White Trash Wonders

You know, we are what we are. What can I say? My mom and dad tried to raise me right. They took me cultural events. I saw Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast in Hollywood. They dressed me in designer fashions for the age. They provided me with an excellent education- BYU GRAD. I had cool cars as a teen, a VW bug decked out with the rims and mirrors, graphic equalizer, and fuzzy dice. Then a little Nissan truck that was great for taking everyone at CHS off-campus for lunch. My parents did all they could to bring me up in perfect conditions. I write all of this, because in no way do I want this next post to reflect on my parents. They are classy people. However,

Here are the Hyde's- in true form. The White Trash Wonders...

I told Gracie not to go outside, not with "the Waster" awaiting her arrival. But does she ever listen to mom? NO! She lasted 4.6 seconds before she was back in the house, sopping wet and in tears. "I wasted her, mom"- was all Grant had to say for himself.

Yes, we played a little golf. However, the highlights of the evening were drinking water from the water coolers and "snow cone cups" provided by the golf course, seeing who could get the closest to the green in 5 strokes (they are getting better), and washing the golf balls at the start of every hole. At the end of the night there is one thing we know for sure... the Hyde boys got clean balls.

We bowl. You would too if it were 112 degrees outside all summer and the local bowling alley allowed your children to bowl a free game everyday of summer. Man we stink when we are through, but it is cool in there. Now, if the object of the game was to see who's ball took the longest to go the length of the alley and hit no pins- WITH THE BUMPERS UP- Gracie would be the champion. It is painful to observe. The boys are pretty good. They are awkward and fall often, but they knock down pins. I need to learn how to post my videos. They are too funny.

We can make anything into entertainment. Here are our Mario and Luigi photos. We think we are so clever.

This was Grant's introduction to uncle Raleigh's dog, Skip. Let's just say that Skip REALLY liked Grant. Everywhere Grant went, there was ol' Skippy. When everyone began yelling at the dog to get away from Grant, my innocent little boy replied, "It's OK, I like it". Oh Skip, you really need to GET A GRIP.

Russ and Kaci... expecting about the same time. I think Kaci felt better after this picture was taken. Russ on the other hand... went home and worked out for two hours.

Well, this sums up more of our summer fun. We might be a little WT, but we sure have fun.

Seeing STARS

This year Garrett was selected for the 11 year old All-Star baseball team. We are so excited for him. As I have said in a previous post he really worked hard this season to prove himself. He practiced with his team and then practiced an hour longer with Russ or I everyday... by his request, not ours. He wanted to get better. And that he did. His coach called us the day after the championship game and told us that he had received phone calls all day long from other coaches regarding Garrett and how they hoped to get him on the All-Star team. He also talked about Garrett's work ethic and what a pleasure it was to have a kid on his team that listened to him and wanted to learn the game better. Those are the type of phone calls I like to receive.

Anyway, the boys won their first All-Star game 20 - 3. Garrett had two great hits (one to get on base and then a fly-out to deep center) and a walk. The mercy rule was enforced after the 4th inning. Thank heavens- I can't even enjoy those types of games, even if we are winning (Unless it is a BYU vs. Utah game and the Cougs are ahead). The following games were not as great. We played the Cedar American team who beat us 12-4. We were not playing well that day and could NOT hit the ball. Garrett played third base that game, which was a new position for him. He usually plays second. He had a fabulous game. He threw at least 5 kids out at first. Got a kid out that was stealing third. And caught a kid in a pickle between third and home and got him out. It was fun to watch him field that day. The following day we lost to Hurricane, a team we should have beat. Again, we had a couple of mistakes that the boys let get the best of them and couldn't get over them. It was too bad because we really had a good team.

Anyway, baseball is officially over. We are now preparing for football season. I think we have a 3 week break. Won't that be nice!

I love my job...

Last night I had a really cool experience. One of my neighbors called me around 10:00 pm. When I answered he said, "This is Gene. I am having a health problem. I felt inspired to call you. I know you work at the hospital, are you a nurse?" I explained that I wasn't a nurse, and that I worked in cardiac rehab as an exercise physiologist. I asked him what was wrong and that maybe I could get him in touch with the right person. He explained to me that he had been in the hospital this last week with rapid atrial fibrillation (A-fib)- a heart condition that I deal with on a daily basis at work. He said that he was just looking for someone that could check his pulse. Again, something that I do EVERYDAY. I told him that I would come right over and check his pulse. I was able to go over to his home and spend about an hour answering questions and putting his mind at ease. I could tell he just felt better when I was leaving. He told Russ today how much better he felt and how comforted he was just knowing I was close by. Now, I am not sure what more I could do other than just answer some questions... but I am glad that he feels better and that Heavenly Father put me in a position where I was able to help him.

I have the opportunity to help people on a daily basis. My job is truly one of the most rewarding jobs there is. We work with patients who were so close to death (some even having been brought back to life thanks to CPR and AEDs) and I get to help them return to functional levels much higher than they have been in years. Now, the wonderful part of my job is that the patients do all the work. They get themselves stronger. They are the ones to heal themselves (with the help of doctors and our Heavenly Father). I just get to point them in the right direction and watch it all happen.

I am so grateful for the education I have that has allowed me to find this kind of work. I am grateful for parents that encouraged me to go to college AND THEN PAID FOR IT so I could have this opportunity. I am grateful for a Heavenly Father that has given me so many blessings regarding my career. And I am grateful He inspired Gene to call me last night and remind me what a great job I have.

Oh, what do you do in the SUMMERTIME?

Oh, what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you fish in a stream,

Or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go byIs that what you do? So do I.

Oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you swim in a pool, to keep yourself cool,Or swing in a tree up high?

Is that what you do? So do I!

Oh what do you do in the summertime, when all the world is green?

Do you march in parades,

Or drink lemonades, or count all the stars in the sky?
Is that what you do? So do I!

The Ragnar Relay- Wasatch Back (188 miles of fun?)

So, I ran the Ragnar for the second time. What a blast! For those of you that are not familiar with this run, I will do my best to explain it. The race goes from Logan to Park City (188 miles). It is a relay race. There are 12 people on a team (We had 6 men and 6 women). Each person on the team runs 3 different legs of the race- for a total of 36 legs. The legs are anywhere from 2.5 miles to 9.6 miles in length. Each team has 2 vans, with 6 runners and a driver per van. The race is continuous, so there are people running all through the night until the finish line is reached. This year there were about 500 teams in the race. The starting times are staggered depending on how fast your teams' average 10K pace is. We must have had some pretty fast runners on our team because we had a late starting time... this start time was obviously NOT based on MY 10K pace time. If it had been, we would have had to start on THURSDAY!

Our team began around 3:00 pm on Friday, June 19th. Van 1 began the running in Logan. I really only knew 2 people in van 1- Linda- the driver and Diane- one of the 6 runners. I work with both of these ladies at the hospital. All of the other runners were from the hopital in Provo. I only met them briefly during the race, and can only remember a couple of their names. Anyway, our van began around 6:00 pm. We barely made it in time due to road unexpected road construction. We had a great group in our van! Sierra was runner 7. She ran the Lake to Lake relay with me earlier this year (See post "Kinda Swifty 50"- She's the shorty shorts winner with the butt cheeks hanging out). She is Jeremy's cousin. Who's Jeremy?-you ask. Jeremy was our AWESOME driver, water and shot blocks deliverer, and cheering section. He was our most valuable team member and we couldn't have done it without him. Jeremy is also Dayna's husband. Dayna being runner 8. Dayna also ran the Lake to Lake relay with me in the Spring. She was my co-worker for 3 years. Following Dayna was Jessica (or Jessie or "Barbie"). Jessie worked with Dayna at Curves a few years ago and ran the Ragnar with us 2 years ago. Curt was runner 10. He too ran the Ragnar with us 2 years ago. Curt also works at the hospital in the heart unit, so I see him tons at work. Duaine, runner 11, was a friend of Curt's. I think he was a little scared of the rest of us in the beginning. He seemed to relax a little toward the end of the race. I was runner 12. I had one of the easier legs in my van. My first leg was a little over 3 miles up a mountain to the Snow Basin ski resort. I think I gained almost 850 feet in elevation in 3 miles. It was tough... especially since I had spent the entire week at sea level in California. I walked only to drink some water. It was a slow pace- nothing to brag about. Our team ended sometime after 9 pm and then tried to find a place to sleep for 2-3 hours. We found a camping area that Ragnar had reserved for the teams. Nobody really slept that well. Our van took over running again around 1:00 in the morning. Everybody had long legs and we had to cover over 40 miles in the middle of the night. My 2nd leg didn't begin until 6:30 in the morning. Thank heavens I didn't have to run with the reflective vest, blinking butt light and head lamp AGAIN. The first 3 miles of my 2nd leg was all up hill again. However, the last 2.5 miles was either flat or downhill so I was able to make up some time. I passed off to van 1 again and they began their final legs. Our van went and finally found some good food. Then we went to Dayna's grandparents house in Heber and waited for Van 1 to finish up. We were on again around 12:30 pm. The last legs for our van were hard. Sierra began her last leg in the rain. It stopped raining for Dayna's run, but she had a gradual 6.5 mile climb after a brutal 7 mile downhill run in the middle of the night. Jessie had the first half of the Ragnar hill. She gained 1500 feet in elevation in 3.5 miles. Curt got the second half of the Ragnar which climbed 1800 feet in elevation in 4 miles- plus it began raining again just as Jessie handed the wristband off to him. Duaine took over one mile from the top of the hill. Then at the top of the hill, he then went into a CRAZY downhill adventure. Dropping almost all of the elevation gained by Jessie and Curt in his remaining 5 miles. I then took over the final leg of the race in Deer Valley. My last leg was about 7 miles mostly downhill and flat into the base of Park City. I ran well during my final leg, feeling like it was OK to push myself because I didn't have any more to run after that. I think it helped that Russ and the kids met me along the course of my final leg to cheer me on. Grant even ran 1/2 of a mile with me. That really spurred me on. I felt really pleased with my last leg... which was good because my first two were far from good. Just after I finished and we took a few pictures. It began to down pour like nothing I have ever seen before. We were so lucky because there were many teams that had not yet finished the race. I felt bad for those that were still running.

In the end... we finished in 27 hours, 56th place overall and 10th in our division, averaging 8:something minute miles. (I can't remember). Good Job team!

California Dreamin'

We have just returned from heaven on earth. We spent the past week at Newport Beach with my family and had a fabulous time. Our family drove to Las Vegas last Thursday. We stayed the night at the Cannery Casino near the Alsco plant. Russ was able to work Friday morning while the kids and I got ready for the day. He finished what he had to get done and then we were off to meet up with my family in Primm. We then carpooled into Corona, where we stopped at Miguel's for lunch. Mmmmmm!!! It just really is THAT GOOD. A chicken, rice and cheese burrito with guacamole... Life doesn't get better than that. WOW- it was better than I remembered. We then drove up to our old neighborhood- which was a little disappointing. Our old house has been destroyed. All of the trees had been torn down. The old ivy hill had been torn out and replaced by a huge retaining wall. The awnings were torn down, the grass was over-grown, and it just looked plain trashy. However, my dearest friend from high school, Jaylene, met us over there with her darling three kids- two boys and a girl, just like me. It was so fun to visit with her, meet her kids, and renew an old friendship. She is just as darling as she was in high school and I was so happy she made time to come and see us. I wish I had taken some pictures. We left Corona and traveled the remaining way to Newport.

Newport was incredible. We stayed 1/4 of a mile from the shore at Marriott. It was beautiful. Friday night the kids swam for a few hours. They were so happy to be out of the car. Saturday the men played golf for 5 1/2 hours. They are not horrible... there were just a ton of other golfers. They then met us at Angels' stadium for a baseball game Angels vs. Padres. The game was so much fun! There were more home runs hit that game than any other game I have been to. It was such a good time.

On Sunday we went to church right across the street from the Newport Temple. After church we were able to walk on the the temple grounds and enjoy the beautiful landscape. Here are a few pictures...

That night we went to Clearman's Galley, or "the Boat", for dinner to celebrate Nana's birthday. Let's just say that "the Boat" has a bar and tons of screen T.V.'s and it was the Lakers vs. Magic final game of the Championships and we were in Lakers territory! There were NO seats. People were so RUDE and PUSHY and NASTY. However, due to the LONG wait, the food tasted all that better when we finally did get to eat. It was a great day.

On Monday, the Lunds and my family went to the beach. Russ and the boys did some body surfing. Garrett got swept up into a HUGE wave and was driven into the ocean floor. This was the result...
Fortunately, it did not look too bad right away. By the next day all of the bruising and scabs and sand rash appeared. It looked pretty bad. Lucky for him he is so dang handsome. It just made him look tough.
When Garrett came out of the water he was pretty shaken, dizzy, and unstable. The lifeguard came and looked him over to make sure he hadn't broken his neck. I guess it could have been a lot worse, and we were lucky he was being watched over and protected.

While the boys were in the water, the Girls and Raleigh soaked up some rays. Actually, a lot of rays. We were fried. Reminded me of the good ol' days. We were a dermatologist's nightmare and I loved every sting of that burn.

When we were cooked and beaten from the ocean we returned to the condos to clean up. We got all ready and headed... BACK TO THE BEACH. We had Family Home Evening and dinner at Carlsbad. We made a huge campfire and had a Weenie Roast. And when I say Weenie Roast, I really mean it. The part about these pictures is that they are totally candid shots. We didn't realize how hilarious (or VULGAR) they were until later as we were browsing through some of the shots afterward...

After the dinner, we made smores and banana boats, hunted for crabs, watched the seals play in the ocean, had FHE, and just enjoyed one anothers company. Here are a few more pictures...

This is my HOT nephew, Brayden. He is 14 1/2 and cannot date yet, but can TEXT. So if you are interested, let me know! Love you Bray!

Gracie and her Uncle Brent, whom she absolutely adores. She just giggles whenever he is around.

The boys trying to catch crabs. I loved this picture. Again, it is not posed- these are my boys.

On Tuesday, we went to the Happiest Place on Earth. I still love Disneyland. However, I am getting old. I fizzled out about 10:00 and couldn't quite make it to closing at midnight. I think everyone had a great time.

Russ, the kids and I had to leave California early Wednesday morning. Russ had to get back to work because his boss was leaving on vacation and I had to get prepared to run the Ragnar - Wasatch Back- Relay the day after. The rest of my family stayed down in California until Saturday. We were very sad that we couldn't stay the entire time. However, we were SOOO grateful for the time that we were able to be there. Thanks mom and dad for the GREAT family reunion fun.