COVID be darned! Protests be darned! Sometimes, you just gotta get out with the boys and enjoy a little bit of life. So, one afternoon, we drove up to the Denver airport and took a little hop to Seattle. Just the boys. Just the highlights. Just because. The best part of traveling during this crazy time is the lack of anyone anywhere. No one in the airports. No tourists. Just wish we lived in Europe so we could go travel about without hoards of people in the way. Anyway, we landed at the airport, grabbed our car and headed straight to Ivars for some tasty fish n' chips. We also got the awesome experience of seeing Elder Holtom who was supposed to be in Hong Kong, but got reassigned to Seattle. It was the perfect evening. Warm weather, great sunset, great food, and great people. Ivars has played a part of Wilhelm family meals for generations (starting with Grandpa Floyd), so there were a lot of stories to share. Once we had our fill and watched the sunset, we headed down to our hotel for our fishing trip the next day. However, we did have to stop really quick in Dupont. Andrew still has PTSD from going to Chloe Clark Elementary, so it was time for him to confront his demons. It was funny to hear what he remembered about going to school there, the things that were fun, and the things that were awful. After that, we headed to Safeway in Lacey, grabbed some food, and then headed to our hotel in Aberdeen.

Written by Mike

​After Mike, Andrew, and Peter left for their boy’s adventure trip, the girls and I decided to head on over to Flying Horse for their Taco Thursday event. It was kind of overcast so we spent most of the time in the hot tub after stuffing out faces full of yummy tacos. It was nice to be able to spend time with just the girls.

Well, if this trip proved one thing, we are not boat people. This was supposed to be a triumph of manhood. Sailing out into the ocean. Men against the elements. Men catching fish. Men high-fiving and downing drinks as we declared our superiority over the Ocean and her little waves. Instead, it was three grown men laying helplessly on a boat while they took turns throwing up. Yes, there were fish caught, but I think they threw themselves on our hooks out of pity. Somehow, out of the misery, we were still able to have fun, catch some fish and enjoy the beauty of the ocean, but we have clearly lived in Colorado too long and no longer have any ability to tolerate the gentle lilting of the ocean.

When we got back into the docks, we had our fish packaged up for the return home, and then headed up the coast. On our way out of Westport, we saw a group of four missionaries walking down this country road. We had some Oreos in the car, so we turned around and Andrew hung out the window and we fed the missionaries Oreos. Most of them had be reassigned from other missions across the world, and it was clearly a highlight of their day to get randomly gifted cookies. It's always fun when you see the missionaries out and about.  

What we lack in seafaring skills, we make up in hiking and exploring skills. On our way to our hotel in Forks, we stopped at one of my favorite places in the world, Ruby Beach. We spent the evening exploring, climbing, getting wet in the surf and just watching the waves roll in and out. Colorado is a fun place, but I deeply miss the sound of waves on the shore and the smell of salty air on a crisp afternoon breeze. There is something magical about the Olympic Peninsula, and Ruby beach displays that magic in its rocks and grand vistas. Plus, there is an endless amount of rocks to skip. Hours have been spent skipping rocks and sitting on downed trees as the sun fades into the West.  

​Written by Mike

On our family walk the boys were being so cute with Madeline and swinging her up and down the sidewalk. When we rounded the corner to the Garlock house we ran into Grant and both Peter and Grant were wearing the same school shirt. We just had to stop and take a picture.

​Grandma Anne bought a fun little splash pool for Madeline during our visit to Utah. She had so much fun in it almost every day that we were there.

​It was really fun to do home church with Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz. Both of the boys were able to bless and pass the sacrament which was really special for my parents to watch. Grandpa even had real sacrament cups for us to use which was pretty awesome.

​I was able to meet up with Becca, Melissa, and Brittany while I was in Utah. We went to Becca’s house and just talked for a few hours. It was nice to catch up with some of my BYU roommates even for a short time. Hopefully we can do it again next summer.

​Madeline loves spending time with her grandparents. On our visit to Orem I often found her on the bed watching something with Grandpa Franz or cuddling next to Grandma Anne. It was just the cutest thing. 

​After our hike up Mt. Timpanogos we were all pretty much destroyed. After Peter showered, he immediately fell asleep. I was not surprised at all considering how much this kid loves to sleep.

​Mike, Andrew, and I quickly showered after our hike up Timpanogos so that we could head on over to say a quick hi to Kelvin and his family while they were on their way to a family reunion in Wyoming. We stopped at a nearby gas station while they were filling up to say hi. It’s always so fun to see the Ning family. We wish they lived closer to us. 

​Before we all headed in the car to drive back to Colorado, we took a quick selfie with Grandma. The kids sure had a great time visiting their grandparents in Orem.

​We have had quite a few torrential afternoon rainstorms. One in particular, was so strong that it washed out a bunch of the little rocks on the side of our house.

​Madeline really loves doing the little boxes of puzzles. In the past we would help her, but she picked up one of the puzzles and figured out how to put it together all on her own. It was so fun to watch her do it by herself. 

​We love our afternoon walks. Sometimes it is just Mike, Madeline and I that head out to walk around the neighborhood. Sometimes Madeline does the entire loop without any problems and sometimes she just wants to be carried. A good shoulder ride usually does the trick.

​With only a month before Andrew leaves for his mission it was time to finally start laying everything out to see what else he needed from his packing list. ​By the end of the month all of Andrew’s language books and other missionary books arrived. 

​We love shopping at Costco, mostly for the crazy random things that you can find there. On one particular shopping trip we found a mini keg of beer for Oktoberfest. It was just too funny, so we had to stop and snap a quick photo. 

All summer Abby willingly rode Peter’s old green mountain bike even though it wasn’t the best bike to ride. Part of the problem with the bike was it was a little too small and the shifters didn’t work that well. It was finally time for an upgrade, so we got her a TREK bike similar to Emma’s bike. She has really loved riding this bike and can go farther and faster which is pretty great.

​After finding out that our XTERRA Beaver Creek race was cancelled, Mike and I decided to keep running and biking but to just have fun doing it. I spent a good deal of this month running and biking on a new trail in our area called the Pineries Open Space. The 8.4-mile loop proved to be a great trail. I also spent some time running with Caryn and Dionne at Ute Valley Park, did speed work on the Santa Fe trail and some climbing on the Ute Pass Trail. I divided my biking between mountain biking and road biking and just had fun with it all. I pushed myself to new PRs which was awesome. I may not have been able to officially race this month, but I still pushed myself to achieve new goals

​It’s crazy to think Andrew is nineteen years old. It’s crazy that he turned nineteen in a year that has been totally upside down thanks to COVID-19. It’s crazy that he is living in our basement and completing another semester of school. We’re grateful for Andrew. No one who has kids will tell you that they don’t stress you out and make you want to pull out your hair, but at the same time, life wouldn’t be as grand without them. Happy Birthday Andrew.  

​Being Epic Pass Holders, we were able to take the ski lift to the top of the mountain which was so much easier than hiking or biking up! We took the Royal Elk trail over to the lake and sat on the far side of the shore. It was so pleasant. We then hiked back down to the hotel. Why do trips like this have to end? It seems like it would be better if we could work 2 days a week and take 5 days off.  I think life would be better if we didn’t have to work so much.  

​On Friday, we got up and road our mountain bikes uphill and took the village connector trail all the way through Beaver Creek. It was a bit of a beast to start climbing right away up the mountain, but once on the main trail, it was pretty spectacular. The views, the flower, and the flowy single track were pretty great. The downhill was fun as well. We had lunch down by the Westin in Avon, and then took the bus back up to the hotel. It was a beautiful day with great weather. The best part of the day, of course, was getting massages at the spa. The Spa at the Park Hyatt is one of the best we have ever been to. It’s just great and never disappoints.  

​There are just some places that are great to go with your spouse. Beaver Creek is one of them.  It’s such a beautiful place. We took the weekend to spend without the kids at the Park Hyatt, which is one of our favorite places. The hotel is great, but there are lots of fun things to do there.  Soon after we arrived, we headed over to eat dinner at Splendido. The food was wonderful, but the best part were the souffle’s for dessert. They were ridiculously good. Our dinner was a great way to start our awesome weekend trip.

One of the fun things about being around Sara’s parents is their love for biking. It’s great to have grandparents who are active and want to go out and do things. There are lots of great trails by their house like the Murdock trail, the Provo Canyon River Trail, and then long loops through the mountains to make sure that your legs will be burning and your lungs weeping. Sara, Franz, and Mike did the Alpine loop, which is a stunning, beautiful climb around Mount Timpanogos. The trees and scenery are stunning. Sara flew up the climb and proved that she is still Queen of the Mountain. Coming down, Franz went so fast it was a little unnerving to try to keep up. That man has no fear. It was a great ride. Another great ride we did with all the kids was biking up the Provo River trail to Vivian Park. It’s a great ride and just a beautiful river with great scenery. The kids did great. At the top of the trail, there was a park for Madeline to play at with her siblings. The best part, of course, was that the way back was all downhill. Downhill makes for happy kids. 

Any vacation wouldn’t be complete without some silly long hike. Mount Timpanogos seems like a straightforward hike, and for the most part it is, but it is a long, long hike. The waterfalls, wildflowers, and stunning views make it all worth it. Peter and Andrew basically raced up the mountain, proving that it's really annoying to go hiking with younger people with good lungs and springy legs, but we kept up with them pretty well. Emerald Lake was beautiful and there were mountain goats just hanging out alongside the trail.  Crossing the snowbanks was tough, but getting to the summit wasn’t too bad, especially since we’re pretty used to the altitude. The views from the top were perfect. It was a beautiful day to be in the mountains. The real beast was coming back down. It’s just a long, long way by the time you get back down. The entire hike was sixteen miles round trip. Sara ran down the last couple of miles and the boys spent time just enjoying all the waterfalls. Afterwards, it was a race to IN-N-OUT for everyone so we could refuel our bodies. It was such a great hike, but one we would pay for with sore legs for the next couple of days. 

​written by Mike

Deer Creek Reservoir is just up the road from Provo and is a pretty great body of water. The views from the shore are spectacular with Mount Timpanogos towering over the northwest shoreline and Park City to the northeast. The water was pretty temperate.  When we got there, we saw one of the giant inflatable obstacle courses like we did in Mexico, so we sent the older kids off to do that and got the rest of the kayaks and paddle boards set up.  We also rented a jet ski, which was a lot of fun.  We only crashed it once, but it was a lot of fun for Mike to go flying in the air with the girls and pretend they were seagulls.  Madeline loved the Jet Ski and went out multiple times.  We would have people paddle board out, trade out for the person on the jet ski and go off into the lake.  It’s crazy how fast those things go and just so much fun.  No wonder people like going to the lake!

​Ever since I went to BYU, I have wanted to go tubing down the Provo river.  Since that time, various little outfitters have popped up to make that possible, but we weren’t about to pay someone for something we could do on our own.  So, Andrew, Peter, and Mike headed grabbed their Walmart 8-dollar innertubes that are meant for pool use and had Grandpa Franz drop them off at the top of the river just below the dam at Deer Creek Reservoir.  With excitement, they jumped in and instantly froze the lower 1/3 of their bodies.  That water is cold!  The first half was pretty great, after the initial shock wore off, but then the boys in a feat of daring stupidity popped their double innertube on the train bridge, which is a common issue in this part of the river.  Honestly, it’s kind of a dangerous little section.  Mike, had to go get the car, which was parked at Vivian Park, so he continued down the river as his tube slowly deflated.  He made it, but barely.  The boys, while waiting back at the bridge, helped save an intoxicated idiot who dumped their kayak and got stuck in the rapids under the bridge. A potentially deadly situation that the boys helped them survive.  Of course, to show their gratitude, they offered the boys Weed.  You gotta love millennials in Utah.  

One of my favorite things to do in life is go hiking.  So it was a great day to be able to get up early and hike with my best friend up Y mountain. Bonus fact, it was also the place of our first date. It was fun to hike up the switchbacks, take in the views and just sit and talk and look over the world. Plus, we did it all before anyone else really got up in the morning. There’s something great about being up in the mountains and watching the sun come up on the world. Makes you grateful that you were around for another year to take it all in. Later on that day, we had doughnuts and opened presents. I’m always happy when I get a surprise for my birthday. For years, I have been coveting a new Taylor guitar. It was pretty great to be surprised with a new guitar for my birthday, super fun to play with great sound and great action. Abby was a sport because her birthday got delayed until we got to Utah. I think it paid off for her in the end and it was worth the wait. Great food and good times. Birthdays are about being with family, laughing, and eating too much frosting.

written by Mike

Everybody knows that the best way to celebrate the birth of our country is to eat hamburgers, hot dogs and blow stuff up. And that’s what we did. Fortunately, in Utah, fireworks are fully legal in every insane permutation you can imagine. Being starved for entertainment, we decided to join the locals and go crazy with big fireworks. It was a lot of fun. Madeline had some sparklers, the girls did cherry bombs and spinners and the boys lit off the big displays. There were so many fireworks going off in the neighboring streets that it was like we had our own private show. It was quite the event and a whole lot of fun.  

Driving to Utah is a bit of a slog, so it’s nice to be able to break it up. We got up early and, on our way out of town, stopped at the big park in Grand Junction. It was pretty amazing.  There were dozens of slides, zip lines, ninja warrior stuff, and all sorts of fun stuff.  Madeline had a blast, and the older kids proved that everyone loves playing on a cool playground. Thank goodness it wasn’t too hot!

​Packing and hauling bikes for seven people cross country is quite a chore, but bike rides like this make it all worth it. Right off the Interstate is a bike path that follows the river as it courses through Glenwood Canyon. The roaring water and the towering rock walls are spectacular. There are parts of the canyon that are only accessible by the trail, so It’s worth the ride. Of course, sometimes even the best laid plans have their hiccups. The plan was to start at the top of the canyon and bike downhill to Glenwood Springs.  Instead, we started about half way down and biked up and then all the way back down. Of course, to do this, we had to leave a car in Glenwood and one in the Canyon. While in Glenwood, renting the Burley for Madeline to ride in, Peter somehow knocked the stem off his tire, thus creating an unfixable flat.  Fortunately, after Mike used some choice words, they found a bike store and got a new tire put on. It only delayed things by about 30 minutes, so not the end of the world. Once the gang was all back together, we headed up the Canyon. It was breathtaking, both visually and physically. It’s hard to pedal uphill with kids in tow! When we got to Hanging Lake, we saw a marmot just hanging out by the trail. We turned around at Hanging Lake and headed downhill to Glenwood Springs. Of course, it wasn’t totally downhill. In fact, there were some big ups, and it was super sunny and hot. There were some grumpy comments, but once we made it to the bridge over the interstate, it was pretty easy. We ended up at a park down by the river in the shade with ice cream.