Family, Golf and 7 Peaks

We had the opportunity to take a very quick trip up to Provo this weekend for a little golf and some fun at 7 Peaks.  We traveled with all of the Little clan (minus a few Koenig children and Brent).  We left as soon as the kids got home from school on Friday and drove to Provo.  We met Nana, Papa, and the Ellsworths at Rumbi's for some fantastic food.  Then we drove over to the hotel where the kids went swimming until it was time to go to bed.  On Saturday morning the men got up early and headed over to Hobblecreek for a quick round of golf.  They had a great time.  Uncle Raleigh almost got a hole in one!  He really is an amazing golfer.

 When the men got back we loaded everyone up and headed over to 7 Peaks, a water slide park.  It was a perfect day...slightly over-cast and plenty warm.  

 Sweet little Kaleigh trying to decide if she liked the pool or not

 Ryker wanted nothing to do with the pool

 Garrett was a great "big cousin" and took Peyton down the purple and blue slide several times

 As you can see- Peyton LOVED the slides

 Gracie and Savanna liked the slides also

 At the end of the day- Gracie was not looking tired

 Grant showed off his gymnastic skills on the rope swing...

I caught him in a blurry mid-flip...although it looks as though he is going to face plant

What a perfect get-away when you only have a day for fun.  We came home, exhausted, Saturday night.  

Are you kidding me?!... School?!!

I cannot believe that summer is over and school is already in high gear!  These past few months have been a huge blur.  I am so sad that summer is over.  It seems it just began a few days ago.

The boys let Russ take a couple of pictures of them yesterday before they left for school.  They didn't argue with him as much as they would have for me, so I was grateful he was here to assist.

 Garrett is a Sophomore- his first year at the high school.  Oh my goodness!  Am I really old enough to have a child at the high school.  He is starting the year at 5'11" and a whopping 132 lbs (fully dressed).  He has decided not to play football this year and will play fall-ball (baseball in the fall) and possibly basketball.  He is taking chemistry, pre-calculus, language arts, ceramics, wood-shop, seminary, Spanish III, and fitness for life.  He is looking forward to leaving campus for lunch, taking drivers ed and getting his license, and playing more baseball.

 Grant is my big 8th grader, also at a new school this year (the middle school).  He is beginning the year at 5'2" and weighs 90 lbs.  Grant will continue with gymnastics and lacrosse this year.  He is taking math, US history, language arts, fitness for life, wood-shop, art, orchestra, and science.  He is excited to be at his new school.

Miss Gracie is a 5th grader this year.  She is excited to be in the oldest grade at the elementary school.  She is continuing in the ALP program this year and excited to be with many of her friends from all over the county.  We are excited for her to be in the class she is in this year.  She will have a job in the class and earn an "income".  With that "money" earned she will have to pay rent for her desk, pay for health insurance, buy her classroom supplies, and pay for extra activities at the school.  She has applied for a few jobs and will find out on Monday what she has been hired as.  It will be super fun for her to have this experience and learn to be responsible and how to budget.  What a great opportunity!

I feel as though I need to quickly sum up summer vacation as quickly as possible.  So, here goes...

School got out the Thursday before Memorial Day.  Summer began that night with a weekend camping/hunting/4 wheeling trip for Garrett.  Two days later he was off to EFY at BYU.  He had a fabulous time.  Met a few cute girls along the way as well.  Russ picked Garrett up from EFY on Friday night at midnight and we were in Las Vegas for a baseball tournament at 8:00 am Saturday.  We left the baseball game and headed straight for Newport Beach for a week of fun in the sun.

We were a little crowded...Ryker found a place to sleep in my suitcase.

The cousins played games at night.

Garrett testing the skimboard he made in wood-shop.

Cute little Peyton

The next week, I was off to girls camp and Garrett was headed to his high adventurer scout camp.

Our great young women 

Rakel (our camp cook) was absolutely amazing

Writing letters to missionaries

Tying a quilt

Me trying very hard not to freak out over being way too high

  The following week Grant headed to scout camp and Gracie was at gymnastics camp.

Intersquad competition

Utah Summer Games bar routine

Utah Summer Games floor routine

I think I had all off my kids home for one day together, and then it was off for more fun.  July consisted of a trip to Provo for our annual Independence Day celebration.  We watched a parade.

BYU basketball float

Grant 

Russ and the boys favorite float (hopefully because of the fish)

BYU had a boring float this year

Then we fished, ate, fished some more, went to Nicklecade, watched fireworks, etc... always a good time.  Russ and the boys, along with "uncle" Chris, went to Yellowstone for a week.  They had a great time, ran into a mama grizzly and her cubs (a little scary), caught some BIG fish, ate at all their favorite spots (Cook City Pizza), and even came home showered and clean.

July also consisted of lots of baseball.  The high school baseball team competed in a Las Vegas league this summer, so we spent way too much time in Vegas this summer.  It was fun though.  We spent lots of time at the Gunlock and Sand Hollow reservoirs

 and Pine Valley this summer.

Peyton climbing trees like the big kids

Kaleigh and Gracie

Brayden and Garrett

Little Ryker

Little Lou found the smallest lizard we have ever seen

And then our favorite part of summer... Elder Maxwell came home.  My sweet nephew, that has been serving his mission in Kenya-Africa for the past 2 years, is finally home.  We are so excited to have him home.  He is already back in St. George for college- just 10 days after stepping off the plane.

Most of the Hyde clan

I finally got my hug

We coincided Reese's homecoming with the Hyde family reunion.  It was super fun to see everyone and catch up on the happenings.

Grandpa, David, Kurtis and Russ

 Some of the Hyde cousins

Family and Friends

The kids and Russ ended summer vacation with a trip to Lake Powell with Russ' boss and his family.  I had to work and was not able to go :(

Tubing at Lake Powell

So, there it is.  Summer re-capped.  Not too much detail... but fun nevertheless.

End of Season Blues

Life in our home is slowing considerably.  Today was Gracie's last soccer game.  She has had so much fun playing.  Today they played the Leapin' Lizards, who were undefeated coming into today's game.  Gracie's team beat them 5-4 and Gracie scored her first goal of the season in today's game.  She was very excited!  She had a good season and continued to get better each game.  She loves playing defense.

The "official" baseball season ended two weeks ago.  Garrett's team did fantastic and ended their season 14-2.  Garrett had a really good season.  He hit well.  He fielded well.  He pitched well.  He worked hard.  He improved.  Now that season is over, some of the boys get together everyday after school to hit and field.  Today, the varsity boys baseball team won state.  We are grateful Garrett is part of a great baseball organization.

Grant's lacrosse season ended last Saturday.  It was a growing season for his team.  Out of 15 boys, only 5 of them had ever played before... and of those 5 only 2 had played more that one season.  This was Grant's first season and he LOVED it.  Grant did well.  He played great defense.  He was aggressive. He was positive.  His team will continue to scrimmage during the summer and hopefully they will be ready for next season.  He is already counting down the days.

We are not sure what we are going to do with all of our free time!

Blue Fields of (depends on who you talk to)

People will always ask me why I don't go on fishing trips with Russ...the truth of the matter is, Russ is a crazed mad man when it comes to fishing.  An ideal fishing day for him is to get out on the water before the sun comes up.  Fish ALL FREAKING DAY with no breaks to eat, rest, or use the restroom.  You climb through nasty bushes, over rough terrain, wade in icy rivers, and swim through crocodile infested lagoons, whatever it takes to find the fish.  On these fishing adventures you meet wild beasts, creepy (biting) insects, and strange animals you didn't even know existed in the animal kingdom.  None of this matters, catching fish is the most important thing and you do not stop fishing until it is dark and you can no longer see your fly in the water.  Believe me, I have been on a couple of small trips with him in which this was the case, and it has absolutely ruined the sport for me.  However, Russ has luckily hooked up with a couple other fly-fishermen...just like him.  They don't care about the conditions surrounding their fishing trips, as long as there are fish to be caught.
I don't get overly anxious about their adventures anymore.  He is usually pretty good at communicating with me throughout his adventures via facetime or satellite phone.  His trips are well planned.  They have guides and are surrounded with people who know the area like the back of their hands.  It comforts me and I can actually sleep at night these days.
But, I must say this last trip was not a very feel good time for me.  Russ and 3 of his insane fishing friends flew to Blue Fields (of happiness?), Nicaragua for a week.  Prior to leaving, they discussed the lodging situation with the people in Nicaragua.  They would be eating sea turtle, possibly horse, and who knew what else.  Needless to say, we loaded Russ up with some freeze dried meals and tons of snacks.  There would be no such services as wi-fi, so they were taking a satellite phone with them.  But, it wouldn't be turned on at all times.  Russ would  check in with each day, but I couldn't reach him if there was an emergency at home.  He left, and I was nervous.
Then the calls started coming in.  "I have no idea where the freak I am!  I couldn't find my way out of here if I had weeks to do it.  We are in the middle of the sticks in some jungle.  The fish are enormous!".  Next, "We had sea turtle for dinner, it was actually pretty good.  I think a cow was in heat outside my window all night... didn't get a second of sleep.  We are seeing hundreds of fish, just can't land them.".  The following call, "I've got the 'red-eye' (diarrhea) something fierce!  I feel like I have the flu.  I haven't been able to fish all day".  Luckily, he was traveling with two doctors who were smart enough to carry some STRONG antibiotics with them.  "Feeling much better. I am sleeping with a bug net over my bed, but there are usually more bugs on the inside of the net that on the outside. Still having fun and hoping to hook into some of the big ones".  "For our shower we have a couple of 5 gallon buckets of cold water in an out-house type building", and "I am so sun-burned".  Etc., etc., etc.  I was miserable just imagining being there and I was very anxious for him to get home.  He, however, loved almost every minute of the adventure. None of those things bothered him, except the day of illness.
So, if you every wonder why I do not accompany him on his great outdoor adventures... Blue Fields (of Hell) is just one reason I choose to stay in the comforts of my own home.      

13 years later...

On this day thirteen years ago, at 8:31 in the morning, I was blessed to have Grant enter my life.  He was born 10 days early and still weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz.  He was a beautiful baby.  I was a happy, proud mother.  After a couple of weeks, Grant started crying.  He didn't stop crying for 7 1/2 months.  I was no longer a happy mother, I was a crazy, insane lady that was ready to throw myself off a cliff.  If Grant was awake, he was crying.  I took him to the doctor MANY TIMES.  He would say things like, "Some babies just cry more than others", or "You just got spoiled with Garrett".  Then one day I had Grant at the doctor with Garrett and I was talking over his screaming, and I was cleaning up his constant spit up while I was talking to the doctor about Garrett's ear infection.  The doctor was just staring at me, not hearing a word of what I was saying.  Finally he said, "Kori, you act like this doesn't phase you".  I told him that this was what I had been doing for the last 7 months.  He told me that it wasn't normal and that something was wrong with Grant.  The doctor had me start eliminating some things from my diet, we started with dairy.  He also had me supplement some of his feedings with a soy formula.  I honestly had a new baby within 2 weeks.  Again, I was a happy mother.  Grant has been an absolute joy ever since.  Grant is super laid back, very quick witted, and quite social.  He is also very independent and self-entertaining.  Here are 13 reasons I love Grant...

1.  Grant is our comic relief.  He is just down-right funny.  He always has a joke, or a quote, or a re-enactment of something silly.  He doesn't embarrass easily, so he puts himself out there.  I love that about him.
2.  Grant has more self-esteem than the rest of our family put together.  Grant is very confident in himself and his skills.  He is not afraid to try new things.
3.  Grant is an individual.  What I mean by this is, he is not concerned about other people's opinions or thoughts on what is cool.  He just does what he wants to do and then is able to convince everyone around him that what he is doing is the coolest thing.
4.  Grant is a happy kid.  He is always smiling.  He can make anything he is doing enjoyable.  Well, except when he has dishes... it seriously takes him 2 hours to do the dinner dishes because he plays with the water, does handstands after each dish is put in the dishwasher, and gives me 89 reasons someone else should be helping him.
5.  Grant is a leader.  He isn't afraid to talk to adults, take on extra assignments at school and church, attend his practices and meetings with a good attitude, and make everyone feel like they are important.
6.  Grant is a good friend.  Grant is truly accepting of everyone.   He loves everyone.  He has many friends and I am certain each one of them thinks he loves them better than the others because he makes whoever he is with feel accepted and liked.
7.  Grant is a talker.  I have one son, and I won't mention his name, who hardly says anything.  He limits himself to 100 words a day.  But Grant is a talker.  When I ask him how is day at school was, 30 minutes later we are just getting through 1st and 2nd period.  I get the minute by minute details of his day.
8.  Grant has attitude.  I love watching Grant play sports because he has a little attitude.  He is usually one of the smallest guys on the field, yet you will see him out there "staring people down", trash talkin', throwing a good shoulder into someone.  You would think he is 6'5", 225 pounds by the attitude he is giving.
9.  Grant tries new things.  He isn't intimidated to step out of the box and try something different.  You can see that by his choice of extra-curricular activities.  He plays the bass.  He plays lacrosse.  He is a gymnast.
10. Grant gives the best foot massages EVER!  I am not sure when he developed his magic hands, but I am often the recipient of his great talent.
11. Grant is responsible.  Grant gets himself up in the morning.  He gets himself ready.  When he gets home from school he gathers whatever he needs for lacrosse practice or gymnastics and is ready to go on time.
12. Grant is smart.  He has become such a good student.  He gets his assignments done and does well on them.  He loves math and often wins their morning competition in class.  He comes home everyday with a candy bar or soda.  He won't eat or drink his reward until he is sure that I have seen it.  He remembers details about his lessons.  I will be very honest... these are words I never dreamed I would be typing about Grant.  For years, all of his teachers would say, "Grant has a hard time staying on task".  But something clicked last year and I have had two years of great parent/teacher conferences.
13. Grant honors his priesthood.  He loves to serve other people.  Last week we had a mentally challenged boy in our ward that was passing the sacrament for the first time.  He got somewhat confused and was just standing in the aisle.  Grant was at the back of the chapel when he noticed Brady.  He quickly came back up front and took Brady by the arm and helped him serve.  Brady was so pleased with himself that he had passed the sacrament and Grant came home from church and said that was one of the coolest experiences he has had.  He loves to help others.

We are so excited to have another teenager in our home.  It is exciting to see our kids changing and growing and becoming young adults.  We love you Grant for many reasons!  Hope you have a great year!