Groovy

Everything sounds great for the reunion! Gabe11 Seth10 Elise8 Jacks5 Jebb4. I think everyone should stay in SLC. Has anyone heard if Deb is coming? Deb? Are you coming? Please do!

Gabe had an interesting experience this afternoon....he broke his arm!! Ah! He is very sad but is hoping for a waterproof cast! :)

We are very excited to see everyone! Sounds like Keryn has got us all dialed in! Thanks!

Jack is 11. We love all museums. None to boring for us. Count us in on the "printing place" Hiking to the Y that is awesome! I think it might take a while though. We are not what we used to be. This Blog works great for me. You are doing great!

Two more questions

Deb--are you and Lindsay planning on coming to the reunion? Come, come, come, it will be so fun!

Nate is 12 or is he 13? Jack is...10? 11? Drake is 10 until July, right? Gabe is 11? Ack! Sorry, I'm just trying to figure out prices, and so many kid priced tickets cut off at 12. And I can't remember ages!

Family Family Family!

A few more questions for the family reunion:

Is there any interest in the Crandall Historic Printing Museum (in Provo, during our Saturday afternoon/evening)? Brad and I toured it a few years ago, and it was amazing. They have one of the only working Gutenberg presses (that the Bible was first printed on), they have a replica of the Grandin Printing Shop (where the Book of Mormon was first printed), they show you how things were done and let you stand right next to the stuff...

The younger kids would be bored out of their minds, unfortunately. So if there is interest among the older set (kids and adults included!), I would be willing to take the younger kids to the Bean Life Science Museum. My kids love it there. It is a museum on BYU with tons of stuffed (as in taxidermy) animals--lions, tigers, bears, oh my! Insects, birds, deer, a rhino...and more. It is free, they are VERY used to kids, they have little movies and displays that you can light up, and I imagine most of the older kids (8+ especially) would be bored out of their minds here.

These museums would be in addition to Ty's game (Kim, do we pay to watch Ty's game? If so, how much?), exploring BYU campus, and hiking the "Y" in the evening when it's not as hot.

Could you all let me know--posting here is fine, or call or email or whatever--if you/your kids are interested in the Printing Museum? Because of the size of our potential group, we would need to make a reservation for a tour, and if we want to do that I'd like to get it done in the next week or so. (Can you tell I'm starting to panic about how close the reunion is????????)

Laurene, I will get back to you on meals. Hopefully later today, but it might not be until tonight/tomorrow. I promise I'm figuring it out, though! And Kim, are you sure there's room for us at the condo? It would be awesome to not have to drive back and forth, especially with gas prices, but it's not that big of a deal. Whatever works best for everyone else.

Love Cool Basements

I am going to take that as an invite to stay at the "Chalet Hannay". We love cool basements. How did you know? I am still interested in the food situation. Anyone have the low down on that? Seven Peaks sounds great and Temple Square for pics. We looking forward to seeing everyone.

Home Base

Brad & Keryn - are you staying up here in South Jordan for the family reunion? Mom had mentioned something about you staying at their condo. Michelle & I were brainstorming. We think you two (as reunion hosts) should stay in the master suite with your little ones at M & D's. Gillelands and Martins could also easily fit there. The Skip Ross family could stay in our cool basement along with all the older cousins who would like to camp out here.

I like the color and location choices for family photos this year! The water park (and reserved shade spot) sound super fun! We are excited to see you all soon.

Family Reunion Pictures

Okay--here's the plan. We're going to go to Temple Square on Sunday afternoon/evening to take pictures. It will be less hot then right after church (which would be the hottest part of the day), and the light should be nice as the sun starts to descend. And this way we can get naps for the youngest and/or tiredest among us before going out to do pictures and exploring.

Since we'll be on Temple Square on Sunday, let's plan on dressing nicely (again, that doesn't mean skirts on all the girls, just how about no jeans on anybody?). I thought it would be nice to have pink, blue, white, and khaki for our colors. There are tons and tons of places around/in Temple Square to take pictures, and then we can just explore around the grounds and visitor centers, etc.

I haven't heard any objections to Seven Peaks--does this mean everyone is in on it? I'd like to rent a cabana (basically a patio with tables and shade) for us, and if I don't hear objections I'll go ahead and make the arrangements in a day or two for the Monday date.

Let me know!

Making Plans

We will soon be on our way, I was just wondering about food. Will we be in charge of a meal or two. Do you need us to bring specific colors for pictures? Any other details I might need to know would be helpful. I leave a couple weeks before hand and need to know what to pack. We are so excited to see you guys.

Happy Birthday, Nicole

Love,
Mom & Dad

Three Tanks Full

Bah, Bah, vacuum. Have you any water? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Three tanks full.

Keryn and I were downstairs on Saturday evening. Ezra and Mercy were happily playing upstairs. Suddenly, we heard a sound that didn't sound like a sound that ought to be sounding. It was the sound of water splashing. On... what? Wood?

Yup. Wood. I zipped upstairs to see Ezra (4) standing in the front doorway holding a gushing garden hose saying to Mercy (3), "Now you spray me!" The problem was that Mercy was standing in the living room, not in the front yard.

Early bedtime for the kids. Dad gets to demonstrate the effectiveness of our carpet cleaner. Three tanks full of water and a few towels for the wood floor in our entry way. No long term harm done. A funny memory for dad. Two kids who hopefully won't be bringing the garden hose inside the house again anytime soon.

Hangin' with the Hannays

The Gillelands are in SLC AGAIN! We are hangin' with the Hannays. Kim and I are grinding wheat like crazy. Steve put Jackson and Jebb to work to earn their keep. Elise is stuck to Nate like glue. John, Gabe, and Seth are at BYU for a camp so the rest of us are staying at G&G Ross' house.



We got our first email from G&G. Any advice for them on starting a blog Brad? I told them to just start one in blogger??? I don't know enough about the different types to make a recommendation. SF Rosses-are you guys doing anything for Memorial Day? If you want to come to SLC, I will host a party for all of us at my new condo..er...um...I mean, at G&G Ross' condo. Hee Hee Seriously though, we'd love to see you guys! Of course I am too lazy to drive further than the 2 blocks to Kim's, so I hope you'll drive up here! :)

Way to Go Martin's

We love seeing pictures of our cousins. They do look so old and Drake going into middle school Aahhhhhhh! If they are getting old that means we are getting old. I just can't forget Drake as superman for Halloween. It doesn't seem that long ago. They all look so proud of their accomplishments. That is awesome!

This is the last week of school, and there have been tons of field trips, parties, awards, ceremonies, and even a graduation. Rex got to wear a cap in his ceremony where he was promoted from preschool into elementary school. Rex is going into kindergarden!!! Bowen earned the sweatshirt he is wearing in this picture by running 40 miles in Theo's mileage club. Bo also got awards for his art. Corbin is showing off his 2nd place ribbon from the track meet. He ran the 800M (that is 2 laps around the track). He also got a presidential fitness award and a bunch of reading and math medals. Even though they don't have a ceremony or a graduation event, Drake is moving on to Middle School!!!! He has finished his elementary years, and is looking forward to the next phase of his education. They got to go to the middle school for a visit last week. Drake said their cafeteria is way better and he was really glad about that. I think he is most excited to have his own locker. Drake also got several awards at school for reading, but he is pictured here with a special item......Brad, do you recognize it? You should because it was made by you! Mrs. Anderson sent it home with our boys today! We will keep it safe until we can get it to you. (-;

We sure are grateful to all the wonderful educators that have done so much for our boys! They all have very special teachers that care about them and have worked with us to make sure the kids are doing their best. I marvel at all the growth that each of our sons have had over the course of the school year. At the risk of sounding cliche, they grow up so fast!!!

Nomads

We will be living between my sister and my Mom while we are there before the Reunion. We thought we could stay closer to you guys for the Reunion Kim's house or G&G's house. If there is not enough room my sister will let us stay with her. Can't wait to see you !!!!

Reunion Housing

I guess Kim is serving as the caretaker of Mom and Dad's place (they leave in the morning!) and it is probably a good idea to coordinate any time you're planning to stay over there with her.

As for housing during the reunion, we have several options. The only thing I know for sure is that the Martins can't stay with the Hannays because of dog allergies. I assume they will stay at Mom and Dad's place during the reunion time. The Virgina Clan and the Big G Tribe will probably want to divide themselves between the Hannay home and the G&G Ross home.

We think out activities will center more around Salt Lake City than around Spanish Fork, so it probably makes more sense for people to stay up there rather than at our home in SF, but if anyone would prefer that option, you're more than welcome--as you are any time!

Keryn and I were just joking that we're going to have to make one of the activities of the reunion a mandatory blog post by Steve, John, and Theo. :-)

How's Your Hearing?

I know you've all heard of the ring tones that grown ups can't hear. A friend pointed me to a website where you can listen to the different tones. They rank them by what age range can usually hear them. How old is your hearing? I couldn't hear it until the 39 and under category, which is normal for my age of 31. Keryn (who is three month older than me, I should note) couldn't hear it until the 49 and under category.

http://www.freemosquitoringtones.org/

Service Project

I just called the Church Humanitarian Center to find out what kind of projects they have going that we could help with, possibly in conjunction with visiting Welfare Square for a tour. Turns out that you have to be at least 12 years old to do a project AT the Humanitarian Center, but they have all sorts of things to do in your homes, etc. If we wanted, we could gather the supplies (they are going to get back to me on what those supplies would be) pre-reunion and then assemble the hygiene kits/newborn kits/school kits (whatever they turn out to be) at Kim's house or Grandma's house on Saturday morning. Then maybe on Monday/Tuesday morning (or afternoon) we could deliver the finished project to Welfare Square and take a tour.

Would you be interested in doing something like that? I think it sounds fun.

About clothing colors for the pictures--I was thinking purple, yellow, and orange...whaddya think? Just kidding. I was actually thinking of a pink, blue, khaki, white combo--Sunday-ish clothes, but that doesn't mean the girls have to wear skirts. And...we aren't doing T-shirts this year.

Does everyone--kiddos included--have their own scriptures (at least their own Book of Mormon)? I'd like to do a couple of "missionary" pictures with the grandkids--I'm going to make little tags with their names and all--and I thought it would be fun to send Grandma and Grandpa some pictures of all their little missionaries, complete with scriptures at hand.

Lovin' the ideas

LOVE the service project idea; LOVE the pioneer village idea; LOVE IT; LOVE IT ALL!

Reunion

Hurray for the V Rosses! It will be fun to see you there! I like the mountain coolness idea too. I guess the heat wave has been throughout the west!! We like the water park idea too and the historical SLC thing. I have never toured welfare square or seen many historical SLC things. Are we doing T-shirts this year? How about colors for family pics (of course I had to ask!) We can do meals or whatever. How about a family service project Sat morning?

Laurene-will you be staying at G&G Ross' place while you are in SLC? I guess we need to start scheduling that eh? We are coming over Memorial Day weekend for B-Ball camp for John, Gabe and Seth-so Elise, Jackson, Jebb, and I will be there that weekend. We are also coming to SLC the week before the reunion for a camp and a wedding. We are driving to SLC way too much in June!!! :)

We Are On Our Way!!!

After fighting with United, we will be at the Reunion. YEA!!!We are going to be there the whole time. In fact the kids and I will be there from June 6Th to July 4Th.It is quite a long time, but we only had three dates on which to fly back, June 17Th {miss the Reunion}, Aug 30Th{way to long}, or July 4Th{ the magic date}. Skip has yet to solidify his dates. We are trying to get him to go home on the 25Th. So he will be there too!

All those things sound wonderful, there is this beautiful lake up past the Brighton ski resort that makes for a nice hike {really easy, even with a stroller} It would be a great place for pictures and it is cool up there. We also enjoyed the bowling last time we were there. I love the idea of the pioneer village. This was something I had planned to do already, but would be much more fun with you guys.

May 20, 2008

This week has been spent in front of a computer in a lab of 11 people and a couple of instructors. Not much to report, except we are learning all the programs that are used in the office. They will be updating the program soon to a newer and better version. We aren't sure when it will be rolled out in our mission. I can compare it to the software used by the wards before we received the version we are using now. The current one is so superior and easier to use than the previous one. I have a feeling it will be the same when they change the input software to the new version. The current one seems pretty archaic.
We are learning Office 07, which we are enjoying. We both have learned new things in Word and Excel. We will have 2 more days of going over and adding new stuff in the same MOS program. It isn't the spiritual high, the first week provided, but it will help us function in the office.
The devotional tonight was Richard J. Maynes of the 1st Q of Seventy and his wife. They both gave canned talks with out much enthusiasm. However, I was touched by her conversion story and the one he told about one of his companions and his growth on his mission.
We are anxious to get to Trinidad and get going. We are still working on our first lesson so that we will be prepared when we get that first opportunity to teach.

Heat Wave

Oh, Nicole, we are so on the same wavelength. I wrote the post about the reunion, then spent the next three hours outside with the kids. I was in shade, with my feet in the kiddie pool filled with very cold water, and I was DYING. So I am DEFINITELY amenable to doing the rock-hounding stuff in the early morning--I have done it in the middle of summer--on the Fourth of July, what were we thinking?--but that was pre-kids and pre-pregnancy (this summer is going to be a long one...). It honestly isn't going to break my heart or hurt my feelings if we choose not to go rock-hounding at all. So give your honest opinions, folks!

As for stuff to do...up at This is the Place National Monument, they have recreated a pioneer village, and there is TONS of stuff to do up there. It has actors (volunteers, mostly) dressed up like pioneers, you can churn butter, see candles being made and watch baskets being woven, take a mini-handcart trek...etc, etc, etc. It sounds like a ton of fun to me, but I'm sort of a history/pioneer geek. Check it out and see what you think.

Reunion Reactions

The reunion activities sound great! And how awesome that the Virginia Rosses found a way to swing their trip at the same time! I only have one concern with the scheduled events. As we are in the middle of a major heat wave (we hit 100 today!!!!!), I am concerned about spending the day in the west desert in mid-June. Maybe we could do that stuff as a morning activity before it gets too hot and then do something else in the afternoon, maybe save Temple Square for the second half, or some other SLC historic sites, I dunno? Just throwing it out there. Maybe our Utah residents have other ideas. Either way, I know it is going to be so much fun, and we are game for just about anything! We really look forward to this get together every year! We are also ready and willing to pitch in with meal prep or whatever you might need Brad and Keryn. Just say the word. Thanks for the work you are doing on this reunion. Love you!

Family Reunion Questions

Hello, everyone!

Can you believe that the family reunion is only a little more than a month away? Woah! So, some information and some questions for y'all:

Official Family Reunion Dates: June 21-24 (that's Saturday through Tuesday)

Tentative schedule (very very tentative still)
Saturday: BYU/Provo stuff (Crandall Printing Museum, Bean Life Science Museum, Ty's games, hiking the Y, etc)

Sunday: church (either at Bradley's Spanish Fork ward or Kim's South Jordan ward), Temple Square stuff, family pictures

Monday & Tuesday:
Day A--4-wheeling, dirt biking, rock hounding in the west desert (we are going to look for topaz at Topaz mountain, Trilobites in the Confusion Range, and whatever else looks interesting--obsidian, agate, sunstones, etc)

Day B--Water park or lake. There seems to be a lot of interest for Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo--it's a really fun water park with extreme rides, wave pools, lazy rivers, as well as a nice kiddie section (wading pools, splash pads, etc). It's a little pricey, but with a group discount I think we can get in for $14.50 each (kids 3 & under are free, which is basically only Mercy, Gideon, Claire, and Jebb). We can rent a cabana or a pavilion, bbq, etc, as well. OR if that doesn't sound like what everyone would like, we can go to one of the many lakes around Utah and boat/swim/play.

The reason Monday and Tuesday are Day A & Day B is that we don't know which day to do which activity on! So we need your input. Skip and Laurene, you have to miss the last day of the reunion, right? Which activity would you be sadder at missing? Everyone else--what is your opinion? On which day for which, on Seven Peaks vs the lakes, on whatever! If I don't hear from anyone, we'll just pick at random and go for it.

There are still little details to work out, like maybe a dinner out for the adults, meal assignments, etc...don't worry, we're working on it! Love you all and hope to hear any feedback you have.

Jailbreak!

Mom and Dad were able to bust out of the MTC long enough to join us for church today in Spanish Fork. I'll say that church is a lot easier with four adult hands rather than just two! It was a treat to have them.

When I introduced them in Sunday School, I said, "These are my parents, George and Eva Ross." Dad corrected me and said, "that's Elder and Sister Ross." See, they're getting the hang of this missionary thing already. Hard to believe they will be out of here this week! I'm loving the pictures they are posting.

Pictures! Saturday activities.

Saturday May 17, 2008

This is our district and our morning teacher, Elder Lee Deppermann. The Pypers, office, and the Harris's, Kirkland Visitor's Center, were fun to have in our group. I wanted to post a couple of other pictures but I can't seem to get to them.
We did our laundry today, got hair cuts, and went to the temple. Maybe tomorrow you will get the pictures!
Love,
G & G Ross

Preach My Gospel

Friday, May 16, 2008

I am really struggling trying to get pictures posted! These are of our room and the cafeteria that the kids wanted.

Yesterday we role played less active couples then we received a lesson from them from the scriptures. Then we switched roles. We then got to go to the Call Center and take calls from ads on TV for Bibles, B of M, videos, etc.
We went to Jean and Don Marshall's home for dinner. Susan Ord also came from S. Jordan. We had a great time.

Today we gave a lesson on The Gospel of Jesus Christ to Glayd Mather an ex-BYU professor who pretended to be recently activated. He really tried hard to get us off track. Dad was awesome! We were able to answer his concerns and cover all the points. We heard later that he is the toughest volunteer.

It is hard to believe the week is over. It has been a very spiritual experience and a testimony building experience. There have been some aha's. Preach My Gospel is going to be an awesome tool. The instructors here are top notch. Our district had the reputation of being a very cheerful and happy group. We did have a good time doing all the tasks. We heard that from a couple of the instructors. Our morning instructor said we were his favorite over the afternoon group for whatever that is worth. We were impressed with the quality of the couples in our large group, all very hard working, down to earth, with awesome testimonies.

Tomorrow is our P day. We will do laundry and attend the temple.

Mail

We had a question about mail because we go to the Mailbox everyday. We were told to check twice a day, but we go once. They are supposed to put messages in there for our meetings, but that hasn't been happening. We did receive our plane tickets and our badges in there on different days. We ordered another badge that we will pick up today.

It is awesome shopping in the MTC Bookstore because we get 40% off, too bad we don't need to buy anything except a white tie for dad and a pad of paper.

We will take some pictures of the MTC, since it has been requested. We do eat in a big hall.

Letters go to the mission office until we have specific address:
Elder George and Sister Eva Ross
West Indies Mission
PO Bag 543
Valsayn
Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago

Packages:
Elder and Sister Ross
West Indies Mission
1 Morequito Ave
Valpark Shopping Mall Plaza Bldg #10
Valsayn, Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago

G & G Ross

Monday
We made it to the MTC at 10 sharp this morning and got all checked in and unpacked in our little apartment. We made up our queen sized bed, which will take some getting used to after a king for so many years. It will be a good way to ease into a double, if indeed, that is what we have in Trinidad. It has been cold and windy as we have had to go between the various buildings, however, we did notice the beautiful tulips, which we will try to get pictures of tomorrow if it is warner. The food is good, especially since we don't have to cook it.


We are in a group of about 40 people (often the group is 80). There is a Tobler here from the St George area. Keryn, he didn't know your dad.

Everyone is so friendly, helpful and kind. There is definitely a special spirit here. We start our classes tomorrow. It was all orientation today. Dad will be the district leader for our group of 6. We have homework to do tonight! Tomorrow night we hear from a general authority for our devotional. We will keep you posted.

Love,
Mom and Dad

Tuesday, May 13

We just got back from a devotional with Bruce C. Hafen from the 1st Q of Seventy. He talked about building testimonies in ourselves and the people we teach. His wife also gave an awesome talk. We were in the 4th row right in the middle. The auditorium was totally packed. They save seats for the senior missionaries until 6:45 then release them to whomever.

We receive training in the room where we took Michelle, Brad and Skip and left them when they went on their missions. We will vacate the room tomorrow after the opening session so the the new missionaries and their families can repeat the process. The trainers here are awesome. They make it easy to prepare and teach lessons. It is very cool to know what those of you who went on missions experienced here in the MTC. The feeling here is awesome. We gave the first lesson today to a gentleman from Provo who comes to be a guinea pig every Tuesday for missionaries to practice with. He served his mission on the island of Antigua, which used to be in the West Indies Mission. We barely finished in our alloted time of 45 minutes.

The food is killing us! We are eating way too much. Tomorrow we start using some restraint.

To answer the Martin boys' questions, our room has a queen bed, built in desk, 2 closets and a set of drawers built in the wall. We have a tub and shower in our bathroom. The bedroom part is about the size of Drake's room. We aren't here very much of the time. We walk back and forth from our class to our room at least 4 times a day. We also walk over to the mail room twice a day, so we are getting a little exercise. We walked to and from the devotional tonight. It is beautiful outside with the trees in blossom and all the flowers. We are very close to the beautiful mountains, which always give me a high when I look at them.


Our testimonies are growing daily! We love the Lord.

Go Grandma and Grandpa!

What a great experience to see G&G set apart for their missions! We are so proud of you!!! Read more Here! ;)

Official Missionaries

We were set apart today by President Snow as full time missionaries. What an awesome experience! It was extra special to have the Hannay's, Gilleland's and the B. Ross's in attendance as well. The Melchezedek priesthood holders were able to participate in the circle with the stake presidency.

We have been waiting for this day for what seems like forever, and now, it is here! Our bags are pretty well packed. We need to be at the MTC Monday morning between 10 and 11.

All in all, it was a very good Mother's Day. Thanks for all of your support and caring as we have prepared for this moment.

Small World

I am posting this pic because everyone in our family is familiar with the face here--no, not me--Tiffiny! She is of course from Page. Her husband coaches Nate's B-ball team. She also knew Skip and Laurene in Denver. Cool, huh? I think it is fun having connections like that. She said to tell everyone hello!

Road Trip

Jebb and I made it to SLC! We are here for a few days before G&G go on the mission! Jebb is already getting spoiled...love it!

Reality Check

Here is a link to an interesting article in Newsweek about Mormons on reality TV....What do you think? http://www.newsweek.com/id/135758

Free Kittens

We have 3 lovely new kittens looking for good homes... any takers?! :)

Sweet Independence

The obsession lives on as mom got Rex another Woody for his 5th b-day. Dad also made Rex a very cool step-stool with Rex's name on it. He has spent the last several days dragging the stool all over the house doing everything for himself with Woody right along for the ride.

Awesome!

A beautiful calendar arrived in the mail today. I assume it is for Mother's Day, since it was addressed to me. I can only guess who is responsible. Thank you! Thank You! It will go with us on our mission to hang in our little apartment, wherever that may be.
Love,
Mom

So Sad

Sadly we won't be there. We are trying to get out there in late May and early June or at the end of August. Anyone that will be around we would love to see you. It's a tough thing to live so far away, but we are trying to visit when we can. We love you guys and miss seeing and being with you.

Family Reunion Dates

I thought everyone was already aware of this decision, but Nicole suggested I should post this online just to make sure. We've decided (meaning Keryn and me as the reunion planners) on June 21-24 as our reunion dates.

We toyed with a date later in the summer for Skip's family, but that later date is challenging for the Hannays, Gillelands, and Martins. Brad's family is pretty flexible and Debbie said we should just choose a date without trying to work around her schedule. Thus, this June date seems to work the best.

We're going to be doing the reunion in the Salt Lake area, taking advantage of Mom and Dad's empty home for housing. We'll post details of the itinerary as it is decided. In the mean time, your suggestions are welcome. We're hoping to include some rockhounding/ATV time out near Topaz Mountain. We've heard requests for water park time, possibly at Cherry Hill. We'll exercise planner's prerogative in selecting from among the suggestions, but they give us a great place to start.

I hope that Skip's family can find a way to make the mid-summer date work. If not, I hope we can still get together as many of us as possible for a later event of some sort. Thanksgiving has been thrown out as one possibility.