Climbing Take 2

Take two of the new hobby.

Climbing Take 1

Here is Cole's new hobby that he found on his own.

Disneyland-almost

The boys were having so much fun at the hotel - checking out the pool, the telephone booth, and everything else. They were so excited to be in "Disneyland." They have both been here before, so they knew what was coming.
We stopped at Rain Forrest Cafe for lunch. It is a fun place for kids. We told them they had $20 to spend on Saturday, so they could pick something out before then, but had to wait to buy it. Cole picked out a monkey at the Cafe.

Road Trip

Monday we were going to be on the road to Disneyland first thing in the morning. The car was packed up, but I looked at my little mophead & knew there was one more thing to do before we left. Cut his hair. I had Steph's clippers and about 3 minutes. It turned out a bit shorter than we planned.

I had also promised Cole we would see the White Crocodile at Hogle Zoo. It was our first stop on the way to Disneyland. We ran in, saw it, and ran to the car.

Cole still isn't so sure about the haircut.
Ellie is a great traveler. She is so easy-going.
The boys liked the baby crocodile even better. The drive was an easy one. The kids entertained each other. The girls chatted. The highlight was finding a one legged cricket at a gas station. We hit a big downpour in one of the flash flood areas near St. George. For a while I thought we might end up floating to Disneyland.

Choco the Dog

I promised Cole we would stay at least one night with Tysen. The boys all zonked out on Steph's bed. Cole wants to have a dog just like Choco.
Ellie loves playing with Choco. She would laugh and reach for him.

Papa Ray & Grandma Wendy

Ellie had fun with the bookshelf. She started laugh-wheezing. The kids met their great-grandpa Fred. He was in France in WWII.
Cole just wants to make silly faces today.

We say goodbyes.

Valerie, we miss you already. Craig & girls, we miss you, too.

We danced with wild abandon.

Matt and Barbara's reception was so fun. We danced and danced. It went by so fast. Cole was doing tumble-breakdancing. He had some pretty good moves.
Steph and Tysen got into it too.
Ellie danced with Grammy and Granpa Noel.
Look at that hot shot!

Cole danced with his little sis. She smiled & smiled.

Cole's first Rodeo

Cole had a sleepover at Nee's, Becky Bones, then off to the Preston Idaho Rodeo. The Rodeo is a Wilde family tradition. Cole liked the Rodeo and loved the carnival rides. He didn't eat the parade candy. He got to ride in the "house on wheels." He got a very cool new bear. He had a great time. He is ready to move to Utah. Margaret took Ellie up to Preston for a night, too. Ellie wouldn't let Margaret out of her sight. I was able to help decorate for the reception and get ready sans kids. It was very odd. I picked them up right before the reception. Thanks Wildes for taking care of my two kiddos.

Reminiscing on houses.

This is Mount Olympus (yes, they get the spring water from here). I went to the front yard of my old house to get the exact perspective I remember for this picture. I love this mountain. I loved growing up in the Rockies along the Wasatch Front. I loved sitting in my living room late at night watching thunderstorms on this mountain. I loved watching deer run up the street in the snow on Christmas Eve. I loved being in the clean mountain air and looking out over the city lights. The Salt Lake Valley really is beautiful.

This was our church. I have so many fun memories of this parking lot.
This is the daytime view. The night view is much better.
This is the house my grandpa built for his family. It was featured in the Parade of Homes at the time and was very modern. He lived there for over 50 years. It must be with sadness that they are saying goodbye & selling it. He was always remodelling his house & helping with project for kids' and grandkids' houses. He helped Rich with one of his first home improvement projects - the shelf above the fireplace. He is a fun and handy man to have around. As a General Contractor, he built lots of homes and even airports. He even accepted a mission call from the LDS church & built churches in Salt Lake. He is an amazing man.
My darling mom was feeling a bit nostalgic about her childhood home.
Come to think of it, it was my childhood home for a while, too. Most of myy childhood was spent in California, but we would spend summers visiting grandma & grandpa. When we moved to Utah, we lived in the basement apartment for a while until we bought the house in Mount Olympus Cove. My dad put a greenhouse on the side to house his beautiful camillia plants that he couldn't bare to leave in California. I think the dogs had to stay out there too.

July 31 - La Cucaracha of Utah

The hotel stayers were dropping me and Ellie off after a fun night of playing "wahoo." Blocking my way into the house is a huge hissing cockroach. I've never seen a cockroach before & didn't even think they lived in Utah, but I don't know what else this sucker could be. Valerie dubbed it the Brazilian Hissing Cockroach. She threw a rock at it, but it dodged it & ran for the crack. Good toenails!I grabbed the camera for a size comparison. Then we squished it. More cute toenails. Great toe ring too. It is from our very fun 10th anniversary celebration in the San Juan Islands. Good thing our feet were fashionable that evening for improptu pictures. We left the bug in the flower beds so Dwain & Marg wouldn't miss out on seeing it. I wonder if it is still there.

July 31 - Ellie's Toes

These two lovely people watched Ellie for me. Kids love my Uncle Reid and my Cousin Valerie. I knew Ellie would have fun.

What I wasn't expected was this...she had her first pedicure. She looks so cute. Thanks, you two!


We played the family game of "wahoo" at the hotel. When the desk clerk said his family plays it - same board layout, same rules, too,- we were sure he was related. We couldn't find a connection. I wonder who came up with it & how many people play it on their homemade boards.

July 31 - The Sealing

My Uncle Craig was sealed to his family for Time and All Eternity in the LDS Jordan River Temple. We are so proud of him and happy for his family.
My cousins: Barabara with her finance, Matt; Hailey; Mary; and Madeline. The twins are fraternal, but still hard to tell apart unless they are in any way moving or talking - then it is cake.

July 30th - Millcreek Canyon

Ellie stayed at the Terraces picnic site with Nana while Cole and I went on the kids' hike. Millcreek canyon is so pretty. It was a great escape from the city heat.


The littlest ones lagged behind a bit. We were the lucky ones who saw a deer. The kids yelled "Jen, a deer, a deer" for about 10 minutes. She was back at the picnic spot and they didn't want her to miss it. Paisley loves that camelback. A couple spots were steep for little tots in crocs. Cole and Ben thought it was pretty cool to move their feet faster to slow down. They learned that trick pretty fast.