Travel update

Mom & Dad called to let me know they landed safely in Houston. They are back on American soil waiting to board the plane to SLC in a few hours. Can't wait....

ERIC
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
WE LOVE YOU TONS!
Grandpa & Grandma

Happy Birthday, Michelle
We love you!

Mom & Dad

Happy Autumn!

Three big pumpkins...

...and one little pumpkin.

2 Votes for Comments

It is far more cumbersome to login to write a post than it is to click on the comments link to read them. I vote for comments!

Comments

Kim, the reason we don't turn on the comments for individual posts is because they aren't as easy to read as main posts. I think the best thing to do is just respond with a new post, like you did.

I clicked through on Nicole's "Blast from the past" and I can say that one of the tender mercies is that they don't include photos with those old articles. :)

rrrrruby!

wow... she is sooo adorable! and puppy breath is the cutest thing ever! hope you all remain allergy free :)

ATTN: BRAD

Can you add a comment section to our family blog please?

I wanted to tell Nic I think her new puppy is SO cute. GOOD LUCK with that! Hee Hee (evil laugh)

An Announcement

We decided to finally take the plunge and get a puppy. I have been researching allergy friendly dogs for a while (Corbin is allergic to many breeds), and this weekend there was an adoption fair in Page. We found this sweet little terrier mix, and brought her home to become the sister we never had. Meet Ruby.

Happy Birthday Grandma! from laurene ross on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Grandma

We love you Mom! Happy Birthday.

Cross-Country

Drake and Corbin are both running cross-country with the middle school team this year. They had their first meet last weekend in Kayenta. Corbin had a terrific debut placing 11th in the JV race. Drake , unfortunately, was sick and was way back. He was a trooper to even race! This Wednesday they had their second meet on the rez in Tonalea against some of the same teams. Corbin was 4th and Drake 15th! Way to go boys!

Blast From the Past

As a YW presidency, we take turns teaching the lesson on fast Sunday. This week it was my turn, and the topic was service. I shared with the girls a story from an old New Era. Does this look familiar to anyone? Thanks for being a great example Brad.

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=7ec50e2cbc3fb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=024644f8f206c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Texas or Bust

The Hannays are off to Texas! Ty's game will be on Fox Sports Network (FSN) at 10:30am Texas time 9:30am Utah time and 8:30am AZ time. Pray for us and that Ty will remain healthy and have a great experience.

A message to our grandson, Tyler

Ty,

Words can’t express how proud we were as we learned of your outstanding accomplishments on the football field. We know that you have worked hard to develop the skills and strength to lead your team to victory after victory. Now, as your missionary grandparents, we are prompted to share a special message with you.

We have read the story of Ammon in the Book of Mormon (starting with Alma 17) many times. But as we read it today, it had a special meaning. We encourage you to read it soon and consider some important truths. Ammon was blessed with incredible strength and skill. In many ways he reminds us of you. You, like Ammon, have been given a wonderful opportunity to bless the lives of many others. You are becoming a hero in the eyes of your peers. I’m sure the girls are giving you special notice and that you are enjoying the attention. A word of caution – never forget who you are and what your purpose in life is. Keep your guard up and know that the girls that pursue you really only want to share the spotlight and their affection is shallow and fleeting. The girl that will one day go with you to the temple of the Lord will be impressed not only with your strength and skill, but will be most impressed with your humility and righteousness.

You have been wonderfully blessed in so many ways, from loving parents (and grandparents) to being given a mind and body that serves you so well in the field of athletics. Never forget and always appreciate where those blessings came from and why they were given to you. Be a hero, an example, a leader, and indeed a missionary. (What else did you expect to hear from your missionary grandparents?)

We can hardly wait to get back home where we can watch you play. Win or lose we know you will always do your best. Stay humble in victory. Stay happy in defeat. Stay focused on who you are and why you are here on Earth. We love you!!!!!!!

Hole-in-the-Rock

How much do you know about Hole-in-the-Rock? I remember being in an airplane with Dad flying up-lake for some training events. Dad let me go with him a time or two. The pilot tried to point out to me the location from the air, but I never could make it out.

Listening to a favorite podcast, the Cricket and Seagull, I learned about a new book from Gerald Lund that will focus on the story of the pioneers that cut that hole. Did you know that one of the people involved in that experience was also a part of the Willey/Martin handcart companies and that he thought the experience at Hole-in-the-Rock was more challenging?

There is a web page for the book that also has some maps and photos. I'll look forward to reading the book one of these days. I still haven't read the previous series that Brother Lund released that also looks interesting, so I guess I have my work cut our for me.

Nicole and Theo, it looks like you've got your next youth conference all mapped out!

WOW

Nice win Bingham!!

Live-blogging kindergarten, part II

New clothes on...check.
Homework in backpack...check.
Backpack on back...check.
Pictures taken...check.
Tummy full...check.
Time to leave yet...not for 45 minutes.
Over-excited five-year-old boy, roaring like a dinosaur and literally knocking over furniture...double check.

Live-blogging kindergarten

Ezra is berating me that I didn't put him in morning kindergarten. Because then he could be in school RIGHT NOW.

He woke up this morning, and before he even got out of bed he was caroling "First Day of School! First Day of School!" This woke up the baby, but it was charming nonetheless.

We did his first homework last night. (A get-to-know-you booklet.) Ezra needs to learn to stay on task. Mommy needs to learn to let Ezra do his own thing, even if it looks raggedy and messy.

More later! (With pictures!)

Gone Camping, Back Later...

"And 'X' never, ever marks the spot."

Gideon discovered that he can move the little trike backwards AND forwards.
And turn it around.

Mercy is just excited to be alive.

Ezra and the amazing marshmallow-toothpick structure.
(He made it all by himself.)

"Whatcha cooking, Dad? Can I see it, can I see it?"

A very tired Heber, gazing at the campfire.

Skip, Happy Birthday to you..........

We love you!

Happy Birthday, Deb

We love you!

We can see what we can do about names when we get home. First, make sure the temple will be open over Thanksgiving. We haven't turned in names with the new system. It is supposed to be easier so we should be able to find names for the kids to do. Nicole, it should be a piece of cake for you to get some of Theo's ancestors for Drake and others to do. Cool idea!

Baptisms

I love the baptism idea! My kids love doing baptisms for the dead, and going with their cousins would make it even better. I have never done genealogy... I guess I can try to learn. Maybe Mom has some names we could do???

Plans

Brad has volunteered to fly to Laguna Woods and to drive Grandma Peters things to SL. Wes will be flying with Mom to SL.

We are going to put her in the master bedroom and we will move downstairs. We will need to get some things ready for that to happen when we get home. We will probably put a ramp in the garage to get her in and out as steps aren't on her list of things she can do. We are still trying to come up with a date for this to happen.

We will be driving to CA for my 50th HS reunion on Oct 17. We will also visit with Mom a day and then return to SL on Tuesday or Wednesday. On Sat the 24th we have an El Monte Ward reunion in Provo. I suspect it will be in the afternoon like it was last time. We had hoped to go to Page for a few days over a weekend, but we aren't sure if that will happen right away at this point.

Thanksgiving sounds like a great idea. Of course, anyone is welcome to come visit before that!

Twelve and Up

I had a brainstorm and wanted to put the idea out to the family at large. I would like to take our kids to the temple to do baptisms for the dead when we get together for mom and dad's homecoming. We would need to get probably 25-30 names to bring with us for the kids that could participate. If there is someone out there who is experienced in these matters, make yourself known as I am a novice in the whole name submission endeavor. We sure had a wonderful experience at the Oquirrh Mt. Temple open house. I would love to be able to share this temple experience with our Ross cousins.

I Like My Birthdays, Every One....

We were able to have Bowen's baptism on his birthday last Monday, and what a wonderful event it was! The Gillelands had just gotten off the lake and graciously agreed to stay over the weekend to be with us for the baptism. Michelle was a champ and gave one of the talks (even in her under-the-weather state). We sure missed G&G Ross. They of course called in birthday wished over the phone, so Bowen knew they were thinking of him. Congratulations Bowen! We are so proud of you!!!

Gma Peters

Just a heads up... Gma Peters is moving in with Mom & Dad in early November.

Ross Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving sounds marvelous, but whatever works for everyone will work for us. We're (tentatively) planning a trip to LA to see Grandma Peters in October; we're also planning to hit Page and Las Vegas during that trip, too. We're so excited for Grandma and Grandpa to come home!!!!!!!!

Thank goodness for Thanksgiving

After talking to Mom & Dad... they are pretty booked in Oct. So, I think maybe we should shoot for a Ross Thanksgiving. Football and cross country will be over and we have a long weekend to catch up.

What do you think??