Family Vacation 2011

Prepare yourself for a barrage of pictures from our 8 day vacation.
There's no way around it.

We took just shy of a million pictures, I'm pretty sure.
So grit your teeth and.... ENJOY! (or just push your down arrow really fast a bunch of times.)

Kate fell in love with photography on this trip! She especially loves photographing flowers, bugs, birds, and other creatures.

Cove Fort, Utah was a huge highlight of our trip. We stopped on our way home with the intention of staying for about an hour. 2 1/2 hours later we were back on the road! Thanks, Elder Haney, for a wonderful tour!

We also loved our time in St. George. The Tabernacle, Temple, Visitor's Center, and Brigham Young Summer Home were just beautiful and spirit filled. Hot... but spirit filled.

Another highlight of the trip was a chance encounter with the Carroll Shelby World Headquarters and Classic Car Museum. On our way out of Vegas we stopped at a gas station by the Las Vegas Speedway and happened upon this museum. Jack, if you didn't know this, is capital C - CRAZY - about cars, trucks, motorcycles, semis... So you can imagine his immense happiness. He took a million pictures and came away with a bunch of fun Shelby posters and a little keepsake Shelby Spider car. Happiness. It's so easy when you're 5. :)

Some of our fun Las Vegas Strip adventures while Brad was in meetings and classes. Our favorite stops were The M&M Store, the Coca-Cola Experience, New York-New York, The Mirage, the MGM Lion Habitat, the Jelly-Belly Statue of Liberty, and especially riding all the escalators and elevators all over Vegas. We are SO small town, and SO easily entertained!

It was darn hot (in the low 100s most days), but we all did well. One benefit -- 90 degrees in Rupert today feels downright balmy!

Zion National Park is a must-see if you're in Southern Utah and have a day to kill. Wow -- we LOVED it here. The hiking was gorgeous.

One fun little happening... we looked up a church to attend on Sunday morning and showed up at a random (and very lovely, friendly) ward. While taking the kids to Primary, we ran in to a sister from Brad's mission. Even 20 years later they immediately recognized each other and we had a wonderful time visiting and reconnecting with her and her sweet family.

We are so blessed to have had so many days to spend together as a family. The trip could not have gone more smoothly. The kids traveled well and quietly (thank you iPad, iPods, and iPhone!). The car ran well (thank you new car). We spend lots of time together and created many wonderful memories.

We are blessed.

More Vacation Pictures

Alright, fair warning: THIS SLIDESHOW CONTAINS 144 PICTURES OF OUR VACATION TO YELLOWSTONE. Feel free to skip through if you don't have time to watch the whole thing. :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Family Vacation '09

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The Wilson's spent Labor Day weekend in Island Park, Idaho and Yellowstone National Park!!! We had an absolute ball together. Because so much time was spent in the car we had lots of "togetherness" that could have been awful, but was actually quite wonderful. We had both Brad's and Todd's Ipods so we traded music back and forth introducing each other to our favorites and singing and laughing a lot. We played "I Spy a license plate" and managed to find plates from 47 of the 50 states plus for Canadian provinces. The only states we failed to see were North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maine. Darn!!! And yes, we DID see a Hawaii license plate while we were at Old Faithful. Crazy, huh?!! Anyway, that was a fun way to review all the states and kept us all occupied.

We picnicked in some beautiful places and hiked all over. The kids were amazing -- they did that energizer bunny thing that kept us all going and going and going! Kate's favorite part was when we visited the lower falls and walked down the long switchback trail. She counted her steps all the way back up. Todd's favorite part Old Faithful. He timed the eruption and tried to figure out some way get close enough to collect a water sample. Didn't happen (darn)! Jack loved everything except the really stinky, steamy hot pots. Those were pretty scary. Luckily, Dad carried him on his shoulders!

All in all we had an incredible time and can't wait to do it again. :)

Ross Park: ACA Annual Party (Water Pics)

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Ross Park: ACA Annual Party (Picnic Pics)

One of the favorite activities of the day is the water balloon launcher. Always a huge hit!

Ross Park: ACA Annual Party (Zoo Pics)

We are so lucky to be able to attend Dad Rose's annual work picnic every year on the 24th of July. This year we met at Upper Ross Park for a fun filled day at the zoo and water park, along with an amazing meal, games, and activities for the kids. Thanks so much to Dad for inviting us and to ACA for hosting such a wonderful party. We look forward to it each year. This year was especially fun since Brad was able to take the day off and go with us. Cindy and DJ were there with all the kids, so naturally, the Wilson kids were in HEAVEN with built in playmates for each of them. It was really fun to watch Regan and Todd and Kate and Morgan float the lazy river and then slide down the water slide together. What fun to have such wonderful cousins so close in age. Look out world, in a couple of years Jack and Kaleb will be tearing up the place!!!

Sun Valley, Idaho

Brad and I had the opportunity to get away ALONE for a few days to Sun Valley! He had a conference for work and I was able to attend on the company's dime with him. We had a phenomenal time -- it is absolutely gorgeous up there.

Okay, so the picture above is not from the trip - I forgot to take my camera, but just imagine it sans snow and you've got it.

While Brad was in meetings I shopped, ate, slept, read, sat by the fire, watched tv, and just generally vegged out! In the evenings we attended dinners hosted by the conference -- one of which was at the River Run Lodge. Wow, it was stunningly beautiful there. I had a great time shopping in Sun Valley and Ketchum. Let me add that I mainly window shopped because -- WOW -- it is expensive up there!!! I saw a beautiful jacket from across the room at a store near the Sun Valley Lodge, thought I'd look at it a little closer, turned over the price tag and saw $1595.00, turned around and practically ran out of the store for fear I'd accidentally trip and rip the jacket off the hanger and have to buy it. Can I ask what in the world would cause a jacket to be worth $1600.00?? I mean, really, that is ridiculous.

I did find some fun little items that didn't set me back two mortgage payments, and was completely happy with my spoils. Mostly it was just wonderful to have some time alone with Brad.

I also got a big kick out of the swans that live on the ground of the Sun Valley Resort. They are beautiful and dangerous. Apparently they are very territorial and will not hesitate to chase and/or bite anyone who gets in their way. I found them to be rather sweet, but several of the conference attendees were petrified of them!! It was hilarious to watch people hug the sides of buildings or make large and obvious detours just to avoid any potential contact with the swans. I know I'm deranged, but it really cracked me up!

The kids stayed with our awesome friends, Amber and Mike Tribe (they lovingly refer to Amber as their 'other mother'). They have kids that are similar in age, so each of the kids has a built in playmate. They had a fantastic time, didn't ask about us once, and were heartily disappointed when we showed up to pick them up on Friday night!! It was wonderful knowing that they were having a terrific time as well. I think we all enjoyed the break.

Now I'm just attempting to reenter the realm of real life. My schedule is calling ...

Whew (Read On, You'll See What I Mean!)

We had an incredibly full, fun day yesterday. John and Sheri (Brad's sister) and their son Adam came to spend the night on Friday, after touring the Twin Falls Temple with Amber (their daughter) and her fiance, Joe Reeder. We were thrilled to have them here for a little while and took full advantage of their time and attention while they were here. The kids were particularly excited to swim with Adam since he is such a tease, and is always willing to play with them!
Kate getting thrown high into the air by Adam! She loved it and begged over and over for him to do it again and again. Thanks for being a good sport Adam - we love you!

Todd getting thrown around, too. Luckily, Adam is really strong!
After John and Sheri left for Twin Falls again, we ran out to Oakley where Todd performed for the town Pioneer Day Celebration. What a cool stud, huh?

From Oakley, we headed for Twin Falls to enjoy the Blue Angels Air Show compliments of Joe Reeder's family. They own Reeder Flight Service, and were very involved in all the preparations for the Air Show. We really enjoyed ourselves, even though it was mega-hot. Jack was one happy little boy. He had perma-grin as he thoroughly checked out every airplane, helicopter and jet in sight.
Sheri, John, Todd, and Adam (and Jack-Jack in the background). The only shade available was under the wings of airplanes. We were glad for the relief we got from the scorching heat!

Jack, in his element.
The Blue Angels jets. Wow, can I just say watching them fly was one of the most incredible feats I've ever seen. The precision with which they fly is something to be seen. I was completely in awe.

After the air show Joe showed us his office and let the kids sit in some of the helicopters and planes they are working on. They absolutely loved being in the middle of the action!

This pretty much captures Jack's mood for the entire day :).

Kate and Todd checking out the cockpit with Adam.

After the airshow (and a LOOOOONG wait in traffic) we decided we might as well not waste the opportunity to visit the Niagara Falls of the West (Shoshone Falls). With gas prices as they are (hovering at $4.15 or so) we realized that we need to enjoy vacation spots that are close to home. The falls this year are absolutely spectacular.
We ended up hiking all the trails around the area so we could see the falls from as many different vantage points as possible.

While hiking the kids got blisters on their feet (I guess we should have planned our day and footwear a little better!). We talked a lot about the pioneers and the conditions they walked in. The kids bucked up a little after that and stopped complaining. At one point I told them the story of the big brother that carried his little brother to the top of a mountain on his back, then after reaching the pinnacle, sat down and died. They were amazed by his love and bravery and a little while later when Kate was fussing about how much her feet hurt, I heard Todd coaxing her onto his back for a ride! It touched my heart. But I had to laugh when about 30 feet down the path he sat her back down and exclaimed, "She's HEAVY!" Oh well, I guess it's the thought that counts.

By the time we returned home we were completely exhausted. We fell in to bed and no one budged until after 7 this morning (except for Brad, who had early meetings). It's a good thing we have church at 11:30!