Hoppy Easter

After a stormy night, our Easter morning broke clear and beautiful. We had a lovely day and hope you did, too.

Pony Girls

Here's Ella's first ponytail at 9 months...


...and Natalie's first ponytail at 9 months!

Do Not Try This At Home

So, I decided that if I could make home made marshmallows (which I can), then surely I could make home made Peeps. As you can see, I was very, very wrong.

We're All in This Together

Yes, Wildcat fans, that really is East High, alma mater to Troy, Gabriella, and the rest. It was fun to see the outside of the school, but what was really great was sneaking inside (it was 4pm) and seeing the cafeteria. I started singing "Stick to the Staus Quo" and Ella got mad at me. Nat, however, couldn't have cared less. She LIKES my singing!

Ella Rocks!

Ella's dad and grandpa, both avid rock climbers, took Ella and Natalie to the Weber Rocks climbing wall at Weber State University, where Grandpa Gary teaches and is known as Dr. Fun. She impressed them both with her skill and enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Natalie impressed one and all by sitting happily on her blankie and and taking in the action.

Fly Like an Eagle

As part of my birthday (yay, me!) a big ol' group of Willdens went indoor skydiving at IFLY in Ogden. Vero, Taylor, Jacob and I were first-timers, and if I do say so myself, we did pretty darn good! (High fives, guys!) It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and it was so much fun--I was whooping and hollering (and drooling--I'll admit it) the whole time. At the end of my second turn in the tunnel, the instructor had me do a flip--very cool! When you come visit us we'll show you the video.

Check us out in our jumpsuits! It's all about the costumes: Taylor, Kelsey, Gary, Mike, Greg, Katie, Vero, Jeff, Jeremy, and Jacob.

Happy Birthday, Dear Katie!

We had a house full of Willdens to celebrate my birthday this year! As per tradition, I made my own birthday cake (that way I always get exactly what I want) and I got to share the party with my nephew Zack and my niece Lindley, who also have March birthdays. Lindley was VERY helpful during the cake-making process--she licked all kinds of spoons for me!


After a big Sunday dinner AND big slabs of chocolate cake we commenced with a root beer tasting. 20 different kinds of root beer--well, 18, because two were repeated oh so sneakily. You would think they would all start to taste the same after a while, but every now and then one would sneak up and make you go, "CACK!" One tasted like dish soap, and one was like some sort of vile medicine--we called it "Rat in the Vat".


Even the Chileans had a go at the tasting extravaganza! My sister-in-law Veronica (on the right) HATES root beer--she says it all tastes like medicine. After our experience with "Rat in the Vat", we began to understand where she was coming from. Her sister, Jacque (left), who had just arrived from Chile the previous day, said that one of the offerings tasted like, and I quote, "horse piss". Oh, the glee! That about made the night for me.


Even Natalie joined in the fun. Can you tell by her grip on the spoon that she enjoyed her first few drops of root beer? (I'm almost positive that we did not subject her to "Rat in the Vat" or, heaven forbid, "horse piss".)

Gary's Hair

A picture of my cousin Gary's birthday hair is already on his own family's blog, but it's so good that I think it needs as much exposure as possible. Oh, and sorry about the diaper. I knew you had a thing about diapers, but I didn't know that the "thing" was an instant gag reflex!


Cousins! Maycee, Kaylee, Ella, McKell, Natalie, and Peyton.

Natalie's family

Natalie is #11 of 11 Willden grandkids. Here's the clan (left to right, top to bottom): Steven, Matt, Jeff, Greg, Gary, Jeremy, Michael, Great-Grandma LaRue Willden, Shannon, Veronica, Katie and Natalie, Joan, LeRita, Kelsey, Zack, Spencer, Alli, Nicolas, Catalina, Ella, Laurinda, Lindley, and Jacob.


Sadly, the Olesens were missing Lora, Oscar, and Olivia. The rest are: Natalie, Jake, Grandpa Ricky, Grandma Kathie, Ella, Katie, and Greg. (Ella had had it with photo ops, can you tell?)