2023 Recap

 

Can’t believe 2024 is already here! 2023 seemed to go by so fast. 

We packed a lot in and so much has changed.  It seems the older we get the faster time seems to fly by. 

Let's dive into the family deets, from the seasoned pros to the newbies. First up, – Ryan and Niki. Ryan's in his eighth year as a stake clerk for our church and still managing in IT with Salesforce. Japanese reading, writing, and speaking? It's his daily brain workout – keeping those neurons flexing. Niki's in her fifth year of early morning seminary, hitting the double digits in Arlington District as a nurse and medical science teacher & still killing her own classes towards her master's.   Empty nesters now, swinging between missing the kids and doing a happy dance for newfound freedom. Hiking, biking, shows (our idea of a wild night), and of course traveling.    Ryan might not admit to loving hiking as much as the word "love" implies, but hey, details. We also became temple ordinance workers at our local temple here in Seattle. We started off slow volunteering every other week 5am-10am on Saturdays! Yikes

This year we traveled a ton and plan on taking it a little easier next year. (2 kids still in college$$$) But it will be our 30th wedding anniversary in July so we’ll see…

Chase and Madison just graduated from BYU Idaho and upgraded their lives to Washington. Chase is chasing PA schools while racking up shadow hours, and Madison started her own voice and piano lesson studio that's already a hit!  Their cute pup Maple loves getting to be outdoors with them hiking, hunting & talking so cute to everyone. They went to Hawaii this year on a fun trip. 

Ian & Ella are still in Rexburg. Ian graduated from BYU Idaho in August and got a job working as an LSA marketing manager right away! Ian, the marketing maestro, picked up drawing like it was a casual hobby. Ella aced her civil engineering exam and is gearing up for an April graduation. Little Maya, the pup, is practically a happiness factory. A Taylor Swift concert and a trip back to Peru?  Check and check.

Jaden's back from his Ecuadorian 2-year mission, flaunting his Spanish prowess. Straight into the college track scene at BYU-Utah, rocking the decathlon. Thought he'd get a breather post-mission? Nah, the coach had other plans.   So he jumped right in trusting the Lord's plan. He’s making friends and starting to get back to normal life as a college student. 

Elle's living life in the fast lane – high school grad, Associate's Degree holder, and now enrolled in a Masters of Esthetics program at Aveda in Utah. A European trip was a celebratory affair, and she's pulling double duty, working part-time at a local spa while making friends and memories in college. Temple plans are on the horizon for her early next year.

It's impressive seeing the entire crew, from the oldest to the youngest, standing strong in their faith. A faith we love so much and are so grateful they love it too.

All in all, it has been a full and blessed year and as we go into 2024 we can’t help but feel gratitude and love for the Lord and all He is for us.  We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year! 

2022 Merry Christmas Happy New Year

 2023 Roskelley Family Update

As you can see it's been a bit since we’ve updated this. 

Ryan and Niki.

Ryan is still with Salesforce doing his IT thing. Still speaking Japanese for fun. This last November we were able to go over to Tokyo for a mission reunion. His diligence in keeping up on reading, writing, and speaking the language for 30+ years paid off and it was a really fun but  quick trip. We can’t wait to go back.  He’s also enjoyed being our church stake clerk for many years.  All in all, he is still the best and hottest husband/father in my book, and I’m so grateful for him.

Niki- I’m still a nurse but I continue to use my license to teach high school kids advanced medical classes. Let me tell you IT IS SO AWESOME!  Never did I think I’d be doing something like this and I love it every day.  Even when they’re punks and yes they’re punks often. I still love it and love them.  I literally get excited teaching them every day.  We are so blessed with all of the cool stuff we get to do in today’s classroom. I wish I had it when I was a kid.   I still teach early morning seminary and maybe that's why I love my day job so much because I start each day with the Lord.  Teaching scriptures remind me of why I'm here and what my Savior did and does for me.  I leave the church every morning feeling blessed. Can you think of a better way to start your day?  I'm grateful for the kids in church, school, and my home.  

Speaking of kids in our home….. People we are down to one!!!!  How sad is this!!!  Elle is the last one!   And to top it off she is a senior!  I am struggling with this all so much!  I miss the boys daily and love having her here and getting to dote on her daily. I know she loves that but missed them so much every day.  I'm also positive she doesn’t love the constant attention to her daily life. We tend to catch her a little more often on things than we did her brothers.  Probably because we were just barely hanging on for dear life trying to raise them.   Upon graduation, Elle will be attending Aveda College in Provo Utah for her Master's in Esthiology.  She will be graduating high school and Everett community college with her associate degree in the spring at the same time.  She’s been active on varsity tennis all 4 years of HS  and was the captain this last year and again this year.  Her second love is music. She’s sung in the 2 performing choirs that the high school has to offer.  The Jazz choir she’s in this year will be in Disneyland in April. She is very excited about it. She also just branched out and tried out for a school musical and found out she got one of the leads here in the spring.  (Pictured with Violet and her cat Leo)

Jaden graduated in 2021 and got his mission call shortly after my last Christmas update to East Guayaquil Ecuador.  He is currently there and has about 9 months to go on his mission.  He’ll be back next October. He is doing so awesome. The change in him is amazing. You know its so awesome when you see this person go that you think is pretty great and then you see them turn into an even more amazing person than you even thought possible!  Every time I talk to him I am blown away by his growth and how awesome he is!  Its hard serving a mission away from everyone talking to strangers and people that are mean to you and don’t talk your language but he just keeps plugging away.  When he gets back he’ll be attending BYU Provo right down next to Elle and participating on their track team as a decathlete. 

Ian & Ella… that would be a new name you didn’t know from last time. Yep, we’ve got another amazing addition to our family!  Ian and Ella were married a little over a year ago 12/22/21.  They are seriously the cutest couple. They‘re both attending BYU Idaho. Ian for business and Ella for civil engineering.  He’ll be done this spring and she’ll be done next year.  They also added a darling puppy Maya (mini golden doodle)  to the family. (yes we’re puppy grandparents)  See the attached photo for their picture.  So grateful to have such awesome daughters-in-law! 

Chase & Madison.. Going on 2 years married both will be graduating from BYU Idaho this spring!  Chase in Human Biology and Madison in Vocal Theater. So proud of all of their hard work.   Chase will then prepare and start applying to PA school.  The plan is in 2 years or so he’ll be a PA and hopefully be working up in the northwest saving lives!  They also added another sweet puppy to our family named Maple (german shepherd). You’ll see her in their cute picture too.   

So there you have it. That's the update for the Roskelley family.  We hope you’re all doing well and please know we wish we could just meet up and hang with all of our family and friends!  We’re grateful for you and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

2020 COVID Christmas & yearly update

Wow 2020 has been a doozy hasn’t it?!

   I can say in these crazy times we feel we’ve been blessed.  We still have a home, jobs, and food to eat.  Sadly this year not everyone can say that.  Our hearts are hurting for so many that are struggling with finances or health (including mental health that is so often forgotten)   We gained a beautiful daughter in law this year and our missionary came home.  We were both able to work remotely and have enjoyed the family time together so much.  All of the kids are getting bigger so we know this covid year is an extra bonus year we probably wouldn't have gotten with all of them at home.  Thankful for the small things we can still have this year.   We did a lot of covid traveling - road trips.  Arizona, Oregon, California and Utah.  We did lots of hiking and just enjoyed time together away from crowds and people.   It was actually pretty awesome!. 

Ryan is still working in IT and still the hottest husband ever.  This last year he switched to SalesForce.  He finally found a place he enjoys as much as he enjoyed the Gates Foundation. His team seems to be a group of awesome people-  I see them on the screen on and off all day.  He is still the Stake Clerk for church so this meant the whole going digital was quite the feat to accomplish in all of the buildings. But after many late nights it was a go and has been pretty good.  I’ve been encouraging him to have more hobbies since the kids are all moving on in life (computer/electronics could not count).  So we bought electric bikes and have had a lot of fun with them. Our max together is 25 miles.   He even biked in to work a few times a week- precovid. Now he doesn’t even have to put pants on to get to work. 

Niki- I’m still with Arlington School District.  Last year I  transitioned from being a nurse to becoming the medical sciences teacher.  I teach Human Body Systems and Sports Medicine to 160 kids.  And I love it! Way more than I ever thought possible.  If you ask me what I like better- being a nurse or a teacher- it's like asking which kid I love most.  They’re both equally amazing.  I love every minute of it.  Even if it’s  ZOOM classes.  Still such a blessing that I can teach them and love them.  A HUGE plus is - because I am so lab based I get to have small groups come in on Friday for labs.  This year we’ve done brain dissections, and sports med taping. It's been so fun to see them in person and even more fun to see them light up around each other.  I am also still teaching early morning seminary.  I absolutely LOVE starting my morning off with 30 freshmen and teaching all about Christ.  Is there a better way to start the day?  My high school kids ask me how I can be so happy.  I tell them seminary and getting to be with them is a pretty awesome day! 

 Chase- our oldest - GOT HITCHED!  I feel that with his sweet wife he definitely married up!  Madison is an awesome addition to our family.  Gotta be honest he was a nervous wreck and without her and her patience it wouldn’t have happened.  They are so great for each other.  They compliment each other perfectly.  I always wanted more daughters and so I am so excited for this addition to our family.  Chase and Madison are still at BYU Idaho. Madison is about 3 quarters ahead of Chase.  Then the plan is grad school and medical school (DO). So they’ll be in school for a bit longer. But both are hardworking and determined. I love it.  They love hiking and camping and doing outdoorsy things.  It's been so fun watching them grow and learn together.

They were married on September 7th and then when our temples re-opened (thanks to covid) they were sealed for eternity on November 21st.  

 

Ian - our missionary was serving in Guatemala and his end date was August 24th. Because of COVID all of the US missionaries were sent home March 28th.  Anyone with less than 18 months served could go back out.  He missed this by 1 month and couldn’t go back out.  He was super sad but he made the best of it.  He is fluent in spanish and pretty darn good at Portugese and some of the Guatemalan languages.  He started working door dash, and at the Nike store to save money for college.  He also took EVCC classes in Summer and Fall and is transferring to BYU Idaho next month.   His plan is to major in Economics and go on to DC school. He wants to open a franchise of Chiropractic offices.  He has also been learning how to day trade and hasn’t done too shabby on his returns.  I’m going to let him manage my retirement account too :)  So proud of him for making the most out of the lemons that ended his mission early and being so driven. 

Jaden- our Senior in high school.  Out of all of the kids I feel he has gotten shafted the most with COVID lockdown.  He took 5th in state in track as a sophomore and most likely would have taken 1st or 2nd but of course it got cancelled last spring.  Then all online school has been awesome.  He’s in talks with BYU Utah for track. They had him fill out all of the needed paperwork etc for the track team.   As long as he actually gets a season he should be good to go there.  He has had lots of other colleges hounding him but he's a Blue Cougar through and through. We’re praying this works out for him  and even the possibility of a football and basketball season would be nice too.    He is planning on putting his mission papers in here in February to leave this summer.  Can’t believe my last baby boy will be leaving on a mission! He is such a good kid, by far my most tender and lovey dovey kid.   I hate so much he’s growing up but am so proud of him.  

Elle- our caboose and only girl.  Did I say girl?  She is not a little girl anymore. She has definitely become a young woman.  She is active in Soccer and Tennis at the high school but lost out on her tennis season this last spring.  Sounded like she was going to make varsity as a freshman but then covid.   Dang COVID.  She also has an amazing voice and sings in one of the performing choirs for the school.   This year they’ve done some pretty awesome ZOOM performances- recording at home and putting them all together. I am constantly amazed at how they do it!   She is our little nurturer but has such a little tough side from having brothers. I love it and she and Ryan have the same sense of humor.  This isn’t good for me…  I'm all alone with them when the boys leave.  Also, look out! She got her permit this last August and is driving all over the place.  Much more confident than her brothers. Or maybe we just don't care how bad she drives after living through the boys. 

We’re praying for all those that are struggling this year and working to try to help.  We feel so blessed to have a prophet in our faith that can counsel and give us hope. So we’ll end with something he said this year.  “These unique challenges will pass in due time. I remain optimistic for the future. I know the great and marvelous blessings that God has in store for those who love Him and serve Him. I see evidence of His hand in this holy work in so many ways.”  So grateful for our Savior and all HE is for us. 

Well there you have it. Roskelley family of now 7 wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.