Today is a bittersweet day. After nearly 10 years of living in the Phoenix area, we are moving to California! Part of me is thrilled for our new adventure as a family - and not having to spend another summer sweltering in 110+ degree temperatures.
However, a big part of me is sad to leave behind friends, family, our amazing school, and our gorgeous community of Verrado.
I have driven past this sign on the highway countless times in the nearly 10 years we've lived here. That sign means we're almost home.
This sign below means we ARE home. I have watched the graphics on this sign change over the yers to advertise concerts in the park, 4th of July celebrations, Hometown Holidays, Founder's Day events. I have watched the population number on that sign grow and grow ... and grow some more.
In 2003 or so, I first discovered Verrado. We were visiting my sister in Phoenix and she told me of this brand new community in the far West Valley. We took the long, long (long) drive to see it. At the time, it was just a welcome center, a "town square" with a grocery story and fitness center / pool, and a street full of model homes. One really had to have a vision to see this remote location would be AMAZING one day!
Over time, she'd drive me out to Verrado whenever we'd visit and I love watching the community grow. I decided that I'd one day want to live there if for some reason we EVER moved to the Phoenix area ... and I was certain that would NEVER happen. Ever.
Flash forward to 2008. Jonathan got a job at the nuclear plant right outside Phoenix and so we packed up our house, our dog Bell and our infant, Christian, and headed to the far West Valley of Phoenix. We lived in a rental home in a community further out west ... but I drove through Verrado regularly and dreamed BIG!
Lo and behold, the real estate market crashed HARD in the Phoenix area in 2008 and new home building came to a virtual stand still. But one builder was brave and bold and opened up a model home center in Verrado and I checked it out and found our dream home! Thankfully we had a large sum of money just sitting in our bank account from the sale of our home in Santa Fe, New Mexico ... so it was time to build a home in VERRADO! VERRADO!
And there we lived from December 2009 until ... today.
And life looked like this (in a nutshell):
- We had baby Scarlett in January 2012.
- I lost my job as a Communications Manager of 16 years in 2013 and became a full-time stay at home mom.
- I started a cookie decorating business called The Scarlett Cookie in 2014 (or so).
- I joined Trades of Hope in 2017.
And what about all those projects? Projects in the backyard every once in a while (when a bonus or refund afforded us the luxury), color schemes on the walls that seemed like a good idea at the time, but ... well ... weren't. New furniture purchases (finally) that made our house feel more like a "home" rather than a frat house - ha!
And for the kids, the recent addition of a backyard "track" for riding bikes and scooters!
60+ parks to play in ... the gorgeous "Heritage Swim Park" that rivals any pool at any swanky resort! Mommy's friends all over the neighborhood. Our church down the street ... CVS, a grocery store, restaurants, our dentist, our doctor, our eye doctor, etc. ... all within walking distance.
The kids amazing charter school around the corner ... the most wonderful place a kiddo could learn and grow!
Oh my goodness ... we leave so much behind and we drive away from Verrado (with tears in our eyes) and Arizona.
New adventures are exciting, of course. But old adventures (and all that goes along with them) will be sorely missed.
