On the trip to Alaska we had a discussion about the best possible weekends to have a family campout next summer and concluded that we ought to shoot for the weekend of July 7-8. There seemed to be no conflicts with that date. Assuming that most of us will want to start the weekend on about Thursday, you should mark out July 5-8 on your calendar.
We talked about venues and came up with two possibilities that I and my able assistant are going to pursue.
The first would be a return to one of the group campsites at Mt. Ranier National Park. Last time we went there, I made the reservations. Back then reservations couldn't be made until 8 a.m. on January 2. Several of us got on a conference call at about 7:40 a.m. on January 2 that year and had the phone ringing until it was answered and we got our reservations. At that time three of the campgrounds in the park had group sites that could be reserved. Individual sites could not be reserved. I will check into the current rules but doubt that they have changed.
The second plan would involve renting a bunch of houses in close proximity to each other at Cannon Beach. That could be cost prohibitive but I got marching orders to look into that possibility as well and will be doing that in the near future.
If neither of those venues work (and we may not know about Mt. Ranier until January), then we can reconnoiter sometime later and kick around other ideas.
In the meantime, mark your calendars and tell all your friends and in-laws that they need to plan their weddings and reunions around our July 7-8 get-together.
The other thing that we ought to be doing at this time is conferring with the extended Sullivan family about whether or not there's going to be a Sullivan family reunion this summer. If there is going to be a reunion, then we ought to establish the date for that very, very soon for the sake of all who may want to be involved.
Who is the acting chairman on that committee?
Thursday, September 21, 2006
4021 W. Riverhaven-- Update to old post
Just a little update from our old post: Sofia and I have been approved for, and just signed our committment letter with the Bank today, and will be signing closing documents on Tuesday for 4021 W. Riverhaven (it has such a regal tone to it, the street name. such nostalgia...). Anyhow, we will be taking over occupancy, bills in our name, etc., next Sunday. We will try to move as much in as possible on Sunday, but will probably be in the drag of the process through the 1st week of October. Which means on the 2nd weekend of October, we should have a little informal house party while its still nice outside. Tere and Katie already told us they would buy all the beer for any party we have for a one year break in period, then we're on our own. I think they included wine in that offer too.
Thanks for all the support during this process. It has been fun. Well, not really fun, fun, but it will be fun to live there...
Thanks for all the support during this process. It has been fun. Well, not really fun, fun, but it will be fun to live there...
E-mail notification of new comments on Blog
All,
Inside your Blogger preferences, there is an option you can check that will notify you if a new COMMENT has been posted to the blog. Note that it will not notify you when a new POST is added.
Just FYI, but it sure comes in handy for me.
Inside your Blogger preferences, there is an option you can check that will notify you if a new COMMENT has been posted to the blog. Note that it will not notify you when a new POST is added.
Just FYI, but it sure comes in handy for me.
Friday, September 15, 2006
4021 W. Riverhaven
All: Sofia and I are about 2 weeks from being the next and new riverhaven roaches. We just recieved the banks final appraisal on the house we have contracted to buy, and the appraisal came back right on target. After the bank approves us in the next week, we will be new neighbors to Katie and Tere to the west (2 doors from Potters, and 3 doors from Dickie Do, and about 3 doors from Dickie Dont-- I mean Barbs). The house is 4400 square feet and has 6 bedrooms, 4 baths, an inground pool, a hot tub, and 1 acre of land including a mature weeping willow tree (salix babylonica-- my favorite!), which the thornhills will continue to love cleaning up after. the wind usually blows east over there, apparently. We will be more than excited to host any upcoming parties, as this is a very nice house for us to bring guests into. And unlike the current situ over here at 1555, there are no known pit bulls-- besides Steve Potter-- in the neighborhood. Pretty exciting!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Perpetual Roach Reunion
All,
To start off, I'm not the biggest fan of God music. That being said, I want you to know that Aunt Nancy put on a SPECTACULAR hosting job for tonight's John Michael Talbot show. She single-handily organized the show, which turned out to be a near capacity audience. The proceeds all going toward the Luke Roach Scholarship foundation.
JMT rocked the church! He ranged from bluegrass to Stevie Ray Vaughan. He really is a great musician. He had two backup guitarists, a bassist, and another on percussions. He played the guitar, electric guitar, and the banjo. Although I’m not hitting the road as a groupie, I did appreciate seeing a bit of talent come through the Tri-Cities, and Aunt Nancy made it happen!
For those of you that were able to make it, Tri-City Prep current and future students thank you. If you weren’t able to make it, you can still send your $25 admission (or whatever you feel) to:
Luke Roach Scholarship
521 N. Rd 40
99301
This wasn’t intended to be a solicitation, but the contribution can never hurt! It was a very emotional show for me because I think Luke would have been a big fan. He really appreciated good music, and would have been very humble to see how many people contributed to his cause. I think it was an inspiration to all. We should remember how blessed we are to have him as a part of our lives, as well as all those among us that are still able to contribute to this “Perpetual Roach Reunion”!
Let’s all take a minute to think of our cousin/brother/nephew/son, and smile because although life can bring us hardships, it is also a daily blessing that we all need to remember.
-LR
With love,
Joseph Roach
Friday, September 08, 2006
The 20 Week Ultrasound!
Hey Everyone,
We just got the 20 week ultrasound and learned that we're having yet another little BOY! We're all very excited! He looks very healthy and active. Enjoy the photos!
Love,
John, RoseAnne, Isaac, Jack and Baby Boy #3
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
David in Granada
Hey all, I am counting on Dad forwarding this email to everybody, so it is addressed to all.
Things here in Spain are going wonderfully. Right now I am in an intensive language course at El Centro de Lenguas Modernas, or the center for modern languages, which is the language school for the University of Granada. There are a couple hundred people that are in school at the center right now but most are American and the others are Europeans from various countries that are learning spanish. The main university doesnt start until october, so right now I am not speaking as much spanish as I would like with the students. Many of the kids speak no spanish, so I cant practice with them, but in our classes we speak constantly. Also, we live alone right now, so until our roommates arrive in a couple of weeks I cant speak spanish around the house because my roommate doesnt know any at all. So in order to practice my spanish, I need to go to the bars at night. This actually works really well, because all of the spanish guys want to hook up with the American girls and so they talk to us and hang out with us a lot. I am pleasantly surprised to find out that I can converse pretty well with the spaniards, but Im not comfortable enough yet to try and swerve any spanish chicks. That will have to wait. We are all excited for the main school to start because 60,000 people go to school there so 30,000 spanish women will flood the city. Almost every girl here is good looking and there are many, many super hot chicks. Nobody here is overweight and they are all really stylish, so I am sure this combination has a lot to do with it. Life here is really different, everybody is laid back and relaxed about everything. The Spanish are really social, so there are always people sitting in the plazas talking, drinking coffee or wine, and enjoying the day. The city itself is beautiful, the architecture is wonderful, there are orange, lemon, lime, and date palm trees all over the place, and a plaza with a fountain and a statue every couple of blocks. Once I get a bit of a collection of pictures I will email them, so you can all see what I am talking about. I suppose that is about all for now, once we start traveling around I am sure that I will have a lot more to say.
Much love to all,
David
Things here in Spain are going wonderfully. Right now I am in an intensive language course at El Centro de Lenguas Modernas, or the center for modern languages, which is the language school for the University of Granada. There are a couple hundred people that are in school at the center right now but most are American and the others are Europeans from various countries that are learning spanish. The main university doesnt start until october, so right now I am not speaking as much spanish as I would like with the students. Many of the kids speak no spanish, so I cant practice with them, but in our classes we speak constantly. Also, we live alone right now, so until our roommates arrive in a couple of weeks I cant speak spanish around the house because my roommate doesnt know any at all. So in order to practice my spanish, I need to go to the bars at night. This actually works really well, because all of the spanish guys want to hook up with the American girls and so they talk to us and hang out with us a lot. I am pleasantly surprised to find out that I can converse pretty well with the spaniards, but Im not comfortable enough yet to try and swerve any spanish chicks. That will have to wait. We are all excited for the main school to start because 60,000 people go to school there so 30,000 spanish women will flood the city. Almost every girl here is good looking and there are many, many super hot chicks. Nobody here is overweight and they are all really stylish, so I am sure this combination has a lot to do with it. Life here is really different, everybody is laid back and relaxed about everything. The Spanish are really social, so there are always people sitting in the plazas talking, drinking coffee or wine, and enjoying the day. The city itself is beautiful, the architecture is wonderful, there are orange, lemon, lime, and date palm trees all over the place, and a plaza with a fountain and a statue every couple of blocks. Once I get a bit of a collection of pictures I will email them, so you can all see what I am talking about. I suppose that is about all for now, once we start traveling around I am sure that I will have a lot more to say.
Much love to all,
David
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The Roach Family Crest
This is a pretty neat description of the origin of the Roach family name I just found....
Did you know Roach means "Rock"? So many perfect applications for that definition....
Don't let the long first paragraph scare you!
Origin: Irish
Non-Gaelic elements made their first appearance in Irish nomenclature after the Strongbow settlers began to arrive on Irish shores. Although the Irish already had an established a system of hereditary surnames, the Anglo-Normans also brought their own traditions with them when they arrived. The two systems were not extremely conflicting, and eventually drew upon one another. Although local surnames, such as Roach, were not entirely unknown to the Irish, this form of surname was much more popular with the Strongbownians. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, these place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or was eliminated entirely. The local names of these Anglo-Norman invaders first referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Strongbownians or their descendents that remained in Ireland, the local names really did begin to refer to local places or geographical features of the island. The Roach family appears to have originally lived in a rocky area or near some notable rock. The surname Roach is derived from the Old French word roche, which means rock. The surname Roach belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. The Gaelic form of the surname Roach is de Róiste.
Spelling variations include: Roche, Roach, Roache, LaRoche, LaRoach, DeLaRoach, Roack, Roch, Roiche, St.Roche, Rocheland, Rochellan and many more.
First found in county Limerick where they were granted lands by Strongbow whom they accompanied into Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1172.
Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: William Roach settled in Virginia in 1707; Edmund, Frederick, James, John, Margaret, Mary, Michael, Patrick, Richard, Thomas and William Roach all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1870.
Motto Translated: My God is my rock.
Did you know Roach means "Rock"? So many perfect applications for that definition....
Don't let the long first paragraph scare you!
Origin: Irish
Non-Gaelic elements made their first appearance in Irish nomenclature after the Strongbow settlers began to arrive on Irish shores. Although the Irish already had an established a system of hereditary surnames, the Anglo-Normans also brought their own traditions with them when they arrived. The two systems were not extremely conflicting, and eventually drew upon one another. Although local surnames, such as Roach, were not entirely unknown to the Irish, this form of surname was much more popular with the Strongbownians. Local names were taken from the names of a place or a geographical feature where the person lived, held land, or was born. Originally, these place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. This type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or was eliminated entirely. The local names of these Anglo-Norman invaders first referred to places in Normandy, or more typically England, but eventually for those Strongbownians or their descendents that remained in Ireland, the local names really did begin to refer to local places or geographical features of the island. The Roach family appears to have originally lived in a rocky area or near some notable rock. The surname Roach is derived from the Old French word roche, which means rock. The surname Roach belongs to the class of topographic surnames, which were given to people who resided near physical features such as hills, streams, churches, or types of trees. The Gaelic form of the surname Roach is de Róiste.
Spelling variations include: Roche, Roach, Roache, LaRoche, LaRoach, DeLaRoach, Roack, Roch, Roiche, St.Roche, Rocheland, Rochellan and many more.
First found in county Limerick where they were granted lands by Strongbow whom they accompanied into Ireland during the Anglo-Norman invasion of 1172.
Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: William Roach settled in Virginia in 1707; Edmund, Frederick, James, John, Margaret, Mary, Michael, Patrick, Richard, Thomas and William Roach all arrived in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1870.
Motto Translated: My God is my rock.
Monday, August 21, 2006
PARTAAYYY IN SD 2007!!!!! 21 and OLDER!!!!
Projected Date: Either March 9-11 or March 16-18 (majority rules, so whichever date is voted for most!)
Restrictions: Must obtain valid 21+ id. (whether or not the picture and name are you, use your discretion)
Target Population: Roach cousins, spouses, S.O.'s or potential S.O.'s.
Plan: Party like Rock Stars with Caitlin and Colleen in their new ruled city, with lots of beach lounging time.
Where: San Diego, of course. We are your new SoCal cousins!!!!
Exceptions: Some aunts and uncles may think this sounds like a brilliant idea, and would like to join in on the fun. We vote.........................................most likely noooot gonna happen, but you may test the vote if you're feeling lucky :0)
Accommodations: Bomb-diggity, resort-style apartamentos in La Jolla. (courtesy of Colleen and Caitlin)
RSVP: BLOG
Official Date will be posted when we have sufficient responses by fellow blogging cousins or word of mouth to those cousins who aren't cool enough to blog.
-Colleen/Caitlin/Miguel-honorary non-cousin
Restrictions: Must obtain valid 21+ id. (whether or not the picture and name are you, use your discretion)
Target Population: Roach cousins, spouses, S.O.'s or potential S.O.'s.
Plan: Party like Rock Stars with Caitlin and Colleen in their new ruled city, with lots of beach lounging time.
Where: San Diego, of course. We are your new SoCal cousins!!!!
Exceptions: Some aunts and uncles may think this sounds like a brilliant idea, and would like to join in on the fun. We vote.........................................most likely noooot gonna happen, but you may test the vote if you're feeling lucky :0)
Accommodations: Bomb-diggity, resort-style apartamentos in La Jolla. (courtesy of Colleen and Caitlin)
RSVP: BLOG
Official Date will be posted when we have sufficient responses by fellow blogging cousins or word of mouth to those cousins who aren't cool enough to blog.
-Colleen/Caitlin/Miguel-honorary non-cousin
Perpetual Roach Reunion
Hi All,
I just had an excellent phone call from Bart via some sort of computer hook-up. The connection was perfect! He sounded great, happy and has had excellent experiences, has many plans and a very busy agenda. He was getting ready to fix dinner with a group of friends! He had just gotten pick-pocketed in a busy crowded touristy congested bottle-neck by a 8yo girl who passed his wallet off to her father. He lost his wallet, bank card, driver license, ~$30US. His wallet was in his front pocket and he was even thinking it would be a spot for such a caper!!!! These felons are very good. In his youth hostel later he learned others had had the same experience in the exact same location!!! Nancy, does this remind you of the same modus operendi in Rome @ the Vatican?
Anyway, he is happy, healthy and having a good experience.
As ever,
daddio or big mike
--
John Michael G Roach, MD
GASTROENTEROLOGY
"The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory...but progress." --Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)
I just had an excellent phone call from Bart via some sort of computer hook-up. The connection was perfect! He sounded great, happy and has had excellent experiences, has many plans and a very busy agenda. He was getting ready to fix dinner with a group of friends! He had just gotten pick-pocketed in a busy crowded touristy congested bottle-neck by a 8yo girl who passed his wallet off to her father. He lost his wallet, bank card, driver license, ~$30US. His wallet was in his front pocket and he was even thinking it would be a spot for such a caper!!!! These felons are very good. In his youth hostel later he learned others had had the same experience in the exact same location!!! Nancy, does this remind you of the same modus operendi in Rome @ the Vatican?
Anyway, he is happy, healthy and having a good experience.
As ever,
daddio or big mike
--
John Michael G Roach, MD
GASTROENTEROLOGY
"The aim of argument, or of discussion, should not be victory...but progress." --Joseph Joubert (1754-1824)
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Two 15-Year Olds for a Week!
Just so you know, we have 2, count 'em, 2, Fifteen year olds for this week in our household!!!!
Friday, August 11, 2006
G-Ma's Fresh Coat
Last weekend, a crew of us led by Kevin and Brian Roach put in a total of approximately 100 man (and woman) hours, giving Grandma a freshie. Uncle Pat deserves extra props for being the only Oldie who was with us for the duration.
A good time was had by all, and Grandma LOVES her new paint job!
Observe:
A good time was had by all, and Grandma LOVES her new paint job!
Observe:
Monday, August 07, 2006
John Michael Talbot Concert
All,
As you probably know, the Luke Roach Scholarship Fund is putting on a concert featuring John Michael Talbot, monk and guitaris extraordinaire. This concert will be a little different from his last one here, as he will be performing songs from his newest album "Monk Rock", which should be a little "friendlier" to my generation.
We would love all of your help in promoting this. We haven't sold as many tickets as we'd like yet, and we really need to get on the ball.
Here is a PDF that contains all the pertinent information. If you have any questions, please direct them to My Mother Nancy.
Thanks, and with your help we can make this a big success for Prep and for Luke's legacy.
As you probably know, the Luke Roach Scholarship Fund is putting on a concert featuring John Michael Talbot, monk and guitaris extraordinaire. This concert will be a little different from his last one here, as he will be performing songs from his newest album "Monk Rock", which should be a little "friendlier" to my generation.
We would love all of your help in promoting this. We haven't sold as many tickets as we'd like yet, and we really need to get on the ball.
Here is a PDF that contains all the pertinent information. If you have any questions, please direct them to My Mother Nancy.
Thanks, and with your help we can make this a big success for Prep and for Luke's legacy.
Friday, August 04, 2006
Big Month for the Thornhills
Big Month for the Thornhills
I was checking out one of those calendars that have important dates for each month of the year and August just screamed Thornhills.
Looking at 3 birthdays (Ailis, Fiona and Sinead) and the 18th wedding anniversary for Tere and Katie made me think how lucky we are to have you all in our lives. What at loss it would have been had you two never met and deprived the community of your love, committment and those beautiful daughters...thank the Lord for Irish Bars!
Enjoy a great August,
Love,
Bill
I was checking out one of those calendars that have important dates for each month of the year and August just screamed Thornhills.
Looking at 3 birthdays (Ailis, Fiona and Sinead) and the 18th wedding anniversary for Tere and Katie made me think how lucky we are to have you all in our lives. What at loss it would have been had you two never met and deprived the community of your love, committment and those beautiful daughters...thank the Lord for Irish Bars!
Enjoy a great August,
Love,
Bill
Let's Plan Another Family Campout (a/k/a "Herding Cats!!")
My calendar this week reminded me once again that this first weekend of August is the one we set aside several years ago to stage an annual family campout. If there's some interest in getting something going for next summer, please offer your input.
I think we've gone to Mt. Ranier twice and to the Leavenworth area once. Last time we discussed it (three summers ago) we kicked around the idea of going to a campground at the Gorge near Bonneville Dam. Then Liz's family and mine headed to the East Coast instead. Without us being present, naturally no one else wanted to get together.
We enjoyed lobster w/the Sullivans in Maine w/o you guys!!
The Winthrop area is gorgeous, as is the Olympic Penninsula. (Remember camping at Klalock when we were kids?) Vancouver Island has a lot to offer, as does the rest of B.C. Jacquie and I and our kids go two or three times a year to Cannon Beach where we stay in a house on the beach that belongs to friends. The setting where we stay is pretty remote (from the crowd) and is a bit of paradise and there are a number of houses closeby that could be rented although they are pretty spendy.
I suggest that we set aside a time that works for the greatest number of interested family members and then decide on a place. My gang doesn't think traveling 6-7 hours to a good spot is any big deal, provided we're going to stay for at least 3 nights!
Let's first nail down the weekends that won't work for a family campout. The things that I can think of that are on the calendar for next summer are the proposed Sullivan family reunion and the boat races.
Any weddings in the works? (If so, no need to divulge the secrets yet - we'll plan around you Joe, Colleen, Dom, Caitlin, whoever!)
Your thoughts?
I think we've gone to Mt. Ranier twice and to the Leavenworth area once. Last time we discussed it (three summers ago) we kicked around the idea of going to a campground at the Gorge near Bonneville Dam. Then Liz's family and mine headed to the East Coast instead. Without us being present, naturally no one else wanted to get together.
We enjoyed lobster w/the Sullivans in Maine w/o you guys!! The Winthrop area is gorgeous, as is the Olympic Penninsula. (Remember camping at Klalock when we were kids?) Vancouver Island has a lot to offer, as does the rest of B.C. Jacquie and I and our kids go two or three times a year to Cannon Beach where we stay in a house on the beach that belongs to friends. The setting where we stay is pretty remote (from the crowd) and is a bit of paradise and there are a number of houses closeby that could be rented although they are pretty spendy.
I suggest that we set aside a time that works for the greatest number of interested family members and then decide on a place. My gang doesn't think traveling 6-7 hours to a good spot is any big deal, provided we're going to stay for at least 3 nights!
Let's first nail down the weekends that won't work for a family campout. The things that I can think of that are on the calendar for next summer are the proposed Sullivan family reunion and the boat races.
Any weddings in the works? (If so, no need to divulge the secrets yet - we'll plan around you Joe, Colleen, Dom, Caitlin, whoever!)
Your thoughts?
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Droesch's New Presidential Vehicle
Droesches, please post a jpg of your new bling bling that you bought.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Boatraces
You all better get ready for some fun. Joe is already out in the boat at the newly improved "honey hole" (where all the 40 year old divorcee's tie their boats together and drink wine coolers or mixed drinks and goggle over other divorced, not-so-in shape bikini wearers (or speedo wearers), where all have way too dark, weathered and leathered skin), with his boys from work. I am waiting for my boys from seattle and portland, and then the real fun will begin. check on you all later...
bpr
bpr
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
The Thornhill Girls and their Partners in the Meadow Springs Junior Golf Child - Parent Tourney
The Thornhill girls are playing Junior Golf for the 2nd year at Meadow Springs and recently played in the Child-Parent Tournament. Fiona & Tere were partners, Ailis and Nick Cameron, Ciara and Bart, Moira and Margo, and Sinead and Bill Meyer! Here are a few photos from the event.
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