Backyard Camping

We asked our Dad if we could set up the tent in the backyard.  We wanted to have a camp out with our friend.  We all tried to put it together before Dad came home...

 When Dad came home, we were in business!

Una vacanza magnifica!!

We were very blessed once again to be able to take a trip that Brian qualified for at work. The destination for this year was Rome! Just being in a place where there were structures built in the 6th and 8th Century BC and still see some of them standing was amazing.

Some of our own personal highlights were: 
1. Our trip to the Colosseum (and getting separated from the rest of our tour group! We could hear them in our ear-pieces, but never did catch up with them! Ha ha ha...)  
2. Walking the streets and visiting The Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain and Pantheon 
3. A nice day trip to Florence (Firenze) which was really neat.

"Get in the Show"

We know we haven't posted anything...almost seems like FOREVER.  We're sorry, and busy...as you can see. We traveled all the way to a REAL studio set (okay-it was about 25 minutes to a bookstore) and all of our boys participated in a contest to try to win a speaking part as a guest character in the Adventures in Odyssey.  Even if none of OUR stars win, it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience! 

Winter Cleaning!!!

Tonight when Mom went to the store, I asked my Dad if we could clean for Mom.  My little brother and big brother wanted to help, so they helped while my Dad supervised. (Ha ha ha)

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas to all as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!  This year, we were treated by our town to a Horse & Buggy ride!  Our boys took part in our Church Christmas Program. Everyone did very well...and it was well run!

The Rosa's had our annual Christmas Eve Dinner at Uncle Nick and Aunt Dorothy's house.  Andrew & Joshie jumped in to lend a hand cleaning the shrimp. While the guys cooked, Great Grandma supervised!  It was a great time with family...and lots of yummy food!

Christmas Day was spent at John & Karyn's new home!  We enjoyed a great meal and a great time with family.

Good RIDDANCE, Irene!

As we all endured Hurricane Irene in the Northeast, we were very thankful that the LORD kept Rosa-land in one piece. Our roof looks to be free of any leaking and no major basement flooding!  As the storm was raging and things looked grim, we focused on the portion of Mark 4:41 that says;  "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"


We are SO thankful that the LORD gave us wisdom in dealing with the challenges that came along and that He worked out all of the details.

(Our make-shift pump that usually pumps basement water through the sewer pipe needed to be re-routed out the side window.)

Our poor neighbors at the end of our block were truly under water. The amount of water in the immediate area was amazing. Thankfully, it all receded fairly quickly...

Trip to Bermuda - 2011

We were blessed to be able to take a trip to Bermuda this year through Brian's job. The island had some really nice scenery and the water was so clear! Thankfully it was a mostly paid for trip because everything was SO expensive. (A basic lunch for 2 was about 75 bucks!!!)  The most interesting thing we did was something called a "Helmet Dive". The pictures speak for themselves, but this fellow who runs it actually has these fish trained where they swim up to you and stay still while posing for pictures. The fish actually let you hold them like a household pet! Just amazing. Here is a really neat video of what it's all looks like and a little history about the Bermuda Helmet Dive.

The fish above is named "Leroy the Grey Snapper". He's a regular visitor and very friendly. The fish below is a hogfish named "Charles IV".  Apparently Charles IV doesn't always come around, so when he showed up it was a pretty big deal to Greg (who runs the dive) as he was all wide-eyed and visibly excited when this fish appeared.