Wilde Family Ramblings

Sonya's actual birthday...

2012-01-09T22:16:00.001-08:00

For Sonya's real birthday, we celebrated with some cupcakes, friends, and family at OUT OF THIS WORLD. It was just a casual little afternoon get-together. Although we took tons of pictures...these ones of Cam are my most favorite! Cam climbed up three stories , to the tallest tube slide in the kids play area, and slid down with Sonya on his lap. Unfortunately, he got stuck...and a mountain of small children got clogged-up behind him. I was fortunate enough to have a camera waiting. I love how Sonya is COMPLETELY CRACKING UP watching her dad come off the slide!

Here's a video of Sonya enjoying her birthday cupcakes:

Sonya turns four!

2012-01-06T10:10:00.002-08:00

This year, Sonya celebrated her birthday three weeks early. We were worried that, with Cole's emminant arrival, Sonya's actual birthday might get overlooked. We had a combined princess party with Sonya's good friend who also has a December birthday.

The festivities began with a rockin' dance party!

The girls replenished their strength with a lunch of mini hotdogs (little smokies in a split roll) and hamburgers (half a meatball in split roll).

After a gift exchange (we had each girl bring a small wrapped present, put them in a pile, and had each girl unwrap and take home a gift), the girls sat down to cake, cookies, milk, and princess costume accessories.

Our newest addition....

2012-01-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

Coleridge Doran Wilde was born December 14th 2011 at 8:02 AM. Nice and fat and perfect: 8#4oz, 20"; and very, very loved!

Lots of people have asked about this little man's name. His middle name comes from his grandpa, Cam's dad. While we seem to be using the nickname of "Cole", his full first name was suggested by Sonya (we think it was a mixture of two of her friends' names, Colin and Talmage) but it also happens to be the name of one of my favorite poets- Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Sonya started calling him Coleridge in late July, and it stuck. This is an exerpt from the poem "Frost at Midnight", which articulates some of the thoughts Coleridge had holding his newborn son:

" Dear Babe, that sleepest cradled by my side,
Whose gentle breathings, heard in this deep calm,
Fill up the intersperséd vacancies
And momentary pauses of the thought!
My babe so beautiful! it thrills my heart
With tender gladness, thus to look at thee,
And think that thou shalt learn far other lore,
And in far other scenes! For I was reared
In the great city, pent 'mid cloisters dim,
And saw nought lovely but the sky and stars.
But thou, my babe! shalt wander like a breeze
By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags
Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,
Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores
And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear
The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible
Of that eternal language, which thy God
Utters, who from eternity doth teach
Himself in all, and all things in himself.
Great universal Teacher! he shall mould
Thy spirit, and by giving make it ask."

Turkey Day

2012-01-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

(aren't these little turkeys cute?! It has become a tradition (at Sonya's request). We make them out of chocolates and cardstock.) I cannot take credit for this FANTASTIC apron that fit my prego physique so beautifully; it belongs to cousin Jessica.

Awwww...my cute little family! I'm lovin' the accesorizing! Cam can TOTALLY pull off the nerdy professor look with his bowtie!

YUM! (kudos to the yam-maker...I'm still dreaming about the crunchy gingerstap topping!)

This is Sonya at her preschool Thanksgiving party. She was asked to make a list of all the things she is grateful for.....

...and this is Cam's reaction when he see's only one word on the list: MOMMY!
YAY! this is one of those rare payout moments when super-fun-candy-giving-wrestling daddy gives way to the less-fun-but-steady and loving mommy!

Verboort 2011- A Wilde Family tradition

2012-01-06T10:02:00.000-08:00

This year, we were joined by Ned's family (Cam's brother who just moved to Oregon) and our new neighbors: Regan and Krista. The annual sausage festival is a fundraiser for a small private school in Verboort. Although there are exciting attractions like the 'Pot Holder Raffle' (Sonya won a giant stuffed lion this year!) and the 'Pork and Bean Loaf' bake sale, the real draw is the food! Here's Ned and Seth gleefully and energetically beginning to feast.

Little Natalie was VERY proud of her feasting prowess!

This was the damage done by our little group: I'm guessing a quarter pig, 4 heads of cabbage, 10# each potatoes and apples, and two whole pies met their demise at our hand.

The consequences were desastrous, especially for these two very, very pregnant women! Who brought the TUMS?!?!?!?!?

It's "A Whole New World" after 6 years of Marriage

2011-11-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

A feast for the eyes....Aladdin and Jasmine have really let themselves go! But I think Abu still looks fantastic and mischievous as ever! Happy Halloween!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Miah!

2011-10-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

Mommmy loves this picture of you when you were four days old. You are just sooo stinkin' cute! (notice how it shows your extra thumb!)

Yesterday, for your birthday, we made a giant cake just like the one we made after your funeral. We served it to a huge (like 200) group of people who had babies in Heaven with you. Mommy and Daddy stood and spoke to the families about your sweet little life, and the things you taught us.
We love and miss you!

Sonya's first day of preschool

2011-09-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

The day Sonya has been waiting for finally arrived! She began preschool at Busy Bees. Here are the obligatory first day of school photos.

Fact Check: Lewis & Clark - The Dating Days

2011-09-07T20:45:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that my lovely wife Karren is prone to exaggeration. This week, we've been de-cluttering: first our garage and then our bookshelves. I ran across a couple of binders from our dating days while working on the shelves which had some information about our volunteer work for: Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition.

As many of you know, I love history. When an opportunity arose to learn more about Lewis and Clark while doing some good for my community, I thought it would be fun. Karren and my first date was on her birthday. When I asked her two months later if she wanted to volunteer with me, she said yes.

This is where Karren claims I manipulated her. She states that before she knew it, I had committed her to a long term activity and that I had her married before the service was over. Furthermore, I knew what I was doing and that it was all a ruse to ensure success.

Anyway, back to the binders. Buried in these binders, I found these sheets of paper:

We had 6 training session from September 7th through November 2nd and then volunteered 9 times between November 12th and March 11th. Since our wedding was in mid-February, the dates did extend past our wedding. So, it is true that our time at the Oregon Historical Society did extend past our wedding date and that it began early in my courting of her. Karren also claims that she started really liking me in early October, so from her perspective, our time as docents began before this point in our relationship.

I do still dispute that this was all a ruse to get her to marry me, but it is indeed true that we were docents from the early days of our dating until just after we got married. All of this was before allergy season, but that leads to another exaggeration we can explore later .... :)

Great Place to Run 2011

2011-09-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

I participated in this years Great Place to Run event for Intel. I ran the 5k and leaned (or more likely relearned some important lessons):

1) You should really train for these things. I haven't run for many years and it showed. I had to walk some portions of it and I am SO sore.

2) Walking is good when you aren't prepared. I could have got a better time, but at what cost? I didn't want to injure myself.

3) I like running. It feels good.

4) Sunscreen is important, even on a cloudy day.

My Time: 0:34:58 (11:15 pace)
Place: 506/1443 Overall, 362/784 among males, 64/99 among males 30-34

Course:

National Park Travelers Club

2011-08-19T00:15:00.000-07:00

During sabbatical last year, I discovered the Passport To Your National Parks program which is administered by Eastern National.

Each Unit of the National Park Service has one or more cancellation stations that look something like this:

While researching online about these stamps, I discovered the National Park Travelers Club, a club that revels in the NPS units of our nation. There were recently featured in this USA Today article. I soon joined this club and have enjoyed the interaction with others who enjoy the parks as much as I do.

We have now visited 47 out of the 394 units (soon to be 395 with the addition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial later this month). This club also offers awards based on your traveling and stamp collecting over the year. For 2010, we achieved the Silver Master Travelers Award level.

Last month, we visited Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on the Oregon and Washington coast and found a stamp that was "Most Wanted" by the club:

I really enjoy the hobby and we get to see a lot of the cool vistas and historical locations of our country. Karren doesn't care for my obsession collecting the stamps, but she does enjoy visiting the parks. I hope my children grow up loving the Natural Wonders and Historical Treasures of our country, and visits to these parks will help cultivate this pride in our nation.

Hello

2011-08-05T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

Can you guess what gender I am?

HERE

CLUE:

Cecile

2011-08-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

A French exchange student, Cecile, arrived at our house on Wednesday. She will be staying with us until the end of August. Here birthday was yesterday and we celebrated at Benihana.

While mom is away ....

2011-08-01T23:06:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Karren went to California to visit her friend and see her one year old twin boys get baptized. This left a weekend of me spending time with Sonya. So, what did I decide to do? Go to a National Park, of course. This time, we returned to the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park on the Oregon and Washington coasts.

We visited Fort Clatsop, Fort Columbia State Park, and Cape Disappointment State Park. Here, Sonya is playing around at Fort Clatsop ....

...... and introducing herself to Sacagawea.

Sonya also earned her Presidential Level of Junior Ranger. This park gives out a patch with the award which is much cooler than just one of the plastic gold shields.

We had a lot of fun, but we still would have preferred mom to be home with us.

Quote of the Weekend, "Dad, I need to eat a lot of food so I can be fat like you." Nice!

FLASHBACK: Cameron's Kindergarten Performance - Do the Turkey

2011-07-26T23:03:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th from the Wildes and Wildes

2011-07-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

My brother Ned just moved to Portland and we celebrated the 4th of July together.

The Hillsboro Parade:

Fireworks at home:

Washington

2011-07-19T07:34:00.000-07:00

On the way to Mount Rainier, we visited Whitman Mission National Historic Site. This was the location where the Whitman family settled, disease killed many Native Americans, and they took revenge on the Whitman family. It was one of the things that led the US to recognize the Oregon territory.

Sonya made a yarn doll with this nice ranger.

Tried out a covered wagon.

And received her Junior Ranger. The bird you see in her hand was given to her by the ranger in charge of birds. When we were heading back to the Visitor Center, we started two birds. One flew right into a very clean window and perished. The ranger wanted Sonya to know it was OK and thus gave her the bird.

Up until this point in our trip, we had had beautiful sunny weather. Not here. Mount Rainier generates its own weather system and it was overcast and rainy almost the entire time we were there. This didn't stop us from taking hikes though in the cover of the trees. The waterfalls were all raging!

This is a view from the same location as a photo we took last September:

We figured July would be fine, but alas:

So, we visited more raging waterfalls ....

And hiked under the cover of more trees:

Finally, on the way home, this was the view. It is a gorgeous mountain when it wants to show itself.

Idaho

2011-07-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

After Utah, we took a trip up North to visit my brother K and his family. Sonya got to meet another cousin she has never met before and this is the most chill baby I have EVER met!

The next day, we stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument. It is a lot of desert until you arrive at the monument, then it looks much like the moon.

We happened to be there during the three weeks wild flowers bloom so there was some extra wonder to the place.

Sonya earned her Lunar Ranger award and was pretty proud.

Utah

2011-07-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

At the end of June, we visited Utah to see family. Sonya hadn't seen all her cousins yet and a brand new one had just been born to Desire's family. So far, Sonya has 11 cousins on my side of the family and we hadn't met 3 of them! This trip remedied this situation.

While we were there, we hike up Timpanogos Cave National Monument. As Karren is pregnant, we took our time. Sonya also wanted to be carried quite a bit, so this slowed me down as well. Favorite quote from Sonya from this hike (to me): "This is crazy ..... pick me up!"

Here are some photos of that hike and the cave at the top:

I also went with Sonya, Ian, and Zach to the This is the Place Monument in Salt Lake City. The kids really enjoyed it as they got to ride two trains, ride a pony, pan for gold, do a couple of crafts, and spend time with their favorite uncle/dad.

Finally, here is a photo of Sonya's newest cousin:

I think this was Sonya's favorite part of her trip, visiting her grandparents and cousins. After this, she repeatedly asked to go back to Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Believe in Pink Cupcakes

2011-07-16T01:25:00.000-07:00

Here is the video from Sonya's Dance Recital last month.

This video is provided courtesy of Maury Ennis (kmzkmg@mac.com). Thank you Maury!

FLASHBACK: Arches National Park

2011-06-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

To this point, I've been to Arches National Park three times. It was close to BYU and a popular destination for camping.

Here are some group photos from my first two trips, one during the summer and one during the fall of 2000.

Karren and I made a trip in Utah in October 2005 and we visited the park. This park was full of arches, gorgeous red rock, and awesome hikes. We really enjoyed the Fiery Furnace and would love to go back.

FLASHBACK: Redwood National Park - Labor Day 2005

2011-06-19T21:27:00.000-07:00

Karren and I visited Redwood National Park over Labor Day 2005. This was the 4th Annual Labor Day trip for Karren with her friends and I came to this one due to the fact that we were dating. It was absolutely gorgeous!

We camped at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park and did a ton of hikes.

These photos are from the Coastal Trail near our campsite. We hiked around 10 miles of it and saw a ton of cool stuff:

...... Coastal Scenes

...... Climbing on rocks

...... Fun Trees

...... Waterfalls

...... Wildlife

...... and Muddy detours

The scenery was gorgeous throughout the park!!!!!

Most of all, the company was awesome in a magnificent location!

Sonya's Dance Recital

2011-06-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

Sonya had her time in the spotlight today as she performed in her dance recital. Every parent thinks their kid is the best, but in our case it is true. A video will come in a while.

We have to thank Miss Kim for all she did. Sonya loved the class and looks forward to it next year.

Happy to announce .....

2011-06-12T16:13:00.000-07:00

that we will be having another child on December 18th. No, we don't know the gender yet.

Flashback: August 31, 2002 - Table Mountain at Grand Teton National Park

2011-06-05T23:37:00.000-07:00

Many of you may know that I have become quite obsessed with National Parks recently. Our family has visited many of them over the past year and a half and I hope to experience much more of our nation's beauty and history.

Before I knew about the Passport Stamp program, I visited a few parks. I just ran across these photos of a hike I did up Table Mountain back in August 31, 2002. I was returning from a summer internship with Intel in Oregon and stopped by my friend's (Rachael's) house on the way back to BYU to start Grad School.

She invited me to do this hike and I wasn't quite prepared. It consisted of 12 miles and 4150 feet of total climbing. Since I was just at sea level the day before, this was especially difficult for me, but it was worth it. It has awesome views of the Tetons and was just gorgeous.

Here were some views on the way up the mountain:

Here are photos of my fellow hikers (Rachael and her family) and me approaching the top:

and sitting on the top:

It was a lot of fun and I will definitely need to go back. The park has just too much to explore and it is also really close to Yellowstone National Park of which we still have a lot to experience.

Father Daughter Campout

2011-06-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

Sonya and I went to a Father/Daughter campout to Champoeg State Park with a few other dad's in the ward. Despite the Father's not actually being in any of these photos, we were there!

Leaping Lamb Farm Stay

2011-06-05T13:25:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we did a Leaping Lamb Farm Stay with our friends the Barkers. It involved staying in a cabin for the weekend and helping out with farm chores every morning/evening.

You could tell Sonya enjoyed the fresh air and free run of the farm.

Here Sonya is collecting eggs and feed the sheep with Sydney.

These little bummer lambs needed to be bottle fed. Sonya was scared because the nipple kept falling off. I kept thinking of the poor mothers who were nursing babies capable of ripping nipples off.

I think everyone fell in love with farm life. Here Sonya and Talmage are gambling with the lambs.

This is Cam with hay fever. He loves hay.

I fell in live with #24, my beloved baby sheep. (It's a perfect name, think Seven of Nine, R2-D2, or Agent 707.

Talmage fell in love with this nice and willing chicken. We observed an unconventional romance between this goose and tom turkey. The goose kept this guy on a pedestal and protected him from other feathered male farm competitors.

This less comely Tom Turkey looked for love wherever he could find it. He did the mating dance repeatedly for Sonya and was swiftly rejected. We think it was Sonya's hair that was so enticing. She kept screaming, "I'm not a beautiful turkey .... I'm not a beautiful turkey!"

Overall it was a great weekend with lots of new animal friendships born.

Remembering Miah

2011-06-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day 2011

I am a Child of God Performed by Sonya Brie Wilde

2011-06-05T13:09:00.000-07:00

A Whole New World

2011-06-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

What happens when your children are quiet?

2011-06-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

Sonya was playing with Lucas in our backyard and they seemed to be playing great together. Ksenia asked, "Should we check on them?" Karren replied, "They aren't crying, I'm sure they are fine." Despite my better judgement, I didn't move.

When we went outside a bit later, a planter box full of strawberries that used to look like this:

Instead looked like this:

Where might the plants have gone to, you might ask?

That's right ... the hot tub. Karren had been wanting to get rid of this eye sore for a while now and this afforded her the perfect opportunity. If you now ask Sonya where the hot tub went, she will tell you a man came and took it away because she threw mommy's strawberries in it.

Sonya the Dancer

2011-06-01T19:29:00.001-07:00

Sonya has been taking dance classes with Miss Kim at Young Learners Dancin' School and she really LOVES it. Cindy Pederson from Timeless Images Photography snapped these gorgeous photos of Sonya. We can't wait to get the proofs (and yes, we will be sending one to all grandparents). Thank you Cindy and we hope to work with you again soon!

Sonya's recital will be on Saturday, June 18th at 2:30 PM.

John Day Fossil Beds

2011-05-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

Intel gave me the week off and so I wanted to do something fun. I therefore took Sonya to John Day Fossil Beds NM. Karren had to cook for the Graduation dinner for the Young Men/Young Women of our ward so she had to stay behind.

Tuesday, May 10th
We left early in the morning at 6 AM and made the long drive to the John Day River Area. We arrived just before noon.

At the Sheep Rock Unit, we visited the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center where we toured the museum and Sonya earned her Junior Ranger Award.

We then hiked the Island in Time trail (1 mile) where many fossils have been found. Many exhibits and replicas were found along the trail.

At this point, Sonya was exhausted. She conked out in the car, so I decided to check into our Teepee at Clyde Holliday State Recreation Site. As you can see, she happily slept:

The rest of the day, we walked around the park, went out for dinner, and watch Tangled on our portable DVD player.

Wednesday, May 11th

Sonya woke up nice and early the next morning (6:30 AM) so we got a good jump on the day. We quickly packed up our gear and headed out.

Our first stop of the day was at the Painted Hills unit.

We hiked the Painted Hills Overlook (0.5 miles) and the Painted Cove (0.25 miles) trails. As you can see, the hills are gorgeous.

We then continued our journey to the Clarno unit. Here are the Palisades where many important fossil finds were located.

We hiked all three trails (about a mile total). We saw fossils in the rocks, learned about the geology of the region, and saw a great view of the valley.

Once again, Sonya was exhausted and we had already seen all three units. She once again fell asleep and so I started my trip home. She woke up 25 minutes before we arrived home.

It was a great trip. My only regret was that Karren couldn't make it also.

Happy Mother's Day 2011 ..... Love Sonya

2011-05-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Made in Primary today.

Sonya's new obsession

2011-04-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter

2011-04-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was pretty low key. On Saturday, we attended the premier of Disney's African Cats. I won tickets through work and they had some activities before the movie. Here, Sonya is learning about reusable items. :)

Then it was off to the Stake Center for the annual Easter Egg hunt. Sonya knew exactly what to do and ran to get those eggs.

Sunday was really kicked back. Sonya sang for the first time during Sacrament Meeting with the Primary. When she came back to her seat, she was beaming. Sonya loves singing Primary songs around the house and really knows the words well.

That evening, we were invited over to our Home Teacher's, the Sanchez family, house for dinner. Great food and great company and an awesome way to end our Easter weekend.

Sonya and Sydney - A Sleepover

2011-04-03T22:51:00.000-07:00

Craziness:

And Sleep:

Alaska Cruise 2012 Anyone?

2011-03-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

While Karren was pregnant with Sonya, we went on an Alaskan cruise. Although the cruise was fun, we really were sad we didn't get to spend more time on land. Then we found out about land+sea cruises:
http://www.alaskacruises.com/c/cruisetours.php

These sound awesome! Anyone want to join us? Please leave a comment on the blog if you do.

Questions:
Are you bringing your kids? Yes and you could too. Maybe we can split a nanny. I know of a couple of girls who would love to come and watch kids if we paid for their trip.

What price range are you looking at? Probably the $1500 range.

Marshmallow anyone?

2011-03-27T21:51:00.000-07:00

Sonya recently participated in a Marshmallow Experiment conducted by some of the young women in our ward. Is it a problem that my daughter didn't wait at all? I choose to believe that she knew she couldn't wait the full ten minutes, so why bother at all!

Our Super Romantic 5th Anniversary Weekend Getaway

2011-03-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our big 5th, Cam and I rented this beautiful country home on Orcas Island of the San Juan's. It was so big, we had two other families join us, with all of their children. Sonya had an absolute RIOT. Here she is flirting with a boy on her parents anniversary evening. Ironically, while she was cuddling up to baby Grae, I was all alone- Cam had to work, so we agreed he would come on the following day.

Sonya and I had a good time playing the next morning without Daddy.

My husband spent most of Friday in the car with this charming creature. You can see why I was jealous, and seriously questioned whether or not he had stayed true to his wedding vows on his journey (He assures me that he spent the whole time changing diapers, and consoling her three young children...hmmm...[raised eyebrow])

Soon we were all together again, a big happy family (x3). It was GORGEOUS outside...a predicted rainy dark weekend turned out to be Sunny, Warm, and Fabulous! So what did we do, you ask? Well, Cam sat the kids down and lectured them about the PIG WAR (a battle between the British and American's over the Islands) as part of their Junior ranger training in the national park system [insert unapologetic eye roll here]....

....and the rest of us stared at the computer!

OK, so we did actually get a date on Saturday. We took a nice tandem ride around the island. It was beautiful and peaceful. We did, of course, stop for some National Park stamps, and listen to Cam lecture the park rangers about their website, history, water (?), etc. [enter afore mentioned eye roll] :-) We also had a really nice seafood lunch. It turned out that Cam swallowed too much air during our ride (yes, really -giggle), and got sick. He lost his lunch, and breakfast the next day.

Being the nurturing wife that I am, I left sick Cam at the house and took Sonya and some friends on a nice little hike. This was the view from the top. Deep breath....mmmmm....

All joking aside, it really was a nice weekend. I love being married to Cam. He is my life's most dazzling adventure- entertaining, light, and always fun!

Dancing Queen

2011-02-24T15:49:00.001-08:00

Sonya loves to dance! It seems to be her most favorite thing at the moment. I love this picture with a best friend last summer, long before any formal training.

Doesn't she look like a graceful little butterfly 'flitting' about and doing a 'courtesy bow'. My sweet princess...

Ya.....Then come these moments when Sonya thinks she is all alone, no one watching. I would draw your attention to the fashionable footie jammies with high heal look, very "in" this season; add a complimenting head piece and you are a dancing diva! "LESS IS MORE, sweet princess, LESS IS MORE!"

I love this video of Sonya with her friends. Sonya believes the little boy in the video is the love of her life, the famous "King Colin." It seems that he will stop at nothing to impress her, and here illustrates his dancing prowess! I secretly hope they will get married so that I can show this, and similar videos at their wedding!

Happy Valentine's day

2011-02-14T21:33:00.001-08:00

So these were actually bloopers from our Christmas photos, but I thought they might be appropriate to share for Valentine's day. The fabulous Ksenia Everton captured our goofy romance perfectly, I think.

Sonya's Talent Search: Part Three

2011-02-09T16:55:00.000-08:00

"Carpentry! Yes! With a fast typing dad and a cake baking mom, the saw and hammer should just come naturally!"
"Here I am with my wood-working novice, T."

"Yep, I taught him everything he knows. Good job, my young apprentice!"

"This is where I have to bark (ha) orders at T...you know, to keep him humble. Now focus your attention on the AMAZING feat of architectural genus in front of me! Wouldn't you love to live in this artisic house?"

"We were sooooo proud...."

"...hey, where did my roof go?! Oh........."

"Oh well, the search for the perfect hobby continues..."

Sonya's Talent Search: Part Two

2011-01-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

GYMNASTICS!
"Absolutely!" Sonya giggles with delight. "I am tall, lean, flat-chested...and I have the calves of a marble carved Greek goddess! This is it! My calling in life is to be a gymnast!!!"
RUN. check.

JUMP. check. (You've GOT to see my dismount...perfection!)

FLIP. (oh ya!) check.

SWING. check (feel free to notice my perfectly pointed toes...a thing of beauty if I do say so myself).

CONFESSION: I am a FAKE! It's true. My mom was too kind to post my humiliation...I can't skip!!!!! There, I said it! (head bows in shame). Like generations before me (my daddy suffered from the same handicap- he was held back in kindergarden because of it), I have an inability to skip, or walk rhythmically in any way. Coach Erin worked with me individually for 10 minutes; she even picked me up and moved my legs...I just couldn't get it.
Maybe I should try something else....Stay tuned....

Sonya's Talent Search: Part One

2011-01-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

ART!
"Yes!" says Sonya. "I will be a fantastic artist. I have the skill, patience, and raw talent. Just watch me create a masterpiece!!!"

"Oooooooo. I am soooo pleased with myself! No doubt this will be hanging in the Louvre by the end of the week!"

[Sonya surveys the table to check out the competition. She stopped at a promising young lad] "Hmmmm. He's good. Too good..."

"What's this!?!? She has the abstract insight of Picasso! And wait a minute! how did she finish so quickly?"

"Who is this guy?" Sonya burst out in desperation, "how do I possibly compete with someone who can throw himself into his art like that?"

"Fine! I give up! This child prodigy is blinding people with her artistic gifts!

Road Trip: Montana

2011-01-17T09:17:00.000-08:00

Last week, Grandpa, Sonya, and I took a trip to visit my sisters and Sonya's aunts in Stockett, Montana. It is a small town outside of Great Falls with a population of 10, half of which being my family.
This is 'Auntie Alley-Ooopie'. She and Sonya were instant friends.

Sonya has always loved her Aunt Carly-girl, who spent a whole week with her last year.

This is a picture of all of my dad's girls (only sweet Miah is missing). The boys are a little too goofy to be included in any respectable photograph:-)

Proof: The Boys....

Introducing Bri-Bri and Seany-wanny:-)They are very special. And loved.

a sick little sonya

2011-01-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

So cute, right?! I think that one bite of banana before a nap was the only food she ate for five days. We had a princess movie marathon, and went through two bottles of children's Tylenol, and she's all better now!

Sonya turns 3!!!

2011-01-02T21:13:00.000-08:00

The day began with Sonya waking up to a room full of pink and purple balloons. Finally, the day she had been talking about all year had come!

Sonya's party was combined with her friend, Jude, who had his birthday on the same exact day. The theme was "Stuff with Wheels" or something like that. A church cultural hall, with a little tape, was made into a fabulous racing track! Sonya reved up her tricycle, and faced the competition.

Sonya did seem to get some help from some unseen force...she FLEW past the other skilled riders...claiming her victory!

In trying to keep up, several of the contestants crashed their vehicles; no serious injuries were reported.

The kids eventually needed a rest. They found snacks and a train cake.

Here are some of my favorite cake-eating moments!

Once the party was over, everyone pitched in to clean-up the mess.

Sonya winded down that evening by playing with her new dollies. These just so happened to belong to her mommy some 25 years ago. I kept them in pristine condition, hoping they would be worth millions someday. Sonya managed to tangle their perfect hair and rip off their clothes in a matter of minutes. Nice to see them played with properly!

Yea for Birthdays!

So, so PURDY Sonya...

2011-01-02T20:45:00.001-08:00

Sonya has recently discovered make-up, and thinks she looks simply stunning in it. On Saturday, she came downstairs...walking carefully and daintily, fluttering her eyelashes, showing off her beauty. I asked her to show me where she found the pretty make-up, and there I took this picture...in my bathroom. This depicts very well how I feel when I wear mascara...just a bit awkward and clown-like.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T20:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year consisted of lots of meals and lots of attention for Sonya.

We had Karren's mom and brother over for Christmas Eve. Karren also invited two of her favorite people, the Nielsens, over for dinner. As you can see, it was delicious.

After much effort, Sonya finally went to bed. We then got to set up the room. Karren was especially excited about the doll house.

Sonya had been asking for dollies and a doll house in her prayers for at least 2 months. Here, you can see her reaction on Christmas morning.

We then had the Anderson family over for the traditional waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. This is a third generation Wilde Christmas tradition that I always loved. It was my favorite part of Christmas growing up.

Finally, for the second straight year, we threw a nice dinner with the Garrity family and invited over a bunch of friends. It was both gorgeous and delicious.

Finally, Christmas went out with a bang with Sonya's rendition of Jingle Bells.

Christmas Preparation 2010

2010-12-23T08:39:00.000-08:00

Getting ready from Christmas takes a bunch of preparation.

1) Create a fabulous Christmas card. Thank you to Ksenia Everton for taking awesome photos to work with!

2) Prepare desserts for the Ward Christmas Party.

3) Decorate an awesome gingerbread house with the Wolfers.

4) Attend a musical concert at a retirement home featuring Sydney and Sonya.

5) Decorate a potted Christmas Tree. Only the living at our house.

6) Annual Zoo Lights visit.

Washington DC

2010-12-12T22:14:00.000-08:00

When I saw the cheap airline prices from Portland to Washington DC, I couldn't resist. One of my college friends, Dana, lives just 10 blocks East of the Capital Building and she offered her home to us as a place to crash. She was an amazing host and it was fun to catch up with her. I had forgotten about her extensive vocabulary and Karren was calling everything "extra delicious" by the time we left.

We got to see a lot of memorials (Washington, WWII, Lincoln, Korean War, FDR, George Mason, Jefferson, Old Post Office Tower),

toured the Capital and White House,

visited with family (Uncle Leon's family and Karren's cousin Taryn's family) and friends (Dana's family and Tom and Eric),

visited some museums (Natural History, Holocaust, National Archives - Constitution and Declaration of Independence, Ford's Theatre - where Lincoln was shot, Mount Vernon - where George Washington lived)

and even got to visit the Washington DC temple and Mount Vernon.

While at Mount Vernon, I met the recently retired White House Executive Pastry Chef, Roland Mesnier. I couldn't help but buy Karren an autographed copy of his book.

Sonya loved the Christmas camel at Mount Vernon.

There was no rain and the crowds were minimal, but it was REALLY cold. We loved our trip and were grateful that we got to go!

Finally, for those who want to know .... 43 unique stamps. :)

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-12T21:09:00.000-08:00

We visited Seattle (Ilene's house this time) for Thanksgiving, but this time it was only a one day trip. Both the food and company was amazing. Here is Sonya showing off her turkey.

Family Photos

2010-11-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

We purchased a Groupon for Yuen Lui Studio and there are a few photos we really liked. Enjoy!

A Weekend Getaway at Ebey's Landing

2010-11-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

Karren had been wanting a weekend date with just the two of us for a while. My Aunt Ilene volunteered to take Sonya (and ended up spoiling her), so Karren and I visited Whidbey Island. We stayed two nights at an awesome Bed and Breakfast in Coupeville, Anchorage Inn Bed and Breakfast. It was a great value, the food was tasty, and the inn keepers were awesome! In the evenings, we watched movies and played Carcassonne on Karren's I-Phone.

On Saturday, we explored Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve. First, we visited Fort Casey State Park where we hiked a bit, learned about composting, and played around the Fort.

Afterwards, we spent the rest of the day hiking the Ebey's Prairie and Bluff Trails (5 miles total).

Although it was overcast, it was gorgeous and we were happy to get some extended time to spend as a couple.

Stunning scenery and a stunning wife .... what more can a man ask for?!?

Here we are at the end of our hike of Bluff Trail ... see how happy we are?

Verbort 2010

2010-11-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

As per tradition, we attending a sausage festival near Forest Grove, Oregon. It is a delectable feast of Saurkraut, homemade sausage, pie, and milk...all served in an elementary school cafeteria. Cam went a little overboard and spent 1/3 of my month's grocery budget on sausage for the freezer. Yikes!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

Aren't you glad these characters are a part of your world?

I love the following sequence of photos! Les poissons, les poissons .... Wilde style ...

Cakes in the patch

Sonya's Halloween Music Concert

2010-10-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

My Peoples

2010-10-27T00:46:00.000-07:00

After four years of promising, we made it down to Arizona to visit Karren's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bobby. Sonya immediately felt comfortable and took their hand. She would ask every morning, "Where are my peoples?" It wasn't until we returned home that she began calling them by name.

We spent an enjoyable three days visiting with them. They treated us to a dinner cruise on the Dolly Steamboat on Saturday, which was gorgeous! What's better than great company in gorgeous scenery?

Sunday was very relaxed. We spent the morning going to church and the rest of the day conversing with our hosts. Karren made us a delicious meal and Shauna, a good friend of mine from my freshman year of college, joined us to consume the feast. It was great catching up with her and eating Karren's scrumptious food.

Thank you Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bobby! We will have to get together again soon.

A Note for Mommy Bird...

2010-10-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's quiet now.

All of your squawking, and complaining, and singing

is gone.

I loved them too

and my heart sank with yours to discover

the emptiness.

I understand.

And silence- Stillness- is all that I can offer.

may '10, in respect for liz stamps

Miah's One Year Birthday

2010-10-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

Miah would have been one year old this last weekend. She is a very real part of our family, and as such, we celebrated her birthday. Many of you have sent cards and presents and we thank you for that! The five days she spent with us will always be cherished.

On Saturday, we attended A Butterfly's Touch's Walk to Remember. This organization's mission is to share the compassion of Jesus Christ by providing support to parents experiencing infant-loss during their time of need. We received a memory box much like the one this charity gives away and it is now a prized possession.

The event was very nice. We met some great people who experienced a loss similar to ours, created a page for a memorial album, participated in the walk, and enjoyed a very touching program.

We also visited Miah's grave and left a sunflower (Miah's flower) and some balloons.

For each night Miah was alive, Karren is lighting five candles in her honor. Tonight is night four.

We miss you Miah and look forward to seeing you again. You are beautiful and we cherish the memories we have of you.

Kruger's Farm

2010-10-16T00:35:00.000-07:00

We have been receiving email's about deals in Portland from various sources including LivingSocial, Groupon, and Tippr. Living Social had this deal: Voucher for Two Corn Maze Tickets, Two Pumpkins, Two Plain Caramel Apples, and Two Ears of Roasted Corn from Kruger's Farm and we took it. We used it last Saturday and had a blast in the rain. The following photos tell the story.

Sonya vs. Beacon Rock

2010-09-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

One thing you may not know about my daughter Sonya is that she loves hiking and insists on "doing it herself." Today was no different.

Here is today's challenge: Beacon Rock in Washington.

Do you think there was any fear or trepidation? Absolutely not! Up she goes!

Another summit is conquered!

Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park

2010-09-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, while Karren was keeping her friend Sarah company in the hospital, Karren's dad, Sonya and I made a quick visit to Mount Lassen National Park.

We had enough time to hike Bumpass Hell (3 miles round trip). The destination featured lots of fumeroles, boiling mud pots, and hot pools. Sonya's thrill though was jumping off rocks. She also looked for animals to join the Chipmunk Club.

Sonya hiked most of the way up the mountain, but being tired afterwards, I carried her down on my shoulder.

All that was left was playing at Summit Lake and going to collect Sonya's Chipmunk Club Sticker.

Cindersonya

2010-09-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Cindersonya is Sonya's special princess name. We re-tell fairytales every night about her majestic beauty, legendary whit, and unassuming grace. She, of course, insists on wearing dresses and chasing squirrels (as do all real princesses). Allow me to introduce you to some of her fellow princess heroines...
There's Cindersonya,

And Lady Lovlilyla,

Then Princess Arorva,

And finally Thumblesid.

Cindersonya naturally has a crazy evil stepmother of surpassing beauty, Kanerva:

Despite Kanerva's raging jealousy of the tender maid's beauty and constant thwarting (nap times, and vegetable eating), Cindersonya still finds time to practice her princess duties of singing, dancing, and frolicking in meadows:

Cindersonya, in keeping with tradition, has also tried to catch the attention of a handsome prince...but she may have to wait a few years for him to mature-up. (He's busy slaying dinosaurs and squashing things with toy trucks (Sonya quote: "Him not even notice the beautiful princess. Poor Sonya."))

just a couple more

2010-09-15T14:15:00.000-07:00

Cam left off two of my favorite pictures from our last camping trip:

These two are such cute little goof-balls when they get together!

Mount Rainier National Park

2010-09-06T21:17:00.000-07:00

Following tradition, we did a campout over Labor Day weekend. This year, we went to Mount Rainier National Park and spent three nights in Cougar Rock Campground. It was highly enjoyable and the weather turned out to be a lot better than I expected.

Day 1 (Friday September 3rd)
We got a late start and arrived in the park around 4 PM. Knowing that the weather was going to get worse, we decided to drive to Paradise to get a good view of the mountain. This is what we saw:

We then proceeded to camp, set it up and socialized.

Day 2 (Saturday September 4th)
Clouds rolled but the weather was still nice. We went as a group back to Paradise and did a couple of hikes. Sonya loved having tons of friends camping with her and we had lots of great views (despite the mountain being covered by clouds).

That evening, we had an excellent pot luck with tons of delicious food.

Day 3 (Sunday September 5th)
Being Sunday, we felt it appropriate to visit the Grove of the Patriarchs on the Southeast side of the park. Some of the trees were over 1000 years old. This side of the mountain had some light rain.

We also visited Longmire. It was here that Sonya became a Junior Ranger of Mount Rainier National Park. She was VERY proud.

That evening, food was awesome, desserts even better and company great. Light rain rolled in during the night causing disturbed sleep for all of us.

Day 4 (Monday September 6th)
We packed up, chatted with our friends and headed home.

Very Early Birthday at Benihana

2010-09-01T21:53:00.000-07:00

I got my birthday certificate for Benihana's today. Usually we wait until around the actual birthday but Karren couldn't wait. It is valid all month and we went on the first day! It was very good as usual and Sonya LOVES the food. She eats about four times more than she usually does there and tonight was no exception. Here is our photo:

Sisters .... Kind Of

2010-09-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

So Sonya has a couple of great girlfriends that are close to her in age and location. Sydney lives just down the street and they spend a TON of time together. The other day we had Sydney over to play and eat lunch. With a mouth full of Mac and Cheese, the toddler meal conversation took a turn...Sydney declared, "Sonya's my sister". Sonya looked over, paused and said, "Oh Sydney, you're my sister too". It was sooo sweet. It reminded me of one of my childhood girlfriends- we used to tell our friends and neighbors that we were twin sisters (she blond, me brunette. short/tall. thin/ Uber chubby. Odd that anyone believed us!)
Here are some cute pics of Sonya and Sydney growing up together these 2 1/2 years:

Funny girl

2010-08-28T23:21:00.000-07:00

My daughter cracks me up. She has an awesome imagination and incredible analytical skills.

Some thoughts on life

2010-08-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

Life throws you curve balls. In the last year, we have had two large ones. 1) The birth and passing of our 2nd daughter, Miah Rachel Wilde. 2) Karren being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Both have made us reflect on our lives and what is really important. The first consisted of a lot of crying and grieving but also a lot of learning and blessings. The second caused us to reflect on what is really important and the need to relieve stress in our lives.

Throughout these trials, I have been very grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for the strength it gives our family, and especially for the atonement and the doctrine of Eternal Families. I know that we will see Miah again and that she will always be a part of my family. I know that my wife will also be together with me for the eternities thanks to the sealing that was performed 4.5 years ago in the Portland Temple. Trials like we have (and continue to) endured could easily tear a family apart. I feel closer to my family every day and NEVER want that to change.

I am also very grateful for the talents of Karren. The greater Portland area has experienced her art through cakes these last four years. It is sad to have to terminate Karren's Specialty Cakes, but it was necessary to allow us less stress in our lives. Knowing Karren, she will be baking for the community in one way or another down the road.

Karren is an excellent mother! You can tell by the joy in her children's eyes. I believe Miah stuck around as long as she did because she felt so comfortable and loved in her mother's arms. Miah knew her mother loved her and didn't want to leave but knew she had work to accomplish in heaven. Sonya also feels her mother's love and is one of the happiest kids I have ever seen.

Karren is an excellent wife! I feel her love for me also and know that she will be a devoted and loyal companion forever. I never want to lose this and thus I want to be the best husband and father I can be. Karren's love for me makes me a better man.

Despite our trials this past year, we are a very blessed family. I know my Heavenly Father and his son love me and I hope they are proud of us as we struggle to do what is right here on earth.

A Wilde photo lineage for Sonya

2010-08-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Sonya got to play with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandaunts, a granduncle, grandparents, and great-grandparents across 4 generations at Grandpa and Grandma Wilde's 60th wedding anniversary party.

Generation 1: Sonya Brie Wilde (and perhaps even Miah Rachel Wilde)

Generations 1-2: Sonya with her parents Cameron Doran Wilde and Karren Marie Montague Wilde

Generations 1-3: Sonya with her aunts and uncles, grandparents and first cousins. Some are missing here.

Generations 1-4: Everyone from before plus granduncles, grandaunts, great-grandparents, first cousins once removed, and even a second cousin.

Grandpa and Grandma Wilde's 60th Wedding Anniversary

2010-08-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma (Ken and Elaine Wilde) have been married 60 years! To celebrate the occasion, we threw a party for them on August 7th in Aunt Ilene's backyard. To this point, they have themselves, 7 kids, 24 grand kids, 8 great grand kids and 3 more on the way. This doesn't even count the wonderful people that married into the family.

39 people showed up to celebrate with them!

The younger grandkids and great grandkids played together.

Distant (in miles) cousins and nieces/nephews/uncles/aunts were reacquainted.

Excellent food (prepared by my gorgeous and very talented wife and Aunt Ilene) was consumed.

In all, it was an excellent time together, one that all will cherish.

Daddy Days

2010-07-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Karren had some large cake orders so I took two days of vacation to watch Sonya. We had a lot of fun yesterday. A local park here in Hillsboro gives free lunches to children. Sonya loves it! Free food, lots of fun, and swings. After about an hour, Sonya and I went to Bonneville Dam and Multnomah Falls. At the dam, we looked at the fish latter, got some stamps, and visited the fish hatchery. At the falls, we had treats and looked at the waterfall. It was an enjoyable day.

Inma

2010-07-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since our last post. We've been busy. Inma has been staying with us from Spain. This is the second time we have hosted a student through Andeo and we really enjoy it. Inma has been great! She is very helpful and Sonya absolutely loves her. Activities are provided during the day through Andeo, but we have done some fun things in the evenings and on the weekends with her.

Activities have included:
Making tutus with the Young Women

Hanging out with Sonya

Jumping on the trampoline with you children

Holding new Morgan babies

Hanging out with Sonya even more

Watching 4th of July Fireworks in Tigard

Camping at Cape Disappointment

Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Wife

2010-06-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Today, my lovely wife enters the last year in her 20's. We celebrated a week ago at Benihana's. Sonya isn't a big eater but she always tends to eat a ton when we go there.

This morning, Sonya and I got up early. I knew everyone expects me to make a cake, and so I did. Here are the pancakes that Sonya and I made for Karren this morning.

Happy Birthday my love! Enjoy your last days in the 20's!

The Best Baby Sitter: Reserve Early

2010-06-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Sweet Baby Clara came over for a visit a couple days ago. I told Sonya that she was going to be the baby-sitter, and she took this very seriously. Moments after the baby arrived, Sonya asked to hold her and showered her with head kisses. As the afternoon progressed, Sonya wiped away boogies, gave Clara a crawling lesson, read a book to her, made up songs for a mini music time, and taught her how to hold a balloon. Sonya never left Clara's side.
If you are at all impressed with Sonya's care-taking skills, we are now taking baby-sitting reservations for June of 2020. Book now, space is limited!

Spring is finally here....in JUNE!

2010-06-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Our strawberry patch has grown like crazy...nearly taking over our yard. The other day, Sonya came running into the house from the back yard screaming, "The Birdie is chasing me!!!". I went out to investigate and there was, indeed, a crazy bird squaking as I approached the strawberry patch. I quickly discovered this beautiful little nest with two baby birds sitting directly on the ground under a strawberry plant. Apparently, every time Sonya went to pick a yummy strawberry snack, she would scare the mommy bird.

Sonya's love for strawberry picking was cultivated last week at a local farm where she picked strawberries with some friends. Here are some pictures documenting their experience:

Sidney: "Ok Sonya, here you have a bucket with some string. It's like a purse. Fill it up with as many red strawberries as you can find"
Sonya: "OH ya, I got 'dis"

Sonya: "You wanted the green one's, right?! I am totally picking faster than anyone else here! I'm AMAZING!!!"
(notice the dirt all over Sonya's mouth...yep...she was eating more muddy green strawberries than she was putting in her bucket.)

Sonya: "Wow, this is getting heavy! I know what I can do to lighten my load....."

Sonya: "This will definitely do the trick! Genius! Pure Genius! I'm sure my mom will appreciate the bite I've taken out of every strawberry! This is the best $7 she's ever spent!!

Talmage: "Well hey there, little lady!. It looks as if you've been working all day in the fields. Why don't you come on over here and take a rest next to my tracter...While I talk your ear off about all this manly machinery stuff. Now this gear moves this blade that cuts this...blah blah.......blah"

Sonya: "PHEW! I thought I'd never get away...Hmmm, what I really need after a long days work is a relaxing, cleansing mud bath...ya....

Memorial Day 2010

2010-06-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

For the third time in 4 years, we went camping over Memorial Day weekend with friends.

This tradition started in 2007 during Karren's morning sickness with Sonya. We went with the Barkers to Cape Lookout State Park.

In 2008, we camped with the Barkers and Bowdens at Silver Falls State Park.

In 2009, the Barkers were on sabbatical and we decided not to go for some reason.

This year, we camped with the Barkers and Evertons at the Valley of the Rogue State Park. This campground was fun, but really loud due to its proximity to I-5. I don't think we will go back.

We embarked on our 4 hour drive down to Southern Oregon and met the Barkers in Grants Pass for a scenic jetboat excursion of Hellgate Canyon. It was a lot of fun and we saw quite a few birds, but the best part was seeing Sonya's reaction on the boat. The following picture and video says it all:

After the fun on the boat, we bought groceries for our meal. Each family prepared a meal for the rest of the camp and we had Sunday breakfast (Dutch oven stuffed banana French toast ... mmmm). The weather was a welcome respite from the constant rain we've been having. Sunny!

Sunday was a restful day. Cameron went with the Everton family to see Crater Lake (or what little of it was open) and Karren stayed behind to hike.

The 5 kids all had fun (even Lucas who is crying in the photo).

As always, the best part of the trip was the company. We feel that we know the Evertons and Barkers even better now.

On Monday, we broke camp and came home. In the evening, our family went to visit Miah's grave. It was sentimental for the entire family. Sonya put some flowers from our garden on Miah's grave. We miss her dearly and hope she is doing a lot of good in heaven.

Sonya Wonders .....

2010-05-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

"How fast can I eat this Cupcake?"

"Does my Great Grandpa Wilde love me?"

"What's my worth in Gold?"

These photos will give you the answer:

(Pretty fast)

(Just look at those faces)

(Answer courtesy of Klondike Gold Rush National Park)

Sonya's Drawings

2010-05-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sonya drew these at Grandpa and Grandma Wilde's (her Great Grandparents) house yesterday.

This first one is a Sonya original:

This second one, Sonya dressed her mother's stick figures of her family:

Puppy Love

2010-05-10T11:38:00.001-07:00

Sonya is desperately in love with her cousin, Buffy. I think there's quite a family resemblence, don't you? Here's some shots of their weekend together:

Cooking in the Kitchen with the YW

2010-05-05T17:11:00.000-07:00

Karren has a new calling in the ward. She is YW Laurel's advisor. Last night, she showed the girls how to cook eggs in various ways. This is an important skill for all college bound girls. Also, notice the new kitchen. :)

The Trip Home

2010-04-28T08:22:00.001-07:00

After 8 weeks of vacationing, we had to return home so I could begin work on Monday (two days ago). We decided to take the northern Montana route instead of the southern Idaho route. The time was almost identical and this choice was more scenic. This allowed us to stop at another national monument, Grant-Kohrs Ranch. I think Sonya enjoyed the Smokey the Bear binoculars given to her by the Forest Ranger best at this stop.

Chosing this route also allowed us to stop at my grandparents museum in Polson, Montana. I haven't been there since well before my mission in 1997. It was great to spend the evening with them and let them get to know Sonya and Karren a little more.

Now I am home and back to the grind. Only 6 2/3 years until I am eligible for my next sabbatical .... sigh!

Yellowstone National Park

2010-04-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

Karren, Sonya and I spent two days and nights in Yellowstone National Park where we experienced:

1) Animals:

2) Geysers

3) Hot Springs

4) Cute Sonya Moments

5) Stubborn Beasts Blocking Our Road

6) And Restful Nights in Our Log Cabin

Visiting More Family and Golden Spike National Historic Site

2010-04-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

A week ago Monday, we had a really fun visit with Grandma Woffinden and Sonya had a blast with her dolls. Sonya has really become a girly girl and so she just loves Grandma Woff's doll collection.

A week ago, we headed north to Yellowstone but stopped on the way at Golden Spike National Historic Site and at Uncle K's.
Pictured here is a replica of one of the trains present during the ceremony in 1869:

and Karren and Sonya placing a chocolate Golden Spike in the exact location where the actual Golden Spike was inserted:

Sonya really loved her Uncle K, almost as much as Uncle Bon. In fact, she kept calling him Uncle Bon. Uncle K's house is now one of the locations Sonya asks to visit (Grandma's house (for any number of Grandparent's houses: Wilde, Mangels, Woffinden, Glee, Doris), Sonya's house (for home), Sydney's mom's house (for the Barkers), and now Uncle K's house).

Sunday Family Time

2010-04-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, all my local brothers and sisters came over along with their children. Sonya got to see all eight of her living cousins (three are on the way via K, Ned, and Becky). Karren made a gluten free dinner to accomodate my mom and Shannon's allergies and the kids played hard together.

On the play structure with Ashton, Ian, Jaime, Sonya, and Sage:

Sonya and Ian:

Ring Around the Rosies with Uncle Bon is always a favorite! Here he plays with the 5 youngest (Ashton, Seth, Sonya, Talia, and Zach).

The respective eldest children of each family: Sonya (Cameron), Ian (Ned), Sage (Becky), and Jaime (Desire).

Dinosaur National Monument - Fossil Side

2010-04-19T08:33:00.001-07:00

So the cool quarry visitors center was closed due to the unstable hillside. Instead, we walked around the park looking for fossils, after being shown what to look for in the rocks by a ranger. We saw giant tails still intact, lots of little scraps of bone, and this femur bone of a cephalopod dinosaur. Cool!

Along the walk there was an area of fine shale rock littered with fishy remains. Here, Cam is holding a section of fish scales still glittery. Once exposed, they don't last very long.

We dropped by a temporary visitors center to get Cam's National Park Passport Cancellation stamp (a new obsession of his...groan) and hold a few fossils. Here, we show where on the body each one belongs: a stegosaurus spike, an imprint of dino skin, and a vertebrae.

We hiked through the rest of the canyon in the afternoon. Petroglyphs (ancient graffiti) could be found all over the high stone walls. Experts say that there is no way to interpret the drawings of these paleoindians because they and their language are extinct. I, however, found these historical snapshots self explanatory.
See that guy directly above me in the stone (I'm mimicking his position to help you identify him. He is obviously an alien, a powerful one, with a huge torso and little legs. He explains that he is from a far away galaxy (look to the galaxy spiral in the upper left corner; this symbol next to this guy is in many of the other petroglyph sites as well.) He and his alien people are fascinated by earth's animal life (the goat next to him), the pleasant-looking humans (see the normal non-alien looking guy?), the unique horticulture (see the potted plant on the far left), and the pretty sunshine of this planet that make it all possible (see the sunshine next to the plant).

Everything was great until the big alien guy got jealous of our planet and the peaceful desert paleoindians and decided to "probe" everyone and everything to find out what made them different. The photo below (again, I pose in the position of the offender to help you identify him) shows a warrior and/or alien scientist going forward with his multi-pronged nasal probe. OUCHY! It was a dark time in human history! Other nearby petroglyphs show how this lead to the peoples' eventual extinction and a the desert being taken over by giant lizards (as often happens when human are not around to interfere.) Sadly, there is not enough room on this page to show the rest of these panels.

In the evening, we went through a fabulous natural history museum. It showed tons of fossils, and explained the geology of the Utah area.

My favorite discovery in the whole museum was this little 'side note' next to a stegosaurus skeleton. Here is a hip bone with a mysterious cavity in it. Scientists believe that this may have been a separate brain in the lower half of the body. As explained on other labels, the dino brain was so small and far from the heart that they wondered how it got enough blood to function. Solution: butt-brain. I think this is something missing from our evolution... I know several people who could really benefit from this additional organ! Can you imagine: "Hey Sonya, why are you drinking out of the toilet after I told you not to three times already? I think it's time to turn on your butt-brain today, sweety..."

Dinosaur National Monument - Canyon Side

2010-04-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my parents watching Sonya for two days, Karren and I were able to escape to Vernal, Utah. We arrived, checked into the Landmark Inn Bed & Breakfast‎ and then continued on to the Canyon side of Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. We were able to do an amazing hike on a finger of land jetting out over Echo Canyon and the Green River. Along the way, we spotted fresh cougar tracks and Karren feared for her life.

Despite the danger of being eaten alive, we were able to see breathtaking views,

hang off cliffs,

and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The Bed and Breakfast we stayed in was really nice. The room had an enormous jacuzzi which Karren now wants to put into our house. I don't think it will fit. The bed was comfortable and the decoration was great. The breakfast was average though, but hey, it's breakfast.

Spending time in Utah

2010-04-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

We left nice and early to travel to Utah on Monday. The trip was long and Sonya was tired of driving half way there. She kept asking for Grandma's house and Sonya's house. We stopped in the Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and played in the museum.

Since arriving in Utah, we have spent lots of time with the family.

Yosemite National Park

2010-04-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

We planned on spending two days in Yosemite, but it sadly had to be cut to one. The day we arrived, it was beautiful. We settled in and enjoyed the beauty of the area.

Just as the sun set, we finally started to get an idea of what fun we had coming in the days ahead. As we snuggled into our unheated yurt, the girls started getting cold and we all crowded into our double bed.

At 5:30 AM, we heard rain and it didn't stop there. At breakfast, we chatted with others to find out that the temperature was supposed to drop and the constant rain would turn into snow. We were sadly unprepared for snow and heavy rain. The forecast showed that it was supposed to drop to a chilly 13 degrees. Karren and I looked at each other and realized that we would need to leave early due to our total lack of preparation. Luckily, we had a bus tour at 2 PM where a guide would show us the sites in the valley. The rain caused low visibility, but we could see some and learned a bunch about the park.

We will definitely have to go back to Yosemite during the summer months.

San Francisco

2010-04-03T13:42:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, I visited San Francisco for the first time (Karren had been there many times before). We stayed at the Golden Gate Hotel which we loved. It is a Bed and Breakfast Inn where the rooms are nice, the staff is amazing, and the breakfast is simple.

On Saturday, while waiting for Sarah and Steven to arrive, we visited the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.

We then walked over and met up with the Connells where we boarded a boat for Alcatraz Island. Notice our fabulous hair! :)

We thoroughly enjoyed the Alcatraz Cellhouse Audio Tour and saw amazing views of the city.

That evening, we ate at the Cheesecake Factory with our good friend and Sonya's honorary Grampa, Tom.

On Sunday, we spent the entire morning in Golden Gate Park where we saw a lake with ducks and turtles, trees, grass, swings, and ate lunch.

After Sarah and Stephen left, we went to the Golden Gate bridge area. Sonya and Karren stayed in the car and slept while I quickly ran around the Presidio of San Francisco. I was delayed and returned later than expected to a worried wife. After being scolded, we walked to Fort Point where we saw seals off the dock near the warming hut and walked out to the fort. Sonya was tired and cold, so we didn't walk across the bridge. It will have to be left for a future visit.

Welcome to Fort Clatsop!

2010-03-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

So, in the recent tradition of visiting national parks and historic sites, we visited the Lewis and Clark 'Fort to Sea' site. Sonya and Sidney did a decent job at hiking while holding hands, but they had the most fun running in and out of the rooms in the small wooden fort.

We finished the day with lots of candy and icecream at Seaside. It was a nice, sunny day. Yea!

National Parks and Fort Vancouver

2010-03-21T01:04:00.000-07:00

First, a note on my new "collection" as Karren calls it. There are currently 392 national parks/monuments/reserves/.... Almost all of them have at least one cancellation stamp (like with US passports). We tend to visit at least 2 or 3 parks a year, so I thought I would start collecting them. I bought a passport book and now have stamps from three parks, Haleakala, Volcanoes, and now Fort Vancouver. The most complete collection of stamps I have found online is here: http://azroadie.esmartweb.com/index.html. It should be a fun way to document our travels.

Sonya and I visited Fort Vancouver which actually is divided into two separate site.

First, we visited the fort in Vancouver and saw the restored monument, cooking demos, blacksmith demos, and various artifacts from the time.

Mostly, we just ran around the park.

As Sonya looked tired, we went to the car and headed towards the second part of the monument, the McLoughlin House in Oregon City. Sonya fell asleep in the car and didn't wake up when we arrived. I took the guided tour through the house with Sonya sleeping soundly on my chest.

2010-03-21T01:03:00.001-07:00

On Thursday we said goodbye to Hawaii. We said goodbye to the cool trees and warm rain drops...

We said goodbye to our new friends and showed them a few 'mainland' tricks (here Sonya demonstrates the art of olive fingers)...

We said goodbye to the sky, and grass, and ocean...

and we saluted our little paradise with one last dance.

goodbye Hawaii...until we meet again:-)

2010-03-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, we took a chartered boat over to the small island crater of Molokini. Is was a fantastic fish sanctuary and snorkel haven.

We then boated over to an open water area with large numbers of green sea turtles. During our one hour in this location, dozens of little turtles bobbed to the surface to get a breath. We didn't do much snorkeling here...it was more fun watching Sonya swim. "I'm kicking in ocean!", she screamed. Everyone thought she was soooo cute!

The last part of our trip was a little whale watching tour. It was REALLY cool! We saw lots of Mommy/ baby combos with 'an escort' (yep, a male whale who protects the mommy and baby in the hopes that the Mommy will reward him with a smooch or two at the end of their trip. Oh, and he's almost never the baby's daddy. Monogamy is an unpracticed art in whale culture.)
We didn't get any good photos of the whales because we were too busy watching. We saw a 2 minute tale slapping display, lots of breaching, and countless blow hole thingys. Sonya kept pointing them out to us to make sure we didn't miss anything....

Volcanoes National Park

2010-03-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Monday, March 15th. It was a special day in that Miah would have been 5 months old. We decided to celebrate by spending the day in the heavens, as high as we could get to be with our little princess. We took a small little plane over to the Big Island to play in Volcanoes National Park (it is considered the highest mountain in the world when measured from it's base on the ocean floor. We had a nice time seeing the volcano and old lava fields, but we wish we had more time to spend in the park.

On our flight back, we saw a super pretty sun set. It set super slow as we chased the horizon. It was a nice day in the heavens. I suppose there will never really come a day when we don't think about Miah, and how old she would be if she were with us, or what she is doing at the moment. That's not a bad thing.

2010-03-16T12:21:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday were kicked-back days of just staying local and mingling. This photo is of Sonya on the Keiki Express, a homemade tractor train made for the school fair fundraiser in Hana. Sonya LOVES trains, and rode this contentedly around the school grounds countless times. Cam and I did our part in support by purchasing kid made chili dogs (a bowl of rice with a hotdog and chili on top) and dancing to the live music (like yodeling harmonica player singing about broken down trucks on the windey Hana road). We had a great time, and people are actually starting to recognize us as those 'vacationers who just won't leave.' I'm trying to talk Cam into moving here after all of our kids are born (there's no way I'm having a baby at home like most of the people around here! I want drugs, doctors, and doting nurses!). Anyway, Cam would make a great school teacher, and Hana has NO BAKERY at all. I could set up a road-side shop and make a killing off tourists.

Sunday was a church day. After services, we were invited over to dine with a family of visitors to Hana. It was a huge house overlooking the ocean, and the food was fantastic. Sonya ran around playing with kids, while Cam and I enjoyed a private concert with Peter Breinholt (a very well known folk artist, apparently). It was soooooo pretty. He has a whole collection of his music on line if you want to take a look: http://www.peterbreinholt.com/

On a separate note, we took this beautiful picture. It is either a photo of the surface of Mars taken at the Volcano astrological observatory, or it's my peeling skin from my back and shoulder sunburn. Your choice...

2010-03-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

Friday, we explored Wai'anapanapa (did you know the Hawaiin language only uses 7 consonants) State Park. We hiked a fabulous trail along the coast. The area is known for it's black sand beaches from recent lava flow, blow holes, and the fresh water caves like in this picture.

After all this prettiness, Sonya was actually most excited about some outside showers she found by the bathroom. She played in these for an hour or so, giggling like crazy. Simple pleasures, I guess.

2010-03-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, we woke up at 4 am to catch sunrise on Haleakala, the tall mountain in the center of Maui. It was a two a half hour drive from Hana, so we had to leave early. When we reached the top, a huge FREEZING winter storm was blasting and we could barely see a rock infront of us, let alone the sunrise. After a quick stop, we made it a beach day. Sonya was happy to play in the water again, and Suzi and I did some snorkeling. Finally, we played at a fun little luau. Sonya was HILARIOUS dancing with the girls! I have a cute video to show, but our internet connection is far to slow to download. I'll send it out later:-)

Thursday, we took Sonya to the aquarium to see the fishies up close. She made friends with a particularly curious crab and loved touching all the see stars. We stayed so long that we actually got kicked out at closing time!

We wrapped up the evening with a sunset stroll on the beach by the hotel at which I used to work. Soooo purdy!