The Latest and Greatest from the Garrards

So we have moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been an adventure that I never thought I would be embarking on. I visited Vegas with one of my best friends in high school, Brittney Miller, when I was a freshman in high school. The first night in Vegas I cried because I was so overwhelmed by the worldliness of the city. After that cry, we had a blast. It was a trip that I will always remember and love. I never thought I would be moving here. I would tell Mike that I never want to move to Vegas because it is too hot, too dirty, too dusty, etc. Looks like I went back on my word, and the Lord decided that the best place for us to live was Las Vegas. So here I am, sitting in my living room with the AC blasting, living in Vegas.

I arrived here on Monday, August 12, 2013, and reality started really quick. Unpacking began, and naps were taken. I have spent the week sitting in meetings and going through orientations in preparation for the school year. In fact, a week from the moment I will have completed my first day as a teacher at Silverado High School. The first day of school is August 26, 2013. School is a lot easier when there are no students to teach. I have been setting up my classroom and prepping my supplies for the school year. This is the hard part. The district has no money, but we need supplies to teach. We are left in a lose-lose situation, because the teachers do not have money either. I am still really excited thought. I have been waiting all summer for the opportunity to set up my room. It is beginning to look like it belongs to me. I will post pictures as soon as I have the room all put together.

We are waiting for out first paycheck to arrive on Sept.10 and until then we are living frugally. We love our new apartment. We were spoiled with tons of storage in our last apartment. This one has maybe a third of the storage space as our Camelot apartment. This has made unpacking difficult, because we ran out of spots before we ran out of stuff. We are going to have to get creative in our storage methods. Right now, the bathroom across the hall from Delaney's room is serving as a storage room.

We are part of the Silverado ward. We had our first Sunday yesterday. It went well. Delaney has a month until she starts nursery. Mike and I took turns staying with her in nursery. We have to stay with her until she is officially 18 months. During the third hour of church, it started raining, and thundering. It was amazing to see all the flash flooding and lightening. The ward was very welcoming, and a lot of people took the time to stop and talk to us. It is weird going from a family student ward to a "real" family ward. There are a lot less people in Priesthood and Relief Society because of the callings we don't have in student wards.