so it begins......

So since I last wrote to you Louis has passed his certificate for his A&P license!!!!! Im soooooo proud of him I really am! We revised until late at night for a few nights and actually had fun doing it, trying to get him to remember things with anagrams and silly little things.
So he passed on Sunday and we went out for a quiet evening to celebrate at one of his favourite restaurants and then went home and watched Louis' latest discovery 'Criminal Minds' I love this as its one of my favourite TV series. Yeah we know how to live it up hehehehe!
So yesterday (Monday 20th Feb) we packed up all our stuff, dont think either of us realised exactly how much we actually had lol and then started the 2 day drive to Phoenix.

First day was gruelling! We drove for about 11 hours and didnt make it as far as El Paso, where we orginally intended so we stopped at a place called Van Horn and checked into a Days Inn. The bed was huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge and probably the comfiest bed Ive slept in for ages!!!
After the best nights sleep both of us had had in a while we got up and left again to finish the journey. Within about an hour of driving we drove through the mountain time zone which meant our clocks went back an hour, that was a little confusing but meant we got an hour extra in bed and still made good time so we werent bothered lol.
The scenery on the drive was beautiful, sunset was the best! i got some pretty nice photos of it, maybe a few too many but never mind. At most points there was just miles and miles of road and desert and nothing else, Ive never seen anything like that before and sure you here about it and see it on the TV but its nothing like actually being there. You see all the building that people live in and wonder why on earth you would ever complain about anything. Gave me a little more of a perspective and I was only driving past.
The second day I took another batch of photos and when we got to El Paso you could see the Mexican boarder and actually see parts of Mexico. It was really strange to see it because it really is so close that you can see windows on the houses, its only seperated by a couple of fences, its heavily guarded and from the side we were looking at its almost like they were caged in. Possibly a little bit of a dramatic but Ive never seen such segregation before.
The places we passed through were amazing, beautiful in their own rustic way (as you will be able to see from the pictures) the moutains go on and on and its so damn hot! You can see rubber on the roads from where tyres (yes it is spelt tyres and not tires guys! lol) had blown up and the road was quite bumpy and uneven. In the pictures you will see little houses, well they are more like little shacks and thats pretty normal in those areas, I honestly thought I knew what it was like to not have alot but now I feel like I have no idea.

So we finally got to Phoenix and honestly could not be more glad to stop my knees hurt, my butt was numb and Louis and I were both getting cabin fever from the car!

I would be lying if I said I wasnt a little nervous about meeting Louis' family but as soon as I walked in the front door Louis' niece gave me a cuddle and his sister Deveana, I was then greeted by his Mum said "heres my future in law", basically a little like being at my house.
All three of Deve's children are brilliant, they are so funny and really friendly. The two girls remind me of two of my own sisters when they were young and its so funny to watch them playing and how they behave. The youngest, Jayden is quite shy and quiet so far so will take a while I think but hes only 4 so its normal.

After playing a few rounds on the wii with the kids they went to bed and then we werent that far behind to be honest. Deve gave me a present (picture will be uploaded later) from everyone, it was a bundle of toiletries including nail files a comb and various other bits and pieces that frankly a girl cannot live without. I thought it was the sweetest thing and I was quite touched that they had taken the time to do that and they wrapped it so beautifully as well.

So this morning 22 February at about 6.30am was when the day started, been a while since Ive been around for a school morning but they werent half as noisy as what we all were when we were kids lol. Since Ive been here its so nice because it reminds me of when my sisters, my brother and I all lived together when we were kids, having 6 siblings wasnt always easy but mostly always fun. Being around a close family with 3 kids is great though, even the early starts lol.

So the weather is going to be about 20 degrees today, this is when I dont miss the UK lol!

Going to get Louis to show me around Phoenix today so expect more pictures!