Happy New Year!

Wow... time flies!  Oh wait, that's what I wrote on the last post.  Oh well, ditto!  It seems like we are on pace to only updated our web site about every six months.... such is life.  Getting our kids out the door to school, ourselves to work each day and home in time for basketball or soccer or boy scouts nearly every night, well let's just say the weeks fly by!  Here's a snapshot of our 2011 holiday card below and as you can see, Clark (will be 8 on 1/29/12) and Scarlett (will be 6 on 6/16/12) are growing up fast.  Scarlett is in full day kindergarten and Clark is mastering 2nd grade.  They are about the two most wonderful and well rounded children we could ask for, and we count our blessings every day. 

Best to you and your loved ones in 2012!

Roe 2011 Holiday Postcard

Scarlett and Gates on Camelback Mountain
in Scottsdale, AZ

Clark at the Very Large Array in Socorro, NM

Clark and Scarlett in Moab, UT

Time flies...

A canvas montage of the Roes photographed

and designed by Jessica's sister,

Erin Zahradka (http://www.z-pics.com/)

Wow how time can fly!

Clark and Scarlett are in their summer break and in the fall, both will be at the same school together, preschool went by so fast.  They are both growing up so quickly and after swim lessons every week for the past five months, they are now swimming daily between their summer camp during the week and time at the pool on the weekends.  They just love the water - you'd think we live on the beach!


Meteorologist Jennifer Broome



The summer is our favorite time of year, and we kicked it off right with Jessica getting to have Memorial Day off (not a given by any means as a journalist, and yet in her new role, let's just say OOOaaahhh!) She had the opportunity to travel up to her family's favorite place in the world, http://www.lostvalleyranch.com/, and show a friend around, Meteorologist Jennifer Broome.  Jennifer is working on a segment for an upcoming edition of Jennifer's Explore Colorado - www.kdvr.com/news/explorecolorado - and for her travel show that airs around the U.S. - www.sweptawaywithjenniferbroome.com/. It may sound cliche, but she could not have ordered up more beautiful weather for the two days of taping. What a great time! We got a taste of spring sprinkles and how peaceful it can be in the foggy valley, and a taste of nearly 80 degree sunshine on horseback as we loped and videotaped through the Hayman burn area. There are three new horses just born within the last few months - the first is the white one in the picture to the side - it was delivered a day before we vacationed there over Easter weekend. The other two have arrived since then, and at least two more moms are expecting. So fun to watch them play in the meadow. They let us come quite close to get some great pictures.



Some of the 2011 newborns at Lost Valley Ranch



Right up until Memorial Day weekend and the end of school, the kids kept us quite busy!

Scarlett the Ballerina!

Scarlett just completed a season of ballet and finished an adorable performance but mom's videotaping was not so great as she was trying to watch and hmm, we may just have to buy that DVD from the dance school after all!  She was the little "ringleader" for both her ballet and tap performances and it was adorable to see her next to her classmates - or should we say in the "middle" of her classmates... because as the tallest she ended up center stage for both performances.  She wouldn't tell us anything about the songs or the dances ahead of time so it was just a blast to show up with her mentor neighbors, Joey and Rachael, as well as her long-time preschool teacher and childcare providers, Lori and Randy, who she had just said goodbye to the day before when she graduated from pre-k.  It's now off to kindergarten for our little ballerina-turned-fish!  This summer we celebrate with our extended relatives Scarlett's 5th birthday and the 95th birthday of her great-great-aunt Verla, who along with an escort, is coming from her adult-living facility in Illinois, and meeting Scarlett for the first time as we throw them a joint birthday for two special girls who share a special day!  Verla does not have any kids or grandkids of her own, so she has taken Scarlett under her wing as a special little great-great-grand-niece who was born on Verla's 90th birthday!

We can barely keep track of Clark who keeps quite busy on his bicycle, in the pool lap lanes, on the basketball court, or sitting in bed reading or playing Soduku games.  Hmm, mom and dad don't even know how to do that.  His teacher in the fall will not give him a lecture on letting his brain go mushy over the summer as he's constantly pushing himself (no thanks to the parents --- it's self instilled!)


Our biggest blessing came in March when a day after Gates' birthday, while on a spring break road trip visiting his sister Simley's family in Arizona, a driver plowed into him while he was roadbiking through Paradise Valley.  What, you say?  How can that be a good thing?  Well he could have DIED!  We are ever so thankful that he is 6'6" and somehow - miraculously - even after leaving a body imprint on the driver's front shield window and flying through the air, he is alive.  Thankfully - and yet sadly - all of the witnesses say the driver was at fault, Gates had the right-of-way, and the police ticketed her for numerous violations.  After an ambulance trip to the hospital and some follow up monitoring to make sure he didn't end up with a brain bleed after he was discharged, we count our blessings! 

Mom has been quite busy in the last six months continuing her passion for journalism, but an opportunity knocked and she recently started a new and (fingers crossed) long term job with the State of Colorado as the Director of Communications for the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies ("DORA"). She's enjoying the great team of folks she works with and is quite excited about the future.

We hope you and your family are well.  We hope to update our family blog a little more frequently than every-six-months in the future, but that seems to be our pattern!  Thankfully life is slowing down so we are excited to spend more time enjoying it and better communicating to all we love.  Best to you!

There's Something About Mary... Miracle Baby... Empty Bra... and THE MINI ROE BAND!

Hello friends and family.  So who is this crazy man staring at you below?  Keep reading to find out!


Harland Williams

 Our year has started off well with lots-o-January birthdays including one recently we got a chance to give a shout out to on TV as my mom celebrated her 61st birthday and that comedian Harland Williams from "There's Something About Mary" doing a preview of his stint at Comedy Works on the show Jessica produced on her mom Mary Clark's birthday and then sticking around to eat some cupcakes as we squeezed on a "shout out" to mom as our KDVR Facebook Friend of the Day and Anchor Team and Harland dove into cupcakes in Mary's honor.  Take a look at the video - and for those wondering - Melody Mendez references his girlfriend who has "stretch marks on her lips" because it was part of his routine he had just done on our show a few minutes prior.  (He jokes she eats so much that she's got them - then again, we think it's imaginary girlfriend!).  Anyway, enjoy the video to the right below that shows my mom and my dad in a picture from a recent cruise they took (ya know, what I hope to get to do someday once I've had that many birthdays!)


CLICK HERE to watch Birthday Tribute
to Jessica's Mom

 The first month for Jess in her new role as a Multi Media Journalist at KDVR Fox 31 in Denver was great - she turned about half a dozen or so Reporter pieces before focusing on really getting a grip on the show she's producing, too, which starts at 7a.m. in the morning. Yup, that means she's doing a split shift sleep thing, and going to bed at about 1pm after work, getting up when Clark gets off the bus at 4:15 p.m., helping him with homework, picking up Scarlett from preschool, cooking dinner, and then going back to bed from about 8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., and back to work at 1 a.m.  Sounds crazy, yes, but it's been very rewarding and fun and the people at KDVR are wonderful to work with.  Many more stories and fun moments on TV in the pipeline, and if *you* have a local story idea you'd like to share, please email Jessica at work at jessica.roe@kdvr.com and be sure you put a "!" high importance marker on it - she gets a lot of email each day with viewer tips and such - so make sure it stands out, or also CC her home email at jessica@roefamily.com.  Looking forward to your ideas!



CLICK HERE
to see baby Asley's
story

 Jessica was fortunate to be able to tell the story of the Adairs, a family from Centennial whose adult children, Adam and Eileen, both struggle with Cystic Fibrosis. 

Adam and his wife Amber recently used genetic screening to welcome their son Ashley into the world.  You can click on their story by clicking on the link below their family picture to the left. 

CLICK HERE to see
the story of Sara's ability to
make others smile while she battled
her own challenges and to learn
about the book in her honor,
"101 Uses for an Empty Bra"

Part two of the story the following day focused on Adam and Eileen's mother, Sara, who endured more in a lifetime than most of us can comprehend - surviving a terrible accident with a semi, multiple myeloma, a stem cell transplant, and breast cancer.  It also focused on the healing power of smiles as medicine and using humor when facing cancer and a book called "101 Uses for an Empty Bra", a collection of cartoons her brother sent her after her double mastectomy and that her friend Susie published and is now selling on Amazon.com. 



CLICK HERE to read
more about the book

To watch Sara's story, click on the image of her and her daughter Eileen to the left and then to go to the "Empty Bra" web site, click on the book cover to the right.

Our family is busy enjoying the runny noses of the season and we are spending a lot of time at the new Lifetime Fitness that opened up near our house.  Clark spent his Winter Break in camp there, allowing him to do everything from soccer to basketball and rock wall climbing to swimming!  We go swimming there as a family almost every weekend because the outdoor pool looks like a mini "Water World" with slides and fun stuff so we can't wait until this summer when it opens and we want the kids to be ready to take off on their own so we can work on our tans and let the lifeguards babysit our children.  (KIDDING! Well sort of... ) 

And finally, a warning to other parents: STAY AWAY from the 90% off toy aisle at Target.  Yes, it looked like a good deal at the time when each kiddo was able to spend their allowance and for $2.50 a piece buy an electric mini guitar, but let's just say the parents are now having to invest in earplugs.  Meet the MINI ROE BAND:



The MINI ROE BAND



Thanks for catching up on the Roe Family - shoot us emails if you want to connect and the best to you in 2011!

Jessica & Gates
jessica@roefamily.com
gates@roefamily.com

New Job, New Adventures, New from Archives...




"....If you only knew what the future holds...
After a hurricane comes a rainbow..."
~ Katy Perry

Greetings friends and family!  As of this writing, we are pleased to share news that Jessica is leaving the freelance-around-the-world "world" and returning full time to journalism, her first love.  (Sorry,  Gates, it's true!)



Cindy Aubrey (KOAA) and Jess



Jessica just joined Fox 31 KDVR-TV (www.kdvr.com) under V.P. of Content Carolyn Kane as a Multi Media Journalist (MMJ) .  You can reach Jess at work at jessica.roe@kdvr.com.  She had been working for the past 3+ months as a freelance MMJ commuting to Colorado Springs at KOAA-TV (NBC).  This opportunity would not have come along had one wonderful woman, KOAA-TV News Director Cindy Aubrey, given Jessica the chance to dive into the "other" side of journalism and refresh her skills in reporting, videography and non-linear editing.   A most sincere thank you, Cindy!

On her first day on the job, Jessica got the opportunity to write a really fun package for main anchor Libby Weaver about a family taking their frustration high tech after a "neighbor" keeps ruining their holiday display - here's the link: http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-family-fed-up-with-neighbors-r-121710,0,7673561.story

On her second day, Jessica tried to get her hands around what the tax bill passing mean to the everyday you and me - here's that link from the Nightside show - you'll find her report in the video player at the bottom of the story: http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-how-does-the-presidents-signin-121710,0,7103344.story

To check out some of Jessica's report from KOAA here's a compilation.

Okay, enough about Jess, but just getting the family back in sync into a regular routine is a huge accomplishment after the last 18 months we've had between two life threatening surgeries she endured and a career change-a-roo.

For those of you who received our holiday card (oh wait, we mean "are about to receive our holiday card" as we haven't yet mailed them!), we didn't say much, we saved details to catch you up on our life for the web, so in case you are wondering, Jess is doing better, but the docs just can't guarantee another ulcer or intestinal perforation will not happen in the future, and her MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is a bacterial infection highly resistant to antibiotics) is all cleared up following her last surgery in April of 2010 for now, however the infectious disease specialists she had to see for 10+ weeks warned her she is now 50% more likely than the general population to contract MRSA again in the future, so here's to a happy and healthy 2011.   For background:  Just as she was five weeks post-op from her 10-inch chest incision emergency surgery from the intestinal perforation, MRSA crept up with a vengeance.  While she never wore a bikini in her life, the final reminder today of the entire thing --- even after never having a c-section with either kiddo --- is what doctors describe a scar of an "old fashioned vertical c-section scar" meaning an incision from bra to pelvic line which means only one thing:  "Tankini for Life".  (We'll spare you scar pictures!).  Who cares - she lived!

There's nothing more in the world we wish for than exactly that - normalcy - as 2010 has swung us around like a scene from "The Perfect Storm" - we are simply thankful to all who helped us get through this year.  We could not have done it without you.

Now to the rest of the family - all of whom are healthy, not really wealthy, but indeed wise...

Gates continues to be a rock star out at the perinatal research center at the University of Colorado.  We can't believe he's been there since 2002 - almost nine years!

Clark is in a 1st/2nd grade hybrid class and is excelling of course, the little braniac, especially at math and everything else.  He just challenged us recently to name all of the oceans, because of course he can, and we told him he was wrong, there was not a major ocean called the "Southern" ocean.  Whoops!  There is.  He's like a walking box of Trivial Pursuit cards.

Scarlett is just antsy to read and spell - she uses her iTouch all day long to say, "remind me how to spell KATY PERRY" so she can type words into the youtube search engine - which probably has some of you dropping your jaws right now that we even let her have an iTouch or that she knows who Katy Perry is or that she has half of the lyrics memorized.  Yikes!  Don't worry, got the iTouch from the bank for free as a gift, and we keep an eye on her as she seems to stroll around the house listening to the music without headphones so we all get to experience her "tunes"!!!  Oh, and just watch one episode of one of our favorite shows, "Modern Family", and suddenly we seem kind of normal.  Scarlett's love is that of dance, and here's a video below of her winter performance recently where she did ballet then tap with other 3-4 year olds (she's the tall one over to the left with the strawberry blonde hair with the pony tail).  We were told they had to wear a hat and scarf and thought it was hilarious that nearly every one showed up that day with the same felt pink polka-dot items that just went on clearance at Target that week.  Too funny!

With that - you should be caught up with The Roe Family.  We are looking forward to figuring out our new world of Jess getting up in the middle of the night when most people are just getting to sleep and Gates taking over the morning shift duties with the kids and swapping night pickup duties with Jess as her new schedule has her reporting for duties before dawn.

Oh, but before we sign off and Jess returns full time to TV, we just had to share this little gem from the archives, it is a VHS tape that Jess found in the cold garage from Colorado State University's early years of "Campus Television" that it was finally time to convert before it disintegrated!  We played it on an HDTV through an old VHS machine and captured it on a Flip Video camera to get it into the digital age.  We thought you might like to see Jessica's highlights from about, oh, say 1994.  And by highlights we don't mean the bleach blond hair, we mean the laugh fit at the end of this clip, enjoy:

And yes... we still dream big... and buy at least two Powerball tickets for every single drawing.  Wouldn't that be nice...

Our best to you and your loved ones in 2011!

And back to the Katy Perry thing.... sure, she may be a one (or ten) hit wonder, but the lyrics to her "Firework" song have really summed up 2010 for us and at least for Jess, inspire her each time she reads them or hears the song on the radio.  Go top 20!  (Who knew!)

**************************************************************

"Firework"  ~ Katy Perry

Firework Song Lyrics

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag...Drifting through the wind...Wanting to start again


Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin.... Like a house of cards...One blow from caving in


Do you ever feel already buried deep... Six feet under scream... But no one seems to hear a thing


Do you know that there's still a chance for you... Cause there's a spark in you... You just gotta ignite the light...And let it shine... Just own the night... Like the Fourth of July


Cause baby you're a firework... Come on show 'em what your worth... Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"... As you shoot across the sky-y-y


Baby you're a firework... Come on let your colors burst... Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"


You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own


You don't have to feel like a waste of space... You're original, cannot be replaced


If you only knew what the future holds... After a hurricane comes a rainbow


Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed... So you can open one that leads you to the perfect road


Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow...And when it's time, you'll know


You just gotta ignite the light...And let it shine... Just own the night...Like the Fourth of July


Cause baby you're a firework... Come on show 'em what your worth


Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"... As you shoot across the sky-y-y


Baby you're a firework... Come on let your colors burst... Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"


You're gonna leave 'em fallin' down-own-own... Boom, boom, boom... Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon


It's always been inside of you, you, you... And now it's time to let it through


Cause baby you're a firework... Come on show 'em what your worth.. Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh!"...


As you shoot across the sky-y-y.................................

Reporting for Duty...

Kids: Reporting for Duty

Clark the new "Cub Scout" got to earn his "Bobcat Badge" - he had to prove he knew the Boy Scout pledge of honor (or whatever it's called) and the secret handshake and stuff, very cute.  He has officially reported for duty, but then again, um, so has his sister Scarlett.  I was hoping to post a video here (darn Qwest, it keeps timing out on the video upload so you'll just have to trust me on this one), we captured her proving that while she is not quite old enough to be a Girl Scout "Brownie", Scarlett has decided to just join along in all Cub Scout activities.  Just trust me, she's adorable.

For instance, there's his recent "Den Meeting" for his pack, to which poor dad (Gates) had to bring Scarlett along for the ride since I had a conflict that night and I hadn't realized there was a meeting.  They got home, and Scarlett was the first to run up to me to tell me all about what they learned that night at, "...her cub scout meeting..." where she then demonstrated for me how to check to see if your door is hot and there is a fire outside the bedroom, or whether the door is cold and you can make a run for it and exit from your bedroom.  Clark was like, "yup, that's what we learned!"  Cutie petuties.

We seem to be having a few too many trips to the local Yogurtland - we're now to the point that the kids are offering to pay for it out of their own allowance.  No wonder there's a line out the door every single time we stop by - it's incredible!

While Scarlett is dancing her toes off (into blisters which she screams about in the bathtub each night), Clark recently completed the "Ropes Course" at his elementary school and I was so honored to have the time to volunteer and spend time "spotting" him and his classmates.

                                     Mom: Reporting for Duty:

While I am pounding the pavement with the rest of the world looking for full time work, I am juggling freelance opportunities and I am having a blast joining the NBC affiliate in Colorado Springs as an MMJ (Multi-Media Journalist) reporting from time to time as they need me! My latest two liveshots were early Saturday morning stories - see links and pics below:

 
News First 5 Southern Colorado Health Fair at Tri Lakes (10/23/10):

*Liveshots Compilation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE48oR67lmc

*5pm newscast package:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m0PtE9FUvk

Western Museum of Mining and Industry "House of Haunted Mines" (10/16/10): 

*Liveshots Compilation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NZc_cWCaO4





Jessica interviewing 9Health Fair President (suburbs neighbor and friend) Jim Goddard at the Southern Colorado Health Fair on October 23, 2010 for KOAA-TV at Palmer Ridge High School in Monument which is in the Tri-Lakes region. 

  


Jessica during a liveshot from the News First 5 Southern Colorado Health Fair
for KOAA-TV on 10/23/10.

 

Highs... Lows... and Falling into Fall

***Highs***

A decade can fly by fast and indeed it did as Gates and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary on October 7th, 2010.  Then again, two decades can zip by ever-so-quickly, as we went on our first date in high school in October of 1990!  Twenty years later (and a few years off in between high school and adulthood), we couldn't be more proud of our family and our two precious kiddos who entertain us every single day.  Clark is busy with Cub Scouts - he earned his Bobcat Badge recently (hmm, whatever that means! video posted below) recently and he's growing up so fast.  Scarlett is very into dance and she loves the ballet and tap combo class she takes every week and loves to "pretend" to be a teacher! ((See video embedded at the bottom of this post!))  The kids are best of friends and we have to negotiate over dinner each night who gets to tell us about their day first.  It's more than I could have asked for - a dream come true to have such great kids.  Well, let me clarify that - Clark did get in trouble recently for chatting too much in class with his friend and got a "red" card - it was honestly the first time he's ever gotten in trouble (as far as we know) - then again the teachers probably only contact us when it's to the point of needing parent intervention.  He told us he just had trouble concentrating and from shy-toddler to outgoing kiddo, he's quite the chatterbox these days!

Clark continues to play soccer each Saturday with his cousin Gavin and while they seem to get creamed regularly (see his blog -http://littletonsoccer.blogspot.com/2010/10/setting-new-goals.html ) - we think it's because they won so many games in division "B" last year that they got moved up to the "A" flight and the kids are bigger and more talented.  We keep reminding them - especially "Coach Roe" who leads the clan - they're still in a league without a goalie so the point is to have fun and learn fundamentals.  Funny though, how competitive they can be at age 6 and 7!

As you may or may not know, I resigned from my job as Director of Marketing at a law firm due to an impending merger in early September and I've been working hard to fill my days with freelance media/marketing/PR/journalism assignments, and so far, so good.  Just looking for that one full time job to call home in the near future.  Here's a copy of my resume/portfolio - I'd be honored if you pass it on to someone who might be in a hiring capacity and think I might be a good fit - CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD.  Considering I'm at least 35-years away from retirement, I am really looking for a long term match.  Right now, I'm having a blast working on freelance jobs through my web site http://www.tvappearances.com/ and returning to journalism and freelance reporting as an MMJ (Multi-Media-Journalist) at KOAA-TV (NBC in Colorado Springs) and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity.  For a few clips (no laughing!) - CLICK on any of the links below:

10/1: Suspicious Death Live Shot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQvT_Wx1ZPM

10/3: Wounded Warrior Walker Arrives at Garden of the Gods: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS-8Orsg3OA
10/2: Black Forest Park Pronto Expansion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV2yoE58FnE
9/25: Kids on Bikes Story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KroPSVWZuxM

 ***Lows***

It is with a heavy heart that we lost two wonderful people within two days of each other in early October.  Pam Willison was my good friend Tom Willison's mother who fought a courageous battle against cancer for four years, and once she was diagnosed in early October with a blood infection and given a half hour to live, she fought on for five more days with Tom by her bedside.  The memorial service was lovely and Pam will truly be missed by us all.

 

The very next day, one of the nicest people I have met in my journalism career, Gary Wolfe, passed away in Northern Colorado.  He was a calm, gentle man whose brother Roger and he worked as a team for many, many years covering a huge portion of our state.  My heart is with those at 9News who are dedicated to covering news 24/7 and barely have a moment to stop down and feel the sadness in their hearts.  My own condolences go out to the entire Wolfe family, including his retired brother Roger (another true professional, now retired), and his partner Adam Chodak who worked with Gary for the last few years.  Such a talented man that Gary Wolfe, and such a kind, gentle heart.  To read more about Gary's life and career, click HERE for the story posted on 9News.com.  You can also read Adam's tribute to Gary, "Saying Goodbye" HERE.

 

***Falling into Fall***

The kids had their Halloween costumes out super early this year - let's hope they don't grow too fast before we need to stuff their down feather coats underneath them and squeeze the costumes over top by the 31st.  Scarlett is going to be a Barbie Princess, while Clark is some character I cannot pronounce from Star Wars.

May the upcoming months be good to you and your family - we wish you well!

 

Need a goodnight storybook tale told by Scarlett Roe?  Here's her interpretation of Thomas the Train:

And here's Clark getting his Bobcat badge:

New End of Summer 2010 Pics Courtesy of my Talented Sister Erin

Gates, Scarlett (4), Jessica and Clark (6.5) on
Labor Day weekend 2010

Hi - this may be a record - two posts on our homepage in two days, but just after I finished catching up our friends and family on our goings on in the Roe family, I got some pics from my sister Erin Zahradka who is a professional photographer and who "traded" a little babysitting time last weekend while she had a VIP session at Washington Park in Denver, for a few snapshots of our family.  Here you go, up to date.  Clark is 6.5, Scarlett is 4, and yes, the ones at the bottom were meant to be cute but the little weaklings couldn't hold up the frame so she captured their "whoops" and then "oh well let's laugh about it" which was fun to see.  Enjoy.  You can reach Erin to book a session at http://www.z-pics.com/ or erin@z-pics.com or 303-808-1681.  End of summer colors are great right now but we're also on the brink of some beautiful fall pics for your holiday cards.  Thanks for browsing, and be sure to check below for the detailed update I just posted one day prior to this post of what we are up to now that we're in the Fall of 2010!

Whoa... How Time Flies!

Jessica Roe

It's been an incredibly long time since we updated our homepage and we apologize for spending more time posting pics on Facebook than tending to our own domain. Most of you who know us understand the reasons why the last few months have been hectic, and we certainly appreciate everyone who has pitched in to help us pull through following Jessica's emergency surgery on vacation in California which put her on a month of disability from work, only to be followed by a serious MRSA infection for which it took another many weeks and trips to the infectious disease control clinic to get that under control. Either alone could have been fatal, but we had such great doctors along the way that we look at the whole year - two unexpected and related emergency surgeries and one serious bout with MRSA - as something we feel lucky to have walked away from having survived, just slightly (okay, very, very, very...) in debt to a number of medical institutions and doctors who saved her life.

Clark ready to head off to the bus

Clark is back at school in a 1/2 hybrid class with his same teacher from last year, Mrs. Smith. He started kindergarten last year in a K/1 hybrid class, and as they rotate curriculum each year, they happened to be on 1st grade curriculum when he entered, so he was classified as a kindergartner but doing 1st grade work. Then, while he was supposed to be in the second year of K/1 this year, due to budget cuts, the class was eliminated and he moved on to 1/2 where this year they are studying 2nd grade curriculum. He seems to be keeping up just fine, and he has quite a few fellow boys and girls in his class from last year who are also in the same boat and doing just great. He excels at math, in fact he could beat his mom to any addition, subtraction or multiplication quiz at the dinner table, so now he is focusing on reading which he enjoys quite a bit. He was reading a Dr. Seuss book the other night for his evening reading log time and he brought it to his mom and said, "Mom, do you think Dr. Seuss knows Pluto is not a planet anymore? I mean it says so in this book, but it must be old or something..."

"Goodbye and Good Luck" hug as Scarlett got
out of the car and went into daycare on
Clark's first day of school this year.

Very cute! As his mom is taking some time off from work right now, he is really enjoying the luxury of riding the bus to and from school each day. He went from being the shy kid to one with true confidence and a real chatterbox. Speaking of chattering, he was a "late bloomer" in losing teeth, so just in the past few months (he's 6.5 yrs old) he's lost his first two teeth, and boy, that second one was quite dramatic. Yes, after the big-eyes-and-floss-trick, we got it out, and the tooth fairy indeed remembered to show up. Clark is playing fall soccer for the team Gates coaches, the Pirates (link HERE), it's a four-on-four with no goalie type team for Littleton Soccer, and he seems to be doing a lot of skipping up and down the field versus running, but when he puts that boot-kick-leg to use, he's got his father's skills hidden in those strong legs. We're going to work on focus and being a star defensive player just like Gates was, but for now, we're just happy he's having such a good time and seeing kids each week from different schools in a different environment.

Scarlett strikes a pose before
her first day of Pre-K this fall

We probably overuse the term "Scarlett is quite the GEM"... and the oxymoron is true, our little four year old is growing up so fast and her true loves are her 21 baby dolls (yes, she really has that many), breaking out in dance at a restaurant when she doesn't realize anyone is looking and a song comes on the speakers overhead, and her time each week doing ballet and tap dance. Mom is looking forward to getting to see her do this as it had been Grandma Mamie who was taking her for quite some time! Scarlett started her last year of preschool the Tuesday after Labor Day, and while she's at the same in-home-daycare as she's been since the day she was born, we tried to make her feel special and captured some great images of her on her first day back to her studies. We keep telling her this is her "Pre-K" year, and that next year she gets to ride the bus with Clark. She is so excited!

Scarlett and Jess on Scarlett's actual
4th birthday (6-16-10)

This past summer, we made it to the pool nearly every weekend that we could as Clark made huge strides in his swimming skills and he is now focusing on learning to dive. He's no longer scared of diving boards or water slides, in fact we've checked out all of the local suburban community pools for the biggest and longest slides and it's been good for us all to take time to enjoy the summer sun while it lasted and our relaxing time together.

Clark came home from one of his days at school recently with a sticker that said, "Mom and Dad, I want to be a Cub Scout, take me to a meeting tonight at 7 p.m." Seemed a little like an army recruitment scheme... but he was so darn excited, and while we already have too much on our plates, how could we say no to that? His grandpa Cliff Clark ("Papa") promises (as a lifelong scout himself) to help us get Clark to the meetings and sort of be his sponsor as a Tiger Cub. Thanks, Papa! We hope to share pictures of that soon.

Clark successfully
yanked out tooth #2

Thanks for checking in with us and we hope you and your family are doing well. We're really going to try harder to update our blog much more frequently. Promise!

~ The Roes

Happy Holidays!

This year, both Clark and Scarlett totally understand the concept of Christmas.  Make a list, and stuff will appear under the tree.  Oh, and Clark has concluded one more thing:  The only two things that are invisible are leprichans and God.  He's also pretty sure that if we leave cookies on Christmas eve, we'll likely be able to catch a glance at Santa.  We'll see about that.

Clark and Scarlett have said some pretty cute things in recent months, things that have sort of dawned on Clark now that he's in elementary school.  Right after Halloween, Clark (who is a math whiz and asires to be a bookworm) said, "Mom, did you know there are two kinds of NERDS?  The kind you get trick-or-treating, and the other kind, like me, a nerd."  We reassured him quickly that we love nerds, both the candy and smart kids.

Now that soccer has concluded and it's bone chilling freezing in Colorado, Clark is escaping early from school each Friday to attend basketball practice so that his team is fully prepared for their season debut come January.


We took a trip to see Granny "Tinker" Katharine Roe, Gates 95-year old grandmother over Thanksgiving and it was a long 15-hour drive each way from Denver to St. Paul, but it was well worth every moment in the car.  We got to spend tons of time with our beautiful and entertaining children and we savored every minute with Granny.  To top it off, we were fortunate enough to stay on Belfield Farm with Gates' aunt Kathy Roe Cross and her husband Tonny Cross, in from their place in Montana, and we just adore them. 

Just to give you a taste of how incredible Belfield Farm is, please click below and watch our fun little video.  It's an  8-minute summary of our time over Thanksgiving touring the farm.  This is where Gates' father and siblings grew up, and where his late uncle Johnny and aunt Sandra raised their now adult children (with their own children), Kip, David and Susan.  At the end of the video you get a glimpse of how our kids got to see their second cousins Haley, Liza & Ella on video doing the Nutcracker in a Nutshell in Bozeman, MT, and how they suddenly have an interest in ballet.  This could get interesting.

We look forward to the holidays and a new year.  Our thanks to you for visiting our web site and for sharing in our positive outlook for 2010!

~ The Roes