arizona in idaho

one thing i really miss from arizona are all the beautiful citrus trees. especially the lemon trees. i always told david that if we owned a house in arizona we had to have a lemon tree in our front yard. they are so beautiful and add a lovely splash of color. mmm and they smell so sweet. not to mention how tasty fresh arizona lemons, oranges and grapefruits are... . . i think one of the harding moving adjustments was coming from beautiful warm arizona weather with citrus trees full, flowers blooming and sun shining to cold, snowy, brown, icky idaho weather. the other day i was really missing the sun and to my delight clients at work brought in bagfuls of fresh arizona produce they brought back from a trip. all week i have been feasting on delicious, juicy, arizona oranges and grapefruits. it has made idaho weather a little more bearable. . . enjoy your friday, kira . post edit: what is going on??? now blogger won't give me any spaces!!! am i just technologically challenged or is this an issue with the website? i have never had trouble like this before!

the breakfast club

the morning after our wedding dave and i happened upon this cute little breakfast bistro in scottsdale. we both loved it: he for their large portions and low prices, me for the modern yet cozy interior. dave claims this was the best breakfast he ever had. for his birthday my plan was to take him here, but because of the whole tire incident we never made it. i was hoping to make it before we left arizona but our work schedules did not allow. i guess we now have a must stop place next time we visit. if you are ever in scottsdale i highly recommend.

firsts and lasts

on saturday night dave and i went to the temple for the last time before the big move. the rainy night made us both feel very reminiscent. the first time we went to the temple it was raining, it also rained the morning of our wedding. how fitting for it to rain on our last (for now) visit.
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until next time,
k

birthday at the lucky nail

david's birthday seemed like an episode of my name is earl-- full of irony and karma (and even some my name is earl like characters). friday night we went out to maricopa to have cake and ice cream with dave's family. we watched a movie and since it was late when it got over we ended up staying the night instead of making the 45 minute drive home. we woke up early on saturday morning to hurry home and get ready for the day because i had surprises in store. when we woke up dave's mom asked if we would mind following her to big o tires to drop off her car and then drive her back to her house. we did but birthday boy wasn't too happy--he was excited for his surprise. we took her to the tire store which was packed of course because it was saturday. we had a bit of a delay but were finally on the road home!
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we weren't too far along on the freeway when we looked at each other, "do we have a flat tire?!"

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we pulled over to discover that we did not have a flat tire but we did have a huge bolt stuck into our tire. irony or karma? we turned around back to the tire store. we waited and waited and waited to talk to someone only to learn that there was about a 4 hour wait. we really didn't have a choice. birthday boy really wasn't happy now and either was i. so much for my plans. we didn't wait too long when the lady who was in front of us in line came over to talk to us. she was wearing pajama bottoms and a shirt cut a little too low which revealed a nice marijuana leaf tattoo. we didn't catch her name but for the sake of the story we'll call her mary jane. she let us know that she knew of a guy in town who could repair our tire and if he couldn't he would be able to sell us a used tire for only twenty dollars. she offered to let us follow her there. sounded a little sketchy but at this point we were desperate.

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we followed mary jane to lucky nail tire. at first glance it looked just like an ordinary double wide but as you pulled along to the side there was a tire leaned up against the 'house' that had "lucky nail tires" painted on its side. luckily there was only one vehicle in line before us-- a van advertising "party rentals". Mary Jane was ecstatic. Apparently this party rental company didn't have a website or phone book listing and the only advertisement they had was this van. Mary Jane had used them in the past and had been driving all around town looking for the van so she could call them for her daughters birthday.

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"I never would have found them if I hadn't helped you!" Mary Jane exclaimed, "Do you believe in karma?"

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After the days events we definitely did.

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There was a slight language barrier but our tire fixing friend knew enough english to tell us "cash only" (i wonder why)? so after a run to the atm for some cash we were on our way. Luckily it took less than 4 hours.

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My plans didn't happen but we were still able to go out for dinner and a movie and had quite a bit to laugh about!

skyline

{phoenix}

i've always found city skylines to be a lot more captivating at night.
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hope you are enjoying your weekend,
k

hot air balloons + german food

over the weekend dave and i had the chance to go with some friends to the glendale hot air balloon festival. if you ever get the chance to go i highly recommend going at night-it is so beautiful to see the balloons light up! for a list of hot air balloon festivals all over the world click here.
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while in glendale we also got a chance to eat at Haus Murphy's, a german restaurant that was featured on diners, drive-ins, dives. i haven't eaten much german food so it was a little different but i do love a good sauerkraut. the restaurant had a very fun environment which made me feel i was actually in germany. it was refreshing because i have had a hard time finding culture in arizona.

fhe find

tonight after fhe we went on a nice long walk and found ourselves a little friend! we played with thumper-wumper for a while and then set him free back into the wild!

jumping back into the swing of things

now that all wedding festivities are over, we are back from our honeymoon, decorated our humble home and received callings in our ward i feel like we are jumping back into the swing of things. i am grateful for my husband and all that he does for me, i am grateful for our amazing new ward and our new callings, i am grateful for my job and the people i work with, i am grateful

that i am able to listen to general conference this weekend and i am grateful for all of my family and friends.

pre-wedding festivities: part I

the week of the wedding david and i were able to go through the temple for the first time together: what an amazing spiritual experience. we were so grateful to be surrounded by loving family members. the night we went through the temple it was an uncharacteristically rainy evening so we all huddled close for photo.

hubcaps a plenty

on wednesday we discovered that we were {already} missing a hubcap off our car, just four days after it was bought. yesterday morning we went out on a quest to find our missing hubcap. we figured we had most likely lost it somewhere on the long stretch of highway between maricopa and chandler which we drive almost everyday. so we woke up before the crack of dawn in hopes of somewhat cooler temperatures and less traffic, neither of which was the case.
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we drove slowly down the highway keeping our eyes peeled for small round pieces of shiny silver material. just about half a mile down the freeway we spotted one in the median! unfortunately we didn't see it in time to pull over and even if we had it was closer to the other side of the highway. we continued to drive until we found a place to turn around. keeping in mind where we saw the hubcap we drove slowly the other direction, making sure not to miss it this time. we slowed in time for dave to hop out of the car and grab it, only to discover that it did not match the other 3 hubcaps on our car.
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time for round two: again we headed up the highway watching like hawks as we slowly drove the stretch of highway, annoying all of the cars on the road i'm sure. this time, about eight miles down the road we spotted another hubcap, also closer to the other side of the highway--this one had to be ours! again we found a place to turn around and headed to back to retrieve our missing 'treasure'. once again, no match.
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to make a long story short, we continued this until we ended up with five hubcaps, none of them ours. guess we'll just have to head to auto zone....we probably should have to start out with.

this week

this week a neighboring business (nothing bundt cakes) stopped by my work with free samples. OH-MY-GOSH. delish. the cakes are both beautiful and amazingly scrumptious. i highly recommend trying one if you ever get the chance. (sarah, there is one in dallas)! i wish there was one in boise, i really think i would have one at my reception.

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this week we also saw eclipse, the latest in the twilight saga. i must say, definitely the best so far in the saga. although, the new victoria really bugs. has anyone else seen it? what do you think?

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we have really been enjoying the new car. it was so much fun making our first really important purchase/decision together.

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hope you are all having a fantastic week

kir

new car

my oh my what a week it has been! we spent the week car shopping and this morning, finally, drove home our new (to us) toyota carolla. it looks awfully similar to my high school car and is basically identical to my sisters car!

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the wedding is now just 20 days away, yikes! last month i thought it couldn't come fast enough and now i am wondering how it can be here so soon! a week from today we can start moving in to our apartment, then we'll have just one more saturday before the big day! crazy!

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hope you all are having a lovely saturday, it is a scorcher here!

k

mrs.

this is the thank you card dave and i got in the mail from bed bath & beyond thanking us for registering...i couldn't help but feel a little giddy when i saw it! can you guess why?

it friday! enjoy,

k

bahama bucks

this week i crossed something off my to do list for life: try a bahama bucks. mmm mmm mmm.
not only was the snow cone delicious, but so was the company: a double date with vanessa and her new husband nolan!

two turtles

it's funny how a couple of turtles on a rock can brighten your day.

hope you are enjoying your weekend,
kira

weekend visit

my mom and dad are coming to visit this weekend, oh how excited i am to see them!

salsa festival

yesterday dave and i went to the maricopa city salsa festival. we sampled and voted on salsas galore: strawberry salsa, super chunky salsa, runny salsa, salsa with cheese, bbq salsa...you name it!

at the salsa festival we even got a caricature drawn of us...what a good looking couple!

desert home

arizona's desert landscape is starting to grow on me

hope you are having a lovely tuesday,
kira

sunny and 75

warm enough to lay out in the backyard....i love you arizona.

horsey rides

this weekend i introduced the "horsey ride" to daves nephews and they would not let me stop! when i finished with one the other with crawl on my lap for their turn. after i told them the horsey was tired they both crawled on my lap and waited for me to start again. i sure miss my own niece and family but it is so nice that i am close with dave's family, it helps me not feel too homesick.

hope you had a happy easter,
kira