ROSS

This past week we suffered a great loss,in that our Father and Grandfather Ross Nicholes passed away.

It has been a sad time for our family, but we rejoice in the new found freedoms and joy that we know Ross must be experiencing.

Here are a few of our favorite memories....

Ross was an excellent chef. His potatoes and gravy were legendary. I am not sure anyone can make them as yummy as Ross. When asked for a recipe  he never had any measurements or ideas on how he made it...he would answer with something like..."cook the potatoes, then use some butter, milk, salt and mash 'em up." Just another reason he was so amazing.

Ross was a wonderful Grandparent. He came to as many birthdays, ball games, band performances, choir performances, as he could. He always played card games with the kids. Toward the end when his strength was waning he watched "Alf" with the kids when he could. They loved him for his unconditional love for them, and his sense of humor. He shared his love of tractors and the great outdoors, and of course sheep.

Ross was a wonderful Father-in-Law. I have two favorite memories. One sad another happy. At one point several years ago, Bartley was in the hospital and he was very ill. The doctors did not know if he would make it. The doctors and nurses were standing around working on Bartley. His parents and I were there. Finally Ross turned to me and said, "You need to leave, you don't need to see Bartley like this." I told him I wasn't leaving. He said "I will stay, but you are leaving, you don't want me to make you." I loved him for protecting me, that way. The other memory was just a few years ago at Christmas. We had opened presents. We were just sitting around visiting. The next thing I know Ross had a ribbon set perfectly on top of his head. He was just so funny, and it was such a perfect representation of his fun, playful, humorous side.

 Ross was an awesome father. Bartley has lots of good memories, one of his favorites is when he was about 9 years old. Ross came to him and asked him if he wanted to go to a "late" show. It was a school night and Bartley remembers how cool it was to be with his dad and go to see the "Electric Horseman". He loves going to a late night movie even now.  Ross worked hard and was a good provider. Bartley never felt as though he "went without", birthdays and Christmases were always full of magic and excitement.  Just recently at our anniversary, Bartley took my gift over to wrap, (it was a set of pots and pans) Ross stated clearly, "that's not an anniversary gift, you are going to be in trouble." (Bartley was not in trouble, I told him that was what I wanted) Bartley loved him for trying to save him from a sure fate of trouble.

We know that Families Can be Together Forever....so until we meet again Ross. We love you!

Prom 2010

Rock-n-Roll

At some point during Christmas break in my living room there appeared a total rock-star! Abbey appeared on stage, she was decked out and ready to groove....

It was quite a show, complete with costume changes, some major guitar moves, and the vacuum microphone.  I love her creativity and her willingness to share her talent! Thanks ABBEY!

My Ashley....

A few months ago, Ashley and I had a conversation it went something like this...

Ashley: " Mom, you know what would make all my dreams come true?"

Me: "Tell me." (ummm, a million dollars, a trip to Hawaii, a new car, etc.)

Ashley: " A plastic shower cap."

Me: " A shower cap....the plastic old lady kind..?"

Ashley: *sigh* "Wouldn't that be just so legit?" (legit=cool, groovy, etc.)

Me: "I'll see what I can do."

Fast forward a few weeks. I went to Big Lots for something else, but came across a pink shower cap for $1. I thought, what the heck, this will make all of Ashley's dreams come true. I of course bought it, and brought it home to her. She LOVED it !

Ashley: " Mom do you know what this means?"

Me: " Of course I do, all your dreams have come true!"

Ashley: "Well that too, but now I can take a shower and not get my hair wet! That is so AWESOME!"

She tried it on right away.. and cleaned her ears. I LOVE being a MOM!

 Thanks Ashley...

Cruise 2010

In February Bartley and I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to go on a cruise to Mexico! We have not been on a vacation together alone, in FIVE years. We had a blast and can't wait to go again!

First, a little background. Our wonderful friends David and Amy Powell invited us to go with them. David and I grew up in the same ward, and since junior high we have been friends. We have lots of fun memories, my favoirte is our entire Sunday School class (I think there were 12 or so of us) went to his house during Sunday School time, (long story, we scared off  MANY teachers) and ate doughnuts on a regular basis.*gasp!* The jury is still out if our parents knew... David and I both went to Snow College, and since I had a car and he didn't, we spent many weekends driving back and forth together. One last note about David, his mom was one of my beloved Young Women leaders, and she made me promise that I would take good care of him while he was away from home.(I did..keep reading) Amy is my room-mate from Snow College. We had never met before then, but quickly realized we are "kindred spirits" and became life long friends. I of course made sure that they both met, and as they say.... the rest is history. David's room-mate happened to be Bartley, and we all have lived happily after.

We drove down to LA together, and laughed and talked the whole way. Thanks, Dave for all the driving! It was awe inspiring to finally get to the port and see the HUGE ship we were about to board.

Soon we were off! There are so many things to do and see... The ship had a miniature golf course at the back, on the top deck. Bart and I headed there for some fun! It was a little cold and windy, but we had a blast despite the weather!

Our first stop was Cabo San Lucas. Looked beautiful and quaint, but we happened to be lucky enough to be there during a rainy day. Apparently, it only rains on average three days a year. Bart and I took a tender and went to see what there is to see. We had fun walking in the rain...it wasn't cold just wet. The streets were flooded. We picked up some fun stuff for the kids and just enjoyed each other's company.

On our way we walked past an open air restaurant, (almost completely empty) and saw this little boat.

I jumped a little when we walked up to it and saw these.....

This was clear in my mind as the waiter cracked open the lobster tail at dinner the last night of the cruise....

This was our first sunset...breathtaking. Dave and Amy had a room with a balcony. Our room was conveniently right across the hall. They were very gracious and shared often their luxury. I highly recommend going on a cruse with friends who will share their balcony. All the benefits of the great view, with out the cost!

The next day the ship docked in Mazatlan. Bart and I tried to find an excursion that we both wanted to do, and could afford, but we just came up with nothing.  The port is in an industrial and kind of scary area, with armed army soldiers everywhere. We decided walking around and finding an adventure may turn into a nightmare....so we stayed on the ship. It was fabulous! Most of the passengers got off the ship, the  weather was fabulous, and so we took advantage of the peace and quiet and laid up on the deck, reading books, napping, and taking advantage of the yummy tropical(non-alcoholic) drinks available. AAAAHHH! it was fabulous.  The above picture was my view from my lounge chair.

This picture is just another view from my "perch" on the deck. Notice how empty all the chairs were! This was my favorite day! No worries, no demands, just me a good book and my best friend right there with me! It doesn't get any better!

Every night when we returned from dinner there was another "towel" animal sitting or hanging on our bed. This one was my favorite.  Just another reason a cruise is so much fun!

This was our sunset leaving Mazatlan. MY FAVORITE!

The next day we arrived in Puerto Vallarta. We decided to go to a resort with a private beach. We traveled by bus to this resort, it was goregous! Green and well landscaped, with beautiful architecture.

The one downside was the rain! It poured for a few hours. We used the rain for an excuse and ate lunch while we hoped it would clear up some. I think I may want to come back to this resort someday. It was well cared for and beautiful as you can see!

After it cleared up, it tried to get warm but never really succeeded. We did wade out into the ocean a little...Happy 20th Anniversary!  The resort day was Bartley's gift to me for our anniversary. Thanks, honey it was great!

Our last Mexican sunset.....

The four of us after dinner....

Once again a special thank you to Dave and Aim, you guys are the best! Thanks  for the comfortable friendship we share, we love you both!

We really enjoyed ourselves, and we are already figuring out where to go next.

Christmas 2009

I know I am a little late, but for some reason our Christmas pictures were in a file marked "Summer/Fall 2009". Who would have thought that the Christmas pictures would be there...???

We had a lot of fun Christmas morning. The kids woke the parents up at 6:00AM sharp. They were full of excitement. Everyone but Lindsey. Santa had only left what looked like 2 presents for Lindsey. She and the other kids decided she must have been a bad girl. (It was kind of sad) As we opened our gifts, Lindsey found that Santa has a sense of humor. She had many presents to open because Santa gave her an Ipod in some nesting boxes. She opened one after another until she finally opened the last one that had her Ipod. Nathan was really excited to receive a BYU football jersey. Ashley was VERY happy with her keyboard.(so is her MOM!-Ashley can practice in her room with headphones-so happy!) Abbey was so sweet this year only asking for a present for our dog. She lucked out though, 'cause Santa brought her a Ninetendo DS. Maggey was the most satisfied. She said she knew what she had received before she opened the box for her American Girl doll. She just sighed a sigh of statisfaction after she opened all the American Girl suff that came along with her doll.

Hope you all had as much fun as we did!

2009-A Year in Pictures