the end of phoenix

after eight months of traveling to and from phoenix every week, jeremy was released from his project during the first week of may.  the call came out of the blue while jeremy was working from home and when he told me via g-chat that he was off the project my response was something like "stop...really? no way."  and "don't mess around with me."

it didn't seem real! i had gotten used to sleeping alone, eating alone, errands alone...everything alone! weekends were for celebrating: dinners and movies and friends with little time for real life disagreements and chores. what the heck were we going to do now?  was our bathroom sink big enough for two bodies to stand in front of every work day?  who's turn would it be to make breakfast? and whoa - is seeing my spouse every day good for my marriage? ;)

...

those eight months that i spent alone in this city were the most frustrating months of my life. before this time alone  every thing was shared: opinions, meals, cries, prayers, plans etc. the truth that i will sing to my grave is that when you're married at 20, you just don't know who you are.  i didn't know who i was until i spent eight months by myself.

around month four my prayers became more fervent, my heart more full, and my love for my husband (and bff)  stronger than ever before.

...

and now he's here.  living with me in new york city - at least for the time being.  and we argue.  we're back to sharing a sink and i have someone to make me breakfast. ;)  marriage is the best and most difficult thing i've  ever done and do you know what?  you sure as heck may not know who you are when you get married at 20, but who knows if i would've known at 22 or 30?  maybe all along i needed eight months in a studio apartment all to myself.

jeremy's last early weekend arrival from phoenix >

march in arizona

thanks to jeremy's amazing commute (jklolbrbomg), i've been able to make a couple quick weekend trips to the desert.  my most recent trip was over jeremy's birthday weekend. (woo! jeremy! birthday!)

we used some of jeremy's hyatt points(because when you live in a hotel, you collect a lot of points ;) and booked a room the night i flew in so we could spend the next day lounging by the pool and drinking virgin piña coladas.

in all seriousness, jeremy's travel schedule these past few (eight...) months have been pretty difficult.  i try to keep the majority of my grumbles to myself but sometimes i find myself spilling my guts to friends and family. (hi! sorry!)  i was talking to my mom the other day and it really hit me what an incredible blessing this has been for me and jeremy.

1. there's no way we would have been able to spend this much time with my family with out jeremy's commute to phoenix.

2. weekends are so. much. fun.  i live for the weekend, and not because i hate my job!

3. jeremy and i have had such a cool opportunity to become really. incredible. friends.  we have spent so many hours talking about the our past, present, and future and gosh, it's exciting.

and now! here are some pictures of another quick trip! >>

oh, sandy

on saturday afternoon in arizona, i heard about the super-storm headed for the east coast.  i was supposed to start work on monday so i decided to get on that plane, just in case the storm turned out to be nothing and monday would actually be a normal work day. 

well, guess what guys? it wasn't. 

my flight ended up being the very last flight into the city before they started canceling flights left and right.  

!!!

i got home, picked up some groceries, a large cheese pizza, and a pack of coke. (i've never been in a huricane, okay?! pizza and soda sounded like necessities!) (i can humbly tell you right here, right now, that i was wrong. THEY ARE NOT NECESSITIES.  yuck.) 

anyway, so here i am on my couch, watching the city get beat up by sandy, and according to the reports i may not be going to work until wednesday.  

maybe.

heaving a long, heavy, melodramatic siiiigh

and now, here are a couple photos i took on my walkabout before sandy came and ruined everything:

also, look at this!

oh, and just to remind everyone where i could have been:

alright, pity party is over.  i feel a little better, don't you?

...

#madduxmatrimony

this past weekend, jeremy and i had the opportunity to attend the wedding of the century.  for reals, we waited a long time to see these two tie the knot. and it was worth the wait. 

i cannot even express the love that we have for scott and kylee.  

the wedding was so fun and filled with so much love. 

it was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but we'll be seeing them again soon! 

sealing the deal with a kylee is serious business.

best flash mob. best people.

love love love these people. so grateful to have witnessed such a happy day. 

and here's a video i stole of the dance, so good.  TOO good.

...

mwah mwah mwah

spending the summer in the desert with the cooks was seriously one of the best decisions jeremy and i've made in 2012 so far.  from farming in the backyard with mom, to celebrating with dad, listening to peri and chloe talk about things that sounded far more dramatic than they actually were, and standing in the airport waiting for noah to come home, it was all just perfect.  

see you soon, guys! love you all so much.

when our guy came home

noah returned from serving in el salvador on august second and the whole crew was there to greet him at the airport.  

next thing you know they'll be sharing a milk shake!!

this past week has seriously been the the best time of my life.  all of my people are at home just hangin' out and it's a blast.  i can't even think about leaving them without getting crazy (in a scary way).

welcome home, noah! 

i could go on for days about the backyard

we have spent so much time in the yard with the animals this summer.

it's ridiculous how much fun we (jeremy) has chasing the new ducks around and picking them up (six at a time) when the mama's not looking. 

poor girl get's crazy and stomps her feet when jeremy's around; she know's trouble when she sees it.

right before she snapped

i swear they're fine...

haboob

HABOOB!

last week, while i was at work i missed a big haboob. no problem, jeremy snapped a few photos.
these are the type of things i will miss about living in the most beautiful desert in all the land.

babies

a couple weeks ago jeremy heard one of the baby duck's voice (he is a duck whisperer!) coming from right outside our window.  and like any good farmer's assistant he went straight outside to see what was going on!

you guys! jeremy's favorite yellow duck was stuck in a pool of freezing cold water! near death! 

!!!

and do you know what?  jeremy spent the next hour cuddling that little duck, and only when it had stopped shivering and could walk on it's own did he release it back into the yard.

i love this guy so much.

Lately

Lately I spend most of my days at Nordstrom putting makeup on the citizens of Scottsdale while Jeremy sits at home and studies his brains out for the CPA exam. Between that and the move coming up we're both out of our minds with anxiety (nordstrom ain't no party, people. ** 4 more days).

We doing our best to enjoy the time we have left with my family before we pack up our things and kiss everyone goodbye.

Also, acting a fool in our down time helps to relieve stress FYI. 

for a birthday, a wedding, and because.

sometimes you just need a quick break, you know? and last weekend, before jeremy's finals and after my long stint in retail (that will start up again come june...), was THE PERFECT time to get out of dodge.

so we packed up one quarter of our things and headed to the desert.

first order of business was to snag the bronzed birthday girl for a quick lunch. (i'm a ghost next to those people.)

before the wedding reception chloe and my parents took us out for dinner.  thanks you three! 

to the wedding reception we went.  reunions with great friends are the best. 

(i'm not sure how the boys ended up with so many group shots and not the girls? figures with this group, though...) 

our last day in the sun was spent with some of the best people we know. we did a little shopping, ate at oreganos, ate at joe's, and then finished the night celebrating jeremy's birthday from last month and counting down the minutes until peri was sixteen.  

i miss my little baby ladies already, but now i've got to get serious about packing up this apartment! 

see you in a week, cooks!