The Wade Hughes Family

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day dad! It is so fun to look back at all of the things we did as a family! I am sure I loved each and every minute of each event, but these memories are even more important to me now that I have my own family. Now I really know how hard it is to get everyone to go camping - and to pack for them and feed them! It seems like the things I just really took for granted in my childhood are some of my most precious memories now! I love you so much! Thank you for being such a wonderful father to me, and for helping me set the bar high for family time!

Gramps trying to make his fish look bigger than mine! Dad took us out fishing and is now the man behind the camera!

Out for a ride in beautiful Wyo!

Start of Summer!

2011-06-14T14:37:00.000-07:00

Summer is here!! Better yet, school's out for summer. . .

Coop and Sid hangin' out between photo shoots.

On our way to visit grandma Gayle - Wyoming sure is far away!

New Puppy!

2010-11-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

Wade brought home a new little surprise the other day. It's an adorable little Welsh Corgi. After being in our home for just 5 minutes she felt comfortable enough to take a poo right on my shoe. Bruce is thrilled with the new addition, who now gets all of the attention.

Deer Hunting and Halloween

2010-11-13T19:57:00.001-08:00

Wade did get a deer tag this year and was fortunate enough to fill it. We have already enjoyed some yummy steaks and are thankful for his efforts to feed his family. On the other hand, I could not let this particuliar method of bringing home the big game go un-noted. I was just sure that he hit this deer with his truck, but I did indeed find a bullet hole and the meat was edible. I still do not know how he rolled it up into such a nice and tidy ball to 'bungy' onto the 4-wheeler. The man's got skills.

We were in Dumont, CA at the sand dunes for Halloween so we carved pumpkins and went trick-or-treating out there. The kids had a blast - like always!

Summer Fun!

2010-11-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

We did a lot of really fun things this summer! We used each day to the fullest!

We made smores' with all of the Hughes cousins.

We played in the rain with our friends.

Sidney had many, many baths in the sink.Sid also learned to love ice cream!

Time in Wyoming!

2010-11-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

The kids and I spent about a week in Wyoming this year. We had planned to stay longer, but what can I say?!?!? I was worn out!

Almost ALL of the DeWitt grandkids - we are missing T's adorable little one - I think he was taking a nap? Maybe we lost him for a minute? Things tend to get a little western when all the grandkids are visiting at the same time! But OH, the stories we could tell!!

Grandpa was sure to take us fishing several times.

We visited the mules and cats at least once everyday.

We went to watch the fireworks.

The kids had a frog they thought was pretty cute. Sid wasn't as sure, but she really wanted to check it out.

Summer Boating!

2010-11-13T13:05:00.001-08:00

We also decided to buy a boat this summer - we call it my graduation present, since I am FINALLY done with school! After counting it up, we realized I have gone to college full time for 10 years. WOW - I DO deserve a boat! We have had a blast with it so far!

Bear Lake!

2010-11-13T12:25:00.001-08:00

We went to Bear Lake over the summer (the end of August) and had a great time! The water seemed a little cool to me in, but the weather was as beautiful as we could ask for. The kids sure didn't mind the water temperature! We stayed in a little house on the water. It was like we had our own private little beach!

Alaska!

2010-06-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

We both had a great time in Alaska! We flew into Anchorage where some friends then picked us up and took us to their house in Kenai. They were gracious hosts the entire time and we will forever be thankful that they opened their hearts and their homes to us!

Homer is where we went Halibut fishing. What a day! We were on the water about 7:00 and after a 45 minute ride out into the ocean we dropped anchor and just started catching fish. The limit is 2 per person and we had 7 people on the boat - we were after 14 halibut! The first two fish were caught after about 2 minutes, by Abigail (age 10) who set a new boat record for catching two halibut at the same time. Both hooks on her pole had a fish on - way to go Abigail!

The only downfall of the whole trip was that Wade caught a Manta Ray. Oh Wade! Really Wade and I thought it was pretty cool, but it is a lot of work for nothing. We saw a ton of otters - litterally - okay well at least a lot of otters. They float on their backs with a rock on their tummy, then they get clams and crack them against the rock on their stomachs. They are actually pretty cool little animals.

This is the type of equipment they have to put boats in and out of the ocean. The tide changes so much that it makes it difficult to just do it yourself.

This is one of four active volcanoes in Alaska. We stopped at a lookout on the way back from Halibut fishing and admired the scenery!

This is a Bald Eagle flying. We saw a lot of Eagles. In fact, before this one took flight, we counted nine of them together in the field below this.

This rock is out in the ocean and would actually be black if it weren't for all of the bird poop! There are many species of birds that come to this rock island to nest.

Can you spot the Mountain Sheep? Wade could!

This is the river where we went King Salmon fishing. This photograph was taken about 10:00 p.m. In the summer it never gets dark in Alaska - it makes it hard to go to bed!

Brian, one of our friends, had his friend take us out fishing. What an awesome trip! Brian caught a King right off and we were super pumped - However, we had to let it go because it was a native King and you can only keep them on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It was Friday. We didn't catch any other Kings, but had light action on a few small fish. There was a light drizzle of rain throughout the night, but what an awesome trip! A shout our to our Super-Awesome guide - Tim, he worked his butt off for us, all the while cracking jokes and staying very positive - he never gave up hope on us Nevadans!

Here is a herd of caribou. The scenery was just beautiful all around us at all times!
This is Brian and Wade getting a better look at the caribou.

There is beauty all around!

Feeding the Ducks

2010-05-31T21:09:00.000-07:00

Mattie's Photo Shoot

2010-05-31T21:04:00.000-07:00

Wyoming

2010-05-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

We spent a little time in Wyoming last weekend, and the girls loved playing outside and seeing a few animals! It looks like Sid is going to be just as wild for living things as Mattie is - now if we can just keep them from loving stuff to death - they could both literally squeeze the life out of something!

Bucket Head

2010-05-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

Sidney has decided that she loves things on her head - not cute hairbows, but hats and buckets and the like.

2010-05-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

Well, Coop finally lost his two front teeth. ANd he is at the age where this is the best picture I can get of him. I do have to admit that I am not exactly sure when he lost them, but now, in June, they are starting to grow back in. He seems so busy these days, and I find myself more wore-out by his constant energy - and talking!

What?

2010-04-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yummy! Mattie likes to sneak me chocolate!

Is there something on my face? I'm so cute!

Dunes - Dumont, CA

2010-04-19T07:33:00.001-07:00

"BOOM BOOM - FIRE POWER"I think everyone at the dunes had a great time. I know for me, it is a place where I can turn my kids loose and feel good about it. Coop and the cousins rode their 4-wheelers almost non-stop. Mattie was rolling down the dirt hills, and Sidney was just wondering around checking stuff out.

Don't get me wrong, we also live the camping life of luxury: we turned on the A/C in the afternoon and put Sid down for a nap, the kids watched movies at night, etc., etc. How the pioneers made it is beyond me!

Shawn & Gavin, Wade & Mattie

The Little Explorer hard at it!

Mattie loves to go for rides. She sits in front of Wade with her feet up at the handlebars and holds onto the bars. I don't know how she can hold on so tight!

Coop and the cousins are getting scary good - especially Jace. Jace races dirtbikes and has the winning mentality. They are all plenty fast, and starting to cut corners etc. to get ahead of each other. It is pretty entertaining to watch.

Coop would take off his helmet and be drenched in sweat. Thank goodness for that shower in the camper!

We planned good meals, and all ate together, but Sid still thought she should eat a little dirt!

2009-12-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

We went sledding in Parowan just before Christmas, and a good time was had by all! Really, how can you go wrong when all of your cousins are staying with you - it is like an ongoing party in Parowan. *For the kids, and the DADS!!

2009-12-27T23:58:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas in Parowan this year, and I think Santa's sleigh had a hole in it - look at the massive dump of presents! On the other hand, this is 10 adults and 13 kids - gifts from both sides of each family, parents, and Santa. Does that make it seem better?!?!?

2009-12-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

Sidney is now full on crawling. She still does the stink-bug walk quite a bit, but gets wherever she wants to go. We often find her in some random place just checking things out. She likes to cross her feet and click her tongue. She is so adorable!

2009-12-27T23:52:00.000-08:00

We dressed as warm as we could, and headed out to get a Christmas tree for my mom and dad.

2009-12-27T23:49:00.000-08:00

Sledding in WYOMING! Even Coop had a great time!

2009-12-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

Wade and I went to the SLC temple this month. What a beautiful temple! It was such a blessing to watch one of my cousins be married there for all time and eternity!

Baby Blues

2009-11-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

Need I say more?

Reading Time

2009-11-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

These guys just love each other! AND I am loving the fact that Cooper can read her bedtime stories!

Deer Hunting

2009-11-11T08:39:00.001-08:00

A fun time was had by all at the deer hunt in Parowan! We all got up early and went up the mountian with Wade. He and Kelby headed out early to find deer. Kelby dropped Wade off to walk and Wade saw this great little buck. A one shot kill, and the rest is history. . . And the history is . . . Pretty soon some of Wade's cousins came along and told him what a great master hunter he was, and asked him what the deer was doing when he shot it. Wade said it was just eating some apples. Apples? What would apples be doing up in the forest? Ha ha - Cousin Mike had packed 15 gallons of apples up there and put them out to lure in the deer - whoops! The nice part is everyone was really excited for Wade! And we are sure enjoying our deer meat and jerky! The nasty child strikes again!

The great bouncing machine! Coop, Mattie, and cousin Sadie.

Everyone was plumb wore out! We were headed home by noon!

Mattie's Wildness!

2009-10-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Well - I don't have a photo to go with the story, but I will never let go of the images in my head. . . There was a roping last weekend at the arena and Wade decided to rope in it one day. We went out to have breakfast (the yummiest breakfast burritos ever - made by the guys in the cook shack) and Mattie was instantly wanting to mount up! She loves every kind of animal imaginable - alive or dead, pretty or ugly - you get the picture.

After she ate, we headed out to find Wade. He was right there close with his horse tied to the arena fence. The horse was big - looking back the horse seems even higher than Wade's head. The horse seemed a little anxious, as all roping horses do. They are trained to be "cowey." I was holding the baby and standing next to my mom. Wade had untied the horse and was holding the reins. Wade set Mattie on top of the horse and her grin was the biggest ever! She loves horses and wanted to go for a ride.

The next several seconds seemed like long minutes and I get teary even typing them. The horse spooked - not just bucked, but went wild. We were telling Mattie to hold on tight as the horse scrambled back and forth - Wade was holding him as tight as he could - if he let go the horse would go on a dead run. He yelled to me to get her and I tossed the baby to my mom and headed towards her. The horse swung around and hit me with his butt, finally throwing Mattie off of the left side towards the fence. It knocked the wind out of her, and she landed withing inches of the fence and a chunk of broken concrete. As the horse scrambled to get away, his hooves seemed so close to her small body. I tried to let her lay and catch her breath, but as soon as she started to get up - I just scooped her into my arms - nothing broken, nothing bruised.

We were all shaken, but I truly don't think any of this has hit me until now. I have just refused to talk about it or have said it was bad, really bad.

I am just sitting here sobbing now as I think of how much our life could have changed in an instant. At first I was glad that we didn't have to spend the day, or weeks at the hospital, but then I realized how quickly our family of five could have returned to a family of four. I just adore our wild and crazy Mattie. She often brings the storm and the rainbows to our life, but she is ours and we cherrish her.

You can bet I have not let a day go by that I do not thank our Heavenly Father for our wonderful family and the love that we have for one another. I know that trials and tribulations will come, but for now, just a reminder of how truly blessed we are.

2009-10-04T21:56:00.000-07:00

Mattie, Sidney, Cooper

2009-10-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

Seriously - Cooper should be posing for JC Penny's - The kid can really turn it on!

Sidney Elaine

2009-08-04T14:26:00.001-07:00

Our family is all doing well - actually thriving! We are having a great summer. We have especially been enjoying our newest family member, Sidney Elaine Hughes. She is almost 6 months old already and is just so fun!
Sidney almost has two bottom teeth and loves to roll over. She is reaching for her toys and especiallly loves to play with her big brother and big sister.

Basic Rundown

2009-08-04T02:18:00.001-07:00

Well, Cooper is almost 7 and will be in the first grade this year. Mattie will turn 4 in December, and we can only hope that will help her to settle down a little bit! Sid is about 6 months old and adored by all!

Wade and I are the same as always, but we enjoy life and love spending time with the kids. There is no way I would complain about this - uneventful means safe and sound!

We have spent quite a bit of time in cooler temperatures this summer and are looking forward to getting back to school. You know, into "the swing of things."

Swimming

2009-08-04T02:05:00.000-07:00

We have all been having a great time at the pool this summer!

Mattie has a great time at the pool! She is a little dare devil! In fact, today she got saved by a lifeguard.

Summer Competition

2009-08-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

Cooper and Mattie ran in a quarter mile race in Wyoming. There was sure a lot of kids!

Coop took 5th out of a lot of kids! We were proud of them both for trying their best!

Still a Favorite - Riding A Bike

2007-10-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is Wade teaching Cooper (4 years old) how to ride his bike without training-wheels. Cooper got it right away. He just had trouble stopping!