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Phoenix, AZ 22 September 2004 The towncar/limo service just dropped the kids off at our brand-new, award-winning, top-rated apartment home. No art school homework tonight, so we three girls are chilling at the pool, waiting for Daddy-O to come home and grill us some veggie burgers for dinner. Life is good. The girls have gone from being terrified of water in May, to being champion swimmers today. Thank you, Aunt Jill, who taught them to not fear the water at the Outer Banks, a resort town in North Carolina. Lucy and Gracie had a good time in Princeton, New Jersey, and every place else this summer with Steve's family. We moved to Arizona the week that they got back from their long vacation. We've been here six weeks or so, and already it feels like home. Sure, there are problems. Boxes fill every available space, including my dreams. We are without good cable (I refuse to watch the regular stuff), and for those of you who know me well, I was super-addicted to the idiot box. But we did it before, when we bought our house, and went for about 5 years without tv, so we're trying again. We have been watching tons of DVD's, but don't ask me about the hurricane that I didn't even know was happening until I heard from Brother Kent in New Orleans that he survived (although several trees at Aunt Nell and Uncle Tom's Florida place were not so lucky). But you know me, nothing like Debbie Reynolds in a crazy musical to chase away the blues. Oh, yeah, then there's that heat thing. 115 degrees is hot, no matter the humidity, but that enormous heat in the day brought evening storms all of August. Between the gorgeous sunsets and the lightning shows, it was like a fireworks display every night. We could get used to that, and we did. Now we are actually a little chilly, it getting up to "only" 90 degrees. Feels like 60 in Indiana terms. We can't get enough of being outside. Imagine, no allergies! No sticky weather! Steve decided today that we really did move to paradise. I concur. Or new Valley of the Sun address is: 3601 East McDowell Road Apt. # 1003 Phoenix, AZ 85008 E-mail us, and we can provide our new phone #'s. No home service out here, just our cells, which is fine with us. Please send us lots and lots of real mail too. Lucy and Lily (Gracie's Arizona moniker) eagerly check the box every day after school. In addition, we want you all to start planning your trips to the desert. There are CHEAP direct flights from Indy on America West; sign up for weekly e-mails for super-good deals. Our new place is bigger than our house was in Indy, and we are waiting (impatiently on my account) for guests. Grandma Cathy arrives in two days for a long weekend. YEAH!!! And Jaclyn comes the second week of October. Yippee!!! Depending on the plans of some of our other loved ones, we may or may not risk a trip to Claremont, California to see Steve's family there over Thanksgiving. Even though the climate is helping me immensely, I still have no plans of getting on a plane any time soon. But, I think that a car ride of less than 8 hours, with a stop every hour, is in my near future. We'll use it to see more of this beautiful American West. So, the rest of you, get your tickets now!!!! I miss my knitting posse, and have found nothing out here to take its place, not that anything ever could. Out here we can knit by the pool year-round, although my heavy wool handmade sweaters will see little wear here in the desert! The girls are loving their new school and are picking up Spanish fairly quickly. They have dance, theatre, music and visual art classes each day and are thriving. That is a huge relief to Steve and myself, as moved across the country on little more than one good night's sleep and a prayer. Steve's new job is challenging in all the right ways, and he's found a way to make a difference in the lives of many people. He is happy being the new guy, and even comes home on time now. I really had no idea how stressed he had been until I look at him now; he's back to being my relaxed, fun-loving best friend and kick-ass father. I am very busy these days, writing a novel. Yes, a novel. It's the biggest thing I have ever tackled, apart from the four years of being pregnant and/or nursing and using only cloth diapers (what were we thinking?!). The book is a lot of fun, even if it is so much work. But, I have never been more excited about a project. I just need to learn to stop writing and get some sleep. Maybe going without the TV was a bad idea. We've really discovered so much about ourselves, each other, and our new city, including our favorite place, The Sugar Bowl. It's a cute ice cream parlour opened in 1958 that serves the best food and sundaes. We were happy to see that there is indeed a CostCo, a Trader Joe's, & a Target close to home. In addition, The Great American West is home to the Uber Fast Food culture. Between Whattaburger, In-n-Out Burger, and Jack in the Box, I am in heaven. Despite the steady diet of "Cheeseburger, no meat", the girls continue to grow at an amazing rate. Steve is settling into his new routine, and me, well, I'm just enjoying this life of luxury... ...come join me, please. KIKI (My new Arizona name)
10April04
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