Before this chapter of our lives closes (and it's closing quickly!) I thought I'd write about our time in Arizona. I remember the flight down to Tucson almost 7 years ago---we were moving here so Joey could work for Raytheon and I was looking out the airplane window as the plane started to fly over Tucson. It wasn't my first time to Tucson but it was my first time looking at it as my new home. From high above I saw brown dirt and scrubby trees and plants and sparsely placed buildings and I wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into. We moved right at the beginning of summer. Those first few blazing hot months Tucson did not make a good impression on me. But over the years I feel in love with Tucson. It is only now, 7 years later and as this chapter in our lives comes to an end, that I realize how much I love Tucson. I can honestly say I consider it one of the best places to live. The monsoons are awesome. Our ward is top notch. Our neighbors are the best. The elementary school nearby is great. Raytheon has been a blessing to work for. And the desert really is beautiful.
We LOVE Tucson. I would recommend it to anybody!
Leaving our house is bitter-sweet. It's bitter because we have SO MANY wonderful memories--it was the first house we purchased. All three of the kids learned to walk in this house, we brought two newborns home to this place, we celebrated holidays and birthdays here. We've had friends, ward members, neighbors, missionaries, and family spend lots of time with us in our home. Joey put in our first backyard with help with our home teacher. We started a garden and planted trees. Our kids spent afternoons rolling their hot wheels down our driveway. We went on bike rides and walks. We did a lot of learning and growing here--all of us, not just the kids. It was a wonderful home and I will always cherish our memories of it. It's also bitter to leave so many great friends. The people in this community, not just from our ward, but from our neighborhood and the school too--have inspired and taught me and I consider them life-long friends. Much of Joey's family lives relatively close by, his sister lives only about 5 or 10 minutes away. Joey's parents are 20 minutes away and my parents are just 1.5 hours up the road too. That's been really nice.
It's sweet to leave too--because after prayer and talking and fasting we have faith that this will be a blessing for us. I saw a quote on a friend's blog that I thought was great. She and her husband moved to North Carolina recently and as she prepared to move what she told her husband was "home is where you are", as long as she was with her husband she felt anywhere could be home. That's how I feel. Our home here feels special because of the time and effort we have tried to put into our marriage and family over the years--and our home in Utah can become special too if we fill it up with love, work, happy attitudes, forgiveness, and fun activities.
We were out on the trampoline the other night and as I watched the sunset, jumped with my kids, and felt the beauty around me I thought how that evening was perfect. If we look for those perfect moments in life they are there. Here's one of my perfect moments...when I think of Tucson, when I think of Marana, one thing I will always think of is my babies jumping on the trampoline in our backyard.
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