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!

MISSING

UPDATE: Thanks to all who read this and searched for my brother. He was found this morning walking in remote Wyoming. He has no signs of hypothermia and was not disoriented. His wife and children continue to take care of him and we hope to talk more often.

Name: Aaron

May answer to: Accounting Nerd or AJ Cool

Last seen/heard from: New Year's

Identifiable features: Scar on chest from "hole in heart"

May be found somewhere in Wyoming

Please call or e-mail Aunt Hama if you have seen this person.

Thank you.

**For anyone who is genuinely worried, Aaron is not missing. I just miss my brother.**

My name is Drew Roska and I am addicted to Coca-Cola

So after a long time of fooling myself thinking I could stop at anytime, sneaking out in the middle of the night to enjoy a 20 oz passing out after having too much sugar, I have realized that I have a problem and I should work on it now. It all started at such a young age, my mom always had a six pack of diet coke in the fridge, I would wait until she left and I would sneak one out and drink it as fast as I could, the bubbles running down my throat always gave me a little tickle.
In my early teenage years I would go to miniature market on the way home from school and I would buy a 20 oz. and drink it before I got home. I would then chew a piece of gum to hide the sweet smell of coke goodness from my parents. Later I discovered the SUPER BIG GULP from the 7-11 down the street and found myself in coke heaven. I tried to give up the addiction while on my mission but when I would get offered a cold one dripping with condensation I couldn't help myself. some of my companions would scoff at me but I didn't care, all I could think about was the cold syrup running down my throat. OK so all joking aside I absolutely love Coke and this is going to be harder than I can imagine. I am not just giving up coke I am trying, no going to give up all carbonation. Emily and I have come up with a plan to keep me motivated and I will keep everybody up to speed on my progress.

Yea for another round of mobile uploads!

Here are a bunch of random pictures I have taken with my phone over the last several months:
Emily and I went for a drive last week and we spotted a ton of deer in Smithfield and this one wanted to investigate. This is probably the cutest pirate ever!
Emily and I went to lunch and the fries were not the best so I made a fry sculpture.

We went to sizzler the first night of our trip to San Diego and all the food was gross so I made a face out of the mashed potatoes, butter and sour cream, a lemon wedge and some garnish. I thought he was pretty awesome and Gromo couldn't stop laughing.

This is Tyler and he has to be the funniest kid ever. I put my hat on him and he gave me the look of "Really?"


These fish were caught out of Bear Lake by a friend of mine. He was going to take me up there to ice fish but it didn't ever freeze over:(

A Shout for Posts!

Some people are shouting for new posts. Well here you go. I have now made it to the top of your lists. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ha ha ha ha









But for reals-eees: Drew received a 98 on one test and an 85 on the other this week. I am so proud of him. He's put up a good fight this semester and I am so happy for him. Well done sir!