The Rose Family

Thought we might play a little catch up with some pictures of happenings with the Rose family.

Ahhh, let's see. 6 months since the last update. So much for trying to keep this thing moderately up-to-date, huh?

Well, the last 6 months here in Arizona have been... hot. It's funny that recently the overnight temerature has dropped to about 75, and we feel like we are freezing. But I guess the 110 degree daily temperature for several months in a row does that to you. The pool has definitely come in handy. We pretty much had to treat it as a big spa because the water temperature was 90+ during most of the summer. But it was still enjoyable. Matt has discovered that jumping off the climber into the pool is fun. He jumps off the top platform, which is a good 3-4 feet above the water line. Doesn't sound like much, but when you are 2 years old and only 2 feet tall it's a long jump. Josh thoroughly enjoys running around the pool in laps while throwing rocks into the water. His father very much enjoys cleaning it up.

Work is good. Derek has been assigned to the 5am-2pm shift permanantly. It can be exhausting and tiresome, but it is sure nice to leave work when others are just getting back from lunch. It leaves half of the day open, which is usually taken up by various house projects. Speaking of which, the office is getting a makeover, complete with paint, crown molding, 4" baseboards and chair rails. It's our test to see if we can install crown molding to see if we can attempt it on the rest of the house. But see, the best part about that is not the actual molding itself, it's all the power tools that come with it. (Insert manly grunt here)

Rebekah's Jetta pretty much died. The A/C went out on it, along with various other things. So we went out and bought a Chrysler Pacifica. It is a very nice car and we are excited to drive it around. We are looking forward to putting it to good use and driving it out to California in two weeks.

We took the boys to Build-a-Bear workshop yesterday. The boys absolutely loved it. Matt got a dog and named him Puppy (and he has underwear) and Josh got a teddy bear and named him... Bear. It was so cute to watch Matt proudly walk down the mall and out the door with his big box dragging behind him. Needless to say, he caught the attention of ever single person he walked by.

It's been way too long since we've done any updates on here. Things have been pretty busy, but I guess we could have taken the time to post something. We've successfully moved into our new home in Arizona without any serious incedent... besides the dinged drywall and scratched paint from moving bulky furniture. Good thing the builder offered to fix it at no cost to us. The pool is finally finished, and we've been scrubbing the plaster 2-3 times a day to keep it from cracking while it cures in the water. It looks really pretty at night with the light on. I'll have to post some pictures of the house tonight when I am home from work.

The company I was working for when we moved down here decided that it wasn't making enough money. So they let our entire division go (all 500+ people). Well as always, things work out in the end. I got a similar position about 3 weeks after the announcement with a very well-known mortgage company, and the drive is a little shorter. That was a blessing.

Rebekah started her preschool classes. She has two clases she teaches throughout the week. Matt loves being included on it. One day he saw a few of the other kids bring backpacks to class. So he went upstairs and grabbed the toy backpack and put it on, complete with pen and paper inside. Smart kid! Josh is finally getting the courage to stand and walk around. I guess he decided it doesn't hurt that much when he falls. Man, both kids walking... we are in trouble.

Anyway, I better get back to work. I'll hopefully get into the good habit of keeping this thing updated. Things always go on, we just never post here. That should change.

We got to go back to sunny California this last week for Micah's blessing. We had a fun time visiting family and friends... although there weren't many friends left there. We got to see the Newport Beach Temple and take the kids to Sea World. You can see the picture below with the "mingos". That's what Matt calls them.

The boys are getting so big. Matt loves to ride his bike with the big kids and follows them around everywhere. He's recently discovered that daddy answers to a different name (Derek). Josh has figured out that he has a pair of lungs with vocal cords attached. He's our squealer. He just likes to sit on the floor and play with his toys for hours. We love our kids.

Derek has a big project going on at work and will be very busy for the next two weeks. He's been looking at schools for his MBA and would like to attend Thunderbird when we get to Arizona. Hopefully the 8-10 year post-graduate work experience with 3 years of middle-management experience and average student age of 37 won't be TOO much of a drawback. We'll see.

Rebekah loves being at home with the kids, going to her yoga classes and shopping with her sister, who will soon be off to Maryland with her family. She's excited about the new house and is looking for fun things to make it our home.