Last weekend was the Junior Prom. Hayden's BIG night out on the town. He asked his date back on Valentine's Day to be sure that he could take her (nothing like planning ahead). It started at 9:30 Saturday morning with a Scavenger Hunt all over Heber. From golfing, to the shooting range, to lunch at the middle school, to playing PIG, and then finish with a game of bowling...I think it was safe to say they all had a good time! There were four couples...Hayden/Maddy, Sterling/Dani, Austin/Karissa, and Tom/Ashley. After the Scavenger Hunt, the boys took their dates home to get ready for the big night.

The group that Hayden was in surprised their dates with a Hummer Limo. The girls were all shocked and soooo excited. There were 9 couples in this limo - 18 people - and they all fit really comfortable!

The limo drove them down to Toucano's restaurant in Orem for dinner. Then they came back to the high school for the promenade.

They then were off to the Zermatt Resort for a night they would always remember...oh Hayden, please stop growing up soooo fast. :0)

Time to catch up!

It has been way too long since I have posted on this blog. Wasn't even sure if I could still log on! I look at the pictures that I left posted and it amazes me how much the kids have grown. I can't believe how fast they grow up! I have pictures and some video to show...here we go!



Hayden seems to be all grown up...driving, dating, and almost ready to head into his senior year. We just had student government elections, and he was elected Senior Class President. He is really excited. He loved it when he served as class president his sophomore year, and wanted so badly to do it again before he left high school. We are so proud of him!

Koen is a freshman. He would really like to be Hayden's age. He is go, go, go. He doesn't slow down very often. He's always smiling and has a great group of friends that we frequently see every Friday night. He loves to work out, and will show you his "arms" frequently. He learned quite the cool dance when he tried out for Sophomore class prez...he didn't make it, but he worked so hard and we are so proud of him for trying. I will try and get his dance number uploaded to view!

Rylee is 12 going on 16! She is quite the young lady. People are shocked when we tell them that she is only 12. She has her dad's heighth which I think makes her look older. She loves to be with her brothers as much as she can, especially when they bring their cute friends over to our house. Volleyball is her first love. She loves to play it night and day and has become really good. She broke her own coach's previous record and scored 15 points in a row in a game a couple weeks ago. She has a killer serve...it is so fun to watch the other team's reaction when she goes up to serve.

And then there's Evan. Of course the other kids claim him to be the favorite, I just call him the youngest. And I guess with being the youngest comes certain privileges. He is our full fledged Soccer player. Loves to play defense. He also has a great love for chess. While I am updating this, we are at the Utah Elementary School State Chess Tournament. There are 6 rounds. As of this moment, he has won one, lost two, stale mated one, and a draw on the other. Round 6 will tell us whether he goes home with a trophy or not. It has been a REALLY long day, but he is having a blast!

No More Tonsils!

On Wednesday, April 22, Evan had his tonsils and adenoids removed. He had been having a hard time breathing at night and he suffered from chronic sore throats. His tonsils were always so enlarged, that if you looked in his throat, you would see a space the size of a pencil or straw going down his throat.

Recovery has been pretty good - he was feeling pretty good the first day, but the next three days were really hard. He couldn't talk very well, but it looks like the pain is paying off. When you look in his throat now, it is amazing to see all the space that is in there.

We have learned a lot with Evan's experience - Rylee is next!

Spring Break Trip to Las Vegas

When you are self-employed, planning vacations is sometimes hard to do. No vacation pay, etc. But, when you have four kids home for a week, you know that you need to be creative and think of something fun to do!

We thought it would be fun to experience Las Vegas - we wanted to enjoy some warm weather and not have to drive a whole day to get there. We left on Wednesday and came back in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Before we made it to our hotel, we stopped at the World Headquarters for the Shelby Mustang. We were able to visit the museum, the assembly line and factory and see how "shelby packages" our put on new Mustangs. You can order a Super Cobra Package or a King of the Road - starting at $29,000. What a deal! (not for us in this lifetime!)Carroll Shelby's autograph is quite a collector's item - and he wants everyone's signature who comes to visit the Headquarters in Vegas - so there are walls and walls of signatures in this place - it was fun to leave our signature behind and read some of those who have been there before!

We stayed at the Excalibur Hotel on the Las Vegas strip - it was such a neet hotel! It's so amazing to see how many people fit in one hotel - we weren't used to staying in such a huge hotel. It seemed like it took forever to get from our room to our car! We walked the strip to visit all the other famous hotels and attractions. One of our favorite stops was the M&M world. It was like a store/make-believe factory on four floors. We loved the water show at the Bellagio hotel, shops at Caesar's Palace and of course the Fremont Street experience which can only be enjoyed at night. It has the worlds largest TV screen which stretches for at least two city blocks. Totally amazing - we could have stayed there all night! The spray paint artist and the saxophone player were some of our favorites there at the Fremont Street attraction.

The other thing we were able to do was to attend the Tournament of Kings dinner and show at the Excalibur. It was pretty expensive, but so worth going! There were about 900 people in this huge arena and we were sectioned off by countries. There was a king for each country. We were in the Hungary section. Each king would come out in his costume and beautiful horse. We would cheer him on when he was fighting - it was so fun. The dinner was served on a platter without utensils - just like in medieval times. A total riot! We had to eat whole dinner with our hands - including dessert!

On Friday afternoon, we drove down to Hoover Dam - definitely worth seeing. There will come a day when you will no longer be able to drive over the dam - by the pictures posted, you can see that they are building a suspension bridge that will take tourists and travelers over the dam rather than driving directly on it.

I love spending time with my family - we have so much fun just experiencing new things together. We will have to see where this summer will take us! Stay tuned!

Our new Sophomore Class President - Hayden!

During the week of March 16 - 20, Hayden campaigned for Sophomore Class President. The picture above is his picture and bio that he used. We will have to get pictures of his posters posted because they were totally sweet. He put up posters down the hallway, gave out candy and stickers with his name plastered all over. It was a long and tiring week! He gave his campaign speech to his class on Thursday, March 15 and tried to convince them why he should be President. Hayden was so nervous the morning of his speech - let's just say he had a little meltdown - but as soon as he was over that, he was rarin' to go!

His class obviously thought that he should be President too - he won the election. He is so excited to serve his class and make his sophomore year one to remember. Way to go, Hayden! We are so proud of you!

Our Little Man is growing up!

Since Evan turned eight, he has taken on this new sense of "grown-up"-ness. At age eight, he became eligible to join cub scouts. He absolutely loves it and enjoys learning new things. He had to build a birdhouse and I included some pictures of him building a birdhouse with Dad - I couldn't resist the picture taking opportunity. He also loves helping me in the kitchen - as you can see, he loves making sure the bowl is clean!

Evan's Baptism Day

Evan was baptized on December 6. 2008 by his Dad. Evan was so excited to be baptized - I don't think he was able to sleep the night before! Evan shared his day with one of his friends from his Primary class, Gabrielle Zelaya. We are so proud of you Evan and the choice you have made to be baptized!

Hayden receives his Eagle Scout Award

On November 23, 2008, there was an Eagle Court of Honor held for Hayden. He received his Eagle Scout Award. He worked so hard for it - he earned over 33 merit badges and helped improve the safety of a school parking lot and plant trees for the school. He headed up the whole project and learned all about organizing an activity and being a leader and learning to delegate different responsibilities. We are so proud of him. He had so many people help him along the way(especially Steve Daniels - Thanks Steve!) - how proud we are of him! Way to go Hayden!

Evan turns 8!

Well, the youngest in our family and the last birthday of the year was finally celebrated - Evan has always had the hardest time waiting for his birthday! It is so painful for him - especially when his older brothers and sister have their birthdays all within 4 weeks of each other - and then he is expected to wait for two months before celebrating his! Evan is definitely the sensitive one in our family - he has such a tender spirit - he eyes can just fill with tears so easily - and he is so lovable - he is always willing to give you a hug whenever you need it! All he wanted for his birthday was a new skateboard - we took him to the mall where he was able to pick out what he wanted - he was in heaven! Grandma and Grandpa bought him a new "element" hat which he can't seem to take off - he just loves it. We can't imagine our family without this little guy! He certainly makes us feel complete!

Koen turns 12!

Even though I am a little late in getting this piece of family news on our blog, Koen's birthday was a milestone in his life and ours. On Koen's birthday, he received the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained to the office of a Deacon. We are so proud of him and his willingness to take on this sacred responsibility. To describe Koen in a few words is like asking someone to put an elephant in a paper cup. It can't be done - this kid is one of a kind. When he enters a room, you KNOW it. When he opens his mouth, you KNOW it. We know that each child is given their own unique personality and talents, and Koen has many things to say and share. Koen has such a love for life, he loves people, he loves to learn, he asks lots of questions, and he is sensitive to the needs of those around him. I can't imagine our family without him - he makes us laugh, he makes us question the job we are doing, and most of all he brings a HUGE smile to our face. We love him more than he'll ever understand or know.

First Day of School

Hard to believe, but with the starting of school a new chapter has begun in the Hyde Household. Hayden is a Freshman this year, Koen is starting seventh grade, Rylee is in fifth and Evan is a big second grader. My once "little" toddlers are growing up - it really just seems like yesterday that we moved to Heber and Hayden started third grade and Koen started first grade. It really does go so fast - I am trying to cherish every moment, the things they say and especially the things they do. They are my greatest treasures!

Summer Fun!

The one thing that we love to do as a family is to go boating - we live within 15 minutes of three lakes and know that we are blessed to be so close! Our boat allows us the time to be together and to also enjoy it with family and friends - Everyone no matter what age has a great time! We have a huge three person tube, kneeboard and wakeboard to play hard with - the favorite has been the tube - and Hayden is working hard to master the wakeboard and ski slalom.

Rylee turns 10!

Sweet Rylee turned 10 years old on August 14. The item at the top of her list was a hamster - but unfortunately her mom and dad did not agree. Lost hamsters in the house are not her parents idea of fun. But she understood and settled for a karaoke machine instead. :) She also received lots of new clothes (really cute ones from her Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Elida and Uncle Aaron), Hannah Montana pajamas, gift cards, and lots of fun stuff. Our sweet Rylee is growing up to be such a young woman. She is always so mindful of others and loves to be able to help anyone at any time. She loves animals, and you can always find her playing with her dogs, Tank and Dash. When she grows up, she wants to be a veterinarian. Right now at this time in her life, it is the perfect career for her. Rylee can hold her own with her brothers - she has learned from being in the middle of two boys that she has to be able to take care of herself. And sometimes if they have little spats - they are the ones who come out crying. She loves the color pink and we just finished decorating and painting her room in a really light shade of pink. Rylee keeps all of us on task - always reminding us what we need to do and what we haven't done (she is going to make a great wife and mother!) Thank you Rylee for being you - we love you and all that you are to us! You make our lives complete!

Hayden turns 14!

Hayden turned the big 14 on Tuesday - wow! Can't believe how time has flown - just seems like our blue eyed, blond and bald little baby just came into this world. What an incredible kid he has turned out to be - We are so proud of him and the choice he has made thus far in his life. He is a huge help to his mom and dad - and he is definitely his father's son! He looks like Jim, talks like Jim, and even walks like him! He has a love for cars just like his Dad - we have nicknamed him the "car whisperer". He can name any engine coming down the street and is almost as good as his dad at diagnosing car problems. He ceases to amaze us - how grateful we are to be able to call him our son - WE LOVE YOU HAYDEN!