I've been feeling the pull to start blogging again! When I started Facebook I quit blogging as much because I could just pot and update people on Facebook; however, lately it's getting more and more scary to share details about our family there. I'm guessing no one really even checks this blog anymore, and to be honest it took me a little while to remember how to access it myself! But now that I'm here, I hope to post at least a couple times each month.
It could obviously take a real long time trying to tell you what has happened in the last 5 years, and that's a rather daunting task. Instead, I'll do a quick summary to try and bring this blog up to speed.
For starters, we no longer live in Spanish Fork. In June 2015, we moved to Payson Utah to live in my parents' house. They had retired to Payson from Rawlins, WY at Christmas a year and a half before, and they were leaving on a mission. We decided to live in their house for the 18 months they would be gone, so we found people to rent our house during that time. While we were living at their house, the house directly behind them went for sale. We felt really good about buying it, so we bought it in June 2016. We continued to rent our house in Spanish Fork until we decided to sell it in December 2017.
Lee has continued to work for Skywest Airlines, but he upgraded to captain in the Spring of 2015 (about the time we moved to Payson). It was a tough decision because it would mean he wouldn't be based in Salt Lake City anymore and would be gone more. When we did decide to have him upgrade, we hoped it would be less than two years before he'd be back in SLC; yet, here we are almost four years later and he's still not in SLC. But.....starting in March (one month from now) he's finally going to be back in SLC!! We're not sure what his schedule will be like, but we're sure we'll have him home more often. All things considered we're really getting along well as a family and are really excited for this change! Lee became a huge hunting fan probably about the time I quit writing. He likes to hunt Elk with both guns and with a bow. He also is just a huge gun fan in general, and he has made an effort to have his family of girls learn to be comfortable with guns as well. Lee recently began focusing on his dream to go to Mars, which is definitely something I'll talk about more in posts.
I feel like I've lived many lifetimes in the past five years. Moving to my parents' house after living in our Spanish Fork house for eight years was quite a big endeavor! I can't tell you how grateful I was when we moved to our new house in Payson and I knew we'd never have to move again! Funny to think back and realize I used to love moving and had it down to a science. :) I've done various work-from-home endeavors since I last wrote. I sold Blendfresh (fresh-dried fruits & veggies without any additives) for a year before stopping during some big family challenges we went through. I've been teaching piano lessons for two years, and although I enjoy the kids I think this will be my last year of teaching. In March 2017, just after starting piano lessons, I also got involved in the Life organization. I won't say much about it now other than that it has been life-changing both for me and for Lee! Although being a mom is my first job, I do enjoy having something else to do that I feel blesses me as I help others.
Morgan is now 17 1/2! I can hardly believe it! This has been a hard five years for her. Moving to Payson was a huge blessing because the kids here didn't know her so she got a fresh start! She got the lead in the musical her junior high was doing, and she made lots of friends right off the bat. She continued to struggle with various things, though, and spent a couple weeks in a behavior hospital and a couple months in a residential treatment facility (Jan - March 2016). That was hard for all of us, but it did give us all a much-needed reset. While there, Morgan was diagnosed with high-functioning autism (formerly called Asperger's), and that knowledge has helped us move forward in helping her. Morgan hasn't ever gotten along with school very well. The teachers all love her but the kids are often not really sure how to take her, which makes it difficult. She should be a senior graduating in May, but she hasn't gone to school much at all in over a year, so we're working on trying to get her graduated. Morgan started her first job, working at Taco Bell, the very end of December.
I think this move was also a big blessing for Brynne, who is 15 years old now. Not long after moving here she met a friend named Skylar Holdaway, and they continue to be good friends. Brynne really struggled when we went through the hard times with Morgan, and she has been trying to regain her footing ever since. She had a hard time with school so we pulled her out and put her into Kimber Academy, which is a private LDS-based school. In general that has been a really good thing for Brynne, but lately she's struggling to stay awake to do the online classes. She's considering going to high school next year. Brynne has grown to over 5'9"; so she's a tall, beautiful, red-headed girl. She loves baking, and cupcakes are her favorite. She is especially good at decorating cupcakes and wants to have her own cupcake shop when she's older. She and Lee just returned from a school trip to Israel last November.
Melissa is seven years old and is really looking forward to being baptized this year. Melissa really is the glue in this family because she is generally level-headed and super sweet. Admittedly she is starting to stand up to Katherine more, which causes some contention, but she always wants to do what's right and gets along with everyone in the family. She had the toughest time with our move because she went from having five little girls within a house or two in all directions that she could play with to not having anyone her age to play with. In time we've met kids, and she continues to be super social. Last year she begged me to start an after-school club for friends, which I agreed to do once a month. She is never quite sure what to do with herself if there isn't a friend to play with. She does really enjoy dance, and has been in dance class for a year and a half. She's in the second grade and is starting to get good at reading.
Katherine is going to be five in three weeks! One part of me can't believe she's getting so big, and the other part feels like we've lived ten years in her five years of life. She has kind of been along for the ride, but she has made sure we won't ever forget she's here! She has a very strong personality and isn't afraid to let anyone know how she feels. In fact, our biggest car arguments were always Morgan and Katherine arguing about the music or noise level even though Morgan was 15 and Katherine was 2 or 3! Katherine loves to dance and do gymnastics; in fact, she spends most of her time either twirling or standing on her head. She goes to preschool but doesn't always love it. I'm curious to see how she'll do in kindergarten next year. She is my pickiest kid when it comes to clothes, so I stopped dressing her years ago. She almost always has a skirt or dress on and refuses to wear anything that isn't colorful or "pretty."
That's about it for the updates except to mention we also now have a cat named FoxStripe. We got a dog, Bentley, right after moving into our new house a year and a half ago. We had high hopes for the dog helping Morgan with her depression. Not long after that, we got FoxStripe as a kitten to try and help Brynne with her anxiety. We really struggled as a dog-owning family, so in the end we found Bentley an amazing other home to go to. Admittedly, most of us wouldn't mind doing the same with FoxStripe. He thinks quality people time means people petting him while he eats. He doesn't just come snuggle and let you pet him, which is the whole reason we got him. And since he learned to play from the dog, when he is feeling playful he comes and jumps on our legs and bites us. He has several other quirks including thinking he needs to drink water only from the bathtub. Melissa is our biggest animal lover and still talks about Bentley and manages to love FoxStripe with all his quirks, but I'm really hoping he figures out to snuggle soon!
So there you have it! It was really hard not going into details about everything I said, but I knew an important part of starting back up was not feeling the weight of having to write about everything that happened in that time. I figure I might do flashbacks in upcoming posts, but for now I'm just grateful to be back!
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Sunday, January 27, 2019
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Family Day
When Grandpa Trout & Grammy Lo sent us money for Christmas this year, we decided to spend part of it having a fun family day - so yesterday, the 22nd, became a family day.
The first item on the agenda was a trip to the movie theater to see Hotel Transylvania. Lee took Morgan and Brynne to see the movie while Melissa and I stayed home so Melissa (wink, wink) could nap.
Once the movie was over, we tried to do really, really fast family pictures. The plan was to hop out of the car (in the cold wind), smile for one minute straight with hopes that Melissa would join us in smiling for at least one of the pictures, and then hop right back into the car. Well, I actually did have big hopes of also getting a quick individual picture of each of the older girls (taking another 20-40 seconds each). I personally didn't feel like this was asking a lot, especially compared to hour-long photo sessions with a whole bunch of poses. My girls, however, thought it was the end of the world. (Apparently they hadn't been briefed that the end of the world was actually the day before - Dec. 21, 2012.) I have very, very small hopes of there being any nice pictures to show for our efforts (and the efforts of my friend Denise who was nice enough to take our pics again).
At the end of pictures, we picked up some Wendy's frosties and headed to Lowe's Extreme Air Sports for some active fun. Doesn't this look like fun:
The next item on the agenda was a yummy dinner, provided kindly by Chuck-A-Rama. Using the last of our free kid's meal coupons, we got ourselves some yummy food. The meal was made even more memorable by the fact that Morgan and Brynne sat by each other without even fighting!!!!!
The last thing we did was drive around looking at Christmas lights. We spent most of our time driving through the hills of Mapleton where the homes are just a little bit big (i.e. hello! really? who needs that big of a house?). With big houses come lots of places to attach lights, so we got to see our share of them.
We got home just in time to get little Melissa off to bed, followed closely by not-quite-as-little Lee (who had been up early to help someone with a flying requirement). I wish we could say we made it through the whole day without any fighting, but that would be a miracle that was not to happen this time. We did have lots of fun, though, and hopefully fun memories that will last! Thank you Grandpa Trout and Grammy Lo!
Friday, September 7, 2012
2012 Summer Trip -- Jackson Hole
The last stop on our busy, but fun, summer trip was to Jackson Hole, WY. My sister Ashley's husband attends an optometry conference there every July, and this year he & Ashley decided to invite other family who could come. We joined them (even Lee was there for the first day), and so did my parents. Definitely something I wouldn't mind making a tradition of!
Hard to see faces, but Marshall (my nephew) loved pushing Melissa in the stroller!
We spent one afternoon swimming, which tuckered the kids out. I bathed Melissa and then asked Morgan to take her while I quickly showered. I suggested that Melissa was tired and would likely just want to be held. Well, this is what I found
when I got out of the shower:
I LOVE this picture of Ashley and Morgan!
These pictures were taken on the gondola that takes you to the top of the ski slopes. My girls were very excited when they found out we could go on it (a.k.a. it was free!)!
Even Melissa enjoyed the gondola!
At the top of the ski slopes - breathtakingly beautiful! And the view was really nice too! :)
The condo we stayed at was perfect for us! Besides having a perfect number of rooms and beds, it also had a perfect view of the landing strip for the parachuters. The kids spent a lot of time on the deck in the mornings watching tons of people land. They would go on the deck at the west end of the condo to see the parachuters taking off on the top of the mountain, and then they'd run to the deck on the east side of the condo to watch the landings. I'll admit I enjoyed the entertainment also! :)
Here's a picture of some relaxing that occurred our last night there. Brynne thinks Grandma Ross's lap was made for her :) and Morgan enjoyed playing cards with Ashley's kids, Marshall and Elise.
Our family has a thing for Coulter Bay in Teton National Park. It all started with my mom's family when she was growing up - they went camping there every summer. She still enjoys going there and has passed onto us kids the desire to go there every chance we get!
During our Jackson Hole visit, we had a picnic lunch at Coulter Bay and then spent a couple hours playing in the water. Since the water is really cold, I wasn't sure Melissa would like it. Eventually I put on her suit (see below), but at first she had a good time playing on the beach with Morgan.
Brynne discovered a lot of tiny fish along the shoreline. She used a frisbee and went along scooping up water and baby fish for everyone to see. I somehow convinced her to stop long enough to pose for a picture. :)
Melissa with Aunt Ashley
Brynne has never gone anywhere without taking time to create something! This time she created some nice rock art - do you see the heart at the top of the circle?
As I mentioned, I eventually put Melissa in her swimsuit to see what she would think about the cold water. She loved it! In fact, she kept wanting to hold my hands so she could walk out deeper! She also enjoyed sitting in the water playing with all the rocks.
Remember the picture of Melissa sacked out on Morgan's lap after a long day of swimming? Well, guess who sacked out on Mom's shoulder after another long day of swimming? :)
Our trip to Jackson ended the day before Morgan's 11th birthday, so Grandma and Grandpa Ross were nice enough to buy a horse cake to celebrate her birthday while we were all together. (We were quite shocked when Uncle Derek called from the store to say he had actually found a horse cake!) Truth is - Morgan shares a birthday with my parents' anniversary, and this year was their 40th Anniversary! Ashley and I had talked about doing something to celebrate their anniversary (40 years is a big deal!), but my parents had been planning to do something to celebrate Morgan's birthday. It's just like my parents to move aside and do everything they can to bring joy to a grandchild! Morgan was very pleased to have her moment!
When we left Jackson Hole, Morgan rode home with Ashley and Derek to Riverton, WY so she could spend a few days with them. Ashley was wonderful to set up lots of play dates, make arrangements to ride horses, and countless other things to help Morgan enjoy her stay - and Morgan had a wonderful time!
Ash & Derek - Thanks a ton for inviting us to Jackson with you!!
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
2012 Summer Trip -- Portland Temple
Lee and I were married in the Portland Oregon Temple twelve years ago and hadn't been back since. We decided it would be neat to go there as a family. The girls and I picked Lee up at the Portland airport before heading to the temple. I don't know if it was the peaceful spirit at the temple or what, but there wasn't the usual fighting. Check out these super-cute pictures of everyone!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Martha Lenore Reiley Johnson Goodrich -- Bert
My grandmother, whom I affectionately call Bert, passed away this month. Bert was 87 years old, but she accomplished so much in her life she might as well have been 123! I have never known a harder worker (and I'm not just saying that)! She is really missed, but man do I ever have a parcel full of happy memories.
Bert's funeral was on March 7. All my siblings were able to be there. We took three days off school in order to spend as much time as possible with everyone.
The entire Ross clan! Hilary, Lindsey, Brandon, Dale (Dad), Ann Marie (Mom), Alyson, Ashley (last but definitely not least! Wait -- does that imply someone is least?):
Brynne was so excited to get to keep some of the beautiful flowers. Brynne's favorite memory of Bert was a time she got to spend all day with Bert learning to cross stitch.
Melissa was so cute (as always). Her cuteness and happy personality
came in really handy during the funeral!
My mom and me. I love you, Mom!
When my mom bought a new necklace for the funeral, I doubt she knew
that it could double as a teething device! :)
Lee wasn't able to be at the funeral, although he was able to join us for lunch afterward. Morgan and Brynne were nervous about going to the funeral
and seeing Bert, but it was a good experience.
All the Roberts girls in front of the casket:
Getting to see my brother was a major plus! He has been living in Florida the past four years getting his doctorate in engineering. If you new him in high school, you'd be shocked right about now! We all knew Brandon was good looking, but smart too?!
Melissa loved bonding with Bro!
We stayed at my sister Alyson's house. My kids kept forgetting that Alyson's kids still had school. Morgan and Isaac climbed into bed with Adam to tell stories and talk the morning away. It was a great plan until Adam and Isaac had to run off to school!
Melissa LOVES playing tug-a-war with any kind of fabric. Lindsey was kind enough to indulge in the game (and she even let Melissa win every now and then)! :)
The Ross siblings: Lindsey, Hilary, Brandon, Ashley, Alyson
Bert, I could not have asked for a more loving grandmother! You were such a wonderful example of service and hard work. I know you are happy in heaven where your body can keep up with your desire to work and serve! I love you, Bert! I can't wait to see you again!!
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
New Year's in Layton 2011
After enjoying Christmas in Rawlins (see post below), the girls and I drove to Layton, UT to enjoy New Year's at my sister Alyson's house. We were joined once again by my sister Lindsey and our youngest sister, Ashley, and her family. On New Year's Eve we all went swimming at the South Davis Recreation Center in Bountiful. When I'm a millionaire, I'm paying to get a facility like that down in Spanish Fork!!
Below: Brynne
Below: Morgan and Alyson enjoying a relaxing ride in the lazy river
New Year's Eve was spent eating yummy food and watching movies. Alyson
and Brad are always so nice to host things at their house. Thanks
Farmers!
What better to end a post with than pictures of our sweet Melissa! Alyson and Brad got a new camera for Christmas, and Brad used it to take the following pictures:
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