August Events - 2015; Including Parker's Open Houses

August held many wonderful family events that George and I were able to take part in:

Parker's Farewell and Open House in California

George and I were so excited to go to California to attend the farewell and get-togethers of friends and family for our fourth grandson to go on a mission:  Parker, son of John and Alison. 
Leaving his house to go to the church.  I wanted a picture of Parker with his two dogs:  Roxie and Roscoe.  He loves those dogs so much--I believe he is going to miss them as much as his family while he is gone for two years!

Parker, who would be known as Elder Wilde on his mission, bore his testimony in his Danville Ward Sacrament Meeting on August 9, 2015.  He talked about the process of the inspired calls given to each of the some 80,000 missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  These calls come from the Church Missionary Department through an Apostle assigned to this responsibility.  He, also, talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how our Savior helps us to wipe our slates clean in life as we come unto him and then continue in our lives as we have been commanded, repenting of those things that we stray from the path.  It was a beautiful, spiritual talk that Elder Wilde gave.



The Wilde Family--minus Bracken, who is serving his two-year mission in Australia Sydney North Mandarin Speaking.  They will miss seeing each other by four months making it almost four years that Bracken and Parker will be apart.




The proud Grandparents Copeland with Elder Wilde

The family and extended family who attended the meeting today to hear Elder Wilde speak.

Parker's Aunt and Uncle Chad and Bethany's four children plus Parker's brother, Preston

I love how Preston takes his scriptures each week to church.  He received them on the day of his baptism when he was eight, and really likes the case he carries them in which looks and feels like a real basketball!

Parker's Uncle Tyler and Aunt Carie

It was truly a beautiful meeting.  Along with Elder Wilde speaking, a young man who just came home from his two-year mission to Germany spoke.  Both gave such inspirational talks.

That evening, an open house was held for family and friends.  Everyone helped get things set up for the big party.

John and Alison's yard is the perfect place for an outdoor get-together.

A family friend owns a bakery and made all of the wonderful specialized cookies, brownies, and Philly cheesecakes.

They were absolutely the cutest as well as being so tasty!

Now with two boys on missions--two Elder Wildes--both boys' pictures were out on the table, and the friend had even made a special little kangaroo cookie in honor of Elder Wilde in Australia.

So many friends from the church, as well as family friends, attended the open house.

Meanwhile, Tyson was having fun taking on his Uncle Tyler in a friendly game of ping-pong . . .

and Preston was having a great time with his cousins and friends on the trampoline.

The next evening, a party was held in Parker's honor where he invited all of his friends.

It was definitely more casual.

So many fun friends came to say good-bye to Parker for two years.

This time, the two younger brothers stayed inside while the open house was going on.  They knew this was the time for Parker to enjoy his friends who he wouldn't be seeing for two years.

Other Activities in California

Watching Preston go to his golf camp.

George taking on Preston in a game of ping pong.

George taking on Preston in a game of basketball. 

Are you starting to get the idea?  Preston absolutely wore George out--but it was great fun!

The traditional spotting of the wild turkeys.  We had been there several days and had not seen them--probably due to the extreme drought in the area.  But no sooner did I say that, than we drove around a corner and there they were crossing the street--holding up traffic.

Another day, we went to lunch at a cute little restaurant with Alison and Tyson right by a little lake.  It was pretty comical to watch the ducks go under the tables and chairs.

 I don't think the owners think it is so comical because they probably have to clean up after them!

And all too soon, the week was over, and we got back on the plane to return to our home in Washington.  We were there less than 24 hours when we got in our car and started the 11 hour journey to Utah.

Activities in Utah

We stopped at our dear little Cannon's grave site.  We were so sad that they keep taking off the special mementos that everyone keeps putting there.  We had even put some darling little yellow and blue windmills the last time we were there that were gone.  But the main thing is that we hope little Cannon knows of our love for him and that he will never be forgotten!

Visiting with our friends--the Oborns in Cedar Hills.  Kent and Sharyl were some of our best friends while we lived in Los Angeles when George accepted his first job as a CPA at Price Waterhouse.  I have seen them several time in the last few years, but George hadn't been able to for probably over twenty years.  So, we took the time to go to their beautiful home and had the nicest visit!

The seats they are sitting on are directly out of Dodger Stadium when they refurbished the stadium.  George was so envious of Kent having these chairs!  We all had gone to so many games back in the late 60s, early 70s because Dodger Stadium was only ten minutes from where we all lived.  The only thing missing was the Dodger Dogs!

It was so fun watching the two basketball stars take each other on in a friendly game.  Kent and George had been voted as two of the five All-Stars of the entire Southern California Mormon Basketball team back in 1970.

They were both laughing at how they certainly couldn't shoot like they used to!

So much fun!  When you are young, you think you will never age!

The Copelands are definitely BYU fans!  We were able to attend the pre-season scrimmage game with some of the family.

This is something Parker definitely wanted to do before he left for two years.  Taylor, Parker, and Kade.

It was definitely fun for George and me to go there.  We hadn't been back in the stadium since we moved to Florida 22 years ago!  We used to have seven seats almost since the stadium opened, and we never missed a home game for years, even with our little babies and toddlers.  They just laid on blankets in the walk-way behind us, since no one sat right behind us due to the railing.  So, all nine of us sat in seven seats.  It worked out great!

Parker and Taylor have become especially close lately because Parker is going to the exact same mission Taylor went to and returned from two years ago.  However, Taylor's mission was Spanish Speaking.

After the scrimmage, we went to eat lunch.

Then Taylor and Parker said good-bye for two years.  Taylor was leaving later on for a business trip for a week and wouldn't have a chance to go to Parker's open house there in Utah.

It's always fun to see all the deer in the area.  Here, we saw four big bucks on a guy's yard.  That's the trouble--they cause lots of damage when they strip the trees of their leaves and eat tender little plants.

Kevin was driving us around to look at the area and their dog, Koda, was with us.  He was actually very calm when he saw all these deer, but if we would have let him out, I'm sure he would have thought he was big enough to round them all up!  Hah!

When George and I are in Utah, we love to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Broadcast on Sunday Morning.  Today, the guest artist was Alexandria Sharpe, a fantastic singer with Celtic Women.  Her voice was angelic and with the backup of the choir and accompanied by the full Mormon Tabernacle Orchestra, it truly was heavenly.  At the end of the Broadcast, the choir sang, "God Be With You 'til We Meet Again."  Ms. Sharpe turned to them as they were singing, and on the big screens on either side they showed a close-up of her with tears streaming down her face.  It was such a touching moment!

After leaving the Conference Center, we walked around Temple Square for a little while.

 

I have never been on Temple Square that I didn't feel such a peace when one could really enjoy the beautiful grounds.

The cousins had so much fun spending the day at Lagoon (all cousins except the first young lady who was Hannah's friend).

This was an activity Parker wanted to do before he left--go to Lagoon which is a giant amusement park in Utah.  So a bunch of the cousins and some of the parents, plus Grandpa and I, all had a great day there together. 

Here, Grandpa George was a great sport to go on the rocket with Preston.  I just couldn't handle the giant fall it makes!  (I did go on the water slide with him, however;  I was absolutely soaked for most of the day!  I still could handle the water better than the fall!)

Parker and his mom.

We had to stop for ice cream in the old Western village.  My sister, Joyce, gave us the hint to ask for a double with a cone, then one kid takes part of the ice cream with the cone and the other takes the cup of ice cream.  It is huge and plenty enough for two people!

Colby, cousin on the Wilde side, Preston, Brady and Tyson all really enjoyed the ice cream treat!

Lauren

Joyce, also, told us about an exhibit featuring the circus.  Brady was such a great sport and went into this exhibit with us.  Here is Brady with the "shortest man in the world" exhibit.

This was amazing--composed of hundreds of little pieces that made up a miniature circus.

Pioneer children's toys

A sleigh for delivering newspapers.

Since Joyce had been out of town, she wasn't able to come to the Utah Open House for Parker, so she came and spent about three hours with our family at Lagoon.  It was so great having her there!

Old Western Town is my favorite seeing by-gone times.  Can you believe you could formerly buy a pair of shoes for 20 cents, and a darling pair of women's high top shoes for $1.55???

Taking a little rest with Brady and Preston.

Hannah after spilling part of her smoothie on her face when she tipped it up to drink it!

Parker with his cousin, Kade.  They had such a fun day together.

End of a perfect day--Parker winning a prize on the basketball toss.

Farewell and Open House in Utah

Since Parker's Grandpa Wilde is a Bishop in a ward in Sandy, he asked Parker to bear his testimony in their ward.  Parker gave his same talk there that he did in his own ward in California.  Again, he did such a marvelous job and really spoke from his heart

Afterwards, an open house for family and friends in Utah was held at their Grandpa and Grandma Wilde's home in Sandy.

Parker's Great grandma who is 95 years young was in attendance, along with his great aunt and uncle.

Uncle Kyle and Cousin Carter who will be the next missionary out from the Copeland family after he finishes high school.

A wonderful lunch was served that everyone enjoyed so much.

Family friends of the Wildes who they lived next to in Orlando when they started their first job there.

Cousins Hannah, Brady, Kade, Lauren, and Jenna (along with Parker's brother Preston.)

Cousins Lauren and Jenna, Brothers Tyson and Preston, Ellie who is married to his cousin, Taylor, Cousins Hannah and Brady

Friends of the Wildes when they lived in Virginia.

Anne, one of Alison and Kevin's best friends at high school who became a great family friend of the entire family, along with her husband and three children.

George talking to one of Alison's best friends in high school.

Family friends of the Wildes when they lived in Shanghai.

Parker with his Aunt Kim and Uncle Kyle

Family friends of the Wildes

The dad in this picture was John's best friend since junior high school.  Their family have stayed friends throughout all these years.

Cousins Brady, Hannah, Jenna, (Parker), Lauren, Brother Tyson, and Cousin Kade

Parker with his great Aunt Natalie and her daughter, Kelsie

Parker with his Great grandmother who is 95 years old!

Three Generations

Four Generations

Parker with his parents and both sets of grandparents:  Wilde and Copeland

Alison with some of her best friends in high school:  Kami and Kimi--who are twins, and Angie, who turned out to be her sister-in-law

Parker with his Aunt Julie and her two children

Parker with his Uncle Kevin and Aunt Angie

Alison with one of her best friends since she was a young girl.  It ended up that Parker and her son who is going to Taiwan, got to know each other in the Missionary Training Center.  So fun!

Parker's great Uncle and Aunt on the Wilde side.

 

 We are so proud of our newest missionary, Elder Wilde.  We know he is going to do a fantastic job just like the other two missionaries from the Copeland family are doing:  Elder Bracken Wilde and Elder Connor Copeland.

A Final Few Pictures Taken in Utah

As we were staying at Kevin and Angie's home, I shot a few pictures of their new backyard they are fixing.  It is going to be so great when they get it done.  A brickoven . . .

A waterfall beside the stairs down to the basketball court which will be fenced in . . .

a bonfire pit . . .

all looking up to the back porches of their beautiful home.

I had to snap this picture of Koda trying to get Angie's sock off.

Missionary Training Center Day

And the day had finally arrived--the day we would all say good-bye to Elder Wilde for two years.  The parents, grandparents, and both brothers were able to first go in as guests while they set Elder Wilde apart by the laying on of hands by one who had authority.  He would now be a full-time missionary and abide by missionary standards for the next two years.

Parker with his mom.  We were all getting a bit emotional, but she especially was.

After a wonderful lunch at Parker's choice of Brick Oven . . .

We all headed over to the grassy area in front of the Provo Temple to take our last pictures with Parker.

Elder Parker Wilde

Please follow him on his blog at:  Click on the link below if you'd like:

www.elderparkerwilde.blogspot.com 

His e-mail and land mail address are included there.

What a wonderful two weeks George and I spent with Parker as we went through all the last steps of his going on his mission.  However, his has been a life-long process of preparation by not only himself, but his wonderful parents who have taught and nurtured him in the gospel, along with providing a loving home.  As his grandparents, we hope that we might be the kind of examples for all of our grandchildren as they make these worthy decisions in their lives.  We love you, Parker, and wish you the best!