Duke's Birthday

Bob's dad (also known as Duke) celebrated a birthday on Saturday. We packed up our car, and headed over to Peachtree City on Friday night - for a surprise visit! While the weather could have been better (it wasn't great here either); it was still a beautiful weekend, sharing special memories with family. Bob's sister, JoJo, came up with the idea for us each to write a poem for Duke. We even wrote one from Bobby. He loved them all, and they were pretty humorous. We are thinking that may be a new Ross family birthday tradition!

Duke's tripod came in handy this weekend!

Bob's dad chose to have crab legs for his birthday dinner - YUM!

From left to right: Melissa, JoJo, Me, Bobby, Bob, Joye, and Bob.

Also, we were blindsided with colder weather this weekend. I stupidly forgot to pack a coat for Bobby. So, we had to improvise for some outdoor play time on Sunday. Here he is wearing Grandma's hat and jacket. Isn't this picture to die for? It is so hilarious to me!

Happy Birthday Duke!

Beachside (and, a little bit of poolside) Fun!

(I'm still playing catch-up with my blogging, but I'm almost there!)

During our vacation, we spent most of our free time at the beach. And, a little bit of time poolside. We are definitely more beach bums! We stayed at the Emerald Beach Resort, and throughly enjoyed our stay there! I've got family with a condo, so it was a no-brainer for us to bunk up there.

Daddy and Bobby enjoying some beach time. Bobby LOVED the sand, and crawled all over the place! He was a hit w/ the lady sunbathers! :)

Chillaxin' in his beach chair. (Notice Bob's dad in the background on the computer; so typical!)

Bobby napping in his stroller.

After realizing the first day that Bobby would not nap in the condo (our room was too bright); we coordinated our beach time with his nap time.

Bobby hanging out at the pool!

The banana was our snack of choice during the vacation. It was the easiest, and least messiest to take with us, and to give Bobby on the go!

Grandma Ross and Bobby enjoying some swim lessons.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ross

Last weekend we headed over to Peachtree City to celebrate Grandpa Ross' birthday! He had no idea we were coming, and the look of surprise on his face was priceless! I wish I had thought to snap a quick picture. We arrived just in time for dinner on Friday night, and headed to Grandpa and Grandma's favorite steak restaurant Longhorn Steakhouse.

On Saturday, we headed up to REI in Atlanta, and shopped the sales. I picked up a jacket, similar to this one, except it was on sale, and a pretty olive green. I haven't had anything to wear for the snow days we've had this past winter. I know we won't have anymore this year, but that's why I got it on sale! It'll be great next winter. After a few other errands, and a quick lunch, we headed home.

That evening, we had a great family dinner with Bob's parents, Melissa, and JoJo. Afterwards, several neighbors and friends came over to celebrate, with pies and cake. Overall, the weekend was great!

Here are a few pictures of Bobby, taken by Grandpa!

Enjoy!

I'm Back!

After a fun week with my sister, and in-law's... the Ross Family is back!

My sister Kathy came into town from Orlando last week. It was great having her here. She seemed quite smitten with our neighborhood, and kept commenting that she wanted to move here! :-) She was a HUGE help! We ran errands all over the place. I always try to see if I can bring someone with me to a new place (like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, for example) to see if I can handle the errand with or without help. Anyhow, we went there, Target, my doctor, my work, and out to lunch. We got caught up on some chick flicks, and trashy reality TV shows. And, she cooked a couple of nights, and made sure I had lunch each day. She also helped with the housekeeping. And, she cleaned up to my standards! Ha ha! So,

Thank You Kathy!!!

Bob's parents also came in this weekend. Bob participated in his first sprint triathlon. He did great! He finished under his goal (which was 1:30), with a time of 1 hour, 21 minutes, 29 seconds. I'm so proud of him! He's doing another one this weekend. Bobby and I wanted to watch, but the weather was horrendous that morning. Hopefully we'll get to see him this weekend. It's always so much harder to plan outings with a baby. Click here to see pictures of Bob, taken by his dad.

Bob's dad also took some family and newborn pictures of us this weekend at our house. Here is one of my favorites! I think I may use this shot for Bobby's birth announcements. I can't believe he is only 6 weeks old in this picture. He looks so much older to me. He's growing like a weed! I swear, sometimes after he naps, I look at him and think he grew during his nap! I'll post more pictures later of our family. They are currently online, but still need to be cropped and what-not. :-)

Thanks Grandpa Ross for such great pictures! And, thanks to Grandma Ross for all the help!

Photo Link

Go here to access the picture gallery of Bobby!

Due to popular demand.... PICS!

Trifecta - The Three Robert Jeffrey Ross's

BIG FOOT

Mom & Baby
Cute little guy!!

Something One Should NEVER See

THE FOLLOWING POST IS ABOUT A MURDER-SUICIDE. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THIS SUBJECT.

I haven't uploaded my pictures from our trip yet, so I decided to just post about this experience my husband had while we were in Orlando. If you click on the link above, you'll be taken to Orlando's local news channel. You can either read the article or watch the video. If you see the video, you'll recognize Bob in the background a couple of times, along with his dad, and his friend.

So, assuming you have watched the video or read the article, this was probably one of the most horrific things to witness in one's life.

Bob and his dad ran some errands during my baby shower. After doing some shopping, they met an old friend at the local gun range in Orlando. His friend is interested in purchasing a gun, and wanted Bob and his dad to give him some instruction on how to use it. Bob's dad is a retired colonel, and the both of them are trained or experienced in handling a gun (along with myself).

While Bob did not actually witness the shooting, he did see the young man deceased. He was called into the range, because he knew CPR, and thought that he could help. Of course, he had no idea what he was going to see. He thought it was an accidental shooting, and it was a flesh wound. What actually happened was a mother (age 44), who was insane, took her son (age 20) to the gun range. She shot him in the head, and then turned the gun on herself. Later recordings of an audio she left behind, had her saying or thinking that she was the anti-christ. She shot her son, so he would go to heaven, and she would go to hell. Clearly, she was not all there. Her only way of getting a gun, was to go to the gun range, and I suppose trick her son. How horrible!

*and, yes, when you go to the gun range, they ask if you have had psychological problems in the past, or are on medication. Obviously, the system has loop holes in it.

So, as you can imagine, seeing someone who had been shot in the head is unimaginable. Bob has spared me the details for the most part (thankfully). He has told me a few things, but I am not going to share them on my blog. This whole experience has been crazy, and sad for him. It makes me very sad to think my poor husband had to see this. It certainly is not something most will ever see in their lifetime.

I know this is a gruesome, disturbing post, and I'm sorry. I don't know why I am really sharing it, other than the fact, that it has made for an interesting past few days for us.

I can only pray none of you all will ever have to experience something like this!

Happy Belated 60th Duke!

Bob's dad celebrated his 60th birthday earlier this month (March 5th). My Bob was able to fly up (on his company's dime, he he) to surprise him.

Bob's dad has many a nickname, but we call him Duke. Duke is also the name of their dog. Bob loves to take pictures (check out his website: http://rjross.smugmug.com/), eat Ho-Ho's, walk the pup on the golf cart path, his wife, his kids (includes me now, he he), his family, served in the Army for over 20 years, he likes to mute commercials, has three brothers, will hug anyone when he meets them the first time, takes his camera everywhere, has a Harley, does the dishes, has a huge, generous heart, is a crazy driver, makes great wedding albums, sleeps in late, has the biggest computer monitor I have ever seen, has a studio in his basement, likes Jimmy Buffet, has participated in 1/2 marathons, has beautiful blue eyes, is taller than my husband, has a great mom, has a huge extended army family, gives great advice, is funny, gets out of golf cart tickets, throws big 4th of July parties, loves his grand dog Winston, has a wonderful laugh, and a genuine soul.

Happy 60th to the Best Father-In-Law a girl could ask for!