{"id":2568,"date":"2016-05-31T12:57:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T19:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/?p=2568"},"modified":"2025-11-06T14:18:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T22:18:39","slug":"2016-january-to-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2016\/05\/31\/2016-january-to-june\/","title":{"rendered":"2016 – March to May"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hey <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We kept it quiet during March and mostly in April. Mainly going on weekend trips to visit California and travel in the cool air as much as we could before it got even hotter in Arizona. There are (not kidding) so many things I could have posted about. Our excursions to Northern Arizona where we explored the sites of Jerome or went for rides in the desert as we chased down some winter\/spring storms. Or about how we visited this place on the California coast that looked like it was a castle (ok ok I\u2019ll add some of these). It was crazy looking. If I do this I fear I will have 10 posts just for this year, which wouldn’t be so bad if each one didn’t take so long to dig through the photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
at Lou’s for a Taste of Chicago in Phoenix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
took some home with us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Visiting our home state sights<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
We visited where we were married (did not stay here)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
This price of gas from February 2016 makes me cringe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
the castle on the beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
the door (which was locked) but see the detail?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Encanto Park – in Phoenix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Sunset and Cacti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cool, so I decided it’s my post (and for that matter my blog) and I might as well make it fun. These are all a blast from the past for me. If you look at the photos that I took in Arizona, you can see that Maryia and I really loved where we lived. Sure the heat could be intense, but every place on the earth has some downfall – it’s just a matter if you are going to dwell on it or not. We learned this the hard way, and also by listening to Joel Osteen (yes, pastor Joel). While speaking about him is a whole other topic it is noteworthy that he can help you think of things in a more positive light. Some may hate it, but it worked for us. Things like: “it’s not a setback, it’s a setup for something greater” would keep in our mind. This was part of our process of working through our distaste of Arizona and growing to love it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite all of this, we still wanted to own a home. We were looking all around the valley and we wanted to own a home, particularly in the East Valley. It seemed unattainable, all of the prices were just too high. We were working on a limited income and were afraid of being straddled with a mortgage too. At the time we felt that you could never be too sure of any role at any company. We started to look outside of Arizona. Texas was an option. The homes were cheap, and you could afford a small mansion for the price you could get a fixer-upper in Arizona. It would be reasonable to think that my parents could afford to move as well (as they are living in California).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

just Pray<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

note: this post was published on 07\/12\/22 but moved the publish date back to the end of May 2016 to keep chronological order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hey We kept it quiet during March and mostly in April. Mainly going on weekend trips to visit California and travel in the cool air as much as we could before it got even hotter in Arizona. There are (not kidding) so many things I could have posted about. Our excursions to Northern Arizona where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/sunset.jpg?fit=745%2C931&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6487,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2022\/03\/25\/2022-march-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2568,"position":0},"title":"2022 – March part 2","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"You really can't visit LA without also going to the Griffith Observatory (below 2 side photos) or Randy's Donuts. Now we head Southwest! Back to our stomping grounds and the place where 2 of our kids were born - Arizona. I'll be honest. The homes were nice but not in\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar19az.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar19az.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar19az.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar19az.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar19az.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6484,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2022\/03\/17\/2022-march-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":2568,"position":1},"title":"2022 – March part 1","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"At the start of this month, we were able to meet up with Gramps and Ellie. We went to Sharis and since my parents were in town for Arabella's birthday they came along for the ride. It was good to see them but ever since we have moved specifically to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar12-sfo.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar12-sfo.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar12-sfo.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar12-sfo.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar12-sfo.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6644,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2014\/03\/28\/2014-march\/","url_meta":{"origin":2568,"position":2},"title":"2014 – March","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 28, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Baby Fever! It was pretty cool because the day we brought Arabella home - there was a huge rainbow that spread as far as you could see. Followed by rain showers - rain?! In Arizona?! In March!? I'll take it. We brought little baby Arabella Hope and immediately Jake found\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/mar1-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1444,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2012\/06\/01\/california-dreamin\/","url_meta":{"origin":2568,"position":3},"title":"California Dreamin’","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"June 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Can you believe it's already June?!? That is just crazy. \u00a0Anyway.. I had the weirdest dream the other night. (Sunday to Monday). I had a dream that I was in the house of the woman who plays Juliet (on Grimm). I was in her house talking to her husband and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2807,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2016\/01\/31\/2016-january\/","url_meta":{"origin":2568,"position":4},"title":"2016 – January","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"January 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Two-thousand and sixteen. We rang in the new year at a Hampton Inn, in Sacramento.It was part of our whirlwind tour that we did of Washington\/Oregon before the end of the year. I had to be back for work the following week so we figured to leave on the 31st.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/grinchmas.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/grinchmas.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/grinchmas.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/grinchmas.jpg?fit=794%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7424,"url":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/2015\/03\/31\/2015-march-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2568,"position":5},"title":"2015 – March part 2","author":"me@jshox.com","date":"March 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"More positive changes have been underway. I have been able to secure a role in the FIU (the Financial Intelligence Unit) for Amex. This is a role that normally is given to those that have a doctorate, or previous employment with the government, law enforcement, lawyer, homeland security, the NSA..\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mar29.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mar29.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mar29.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mar29.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/mar29.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12016,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2568\/revisions\/12016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jshox.com\/jay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}