Happy Birthday Cookie

Here is our pretty, newly svelte (as Dad would say) sister. I guess most of us remember the Christmas Day that Cookie came home wrapped in a soft white blanket with a big red bow around her. It is one of my most memorable Christmases. No matter how old she gets she continues to be our baby sister.

Here are some of the qualities of this little sister:

• Generous
• Laughs easily
• Great story teller
• Happy mother
• Encouraging to others
• Plays the piano well
• Loyal to family
• Strong testimony of the Gospel
• Can drive long distances
• Gives of herself
• Such discipline!!
• Great smile
• Sews well
• Likes to read
• Amazing scrapbooker

And so many more....Happy, Happy Birthday to our sister, Cookie - we love you and hope you have a wonderful day/year.

Happy Birthday Carolyn

Happy Birthday to our sister,Carolyn. This is not an accurate picture of her as she is getting smaller each week. We will need to update a picture soon.
Here are some of the qualities of Carolyn:

• Helping others - she is always there if you need her
• Mother of six
  
• Friend of many
• Hard worker
• So creative
• Spontaneous
• and Plans things out to the last detail
• Opens her home to others
• Gathers family together
• Scrapbooker extraordinaire
  
• Crafter
• Planner of parties
• Executer of parties
• Always improving herself
• Testimony of the Gospel
• Loves her family
• Sacrifices for the good of those she loves
• Excellent shopper
• Accepting of others
• See the needs of others
• Resouceful for meeting needs
• And so much, much more...

Happy, Happy Birthday Carolyn. You are loved by your family and so many others. Thanks for your good example and love that you share so freely.

Happy Birthday Cindy

Here is our cute sister, aunt, sister-in-law, etc. etc or however you may be related to her.




Sorry this picture is so dark - but you all know how hard it is to get a picture of this girl! This is an untypical sight - Cindy lounging around. We would usually see her busily working on something.

Cindy has so many talents and abilities:

• Self made successful business woman
• Master quilter
• Teaches others to quilt
• Excellent hand seamstress
• Tiler
• Furniture finisher
• Loves to read
• Great at home decor
• Great cook
• Organized - every area at home and most likely at work also
• Hard worker
• Supportive sister
• Helpful aunt
• Intuitive daughter
• Wraps a beautiful package
• Good listener
• Resourceful at learning what she doesn't know
• Exercises and eats right
• Yes, she has self discipline
• And so much more...

Happy Birthday - don't forget how much you are loved by all your family!!

Thanksgiving at the Rowleys

Thanksgiving 2009 - with all the foods that the family likes. This year we had Hershey candy bars covered with light orange paper and a label that said Give Thanks. I am happy to buy Hershey candy bars now since my girls and I visited Hershey, PA and found out that the money from Hershey's candy goes to support a school in Hershey for at risk children. It makes me feel good that we are contributing to such a worthy cause.

Happy Thanksgiving Family!!

Tribute to Mom

Happy Birthday Mom

Mom and Linda, her first child on Mom's 80th birthday - two years ago.
Mom has lived in Roseville for the majority of her life.
Here is one of the many places Mom lived as she was growing up in Roseville.
Here are some fun facts about Mom:

• Born in Los Angeles, California
• Two sisters and two brothers
• Moved to Roseville around age 5
• Best friend: Norma
• Married at 19 in Logan Temple
• Seven Children
• Lived in present house for 59 years so far
• Loves holidays and decorates for each of them
  
• Loves to read
• Loves music - Warsaw Concerto and Clair de Lune - some her favorites
  
• Loves the Scriptures
• Attended Education Week (Leadership Week) for many years
• Attended Know Your Religion for many years
• Every grandchild feels her special love for them
• Every great grandchild feels her special love for them
  
• Loves the color blue
• Crochets to relax
• Enjoys meeting new people
• She and Dad served a Stake Mission together
• Has traveled to Eastern part of the United States and to Hawaii
• Served as PTA President
• Worked on Election Board since her early married years
• Has always had a calling in her ward
• Has lived in the same ward since she was 5.
• Knows the Gospel and loves the Lord
• Loves her family
  
• And so, so much more -

Mom and most of her kids.
Happy, happy Birthday Mom, Grandma, GeeGee
We hope you have a wonderful birthday and remember how much we all love you...

shut up and HAVE FUN!!! Our weekend in San Francisco

We had SOOOO much fun on our weekend trip to SF to see Wicked!! First thing we checked into our beautiful hotel

While Annaleesa and Carolyn checked us in, we hung out starting the relaxing weekend.


Then we were off to Union Square to check out the shopping. WOW that mall goes and goes up. The top 4 floors are Aunt Bonnie's special place!! (Nordstroms)


We loved the curving escalators, they wound upward for so many floors!!


Colleen found "her" chair and had her loyal subject come sit with her.

Allie thought she was special like Aunt Colleen and found that her loyal subject weren't so loyal.

The next morning we were up and out the door to go play!


We went and found the trolly cars to ride to Fisherman's Wharf!
Aunt Bonnie had to sit on Grandma's lap, there was standing room only!




We made it to Fisherman's Wharf and we were off to find the CHOCOLATE!!

AWWWW, we were in heaven!! They gave out samples!! YUMMY!

On our way to the chocolate we saw a trolley car with Wicked on it so, of course, we had to stop and take our picture with it!

Katie and Annaleesa found the chocolate first!!
Aunt Colleen liked the chocolate, but found her first love on a giant poster!!







To get up to the top level we found an elevator, it wasn't too hard to find. On our way down that we had the problem! We got on and couldn't remember which level was the street level. So we kept pushing the buttons and then peeking out to see if we had finally picked the right level. We went up and down several time before got it right!!




After we finally got out of the elevator, we went to find Aunt Bonnie some crab! Joe's Crab Shack was down the street!




All the waitresses stop and dance when certain songs come on the speakers! This is our waitress and she was such fun!!
there will be more later when we can get the blog to work!

She is blessed

Ava is surrounded by her family that loves her and each other. Yes, Russ is holding a BYU cap over my head - He is in so much trouble!

The Hokansons joined us for the special day.

The Sanders Family - a family of five now with the
addition of Ava.

Ava is wearing the same dress that her mother, Alexis
wore almost 28 years ago when she was sealed and blessed.

Special day - special baby girl. We are so happy that Ava is blessed!

Big News from the Andersons!

Elder Garrett Todd Anderson has recieved his mission call!

He will be serving in the Argentina Rosario Mission! He will report to the Provo MTC November 4th. He will speak Spanish like his father.

We are so proud of Garrett and so excited for him! You may woot.

New Family Member

Here she is Ava Christine Sanders

This is our activity with the boys while we are waiting for the phone call from the hospital.

Here she is Ava Christine - surrounded by her family. They are now a family of five.

She weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces. She doesn't look much like her brothers but she is a cutie with a look all her own. She was born Friday, July 17th at 2:36 pm. Alexis says this was her hardest birth but she was bigger than the brothers before her. Alexis is doing fine now as is Ava.

Graduation Barbeque

Allie's Graduation party!

Since this will be a fun day already, we wanted to add to the fun!

Come and enjoy a barbeque at Mom's house after the graduation, or during if you get really hungry. We will have burgers and hotdogs and salads galore! Everyone coming for Sara and Gary's wedding will be tired after a trip to the temple and ready to relax. (come even if you didn't go to the wedding!!) So come sit in Mom's nice back yard and enjoy dinner and family fun!

This is June 12th at about 7:30 ish

Come enjoy!!

Let us know if you are going to stop by so we can have plenty of food!

We can't wait to see everyone!

Family Recipes

Hi,

Petra and I thought "oh what fun we will do a recipe book for all the girls in the family" (sorry guys!!) We gathered receipes and took pictures or found pictures. (we have one of Grandpa picking the berries in the back yard for the berry cobbler recipe!) Then we started putting it together, about 100 hours later we decided this was WAY more work than we thought. Soooo having said that, we have decided that we could do the pages and maybe color copy them for people that want them. So Rachel your job is to find some pictures of your Dad cooking. We have several Uncle Randy recipes that need better pictures.
And to all of you out there, if there is a recipe you can think of that we might not have, let us know. We have sat with Grandma several times picking her brain for things like her vegtable soup that always seems to be cooking on the stove when someone has driven a long distance to visit and of course her macaroni salad and sweet and sour pork, cheese cake, this list goes on and on. So hopefully we can get started again and create some more books

P.S.

I am so way jealous Sara-Rae got a family recipe book!! I know my parents make a lot of grandmas recipes, but I don't have them all for sure. Is there a way I can get a copy of that book somehow?! If I need to pay you I will, those are priceless recipes that I love!

New Blogger in Town

Caution, the fogeys have entered into the blogging world. Their blog address is: http://coloradoroskelleys.blogspot.com I can't add it to the side, only Linda can, but check it out from here for now. Hope you are all doing well!

It was Tempel Day! Friday April 17th Sara Rae recived her own Endowments at the Sacramento Tempel. Grandma, Aunt Carna, Uncle JJ, Mom & Dad as well as what's his name (ok it's Gary) It was great going thru a session with the family. Also Tha CA. clan had a Bridal Shower, CArna and her gang of party givers did a great job. On to more wedding plans stay tune.

WICKED in the Fall

Hey Ladies of the Roskelley Clan -

We thought this might be the best way to reach everyone, since we are hoping that you all check out the family blog. Also, if we tried to call or email everyone we would probably miss someone and then everyone would hate us and give us dirty looks and threats at family functions and we want to avoid those, as we get enough already.

Petra and I are throwing this idea out there for all, with the XY chromosome, that would like to join us this Fall for a little fun. Wicked is showing at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.

We are looking at sometime in September so that everyone that would like to come has time to save up some money. We are looking at a Saturday show so a Matinee @ 2PM or the evening showing @ 8PM. This would give everyone time to get to San Francisco and have some time to play around on the Wharf and what not, and maybe even drop the "crazy" ones off at Alcatraz :)

Prices are as follows:

Orchestra/Loge $99
Mezzanine $99
Balcony $50
Side Balcony $40

+ 10.50 convenience charge

Loge (1st 3 rows of 1st balcony)
Mezzanine (1st Balcony level behind Loge)
Balcony (2nd balcony level)

If we have enough people that would like to go we may be able to get a group discount.

Here are some dates to consider:

9/12/09
9/19/09
9/26/09

If you are interested in coming please leave comments on this post as to what dates would work best for you. We will try to accommodate the date with the most requests, but hey in the end it's me and Petra that will decide - hee hee. We will need to know numbers so that we can plan for tickets and for hotel rooms. Petra is going to try to accommodate all that want to go at her favorite place of employment in the Bay area.

If we are close enough in numbers to get a group rate we may open it up to friends, but lets just start with family members first as we are trying to promote family bonding moments. Geez, I know you have to spend time with family, that is why we add the crazy aunts, sarcastic cousins, and those out of control siblings. Although, if others come there is a disclaimer as we are not responsible for what happens to them. They will be subjected to the same harassment as everyone else, sorry.

We hope that as many that can will join us for some fun cousin, aunt, grandma, crazy people time. It's an entertaining show for sure and you won't regret seeing it! Please join us!




Disclaimer:

Yeah, I know it is kind a scary that Petra and I are trying to plan something. So if it blows up you can't really blame us.

News of Auburnights

Well as you must of heard by now, the big news from our family, Sara is getting married to Gary Gray. They will be sealed together on Friday June 12th in the Oakland Temple. On Saturday June 13th there will be a family breakfast for both families, later that evening a reception will be held at the Abel's property. On June 27th a open house will be held in Pleasant Grove, Utah (were Gary & his family live) we are very excited for them.
Sara & Gary had come to Auburn for thanksgiving back in Nov. (at the time I thought it was just another boy in tow) So that weekend I did not spend much time with Gary, we (Placer High) were involved in football playoffs, so I was busy coaching and preparing for the upcoming game. We later learned things were getting serious. So Colleen and I went to Utah to spend some time with Gary and meet his family, We were very impressed with both. Gary and I sat down for a chat. I called it a chat, Gary thought it was an interview, Sara calls it the Inquisition. How ever you want to call it, Gary answered all the questions correctly, and he asked and received permission to take our beloved daughter to the House of the Lord and be sealed for Time and all Eternity. I hope all of our family can gather in Zion (Auburn for those of you who did not know were Zion is) in June to celebrate this event.
Colleen and Ron are experiencing the empty nest syndrome for the first time. We miss our children so very much. Colleen is still working in the mortgage business and is serving in the relief society presidency with her friend Bonnie Abel. Ron still does his property management and coaches at the high school. Ron was released from the Bishopric and was called to be the High Priest Group Leader.
Brandon is living large in San Louis O. Doing the school thing, Throwing on the Track team and finding new adventures, check out his facebook and his sand surfing. We are very proud of his progress and the great man he is turning into. I (DAD) just wish I could hear from him more I miss hanging out with him.

All is well here in Auburn, we hope to see you all in June

News from JJ and Family

Dear Family,

Our Family is still living in Antelope. We are in the Antelope 4th Ward in the Antelope Stake. Sarah has been called to be the secretary in Young Women's and JJ is a teacher in the Elders Quorum. Jake is now in CTR6, Eden is a Sunbeam and Noah is in the nursery. Jake loves his class, Eden wants to go back to nursery and Noah screams until we get out of sight, then he has a great time. Jake also enjoys kindergarten but is not very fond of the homework.

Our biggest news to share is that we are expecting a baby boy! We were convinced, with the help of Eden who desperately wants a sister, that we were expecting a girl, so imagine our shock, and Eden's dismay and denial, when we were told it is a boy. Jake and Noah feel triumphant now that it is confirmed another brother is on the way. Now we just have to agree on a name.

JJ has traveled much less over the last six months than he has previously. It has been nice to have him home more. However, now that we are used to having him around again, his travel itinerary is revving up again, and we don't expect to see much of him over the next couple of months. He is required to be home and accessible come the end of August/ beginning of September when the baby is due!

Even though we celebrate two birthdays in October, Halloween was definitely the highlight of the month. We had a firefighter, a princess and a lion. While Sarah went out with the kids and a friend and their kids, JJ helped pack up a moving truck for the same friends. It was a busy and fun night. We were also able to take the kids to the Halloween party for Grandma's ward and see friends we rarely see.

We, minus the kids, enjoyed a fun trip to Hawaii just before Thanksgiving thanks to JJ's heavy travel schedule and the accumulation of hotel points. We visited Oahu and Maui, and even with the occasional rain, enjoyed 70+ degree weather in November! We saw Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center. The best part was relaxing at the beach. It was fantastic!

Sarah's parents were nice enough to stay with the kids while we were in Hawaii. We were able to have Thanksgiving with them and Sarah's brother Dave and his family who came down from Washington to celebrate with us. Christmas was fun for the whole family, the kids love everything about Christmas. It was a little odd because it was just us and we usually have Sarah's brother James with us. Speaking of James, he got married a month ago. Sarah was able to go all alone to Southern California to be a part of the wedding. (I'd almost call it a vacation except for the fact that we had to cater the whole reception and make the flower arrangements and.... it was a BUSY vacation!)

We have enjoyed seeing family as they have come to visit with Grandma. Keep coming! We hope you have enjoyed the start of Conference weekend and acknowledge the blessing of the Gospel and family in your lives. We are blessed to be part of this family and are grateful for each of you. We love you!

JJ, Sarah, Jake, Eden, Noah and Baby Boy Roskelley

Uncle Jerry's Funeral

The Roseville Fire Department honored Uncle Jerry with a beautiful American flag - similar to the way the Navy did for Dad last year. The mournful Taps was played by a fireman across the parking lot.

The Roseville Police and Fire Departments escorted the family (and it was a big line of cars - because we have a BIG family) to the cemetery. There was a fire truck with the lights on at the front and the back of the line of cars and the police stopped all traffic while we traveled - so happy that the cemetery was not that far from the church.

Dad's gravestone has finally been placed on his grave. It looks like the family gathering on Memorial Day will begin here starting this May. Can you just imagine how Dad and Uncle Jerry will enjoy seeing everyone gather here?

IN MEMORY.....

I was on my way to the grocery store Saturday night, Yeah it was Saturday night and you can see most of our ward at BelAir, as I was driving past the the fire station I noticed the flag at half mast. I thought hmmmm I didn't hear that any one important in town had died??? Then I looked down, and saw this sign, it really hit me! WOW the whole town is mourning with us. OK, I have to admit, I was told the flag would be at half mast, but I had forgotten!

I thought it was just our Fire Station because Uncle Jerry had retired from that Station, but Aunt Faye said it was all the Fire Stations in the city of Roseville. There are a LOT of Fire Stations in Roseville. We drove to 3 of them just to make sure and they were all lowered.

Everywhere I go, everyone knows he is gone. Uncle Jerry had worked in the Stake for so many years, the Stake Presidency called all the wards to let them know.

I got out at the Fire Station and took the video, I am sure the firemen were thinking I was a bit crazy.

Jeff and I went to see Uncle Jerry last week, he was able to talk to us and we were able to let him know we loved him. We went back a couple of days later and he was unconscious. He was never awake again from that day froward. I am glad we listened to that small voice that sent us over to visit last week. Mom and I took soup and cookies over, we remember how nice it was to have food on hand that could be warmed up, or a cookie to hand to a child.

We went with Mom to her Ward today and saw all the cousins except David and his Amy (I heard David had a wardrobe malfunction) It is sad but fun to see them all!

The Funeral is Wednesday at 10:00 am, I so wish everyone in my family could be there. It is hard to lose the last of our Uncles!!

Marriage Retreat SNOW!!!

Linda, Grant, Jeff and I went to a Marriage Retreat up at Aspen Grove. For those of you who are like me and are going, "where is that??" it is above Sundance Ski Resort. In fact, as you are driving up to Aspen Grove, you can see the skiers going down the mountain. We Californians loved the big puffy snow while we sat snug in big cushy chairs in the lodge, laughing at Brad Wilcox the speaker for the event. When you see one of us, ask us about the "step away from the car" joke. We laughed until we were hurting.

This was taken just outside our rooms in the lodge. I wanted to get the snow on the trees, and the snow in the air, it just looks white in the picture, it was big puffy flakes coming down.

Linda and I got adventurous and went snow shoeing the second day. Now that was an event!! Staying up right was a full time job for us both. The guys took a nap while we were out being crazy.

If you look closely you can see how wet Linda's knees are and what you can't see is my numb bum. Linda fell face first into the snow, I went straight back, Oh well we had fun!!

Can you tell who is from Utah and who is from California?? Jeff and I dressed in so many layers!! Linda and Grant kept saying "oh, this is much warmer than it has been!"

It was so beautiful, and a fun relaxing weekend!!