August 2009

Here Pamela is 7 months pregnant going to the Newport Beach temple.

Anna visited us and we went to her favorite beach in Coronado. We couldn't keep Elaina out of the water.

Elaina has learned how to rock her giraffe.

Jacob's 18th birthday. Melvin Ricks, Kendell Ricks, and Jacob Ricks 3 generations of our family.

The Hermansons come to the Silver strand. John, Katie, Anna, and Elaina. There she goes again, don't keep her out of the water.

Mammoth July 2009

We ran into a thunderstorm on the way to Mammoth.

Mom came with us on the hike to the Devil's Postpile.

Here are Neil, Pamela and Elaina in front of the Devil's Postpile.

Next is my brother-in-law Ross and his son Jared as victors in the local canoe races.

Then we have Neil and Elaina at Lake McLeod.

The Ricks family made for quite a crowd at church at the local LDS branch. Here you see us after church with a family photo on a nearby rock. Four out of seven Ricks kids were there with their families.

Mom and Dad were quite the rebels, riding on the tailgate of someone's truck at the local fireman's picnic. My nephews Adam, Jared and Geoff made it to the top of the greased pole, beating out the firemen.

The last 2 pictures are of Convict Lake, which I've really wanted to visit since it appeared in a Nature Valley granola bar commercial. The favorite activity at the Lake, of course, was skipping rocks.

July 2009

We went to LA to visit my sister Marilee and my niece Falene. She had just had her 2nd son Gavin 13 months after her first son Aiden. Neil is holding Gavin on Marilee's back porch.

This is house my dad built. It is probably one of the ones he is most proud of, though it cost him 3 months in the hospital. He was carving a road out of the hillside when the tractor rolled over and took him with it. He suffered a dislocated hip and spent a lot of time in traction. I was in the 8th grade at the time.

Neil and Elaina are under the Berkshire bridge on the horse trail. This was one of my favorite places to go hiking and mountain biking.

Next is Venice Beach. The crazy scene isn't as appealing as it once was, now that I have a family.

Karissa Thompson's baptism. The Thompsons have been Neil's surrogate neices for years. We came directly from Venice Beach to the baptism and afterward we went out for Thai food.

The month of July was quite warm, especially for a woman 6 months pregnant in a house with no air conditioning. We went to Mission Beach one Saturday just to cool off. Here you see Neil and Elaina walking toward the surf.

A highlight of the month was going to see the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach. I had heard about it for years, but have never been. The amphitheater was truly impressive and it was fun to be on a date and hang with the artsy crowd.

Alaska July 2009

We arrived in Alaska to be greeted by Elaina's happy cousins. This was rewarding after our difficult 3 connections plane flight.

We went to the Alaska temple. It was fun to see the murals on the walls of Alaska scenery.

Next we went on a hike. It was beautiful, except for the mosquitos. Here my sister Liz and I are walking with Elaina. Liz is 8 months pregnant and I am 5 months pregnant. Physically there is a big difference between the two.

This is a picture at the end of the hike of the Astle family.

Icebergs from the Portage glacier at the end of the Turnagain Arm. It was named by the explorer Captain Cook who was looking for a Northwest passage. He got to the end only to turn again.

Liz and I are on a girls' day out at the top of the Alieska gondola. We are the 2 pregnant ladies.

Neil and Lee took the kids to a petting zoo and on a train ride for the day while we were out.

Here is two year old Marcus in front of a moose.

We decided to drive to Denali National park. While we were in the visitor's center, Elaina showed that she was learning how to walk quite proficiently. She also discovered the stuffed animal section of the gift shop.

A view of Denali National Park. Mount McKinnley eluded us that day. The natives choose to call it Denali mountain instead.

We got to see summer ptarmagans. These birds blend in so well with the scenery. In the winter they are all white.

Here we are after finishing our 2 mile hike at the end of the paved road in Denali.

Next we drove to Fairbanks, Alaska and went on the river boat trip on the Chena and Tanana Rivers. Elaina got a close up look at sled dogs. It was odd to have boats pass by at 11:00pm because it was still light out.

We drove back to Denali and met Liz and Lee and family, who came up on the train.

We went to an animal rescue shelter, more like an outdoor zoo, which even had musk oxen. Bryce and Dana loved posing with the bear.

We all stayed in a condo near Seward with a killer view of a lake and mountains, and an awesome jacuzzi.

Neil and Lee got to go deep sea fishing near Seward while the girls and kids went on a boat ride to a glacier. Neil caught a few fish, but he wasn't really converted to the sport of fishing.

We also got to see the Mountain Marathon on July 4 while we were in Seward. It's not really a marathon, but it is a steep climb up a 3000 foot mountain, and everyone gets bloody and bruised on the slippery trails.

We also got to hike to the Exit Glacier. It's pretty impressive to see a glacier up close.

Dana and I had a fun "snowball" fight with cotton balls from nearby cottonwood trees.

Sadly, it was finally time to go home. Lainie learned to walk on this trip, thanks to encouragement from her cousins. Mom had to hold her hand to make sure she didn't run off in the airport.