New Family Pictures

Summer has been super busy for us, it seems like we are always on the go go go!! But come January we will look back on these days with fondness!!! :) One of the highlights of our Family Reunion trip to Utah in June was a Family Photo Session. Let me just put a plug out there for our photographer, Kristina Ruiz. She also did our wedding pictures. Chad especially loved that she was quick, fast, etc. She takes great shots in a short amount of time. If only Chase would have had a nap that day they would have been way cuter....but you deal with what you get.

For all my facebook friends I posted a ton more pictures on there....or if you would like to see that album here is a link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=109957&id=663201779&l=b2331d4312 (just my little family)

Group link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2714766&l=3163bc1d17&id=663201779

Did this one look familiar? Yeah its our new header picture on our blog, and really the best one.

We just had to go with what Chase was doing since he was nap deprived that day....as he usually is in Utah with family :)

I was really loving the rock, it was so hot that day I'm surprised you can't see pit stains and sweaty faces!!!!

Our package deal came with mom & dad pictures also....took me back to the engagement picture days.

What a cutie!! He wasn't that happy that day so this is especially a good one!

The next few pictures are from our group pictures, and why not start it off with who got the family started right? I sure love these guys!

Big family eh? Not to mention one more on the way! It's Tricia.

Lovin the rock steps!! Seems like with that many people there is always an eye closed somewhere :)

Chad inspired this photo by being patient and waiting for this big clan to finish!! Why not throw all the men in there and get a photo op out of it right?

No need to make us look at a camera and smile....we were all more than willing!

All the Grandkids.....13 total. 9 Boys, 4 Girls 1 ?????on the way

I've always loved the close up face scrunch shots. We really all do love eacother....and even the inlaws get along well with the bunch of us! How are we so amazingly lucky?

Happy Birthday Trish!!

So glad you were born!!!

We love you!!! ~Chad, Chase & Melis

Must All Good Things Come To An End?

Okay now here is a brief recap of the long awaited Ross Wright Family Reunion:

Quick trip to the Marrott cabin, family pictures/BBQ, Shaun's welcome home, Oquirrh (sp?) Mountain Open House, shopping, camping, canoes, ziplines, great food, more shopping, little rain, 4th of July Parade, 10k run, swimming, (lindon city has a fun new pool), fireworks/BBQ, tons of family games & laughs!!! It was so so good to see as many people as I saw in a short amount of time! It isn't complete without my good friends I was able to see (Cari, Janae) and all my adorable family.....with Trish taking the cake on furthest traveled to get here!! Boy we sure miss her & all our out of stater siblings!! Chase & I headed back to Utah again for a few more days with Trish. It was SOOO worth the extra drive :) We hit a movie and did some hiking to finish it all off! Who knows when and where we will all meet up again...but until then thank goodness for blogs & cell phone texting to keep us all up to date!! Hope everyone had as fun as 4th as we did!! Love, Melissa

The Great Outdoors

One of our favorite places to camp, just a few minutes from our house. Luckily we have been camping in the trailer so all the rain hasn't affected us TOO much. :)

Chase really likes to hike...not like he goes for longer than like 5 minutes but we are breaking him in slowly.

Just a few random pictures of Chase. He came inside and said "mommy, I picked you a flower....wear it in your ear" Pretty sure he has never seen me wear a flower in my ear. Where do they pick these things up??


The one time we had the sprinkler on this year he went and put his face right in it! He is not afraid of much. What a should have got was a picture of his face in the water!! Hope you are all having a great summer!! Can't wait to see my baby brother home from his mission this week!! It's crazy how fast time flies, and I really can't believe its been 2 years already!! Welcome Home Elder Wright!

God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again

A good friend of mine whom I work with in Young Women's had a very sad thing happen this past weekend. Her husband passed away from a heartattack in the middle of the night. Everyone was shocked to hear the news. He was healthy & active, no sign of heart trouble. He was the kindest, nicest man. If anyone was ready to leave this earth at any time, it was Nolen. He left behind a 14 year old daughter who is devastated. It puts life in perspective a little bit, and you realize that God has a plan for each of us, even if we don't understand it. How many times do you go to bed thinking you have tomorrow to make up or tell someone you love them? I want you to hug & kiss your kids & tell everyone you love how much they mean to you! I'm so glad to be a member of the church and have a testimony in Eternal Families. It makes tragedies like this one a little more acceptable.

Nolen J. Marshall
1950-2009
Nolen J. Marshall, 59, loving husband, father, grandpa, brother, and friend passed away Saturday, May 30, 2009, at his home in Spring Creek, Nevada. Nolen was born in American Fork, Utah, on May 27, 1950, to his father Ual M. Marshall and mother Rhonda Openshaw. He was born a young, charismatic boy with a love for family and adventure. His early years were full of life and experiences that would teach him the values of a being a good father and honorable man. His values carried him through life where he met a young, beautiful woman, Shellee Turner. They married April 2, 1976, in the Salt Lake City Temple. Nolen committed himself to her and the LDS church, where he graciously served many callings later being called upon to humbly serve as bishop. His unwavering faith, love for life, family and friends was the spring in his step. He was rarely seen without a smile on his face. Nolen cherished the opportunity to help others and serve a cause greater than himself; even now he continues to serve others as an organ donor passing along a new hope of life and health. He is survived by his wife Shellee and children Jamie, Phoenix, Lyndsi (Josh) , SLC, Jett (Amber), Logan UT, Kylee and grandson Cael. Viewings will be held Tuesday, June 2, from 6-8 p.m. and preceding the funeral from 9:30- 10:30 on Wednesday June 3rd. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on June 3rd. All services will be held in the LDS Stake Center located at 1651 College Pkwy, across from Great Basin College. Nolen will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and all who were fortunate enough to have known him.

Memorial Day in St. George

We were so excited we decided last minute to head to St. George for Memorial Day. If Tyler & Adrienne & their boys weren't going down we might not have been as tempted. 1st night we had to hit the new Pirate Island. Pizza+Arcades=hours of kid entertainment!!! Chase would spend 1/2 hour on each ski-ball game. He could never make the ball over the hill, it just returned back over and over and over!

Did I mention pizza? 24 inches....1/2 of this pizza fed 13 of us with lots of leftovers!!!

The slip-n-slide never gets old!! Children & adults had plenty of turns sliding down the hill. Chase would fly in the air at the bottom and race back up the hill-with no help EVER-and say 'my turn' and slide right down again. Good thing there were only a few of us so there were plenty of turns!!!

On Sunday, Damian, Jeremy & Dayna came over to play on the slip n slide too. Damian LOVED watching the kids slide down, and would slide down the grass, but wanted nothing to do with the slide. I wish I would have had my camera when he was laughing hysterically @ everyone going down the slide. He was soooo funny to watch!!

New to St. George (since I've lived there) are splash pads at a lot of the parks. Chase was a little hesitant at first, but then we couldn't pull him away!

Whats a weekend with the family if you can't catch a fish. Chase loves to poke his pole in the water and try to fall in. Luckily just as we started to pack up Mitchell finally caught something we could take home.

Whats a trip to St. George without playing in the red dirt? Chase LOVED playing with his cousins. Its so fun to see him grow up and be able to play & connect with other kids! Such cute Marrott boys!

And I saved the best for last!!! An added bonus to have JR & Aubree in St. George with their new little baby....YEAH THATS RIGHT!! I'VE SEEN HER! Baby Avenlee liked to sleep when I was there, but she is so so precious!!! Can't wait to see how beautiful she will be!

Long time...no blog

So I've honestly been meaning to blog about our recent trip to California...but I am so so sooooo mad that we forgot the camera!!! I really really tried to get the pictures I took off my phone, but I couldn't get them uploaded on blogger....so if you would like to see some visuals, look on my brother Ben's blog post "Firsts" and you will see part of the weekend. For those who don't mind a post without pictures, read on....

Chad & I both had several days off work the beginning of this month, which I thought would be well spent in California. Visiting my brother's cute family and making the last 3 months of training pay off in a 1/2 marathon. Yeah, thats right. I'm running again.

***side note*** when traveling.....always book hotel rooms @ priceline/hotwire. We got a screaming deal @ a nice hotel!!!

After our 1st night of catching up and bbq-ing, the next night we were on our way to Sacramento...where the American River Parkway 1/2 was. We had a great night @ John's Pizza Co. Where they had a pizza/pasta/salad/dessert buffet, which was perfect for our carbo-load, and tons of games & rides for the kids. It was a really fun night.....Jaden claims the BEST day ever!!! He had a lot of tickets to redeem for cheap cheesy prizes, that broke before we got home.

Saturday...race day. Very nervous runners, wondering what weather we were going to wake up to.....night before was a downpour!! Luckily it was just a little more than a sprinkle. We got to the park in perfect time to pick up all our race junk, stretch & line up! I guess in the 5 years of racing vacation I've had, there have been changes. No more chips? just a tag you can cut off and throw away. Super nice running material shirts, and little bottles with as much goo as you want to take with you on the race. Pretty nice. Anyway, my brother was unsure he would be able to run the whole way, he was planning on walking a bit, but we went at a slow enough pace we didn't get too worn out. 11 min. miles was the average, and we finished just under 2 1/2 hours. Seems crazy huh? With a lot of stretching and good food after we were able to not be too sore!!! Yay!! We were pumped!

So after a fun filled weekend of playing games and eating, we headed back home. It was so fun to play with our California nieces & nephew. We even left with some going away presents from Jaden. :) Megan & I got in some much needed pedicures, and I could not stop holding/queezing/pinching/biting Lanie's cheeks!!! Cute cute kids!!!

Back to Nevada, and time to camp!! Last year we were out a month earlier, so we have been itching to sleep outdoors. Chase & Chad getting ready to 'catch fish'.

If you look close you can see what Chase is fishing for (Bud light). Redneck fishing is what popped into my mind. He'd catch all sorts of garbage with his pole and throw it back in just so he could think he was catching something.


And of course the truck has to go everywhere with us these days. Including his crib when he goes to bed. He'll have 2 or 3 of his favorite trucks/buses that have to go 'nigh night' with him. Usually the horse trailer is full of matchbox cars or other toys.

Happy Mother's Day! After a great breakfast and surprise flowers, we were ready for church & decided to take a few pictures of who made me a mommy. I wondered why Chad kept telling me to move left, right , down....perfect. (yes that's the newest addition)

Chase is never afraid to pose for a picture, but you won't always get a genuine smile!