Christmas!!!

We spent our first Christmas in Virginia with Garrett's family. It was so much fun. There was tons of food, wrapping paper and love. And within a few days there were tons of people of all ages enjoying the season - just like a Utah Christmas. :) People kept asking me if it was too much, but it just made me feel more at home the more we played games and laughed.

We ate a lot, so there were a lot of dishes. Derek and Shauna weren't the only ones playing with the suds.

Toby is very loyal when you have ham, turkey, cheese...what a good dog!
Here is the Rose clan! I'm so blessed to be a part of this. Merry Christmas!

Wedding Pictures! - Eating Cake

Not the ones from our photographer, but ones from our friends. Thank you all! Here is how much fun we had eating cake.

It was just as delicious as it was beautiful!

Fairy Stone Necklaces - by Garrett S. Rose

The Legend:

Once upon a time in a wondrous land we now know as southwest Virginia there lived many happy fairies. These fairies lived a somewhat carefree life laughing, frolicking and doing all sort of marvelous things that fairies typically do. One day as the fairies were enjoying their favorite fairy games they received word from an angel that the Lord Jesus Christ had been crucified. Now this was news that made the fairies very sad - so sad that they began to cry. A wondrous thing then happened - as the fairies' tears hit the ground they formed into small stones shaped like crosses. It has been many years since the fairies last lived in the forests of Virginia but their tears still remain in the form of fairystones.

Two small fairystones are displayed in the necklaces Betsy and her mother are wearing in the photo above. My father has shaped fairystones for years now and both of my parents often make these necklaces together. Just a little taste of the Virginia Blue Ridge to share with the world.

The Roses host The Hales

Judy & Steve put together a wonderful Sunday lunch for my family the day after the reception. It would have been easy and really good to have left overs from the night before, but that is not a Rose tradition! We had Darrell's famous hamburgers (I learned the secret ingredient since I'm now family), green beans, chips, potato salad, baked beans, and more. Plus there were lots of desserts. I told my parents that Thanksgiving was twice the food for half the people - I don't know but that may entice another trip out. j/k

Manly corn - taller than Garrett

Master grillers caught in the act

Stuck in the Airport

Virginia Hootenanny

The Rose-Hales really know how to PARTY!

Dr. and Mrs. Rose

Publish Post

The Rocking Chairs by Garrett

The first present we opened was the rather large bulky present covered in the sheet as shown above. I knew they did something big but had no idea what was actually under the sheet...

A few weeks earlier, when Betsy and I visited Charlottesville for a friend's wedding, my parents surprised us for breakfast. They had driven three hours from my hometown of Bassett to see us just because "we were in the same state." Something I thought was really funny, odd even, was that after breakfast my dad insisted they had to leave. I just assumed they would want to spend more time with us but he said he really needed to cut the grass. I gave up arguing and we went our separate ways.

Well, we finally learned just how sneaky my parents really are. Apparently, while in Charlottesville they went to the University of Virginia to pick up the two rocking chairs shown in the picture. OK, you need more background than this...

When I was in grad school at UVA I lived in Thomas Jefferson's original "Academical Village" in a room on what they call "The Range." It is a pretty high honor to live there. In fact, Woodrow Wilson once lived in the room next to where I lived and Edgar Allen Poe once lived a few doors down. Anyway, I had the pleasure of living on the west side of Range one year and on the east side the next year. Each room had a rocking chair... you can see the very ones I had on the Range above. My mother actually called and sweet talked officials at UVA until she could get them. When they came to surprise us for breakfast they were actually there to pick up the chairs! I guess the lawn could wait after all. ;)

And here's the sneaky family above, minus my brother Derek... I'm pretty sure he was in on it as well. In the picture is my sister, Shauna, and my parents, Steve and Judy. Oh, and we're sitting in the rocking chairs from Jefferson's village. :)

Virginia Party

I was bowled over with the love and friendship of my Virginia family. On Saturday, Judy (Garrett's mom) and her closest friends threw me a bridal shower. It was so much fun and I was able to meet the town that helped raise my sweetie.

These lovely ladies were the brains and heart behind this lovely a fair. (bottom left to right: Brenda's friend, Brenda, Sue, Wilma; Top: Norma, Judy, Betsy)

This was one of the stunning food dishes. There was also fried chicken, ham and biscuits, chocolate, cake, spinach dip, cheese roll, etc. So much good food!

People came and went throughout the afternoon, so we didn't capture everyone in this photo but pretty close to it.

For opening all the other presents I had a couple of helpers...Kristen (behind me), Bridget (photos) and Shauna (recorder). Thank you!

One of our special presents were the rocking chairs we are sitting in from Garrett's parents. The story is so special that it deserves it's own post. So come again in 2 days. :)

Surprise!!!

Garrett and I visited Charlottesville, VA for a wedding of one of his friends.  He was so excited to show me the UVA campus and his old stomping grounds.  I was really excited to meet all the people he had told me about.  

The adventure began  with a 7-hour drive from NY to VA.  We were so exhausted that when his former roommate wanted to go to breakfast the next morning we didn't think much about all the details...trying to get us out of the house early, only giving one choice of restaurant, wanting to drive himself...it goes on.

Little did we know that at IHOP a whole slew of people were waiting for us.  His parents and siblings drove 2-3 hours just to have breakfast as well as local friends joining in the celebration.  It was so sweet!

Blue Grass Bliss

When I think of Virginia, I think of a lot of things including Blue Grass music.  So those who know how to flatfoot, come and join.  And those of us who don't, maybe we should learn or at least brush up on our clapping. :)  Doesn't this look fun?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SCHnX7gPiU&feature=related

Party in Virginia - August 22

This past weekend I went home to Virginia and looked at a couple of options for our reception in the Old Dominion. We've narrowed it down to the two options shown below.

Reynolds Homestead, Patrick County, Virginia
(http://www.reynoldshomestead.vt.edu)

This one is an old plantation about 20 minutes from my parents' house in Bassett. It is now owned by Virginia Tech and has a new building on the grounds that can be rented for events such as receptions. The area is beautiful and the old plantation house and surrounding landmarks are well preserved. Below is a picture of the old plantation house (built in 1843) and the inside of the main room where we would have the reception. I like this one for

its history and the beauty of the area.

Forest Park Country Club, Martinsville, Virginia

Another option we are considering is Forest Park in Martinsville which is also about 20 minutes from where I grew up. This is a nice option and beautiful location but they don't allow outside caterers.






























We haven't yet decided on exactly where to have it but the party in Virignia should be fun with good food and maybe a little bit of blue grass.