This is the summer of fair weather...

Okay, so that title may not totally ring true to the craziness called the weather of 2011 but it comes from an all time favorite of mine, Saturday's Warrior, and I just couldn't resist. This is our debut summer as 'The Three Wiseman' and being such I couldn't resist wrestling Paul into a few fun exposure activities for our little Eloise. Add cousins, friends, and holidays and we have made ourselves a pretty stellar summer thus far. Welcome to the crazy adventures of Paul, Brittany, and Ellie!

Summer started a little early for us as we found ourselves traveling the open roads of Southern Utah to good ole' St. George with our pals Alan and Ashleigh Fagergren over Memorial Day Weekend. Our incredibly sweet friend from Kirkham Real Estate, Carolyn Kirkham, graciously let us stay at the Miles End, a beautiful historic home right by the temple. We have stayed there before and jumped at the chance to return. We had a tremendous weekend full of hiking (Snow Canyon), swimming, and delicious dining. Cue pictures...

She sure does like a good apple.

Three Ponds hike at Snow Canyon. Definitely NOT the most scenic destination.

Don't let her cute smile fool you. While being extraordinary patient as we drug her around St. George, the car ride was another story entirely. She couldn't for the life of her understand why her mom and dad were sitting right next to her and subjecting her to the cruelty of not getting her out of her car seat. 

HOGLE ZOO

For my birthday this year Ellie and I celebrated by going to the Hogle Zoo. My mom and two sisters joined us. Eloise had a great time with her cousins. She was much more interested in her sun hat and sunscreen stick than the animals, but it was fun nonetheless. 

I just really love this girl!

Eloise and her cousins. You can definitely tell which one is mine-poor girl inherited her mother's disappearing eyes when smiling. 

Maybe it was the rocky terrain, maybe it was too close to nap time. Either way, Ellie was not crazy about the train ride. My favorite thing about this picture just might be that lady over my shoulder. Smiling in the background of a strangers photo is right up my alley. 

Great...in fact GRAND birthday! 

WILLARD BAY

Taking a child for her first boat trip sounds like a fun idea. At least that's what we thought when our friends, Steve and Heidi Myers, invited us out to the lake. Our enthusiasm was extinguished the moment we introduced the dreaded lifejacket to our munchkin. The first hour consisted of crying, wailing, sobbing, whining, moaning...you get the picture. I don't know what was worse, the crying or what followed-the most defeated look I have ever seen on a child. Ellie kept a somber disposition for the rest of the afternoon before finally passing out right near the end. Amongst all the drama we were able to have an enjoyable time and get a few good runs in. 

I actually got up!

Paul was an animal-dominating a plethora of water sports including kneeboarding. 

SWIMMING

Ellie loves getting together with her partner in crime, Gavin. Mom also loves adult interaction so heading to the Rec Center with the Glausers has been one of our favorites this summer. Ellie was a little hesitant to get into the water at first but slowly warmed up over time. We had a blast!

I absolutely adore Gavin-can't get enough of that hat and glasses!

FOURTH OF JULY

Every year when July hits patriotic anthems can be heard ringing out the windows of the Wiseman cars. My allegiant husband thoroughly enjoys this splendid holiday and we were excited to get Eloise involved in all of its celebrations. We headed up to the good ole NSL for a BBQ and Eaglewood fireworks with my familia on July 2. I was excited to see how Eloise would react to the fireworks-figuring she would just smile and giggle and ooh and ahh. Nope. She was pretty indifferent to the whole thing. She looked up once in awhile at them, but mostly just looked around or played with whatever odd object was within her grasp.
We then joined Paul's family on the 4th for neighborhood fireworks at his brother's house. This is where I got a good solid reaction from Ellie. Not the cute coo's though, rather we got shrieks and screams. Eloise was not down with the high pitched shrills these fireworks exhibited. Reading back over my posts, it sounds as though this is what Ellie does a lot. She is actually quite a peach and the sweetest, most patient little girl. We had a wonderful Fourth of July this year.

Isn't it great when they are still little enough that they don't get a say in how ridiculous they look. Love it!

JULY/AUGUST HAPPENINGS

The rate I am going with updating this post I will have it officially up in December so I've decided to bundle the rest of our summer into one big picture palooza (is that even a word? Should be). Enjoy:

Love the ballpark atmosphere. Paul loves the games, Ellie and I love to people watch so it's a win-win. Go Bee's.
Ellie was also introduced to seeds...

We headed up Millcreek Canyon for one of our most favorite summer activities-Tin Foil Dinners. Started out a little rocky with Paul getting pulled over going up the canyon (happens a lot with that led foot) and then hitting some rocks causing some damage to the Civ. However, finding ourselves in the good company of Eric, Rachel, & Gavin Glauser and eating scrumptious food we ended up having a jovial time.

Kamas City Bull Wars! Paul and I went two years ago and I fell in love. So much fun! I have been begging him to return and this year after pulling the 'we need to expose our daughter to fun family events' he finally caved. We had a great time playing with Ellie's great-grandma Nancy and even got to see Paul's cousin compete in the bull riding competition.

Ever had those days when time seems to slow down almost to a stop and the day drags on and on as your house gets smaller and smaller? We certainly have around here. It is during these times that I am extremely grateful to live fairly close to Wheeler Farm. Ellie loves looking at all of the animals and mom loves anything entertaining and free so this cute little farm has been a hot spot of the Wiseman's this year.

In his quest to take up EVERY sport Paul has taken up golf in a mega way this summer. Ellie and I like to tag along and try our hand at the range from time to time.

The picture is kind of blurry but here stand Ellie and I at the Aquarium-hands down one of the best purchases I have ever made was getting a pass here! Ellie loves it! Especially the frogs and penguins. Looks like we will be frequent visitors for the next year.

My sweet sister invited Ellie and I out to a day at This Is The Place Heritage Park. We had a blast! Ellie got to ride a horse (loved it-though her face suggests otherwise), pet sheep and pigs (didn't love it), and ride the train (indifferent). She loves spending time with her cousins! What a lucky kid.


Thanks for catching up with the Wisemans! We have had an incredible summer and are looking forward to a busy fall full of tailgating, football games, Halloween, and traveling! Stay tuned...