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.

16 VS 40

Who had the better birthday?

This was a hard year for me.  I turned the big 4-0.  I always laughed at people that would get depressed over a birthday because in actuality you are just 24 hours older that you were the day before.  Right?!  Well, this year I understand the depression.  It is so hard to utter the word forty, instead of thirty.  Poor me.  My birthday was luckily un-eventful.  We celebrated with my family at Kaci's house the day before.  It just so happens my birthday always falls right by Super Bowl Sunday.  We had cake and ice-cream and watched a little of the horrible game.  On my actual birthday, it was just business as usual.  So I didn't dwell on the sadness of the whole thing.

On a happier note.  Garrett turned the big 1-6 just four days later.  We were actually hosting some of the BYU rugby players at our house that weekend, so we didn't have a huge celebration for his big day.  I am still feeling really guilty about it. We made him a huge breakfast of crepes, bacon, eggs and hashbrowns.  Then I picked him up at school and took him to lunch at a yummy Mexican restaurant.   The highlight of the day was that I was able to get him an earlier appointment at the DMV.  He was actually able to go on his birthday and get his driver's license.  He passed the test with flying colors.  Only got docked a couple of points for not using his emergency brake when he parked... Who does that anyway?!  So, it is official... he can drive and date now.  Which really makes me feel like I am 40 now.

A few days later we were able to buy him a car.  It is certainly not a chick magnet, but it runs and will keep him from getting too injured if he were to get in an accident.  We affectionately call him, "Grandpa Hyde" as he drives around in his 2006 Ford Taurus.  He is so awesome.  He loves his independence.  I LOVE having another driver in the house!

It FINALLY happened

We finally had Garrett's Eagle Court of Honor!  Yippee.  We were only 1 year and 1 month late.  Luckily, we have a pretty awesome son who is very patient with us.

It was a nice night as we actually were able to ordain Garrett to the office of priest in the Aaronic Priesthood just before the court of honor.  He had many close family members and friends there to support him.

This is some of the family and friends that attended.  Kaci's family left before the picture was taken and we also had many people from the ward there to support him as well.  We are grateful to everyone who helped make that night happen.

It's been a while...

The Hyde Family- Fall 2013

I feel as though I am always playing catch-up when it comes to blogging.  I love the idea of having memories, photos, and videos of my family all in one location.  It has been so fun to go back and look at posts from years ago and see the changes in my family.  The only problem I find is as my children get older, I find it more and more difficult to find the time to sit down and write and download pictures and videos.  I really need to make a better effort of doing so.  So here is the LONG re-cap of the past few months...

Russ really is an amazing man, father and husband.  He is so talented, adventurous, and helpful.  After Russ gets home from work, he helps shuttle kids from one activity to another, builds bamboo fly-rods, ties flies, takes Garrett to the batting cages, helps Gracie with homework, encourages Grant with scouting, helps me do dishes, etc.  He will sit only occasionally- if the new Sports Illustrated magazine came in the mail, or if there is a really good game on.  Otherwise, he is moving from one project to another.  This fall, Russ had the incredible opportunity to travel to the Bikini Atoll islands  for another fly-fishing adventure with Grant (his fishing partner) and some other fly-fishing addicts.  It was "the trip of a life-time"-That of course is a little joke, because this has been said about every trip he has gone on!!!  For those of you, like me, who have NO IDEA where the Bikini Atoll Islands are, they are located somewhere between Hawaii and Australia and are too small to see on a regular map, unless you zoom in to 1,000 %.

       Garrett at age 15 1/2

Garrett will be turning 16 in just 20 days.  We can hardly believe it.  He is just about 6 feet tall and only 145 pounds.  He is finally putting on weight and starting to fill out a bit.  School has been a little tougher for Garrett this year.  I have actually seen him doing homework.  We haven't seen that in years.  He is taking Chemistry, honors Math and Language Arts, Spanish III, woodworking, seminary, weight training, and graphic design.  He played fall ball (baseball) this year instead of football.  He loved it and had the opportunity to play with the upper classmen.  He played well, pitched a ton, and hit great.  His team actually won the fall ball championship and each of them got a new baseball jacket.  That was exciting for him.  He will have baseball tryouts next month and is anxious for season to get underway.  He can usually be found at the baseball field, texting, playing dunkball, doing homework, or watching Castle (a show he discovered during Christmas vacation).

Garrett's Fall Ball Championship Team

 Grant at age 13

Grant has become one busy kid.  The day after Grant broke his foot, I emailed his gymnastics coach and told him Grant would be taking some time off.  That next week we ran into one of his previous gymnastics coaches who is now coaching at another gym.  He was so excited to see Grant and asked Grant why he hadn't seen him at any of the gymnastics competitions.  Grant told him that his group had never really even talked about competing.  Scott encouraged Grant to switch gyms and start training with him again.  We attended a meeting and was really impressed with their program.  Grant went to a practice that week, cast and all, to try it out.  We decided to give it a chance.  Grant now practices about 11 hours each week.  He has improved so much in just 2 months time and yesterday competed at his very first gymnastics meet.  He did pretty well considering 1/2 of that training time was in a cast.  Here is a video of his very first ever gymnastics meet event- the vault. 

Grant is really enjoying school this year.  He is taking math, history, language arts, science, PE, weight training, orchestra, and FACS (kind of like a home ec type class in our day- it is required).  

Last week Grant went on the Klondike for scouts.  This year was "AWESOME".  Because Grant had been on two previous Klondikes and had fulfilled his cold weather campout requirements, he was allowed to stay in a cabin with the other older boys and some of the leaders.  The younger boys had to sleep outside in tents. The next day, they were able to go skiing/snowboarding at Brianhead all day.  Grant took snowboarding lessons and then hit the slopes, all while earning his Cold Weather Sports merit badge.  He LOVED it and is already trying to figure out how to get back up the mountain and go again.  I wish I had been there to take some pictures.

Gracie at age 10

Gracie is so much fun.  She is full of energy and fills our house with it.  Gracie, too, is still in gymnastics and is preparing for her upcoming competition season.  She practices at the gym about 8 hours each week.  She enjoys school and her teacher this year.  She loves her friends and is with them every second she is not at school or gym.  She has a cell phone now and loves to text anyone who will respond.

Here are some other random pictures of our fall/winter activities:

It was cold and raining/snowing at the game, Garrett was sick, and BYU destroyed Idaho State- but they still had a great time.

Our nephew/cousin, Halen, was wrestling in a huge tournament in Las Vegas.  Russ and Grant were able to go down on the second day and watch him wrestle and hang out with Halen's dad, Dean.  They had so much fun and were SO IMPRESSED by Halen.  Out of about 135 boys in his weight class, Halen took 4th place. So awesome!  And he is only a sophomore.  Imagine what he will be like as a senior.  

We were able to get all of the cousins together one day and take a bunch of pictures for Nana.  It was quite a quick adventure, but very successful.  Here are a few of the better pictures:

All 12 of the kids were pretty well behaved considering it was cold.

These are just a few of the activities we actually have pictures of.  I am not very good at remembering to take pictures...maybe because I get flack every time I try.  I am not allowed to take pictures at baseball games... it is BAD LUCK.  If I pull out the camera anywhere else, all of my kids scatter, make faces, or delete pictures I take.  Someday they will be sad that they weren't more compliant.   

He's been CASTED

On Monday night I went to pick Grant up from gymnastics.  He was sitting on the edge of the big trampoline.  As he was getting down his coach yelled, "Grant, give me a one foot dismount! No, I'm just kidding dude.  Hope you feel better".  Grant then started to hobble over to me... which is a weekly occurrence.  Grant is always complaining that he has hurt something.  And he limps and hobbles and grimaces often.  He is a classic model for the Boy who Cried Wolf.  However, this time I could tell he was really hurting.  As he reached me he burst into tears and cried, "It hurts so bad mom.  I can't walk.  It hurts".  I picked him up and set him on a nearby table.  He told me that he had hurt his foot.  As I was doing a quick exam his coach then ran over and said that Grant had been "goofing off" with another kid in the group.  They had kicked at each other and Grant had caught the other kid right on the heel with the side of his foot.  He wasn't even doing a cool gymnastics trick!!!  He was GOOFING OFF!!!
That night his foot began to swell and we iced it, elevated it, and wrapped it up.  The next morning it was more swollen and he couldn't put any pressure on it.  Thanks to Papa, who brought Grant to me at work- I was able to get him to the doctor and have his foot X-rayed.  The little squirt had 2 fractured bones in his right foot and it was too swollen to cast at the moment.  He was put in a splint until the swelling was reduced.

So today (with the help of Nana) I took him back to the doctor and they put a nice blue cast on his leg.  I think he was thrilled to get a cast.  It will be fun for about a week and then he will be sad.  The crutches are already rubbing him raw and he has slipped a few times.  Poor little guy has no clue what he is in for the next 4 weeks.  But let me assure you- he is milking this injury for all it is worth.

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.