My husband the groupie!!

We had a crazy week this 4th of July with both boys playing in the Firecracker Tournament. We had games on Thursday and Friday and if we advanced we would play on Saturday. Needless to say, that doesn't leave much room for planning an extravagant holiday. However, neither of the boys advanced to the championship and we were actually looking forward to a quiet Saturday at home. Well, my friend Elysa, scored us some awesome tickets to the Stadium of Fire. Now, my husband doesn't like anything that involves crazy kids, traffic, long lines or crowds, but we talked him into going......

We had AWESOME seats! On the lawn about 5 rows back from the stage. We watched She Daisy put on a great show but that was nothing compared to what happened when the lights went down, and out came Jared's most FAVORITE band in the whole world......
the JONAS BROTHERS!

I am serious when I say we were that close to them. I took that picture. I was surprised at how good of a performance they put on. I actually knew the words to a couple of songs. Because we had such great seats, we were allowed to actually go up to the stage which Kade and his friend Brody were quick to do. I didn't however, see Garrett follow them until it was too late and all I could see was his little baseball cap disappearing into a sea of hormone crazed teenagers. I went in after him but he had vanished. I stood there for two songs telling myself that he was in there somewhere and would eventually come out to get a snack or maybe to breathe? Finally, I see Kade coming out with a grip on Garretts T-shirt. He stopped long enough to drop him off and then ran back in! Sure enough, he wanted to know where his Airhead Extremes were...
Crew loved the fireworks, and other than debris falling on top of us, a good time was had by all. We even caught Jared shaking his bootie a couple of times. He even took the two hour drive home in stride. Now, maybe next year they will have Depeche Mode or Nine Inch Nails perform? Just a suggestion.

Swing batter, batter........PLEASE!

Seriously, have you ever seen such a cute baseball player? This was GG first year of coach pitch baseball. There are kids on this team from 1st to 3rd grade.In this agonizing sport of coach pitch, there are no strikes, no outs, and everyone bats exactly three times. Garrett happened to be the shortest on the team. He was the one that everyone was cheering for. The one who would hit a foul ball and the crowd would yell "RUN" because yes it's OK to run on a foul ball in coach pitch. The one who's batting helmet came down to his nose. Who's cleats were two sizes to big for his feet so that he had to shuffle around the bases with one hand holding up his helmet so that he could see.
The one that the base players had to tap on the shoulder and tell to run. And yes, that's my son out there on short, instigating a game of tag with all the other outfielders. Love him, love the game. Thanks for reminding me that we all started out this way. Even if his older brothers tell him otherwise..

Happy Birthday Garrett Gideon

Tell Me About The Day I Was Born....

I can't think of the day that Garrett was born without crying. A matter of fact, I was telling Garrett about the day he was born and he was so sad that he started to cry too. He truly was a blessing from Heavenly Father. How easily both he and I could have died that day. I'll never forget waking up that morning and seeing all that blood. Yet, I, still in true Marten or maybe even Baxter fashion, proceeded to try and clean up the mess and the house because I knew that people would be over! We rushed to St. Marks hospital and since I had changed clothes, they didn't see all the blood that I had lost. They were almost going to let me go home and then I told them that I felt a gush again. All I remember was the nurse lifting up my sheet and then everything became a blur. They rushed me into the OR and told Jared that he couldn't come in with me. They put me out and that's all the memory I have of Garrett being born. Upon waking up, I knew I didn't have a baby inside me anymore, but I was to terrified to even ask if he was ok, IF he was even alive. I remember pleading with Heavenly Father that if he had to take Garrett to take me too. I knew that Jared couldn't handle raising three boys by himself. Finally, I saw Jareds face and knew that he was ok. Apparently, they had taken him to the NICU becasue he had asperated. I had hemorragged and lost alot of blood resulting in a blood transfusion. The doctor on call, told my OBGYN that I had shaved seven years from his life. I still hadn't seen my baby, but Jared had a polaroid that they had taken and I was able to hold him close to my heart..... I still do.

Flashback Friday,2007

This was suppose to be our six month rental after we sold our first home. Jared, was so sure that we would be out of here that he wouldn't sign a year lease. Well, little did we know that this rental would be our home sweet home for the next three years! We moved in with three boys and a lot of junk. We left with four boys, a dog and even more junk! I have to admit that it was fabulous living across the street from my very best friend. We were always visiting and borrowing and even calling each other all the time. Our two little ones, Garrett and Skylar became best buddies and soul brothers forever. I will, however, not miss dirty white walls, spiders, dandelions, broken light fixtures, moldy bathtubs, peeling linoleum....did I mention the white walls? Now, you all know why I have so much color in my new house.

This beautiful home came with a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but we are happy to call it ours.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

My grandma just turned 88! Can you believe how amazing she looks? I hope that I can look that great when I am her age. We had a BBQ at her house with all the grandkids. They all ran around and probably drove her crazy. I missed seeing her for most of my life, because she lived in Albuquerque, NM. She was finally able to move out her about seven years ago, and it has been fun watching her watching my kids grow up. Maybe, she gets a little glimpse of what a terror I was when I was little. Who are we kidding? We all know that I am her favorite!

and...He's OUT!!

With two boys playing Super League baseball, we, as a family, are often sent off in different directions to watch our boys play. Today Kade played in Alpine, and Tag played in Salem. We were both able to watch Kade play his first game but Jared left in the middle of Kade's second game to take Tag to Salem. Jared was going to help coach Tag's game today because his coach was not going to be there. After Kade's second game, I headed off to Salem with my friend Elysa, to catch Tag's games. We were just leaving when Elysa received a phone call from her husband telling her that Tag had been hurt and that he had lost consciousness and was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance! I will try to tell the story as best I can from all the stories I gathered throughout the day. Jared and the two other guys who were coaching, decided to change things up a bit. They put Tag at shortstop, giving some other boys the opportunity to catch. The field they were playing on was a dirt infield and the funny thing is, that a dad had previously commented on how bad he hated dirt infields and that somebody was going to die someday. Well, a boy from the other team hit the ball, and it bounced in the dirt and came up hitting Tag right on the side of his neck. Tag told everyone that he was OK and the pitcher proceeded to throw another ball. Jared started noticing that Tag was swaying in the field and acting almost as if he were drunk. Jared called a timeout and went out to Tag to bring him off the field. Tag, told his dad that he was fine and not to pull him out of the game. Jared told him that he wasn't. They started walking off the field and Tag passed out before they got to third base. Jared threw the score book and laid Tag down, checking his airway and making sure that he didn't swallow his tongue. My friend Jen started running out on the field yelling that she knew CPR and everyone started gathering around. Thankfully, there happened to be a nurse and an EMT there that were watching games and they took care of him until the ambulance got there. It would be interesting to know how many 911 calls were made from the field today. By this time, Tag had regained consciousness and they were keeping him still. They cut his jersey so that they could monitor his heart, and strapped him to a backboard and headed of to Utah Valley Medical Center. They couldn't find a neck brace that fit, so they made one out of towels and masking tape! Meanwhile, my friend drops me off at the hospital and takes off with all my kids to the game. I run in, freaking out, that my boy was in this hospital somewhere and I needed to get to him. Well, I BEAT the stinkin' ambulance! When I first got the phone call, they must have still been on the baseball field stabilizing him for transport. They finally get him there and let me in to see him. I find Jared leaning over him telling him that he scared the crap..... and we all know that wasn't the word that was used... out of him and to never do that to him again! That is the first time I have ever seen Jared so worried. Wait..was that a tear I saw coming out of my dear husbands eye? We will never know, and he will never admit it:). Tag is home and OK, the CT didn't show any damage to his arteries and other than a big bruise and a bruised ego, he will live to see another day. The baseball boys were SO sweet. They put his hat up on the fence and every time they came out of the dugout they touched it for good luck. When they did their huddles, before going out in the field they would end by screaming "TAG" instead of "HITS". Jaxon and Zach came up to see him tonight and the text messages are still coming in. What a great bunch of boys! I love them all as my own. I have known most of them since they were in Kindergarten and I hope they will be friends for life.