postage stamp indicates it could be foreign!!!!!

Garrett opened his mission call tonight:  he was called to serve in the
peru, Lima. West,mission.   he will report to the Peru MTC on November15, 2016.   This is really happening.We think we are very excited!   He will speak Spanish.

Dr. Parry... Here we come!!!

I know Dr. Parry appreciates our business.  He has treated Gracie's 4 broken bones, my dislocated knee, the bursitis in my hip, and Grant's broken arm.  I am quite sure we have paid for a couple of the REALLY nice cars that he and his family members drive.  I told my kids, the next car I am buying had better be my own.

Well, my boys have found a new hobby.  I am quite sure that once Dr. Parry learns of this he will be picking out his next expensive vehicle and I will be driving my car until the day I die.

 This is Grant, cast-free for now...

Beam me up, Gracie!

Gracie competed in her last gymnastics meet for the season.  She participated in the State Meet and did really well.  She is strong in some events and struggles in others.  The beam has always been her best event. However, this year in every meet she fell off.  She NEVER falls at practice and NEVER falls during her warm up.  But once she has to perform her routine for the judges, she falls.  I always feel so bad.  But at her state meet, she performed great.  She didn't fall. She looked confident.  She scored her first 9.05 on the beam. Good job Lou!

My phone would not let me send the entire video, but this is most of her State Meet Beam Routine.

Firsts

Garrett is on his first date, at his first formal dance, wearing a tuxedo for the first time tonight.  It has been a crazy couple of days.  About 10:30 on Thursday night, Garrett started getting some text messages from his baseball coach's sister, Kailee.  She invited Garrett to go to a Senior Ball on Saturday... in less than 48 hours.  Garrett said he would like to go, but wasn't sure if he would be able to pull it off because he had a baseball game right after school on Friday and would not have time to be fitted for a tux, order a corsage, etc.  When I woke up on Friday morning, he told me about the dance invitation.  Luckily, I was off work and had a minute to think.  I found out that the tux rental store opened at 11:00 am- at the same time as Garrett's lunch break at school.  I sent him a text and told him to meet me there during lunch.  While he was getting measured, I ran next door and got him a sandwich to eat on his way back to school.  The sweet lady at the tux shop needed to make some adjustments and asked me to come back at 4:30 to pick the tux up (which was right in the middle of Garrett's baseball game on the other side of town).  I went to Garrett's game and then left in the second inning to pick up his tux.  I made it back to the game in time to see him hit his triple (see previous post).  After his game, we went to the varsity game and then Garrett went with some of his teammates to hang out after the game.  This morning I woke Garrett up at 8:45 am and asked what his plans were for his "day date" (the tradition here in St. George is to go on a date during the day before the dance).  Garrett asked what time it was.  I said, "Quarter to nine".  He shot up and said, "Oh crap!  They are coming to get me at 9:00.  He rushed off to shower and was getting dressed as they pulled up and he was out the door.  They went to Kailee's house to grab something for their date.  Garrett's coach came out of the house and got in the truck with Garrett.  He didn't say anything, but lifted his shirt a little to reveal a pistol in his waistband.  He patted it and Garrett started laughing.  Garrett said, "I don't think you even know how to shoot that thing"!  Hahaha- it was pretty funny.  He had been teasing Garrett at his baseball game the day before that they needed to have a little talk before Garrett went out with his little sister.  

For their day date, they went swimming in a some natural spring pool.  They had a good time.  Garrett got home about 2:30, showered, ate and rested up for the big night.    

I went with him to meet his date to take some pictures.  Unfortunately, none of my pictures turned out very good, but I will post them anyway.  I am hoping Kailee's mom will email me some of the pictures they took tonight.  Garrett and Kailee are doubling with Kailee's friend, Sage, and her date, Cole.  They were all cute during pictures, a little awkward and obviously very nervous.  Super fun to be there for it!  After pictures they headed off to Olive Garden for dinner and then over to the dance.  Should be a fun time.  Can't wait to hear all about it.  

Another Hyde mishap

We just couldn't be the Hydes without a ton of drama, sports and a cast...

On Sunday evening, March 2nd, Grant and Gracie we doing gymnastic tricks in the front room.  They were getting more and more daring.  At least six different times, I asked them to "settle down", "stop", "relax", etc. Then Grant had the brilliant idea to run, launch off the exercise ball, over Gracie, into a dive roll.  He ran and slipped as he came off of the ball.  Didn't see that coming did you?!!  I was in the kitchen and heard a LOUD crack.  I immediately thought that Grant had hit his head on the fireplace.  I turned and looked in the front room expecting to see blood.  Instead, he held up his arm and let out a little shriek.  The middle of his forearm was bent right in the middle.  We immediately fell into our known roles.  I started making ice bags, Russ hung up the phone with his dad and went to make a sling, Garrett pre-wrapped Grant's arm with paper towels and got Grant some Ibuprofen.  We put Grant's paper towel wrapped arm in a homemade sling, packed it with ice and were out the door and on our way to the hospital in 2 minutes flat.  As we got in the car I thought, "Is it sad that we are so conditioned to broken bones that we can be prepped and driving to the hospital with such efficiency".

Grant was in quite a bit of pain by the time we got to the hospital.  He never did cry, but he whimpered a lot.  Unfortunately, I was showing very little sympathy for him.  Lacrosse season was just starting.  We were supposed to be traveling to California in 5 days for his second to last gymnastics meet.  I was mad!  When we got to the hospital they took Grant back into an ER room right away.

  His cute nurse came in and said, "Hi Grant.  I'm Naomi.  I am going to be your best friend.  I have morphine".

She started an IV and gave him a dose of morphine.  It did not touch his pain.  Then the X-ray techs came in and made him move his arm.  He still didn't cry, but he was miserable.

This was the result of the X-ray.  The radius was broken in two places and the ulna was broken as well.  Not pretty.  They called our trusted, well-utilized, orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Parry.  He asked if we wanted to set his arm that night, or if we wanted to come into his office in the morning.  Grant was still in so much pain we said that we would like it set that night.  We told Dr. Parry not to worry about coming to hospital, that we would just use the on-call orthopedic.  But he said he would come on over.  Then, the ER- P.A. asked how Grant was feeling.  Grant was still is tons of pain.  He asked the nurse how much Morphine she had given Grant.  It apparently was not enough.  She gave him a little more and he finally started to settle down.

Dr. Parry arrived and looked at the X-rays.  They brought in the fluoroscope, put Grant on EKG monitoring, and called for the respiratory therapist.  The respiratory therapist had still not shown up, but they decided to go ahead and get started.  Dr. Parry asked the PA for Propofol.  The PA said they rarely used that drug anymore.  Then he asked for a different sedative and they him-hawed over using that one as well.  Finally, Dr. Parry said, "Just bring me what you are used to using and let's get going.  Let's get this boy out of pain".  I thought, "Thank you!!".  The nurse brought in the sedation drug Ketamine, or "Special K", as it is known by on the streets.  They put it in his IV and he was gone.  Dr. Parry said, "Grant.  Grant can you hear me?". No response.  Then he grabbed Grant's arm pulled it, then pushed on the bends with his thumbs.  We heard a little snap and he put Grant's arm under the fluoroscope.  The bones were perfectly aligned.  Seriously, in less that 5 seconds.  We LOVE Dr. Parry.  He formed the splint and wrapped Grant's arm with the ace bandage.  The second the splint was is place, Grant went into a SEIZURE!!!  Now, Russ and I are sitting right there.  I am watching his EKG as his heart rate accelerated to 180 bpm.  His blood pressure started to rise.  His eyes are wide open, yet not blinking.  He is shaking uncontrollably.  Then I notice the little CNA supporting his airway.  Remember, the respiratory therapist never showed up!!!  The seizure lasted about 3 minutes.  His leg was off of the bed, yet straight out, perpendicular.  I tried to move his leg back onto the bed, but couldn't budge it because his muscles were so locked up.  It was scary.  One of the nurses kept asking if she should call code.  Dr. Parry told her to just give it a minute.  Finally, he started to settle down.  His heart SLOWLY started to decrease and he stopped shaking.  However, he laid in a catatonic state for what seemed like 10 minutes.  His eyes were still wide open, not blinking, and he was not responding to anything.  

I was a mess!!!  Finally, Grant started responding.  I sat down and looked like I was having a seizure.  I was shaking so bad.  The nurse came over to comfort me.  She told me that this was normal and not to be worried.  When everyone left the room, I turned to Russ and said, "This was not normal!!! They don't usually induce seizures in children as normal protocol!!".  After about ten minutes, Dr. Parry and the nurse came back into the room.  Dr. Parry asked me how things in cardiac rehab were going.  I told him we were busy and had a ton of patients at the time.  Then the nurse said, "Oh, do you work here?".  I told her that I did, that I worked with the open heart patients, and that I had been doing it for about 8 years.  (Enough to know that was not a normal reaction my son had experienced- but I did not say that part to her).  About 2 hours later, after Grant was completely stable again.  The nurse came in and said, "I feel that I need to just shoot straight with you.  I have been talking to all of the nurses working in ER tonight.  Between all of us we have had over 50 years of experience, 20 of that at Primary Children's.  We have never seen a reaction like that before.  That was a little scary".  OH REALLY?!!!  She was sweet, and I know she was just trying to calm me down in a bad situation and I really did appreciate what a great nurse she was!!!  She was SO good to Grant.  Anyway, the PA then came in about 30 minutes later and said, "I am not sure if you are aware, but your son had an adverse reaction to the medication that we gave him.  You need to make sure that he NEVER has this medication again".  OKAY, DONE!  Needless to say, I started having a ton of sympathy for this poor boy after all of that.  Then he threw up at least 4 times before we got him home at 3 in the morning.  Not our best night ever.

Two weeks later we went to Dr. Parry's office and Grant swapped out his splint for a new red cast.  He gets to be casted for another 4 weeks.  

Which is fantastic for a boy in 2 P.E. classes, and orchestra playing the HUGE bass.  He is also missing all of Lacrosse season and his state gymnastics meet.  Great!!!

The beginning of Baseball season- SAME OL' STORY

Can I just express how much I detest the start of EVERY baseball season!!!  Garrett is a really good player, yet every season he has to EARN a position on the team.  Most of the boys have been given positions since they were in second grade due to the typical politics that occur in sports.  Our son is not one of the fortunate boys.  We do not have the family name.  His dad is not the coach.  We are not the huge financial sponsors/donors for the program.  And Garrett's parents do not hang out at the baseball fields barking in the coaches' ears about how great he is.  We have always felt that he can just prove how great he is by how well he plays, his attitude, and his great work ethic.  It always works, but not until a few games into the season.  The start is always really rough!!!

This year was NO exception.  Garrett did not play football for the first time since 3rd grade this year so he could focus on baseball. Instead, he played Fall (base) Ball.  It was the first time he had played with the upper classmen and was a little intimidated at the start.  AND he was using a bat that had "lost its pop" in the middle of the previous season, and was like hitting a baseball with a marshmallow.  About half way through Fall Ball, he loosened up, began using a different bat and really began playing well.  His confidence was pretty high by the end of Fall Ball.  He then continued to work out with the older boys, conditioning, strength training, participating in hitting league.  He was one of the top sophomore batters in hitting league.  Then came the pre-season tournaments.  Garrett played amazing.  In a four game tournament, he had a triple, two doubles, four singles, two walks, and two strike outs.  His fielding was perfect!  Only one other boy was equal with him in batting.  The other boys only had 2-3 hits the entire tournament.  He just really OUT-SHINED every other player except the one. Garrett was feeling so great about his chance of making the JV/Varsity team.

We went to the Dominican Republic and Garrett actually missed the first day of tryouts.  He had talked to the coach who assured him it would be okay.  He made it home and went to the next two days of tryouts.  He didn't hit as well as he would have liked, but still felt that he played as well as the other boys.  Then the team announcements were made and Garrett was one of only three sophomores that did not make the JV/Varsity team.  We were VERY upset.  One boy that had made the JV/Varsity team had only had one hit in the entire tournament, his other at bats were ALL strike outs, and he had made 4 errors in ONE game... that cost us the game!  But, he made the team.  Another boy had only had two hits and one of those he only got on because it was a fielders choice and they threw the boy out running to second.  Again, he made the team.  One boy actually said to Garrett, "My dad is best friends with the JV coach, so I know I will make the team".  Another boy that did not play summer ball or fall ball because of other sports- and did not even try-out, made the team.  I could go on and on.  Garrett was very embarrassed and discouraged.  You could see the confidence just blown out of him.  He had NO happiness about him.  For the first time he was not excited about baseball AT ALL!  He said he finally realized that he cannot make a break in the "Santa Clara Aristocracy", as it is so called. As his mother, I was dying inside.  I couldn't sleep.  I couldn't eat.  I was crying every day.  What do you do?  I wanted him to quit!  I was so tired of baseball politics!  But Garrett said he couldn't/wouldn't.
After the first day of practice I was talking to Garrett and asked how things were going with baseball.  His response was, "Its not like this is something new.  Every year this happens and every year I prove them wrong and that is what I am going to do again this year".
And so season started... He had a rough first few games adjusting to the slower pitching and shorter hits coming off the bats.  He had a couple of players on the JV/VARSITY team (that Garrett SOOO out-played during Fall-Ball and the tournament) taunting and teasing him about playing with the freshmen, whom I wanted to strangle with my bare hands but somehow resisted the urge. But Garrett took it in stride and continued getting up at 5:30 a.m. and heading over to the field with his dad, still pitch black outside, and working individually on his long toss, pitching, and hitting.
So far, it is paying off.  Garrett has batted 1000 in the last four games.  He hit the warning track in left field at his last game- a one hop to the fence.  He is leading the team in "quality" hits, on base percentage, stolen bases, and is in the top with RBI's.  Let me just say that he is making it very obvious that he SHOULD be playing at the JV/VARSITY level...he IS proving them wrong.  He is fielding well and pitching okay (he had one really bad inning against Canyon View when it was 15 degrees outside and the wind was blowing and he could hardly hold the ball, but has otherwise pitched okay.  Keep in mind he has only pitched a couple of games in all of two seasons).
The JV/VARSITY coaches have not said one word to him since placing him on the younger team.  And his current coaches give the boys almost NO feedback/praise/recognition whatsoever.  It has been extremely frustrating.  As parents, we have had to spend 3 months building Garrett's confidence back up.  I think we have done a pretty good job.   I am amazed by Garrett.  He is truly a great kid and I am grateful he works hard, and rises above what he is dealt. I am sure he will be a better person because of it.
I am grateful that Heavenly Father is blessing Garrett this season.  I felt Garrett really needed to know that Heavenly Father was aware of his struggles and his efforts to overcome them.  I am confident that Heavenly Father knows him, loves him, and wants him to be successful in this life.  It is nice for Garrett to have someone other than just his earthly parents and grandparents routing for him.

The Dominican Republic

 This year we had the wonderful opportunity to go on a family vacation to Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic.  The kids got home from school on Wednesday afternoon and we rushed to the orthodontist.  As soon as Grant and Gracie's appointments were finished, we packed up the car and drove to Las Vegas.  We made a QUICK pit stop at the outlet mall to get Garrett and Grant each new swim trunks.  Then we raced to the airport, just in time to board our flight.  We flew to Los Angeles, got off the plane and walked right on to the next flight without a second to spare.  Then we flew to Newark, New Jersey.  We had been worried about that layover all week because they had been getting a tremendous amount of snow.  However, the weather was nice and we landed without a problem.  We had about 20 minutes to use the bathroom, find a quick bite to eat, and then we were boarding our next flight to the DR.

 Garrett and I are not good flyers.  We tend to get a little sick after just one flight.  So you can imagine how we were feeling after three flights back-to-back-to-back.  We were struggling to walk down the stairs to get off the plane, trying not to throw up.  But we made it and the weather was perfect.  Our queasiness subsided as soon as that ocean breeze reached us.
Our hotel was nice and the food was okay.  The boys went snorkeling and zip-lining.

Gracie did activities with the resort activity crew.  She played soccer, volleyball, bingo and mini-golf.  Surprisingly, she had NO desire to go zip-lining but had a blast with the other kids at the resort her age.  We spent a ton of time in the ocean body-surfing and swimming at the pool.

 I was able to rest.  No driving to and from gymnastics 4 times each day.  No driving to and from baseball.  No school carpool.  No work.  No laundry.  No cooking.  No cleaning house.  IT WAS THE LOVELIEST 5 DAYS.