Letters from Home – Page 165 – A blog by Angela Ross

Favorite things: Day 3

These are some things I like to do with Richard.

read
movies
concerts and plays
try new restaurants
share raspberry shakes
make home movies
evening drives
bake bread or prepare homemade strawberry jam

Favorite things: Day 2

Today I am thinking of movies that I like.

Some “kid” movies:

Cars
Mary Poppins
Pollyanna
Tangled

Some “chick flicks”:

You’ve Got Mail
Pride and Prejudice (BBC)
Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee director)
Persuasion (BBC)
Dear Frankie
Cranford (Masterpiece)
North and South (BBC)
The Young Victoria
Roman Holiday
Wives and Daughters
Sabrina (Harrison Ford)

Some Musicals:

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert
The Sound of Music
My Fair Lady

Eclectic favorites:

The Artist
Bride and Prejudice (Bollywood version of Pride and Prejudice)
Nacho Libre

Are there any surprises here? Have you seen them all?

Summer is my fallow season for writing. Since I’m not doing well connecting sentences, the next few days I have decided to share lists of my favorite things, beginning with books. About 10 years ago I discovered that I enjoy reading history. Here are 5 of my favorite works of history/biography. Do you have some favorites not listed here?

Truman by David McCullough (It’s so thorough. It was great.)
John Adams by David McCullough (I have read this a couple of times I liked it so much. I like all of the letters to and from Abigail. It was a good study about Jefferson, too.)
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K Massie (Fascinating! I have an affinity for Russian history and this was my favorite so far.)
The Forgotten Man by Amity Schlaes (Conservative author; scathing review of the failed policies and philosophies of Roosevelt and his cabinet during the Depression)
A Day in Old Rome by William Stearns Davis (This made me want to visit Rome. Perhaps any book on Rome would have done it, though.)

A glimpse of Youth Conference

I took hundreds of photos at Youth Conference but very few have Paige in them and I didn’t take any selfies. I am hoping to collect more photos from other people so we can prove that the Ross Women were also there! Daniel had a great time. Each time I saw him, he was hanging out with someone different. I like to see that.

1-DSC_1507 — Rockin’ R Ranch lodge is in the background. We are at line dance lessons here.

1-DSC_1594 — A view of some of the horses

1-DSC_1598 — The Lodge where we ate and where the girls slept. The boys were in the bunk house across the way.

1-DSC_1673 — Daniel won 3rd place in the barrel races at the rodeo.

1-DSC_1833 — The donkey relay was hilarious.

1-DSC_1932-001 — Maple Leaf Rag on a twangy piano was just the thing to play in the Lodge.

Hat shopping

Tomorrow Paige, Daniel, and I go to a western ranch for youth conference. Of all the things I need to do to prepare, I am fixated on finding a proper cowboy hat.

I am tired of going places. Once we return from youth conference, we will have 6 whole days at home before we leave again. During those precious days, I plan to mulch my backyard flower bed (since summer is half over), read Coolidge by Amity Schlaes, and avoid going out as much as possible.

Mark goes to Cub Camp

It’s a rite of passage to go to Cub Camp. Age 8 seems younger and younger with each child, though. I got to attend one day of camp with Mark and it was a delight to watch him during the skits and songs and see what he chose to purchase from the shop. Many boys bought $5 Indiana Jones whips. Thankfully, Mark only had $3 with him, so it wasn’t a temptation. Mark’s favorite activity of the day was the obstacle course. I took video of him climbing, swinging on a rope, doing somersaults, jumping, and running through tires. I could watch that for a long time.

Family Vacation Photos

1-IMG_2119-001 — We went to Fish Creek with Richard’s family. We didn’t get photos of everything, but if you make it through this post, you may think we got enough.

1-IMG_20140708_120432 — I love to see Sparky enjoy the ride. The drive to Fish Creek is accessible only with all wheel drive and some spunk.

1-DSC_1455 — Oh, yes. Before we left, Rob and Melinda and their kids spent the night at our house. Here we are deep in conversation in the backyard. Rob and Richard worked on doors and handles in our basement. Hallelujah.

At the top of the road, Paige, Mark, and I stopped to take pictures.

1-DSC_1460 — Mark went higher than any of us.

1-DSC_1456 — We were surrounded by insects and interesting things to collect. Then suddenly, the insects were silent and not to be found…

1-DSC_1472 — We watched the storm move in as Richard brought up another truckload of people to join us at the top of the mountain.

1-2014-07-08 (3) — The storm arrived just as everyone got there. Some people were caught in the storm, which lasted quite a while and included hail, wind, and great amounts of rain.

1-photo 3 — We huddled together under the trees. The kids, one by one, escaped to the warm cab of the truck. We had around 20 people and only one truck for shelter.

1-IMG_20140708_154039 — Grandpa, Daniel, and a few others made an expedition to the other truck which was lower on the mountain. The rest of us piled inside and outside our truck and began the drive down the mountain. There are ten people in the cab and five people on the running boards and in the bed.

1-IMG_20140708_154048 — Paige and I are on the left. Rob and Melinda are on the right. Liz is in the truck bed. We were cold, but we were having fun. We figure that this fiasco will become a family legend.

1-IMG_1955 — Once everyone dried off and had some food, many people took another evening hike. Paige and I stayed behind in the campground. Four or five carloads of Boy Scouts descended on our camp area and set up their tents just feet from us. I think the Scouts were thrilled that Paige was there. We were not so thrilled that they were there.

1-IMG_1990 — The next day we hiked to the falls.

1-IMG_2187 — There were so many wildflowers along the trails. I wish that I had brought our flower pressing kit or a big book. I didn’t want to use my Bible.

1-SAM_0179 — Many people hiked up into a cave area to enjoy the falls close up.

1-IMG_20140709_133918 — I like to see my kids being helpful to each other. This little scene melted my heart.

1-IMG_20140709_125908 — Daniel was in the water for a long time. I wonder if he can feel his frozen feet yet?

1-IMG_2038 — Timothy hung out with cousins. He has been to the falls before and remembered how cold he was, so he opted to stay dry. The hike to the falls was downhill, but for the uphill climb out, Richard ferried people on the motorcycle. Sparky ran up and down the hill to keep up with him. When we got home, Sparky couldn’t get out of the van without assistance. Loyal pup!

1-IMG_2203 — Here are the Ross men: Dale, Russ, Rob, and Richard.

1-IMG_2217 — There was a lot of motorcycling during the trip. On the first day, Richard, Daniel, and Timothy went for a 3-hour ride to the campground. This is Mark in Pine Valley.

1-IMG_2220 — Mark loves this motorcycle and keeps the helmet close by in the tent trailer when he goes to sleep.

1-IMG_2222 — Here is Shari and her husband Dave.

1-IMG_2228 — Here are Russ and Nancy, whose jobs at Dixie State University made it possible for the family to gather at the school cabin in Pine Valley for a few days after we camped.

Photos by Paige, Mark, Angela, Russ, Melinda, Shari, and Richard.

Mountain Views

Happy summer memories hover around me. Views of mountain peaks and rivers are the backgrounds; the kids and their cousins are the focus. Sleep, mealtimes, and ordinary caution are abandoned to build memories.

I’m drawing some strength and perspective from the hills and from time spent with family.

And yes, I sing songs from The Sound of Music in my head and sometimes out loud as I look out over this beautiful world.

A few highlights of the holiday

Worst date ever: Richard in the E.R. after lunch with a severe allergic reaction to nuts. He got a shot of epinephrine and all kinds of medicine…quickly! (This is when he was feeling much better.)

1-IMG_20140702_213314-001 — Timothy shows Dad his new Lego set he bought with his lawn mowing money.

1-IMG_20140704_150007 — Grandma and Tyler are matchy-matchy.

Everyone helps out with the construction when you go to Spring Lake. Richard had to work on the 4th, so I took the kids to Provo to see the parade and the fair and to visit Spring Lake. Daniel skipped the parade and worked with my dad all day at Spring Lake. In the evening a few cousins joined us for Tank Wars. It was a fun day.

Something for the time capsule

I was hoping these would last a few more years until the chunky plastic-rimmed glasses trend was over. Don’t get me wrong, everybody looks great in those glasses. But I made a promise to myself after looking at my mom’s high school yearbooks that I would never wear glasses with dark plastic rims. I also decided I would never be photographed in a down feather-trimmed blouse.

Also, I have been growing out my bangs. This week it dawned on me that people are now embracing bangs.

I’m feeling a bit grumpy about all of this.