HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKKI......

Happy Birthday to Nikki....

Today is your day......thanks for sharing it with me.

Thanks for being so fun....

Thanks for those 3 little beauties....

When I was looking for pictures for this post I found this one:

You never looked more beautiful!!!!

Happy Day!!!!!!!!

And finally, the people I miss..........

These are not in any particular order........lets just start with my MOM.....

There is something about losing your mom......especially if you are a daughter. It is like a little piece of you is missing..Mom died on "Pearl Harbor Day" Dec. 7th 1990. I wish she were here so I could tell her how much I appreciated all those years she helped me with my little kids....even when she was way too old to be doing it. She was amazing. This picture reminds me of how much she read. When she got older, she would read the same pages over and over again because she could not remember that she read them. As a teenager, I think I gave her a bad wrap...sometimes I wish I could go back and be a better daughter for her and for me. My sister Carolyn has told me that mom was really a fun mom who had a lot of friends. She had bad hearing and I think that some how that changed her perspective on a lot of things. She was a pretty positive person and a really really great grandma. I love her and miss her and if she were here I would give her a big hug......miss you mom.... PS....You would really love my grand kids.

Next, My DAD

This is a picture of my dad when he was younger. I loved him so much. I loved to ride horses with him and tease him by trying to curl his thinning hair with my finger while he was trying to watch TV. He did not watch TV that much, but he did love a good "fight" on the Tube. It was fun to watch him watch the fights. He would move his arms like the fighters, like a flinch sort of. I don't think he even knew he was doing that. He also rubbed his thumb a lot, the one he cut off at the "Iron Works". Dad loved "Lawrence Welk" and watched it religiously. He was a very hard worker. He worked in a dark building, welding at the "Ogden Iron works" he also had worked for the Railroad. He worked a very hard physical job. He wore overalls to work and took his lunch to work every day his whole life. He was a religious man whom I always saw reading his scriptures. He loved his horses. They were his escape I think. He enjoyed people and was friendly. He was not just "on time" for things he was always 10 minutes early. He loved to sing and sang with the Southern Pacific Men of Song. He died way too early. He was only 66. He died August 14 1975. Holly was just 2 1/2 years old. I miss him terribly. Dad, you would have thought my kids were amazing.....and would have loved my grand kids as well. I already know what you thought of Doug.........

Doug's DAD

John was very influential in my life while I was raising my kids, and holding down Church jobs. He did so much for me. I got a lot of credit for things I came up with or dances I decorated for, or plays I wrote, or productions & party's I was in charge of, but John is the one that made it happen. He helped me put together slide shows, built scenery, drove tractors, etc etc. He never complained. He also did a lot when we built our house, building cabinets, helping with the trim, hammering and sawing everything. John could do anything, and if he did not know how, he figured it out. Doug is like that as well, he had a good teacher. They worked side by side building this house. John was a genealogist, a spiritual man, a smart mathematician and loved to figure out how to make things. He was a farmer and a teacher. John was beloved by his children and grandchildren. He went through a lot in his life suffering heart bypasses, a stroke in Cairo Egypt, and was frustrated when his brain would no longer let him learn or retain his lifelong memories. He called LouJean "the boss" and it was evident how much he loved her. I don't know how he felt about me because he never really said anything bad about anyone....I am sure there were times I disappointed him....but he never made me feel that way. He loved the land.......I miss him and appreciate his example. He died October 7th 2005.

Doug's brother Jeff

This is a picture of Jeff, myself, his brother Mark and Nikki at Doug's sister Jolene's wedding. Jeff was Doug's younger brother and was a "gentle soul". He was very smart. He loved to fly airplanes and once landed in our field. At the time of his death, he loved to jump off mountains and "Wind Surf". Jeff wired our house for us. He too could figure most things out. He endured a lot in his life. He left four children behind. He was just 40 years old. He was playing church basketball and went up for a lay-up and came back down and died. They found out he had some weird electrical heart problem. He died January 19th 1995. This was a very sad time for the Wilson's to lose a grown son, brother, and dad. It is one of the few times I have seen Doug cry. We all miss him. Even now if his name is brought up, it is just so sad to even imagine that he was gone so early. Jeff, you are missed.

My 1st born....Brady John

This picture was taken in Tombstone Arizona at the OK Corral [with Doc Holliday] just days before Brady was born. It is one of the few pictures I have of me pregnant with Brady. I was not feeling well that day and did not even care if I had curlers in my hair. Brady was due July 15th and was born May 24th 1972. We had just moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona as Doug was in the Army. We were about 60 miles away from any "NICU". My water broke while Doug was on base, I was staying with a friend that day in town. It was a very scary time for us. I had not even thought about labor, or what I was going to do with a baby. We had a bassinet, and a few clothes and blankets, but that is all. I had a very hard labor because I was not prepared for it. My memories are few of those few hours. It was not an enjoyable time. It should have been a celebration of life, but all I remember was darkness. I heard a faint cry, I saw a little hand waving on a table a little ways away. He lived for a little over an hour. His lungs were weak because it was so early. I never saw him, never held him, never fed him. They just took him away......I was too naive to ask. Doug and I grieved as best we could. Hard months followed. I did not want to go to church...Doug went to hold on. We brought him home to bury him in Eden in a little white satin box. Melba Hogge sang "Lullaby and Good Night" while Janice accompanied on the violin. Brady was the first person in our immediate family to die. No one knew how to handle it, or what to do. I grieved by writing down my feelings, holding on to cards, condolences, pictures of the grave site....just trying to hold on. Doug grieved in silence trying to hold it all together. For me life stopped for awhile....but like all things of sadness, the Savior pulls you thru. Now it is years later and I have felt Brady's influence in my life. He brought me back to my family. Every once in a while, I wonder what he would have been like. I look at his brother Mac, and I wonder if he would have brought me as much joy as Mac has. I wonder how he would have fit into our family....if he would have been a happy child. Would he have loved the Wilson ground as much as his dad does. Would he have loved to sing like his grandpa Ferrin, or have a tender heart like his sister Holly? Would he be a "peacemaker" like his sister Robin, or always looking to do service for others like Nikki? Would he and Mac have been friends? Would he have been creative and artistic like Carly? Would he be as "forgiving" as his dad and brother and sisters? Would he have been some "glue" in bad times...would he have honored his Priesthood? Not a day used to go by that I did not think of him. But now, he is a sweet memory, and now I am on the other side of life.....the time is closer to when I will be reunited with him again, than it is to when he was born. It gives me hope and something to look forward to and even though death scares me, I will have my son to greet me there....and I will see him and hold him and have him to myself, if only for a moment. The promise is there. I will work hard to do my part. I love Brady John....and look forward to a great reunion.

While all of these family members are gone, I will never forget them and the influence they have had in my life. Life is just a cycle...you are born and you die and you live again. On your journey you meet people who influence who you are and what you do. I hope everyone will be so lucky to have as wonderful people in their life as I have had in mine.

What random things I miss day 6.......................

These are really Random..things I miss.

Being the baby in a family of 4.....

Mary Jane shoes [black pattent leather with straps]

Bangs and life in simple times....

No TV...just an old record player that played "45" records.

The kind with the big hole in the middle.

I remember dad had "Cool Water" by the

"Sons of the Pioneers". It was a see through green record.

[Yes it is weird what you remember]

"Hop Scotch", "Mother May I", "Hot and Cold", "Evy Ivy Over the house", "No

Bears are out tonight", "Double Dutch Jump rope" and "Jacks".

Things most kids these days do not even know how to play.

I miss our "Old House".

Some of you may not know that inside our BIG House is a small house.

We built around it and over it, taking off the roof,

adding a garage, two rooms out front, and a second level.

This house originally belonged to Doug's grandma and grandpa Wilson.

At one time we had all 5 kids in one bedroom. We had a trundle bed that pulled out that was also a bunk bed, and also a crib size bunk bed.

I miss cleaning it, it was a whole lot easier than now.

We painted the kitchen "Orange" and yellow...... so "80's"

Note the "coal stove" in the background. We heated the house with it on cold mornings. Bats used to get lost down the chimney and eventually some would come out into the house. One morning, Doug and I were asleep in our bed, and a bat came flying low over our heads. Scared me to death!!!!! I made Doug get the tennis racket and knock it down and send it on its way. I hate BATS!!!!

I am missing the 1st day of school and the traditional pictures:

I think Carly is sad because she was not going to school.

You have got to love Nikki's hair. What was I thinking???

I miss seeing my kids in the Eden 4th of July Parade with their decorated bikes and "Big Wheels". Making the trek around the Eden park twice was the usual route.

I miss the kids after a clean bath...I can still smell them fresh out of the tub.

They smell like bubbles and shampoo.

I miss their excitement for life and each day, their giggles and their little voices.

I miss traditions like our Christmas Tradition of caroling in:

The "Fire Truck" Doug bought.

We had to snuggle cause it was pretty cold on the outside.

We did not venture far, just down "Stringtown"

and over to the houses by the Robin's old house.

"We wish you a Merry Christmas" was a Wilson favorite.

I miss "goofy kids" who liked to entertain.

Is this Mac's "Bird Look"? Or is he just going for the Dr. Zhivago look?

The funny thing is that Doug actually wore these clothes to plow snow in.

I really really miss watching my kids play soccer whether it was AYSO

or Weber High School soccer. Carly, Nikki, and Robin all lettered in Soccer.

Nik and I after a game at Weber.

Yes that is a banana clip in my hair and tight stretch pants under my dress.

Again, what was I thinking????

More Random missing....

The kids grow so fast......it is unbelievable. I just love my family.

They are little angels........ [well sometimes]

They love each other............and I love them.

Mac with us post mission/pre marriage to Priscila

Mac is amazing....too far away.....I miss and love him and Priscila and his little family.

It all started here in 1971:

Salt Lake Temple....

And then again and again:

Wonderful memories for me.....

and now there is just the two of us:

How did we get here so fast???

I am missing my dyed hair and my fit body...

Life cycles on, but the rewards are 12 little munchkins.....

Don't miss a moment in life.....live each day ......... remembering fills you up...

and it is OK to miss things and people too..... it is all part of who and what we are.

Missing and remembering.....food for the soul.

What I am missing day 5....................

HAWAII in the 70's

Doug joined the Army six months into our marriage.

The first 6 months we were in Sierra Vista Arizona.

Then Doug got his orders to Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

We lived there for 2 1/2 years.

Here are some pictures of our time there.

We lived for the first year or so in the Ala Moana Hotel.

It has since been torn down and a new high rise put in.

This is Christmas at the Ala Moana.

I wore a lot of Mu mu's and no make-up [hard to believe I know]

What I remember about living in this apartment were the huge "Cockroaches" that you had to be careful not to sit on if you got up in the middle of the night to go potty. They could fly and made a snapping noise.......I hate Cock roaches!!!!

We did not have a car and Doug rode his bike to work.

We were poor and so we spent time "people watching" at the beach or at the Mall.

Doug had a metal detector and found rings and things on the beach while I sunned.

I just wanted to be pregnant after losing my first son in Arizona. Those were hard days of homesickness and sadness and disappointment.

However, Doug and I were also very happy inour relationship.

Here are some pictures of our carefree days before children:

Playing on the beaches on the North Shore.

Spending many days on Beaches. This one was Eva beach.

We spent most of our time on Ft Derussey Beach a Military R&R .

Our Apartment was very close to it.

They also had a little movie theater there. [Trust me, not fancy]

Picking up "PUKKA SHELLS" on the North Shore. I made me a necklace out of them.

We went to church here:

Waikiki Ward. This is the Honolulu Tabernacle where we met for church.

We often saw people we knew who were visiting Hawaii as this was the

only church on this side of the island at the time.

One of those visitors was Rod and Audrey Carver. This is myself, Rod and Audrey at the

Pali Look out. It is very windy there.

We moved to a new apartment on McCully Street:

There was this dive on McCully street called McCully Chop Suey. They had the best "Beef Fried Rice" ever. Today we order "take out" [Beef Fried Rice] from the "China Garden" on 12th street, it is very close to the same flavor as McCully Chop Suey. It always brings back memories.

It may not look like much but it was the Taj Mahal compared with the Ala Moana.

We still had cockroaches but the big ones flew mostly outside on the sidewalk. We had to keep EVERYTHING in plastic bags or the little cockroaches would get in....cereal boxes, cracker boxes, everything. We bought an old green car. Lime green. It was ugly, but it got us where we were going. Holly was born in November at Tripler Army Medical Hospital [it is pink].

My mom and dad came over just before Holly was born. We did the tourist thing with them.

This was during the years that mom dyed her hair.

This next one is one of my favorites:

Not because of the birds at "Paradise Park" ........

because my mom wore curlers in her hair and a scarf over them.

Times they have changed.

We did the "Kodak Hula Show"

The Polynesian Cultural Center, Sea life park, and many other places.

We were able to go to the Temple in Laie.

This is a picture of my mom and dad with Aunt R May and Uncle Horace.

They must have been on their way back from their mission in Tonga.

It was fun having visitors in Hawaii.

Most of my memories of Hawaii are of Holly. Here she is the day she was blessed. Mom had the little "Blessing" dress hand made for her. All of my girls and Holly's daughter Analyn have been blessed in itl

She was a beautiful baby, check out her dimple....

here are some more of my favorite pics of Holly in Hawaii.

I can't talk about Hawaii without mentioning my friend Nancy. She is the one that told us about the apartment. Nancy taught me how to love to sew. We did a lot of fun things together. She had a daughter 6 months older than Holly, her name is Michelle. We walked to Ft. Derussey beach 2 or 3 times a week and watched our girls play on the beach, picking up cigarette butts and coral and splashing in the water. Nancy was married to Mike, a Maori that danced in one of the professional shows. I would not have survived Hawaii and being away from my family had it not been for Nancy's friendship. After I had lived in the apartment for a few months, Nancy saw my "Mayhew Book" at our apt. and she said, I have that book!!! Turns out we are cousins. We have the same great great grandfather. Small world. Nancy and I keep in touch even now. Thanks Nancy for the memories............

Sorry about the rip in the picture.

One of the memories I have was seeing Doug's friend Phil

get Baptized in the Ocean on the North Shore.

This next picture is of some girls that came over from the mainland for the summer.

I include this picture because this is where we got Robin's name. The girl in the middle in the back had "Robin" for a name and we really liked it and used it the next time we had a girl.

I often wonder what happened to these darling girls.

This last picture is the day we said "ALOHA" to Hawaii.

Friends from Doug's Army office came to see us off.

Doug had to fly military and I had to fly commercial with Holly......

that flight is what started my "fear" of flying.

This is what I will say about Hawaii. Doug and I were never closer. He is an amazing man. He tried so hard to help me not be home sick. We both got "Islanditis" now and again. We never had the money to go to other islands, so Oahu is all we experienced. But living there was more about the people and less about the island itself. We made lasting friendships there and were close to the gospel. We depended on each other for our happiness. That is why I am missing Hawaii........but I don't miss the cockroaches!!!!!!

ALOHA !!!!

Things I am missing day 4..........

HIGH SCHOOL!!!

I have had a lot of time to think about this as we had our first annual Birthday party sleepover for the girls of Weber High Class of "68"

We all turn "60" this year.

I guess we will keep having them until no one shows up cause we are all gone.

We had it in Deer Valley planned by Patrice and Brenda.

There were 14 of us. We had a lot of fun.

Here we are.

You either "loved" or hated High School.

I loved it and did not want to leave.

Here are a few pictures so you can get an idea of the fashions and activities of the day.

This was a picture for some awards deal.

The guy on the right is Bob Kaiser, I think he went on to play professional baseball. The rest of us live around here but I have not seen Julie for at least 20 years and Ron for about 41 years.

I miss the fun times I had with the Cheerleaders:

How about you? What do you miss?

How about the dances?

Here is an example of a few of mine.

This could have been Prom my Junior Year.

Got to love the gloves.

My mom made the dress. It was a white sequined bodice with chiffon skirt.

My hair was an updo using my hair and a switch [fake pony tail]

This is Doug, not my Doug, but Doug never the less.

We shared the same birthday 1/16/50 as did his mom and dad.

Sadly he drowned in Pine View dam.

Could have been Prom my Senior Year

Got to love the Tux.

Same Hair do, same dress, same gloves.

Hey when we had a dress that worked, we just kept on using it.

Different guy. This is Gary. I wasted years on this guy.

Hey, did you waste years on any guy?

Here is something I miss:

Long hair, thick eyeliner, white lipstick, and close friends.

This is Cathy... I miss her.

I vaguely remember a graduation party was at Chris's in Huntsville. It was "wild" and the music was loud and I don't think we stayed long. We should have stuck around to be designated drivers. That was before seminary's planned graduation parties to keep you out of trouble. Can't remember what else we did....probably a sleepover with friends at Cathy's. I'll have to ask Cathy, she still remembers everything, even the details of every dress we ever wore to the dances.

And how about Baccalaureate?

You have just got to love the hats....

This makes me laugh, I must have been afraid to mess up my hair as it looks like a floater just sitting on top of my head like that. That is me on the left with the black skirt. Note the sway back legs? I still stand like that with my legs swayed and my shoulders slumped.

Ah, there are just too many memories to write about. It is fun to reminisce about the good old days. I am just getting to the age where people say do you remember yada yada, yada? ..... and I think was I there? Did that really happen?

What was your most embarrasing High School moment?

My most embarrassing moment in High School was at the "Little Brown Jug" game. The football game between Ogden and Weber High. It was held at the Ogden Stadium where the Rodeo is now. We lost big time that year and all we cheerleaders could think about was getting our POM POMS off the Goal Posts because we were afraid those mean Ogden Tigers would steal them.........as I was climbing up the ladder leaned up against the goal post, the announcer said "Would the Weber cheerleader please get off the field until the game is over?" I wanted to die..... to cry....to dig a hole and crawl in.....I am glad I do not have a picture of that one.

I miss the days of High School, but I would not want to go back.It is fun however to get together with classmates and remember some of the good times.

PS: We had to wear dresses or skirts to school. No pants, no shorts. We used to get in trouble for wearing our long dresses to school. They were called "Granny Dresses"and came clear to the floor. We also got in trouble if they thought our skirts were too short. They made us kneel down and if our dresses did not touch the floor we had to go home. The guys got in trouble if their hair was too long.....seriously.

That is what I was missing this weekend.