Summer miscellany

Selfie time: Friday, June 2

Andrea takes a selfie with Rebekah, Ana and Miriam in the living room after Rebekah's graduation.

Iconic water tower: Wednesday, June 7

Seth poses under the Idaho Falls water tower. He got to go to the facility for work.

Nap at Grandma's and Seth's birthday: Thursday, June 8

Rebecca takes a nap on Grandma Hendricks' couch during the visit to her home in Rexburg.

Seth poses with his coworkers at work on his birthday. They had surprised him with party hats, treats, and gifts.

Soup kitchen: Friday, June 9

Andrea and Grandma Scott work at the soup kitchen. Andrea worked there just one day, but Grandma and Grandpa worked there several times during the month.

Graves: Saturday, June 10

Winnie, Andrea, Rebekah and Miriam pose next to Grandma and Grandpa Wirkus' headstone in the Lincoln Cemetery. We brought rocks to put on their headstone.

We pose next to Martha and Emil's headstone in the Ammon cemetery.

Ward dinner: Tuesday, June 13

Winnie sports a tiny sombrero that was part of a decoration at a ward party.

Chukars game: Thursday, June 15

The family at a Chukars game. Seth was able to get discounted tickets through his work.

Temple baptisms and weeding the yard: Friday, June 16

Miriam, Seth, Andrea and Rebekah outside the Idaho Falls Temple after doing baptisms for the dead.

Weeding the area where we had put grass and clover seed down. This part of the yard had been all torn up during our home addition construction, so we had to spend a lot of time and energy getting the area flat and sloped before we could put the seat down. Then we had so many weeds spring up.

Enjoying new lawn and daddy-daughter date: Saturday, June 17

Winnie enjoying the new grass and clover next to the house.

Ana and Seth pose after completing an escape room for their date.

Anna and Seth at Cold Stone on their date.

Grilling: Sunday, June 18

Seth grilling dinner for Rebekah's birthday.

New pillow: Monday, June 19

Andrea pretending to lie on the new pillow she ordered. It had just come out of the packaging and hadn't had time to expand.

Grandpa's Mustang and Rebekah the model: Wednesday, June 21

Winnie sitting in Grandpa Scott's 1965 Ford Mustang parked in his shop.

Rebekah posing with a lovely wig she found at D.I.

Visiting Grandma: Thursday, June 21

Miriam and Winnie watch VHS tapes about LDS prophets at Grandma Hendricks' house. The VCR hadn't been working, so we used Google and YouTube to learn how to take apart the VCR and clean the heads. Then, miraculously, it worked!

Youth Conference: June 29-July 1

Seth carries a bin of T-shirts over his head at the Idaho Falls East stake youth conference at Sellers Creek. Seth is serving as second counselor in the stake Young Men presidency, so he got to help plan and execute the youth conference.

Barbara Bird and Seth emerge from a bathroom at youth conference. Barbara had said that she kept feeling vertigo as she went into the tiny room, so she asked Seth to see if the same thing happened to him. Another leader thought it would be hilarious to take pictures of them coming out of the bathroom together.

Ana and Andrea preparing to play a game at youth conference. We competed against the other words in a cup stacking competition before the dance. Andrea was invited to attend as a historian. I shot pictures and some video, and I compiled others pictures and videos into a video that they showed at a follow-up activity later.

Ana ballroom dancing with her friend Emelia Bare at the youth conference.

Miriam shooting video during testimony meeting at the close of youth conference. Miriam was technically too young to attend the youth conference, but she and Winnie came with me Saturday morning to help.

A sweet note: Friday, June 30

My Yoda onesie and a sweet note from Rebekah. She missed me while I was gone for youth conference, so she folded up my onesie and left me this post-it note.

More graves and one big mushroom: Saturday, July 1

Seth looks up information on his family as we visit headstones at the Ennis cemetery.

Set the next to Leslie and Lois's headstone at the Archer cemetery.

Seth with an enormous mushroom that was growing in our front yard.

Trip revision: Sunday, July 9

Seth notes his sudden change of plans on our family calendar. He was supposed to fly from Idaho Falls to Denver and from Denver to Arlington on the 10, but the travel agency that his work uses canceled his flight from Idaho Falls. So instead he had to rent a car and drive from Idaho Falls to Denver on Sunday in order to catch his flight from Denver to Arlington. Needless to say, he was quite irked.

Rexburg date: Thursday, July 13

Andrea, Miriam and Winnie smile at Rexburg Rapids. When he had completed her swimming lessons and earned the trip.

Eating gelato at Kariann's after swimming at Rexburg Rapids.

Looking for arrowheads: Saturday, July 15

Pieces of rock Rebekah, Seth and Winnie found while looking for arrowheads.

Rebekah and Winnie in the stream looking for arrowheads.

Winnie with the snake Seth picked up while they were arrowhead hunting.

Blue-eyed fox and Grandma's birthday: Sunday, July 16

Seth holds up a bag of cherries next to Andrea. He was complimenting her by saying that she was a blue-eyed fox.

Grandma's got checks out the wind chime we gave her for her birthday present after eating dinner at our house.

Rebekah's endowment: Friday, July 28

Seth, Rebekah and Andrea pose outside the Idaho Falls Temple after Rebekah received her endowment. It was the sweetest experience. She had all four of her grandparents and her great-grandma there as well as her parents and several members from the ward.

Rebekah's T-shirt quilt: Monday, July 31

Rebekah lies on the T-shirt quilt Andrea made her as a graduation present. We had saved up Rebekah's T-shirts since she was really little. She picked which one she wanted to have in the quilt.

Rebekah rolled up in her quilt.

Carburetor, Roscoe, and mommy-daddy-daughter date: Saturday, August 5

Toad watching Grandpa Scott as he works on our lawn mower. He helped us replace the carburetor.

Seth cuddling with Roscoe at his parents house. Doug was living in his trailer parked in the backfield, so Roscoe was often in the house as well as outside.

Seth, Andrea and Miriam with our painted ceramics at Possibly Picasso while on a date.

Winnie's room: Wednesday, August 9

Winnie sitting on her bed in her room. She had bought a betta fish not long before that. You can see it in the bottom left corner.

Roaring Youth Jam: Thursday, August 10

Kelsey, Winnie and Hudson posing at the Roaring Youth Jam at the Idaho Falls Greenbelt. Ana worked as a nanny and chauffeur for the Wildes over the summer. We arranged to meet up at the Youth Jam so the cousins could get together.

INL tours, a new van, and INL barbecue: Friday, August 11

Ana, Rebekah, Andrea, Miriam and Winnie pose next to Seth's desk at the INL. Only authorized people are allowed in the building on a regular day. We had to sign up to go on a tour on a specific day.

Andrea posing in the van we purchased from a family in Rigby in between our INL events. The gold van's alternator had gone out. For years we had had such things replaced/repaired, but the van was old enough that we had decided the next time a major repair needed to happen, we would pull the plug and get a new vehicle. Miraculously we found a 2019 Dodge Grand Caravan being sold nearby that fit our specs and budget.

Winnie rides the blowup slide at the INL barbecue held at Melaleuca Field in the evening. The family enjoyed dinner and games at the event.

Temple sealings and a wedding reception: Saturday, August 12

Seth, Andrea and Rebekah pose outside the Idaho Falls Temple after doing sealings together. It was Rebekah's first time doing this proxy ordinance.

Andrea, Ana and Seth at a wedding reception for a ward member. 

Rescuing Toad: Sunday, August 13

Seth rescuing Toad from a tree. He was very good at climbing up the trees, but not so good at getting down all the time. Toad was still skittish around Peach, so sometimes he would climb up a tree and get stuck.

Coscto treat: Friday, August 18

Miriam and Seth getting frozen yogurt at Costco while the rest of the family comes is gone hiking Union Falls.

Wisdom teeth removal and a trip to D.C.: Monday, August 21

Rebekah at the dentist office waiting to be called back for her wisdom teeth removal.

Rebekah in the car with a mouth full of gauze after her wisdom teeth removal. She adamantly refused to be recorded after IV sedation, but she didn't say anything crazy anyway. She was just more stubborn than usual. 

Seth on a flight to Arlington for work. His coworker Melanie fell asleep behind him.

Cooked cat and the White House: Wednesday, August 23

Toad lies down in a pan destined to go to college. Rebekah and Andrea were sorting through dishes and cookware we had collected in the shop so Rebekah could choose which ones to take to college.

Seth in front of the White House while on his work trip.

Alternator replaced: Monday, August 28

A dirty Rebekah posing next to the van after replacing the alternator. We told her that if she would do the repair on the van, she could keep the money from selling it. Thanks to YouTube tutorials, she did it! She also washed and detailed the van. 

Hike #6: Union Falls

 I went on this hike once when I was a teenager. I hadn't been back since then. Rebekah wanted to do a "big hike" this summer, but she was hoping for something other than our usual Table Rock. I persuaded her to go on this one because it's relatively flat. But what it lacks in elevation game, it makes up for in distance and the number of river crossings.

We had just purchased a new-to-us van, and I foolishly thought it would be fine getting us to the trailhead. Unfortunately, after the last turn-off the dirt road gets very rutted and muddy in the low spots. Rebekah was driving us to the trailhead, but at one point she opted to let Grandpa take the wheel to get us through one of those dicey situations. Next time we'll take the truck.

This is the longest hike that Rebekah, Ana or Winnie had ever been on. They were all troopers. The weather was really nice -- not too hot and not too cold. We really enjoyed our time at the pool jumping off the rocks into the water. I ended up with blisters on the bottoms of my feet and Winnie needed some help when she ran out of steam, but we all managed to make it the entire 18 miles on Friday, August 18.

Trailhead selfie: Andrea, Grandpa Scott, Winnie, Ana, Rebekah.

Crossing into Yellowstone National Park.

One of six river crossings: three on the way in and three on the way back. We all packed water shoes and rolled up our pants for these.

Winnie jumping off the rocks into the pool. This pool is pleasantly lukewarm because it's at least partially fed with some geothermally warmed water. There were a few other groups there while we were there, but everybody played nicely and took turns jumping off the rocks into the water. We spent a good while here having fun. Rebekah had not packed any swim clothes, so after I had jumped off the rocks once, I changed back into my hiking clothes and let her use my swim shorts. We all jumped in at least once. Winnie did several flips into the pool. Rebecca attempted to do a couple of flips, but she didn't quite make it all the way around and therefore back flopped. That smarted.

Andrea and Grandpa at the falls. After we had our fill at the pool, we hiked the other direction and got to see this magnificent site where Three Rivers join and spill over the edge in a beautiful waterfall. We sat down and ate lunch inside of the waterfall.

Lunch time at the waterfall. I don't know if Winnie had low blood sugar or knew she'd have to hike 9 miles back out, but she looking pretty rough at this point.

Rebekah chilling at lunch time. We hike together for a little while on the way back out, but pretty quickly Rebekah and Ana asked if they could have the keys and hike ahead of us. I hoped they would remember which forks to take but sent them on their way. Grandpa and I helped Winnie along by telling her stories and jokes. She did gain some of her energy back and was galloping down the trail at some points.

We found this sign on the way back out. We wondered where on Earth there could possibly be a toilet way out on this trail. We decided to find it.

And we did! When he thought about using the facilities because, hey, why not? But the seat was way too hot to sit on.

boygenius concert

 No, that title is not a typo. This "super group" made up of three female indie musicians styles there name lowercase and all one word.

Seth has been a fan of their music and especially of Phoebe Bridgers for a while now, so when Seth saw that they were coming to Salt Lake this summer, he asked if we could get tickets as a birthday present for him. So we did.

He and I drove down to Salt Lake on Thursday, August 3, and stopped in at several D.I. series along the way. After we got to the hotel and checked in, we walked to the venue and joined the queue of people well outside our demographic to get in. Most of the attendees were younger than we were, to say the least. They also smoked more marijuana, vaped more, and drink more than we did at this concert. 

The concert was held by the library, which was a really awkward venue. It was mostly on asphalt and very narrow and long. Seth and I found a ledge that we could sit on that was farther back from the stage but gave us more heights so we could see it well. When we sat down, we were the first ones on that ledge. By the time the concert started, that ledge was full of people who followed our suit.

I wasn't as familiar with the music, but it was a really fun concert. Unfortunately, the forecast indicated that the weather would turn, so they started things earlier and went shorter than they usually did. We were finished with the concert by 8:00 p.m. regardless, it was a fun experience. As we walked back to our hotel, so then I stopped for gelato and ate it while walking.

We stayed overnight in Salt Lake and headed back home the next day, making a few stops at a few more thrift stores along the way.

In line to enter the venue. The line snakes all around this building. We were grateful to have a spot in the shade.

Our sitting ledge.

All the people standing next to/behind us.

The view from our perch.

Hike #5: Delta Lake

 I heard about this hike from my physical therapist. (Side note: I'd been seeing a physical therapist since the end of February for my shoulder.) We had never done this one before, so we got the tips from him and read about the trail on my hiking app before we set out on Saturday, July 29.

We learned that it is a very popular trailhead and you have to get there early to find a place to park. This is a shared trailhead for Delta Lake, Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes, and the Grand. We left home at 5 a.m. and still had to park down the road a ways and hike in to the trailhead. The hike is supposed to be 7.4 miles, but when all was said and done, we clocked in at about 10 miles.

The first few miles of this hike are pretty easy and overlook Bradley and Taggart Lakes once you get up high enough. It was most enjoyable. The last mile of the hike is very steep and over an enormous boulder field. That slowed us down a little bit, but everyone managed all right and we made it to one of the most picturesque places I've ever been in my life.

We ate lunch at our own little corner of the lake that sits below the Grand Teton. Several people had brought their swimming suits and we're jumping in, but Winnie and I stuck our arms into the ice cold water and knew that that was enough for us.

One of the amazing/baffling things about this hike wasn't the number of people we saw on the trail (not too surprising for the Saturday in Grand Teton National Park), but the various levels of preparation that we saw in the groups. As we were headed down, we saw several groups headed up that had maybe one water bottle between them and they were all wearing jeans and sandals and not your typical hiking clothes. We weren't sure where they thought they were headed, how long they thought it would take to get there, or how hard they thought it would be. 

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and I would totally do this hike again sometime.

Trailhead selfie. Seth, Andrea, Winnie, Rebekah, Grandpa Scott.

Seth with Bradley and Taggart Lakes in the background.

Rebekah and Winnie headed up the steep boulder field. We kind of veered off the trail a little bit on our way in, but we still made it to the lake.

Enjoying our little corner of the lakeside.

Rebekah taking a break at the lake.

Winnie's and Andrea's reactions to the cold water.

Grandpa took this picture of us with the lake and The Grand in the background.

Hiking back out from the lake.