I absolutely blew Russ' 40th birthday. I was planning on sending him on a trip to Mexico to go fly-fishing. Well Swine flu hit and nobody was to travel to Mexico. Russ was not afraid of swine flu and still would have gone, but we could not convince any of his fishing friends to travel there with him, and there was NO WAY he was going by himself. So instead we had a small family party and celebrated his milestone birthday very quietly. BORING!
This year I wanted to surprise him with the trip he was supposed to take last year. In October I began planning and saving my money to send him. In January I recruited a friend in planning. Chris has been one of Russ' fabulous fishing buddies for close to 15 years (or more?). He and his wife, Carie, went to Mexico with Russ and I two years ago. Although Carie didn't love the fishing experience, Chris had a great time and has wanted to go back ever since. I spoke to Carie in January and asked if she was interested in sending Chris to Mexico for his birthday, which is two weeks before Russ'. She loved the idea. Chris was spending his spring break remodeling her hair salon and she was feeling guilty because he usually goes on a fishing trip during that time. Together we went to work. I requested time off for Russ through his boss, and contacted a fishing guide we had used before, and then we made all other necessary reservations. Carie and I booked their flights and took special consideration to give them the most fishing time, using the least amount of time away from work (Russ has taught me some good tricks for vacation planning). He got 6 days of fishing and only had to use 2 vacation days... pretty impressive planning.
On Chris' first day of spring break, his first day of remodeling the hair salon, Russ went over to give him a hand. The kids and I went over to "assist" as well. When we finished we all went out to eat. Carie and I told the boys that night about their birthday gift. They were VERY SURPRISED and VERY EXCITED. Chris said he might even make it through the remodel job without too much pain.
This last week they went on their trip. They had some wild adventures (as always), caught some good fish, hooked a crocodile, flooded a car engine, ate some authentic Mexican civiche, spoke with Spanish accents - like "Creesp and Roose", took very few pictures, and had a fabulous time (well at least Russ did- I haven't talked to Chris yet).
Happy 40th Birthday AGAIN!
Baseball is officially over! It has been a really long- like 8 months long- sport season. We are happy and sad. The boys both had great experiences this year. Garrett was able to really improve as the season progressed. He was the new man this year on a team that has played together for three years. I think he struggled at first to really feel like he was a part of the team. But now he is just one of the boys and made some great friends. We learned this season that Garrett is FAST. He struggled with several different things throughout the season, but never with stealing. He is amazing to watch on the bases. He takes a HUGE lead off and loves to taunt those pitchers. Stealing bases is definitely his biggest contribution to the team. His coaches always look to Russ or I after he steals a base to say, "Man, he's fast".
Russ and I learned a lot this season. Russ can now throw several different pitches (curve, change-up, four seam and two seam fast balls, etc.), is an expert in bat sizes, and now knows that baseball is almost as expensive as fly-fishing. I learned the baseball lingo, about tournament rules, and how to get red dirt out of white pants with navy blue piping down the sides that prevents the use of bleach!
Grant was the youngest player is his league, yet did really well. He played with boys that were 10, 11, and 12. He had the opportunity to pitch, play short-stop and third base, and gained a lot of confidence. He was chosen to play on the 10 year old All-Star team. He was very excited. Grant is an amazing kid. He is so positive, always happy, and truly loves life. We were thrilled that he was able to have the All-star experience (even though he was out of baseball mode). His baseball season had ended in May, and we didn't find out he was playing all-stars until July! The best part was he got two cool new shirts, a new baseball hat, and little more experience. 
followed by a pool party.
The best part about Reese' graduation is that Dixie State College (right here in St. George, UT) gave him a football scholarship. We will be able to watch him play with the Redstorm and we are VERY excited about it. He is going to live with us for a few weeks before school starts. Gracie is HAPPILY giving him her bright pink bedroom (so she can sleep near me...in my room). We just hope that all 6'4" of Reese will fit in her full size bed. Gracie's bed looks enormous when she is sleeping in it. I am guessing that will not be the case when Reese takes it over!
