Homesick

Steve and I have a lot to look forward to right now, especially going home to Utah to visit our families! I have to admit though, I've been a little homesick lately. Here is a list of things that I miss about home...

• I miss going to movies with my mom and sister.
• I miss long and spiritually girl talks with my mom and sister.
• I miss shopping with my best friends Ashley and Brittney.
• I miss hanging out with my other best friends Jessica & Shannon.
• I miss getting to know Steve's family better and spending more time with them. (They are awesome).
• I miss by brothers. They are sooooo cute! (even the 22 year old who thinks he is too cool).
• I miss my dad who is always so giving and perhaps even spoils me a little bit...
• I miss Gracie and Olli (my parents dogs). Gracie is just so smart, smarter than your average dog, I mean, she can open the front door for you!
• I miss crazy (and I mean CRAZY) dance parties with my cousin Lexi and sister Alli. We have some super sweet moves that just can't be done without each other (Michael Jackson techno dance).
• I miss training table cheese fries and Noodles & Company gluten free macaroni & cheese. Yum!
• I miss snowboarding during the winter.
• I miss the smell and beauty of Spring.
• I miss how pretty it is in Utah with the big beautiful mountains and soft green grass.
• I miss downtown Salt Lake with it's big city feel without the big city danger. (Phoenix is Ghetto!)
• I miss the Avenues with all there historic homes that just need someone like Steve & I to live in one and renovate it. I love that area.
• I miss Amy's gluten free bread... Only available in Utah. I have yet to find a bread comparable to it:(

There are so many things I miss about home but to not leave on such a negative note here are a few reasons I love Arizona...

• Don't feel too bad for me. I love that we have a pool in our back yard that I can lay out by any time I want too!
• I love our orange trees, lemon tree, apple tree, apricot tree, lime tree and banana plants.
• I love the way we have re-done our house. I feel like a queen living in a castle sometimes and think "how did we find such an awesome place".
• I love my friends out here! A lot of them where originally Steve's friends and their wives but have quickly became mine too and I love them! I love spending time with them, going to movies and dinner with them and of course... playing games with them. They are all so wonderful!
• I love my ward here.
• I love our calling (in nursery).
• It is hard to see past the heat of the summer but of course I love the winter here... It is so amazing! You can't beat it!
• Most of all, I love my husband and he is here! I would live anywhere for him and he makes everywhere the best place to live as long as we are together...

A little update

May has been a great month for us. Even though it's been getting warmer it has only hit 100 degrees one day so far this month (which is amazing for May!) We have been doing a lot of work on the house and planning our summer trips. We officially have plane tickets to come to Utah the weekend of the 24th of July, so we are looking forward to that. I am also looking forward to a fun girls trip with a couple of my friends from High school to San Diego the weekend of the 4th of July!

In a week and a half Steve and I celebrate our 1 year anniversary. I can't believe it's been a year, it just flew by! I love Steve so much and am so happy to have been able to marry him. He is truly perfect for me. I will probably elaborate more come next week. Steve is planning a surprise anniversary trip for me that weekend and I can't wait. I'm sure wherever we go it will be wonderful because we will be there together:) (Yes... I know that was super cheesy!)

We have been doing a lot of fun things lately. Last Saturday we went to dinner and a drive in movie with some friends and it was a blast. Earlier that day we went to a Gluten Free convention in downtown Phoenix. I was surprised to see the convention was packed full of people, we could barely move around without bumping into someone. I was a little disappointed in all of the booths that where set up. Pretty much all of the products or stores they where advertising I already new about. I was kind of hoping to go and learn of some new products available to me here in Arizona. That's okay though, it was a good and educational experience for Steve to learn more about Celiac disease and the gluten free diet because chances are half of our kids will have it.

The gluten free expo is not the end of my adventure though. I plan on visiting a new gluten free grocery store called the Gluten free country store. It opened a couple of months ago in Gilbert AZ and I am so excited to visit it this week. I will have to let you know how it is, I'm pretty excited about it.