Pool Time Memories…too many to post

Fifteen years ago I packed up my kids,  my cat (who passed at the age of 20 last year), my belongings (most of which have been replaced over the years — oh those kids!), rented a Ryder truck, attached my car and drove 2,300 miles to move to the Arizona desert.  The first time I set foot in Phoenix was the night we pulled up during our first monsoon storm.

While the heat about killed us, we immediately fell in love with our new state.  Within our first year I bought the house my kids did most of their growing up in.  It’s a colourful, kid-pet-party scarred home full of love, laughter and tears.  As beat up as it is right now — needing new windows, new floors, new paint — I love this house, but it’s time to spruce her up for another family.

I’m sweaty, dusty, and a bit too furry (thanks to my shedding dogs) because I’ve been packing up the stuff that needs to be stored until Joe and I are ready for our next American home.  It might be awhile since I’m not yet finished with my overseas adventure (Joe has yet to begin his), but the things that matter to us will be waiting for when we’re ready to replant our roots.

It’s hard packing up now because the house won’t even go onto the market until the Fall, after Joe and the kids have gotten some of the cosmetic fixes taken care of.   I’m sad that I won’t be here the last day I own it, but I’m totally cool with missing out on all the moving hell that comes with it.  I’m also looking forward to using some of its sale money for our family, summer Europe trip next year (now that’s fun packing!).  I’ve been wanting to take my kids on a trip like this for forever, so yay we can finally do it — in about a year.

In three weeks I fly back to the second desert I moved to, and I’ll finish off my probable last year in the UAE (who knows what the future holds?!).  Until then I’ll continue enjoying my time here.  It’s not all melancholic packing.  There are more pool parties, happy hours, family trips and gatherings planned before I leave, so it’s all good — just a little nostalgic.

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Just some random (stuff posted on Facebook throughout the years) home memories.