Don't Tell Brad

Don't tell Brad I told you this because he is SUPER embarrassed ... Last Saturday he was trying to fix a problem we're having with our phone lines on the main level of our house. He was checking relays, etc. and needed to get up on the roof. He crawled up on his ladder and was about to step on to the roof, when the ladder completely slipped out from under him. His first thought was, "Oh no, I didn't make it on to the roof!" Followed quickly by his second thought, "OH NO, THIS IS GOING TO HURT!!!" He fell nearly 10 feet on to the concrete and the ladder on his right side. Kate was in the kitchen mopping the floor and I was upstairs working on my YW lesson. I just heard her howl "DADDY!" in that awful, 'something is really wrong' tone of voice you hate to hear. I flew down the stairs yelling "what happened? what happened?" All I could hear was a wild wail of fear and "Daddy, daddy, daddy!" I got outside to find him doubled over and hardly able to breathe (the fall completely knocked the wind out of him) and white as a ghost. After an eternity he started to breathe again and we started to take stock of his injuries. His right leg felt weird and disconnected, and he couldn't put much weight on it. I talked him in to going to the emergency room, just to be sure no permanent damage or hidden injuries were lurking. He was SO embarrassed, because, in a small town you know everyone and everyone knows you! We literally knew all but one person on staff at the emergency room that afternoon. Not his proudest moment having to recount the afternoon's events to them! I was relieved to learn that his leg was not cracked, just deeply bruised. We did figure out, though, as time passed, that he had definitely broken some ribs. The pain was a little late in registering, but progressively got worse as the hours passed. He has been one sore guy! Breathing is not fun, and laughing, coughing, and sneezing about bring to his knees. I feel so sorry for him! But in true Brad form, he hasn't slowed down one bit -- he even got up Sunday morning for his early meetings (even though the Bishopric gave him a pass the night before). He is Frederic, a slave of duty, if there ever was one (hats off to Gilbert and Sullivan!). I've begged him to come home from work a little early every day this week, and tonight when he walked in the door at 5:57 he said, "Hey, I got home a little early today!" WHATEVER!

Sorry Ladies, He's Taken

It's official... I truly have the greatest husband EVER. Yesterday I was teaching voice and heard a knock at the door. These were on the other side! I'm incredibly blessed to have such a man in my life.

Attic and Bathroom Addition

For the past (mumble mumble) years we've (and by "we" I mean "Brad") have been working on converting some existing space in our utility room and attic into some usable living space. We're adding a 3/4 bathroom and a really fun and amazing bedroom for Kate. (Technically it's not big enough and the stairs are too steep to really call it a bedroom, so the inspector has asked us to refer to it as a storage room in which we have chosen to store our children.)

Courtesy of a decent tax return and the knowledge that the Rose family reunion will be held here beginning July 1, we've really put the pedal to the metal and are nearing completion. There are still many little details to finish, but we've hired out the sheetrocking, mudding, and taping, which will speed the process dramatically. The sheetrock crew began work today, so I'll have some new pictures of the rooms later this week or next. For now, though, I thought you might want to see what Brad's been working so hard on!

San Francisco

Brad and I took a DREAM TRIP to San Francisco over Spring Break. Mom and Dad came for Jack's birthday party and then graciously took the kids back to their house for the next 4-5 days while Brad and I drove to SF. We had the very best time ever!!!! We drove the Insight, which only used 2.5 tanks of gas round trip. AWESOME!

The main event of the trip was the Saturday afternoon showing of "Wicked". It did not disappoint -- what an incredible show. If you have the chance, Go. See. It. I cried through the whole thing. I could have driven straight there, seen the show, and driven straight back and the trip would have been well worth it!

We did spend a couple of days in SF and were able to take a harbor cruise, walk the wharf, ride the cable cars, shop Chinatown, and eat ice cream at Ghirardelli Square. The Golden Gate Bridge is incredible!

Travelling is so much fun, but I was really missing the kids and my quiet life by the time we got home. It was hard to see all the homeless people and all the strangeness that seems especially prevalent in big cities. It sure made me thankful for my life and for the gospel and it's guidance.

This trip was a wonderful way to celebrate out 16th anniversary. I love my sweet, sweet, talented, kind, warm, caring, funny, love-of-my-life husband. He is the best thing about me.

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Rock Climbing at the Fair

I wasn't feeling well so Brad took the kids to the Cassia County Fair in Burley so they could climb the rock wall. They had the best time! Todd was pretty fearful... he inherited his mother's fear of heights -- but he overcame his trepidations and successfully made it to the top 3 times. Kate was the one who really wanted to go (she wore a skirt when we were there the night before so she couldn't do it then). She scurried up and down that wall several times with no problems. She apparently inherited her Dad's climbing abilities! All the kids were impressed with their Dad as he scaled the wall. He really hasn't climbed much since they've been born. Too much to live for, I suppose!

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Rupert West Stake 10k

Our Stake President is an avid runner, so he challenged our stake to get in shape and run a 10k with him. We started training at the beginning of the year. The kids and I ran/walked the 5k, but Brad ran the 10k. He's been training really hard and he beat his best time. He was AWESOME!!!! We were all so proud of him. Way to go Daddy!!!!!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Brad's birthday was Sunday (thanks for all the cards and phone calls!). We had a little party, dinner, etc. on Sunday, but decided to continue the celebration today with dinner and shopping in Twin Falls. After a yummy dinner and shopping for running shoes and shorts, we watched some base jumpers (crazy!) jump off the Perrine Bridge, and then spent some time at Shoshone Falls. They are absolutely incredible this year. All the extra water has truly helped them live up to their nickname of "the Niagara Falls of the West". Very cool!

4th of July

Brad and I were asked to be on our stake's 4th of July float for the Rupert parade last Saturday. He was George Washington and I was Amelia Earhart. We had a great time. My friend Amber was Betsy Ross and we also had Elvis and three Iwo Jima soldiers on board. The theme was "Only in America", so each of the American icons was meant to represent something remarkable that happened because of the wonderful freedoms we enjoy. We won the prize for the "Best Use of the Theme." It turned out pretty cute. :)

Sisters' Weekend

I am a very lucky person. I have 2 incredible, talented, supportive, beautiful, kind, wonderful sisters who I was privileged to grow up with, AND ... 7 equally incredible, talented, supportive, beautiful, kind and wonderful sisters who I inherited! I love you all.

I spent the weekend with 5 of Brad's sisters and 1 niece last weekend. We stayed in Park City at a condo and shopped, ate, talked, stayed up late, slept in, ate, talked, shopped, ate, talked, watched movies, .... It was SO FUN!!!! The Rose girls definitely need to institute a Sisters' Weekend as well!!!

Brad took Friday off work and took the kids to Logan for a dentist appt. with Stanton. He and Juge then took all the kids to McDonald's for lunch and playland time. I just happened to call while they were trying to extricate Jack from the big tubey-thing. He was NOT happy about leaving. Brad was dangerously close to having to climb in there and take him by force. (Been there, done that!) Luckily, Jack finally cooperated. They then returned home and spend a fun weekend playing with Dad! He's such a gem. The kids barely noticed I was gone. :)

I had to laugh because Brad is so in control. The house was spotless, the kids were happy, yardwork was done, they made it to church, etc., etc., but his big stress was Kate's hair!!! He gave me a big Napoleon Dynamite sigh before I left because he was so worried about it. I did a hairdo that could stay in for 3-4 days (thankyou messy buns and braids!!!) so all he had to do was a little touch-up with hairspray and a comb. He instructed Kate that she was to sleep sitting up the entire weekend because he could not deal with hair mishaps. :) All is well, the hair lasted and Brad was spared a nervous breakdown.

I Must Have Done Something Good

I, officially, am married to the most amazing person. I can't express what an incredible human being Brad is. I am constantly amazed at his kindness, love and devotion. Last night I came home from Jr. Miss very late (a recent trend that, I'm sure, has not been fun for him) to find the house spotless, the kids all snug in their beds, the dishwasher running, and the new tile grouted. To top it all off he babysat my friend's children while she was at Jr. Miss as well AND took all the little ones with him to pick up Todd from Scouts. He even dealt with a potty accident by one of the kids (not one of his), and was still kind enough to ask if I had a good time last night. When I indicated that I did, he simply said with a smile, "Good. That's the point. You deserve it." I DO NOT deserve this amazing man, but I'm eternally grateful for him, just the same. "Somewhere in my youth or childhood ... I must have done something good."

15 Wonderful Years

Amazing, but true. Brad and I just celebrated our 15th anniversary. Why don't I feel any older? We spent the evening at the Twin Falls Temple, took the kids to dinner with us beforehand and had a wonderful time. Joe and Amber watched the kids while we were at the temple, so we enjoyed a little time to ourselves as well. It's always nice to have a few quiet moments together to just be, with no one asking to play "I Spy" or needing a tissue or a diaper change.

I was a completely naive and stupid 20 year old girl when I married Brad. I could have married any number of total idiots, so I thank Heavenly Father every day for leading me to him. Marrying him is, hands down, the smartest thing I ever did. I love the life we have together, the family we have created, the opportunity to be partners for eternity. He brings such joy, happiness, and stability to my life. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

Why?

Why, oh why do I let so much time go by between posts? I hate it when I do that -- so let me do a quick catch up. Brad was in Ireland for two weeks working on a project for work (Glanbia is an Irish company, so headquarters are in Kilkenny, north of Dublin). While he was gone I just got extremely lazy and didn't post much. Then I was so glad he was back that I did a million things and didn't have the time. I need to work on MODERATION! Anyhoo, it has been incredible having him back on the continent. We missed him like crazy. They are 7 hours ahead there, so timing phone calls was a bit tricky since the kids are in school here during the evening hours there. We survived and are even more grateful than ever for our wonderful husband and father.

He had a great time, saw some beautiful and exciting places, ate some good food and brought home lots of fun souvenirs. I'm so proud of him for the good work he's doing in his company. The trip was a good experience for him. He'll be traveling a bit more in the coming months doing some inhouse trainings, but the furthest he'll be going is Chicago this time, and that will only be for a few days. I have gained a new respect for military families. What an incredible challenge and sacrifice they face without their mom or dad for such prolonged periods of time. It's an amazing sacrifice and I'm so thankful to them.

Brad returned home late February 13, just in time for Valentine's Day! We had such a great day together as a family. We decided to take the kids out for dinner (at Wendy's :)) and to see a movie (Mall Cop). Do we just scream high class or what?! We had a great time, and the kids were ecstatic to be going to the movie with "POPCORN AND EVERYTHING", as Kate said. Apparently we don't do that very often because it was a BIG DEAL!

The key to impressing your kids is to be incredibly boring, predictable, and repetitive, then every once in a while just spring something little and unexpected on them and ... VOILA ... you are a super hero!

When I get another minute I'll try to upload a few Ireland pictures. I'm not sure how they turned out since he took our old camera. We'll just have to see.

The Happiest Boy in the World

No picture I snapped could adequately do justice to the sublime happiness of our little Jack-Jack. Daddy's boy through and through!!!

After Nearly 15 Years ...

The newest addition to our family is a brand new bouncing baby washer/dryer set!!!! I've never actually had a new washer and dryer, but it became a necessity as we have plans to add a bathroom downstairs where the old dryer was. We purchased a new set of Whirlpools that both fit in the space where the old washer was (upstairs in the hallway closet between the kitchen and family room. They are full size (with more capacity than my old machines), but fit in just half the space because they stack on top of one another. You can also place them side-by-side. The washer uses less than half the water of the old one and the dryer dries the clothes twice as fast as the washer can wash them. Can I just say I AM IN HEAVEN!!!!

I know what you're thinking ... "Man, you're really old." or perhaps, "Man, you really need to get out more." Both are probably true, nonetheless, I'm a happy, happy girl.

So Sara, next time you're here you won't need to fear my dryer chewing up your clothes and spitting them back out again (I hope!). (Last summer at the family reunion my dryer completely ruined a load of Matt and Sara's nicest white clothes :(-- sorry again guys!).

Brad has been working late into the evening for several nights now, wiring a new outlet for the dryer and putting in a new venting system. The washer and dryer were in separate places in the house because the house was built before dryers existed, so there wasn't room (or venting capability available) later. It's taken some ingenuity and muscle on Brad's part to make room for it, but the progress is exciting.

The next step is to move our extra fridge upstairs next to the washer/dryer. Brad will be removing the sink and old ice maker to make room. He's built me some nice storage shelves downstairs to compensate for the lost storage space in the laundry closet. All in all, the house is getting more and more updated and 'user-friendly' by the day. I'm really thankful for a handy and hardworking husband whose main hobby is home repair. There is rarely a day when he isn't greeted at the door with a "Guess what broke today" or a "Can you fix this, Dad?" The kids know better than to even approach their inept mother anymore.

To Cute Dads Everywhere

Just a quick shout-0ut to all you great dads everywhere who indulge your daughters! We love you!!! Brad will kill me when he finds out I posted this -- but I just couldn't resist. Kate LOVES (and the capitalization is essential here) to play with her daddy's hair. He is very sweet to lay still and be the perfect guinea pig for her as she accessorizes him to the hilt. It just makes me fall even more deeply in love with him when he does things like that.

Backyard Bridal Shower

A friend and I decided to throw a bridal shower for a dear friend's daughter. We had it in our backyard. Thanks to the beg, borrow and steal (with permission!) principle we were able to put together a beautiful party for not too much $$$. The trade-off is that when you don't spend much $$$ you do spend more time and work a lot harder! :) The whole thing turned out fabulous and we had about 60 people come. Brad was such a sweetheart as he mowed the lawn, hanged paper lanterns, and hooked up a fountain in the pool (thanks Chris, it worked great). All the other women were amazed at how patient and willing he was to help. He just smiled and kept asking what else he could do. I have married a gem of a man if I do say so myself. He commented to me later that he was glad we hosted this party since we have such a fun yard and don't get to share it often enough. I had a friend take pictures, so I'll post some when I get them.

Brad's 38th Birthday

Saturday was Brad's birthday. Generally speaking, I have a difficult time ever surprising him (he is way too good at reading me and usually guesses - what a turkey!). This year I decided I was going to pull off a surprise. I saw an advertisement for a lunch cruise of the Snake River on a river boat called the Snake River Queen. I made reservations and just told him to be dressed in nice casual clothes by 12:30 Saturday afternoon. He was petrified that I had organized some type of surprise party (he hates those things -- he gets so embarrassed when he's the center of attention!). He kept asking me if it was anything embarrassing or if people were going to be there, etc. I just assured him that I would never do anything to embarrass him :). We pulled up to the place and he was so relieved AND surprised!!! Yea!!! We had a wonderful 2 hour cruise with a beautiful view, lots of time to talk, and a good lunch. The kids stayed home with a babysitter and had a great time of their own (Kate cried when we came back because she wanted to keep playing with MaKyla). Brad's comment was that for some people the cruise might have been boring, but he must be getting older because it was the perfect birthday celebration for him! (He's not at all tempted to sky dive or base jump or scale Mt. Everest, thank goodness!) We hadn't been on a date alone in quite a while so we really enjoyed the day. I just hope I can come up with something fun for next year!

Murphy's Law

I forgot to relate a funny happening from the last week that has continued to make me laugh each time I've thought of it! This past Christmas Day Brad lost his wedding ring and we absolutely tore the house apart (several times) over the past 5 months looking for it. Finally, I just decided to get him a replacement for Father's Day as a surprise. Todd went ring shopping with me and we found one we really liked so we bought it, brought it home, and hid it. The next morning as Brad was getting dressed for his company's golf scramble, he pulled out a shirt that he hasn't worn in a LONG time (probably since last year's scramble!). Well, what do you know, his real wedding ring flew off the shelf and landed on the floor! He was so excited, and as he was leaving for work he woke me up to show me his good fortune. Todd was already awake and upstairs so he witnessed the whole thing. All I could say was "Oh my goodness, I CAN'T believe you actually found it! I'm SO HAPPY for you!" Todd was horrified, he just turned his back on Brad and gave me the funniest sick face (sort of like what you look like when a bug flies in your mouth and you realize you just swallowed it -- EEEEWWW!). It was all I could do to keep from cracking up. Once Brad left we had a good laugh, returned the replacement ring, and started over on the Father's Day shopping. Brad ended up with the slightly more practical -- but less romantic -- leaf blower (although the older I get, the more romantic useful gifts like leaf blowers have become). Anyway, we debated about whether we should tell him or not, and finally decided that he would probably get a good laugh out of it. He did, but felt kind of bad about it too. My reaction is just that I should have bought a replacement ring as a New Year's present and he would have had his real ring back 5 months ago! Murphy's Law strikes again!! : )

Daddy Dogpile

Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful fathers out there. We are particularly thankful for the father at our house today. After driving 5 hours to get us home after a great weekend in Wellington, he still had the energy and patience to play with the kids and let them employ all their best 'wrestle mania' moves on him. He is a gem! Over the years he has saved us thousands upon thousands of dollars with his amazing handyman, super fix-it abilities. If I had a superpower, that is the one I would want! He is the best and I love him so much. I couldn't ask for a more kind, patient, talented, spiritual eternal companion.

Also, happy Father's Day Dad Rose. I wish we could have seen you this weekend, but it was wonderful spending a day with you a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for all you do for us. We love you.

Brad's Little Adventure

Yesterday we had an interesting experience. If you'll remember,Brad had his appendix out a couple of months ago. When the pathology came back they discovered that he had some polyps in it, which apparently is quite rare. Because of this, his doctor was concerned that he may have polyps in his colon or intestines, so he got to have the wonderful experience of a colonoscopy - yeehaw! They put him completely out for the procedure just in case they needed to remove any polyps once they got in there, so that part of it wasn't too bad, since he was completely comatose for it. However, the 24 hours leading up to the test were pretty hair-raising. That poor guy, I felt so bad for him -- let's just say that they want your colon and intestines squeaky clean before they go in there for a look around, so they give you some pretty intense medication that 'greases the wheels' (so to speak!). Not a fun experience. Thankfully, though, he passed the test with flying colors, no indication of anything remotely polyp related, so we are grateful and immensely relieved. Brad's back to normal and feeling especially thankful that he probably won't have to go through this particular ordeal for another 10-15 years! Hooray!