La Vida Loca De Flores

Well, the time has finally come, for me (our family) to finally go home…home being Wyoming.


I have finally had my fill of the struggles and HEAT this desert has had to offer me. I suppose maybe I’m being a little too pessimistic, because there really have been some good times and I have made so many friends that I absolutely love, and yet deep down inside, I never really loved it here or really truly felt at home. Both my mind and body ached for the crisp, cool air of fall filled with the smell of wood burning stoves and fireplaces followed by the giddiness of the sight of the first snowfall, and later the calm serenity of just watching snow fall and fall and fall as Christmas lights blink in the background. Christmas has never really felt just right here in the desert without snow, icy cold temperatures, and that chance that you may wake up Christmas morning to a beautiful new layer of snow. Nothing beats being curled up in my favorite sweatshirt and fuzzy socks on a cold, snowy day drinking a cup of hot cocoa with the aroma of some home cooked stew brewing in the crock pot. And then there's spring, which is actually a season there because what was frozen and brown from the winter begins to bloom and turn green again, rather than everything being green and perfectly manicured all year long! I love to watch the thunder heads build up over the mountains and we would get a little thunder and lightning, a little rain and then that wonderful smell of a clean earth afterwards and maybe a glimpse of a rainbow…April Showers really do bring May Flowers. Then, the kids can actually spend the summer playing OUTSIDE, instead of being cooped up inside playing video games and watching TV so they don't get heat stroke!

It is true, I am probably being overly nostalgic and painting the picture of perfection for my own mental well being at this point as I need to reassure myself that I am making the right decision for my family. I will have to admit that Wyoming has at least (if not more than) it's fair share of nasty blizzards, icy mud, rain, wind, a bit of heat in the summer (which will seem so mild to us at least this summer), chipped highways, tourists, tractors and cows using up the road, and deer running across it. But…all of those things feel like home to me. We also have family there. Mike's entire family (with the exception of the one brother and sister and their families that are here) are there in Wyoming. My immediate family is a little spread out (Mom in Oregon, Dad, sisters and brother in Kansas), but this will put us a little closer to each other, enough so that we may be able to visit a little more often and my two closest Aunts, cousins, etc. live there also.

I am not completely bitter about my time here in the desert. I have made wonderful friends, built a great career, and had experiences that I would never have had if I hadn’t lived here. I am also fairly certain that I would not have returned to Church back home. I was so blessed to have had a diligent home teacher who had no clue who I even was, but took the time to come to the door of my apartment once a month or so and bug me enough to get us back to church and I am so grateful (at least now I am!) he did. From the moment I walked into the chapel after 10 years of being away and received a HUGE hug and an "Aloha" welcome from Aileen Doria, I felt welcome and loved, and more importantly for me not judged or looked down upon for being away for so long. I so love my ward and my calling, and I am so thankful to all of the members who have taught and helped me to raise my kids. They know they are loved by every member of the ward and that is priceless! I can only hope that our family feels half as welcome and loved in whatever new ward we end up in.

My kids have had the opportunity to attend great schools and participate in wonderful programs here as well and I am so thankful for all of the teachers and coaches who have been a part of our lives! With the combination of work slowing down, the lease being up on our rental home, and Sierra getting ready to go into high school, we decided that this is our small window of opportunity to get back home to finish raising the kids closer to family and our "roots," I guess you could say.

The kids are very excited to be going back to Wyoming. It's all Blaze can talk about and he has a permanent grin on his face. Sierra is a little more reserved because she will miss her friends here too, like me, but she is also checking out her new school online and beginning to get interested in what kind of a high school experience she might be able to have there. Jett is also thrilled to be going to live with/near his Grandma Esperanza and can't wait to make new friends. Kolt asks every day if today is the day we are going to Wyoming and pretty much tells everyone we meet that he is going to Wyoming...I'm not sure if he understands that he won't be coming back though!