NC - Perfect place to live

Tired of the Arizona heat? Living out West getting you down?

Well, if so, we have the answer.

What do you you think this beautiful home costs? $250K? $350K? More? Well, as a special offer, today it is being offered at $220,000! That's right - $220,000!

But wait! If you act now - the real list price is only $189,900!

189,900

Well, that's our little advertisement for North Carolina for all those out in the West that are priced out of the market. We went on a walk this afternoon and took some pictures of spring and checked out the houses that are for sale. We thought this was one of the best looking homes that was for sale - nice landscaping and big front and back yards. Oh, another thing, if you ever come out to NC and say that you are from AZ, the first thing people will talk about is how the Arizona heat is nothing compared to the heat out here because it is humid here for a few months. They talk about 110 degrees in AZ as if it were the mid-70s because it is a "dry heat". We try and tell them that anything over 105 or so starts to get really bad, and that every degree over that is progressively worse. But, it doesn't faze them - we talked with one lady last summer that said that she flew into Scottsdale and it was 115 and she didn't even feel it. I was amazed. Oh well, either way, summer is hot - but a perfect time for grilling outdoors (I would have said "having a barbeque" - but that means something entirely different out here). So yeah, an update on our lives for this week: Mike is learning a lot about the brain and the rest of the nervous system and Emily is working about 50 hours a week during "busy" season for accountants - all while studying for the CPA exam. Emily has taken one part of the four part exam so far, so she's one-quarter CPA (if the results come back like we want them to :) ). If we see any other good houses for sale - we'll make sure to post some more pictures - just in case we can sway anyone to come out to where the "real" heat is. We hope everyone is well and having a great time during this spring season (or I guess it's already summer if you're in AZ).

Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday! We had a combined celebrated last night with friends for Matt Grace's bday and Liesl Einerson's getting into grad school. Mike got me a pink lemonade cake (yum!) and beautiful pink roses. But my absolute favorite was my happy birthday song over the phone, sung by my cutie pie niece Carys!

Spring Break Project

Here are some of the before pictures:

Here is the demolition picture:

Here is the finished product:

Signs of Spring

We've enjoyed all the NC seasons so far, but I think spring is going to be my favorite. We didn't even know what we were missing in AZ! The weather is so nice and color is starting to appear. Can't wait until everything is in full bloom.

Popcorn's Popping!

3 Years!

On March 4th we celebrated our third anniversary. It's fun to think back to the rainy day we were married in the Mesa temple. Although our married lives started out stormy (thunder, lighting, rain....the works!), these past three years have really been perfect.

White Coat Ceremony

"McDreamy and Emily"

Mike had his "Family Weekend" during February and both sets of parents came into town. We had a full house, but we had a good time spending time with our parents while they were here.

The family

Mike and his friends are known as the "Merry Married Mens Club" at school. We don't know where the title came from. I think everyone's just jealous that the best looking guys at school are taken. I'm so proud of my future doctor. It's difficult to take him seriously now. I was practicing my acting skills for him as a patient yesterday, in preparation for next week's exams. I had to laugh during the abdominal exam and I thought he was trying to choke me during the thyroid exam. Maybe by the end of 4th year I'll be able to trust his exam skills, but for now he's just a little boy playing doctor.

Liesl, Brett, Matt, Sarah, Randy, Laurie, Mike and Me

"The Breadwinners"

Our lives in North Carolina

We have been living here in Winston-Salem, NC for nearly 9 months already!!! Time has flown by and we have grown to love this place. We've learned that in order to survive in the south we must drive slow, say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am", smile and wave to everyone we pass, say hello to strangers, and never ever eat the Mexican food! Daily life includes school for Mike, work for Emily, and lots of studying for both of us. We find time for fun as well! Medical school is an adventure and we've come to find out that the journey has only begun. We have each other though, and some really great friends here to experience it with us.