Redneckin'

Each night this week, we have tried to have some type of family activity where we get the kids out of the house and have some kind of adventure. Thursday night, we hiked up a canyon near Leeds and played in the "pond" at the top. Grant had gone with his scout group and said it was fun, so we decided to check it out. It was a blast. I did not take any pictures that night, but I am sure it will be something we will do again.

Last night, we drove up to New Castle Reservoir and introduced the kids to REDNECKIN'. It was a perfect night up there. The temperatures were much cooler than St. George and the water was still. It was very peaceful and relaxing.

While we were in New Castle, we did a little fishing. Gracie was the first to catch a fish. She was reeling in her lure and told Russ, "It is getting harder to reel in Dad. I think I have a fish". Russ thought she might be getting caught up on the bottom and dragging in a little moss. But sure enough, she caught a little small mouth bass. Great job Lou!

Grant caught the 2nd fish last night. He looked like a natural out there, and casts very well.

Next, we roasted some weenies and marshmallows. I did not know my kids had such mad marshmallow roasting skills. When I was young, I would always catch my marshmallows on fire and thought that they tasted good. Well, Garrett is very skilled in the marshmallow roasting department. I have found a new favorite treat.
And then... the shooting began. Before I go on, I have to tell a quick story. When Russ and I first got engaged, the topic of guns came up. I said, "Oh, we will never have guns in our home". Well, just pay attention to haw many guns are mentioned in this post. Hmmm. We had been married a year before I realized we had 5 guns in our home. I think we may have more now.

Grant has been working on his Rifle Shooting merit badge. He needed to learn how to sight in a rifle, and do some target practice. Grant used a .22 rifle. And then Russ pulled out the big dog, his .270 Winchester. This is the gun Garrett will be shooting in the deer hunt in October. Russ thought he should practice shooting it last night. Well, he shot once and said, "I don't think I even hit the target". Well, Garrett not only hit the target, but hit the bullseye. Those deer should be scared this hunting season. Good job Garrett! Then Grant took a turn shooting the .270. He could barely hold it up. Russ had to help him steady it. He managed to hit the target as well. Not too bad for using a gun that weighs almost as much as he does.
Just look at the size of the bulletts they were shooting. SCARY!

Then Gracie got in on the action. She shot the pistol. She was all around the target, but she loves to shoot that gun.


It was quite a fun night. The kids enjoyed themselves. Russ was in his element. I loved taking pictures of the evening, seeing my family smile, and being outdoors in cooler temperatures.

JUMP right in-

the WATER's fine. It is finally hot enough to enjoy Grandma's pool. Russ and the kids sure had a great time tonight playing shark, having chicken fights, and visiting with grandma and grandpa Brooks. We love summer time fun!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for sharing your pool with us.

sounds a little FISHY

This past weekend, Russ took the scouts on their monthly campout to New Castle Reservoir. Grant is 11 now, and since Russ was going on the campout, he was able to go as well. Grant has been working on his fishing merit badge- learning to tie knots, the safety aspects of the sport?, differences in lures and baits, and the different fishing outfits. One of the requirements is to catch a fish and clean it. This weekend Grant was blessed to have that experience. (YUCK!!! I am so glad I am a female.) He couldn't wait to tell Nana all of the bloody details.

Let's celebrate turning 8

This week Gracie celebrated her 8th birthday. We cannot believe our baby is eight. Where did time go? She has had quite a week celebrating her big day. On Tuesday morning, Garrett made her breakfast. He made pancakes with smiley faces made out of whipped cream and cherries. Then our family went to lunch at one of her favorite restaurants, Wingers. That night she went on a special birthday dinner date with Nana and Papa. They took her to Outback Steakhouse. Then we all met over to Nana and Papa's house for cake and ice cream and to open presents. Gracie got a baptism dress, scriptures, and a scooter from her mom and dad. Her brothers got her a new hamster. She named her new little friend, Pippa. I, of course, forgot my camera- so no pictures. But, it was a fantastic day for Little Lou.
Tonight we celebrated Gracie's birthday with some of her friends at Sand Hollow Aquatic Center. It was so much fun. The 9 little girls all got along so well. They swam, leaped on lily pads,jumped off the diving board, slid down slides, were silly,and ate lots of food and cake. At the great age of 8, Gracie loves playing with her friends, riding her bike and scooter, gymnastics, TALKING, her new hamster- Pippa, playing games, being in the know, giving orders, high heels, sugar, lip gloss, and her momma.
Happy 8th Birthday Gracie! We sure are lucky to have you in our family.

Switching SMILES

Garrett and Grant went to the orthodontist today. They went in looking like this...

They came out looking like this...
Grant was so happy to have gotten his first phase of braces off today. Garrett on the other hand was so sad to have started phase 2. The orthodontist bills just continue to come. Soon we will add Gracie- and Russ and I will be living in a van down by the river.

Memory Loss

All of the memory on my computer has been used up. I have not even been able to open a single picture from my camera to look at. And blogging is NO fun without the pictures. And you all know that a picture can look good on the camera, but when it is pulled up on the computer it looks completely different. So, there is my excuse for having not blogged in two months.

However, I need to blog about some recent events because I am lacking memory storage in my brain as well. I seriously think I am getting Alzheimer's. So sad. I am too young to be acting this old. And my kids are quickly growing up. Here is a re-cap of our most recent memories...

MAURICE RECEIVED HIS MISSION CALL
It finally came after 6 long weeks of waiting. Reese and his mom and sister drove up to St. George to open his call. Grandma and Grandpa Brooks, Grandpa Hyde, our family, Kellie (Reese's current girlfriend) and her roommate, Chelsae, all came over for the big event. We had three of Russ' siblings on the phone (Laura, David, and Jessica), Kurtis' family was on Skype, and Lisa's family was on Facetime using Reese's iphone. While we were waiting for everyone to arrive, we made guesses as to where Reese would be called. I pinned a world map to a bulletin board. Then everyone wrote their name on a sticky note attached to a pin and put the pin where they thought Reese would be called. Everyone chose a foreign country and a state side location. Once everyone was on the computer and phone, Reese opened his call and began reading. Jill was reading over Reese's shoulder and screaming, crying, and jumping up and down before Reese got the words "Elder Maurice Maxwell" out of his mouth. Anyway, he was called to serve in Kenya. He goes directly to the mission home in Johannesburg, Africa on August 11th. Yay- congratulations Reese.
SCHOOL'S OUT
The school year ended with many exciting events. Roping tournaments, dances, bowling parties with student council, choir concerts, etc. That was in addition to baseball 5 days a week, gymnastics 2 days a week, scout over-nighters, young men activities, fathers and sons camp-out, etc., etc., etc. Now summer is here and we are already bored out of our minds.

BASEBALL
Grant's little league baseball team won the championship this year. It was so much fun. Last year the team Grant played on lost ALL but 2 games. It was a miserable season and Grant had no desire to play this year, but his dad signed him up anyway. After a night of tears, Grant decided to give it a go as long as it didn't interfere with his gymnastics. His team this year only lost 2 games, tied 2 games, and won the rest. They entered the playoffs as the 4th seed out of four teams. They played the first place team and 10 run ruled them, winning 12 t0 1. Grant pitched a no hitter. He struck out 9 batters. The only two that got on base were the two he beaned (oops). They never got further than 2nd base. It was fun to see Grant playing so well. They then played the 3rd seeded team, who beat the 2nd seed. They beat that team 14-6. It was a fun night. I, of course, forgot my camera. I have NO PICTURES of the championship game. So sad. But a great memory none the less.

ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

Russ and I celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary last week. Whenever someone asks Russ how long we have been married he tells them the numbers of years and then says, "two more to go". I was nervous after just a couple years of marriage when he'd respond like that. But now, I feel confident that he is hooked. So, Happy 15th, two more to go.

Just 6 days later, Kami and Brent celebrated their 3rd anniversary.

And the very next day, Kaci and Raleigh celebrated their 3rd anniversary.

Happy eternity to everyone.

Okay, so I think I am caught up. I can hopefully go forward from here. I am sure I forgot several important events. Maybe now that summer has arrived, I can find more time to write things down.

No longer a CUB

Grant received his Weblos and Arrow of Light awards at Pack Meeting tonight. The Cub Scout leaders did a great job making it a special night for Grant. They read a story about an Indian named Arrow of Light. It was a long story and I am including it on the blog for journal purposes:

Many years ago there lived a tribe of Indians who had a peculiar method of choosing their chief. When the chief of a tribe became too old and knew he had only a short time to live, he would call before him all the braves of the tribe and give to each a bow and six arrows.
When these arrows hit an object they were so constructed they would break and could not be use again. Each brave took a bow and arrows and promised that he would eat no meat except that killed with the six arrows. He was to remain away from camp as long as he could and the one remaining away the longest would be made chief.
Now it so happened that there was a young Indian by the name of Arrow of Light who wished very much to be chief and for many moons had spent much time practicing with the bow and arrows and learning the ways of the wild animals. When his chief sent out word that he was about to choose a new chief, Arrow of Light secured the bow and arrows.
It was late in the afternoon when he started out and he went at once to a place where he had often seen deer come down to drink. He was obliged to wait all night but he had a great deal of PATIENCE. Just as it was getting light he saw a fine deer on the water's edge near him. He shot the deer. Then he took stone, skinned the deer, prepared the skin for clothing, and hung the meat where the wild animals could not reach it. He lived here for many days but finally the meat was almost gone so he resolved to start out again.
He had not traveled far when he came face to face with a huge bear. The bear growled and started toward him, but Arrow of Light was very BRAVE. He waited until the bear was near him. With his second arrow he shot and killed him. He used the skin to make a fine robe to sleep under in cold weather and the meat supplied him for a long time. But at last the food was gone and he was obliged to start out again.
He was walking along the path thinking how well he had done to kill such big animals with his arrows when suddenly he saw an Indian lying on the path before him. He bent over him and saw that it was one of his friends who had started out at the same time he had, but who had used up all his arrows and was starving. He knew that his friend must have food at once or he would die. He looked around but all he could see was a squirrel.
He had been saving his arrows for bigger game but he showed his FRIENDSHIP for his Indian friend by shooting this squirrel and cooking it for him. The next day the Indian was able to walk slowly so they went on together. Soon they saw a huge panther ready to spring upon them. Arrow of Light knew that he could escape but his friend was so weak that he would easily be killed so he used up another arrow to kill the panther, thus showing his UNSELFISHNESS.
As they went on together looking for a deer, they heard a wolf in hot pursuit of one. Before long they carne upon a freshly killed deer. Arrow of Light's friend said to him, "Here is some meat all ready for you," but Arrow of Light had promised that he would eat only the meat that he had killed for himself.
He showed his HONESTY by refusing to eat it.
Arrow of Light now had only one arrow left and wanted to kill a deer with it. Soon he saw a deer but just as he was about to shoot, the deer gave a jump and the arrow missed him. Now Arrow of Light was very much discouraged so he walked by himself into the woods. He still had FAITH IN THE GREAT SPIRIT and he looked up and prayed, "Oh, Great Spirit, I have tried to do my best. I have been helpful and honest but here I am many days journey from home and I know I shall starve before I reach there unless you help me." As he prayed he suddenly felt something press against his foot and looking he saw the arrow that had missed the last deer. It had not hit any object and was whole. He felt the Great Spirit had helped him. He took this arrow and killed a deer and he and his friend arrived home safely.
When the old chief heard his story he spoke thus, "Oh, Arrow of Light, you have showed, Patience in waiting for the deer, Courage in facing the bear, Friendship in helping your friend, Unselfishness in killing the panther, Honesty in refusing to eat the meat you did not kill, and Faith in the Great Spirit in asking his help. These are the qualities we need in our chiefs and it therefore gives me great pleasure to declare you to be chief of our tribe." Arrow of Light proved his worthiness to be made chief.
A great arrow, the symbol of the tribes leadership, was presented to him. Because of his great leadership it was named after him. This is where we got the Arrow of Light award.
Tonight we have a boy who has earned this great award. Will Grant and his parents please come forward.

The cool part of the night was they had a man in our ward that is a bow hunter there. He had brought his bow and arrows and set up a target. Each time in the story when an arrow was used, Joe Millet- the hunter, would shoot an arrow into his target about 30 yards away. The kids thought that was pretty cool. When the story was over, they had Grant come forward and the Cub Scout Master shook his hand and handed him over to the Boy Scout Master (Grant's dad).

Other fun parts of the night included Grant painting the Weblos symbol on my hand

and me painting the Arrow of Light Symbol on his face,

Grant pinning the mother's pins on my shirt,

and of course refreshments.

Good job Grant!