I plan to bake some banana bread tomorrow, so we'll see how the oven works (and how hot it will make the apartment...). So far it is still hard to believe that we're in Tucson for good. Besides all the hard work unpacking, cleaning, unpacking, and cleaning again, it almost feels like a vacation. I think it's going to be sometime next week when I realize this is the real deal. So far, though, I've had a phone call (or two) from people in ABQ each day, which has been really nice. Just knowing people are thinking of us and praying for us is such a blessing. Tomorrow I've got two big projects: finish unpacking the last dozen or so boxes and organize the 'laundry room'. If that goes well, I'll finally be ready to post some pictures...
Well, the last few days have been very busy, but for the most part, things went as planned. We left ABQ early on Saturday morning and arrived at our new apartment in the early afternoon. It was definitely hot while we unloaded the truck, but it could have been worse. The apartment is a little more rough around the edges than we expected, but our landlord is a really nice guy and I'm sure he'll get everything taken care of in the next few days. Of course, even as is, it's SO much nicer than our last place. I would love to post some pictures, but I can't find any new batteries for our camera, so that will have to wait. We had a lot of help with moving and getting settled--my dad drove our U-Haul, mom and grandma drove their car, Mark and I drove ours, and Mark's parents and sister flew out. I think it would have taken forever to get all our stuff and furniture unloaded and set up without all those extra hands. Besides unpacking and arranging (and rearranging) furniture, we did get to sample some of the local restaurants and take the family to see the university. Mark's brother Damon recommended Biscuit's, so we went there for lunch one day and enjoyed it. We had also heard good things about a local Mexican chain El Charro and Tucson's #1 pizza place Magpie's. So we went to El Charro yesterday and Magpie's today and they were both excellent. Right now, we've got all the major stuff unpacked and just have a few more boxes to go. I'm also sure there will be more reorganizing to do as we go along. But, we've still got plenty of things on the to-do list for the week (MVD, student ID cards, register for classes, buy parking permit...). I hope to also have some time to just relax and maybe even sight see before the semester starts. Well, that's how things are going so far. I really will try to get some pictures up in the next few days.
First of all, sorry to those of you who checked this right away, before I had anything posted (Damon). Mark and I figured it would be best to send all of the new info out at once instead of sending the blog address out separately. So, anyway, the idea is to try and keep everyone up to date on what's going on with us as we begin the next chapter of our lives. Today we were up early and spent the better part of the day packing up everything we own. Tomorrow, we'll load it all up into the U-Haul and head to Tucson. We're pretty wiped out, but the excitement is keeping us going. We can't wait to say good riddance to our apartment in ABQ and get settled in our new (literally) apartment in Tucson. And, of course, we're eager to get back to school. Well, I think this will have to do for now...hope you'll keep reading and stay in touch!
