Rose looked down at Thomas, grinning at his earnest happiness. He was, in Rose's mind, the perfect age. Sometimes she wished that Alistair and Alexia could have stayed that age forever, but it was a selfish thought. Alexia had already grown up, met someone she loved, and started a family, and Alistair was sure to find someone or something he was passionate for. Rose simply hoped that they would continue to rely on her, no matter what age they were. She loved being a mother almost as much as she loved the children themselves.<br/>Tasks were already being assigned this morning. There were always many jobs to do around the farm, and although they had a few farm hands, a lot of the work was done by the family. Rose had been full of tears during the later months of her pregnancy with Alexia, knowing that she wasn't able to help out in the capacity she felt she should. Uselessness was not a feeling she enjoyed.<br/>Rose followed her obedient husband's steps into the kitchen, being sure to stay out of Alexia and Thomas' way in the process. Their kitchen was large enough to support this amount of people, thankfully. Rose would have taken the farm regardless of kitchen size. Heck, if the land hadn't had a house on it, she would have built one with her bare hands. She knew, when she married David, that she might have been taken away from the farm life that she loved so much. It had been her greatest fear when they were dating, that he would leave to some fancy big city, and she would be too scared to follow. When he proposed, Rose finally realized the truth; she would follow him anywhere.<br/>Filled with pleasant, romantic memories, Rose selected a knife from one of the many drawers and grabbed a cutting board. A short rummage in the fridge, and she was armed with green and red peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and garlic cloves. Most of the vegetables and fruit they had was from their own farm, or from the farmer's market, where they also occasionally sold their bulk produce.<br/>As Rose began to slice the pepper with vigour, she overheard Conor and Alexia mentioning a ride and picnic. "That sounds like a great idea," she said thoughtfully, pausing in her cutting, "the weather has been so nice today, and there are some jumps still set up in the meadow if anyone wants to do some horse play." The idea of riding made her pleased, and Conor hadn't mentioned anything about Puddles. Usually her son-in-law had a keen eye for things like hoof cracks, so she was pretty sure that her horse was fine.<br/>Rose chuckled at Alistair's willingness to what was asked of him with his trademark phrase of "can do". She was proud to have raised him in such a way that he wasn't afraid to shirk away from work. She had always wished that Alistair had been old enough to remember his biological father. Sometimes she missed her brother's sharp attitude and good advice.<br/>Rose listened to David consider his options. "We haven't really gone out, just us, in a while..." she mused, moving on to the other pepper, "and plus I can keep you in line." While David had good intentions, sometimes Rose had to make sure he remembered what he was doing. A grocery list David could easily lose or forget; his wife, not so much. Rose turned to Alexia. "What kind of supplies did you need, sweetheart?"