Thanks, Susan for sharing so many family photos with us. I really loved the ones of Violet and Joe. Looking at this picture makes me want to have my photograph taken more often in the hopes that somebody will remember me as young and not just an oldie.
When was the last time you had your photo taken with your sweetheart?
When was the last time you sat outside together like this?
Sigh. We’re due for some of that.
We went camping this weekend on Mount Lemmon with our church.
What is that you have, Mark?
Oh, a tiny horned lizard!
Timothy found one, too, but it was much bigger.
Daniel whittled.
Paige was great at tent setup and cleanup. Yes, she IS that incredible.
Everything was packed and ready to go, but we lingered. The pleasant temperatures, the pines, and the company kept us there. Just ignore that odd expression on my face.
I have a tradition of decorating the birthday child’s bedroom door. This year, I enlarged and printed some of Paige’s dance photos. I cut out the dancer, traced the cutout on dark paper and cut out again.
We decorated sugar cookies, went out to eat, and went shopping for clothes.
We ended the day with a chick flick with Paige’s best friend. We munched on Paige’s signature gourmet sandwiches and sat down to watch the 2009 BBC version of Emma.
The little brothers contributed sweet and thoughtful gifts. Timothy made a mouse out of Sculpey clay for her. Mark wrapped each gift… several days early.
Here is Paige playing Mazurka in G Minor by Chopin:
and Minuet in G Major by Beethoven:
Our Paige is quite a person.
artist
great big sister
helpful daughter
peacemaker
dancer
pianist
math wiz
beautiful
great sandwich maker
well-read
righteous
kind
Today we said goodbye to many of Paige’s childhood toys and dress up clothes. Tears were shed. She has kept them around for all the neighbor girls to play with when they come over, but this summer it became clear that we are out of space. Most toys were carefully wrapped and donated to special people and to our church thrift store. Other things were packed away in deep storage for me to pull out and play with when Paige moves out and I’m the only girl in the house.
This photo was taken in 2002.
Goodbye pink Kelly castle with the little dragon.
Goodbye dollies. You are loved.
Goodbye ponies.
Goodbye twirly pink dress up clothes.
I’m crying my eyes out.
Goodbye tea parties with princesses.
Goodbye little things and glittery treasures.
Goodbye baby girl.
Did you read that article about playgrounds being so safe that they are boring? The see-saws are gone, as are most swings, merry-go-rounds, or anything with moving parts. When my boys play on the playground, I usually catch them climbing on the Outside of the tube slides because it’s more manly.
This summer we tried to be really deliberate in our choices for the kids. We chose our vacation and summer activities with the idea that we wanted to provide adventure and opportunities for them to grow. In other words, we didn’t want a homogenized curvy-edged playground summer; we wanted an old fashioned teeter-totter-jungle gym-monkey bridge summer.
For Paige, this meant some time with grandparents on her own and a two week ballet camp where she lived in the dorms.
For Daniel, adventure meant a tennis camp around the corner and then 9 days with my parents on his own. Daniel kept a journal of his trip which he read to me. Wow. What a good, busy time.
Most of Timothy’s adventures involved rocks, water, and cousins. This kid loved riding the tube behind the wave runner and really improved his swimming skills.
And now we come to Mark, who found adventures aplenty.
As the summer activities come to an end, I reflect on the value of getting out of the desert so we could spend time outdoors, build relationships with extended family, and experience adventure and even risk to help us grow and develop. It has been a good summer for the Ross family.
True love means surprising your wife with a new set of pillars at the family cabin. It means hauling your saw and tools and shopping for lumber. My dad did good this year with his building project at the Weber.
He worked so fast and so well that one pillar was finished before I could photograph the “BEFORE” picture.
My brothers helped. They were Thrilled to have their pictures taken.
This is what the cousins were up to.
Here is my mom painting her pillar.
Magnifico!
Daniel brought me flowers he collected during a hike on the mountain. This kid is so thoughtful.
These made me so happy. I held them in the van during our drive back to Provo. Everyone sneezed and I was covered in pollen. We decided that the flowers I wasn’t able to press would decorate Lady’s grave. So that’s where we left them.
Have you ever opened a book only to discover there are pressed flowers inside? That is one of the happy discoveries in life.
I pressed the flowers in a book I have been carrying around in the car: The Secret Garden. How fitting!
The river near our cabin was raging during our stay. We gave up the idea of tubing and kept a vigilant eye on all of the little people. As the week progressed, the water receded a bit, offering hope for later summer tubing adventures.
Daniel found an area of the river which was still and started plans for a dam so there would be a safe, contained area for little ones.
This picture looks scarier than it was. One cousin joined Daniel in the construction.
Then three more arrived for duty.
Well, you get the picture. This quiet little inlet was the place to be.
Timothy held back from the crowd and watched the river at a different spot.
Many watched from the windows above the river, too.
Grandpa’s vantage point was on the deck he built years ago. I think he likes to be a part of building of any kind and was quietly pleased to see the grandkids at work.
One morning my brother in law set out a bubble machine for the kids. We watched them pop about a half gallon of bubble solution.
Lovely little pixie girl
Rafael would use her as a model if he were still around.
Mark
I love the bubble breaking action
Mark would say this cousin has just become “bubble blind.”
Photos by Daniel
We found this little fawn who had lost its mother near our cabin. Look at that beautiful face and those two inch lashes. Sigh. A lost fawn is a sad thing.
I feel a little lost myself, coming home from such an extended trip. We were loved and our children were able to interact with the greatest grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in the world.
We had big adventures. We went rock climbing, boating, water skiing, spent time in several mountain retreats, hiked, rode the Alpine Slide, ate milkshakes, attended a two week ballet camp, read books, watched movies, got sick, recovered, scaled bridges, looked for treasure, drank hot cocoa in the Uintas every morning, competed for candy, discussed books, movies, essential oils, picked wildflowers, ate big meals, played badminton, rode bikes, built a dam, hand-washed dishes for 30 people, went swimming, and more.
The van is covered in mud.
The day after a vacation is something one just endures.
The poppies were in bloom at the cabin. We took about 600 pictures of them which I will faithfully share.
We sat down to watch Richard’s videos of the trip, only to discover that he forgot to turn off the camera as he went down the Alpine slide. He and Mark are yelling and we have a good view of his hand. The camera, still on, followed us through Park City, picking up gems of conversation such as, “That slide was too slow. I didn’t have any fun.” On the ride back to the cabin, the camera picked up a tantrum and my threat, “Pull over, Richard. Let’s see if this man and his dog will let Mark walk with them for a while.”
Sweet. Now my bad parenting can be available on DVD.
I’m also bad at feeding the children vegetables and seeing that they get adequate sleep.
My children endure it well. They can read and play piano, and they show well at church. (Phew!) Although, after weeks and weeks of vacation, I’m not so sure they can play the piano anymore.
