Staff Sgt Jason Ross - Marine

Happy Birthday Jason! Jason turned 32 years old today, and it was a wonderful day for all of us. We woke up to the sound of Kojak winning and waking everybody up. Apparently Jason was keeping him in his kennel for a little while and Kojak didn't like it, and Kojak can "sing" pretty loud. Linda went down stairs to see what was going on and helped Jason by taking Kojak out to the backyard. He was happy again and in a few minutes they were back inside and Linda was coming back up to the room. After all, it wasn't quite 05:00 yet, and she wanted to get back to sleep. Funny part is, it gave her a chance to be the first one to wish Jason a Happy Birthday. We did manage to get back to sleep and slept for almost an hour and woke up again. Shortly after that we had a visit from Jackie, and she was full of energy. After about 15 minutes we realized we were going to have to be getting up, so we did. Jackie bounded back down the stairs to go see what Daddy was doing, and she wa...

Kind of a busy day today, with the morning starting out with me taking Jason's truck over to the new car wash that just opened up. I wanted to go there for a couple of reasons, with the biggest one being related to the fact that they have excellent vacuum stations for the cars and trucks, and because of the dogs, Jason's truck really needed vacuuming. Another big factor is the fact that the car wash is FREE! I'm guessing they are wanting to let people know they're there and are giving away washes this first few days and hope to build a base. The quality of the wash is good, and like I said, the vacuum stations are very good. The only down I see is their wheel cleaning ability, and that is not very good at all. Still, that is a minor thing, considering the cost, and they do have you in and out relatively quickly - they advertise a 3-minute car wash (doesn't include the vacuum, and you have to do that yourself). After the car wash I came back to the house and help...

Kind of a different day for us, as we came into our Friday, with the girls. Jason had an appointment at Balboa Hospital and was to home by 11:00. I picked up Jackie at about 10:30 for her speech therapy and then Linda picked up Stacy at about 10:45. Both girls were on a minimum school day today, and when we all got home we left to Camp Pendleton to see some of Jason's buddies at their EOD site. One of the senior guys, a MGySgt, was retiring after 25 years with the Marines, and it was officially a send off for him, and a Family Day for everyone else. When Gavin (the retiring Marine) and I spoke on the phone he said it would be great to have all of us there, and I mentioned that Jason's birthday is actually on the 31st. He said, "That's great! We can get him a cake and present it to him after all the other presentations are done." As it turned out there were several guys who were being presented with plaques, and I said we will be there, sometime after noon ... we a...

Today was a day to get things done, and we did ... I did get up for a short and fast 10 miles on the bike - I say "fast" as a reflection on my speed, as it was a little faster than I usually go. At one point, while circling Fiesta Island (which isn't really an island), I was at the last part of the four mile loop. I was feeling pretty good and had a good pace of about 17.5 mph going. Then I looked to my left and here came this lady (at least I think it was a lady) and she blew my doors off. I didn't let it get me down though, and just kept on going. The head wind was minimal and there were things to do, so I simply headed back home and kept the ride down to the 10 miles I had planned. Jason had an appointment today, and also stopped in to see a couple of folks we know. It was a very nice visit for him, for a couple of reasons, and mostly because he simply went on his own. He didn't even take Gracie with him. This tells me that his confidence level is getting v...

Today was a very nice day for me, personally, and I think a good day for Jason and Linda, too. The girls got off to school, this morning, and a couple of hours later I took Jackie to an appointment, while Linda took care of a couple of other errands. Jason had an appointment of his own, so our morning was pretty full of activities. Since the two of them were going to be out for a couple of hours,  I decided that it would be good to get out and go for another bike ride, and so I did. The weather down here is still a bit unsettled, and very cloudy, with the biggest impact to a bike ride being the wind. Probably no more than a 5 mph breeze with some gusts, yet riding 20+ miles against it and with cross winds, tended to make it a little more of a challenge. I managed to get the ride in and back home just before Jason returned. Linda was going to be out with her friend until almost 17:00 (5pm), so we really didn't expect to see her any sooner than that. Those few hours of just layin...

A very nice day for us today, though very full. It began with the girls getting up and getting ready for school, and with that Grandma (Linda) and Grandpa (me) were busy getting them up and dressed, while also getting their breakfast and lunches ready. We've actually gotten it down to a pretty good routine, and it runs pretty smooth - which is good since the school year is ending (that's sarcasm, for those that couldn't tell). Once the new year gets started it will be starting all over again, and you know what... we wouldn't change it for the world. Once the girls were at school, Jason and Linda had some running around to take care of, and that lasted for a little over an hour. This gave me a chance to take care of a couple tasks at the house, and to do some catch up on some of my emails and FB posts. Well, we also had a chance to get some exercising in, though not what we normally do. I look forward to getting back into a more regular routine of riding my bike, and r...

Today is a day of honoring the men and women who have served the country and especially a time to remember those that gave paid the ultimate sacrifice. This weekend is seen by a large number of people as a chance to get out and go to the beach or have a picnic, and yet a large number of them don't take the time to think about all the blood that was spent, so they could do those things. I am continuing to hope that we, as a country, can continue to grow and survive, as this great experiment is still needed in the world. God bless America is needed more than ever. On  Sunday, Jason and I spoke at both services of the Point Loma Presbyterian Church, and had a wonderful reception from the congregation. We were invited to be a part of their Memorial Day worship service and it went very well. Linda was recognized as a strong member of the team and was sitting in the front pew, while we had participated in a "dialogue sermon"  with Pastor John Powell. We greeted people, as the...

Coming into Memorial Day weekend our attention turns to the Military and all those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We are a nation of people who have shown a tremendous ability to fight with ourselves over some very petty issues; as well as some very tough issues. There are those among us who feel they have all the right ideas and that anyone who thinks differently should be taken away and given a mental reworking to get their thinking straight. We have some very patriotic people and we have some who really don't like our government, yet don't know how to cast a vote at election time. Our country is made up of a vast mix of different types and attitudes and we still manage to keep our country and this great experiment going. Most of it because of the ability of this great nation to create men and women who will defend the Constitution. Yesterday we went up to Fallbrook and got a chance to see the house and all the progress that has continued on it. We now ha...

A very nice couple of days for us, as yesterday brought us some nice clear weather, and the temperature stayed around 70 degrees. The girls had a great time at school and with the family at home, and Jason made a little more progress with both Gracie and Kojak. The progress is in Kojak's socialization (getting more used to people and other surroundings) and in Gracie just getting used to the fact that Kojak is now a part of the family. Gracie is kind of an interesting study, in that she is very laid back and yet likes to do whatever she can to please Jason. With Kojak introduced to the picture you can see a little jealous streak, but nothing serious, as they seem to get along and play often. That was pretty much the day yesterday, and it was also why there was no post yesterday - it was quiet and comfortable, and not much to write about. Today was also a nice day, though much busier in the morning and into the afternoon. We got up and the girls off to school, as we usually do, th...

 Quite a nice day here, with lite clouds and blue skies. It didn't get much beyond 70 degrees so it was just comfortable for most of the day. The girls got up without a problem or any difficulty and we were all ready to go with time to spare. Part of that is the fact that the sun seems to show up a little earlier each day, and just seeing the light tends to give us more energy. I got a nice bike ride in, and am hoping to get another one in tomorrow, or maybe on Thursday. I already know that Wednesday is out, due to some medical appointments for Jason, and that's okay, as I have some questions I would like to go over with the doctors. Then again, now that I think about it, Thursday we will be heading up to Fallbrook for a meeting about landscaping. Really not much to write about for today, and maybe that's a good thing. We continue to get closer to the new house, yet it is still several months out. Jason is putting forth a concerted effort to not be up in his chair any m...

Not sure what it is, but time is just flying by, and we're going to be at the half way point in this year in just a matter of a few more weeks - okay about six weeks. Days just seem to fold into each other and we wonder where all the time went. The good news is that we're all doing well and watching the girls and watching our grandsons grow is so very rewarding. Just taking the time to think about what we've been through these past few years makes this all so much more rewarding. Today I got up and out on the bike before 07:30. I think it would have been nice to have gotten out even earlier, but sometimes it takes me a bit to get going, and I generally need something in my tummy before I get out (I ate an orange). I had thought I was going to get out before the girls got up, but Jackie made sure she saw me, and that was also another reason I was delayed a bit. Linda was still in bed and I took the time to help her with some things she needed. She then went in to see Jason...

A very nice day for us, as I was able to get my bike "repaired" (I fixed a flat, and I think the tire is road ready now); Linda was able to get out to a Blue Star Mother's Luncheon; and Jason is making an effort to stay down more. I'll start with the bike repair - I got up and had it in my head that I needed to take the time, since I now had some, to see how badly the tire had been damaged. First the girls were up and were in bed with Daddy (Jason), watching some cartoons. I'm not sure who enjoys this more, Jason or the girls, I just know I think it is good for all of them. I pulled the bike in and began working on the tire and found that the damage to the tire, itself, wasn't as bad as I first thought. I replaced the tube (it was totally shot) and remounted the tire and it looked great. I needed to get out on it, and take it for a short ride, so that is what I wanted to do. By this time Linda had been up for about an hour or so and was looking at getting re...

These last couple of days have been very wet for us, down here in San Diego. We must have gotten well over an inch of rain, and probably more than 2 inches. Considering the amount of rain that normally falls here, that's a lot. With that much rain coming down, I was not about to attempt to get out on my bike, though I wouldn't have anyway as I blew out my tire a few days ago, and have not yet gotten it repaired. For those that don't know, I ran over something that had a significant screw in it and it pretty well chewed up the tire, as well as the tube. Anyway, I wouldn't have been riding these last couple of days, mostly because of the rain fall. On the bright side, it did knock off a bunch of dust and dirt the vehicles had collected ... ;-) Kojak and Jason are getting along very well now, with Kojak wanting to be sure he is with Jason, or at least being able to see him at all times. A couple of times we had to put him back in his kennel and within a few minutes he wa...

Linda and I went up to the house today and did some measurements for some of the furniture we already have, and to just check out what was going on. We were pleased to see the continued progress, even from just yesterday. Linda found some places where she was happy with how the furniture is going to fit, and how we can make different things fit. As a result of that visit we came back down to San Diego and I went over to our storage unit and began moving some things around so that we could get a better idea of just what we actually had. Now, I also have to say I didn't do this alone - Bobbie Bryan offered to give me a hand, and because I had his help we were able to get through more than I expected. Tomorrow Linda and I will be going back to storage and going through the unit to identify just what we are going to be keeping, selling and donating. We do have a bunch of stuff, and most of it will not be coming to the new house, simply because it won't work, or fit. Now, we're ...

We had a very good day today, mostly because just about everything that we did today, went smoothly, and without any problems. The girls got up and off to school; we were able to get up to Jason's new house build site; we had a great family dinner, with Jason at the table this time; and, we seem to be working towards an organized effort to get our stuff in order, so that we can move when we need to. On top of that, Kojak seems to be getting more used to the family, and is showing some signs that he is learning his name. There is one other things, as I said earlier, "... just about everything..." There was one item that hasn't gone too smoothly, and it is rather puzzling. I attempted to load some pictures from my camera on to the computer and the computer just doesn't seem to want them. I have hooked it up, same as I have done many times before, and there is more than adequate disk space, and both devices indicate there is communication going on. Just that when I...

Mondays can be busy, and then they can also be relaxed ... this was not one of the relaxed ones... Got up early and Jason and I headed in to Balboa to take care of getting the surgery schedule corrected. Originally it was supposed to be on May 19, but that was changed to June 9 and now, due to other issues, it is being pushed again. I specifically asked that it get pushed one week, but they were not able to provide us any update - the doctors were all out. In fact they might not be able to let us know until June 1, when Jason has to go back in for another visit. One of the challenges of dealing with Military Medicine. Once we finished there and headed over to the pet store (Jason needed a few things, and also to pick up some food for the dogs), and then we came back home. So far it has been a pretty good day, and it is still relatively early in the morning. I told Jason that I would be getting out on my bike and riding down town, to take care of a quick banking issue and then  ...

Happy Mother's Day to all of you, out there. Today was a nice Mother's Day for Linda and we all basically relaxed and did our best to not work too hard (OK, there was a few hours where Linda and I went through some of the stuff in our garage, but it wasn't too bad). Mother's Day is a day to reflect on what your mother has done for you in your life, and why she is so important to you. We are fortunate to have Linda's mom, Jess,  still around, she provides some advice and she usually sees things from a perspective that we hadn't thought about. I guess that's where Linda gets it, and I do take advantage of that. A funnier aspect of the day was that Jason offered to take Mom out to breakfast, and instead Linda said she would rather go shopping, and so he took her to the store, where they purchased a vacuum cleaner. This made Linda happy, as it was something she has been wanting, and it made Jason happy, because he made Mom happy. David sent flowers, and she al...

We woke up this morning, up in Los Angeles, to the sounds of two little boys running around having a great time. It is such an amazing contrast to our two granddaughters, and we love every moment of it. Then, again, boys are supposed to be different from girls and it all definitely shows, as they continue to grow. We really do enjoy having all the time we do with the girls, but it sure would be nice to have more time with Dylan and Ethan. Perhaps, once we move up to Fallbrook it will be a little easier to spend time with them. David made breakfast this morning, with the help of Miriam and the boys. David made scratch pancakes, with both blue berries or strawberries, and some times a mix of the two. They were really good, and I probably ate more than I should have. We had planned on leaving late morning and in hind sight we might have been able to stay a little longer, but we don't like leaving Jason on his own for too long, especially with a new puppy. We finished breakfast, pack...

Full day at David and Miriam's place, and had a very enjoyable time, being able to get up and do all the different things we did. The morning began with me getting up at 05:30 and going for a run with David. It was a relatively short run, of just a couple of miles, and we were walking back in to the house in about 1/2 an hour. It was the first real run I've been on in quite a long time, and it felt pretty good. I did have to walk a portion of it, though still did better than I expected. The next thing was to get ready to go to Dylan's school with him, as today is Grandparents Day, for the school. David drove us over and a comment he made was that there was a lot less traffic than he would normally have expected. As a result, we were able to arrive a little earlier than first planned. David and Dylan walked us over to Dylan's class/preschool and we met his teachers. This took all of about 5 minutes, then we were directed to the breakfast and reception; we would be comi...

Today was a good day, all around - though I didn't get my bike ride in. We had a minor impact to our schedule with a visit from the housing folks, for where we are living right now. Apparently they decided it was time to make a change to the air conditioning, and a general cleaning of the system. Now I'm not opposed to that type of cleaning, I just wish it could have been delayed by a week or so, when we weren't planning on coming up to visit with Linda's folks and then on up to Los Angeles to see David and his family. The drive up was WAY better than I had anticipated, and the first stop up to see Joe and Jess was accomplished much faster than I had thought it would. Then Jess fed us a very nice lunch of a soup and sandwich combination. Now, normally one might expect that "soup and sandwich" was pretty regular and not special at all, but  Jess made a soup by just putting some things together that was excellent. And the sandwiches are always far superior to ...

Cinco de Mayo has become more an a holiday in the U.S. than it is in Mexico, and that is something that has always kind of intrigued me. Our culture always seems to want to celebrate something, and early May seems like it needs something more than just the first day in May. We had a very good day and other than get a good bike ride in, and a visit by Brian McMillan, the VA caregiver coordinator, it has been a rather ordinary day - and I like it that way. Oh, it was still Taco Tuesday and we all had fun at dinner, but not much else happened.  There was the Giants game, against the Padres, and that turned out pretty good, but not much else. Okay, maybe something did happen - Kojak is back home with us. Jason and I went to the doctor's office and picked him up today, and Jason and Kojak were both very happy for that to happen. It is good to see Kojak acting more like what one would expect a puppy to act like. Prior to the hospital stay he was lethargic and very subdued. My guess i...

We had a good start to the day today, though the girls sure didn't want to get out of bed. Linda and I were up a little early, actually, with the idea that an easier and slower start to the day might be better. We were in error with that kind of thinking. The girls wanted to just stay in bed and we finally got them going about 10 minutes later than our normal time. This meant that the time window for breakfast was just a little bit tighter, and we went from a relaxed slow day to a more hurried "got'a get going" kinda day. As it turned out, we still made it to school with a little time to spare, and the girls were, or at least seemed to be, totally unaware of Grandma and Grandpa encouraging to get them going. Sometimes I wish I was six years old again - - -  Not! Once we were done with that aspect of the day, and back at the house, I got ready for a much needed bike ride. The idea was that I was going to go for a nice 20 mile ride and be back in time to head over to ...

Sunday has been a nice day, though Linda wasn't feeling well, for most of the day. I was hoping that Jason would spend most, if not all the day in bed, but he had other plans. He went to go visit Kojak, and I can see that it was probably a good thing for the puppy (when Jason comes in there is a distinct attitude improvement with Kojak, and he wants to stay with Jason), I just wish he'd stay down a bit more, for the next several days. He has been up a bit too much, on too many days and the wounds are showing signs of the wear it is causing. I'm doing my best to keep them padded and covered, though the biggest issue is that he simply up on his chair and the extra pressure causes some problems, and the wounds start to open up again. I guess until they do come up with a reasonable seating solution for him, this is simply the way it is going to be.  As a solid plus for the visit with Kojak - it looks like the puppy will be coming home on Monday, tomorrow. The girls and I had ...

Yesterday was a special day, as we picked up the girls from school at about 12:30 (it was an early release day) and then we got all packed up to head up to the Pala Mesa Resort in Fallbrook. We had been given tickets to the Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias show at the Pala Casino/Hotel & Spa (found out the two are not connected). The show was great and we had a wonderful time. The tickets to the show were as a result of the Gary Sinise Foundation contacting the Casino/Hotel and getting tickets - and since the show was already sold out, it was especially cool that they made them available. We had four seats, being me, Linda, Jason and Cristin, our friend from the Gary Sinise Foundation (Cristin and Jason really get along well). We were given VIP treatment and escorted to our seats, and as the show was ending we were given some gifts from Fluffy. The hospitality shown to us was above and beyond or expectations, and we'll keep our eyes open to see if there is any other shows we...