Homeward Bound ... okay, we were yesterday

Hi Everyone,

Jacob and I arrived home last night from our Utah vacation. Two weeks doesn't sound that long, but when I realized we'd been away for half a month, that sounded like a long time. We are so glad to be home even though we had a wonderful time in Utah. It was nice and cool and rained quite a bit while we were there. And I was so glad to see my parents and sisters ... I hadn't seen anyone for 7 months. But Matt was a terrific welcoming committee ... he had washed the car, had a banner, roses, and the house was immaculate! I felt like I was coming home from a vacation to another vacation!

We had a great visit with my family though. Jacob loved playing in my parents backyard. They had a big, grassy backyard and he loved pulling the wagon all around it. He also started playing with a t-ball set, so I told Matt that it may be time to start teaching Jacob how to bat. :)

My brother, James, is serving his mission in the Paraguay Asuncion mission and having a tremendous experience. Many of you may know that he was kind of a rebel there for a while, but he's really on fire now with his testimony and his missionary service. His last letter went on about how they were teaching some teenagers but having some difficulty with it because the teens think they know so much and that times are different for them, etc. We all chuckled reading that as many of us had encountered a similar attitude only a year ago from someone we all know and love. :) But we are super pumped about all of the changes he's made and the man he's become.

My parents are doing well. My dad had been training to run a 100-mile race called the Wasatch 100, but Utah had a heat spell (along with the rest of the country) in which they had like 13 days in a row of over-100 degree heat. To those of us in AZ, that doesn't sound like much, but I guess this heat spell fell during a time of some critical training runs, and based on some past experience, his body can't function in the heat, so this will have to go on the back burner until next year. I think Flagstaff has a 50 mile run that he may look into doing. (P.S. I personally think running 100 miles is crazy! But it's been his dream, and so we hope he'll be able to do it sometime.)

My mom and I worked on a bathroom remodel while I was there. Their bathroom had not had any updating since 1989, so it was definitely time to get the nasty old wallpaper down. It came out great! As a surprise, my brother-in-laws are tiling the bathroom floor while my mom and sister are in Atlanta this week.

My sisters are doing fine with their families. My only nephew on that side just turned one (we celebrated his birthday), and my other little niece turns one in September. They are cute. But a funny/cute story. I asked Jacob one morning if he'd like to see his cousins, and he asked me later in the day, "Where's Luke? Where's Lisey? Where's Lauren?" (I don't think he has a major connection with Cole yet :).) Anyway, he definitely hasn't forgotten about his California cousins. And we hope we'll be able to see the CA cousins (and their parents) sometime in September ... hopefully following a Cougar victory in Tucson.

Anyway, much love to you all!

A note from Susie

Hi Y'all, I spent 20 minutes trying to post some pictures with this blog but I kept getting errors. Sorry I will have to post them some other time. We are doing well in our little house. Brian has a week off from everything before school starts. He's got everything lined up to work on his projects. Monday I start commuting by myself four days of the week as he will only be working one day while in school. Wish us luck. :)

family reunion thoughts

Hi Everyone,

Thanks, Kim, for setting this up!

Bennett, thanks for your pleas and desire to plan a family reunion. I think a family reunion would be great fun next year. I think either June or end of August would be a good time ... fitting for the kids in school and teachers in the family.

As far as locations go, I had a couple of ideas:

1. California ... maybe some place the CA Roberts family don't frequent or haven't been before. Or maybe the CA Roberts know of some neat/great place for family reunions.
2. Hawaii ... the big splurge. If we have enough time to plan, maybe we could save the $$.
3. Arizona ... a couple of thoughts here. One is going to a place called Jacob's Lake. It's about 45 minutes from the Grand Canyon. They have "family" type accommodations for those of us that would need them ... two bedroom units. They also have motel/hotel type facilities as well as cabins (no tv, internet, etc. -- just an opportunity "to be one with nature" :)) Maybe we could do a 4-day weekend type trip. Maybe one day at the Grand Canyon, one day doing activities such as horseback riding or hiking, one day to go to Lake Powell, or one day to go to St. George. Everything is a drive from this place as it seems a bit remote, but it's a possibility. Anyone that wants to check out the Web site can do so at: www.jacoblake.com. Another possibility is to just stay in St. George and plan activities around there. (That should have been under the "Utah" heading ... my bad.) More Arizona ideas? Well, we have condo access to the Trendwest condos in Pinetop (a woodsy area in NE Arizona) and in Oro Valley (near Tucscon). Near Tucson, there's Tombstone. I'm not sure about other Oro Valley activities, but a friend of mine lives there and could recommend things.
4. Utah ... Depends on Southern or Northern Utah. In Northern Utah, we could look into Aspen Grove or there's a new camp owned by the Church (by camp, I should say, cabins) in Heber. It's an enormous property, and I think you're up there with other people, but you can bring your own games and activities. There's also a ropes course and a zip line, I think. As far as Southern Utah goes, we had some family friends that used to own a bed and breakfast in Tropic, Utah. It's called Stone Canyon Inn (www.stonecanyoninn.com), and they have cabins (albeit a little spendy), and are located in Bryce Canyon National Park. Or again, St. George might be a fun place to go, and we can drive to some of the scenic nature as well as do stuff in town.

Anyway, those are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling.

Hope you're all doing well. Jacob and I have been in Utah for the last two weeks, and we're having a great time ... but we miss Matt! We had a great time seeing Ben and Dalisa in their cute home, and have enjoyed some cooler weather. We'll see many of you soon!

Yahoo

Thank you Kim and Mandy for putting this together. What a great idea!

Welcome to the Roberts Family Blog!

Hi Everyone! We finally have our very own blog. Yea! Now we can post messages and pictures from our exciting lives and make comments to each other without the hassel of emails. Join in the fun and enjoy!

Finally ... Italy Pictures

Anyone remember Parco Lago? It was a bit run down but we were still excited to see the setting of many fun Roberts' Family stories.

What you get when you request a crib for your hotel room on the Island of Capri. Certain words may come to mind ... charming, quaint, Baby Moses.

Luke amused the locals with his daily chocolate gelato goaties. He refused to like any other flavor but the darkest chocolate available which seemed to have the hyping effect of a cup of coffee.

Remember when I spoke of rough travelling days the first four days of our trip, as in "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" with 4 bambinis in tow ... well this was Day 4, Naples Train station, 95 degrees. Okay, so the poses may have been slightly encouraged (except for Cole Bear's) ... but you get the picture!

Ahhhh ... We made it! Breathtaking Otronto was well worth the journey.

Sisters ... at the Cathedral in Otranto

Our church day in the beautiful baroque town of Lecce.

Friends on the beach in Otranto ... Elise, Gabriella, Daniela and Lauren

The picturesque cobblestone streets of Otranto

Aaron in vacation mode ... luckily Kim only had to stare at this fascinating facial hair design for 2 days before it became a simple flavor-saver.