The Wardle's Caribbean Vacation

Every other year or so the Wardle Fam pulls it together and does a big family trip. This is no small undertaking; there are a lot of us now. Everyone keeps reproducing, so finding accommodations where we can all fit together and have enough space is a large undertaking. This year we visited the Caribbean of the Rockies otherwise known as Bear Lake.

We stayed in some lovely condos on the West side of the lake. Each family rented their own unit and we all dwelt there together for a few days while we had some fun in the sun. The units were privately owned and some were nicer than others, but all in all I’d say they were about average. They did the job. There a nice big pool, but it was really too cold to enjoy swimming in, most of us (excluding me, I don’t like being cold) took advantage of it anyway.


Antie Hay and Uncle Jeff and Cousin Anna joined us for the first night. Alyssa and Anna had a ball playing together. Sunny also seemed to have a great time spectating both girls at play. The girls were surprisingly good at sharing the few toys we had with us. They each took to one of our pool floaties, using them in several unusual ways…very cute.



The weather was very nice providing an excellent opportunity for kids to make the most of the beach and playing in the sand and water. They built castles and mud piles. Alyssa said it best. “We did a lot of fun.”
Randy brought his raft which the kids and parents took turns riding in.

We also had a bad mitten net up and took turns playing and supervising children playing in the water. Luckily no no one drowned and no severe sunburns occurred during our fun in the sun.
Props go out to all the diligent parents who kept re-applying to the children and themselves.

Special thanks to Scott and Tammy who reminded us before hand of what can happen if you don’t diligently re-apply.


My personal favorite moment was when Steve rented us a Quadricycle, a fun car-bike. It had pedals for two and a basket in the front for the kiddies to sit. We gave all the little cousins rides and had a ball doing it. Now we want one for our own. With gas prices the way they are, maybe we’ll just do it. Anyone else interested? The more you order the cheaper they are.



Special thanks to Rick and Laura who found the accommodations for us and Penny who organized our family meal. We had a great time…Let’s do it again next year, or maybe the year after.

We bought a painting from this Israeli guy

A guy in his early twenties came to the door the other night selling original oil paintings. We invited him in to show us his work. He and three other guys were canvassing the neighborhood selling paintings and making money to keep up their travels.

They are art students from Israel on their way to UC Berkley. They are touring all the states on their way to school selling their work to fund their trip. Anyway, we really liked this painting and bought it. Thought you might like to see it.

Freedom isn't Free

I love America, and I love celebrating the Fourth of July. America is the greatest place on earth. We are so lucky to call it home.

Special thanks to my Grandpas, who served in the wars to keep America a free country. My Grandpa Olson served as a military police officer, and my Grandpa Wardle kept the troops fed working as a cook. It’s always fun (when it doesn’t last 4 hours or more) to hear about different war stories they tell.

Things are different now than they were back then. My generation, until the last five years or so, has led pretty war-less lives. Because of that, I think a lot of us, me included, don’t always appreciate how great our country is and the privileges we enjoy. Most of us don’t do enough to ensure that America always stays this way. The purpose of this blog is not to call anyone into action, although it wouldn’t hurt if more of us would get out and vote or at least register to vote. No, the real purpose of this blog is to show you the cute pics we have from our festivities this year.

We attended the Riverton Parade on the evening of the third of July. Always a favorite for me, ever since I was a little girl, and a great kick-off for the holiday.

We also went to Riverton Park that evening and listened to my brother’s band (not the kind you’re thinking of) play. Alyssa, Alayna and Issac put on a show dancing to the music for us and all the blue-hairs who were there. The kids also got to go and see the carnies who were in town with their rickety rides. They didn’t ride them though, because I am too cheap and I don’t trust the maintenance procedures the carnies may or may not follow. Based on the lack of maintenance they showed on caring for their own teeth, my money says they don’t maintain those rides either.

The next day we did the All-American thing to do and had a BBQ with the entire Sokol Fam. Alyssa had a ball as usual playing with her Sokol cousins. Fun times chasing each other around the house, and watching Uncle Bob nearly blow his digits off lighting fire works and smoke bombs.

We had delicious thick burgers and brawts and chicken along with an assortment of delicious sides. Then as if that weren’t enough, we went to see the Bee’s play some baseball. It was a fun thing to do on the Fourth, and no one got beamed in the head with a baseball, which I was very nervous about since we were sitting in foul ball territory.
They had a fireworks display afterward which was neat-o. Nothing makes you feel more patriotic than Neil Diamond singing “Come’n to America with fireworks bursting overhead. One of the best moments of the year. Special thanks to Karen and Charlie for making it happen, we had a great time together.

All in all it was a great celebration. I look forward to many more in the future.

In closing, remember, freedom isn’t free.

Super Good Things Utah

So me and my Crew went to watch Good Things Utah live yesterday. It was really fun. My CSO won a contest to be a guest host for the day. So that was our motivation for going. Isn't that awesome! Isn't she gutsy? I think so.

I don't think I could actually get myself to do something like that. Not to make this about me, (but it is my blog, and I always do) I would probably have a heart attack and die before or while I was on camera, and I am no stranger to the electronic media. During my college days, for those of you who don’t know how awesome and experienced I really am….I was a DJ and hosted radio shows and recorded the news segment on the college radio station. AND….as if that weren’t enough; I recorded the Weber State News as an anchor at the News Desk. It was terrifying and I was pretty much terrible at it.

You really do have to have a lot of talent to pull of being natural on camera. I hate to admit it, but those Good Things Utah girls really know what they are doing. And my CSO Julie was fantastic with them. What a brave girl with a pretty good amount of on camera talent. It was really fun to watch her and see the show live. Plus…free stuff. I got free tickets to the Rodeo and a $10 gift card to Kneaders and some crud from Roberts Craft.

If you ever go see the show live, I recommend dressing nicely in your trendiest apparel. Also have your very best hair and make-up day. You’ll need to in order not to feel like a total tard while you’re there. Every female who works there, and I mean all of them, production assistants, interns, key grips (what the heck is a key grip anyway..?) are un realistically gorgeous. They all wear the latest and greatest trends in the smallest sizes available. They walk around all day at work in 5 inch stilettos or platforms, looking like they all just stepped out of “hair and make-up” chair. They must have an enormous Workers Comp premium because of all the broken ankles from the Stepford’s falling off their high heels.

Anyway…Way to go CSO you did a great job. I was proud to be there with you. Anyone want to go see GTU? I’d go again.