First Day of Preschool

Handsome Man Fisher Dan. He was so excited to start school like the big kids. I was pretty heartbroken I couldn't drop him off myself, but I worked for two weeks at Rock Canyon helping out with some testing. His dad dropped him off and I got good reports. And his Yellow Mimi was nice enough to pick him up. (Yellow Mimi is the name Quincy gave my mother. Yellow is for the hair color. Mimi is random. Dan's mother is Brown Grandma.)

Yard Sale

Sometime after school started (don't ask me when-it's all a blur), we had a massive yard sale. Our second of the summer, actually. It was the last ditch effort to get rid of all the extra that was leftover after combining the two Ross households under one roof. It was a great success and afterward we took everything else to D.I. So now I have a nice, clean garage to park in! Three cheers for that!

A Quick Splash

To celebrate one week of school under our belts, I took the kids and the girls' friends to my Aunt Maridon's to swim. We stayed forever and ever, enjoying the shade and cool weather. After swimming, we went back to our house for pizza and a "Just Dance" competition on the Wii.

First Day of School

First Day of School! You remember it, right? Packing all those brand new school supplies into your backpack, laying out the perfect outfit, taking pictures in front of the house, seeing all your friends again. It's all giddy excitement. It only takes about a week for it to wear off, but it's sure fun while you've got it!

Taylor and Loryn had the added fun of walking with new kids on a new route to school. I can't tell you how blessed we all feel that they didn't have to change schools in the move, though. Loryn is starting second grade with Mrs. Kusse, a first year teacher who seems very excited, energetic, and capable. Taylor is starting fifth grade with Mrs. Steele, who seems to be very academic, organized, and ship-shape. I'm excited for great years with both!

One Last Hurrah

Sometime amidst the dizzying chaos of the week before school started, we managed to have one last grand adventure. Each of the kids invited a friend and we headed out to the Alpine Splash pad for a picnic and fun.

It was a hot day and I'm pretty confident I succeeded in giving them all heat stroke, but we had a great time squeezing the last days out of summer.

At this juncture, I never know how I feel. Some mothers are literally couting down the days until school starts on facebook. I heard of others getting a little teary-eyed as they send their kids out the door on the first day of school.

I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. The long, lazy (or not so much) days of summer are inviting and liberating. But the structure and productivity of the school year are welcome for everybody, including my kids, who seem to be plagued by boredom toward the end. So, off to school we go!

Ross Family Reunion

Two weekends before school started, we had an extended Ross Reunion at the Heber Valley Girls Camp. It was all of Dan's aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids.

We stayed in these great little bunk cabins and the kids had a blast! We put all the adults in one cabin and all the kids in the other. One of the greatest blessings of my kids' lives, whether they know it or not, is to have such wonderful cousins so close to them. It's a good bunch of kids we've got!

The Camp is run by the LDS Church and staffed by couple missionaries. One of our day activities was the ropes course, which required us to climb a telephone-sized pole. Once up, we walked across another pole high in the air and then zip-lined down.

I suited up with the thought, this is no big deal. I'll show my kids how unscary it is! Truth be told, I was beside myself walking cross the pole in the air. When I reached the other side, a sister missionary whispered to me that it's much like trusting in the Lord and staying focused on him through trials, etc. In a truly atypical fashion, I got choked up. Whether it was the timing of the event or sheer terror, I don't know. But it happened and I got through it!

Loryn was a total champion. She climbed right up that pole like a little monkey and marched across like nobody's business. I was so proud of her!

Sweet little Fisher didn't want to walk across the pole on the top. But who could blame him when his own mother nearly had a heart attack?

He was super brave to climb to the top, though, and then the cute missionaries gave him a little swing in his harness. I could tell he was terrified, but he was being very stoic and brave.

After the ropes course, Dan and I took the little kids canoeing. It was pretty hot, but they endured it well. As luck would have it, they were far more excited by the sandbox next to the lake.

The scenery was beautiful and we spotted a mama deer and her babies right on the shore. Dan was the master captain of our vessel. We had some pretty heated races with some other cousins!

The family reunion was great fun. Dan snuck in a quick game of horseshoes with a couple of his closest cousins, Kevin and Ryan. Dan and I both feel so luck that some of our best friends are our cousins. I feel extra lucky that Kevin married my childhood best friend, so she can be my cousin now too!

Lagoon

My cousin, Tiffany, treated us to a super duper fun day at Lagoon just a week after we moved and a week before school started. It was the perfectly timed diversion for everyone. When God didn't give me sisters, he made up for it by giving me Megan and Tiffany.
I was a little worried that my kids wouldn't have as much fun without other little kids with them. Boy, was I wrong! Turns out a 3:3 adult to kid ratio is just the thing. And it helps when two of those adults are as fun as Jameson and Tiffany. We literally ran from ride to ride with wild abandon. (And the whole time I was so grateful that my mom had watched Quincy! I love her desperately, but she would have been miserable!)

I spent most of the morning with Fisher on the kiddie rides, while Jameson and Tiffany took the girls on the bigger rides that were sure to make me throw up. Tiffany was nice enough to take Taylor on the ride that drops you straight down. Jameson lead the girls in riding the Colossus six times in a row, followed by three times in a row on the music machine with Fisher. We're all thankful he didn't lose his lunch. And we all got SOAKED on Rattlesnake Rapids and sloshed around the rest of the evening.

Jameson and Tiffany headed home about an hour or so before the park closed, but I hung on to the bitter end with the kids, taking advantage of every last minute until they literally kicked us out. We had such a fun day. I love the rare opportunity of putting everything aside and just being able to have fun with my kids. It reminds me that I should do it more often!

I feel uber blessed to have such sweet, fun kids. They won't find me fun and cool for very much longer, so I'm monopolizing on this time while I've got it.

Moving Day!

We've lived at this house for longer than we've lived anywhere together. When we moved in on July 24 six years ago, we had two toddlers, neither of whom can remember living anywhere else. I have raised my children here. We have grown up here as a family. We have learned so much from our neighbors and ward members.

When we put our house up for sale more than a year ago, I kept saying that "a house is just a house." And while that's true, I didn't fully appreciate how hard it would be to leave the people and the neighborhood that made this house feel like a home.

It sounds terribly silly because we've only moved a handful of blocks. But, the occasion to rub shoulders with these people that we've come to love is gone. I don't see them as much and it's hard. The move went smoothly. The kids transitioned seamlessly. But the transition is still taking place for me. It's harder for adults, I think, to find a niche and settle into a groove.

But to end on a positive note, our yard is much bigger and flat for the first time in years! We are in the same ward with grandparents and cousins, we live across the street from an awesome park and we are surrounded by people we have known and loved for years. So here's to new beginnings!

Dan Turns 33!

By some strange miracle, I married the most wonderful man, friend, husband, and father a girl could ask for. He is kind, genuine, hard-working, committed, funny, honest, determined, sensitive, supportive, loving, and involved.

He is the perfect husband. A day has never gone by that he doesn't tell me how beautiful I am and how much he loves me. He eats whatever I fix, including the early days of marriage when Tuna Helper made frequent appearances. He is my best friend: we love spending time with each other, laughing together, and talking about anything and everything. He has never ever raised his voice at me or made me feel badly about myself. His is one of the most complimentary, supportive and uplifting people I know--but he's genuine and realistic. A perfect balance for me.

He is the perfect father. Even after the hardest and most stressful days, he puts on a happy face for our kids and pitches in wherever needed. He coaches all of our kids sports teams, goes to all their games, and practices with them in the backyard. He stays up late helping with math homework, listens to them read, helps give them baths and brush teeth, and pitches in with dishes and laundry after we send them to bed.

I'll probably spend the rest of my life trying to be as good to him as he is to me, but I'm looking forward to it. Happy Birthday, Dan!

Megs the Legs Birthday

Megan is my dear, dear cousin only a few months younger than I am. We have grown up together, and I love her oodles. She has become a wonderful auntie to my kids. Megan's sister, Tiffany, my other "sister" threw Megan a wondeful birthday party in July. She made these adorable cupcakes, ordered Brick Oven pizza, and we had a picnic in the park.

After all of that fun, we headed to the bowling alley with all my kids and all of Megan's friends. And let me tell you, there was nothing more exciting than when they dropped down the disco ball and we got to bowl to 70's music. It was a truly beautiful thing.

4th of July Parade & Party

For the first time in our entire lives, we spent the entire 4th of July with our friends and neighbors as opposed to family. (This is because half the holiday was celebrated on the previous Saturday, which we spent with family.) Anyway . . . we had a wonderful day with all the neighbors whom we've come to love over the last six years. It was bittersweet knowing that we'd be moving in a couple weeks, but we had a wonderful day nonetheless. (sadly, most of it was not catpured on film!)

We began the day watching the parade in the front yard of the business our neighbor owns. He had invited the whole neighborhood to come and we had a BBQ afterward. Later that day, another neighbor had opened her pool to the neighbors for another grill. And, of course, we took advantage!

Later that night, we attended the Cul de Sac of fire which was slightly dampened by a brief, but intent, rainstorm. It was a great night of fireworks and treats and lots of good neighbors. We miss them dearly!

Not a Fan

For the record, I am not a huge fan of blogger. I don't like the layout and the restrictions, or the photo upload process. I'm just saying this so you can appreciate the painstaking this effort is for me. I don't like it, but it is capturing our thoughts and pictures in the webosphere, so for that, I am grateful.

Balloon Fest

As I'm sure you've come to notice, the Freedom Festival Balloon Fest is a tradition in our family, as it was for each of our families growing up. Dan's dad is the emcee and one of the ring leaders of the event, so the kids think that's especially cool.

This year was the first appearance of the Darth Vader balloon, which brought its own following of Star Wars junkies. They patrolled and guarded their balloon in complete costume, which was completely hilarious to me. My kids didn't really get it since they haven't ever seen the movie, but they did appreciate the odd balloon.

Take a load of that view of Timp in the background! Do we live in a beautiful place or what? We love the Ballon Fest. It's sort of like Christmas morning at our house. And if we look like we all have pillow faces and bed head, it's because we do! We have to drag our kids out of bed before 6:00 am to get there on time.