Wilde Family Reunion 2011

WFRIP2011. That's Bebe's acronym for this year's get together. IP= Island Park, Id.

I had a blast this year with all my siblings (I include their spouses as siblings, too. So no need to mention them separately.) The kids were mildly tolerable, too. JOKES, they were so cute! I loved watching them all play together, discovering porcupines, wood piles, elastic gun shooter things, obstacle courses and marshmallow guns. Thanks, Brandon and Shan.

We spent a lot of time catching up and riding quads. Dustin took the job of spilling him and Max off the quad, no helmets of course. They turned out alright after Max's 20 minute bout with amnesia and Dustin's grotesque bump on his shoulder. We also loved playing on the jet-skis, and trying to double on the tube. That was a one person tube, by the way. It made for a nice leisurely ride, no bumps and no throwing.

I love getting together with all of my family. We have some awesome childhood memories and great senses of humor. Thanks guys, love you.

You get what you pay for...

I had a busy day today. I ran my 12 k to train for my upcoming torture day. Or, race day, I mean. My cheering squad followed me in the van the last 2 kilometres. I couldn't believe how sweet they were with their GO MOM GO signs and chants. So cute! I came home, ate and showered then off to my friends' house to can a zillion cans of peaches. When I got home, this is what I found:

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, that's my little Elle, not Gene Simmons from KISS. I was pretty stoked to come home to not one, but two superheroes living in my home. Team Iron Man and Batman!

AND, also in case you were wondering, I didn't pay my babysitter. Because DUSTIN was the babysitter.

Baby Elle

There are many advantages to having a baby in the summer months. You don't have to be uncomfortably hot and pregnant in the hottest time of the year. You can look so hot in your swimming suit at the pool after the baby is born. Last but not least, you don't have to wear maternity sweaters in the last month of your pregnancy that actually make you look 25 months pregnant. Two truths and a lie. Which is which?

ANYWAY--the best part of last summer was our little Elle coming to join our the family! Can you believe she's a year old? (I know I'm almost two months late blogging this, cut me some slack!) She is the sweetest little sister. Her two biggest fans, Max and Sam, follow her around playing and yelling names to her like, "PINCUSHION", and "BEEBS" respectively. She's very calm and loving. Elle loves to give open mouth kisses, give loves and fly up the stairs. Seriously, you leave the baby gate open for a split second, she's up at the top of the stairs looking down. Dangerously, I might add. She's just learned to turn around at the top, by putting out her right foot straight and pivoting her body around it to get on her belly and go down. She never really gets all the way down before she starts climbing up again.

Elle really is our sweet little girl. I couldn't imagine our family without her. She's patient, but has a distinct SQUAWK when Sam double fist punches her in the face. She's no priss, that's for sure but lets you know when you're doing something she doesn't like. Ask Grandpa Wilde how nicely she holds still when you change her diaper.

Dear Elle: Happy Birthday! We love you. We're happy you're here. We love how you teeter along when you walk. Or how you smile so big when you see us or the boys. We love your little closet room you sleep in with the fan on and the window closed. You're our "baby" and always will be our baby Elle.

Thanks for picking us, baby.

Homer: "Potato Man", Door man: "Where the hell have you been?"

For those who know me can all attest to my love for the best band of all-time. I have loved their songs and sang along to them from my earliest memory. In fact, I remember being tormented by one of my older brothers who shall remain nameless (until the day of judgement) when I was rescued by my oldest brother, Jason. He made me a peanut butter and jam sandwich and took me for a drive in his old beater. We listened to the Joshua Tree and I remember both of us belting out, "Where the Streets Have No Name!!!!" as loud as we could. Actually, that is the only memory I have with Jason growing up because he is so much older than me. Maybe that's a reason why I love U2 so much.

Anyway, all my life I have dreamt of meeting Bono and the Edge after one of their concerts. My dream came true!! Well, the concert part anyway. I decided I didn't really care about meeting Bono after his interview on Oprah. He's a bit cray, I think. But they make great music, those guys. Dustin surprised me with the best birthday gift EVER-two years ago! The tour was postponed last year to this June so I had to wait. But it was totally WORTH IT!

Me with the mulletiest mullet 2011

Justin and Karen came with us on the LRT, which, later we found out was a very popular form of transportation for the majority of the 60,000 people at the show. Crazy. We didn't get to sit with them, but it was great because we got to sit behind the drunkest man there. He was so wasted that on the second song he had pretty much passed out. His good buddies and nasty girlfriend thought it would be the best idea to give the guy a piece of greasy pizza. Turns out that was a bad idea. He puked all all all over --there were seat evacuations in front of him. I tried not to think about the gigantic puddle of puke in front of me. Staring at me. Beckoning me to add to it's bubbly mass. I declined the offer and kept my dinner.

Needless to say it was the best show. EVER!!!! I loved it! I was sad at the end and said to Dustin, "They didn't sing my favorite song!" (one) They came out and sang it for their encore! It was amazing!

Thanks, Dust! I loved being there with you and sharing one of my favourite things!

Oh, and thank you Jason, for saving my life and teaching me an appreciation for the band of the century.

"TIME! TIME! WHO HAS THE TIME?!"

First of all, isn't that the creepiest picture you've ever visually processed? That was taken professionally on Dustin's 3G iphone at the theatre in Paris. We saw Pirates of the Caribbean there. (It was in English with French subtitles, of course.)

Moving on from Michael Myers' inspiration....Freaky....

I hate the "I've been too busy" excuse. You know, when you don't hear from people that you have tried to get a hold of and they never call you back. I despise that. (Friend "X": if you're reading this, I promise this is not a rant toward you- I spoke my piece and am moving on from being a little mad. That's why we've been friends so long; I can tell you when I'm upset and you can mostly ignore it and we move on. =)

At any rate, I hate that excuse...except in the blogging context. I haven't blogged and I will list my excuses....later. Here are a few, though:

Dustin and I moved our little family four hours away from our friends. It's an old house and we've had a lot to do, which brings me to my next excuse:

Renovations. Dustin and his dad ripped out our bathroom upstairs because it was not functional. Those two are incredible.

Dustin's uncle passed away. Sad day.

Wilde crazy fest 2011. Island Park. Idaho. I really thought that was the best reunion we've ever done. Well done, family. (I doubt any of them will even read this, but still- they're awesome.)

Oh, did I mention, we're still living out of boxes? Yep. That's where my camera is. I'll find it one day. Maybe.

My one year old. Teething, one year old. Trying to establish independence/dependence, teething one year old. Sounds like the "Irving" song.

I'm losing my mind. Anyway, my point is, I will post pictures of our new house, The Crazy Fest, Renos and much, much more. Well, probably not. In fact, here are some reno pics so you can see the before. Nevermind I can't find them.

See ya in 3 months!

Is this, like, a skin tag?

I've been tagged. Blog tag, that is. Thanks Lauren, but at the same time I have to make it perfectly clear that had anyone else done this, I would not be acquiescing. So there. Without further ado, here is my obligatory yet loving (?) response.

List three things you like about yourself:

only three? sheesh- this is clearly tailored to someone less humble than I. jokes.

1. I'm pretty good at being patient. I had a lot of pickings on sessions growing up and I think I can endure just about anything anyone throws at me. That's right- go ahead and try to get me mad. One thing that I have to be honest about though, I can be fairly passionate about time wasting. Just a heads up.

2. I like that I can laugh at just about anything. When life throws stuff at me, I can make a joke about it. Pacemaker at 14? Competitor's Courage award? Sam? All endearing because of good jokes and loving memories (moreso about Sam, less about my pacemaker.)

3. I love my kids. Sometimes I can get a little flustered when I'm on my own 24/7, but when push comes to shove, I'd rather have these three hoolies than a lame pacemaker (refer to #2). I guess I'm lucky cuz I get both. Huzzah!

Seriously, I love their curiosities, their humor, their naivete and unconditional love. I adore the fact that I'm merely their guardian while on this earth, and eternally we're equal and old souls.

Post a picture that I love

One? How is that possible? There are a zillion that I wanted, but I don't have any from high school (competitor's courage) on this computer. Here are 3/4 of the zillion, enjoy:

Tag Three Friends to Copy and do this on their blog:

1. Robin Stark

2. Shanalyn Wilde

3. Shea van Fleet

now what?

Dustin passed his board exam! What a smartie pants- he was so worried that he wouldn't and that he'd have to rewrite it. Seriously, I can understand the stress but at the same time, I wasn't worried at all. I've never met an awesomer guy. That's why I married him, I guess! So, Congratulations Dust! You're nearly a dentist, all you have to do now is a week of finals and convocate in June.

I was talking to my friend the other day, trying to figure out what we'll do now that my husband is no longer in school. I was telling her that when we were first married, I knew he wanted to be a dentist but I didn't know when that would come to fruition. All we have ever done is set short term goals, 'just get through this semester', 'get a good grade on the exam', 'take this class', 'pass the DAT', 'JUST GET THROUGH MED', etc. etc. Now here we are, faced with long term goals. Where do we live? Where to work? What to do?

Well, I'm happy to tell you, my blog readers (who I used to think was only my mom, but it turns out she doesn't frequent my blog either...so who am I really talking to?) we are moving to Brooks, Alberta! Dustin has a job pending there and we are looking at buying a house. Are we grown up, or what? Ha.

"What's in Brooks?", you ask? Plenty! An aqueduct! A waterpark! A golf course! A school for my kids! Most importantly, a dental clinic, a job! (check out the town website here)

Here we go, standing on the precipice of the rest of our lives. We can't wait!