Quincy is 6!

I must admit that Quincy's birthdays are almost the most difficult for me personally. Simply because she is my baby, and every birthday of hers seems to close another chapter of my life. I can't believe how quickly time has flown.

She has been the perfect baby to "end on", though. The true icing on the cake. She is so full of . . well, everything.

From the day she was born, she has been attached to my side. She loves to cuddle, snuggle, hang on, kiss, squeeze, and nuzzle. And she thinks every animal and every thing tiny is "so cute" (said in a very high pitch, squealy voice.) She is a diva, a princess, an artist, an observer, a tag along, a good sport, a pretender, an animal lover, a socialite, a dreamer, a talker, and a sweetheart.

For her birthday this year, Quincy had a fun-filled day. We started the morning off right with
obligatory donuts. After she got out of school at noon, she went to lunch and shopping with Grandma and Grandpa Ross. Later, her simple wish was to go to Chuck E. Cheese's. And who am I to deny a birthday wish? She and Fisher used to call it "Chuck a Jesus," which is both sacrilegious and hilarious. So I took Quincy, her three friends, and Fisher to Chuck E. Cheese's after school and we had a great time. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the family, both sets of grandparents, the Hansens, and Jameson and April for cake, ice cream, and present opening. A great day!

On the last day of Fall Break, I took my kids to the "wooden" playground in Pleasant Grove. We've driven by it for years en route to other places and they have always begged to go. Well, a beautiful mild autumn day and nothing else to do --perfect opportunity!

Later, we met up with our dad for lunch. (Got to love cashing in Chick-Fil-A gift cards!) And then we had a quick ice cream at Macey's while I got some groceries. We also hit the party supply store to buy some things for Quincy's birthday and strolled around looking at (and trying on) Halloween costumes. We topped off the day with soccer practices for Taylor and Loryn. And then cuddling up on the couch to watch The Amazing Race.

 For Fall Break, we decided to head to Idaho! Taylor had a soccer game in North Ogden on Wednesday night, so we figured we were already half way there. And with no school Thursday and Friday, why not? The bad news is we lost the soccer game. The good news is that Taylor scored her team's only goal. And the best news is that we got to reunite with our Auntie Tiffy and have fun on the farm.

We were there at the height of sugar beet harvest. There were literally rows of semis filled with sugar beets everywhere we went. And our Uncle Taylor and Uncle Clint were super busy. But Clint was nice enough to take a break and let the kids ride on his tractor with him for a little bit.

 Even Fisher declared that Loryn "would be a great mom someday" after she doted on Ollie for most of the vacation. She is so sweet and patient with babies.

 Seriously, this baby is gorgeous. 

Naked scootering into the sunset. Can't beat it. (She has a swimsuit under there.)

 Tiffany called out "Grant, Fisher!" to these boys and immediately thought how proud Grant Fisher would be of these two little boys. 

 Naturally, we spent a huge chunk of our visit in the pool. And who wouldn't? A heated, indoor pool surrounded by open corn fields and big, blue sky!

 Climbing the mountain of potatoes in the cellars is always a hoot!

Colonial Days

Loryn had Colonial Days in Fifth Grade on October 10. All the 5th graders dressed up in Colonial garb and participate in Colonial activities. They carve soap, play marbles and cats cradle, quilt, make butter, etc. Grandma Donnette made this dress when Taylor had Colonial Days a couple years ago, and I'm so glad that Loryn and Quincy will be able to use it too!

Lake Powell 2014

Ok. Prepare yourself for picture overload. But Lake Powell simply just offers too many opportunities for great photos. And we were there for six days and did a lot of really great things that had to be documented! Lake Powell has been a tradition in the family since before we were married. In fact, Dan and I each grew up going to Lake Powell with our own families and friends. 

We've been taking our kids there since they were babies. No, really, I have gone to Lake Powell extremely pregnant and with extremely young babies. It's way more fun now, trust me. Either way, Lake Powell is part of our collective Ross history. The birthplace of so many fond memories. We used to go every year, sometimes twice. Most recently, we've been going every other year, making it an even more anticipated event.

Photo shoots atop the houseboat with beautiful young ladies are a new addition to our repertoire. Gone are the days of kiddie pools and sand toys for these teens. They are so beautiful!

The young crew still has fun playing in the sand and tubing together. Such cute kids.

These two are in the same grade at the same school. During the summer, they see each other almost every day. When they're at school, they barely acknowledge each other. I take that back--they sit next to each other in math class. 

Beautiful Taylor. 

I have finally accepted my fate as a pasty white, freckly, skin cancer prone albino. I am wiser now than I was as a teenager when I would completely fry and blister myself while my friends tanned.

Quincy spent every free moment she had in pursuit of geckos. She would comb the cliffs for them. Or beg someone to paddle along the rocks with her in a kayak. This is one of her trophies.

What would a Ross vacation be without crazy competitions, relays, and Olympic events? Nothing, I say. Above and below were a sampling of my little ones swimming their hearts out for a team event. Loryn is wearing a towel on her head that she subsequently had to wring out into a bucket waiting on the other side. 

And these are just shameless shots of my kiddos.

I think my kids are gorgeous and the light was perfect. What can I say?

Dan proving that he can still slalom on the week of his 36th birthday.

Could you ask for a more magnificent backdrop?

Lake Powell is one of the most breathtaking places in the world, as far as I'm concerned, particularly at dusk. But I'm not going to lie, when you combine 26 strong personalities, uber hot temperatures, and a week's worth of raw sewage into a very small space; things can get edgy. You forget all that, though, as you look at these pictures and remember the fun and the beauty and the memories made.

October Conference 2014

In keeping with tradition, we had a big breakfast on Sunday morning. This year, it was from-scratch buttermilk pancakes and Magleby's buttermilk syrup, plus cinnamon rolls from the neighbors. Once we got that all cleaned up, we packed in the car to drive through the canyon and look at the leaves.

Sadly, three of our four children inherited my motion sickness. It wasn't long before Fisher was crying and the two girls were complaining. They indulged me in some pictures before we threw in the towel and headed home. We finished off the day with lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Fisher's and evening games at Grandma and Grandpa Ross's.