Well, the weather outside is frightful...

But the tree is so delightful.

Last night Drew and I went to pick out a Christmas tree. We had such a positive experience at Lowe's when we were moving we thought we'd look at trees there. Nada. Then Smith's, Nil. Drew suggests we aren't finding one because we're not listening to Christmas music. So we start "The Elf" soundtrack and off to visit the locals. Approx 300 South, Blah. Frustration sets in as we head to the outskirts of town. There's a new lot in a rocky area off the highway. TA DA. We found it. We found two and had to narrow it down! We set up the tree last night and decorated it this morning. Check it out.

Today has been non-stop snow since about 10 am. That would be fine but it means that Drew gets to work again. It's great that he's working but this is my day off and we can't hang out. That stinks. Here's our view from the front door. I know you're jealous.

what's really new.

It has almost been a month since Emily last posted about "what is new." A few updates to those last posted updates. Emily and I ventured down to Ephraim and spent Halloween with Andrew and Kristi. I felt good about myself when Ethan pushed Emily aside and yelled "Drrrrreeeeewwww!" I was also impressed with all of Ethan's costumes.
I love how cute they are together.
What do ya do with a scurvy pirate? Here is Ethan trying to be the hump in a camel. Not to take anything away from the lovely ladybug pictured above. This was my favorite costume.

She pushed that thing all over the place. We really enjoyed ourselves, thanks for a great weekend. Emily and I dressed up but I felt dumb because none of the other guys were dressed up but I still had some fun with it. As you can see I have been growing my beard out for the winter. I froze last year and decided it would be good if I did. Here is an updated picture of it.
I was accepted into the special education program and I am signed up for a full schedule this spring. I was asked to apply for a job in the landscaping department but if I get the job it means I get a government contract and I would have to change my major and go into something in the field, more than likely it would be sports turf management. If you have an opinion please post it because I haven't decided yet on what I want to do.
We also had Aaron and Julie come down for a weekend and we got to take Anna and James out for their birthdays. We did our new tradition with the nieces and nephews of lunch and clothes. It was interesting to see what appeals to kids. They have started selling clothing with a toy attached. And apparently it is what sells. I couldn't get James to look at much without the toys, the toys are stupid and probably wouldn't last more than five minutes but I guess it's the same appeal as a happy meal! After lunch we drove out to Weston Idaho to see the great American Tradition! It probably was one of the coolest things I have ever seen and is now here for your enjoyment. The video doesn't even come close to doing it justice!

The Latest and Greatest

Since my last post I travelled to see the Relocated Logan Clarks in their new home. I had a blast and only wish I could have stayed longer to play Rescue Squad and go to the park and spend more time with my BFF. The drive wasn't too bad and it was great to come home to the hubby.

Drew passed his math test! That and the background check are the only things that hadn't been completed when I posted last. We're very excited and hope to hear soon that he has been accepted to the Special Education program. 4 semesters to go. :) Props to him for sticking with it and not giving up. I know some days that is a big battle.

Drew also has been making very scrumptious cookies lately, been doing my dishes, and has not let me open ANY birthday presents. I think he loves knowing something I don't. Well, to him I say, "I know something you don't for Christmas." HA-ZAH! (Sorry to mention it before Thanksgiving.)

My dad is coming to Utah for work and I'm excited to see him. It will be the first time we get to hang out since he his return to the US from Iraq. I look forward to visiting with him and my dear Granny.

We continue to work hard and have been truly blessed by the Lord. I will never be able to express my gratitude enough for the blessings he gives everyday.

For My Dear Julie

Julie, thanks for your kind poke to blog once more. Some people, like myself, prod others to blog in more blatant, "when are you going to blog again???!" ways.

We have moved. Thank you to those who helped us. I know I was a little crazy but everyone really helped me feel less crazy. We had planned on having about 2 weeks to make the move and clean up our basement home. Well...the blue carpet disappeared, which is REALLY nice, but it kept us from moving upstairs for about 10 days. Cleaning an apartment you've lived in for 5 years is the pits and I told Drew that we won't move again. Our landlord seemed pretty happy about that. ;) I know one day we will move again but I know if I can, I'll move as little as possible.

We purchased a new RED couch. I love it and it was worth the wait. Last week we hung our painting and cleaned up the back bedroom. This week we (mostly Drew) cleaned up the garage and I love parking our car in there!!! The last thing to do is hang up our photos and we'll be done! (I wish I was one of those people who could set up my home in 3 days but I hesitate about too much. Oh pues.)

Other things that have kept us busy:
- Drew has applied for the Special Ed program. We should know in November that he is accepted. (If you notice, I used positive projection, not "if he was accepted" but "that he is")
- We are working, working, and working.

Well, I suppose that's about it. Much love to our family and friends!!!

We’re Moving!!!

When: Sometime before September 15th
Where: Upstairs and to the back
Why: Because we can. :)
Bigger windows, a garage, our own patio, blue carpet…

We will be posting more blogs either selling or giving away items we don’t need. So stay tuned to the same Roska time, same Roska channel.

Drew's Birthday

28 years ago today the love of my life entered this world. I'm so grateful to have him in my life. He has made it a brighter, funnier place for me and I'm so thrilled we found each other.

He opened his present at 6:30 this morning and was excited to find out that he now owns adjustable weights. Although not as excited as a truck. ;)

Thanks for a great year and Happy Birthday. I hope 28 treats you well. MUH!!

And I thought an A- in Stats was a good feeling!

Emily and I have been trying to figure out a way to pay off our car before we went full term. We had come up with several ideas in the past but the money wasn't ever there. Finally after paying off a couple of other things we were able to get enough money together to pay it off. We made a special trip down to SLC and found one credit union in Centerville that was open until 3 and we payed it off. I have never spent so much money and felt good about it. The rest of the afternoon we would look at each other and smile. I kept asking her; "Guess what?" Em: "What?" Me: "We own our car!" Such a good feeling, I would recommend it to anybody who can pull it off!

I'm a big boy now!

So for all of those who read this and are up to date on my situation with my arch Nemesis Stats 1040. I woke up and was very excited to see that I got an 88% on my final (class average was a 76%) this gave me an overall score of 90.59 which is an A-!!!! This means two things. 1st off I can finally say I have an associates to go along with my art minor. 2nd is that I can now apply to my major in the fall, which means I should be able to start my classes on the spring! I want to throw out a huge thanks to Emily for helping me and encouraging me along the way!

Foul Mouths and Aaron

When Aaron was on his mission there were some foul mouthed youth who liked to say some dirty words in English as the missionaries passed by. Aaron taught them the mother of all curse words:

Booty.

Today I realized that if we could change the foul language from those around us to the word "booty" it would be pretty booty funny. Of course we'd have to change the substitute word often so that pirate treasure wouldn't get a permanent bad rap.

Feel free to leave other substitute word options in the comments.

Growth and Learning

One thing I felt strongly about my college education was that I learned how to learn. I know that may sound weird but looking back at high school I feel like I floated. I took some challenging classes but because it was the natural flow, and that's what my friends were doing. Most of my elective classes were easy A's.

I expected my college courses to be the same. I knew there would be some classes I'd have to study for and memorize facts but I wasn't ready for the application factor of college. I have to thank Dr. Jean Lown for breaking me out of this. During class I expected that she would discuss what was in the book, like every other teacher had. Instead she would bring in newspaper articles and would talk about current events. This really frustrated me at first but then I came to realize she was showing us that what we were reading and learning was REAL and could help in life. Whoa! What a concept.

That really had a point, but I don't know if I can make the connection. Drew is in a Statistics class right now. Tomorrow morning is his final exam. (Hooray and Good Luck!) It has been exciting to watch him stretch his learning capacity. When he started college he was fearful to take ANY math class. Luckily he had a great math teacher that first semester. Math has been a rough road but the last 2 semesters I've watched him blossom. He has overcome the dragon that looms about. He will still become frustrated on occasion but overall he has been successful and one of the best parts for me is to watch him help others understand. It allows for his confidence to grow and it's a great review tool.

I may have learned how to learn in my college experience but in the time that Drew has been in classes I have learned how to teach. He likes to tell people about the first time I tried to help him with math homework and what a disaster my candy bar example was but then he will tell people about how much better I've been since. I really had to learn how to adapt to his learning style and not just assume he could read my thoughts that lead me to say something or conclude something.

I marvel at how much we can progress in such a small amount of time. As I type this, I think to myself that I may be guilty of not taking notice of the progress made in recent years or months. This can be applied at home, at work, in any skill being developed...

Temple Open House

On Saturday the 25th we started the day by attending the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. We've been watching the construction as we visit Drew's brother who lives nearby. I really liked the intro video before walking through. It was a good reminder of the basics. If you have the chance to go, do.

Inside the temple I was really impressed by the simplicity of the design but the grandeur therein. I'm glad that we were able to share this with Brad, Tahnie, Brynner, and Gromo. The need for temples is because of family and it was nice to be there with our family.

Kamas Pioneer Day Parade and JUICE

Just in case one parade in a day isn't enough we went to TWO! Thanks to Brad and Tahnie for inviting us to view the Kamas parade. It felt a little more like home and the scenic drive was a definite plus!

This particular float was a local pizza place grilling on the trailer and then offering samples along the parade route. Pretty cool.

After the parade we headed to Heber to get some eats at a more well known pizza place. The big hit for Brynner was his juice, just not in his sippy cup. He would look at Dad and ask, "JUICE? Pwease." And once his cup was empty, it became "Mah, pwease. JUICE!" After a couple successful drinks, he decided once the juice was gone he could show that by flipping the cup upside down. He ended up with some juice on him but mostly in him.

Salt Lake Pioneer Day Parade

It's a family tradition to attend the 24th of July parade. This year was the same. Some uncles and cousins camped out to snag a prime spot in the shade. Thank you!

I thought I'd share some pictures.

I thought this float was fun. The ship, the sails, the water, and the words are all quilts.

Andrew, Kristi, Logan and Gromo. Love you all!

One of my uncles doing a crazy show that only happens once a year for this event.

We did some more fun things this weekend but I'll post those in the days to come.

La Puente, I love you!

Oh yeah? If you love it so much, why don't you marry it? (Small child joke, sorry)

A few years back Drew and his family introduced me to La Puente, a Mexican restaurant on State Street . Upon recommendation I tried the small combo. I was most hesitant about the chile verde burrito included. This was never something I had growing up and until recently I have not been one to try new things. Verdict: Most delicious! It's my favorite part of the combo.

Maybe 2 years ago, they had a large fire in the kitchen and the establishment went down in flames. I was devastated. I have since tried several chile verde burritos, but have not been impressed. It took some time but they rebuilt and I have dreamed of returning once again.

We had a chance to do that this weekend and they are as delicious as ever! I was fulfilled, as far as good burritos are concerned. Plus, we were serenaded by a wonderful live performer. If you have a chance to go, I recommend the combo platter. Thank you La Puente.

Tender Mercies

For no one particular reason I have been having a rough couple of days. I apologize to those who have interacted with my grumpiness. This afternoon I was headed back to work after having lunch at home with Drew when I noticed the mailman had come. There was a small package from a dear friend of mine. She has always been a wonderful influence in my life and has been on my mind recently. The small package included a ceramic ladybug and the music of "You are My Sunshine." Never before have I enjoyed the song "You are My Sunshine" as much as I did today.

I'm grateful for her and her ongoing love and encouragement. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for being mindful of me and for His ability to show His tender mercies in various ways each and every day.

Computer Safety

When Drew and I bought our computer it came with a free trial of Norton. Now that has expired. I would like to know who or what service you use and who you'd suggest.

*Also, I am a cheapskate like my brother so I'd like something with a low cost.

Please, please comment. Thanks everyone.

Open Invitation

Drew and I went to Bear Lake this afternoon. We love going and the weather has been perfect for it. This year the water level is high so the water is fairly shallow pretty far out. I don't know how everyone else feels about it but I like going out far but still being able to touch the bottom. It's also nice for small children.

As much fun as we have going together for a couple of hours and throwing the frisbee to each other, we also love going with friends or family. We like to share our fun with others, so if anyone wants to go to Bear Lake with us, let us know. We can plan a time to go or to meet there.

Drewimony

I wanted to give thanks to my Drew for making me happy. This week has offered many opportunities for me to laugh. He is a very funny person and I love it when he makes me laugh. Anymore I find that my good hearty laughs come because of Drew. Whether it be something he has done, something he finds funny, or the telling of his work woes. He has been really good at helping me feel better about myself when I've had a rough day. That means the world to me and so to him I say, "Thanks for all of it."

Accepting a Challenge with a Story

My brother has challenged anyone who would like to participate, to blog about a topic each day for one month. I found this to be a good opportunity to share a story about him.

It's been 10 years ago that I came home from a month spent in Chicago with some family friends. (Thank you Tony and Claudia!) I have fond memories of that experience but one memory I share with my mom and my brothers is the airport pick up afterwards.

I had flown on Delta Airlines as a young girl and once again had the chance to fly with them again. I thought it would be fun to ask for a pair of pin on wings from the flight attendant. So coming off the plane I had these wings pinned to my shirt. Andrew and Aaron came to the Salt Lake airport to pick up my mom and me to take us home. We were greeted by my brothers with some cheap plastic leis and then as innocent as can be Aaron lifted up my lei and pointing to my upper torso exclaimed, "Hey, you've got...things." Needless to say we all had a good laugh about it.

July 4th!!!

For the 4th this year Drew and I decided to stay local. We love the July holidays and Cache Valley does a good job in celebrating them. There are a lot of cities within a normal Salt Lake job commuting time, WITHOUT the traffic.

We got to see and feel fireworks on the 2nd AND the 3rd!

Today, the fourth, Drew's older brother Brad and his family came to celebrate with us. Thanks for coming Brad and Tahnie. After they arrived Drew and Brad were able to nab a prime spot on the parade route while Tahnie and I got the goodies together. You can't beat rice krispie treats and homemade pasta salad. Mmmm... They're a couple of Roska favorites.

This was Brynner's first parade and one of our favorite parade handouts were these small American flags. I love America!

Tahnie likes the parade flags too! After the parade we walked to the nearby city park for some grilling and stuffing our grills. I would say it was the BEST summer food I've had in years. Brauts, chips, watermelon, cherries, and pasta salad. Below Brad is lovin those cherry fingers.

One of our favorite moments of the park was when a random youngster came over and started to eat one of our hot dog buns. It was purely innocent and not a problem for us but when Brad and Tahnie, then Drew, noticed we had a stranger among us, he just looked like a deer in the headlights. More than anything I think he was embarrassed to find out that wasn't his family or their buns. To that family I say, "Stick around a minute more and we'll fill that bun and make you a plate." Thanks for the memory.

Other moments of laughter included watching two young boys fight with one another the way Brad and Andy used to do. It's so funny that as young people we fight, poke, and name call our siblings as if they were the enemy but as adults we poke and name call in jest because now they are our best friends. Since we had the already had the giggles Brad had to show us his cherry-stained teeth. I know it may not sound funny online but it was!

In other news: We have PEAS galore. They are fresh and delicious and bountiful. Drew is thrilled to see the garden producing.

Strawberry 2009

So we went fishing at Strawberry for our annual June trip. Emily and I took Friday off so we could get ready to go and so I could take my Stats test ( I got 90%!!!!!!! take that stat nerds!). After I was done with the test, and Emily had made another batch of rhubarb crumble bars, we split for Heber. I couldn't help but think of my stupid brother who went right past the exit for Heber and ended up in Wyoming on the beautiful drive up there.

All week long everybody talked about how wet it would be, the first night we got a little rain but nothing too heavy. I bought a new spin cast pole, the kind the professional bass fisherman use and I found out they make it look a whole lot easier than it really is. After I had spent more time untangling the line, Emily came and got me and we headed back to the cabin to find Gale and Jessica waiting for us and it was like we didn't miss a beat! I had so much fun with them and wished we lived closer to them so we could hang out more. After my cheeks were sore from smiling and laughing they left and Emily and I locked ourselves out of the room. I had to pull the screen down and Emily used me as a step stool and climbed in the window. The next day was beautiful and we had tons of fun fishing, we each caught 2 fish. Brad and Emily caught a rainbow each so we were able to keep one each which is more than enough. It wasn't as successful as last year but we had a lot fun.

Loving Life

This morning I woke up at about 6:30 (that actually, is sleeping in for me) and laid in bed for 20 minutes before I got up and decided to go water our garden. I am so proud of our garden this year. We have 26 tomato plants, two 25 foot rows of peas (I counted on one plant and we had over 20 pods starting to form), we have eight bell pepper plants, four eggplant plants, two cucumber plants, a row of herbs consisting of rosemary, basil, and we think thyme, but we are not sure, (we forgot to label them) and finally two rows of lettuce. I would show pictures but we have a bit of a weed problem that is being taken care of with killzall.

After watering I decided to sit out on the porch and enjoy the birds. Emily and I bought porch chairs that I love. After sitting for awhile I went and bought the newspaper and read it on our porch. Emily brought her bowl of cereal out and we sat there and enjoyed the cool morning. After we brushed our teeth we walked to the farmers market and bought rhubarb and spinach and the worlds best churro. We left after a little while and walked to the library so Em could check out some books.

I talked her into Slurpee's from the Sev and we walked and talked about life and how much we enjoy Logan this time if year. I know for me I complain a lot about the Winters and by the end of it I am ready to move but the Spring always make me fall in love with Logan all over again. I was excited to buy rhubarb because it reminds me of Grandma Henderson's house. She would go out there and pick a stalk and eat a little bit of it as it was. I could only get through one bite before it was too much for me. I am going to make a rhubarb cobbler with it and I couldn't be more excited.

As hard as my job has been these last few weeks I wouldn't trade it for the world. I can't imagine being indoors all day long and I enjoy watching those watching me from their desks with that look on their faces that say "I wish I was out there." I love my wife, she is so supportive of me and she makes me feel like I can accomplish anything (even if it takes me seven years). I love to see her face light up when I accomplish something she is proud of. I know if my accomplishments were on paper she would stick them on the fridge. I can't imagine living in a large city where people are always on the run and don't stop to enjoy a robin hopping around your garden eating all the worms that have come up from watering. I love our little apartment, I love the fact we are five minutes away from "downtown", I love to walk by the little old grandmas in the front yards pruning their flowers and I love life.

5K #2

My brother Andrew and I participated in a 5K this last weekend. We both did better than last year. Andrew cut 10 minutes off his time and I improved by 5 minutes. Hooray!!!

We still look like nerds at the finish line. That's inevitable.

Fiesta de Mayo

We held our annual Fiesta de Mayo party on Sunday the 3rd. I used to call it our Cinco de Mayo party but it rarely, if ever, lands on the 5th. It was fun to have my family come and participate. We love having them here and we're grateful that they'd make the trek and contribute to the eats. MMMmmm...I think it was the best food this year! Here are some of my favorite photos:

Fiesta Bingo

Pinata Smashing, etc...

Young Ones.

Path Between Trees

Drew and I went to the Logan Galley Walk last Friday. Here is a picture of the unexpected addition to our growing art collection. We saw this original oil painting in an auction and decided we loved it enough to place a bid in the last 30 seconds of the auction. I'm glad we did.

Update on Drew's Coke Fast: It's been 38 days since his last soda.

Petunia, Manure, Coke, BINGO!

On March 17th we attended the unveiling of a memorial at Utah State University. Meet Petunia, Curt's prize winning pig.

The artist did a really good job and Drew and some of the Madsens were able to put some texture on the ribbon and in the ear. I was so surprised to see Curt's boots on the right. They seemed so perfect.

Drew was able to get some manure for our garden from a farmer friend. He and Dave were able to till it into the dirt and our garden looks fantastic! I'm sorry we don't have any crappy pictures.

Drew has been Coca-Cola free for 26 days. I'm so proud!!! (This actually includes ALL carbonation.)

Lastly BINGO! We had some time before the memorial mentioned above so we played Bingo. The kids loved it and it was a big hit with the adults as well. We had so much fun that we took it to Salt Lake over conference weekend and played again.

Ken had a "defective" card. You gotta watch out for that one.

Thanks Brad and Tahnie for the great Christmas gift!

"Issac, you're not supposed to say "What the Hell." Mom, Issac said "What the Hell."

That quote came from Braden at Tyler's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. After Donna got on Braden for saying it, Uncle Dusty (seen here in his purple Jedi in training suit) blamed his wife for teaching them the phrase, she just happened to be in the other room. The Madsen's are huge fans of Star Wars which makes it really easy to buy the kids birthday presents. Tyler got this over sized storm trooper head that changes your voice so you sound like one. Here we have the lovely Sarah trying it on for us.
This is what I wanted to get Tyler for his birthday but Emily said it was a bad idea. This is a picture of all the snow we got the first day of Spring break. From what i understand nobody else really got any. I was so bored I cleaned the oven. Emily will have to take a picture of that and post it.
I have wanted to get a Jazz hat but I am not sure how you are suppose to wear them now, they are to big and I don't like the fact that the brim doesn't bend. And last but certainly not least it has been ten days since my last coke, I sniffed but I did not inhale! So nuts to you guys (Brad) who thought I couldn't do it!