Oct. '99 - Mar. '00 Update
Hello!!! Its hard to believe the time has flown so swiftly. Since transferring to Phoenix, our travelling schedule changed. In Sweden, Steve would work 3 weeks and get 2 weeks off. In the States, he works 8 days and gets 6 days off. This resulted in us setting off for Phoenix, Miami (our home) or San Diego (Steve's parents) every 8 or 6 days. We are pretty burned out with all this travelling. Thank the Lord Ariana has been a darling and done good (most of the time). There were days when I thought I couldn't take any more since she was getting her molars and between being congested and a fever. Now Steve has been assigned to Winfield, Kansas which means we will be travelling as much.
We were in Phoenix from mid October thru March 23. The weather has been dry and cold, but not too cold. We had the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon, Saguaro Lake, Casa Grande ruins, Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. Arizona is a beautiful state with different sceneries, from desert to hills/mountains, dull colors to some vibrant colors. We hope to have some pictures so you know what I am referring to. One advantage to working in Phoenix was that we could visit with Steve's family more often, since it takes an hour by air to get there. Ariana could spend more time with Steve's family.
We stayed in a hotel that had a kitchenette, so I could cook some days. There was a laundry room and storage room which we needed so we could leave some things behind everytime we travelled. There was a pool that we used when it was warmer in October. There was a big park with a big lake and slides and swings that Ariana enjoyed. We would feed the ducks and she loved playing in the sand. There were some good places to eat, so overall it was pretty satisfactory.
Well, our baby Ariana has grown a lot. She understands a lot and even says quite a few words. One word will mean a lot of things, e.g. bah will mean bath, bird, bug, butterfly, etc.... She knows the parts of her body and even says some. She has learnt more action songs. She is a ham and enjoys it when people she is familiar with watches her perform and she expects you to applaud her every move/song/antic..... She is friendly and says hi to everyone she sees at the airport/shopping mall/grocery stores but will not go to strangers. I am relieved because I was afraid that she was too friendly and would go to anyone. We enjoy her a lot and thank the Lord for such a wonderful baby. Steve and I have been blessed. She has been real good with all the travelling and has adjusted well. Of course, there have been times when she has had her moments, her colds and her teething pain. I have had my periods of frustration but overall could not have had better and I thank the Lord for this blessing.
So, this is it for now. Hope to be more regular with the updates and next time we will share about Kansas. I have always wanted to experience the midwest, so we'll see...
UPDATE APRIL '00:
Guess you have figured out by now that we couldn't get the webpage out in March. So I have updates on Kansas. Its a small town with a population of 11,000 people. There is one walmart and one big food store. The mall is in Wichita which is 45 minutes from Winfield. Praise the Lord we were able to rent a 2 bedroom apartment and some furniture at less than hotel cost. Then we have cable modem which will keep Steve happy for the next 6 months. There are some really nice folks and we have found a small church to attend. Last week (4/7) on our break to Miami, we packed up small stuff and drove up here which took nearly 2 days. So now Jane has a vehicle and we don't have to travel as much. On our breaks, we hope to drive to nearby cities and explore some. Please feel free to visit us here if you need some "real" rest and relaxation.
Take care