Friends

Everyone knows Gary has one zillion friends and that is actually a literal number. He spent his life keeping in touch and checking on people. Grandpa and I were in Costco today and a man approached me asking if I happen to be with Coach Schiess. I told him he was and he walked over to Grandpa and told him he was a friend of Gary's, Nale Fakahua who had played football with him at Ricks and came to SUU the year Gary was graduating. You could tell he loved and respected Gary. It is always good to have those experiences. I was also telling Grandma earlier in the day it was Gary's wedding anniversary. I think I am right on the day but I was thinking about his wedding day and what a joker he was. Rod had to pick us up from school and of course we were late but it was great to be there when they came out of the temple. Their wedding video was always one of my favorite movies to watch. I loved the music. Love you Kennard.

So I get the call one day.
Gary: Head, we are going to climb the Grand Tetons.
Kevin: Cool, I'm in.
Gary: I have a buddy who is going to take us up as a guide. We should be fine to do it in one day.
Kevin: What do I need to bring?
Gary: Just get some good hiking boots.

This was one of the many adventurous things on Gary's personal life goals list. Now, more than ever, I am grateful that I was part of it.(Christmas is making me miss him more than normal - I'm sure you can all relate)

Of course many people don't know that Gary was afraid of heights and that is why he learned to fly airplanes and wanted to climb one of the tallest mountains in the world. This was one of our greatest adventures together. . . and who knew that on this trip I would see him cry like a little girl. I was in tip top shape before my freshman season at Ricks and I was living in Jackson Hole at the time Gary called. Was Gary in good shape? . . . . not so much. He wasn't necessarily out of shape but climbing the Grand Teton is a beast. We met at the base camp on the night before our big climb. The plan was to get up early . . . did I say early? . . . .to do the climb it in one day you need to start hiking at about 3:00 AM and hope you have some moonlight to compliment the lamp on your head. Not the smartest thing we have ever done but who wants to spend two days if you can do it in one. . . . .typical Gary. It was late when we got into camp. We show up at the check in desk and I wanted nothing more than to get a few good hours of sleep. My only anxiety was in thinking about the climb the next day. Gary had called in earlier to get our permits which are extremely hard to get and the waiting list is long. Strangely enough our name wasn't on the list. This must be a mistake. Gary asked them to hand him the list so that he could double check it. "Oh . . .there we are. You must have misunderstood. We are the Smith party of 6" Wink wink nudge nudge. My butterflies were now too much to overcome as I was not only worried about the hike but I pictured us getting woken up by the real Smiths and getting escorted out of our nice warm beds. Gary never got a permit after all.
The only way I can describe the climb is by saying that it is a roller coaster . . .of emotions, of temperatures, of extremes. We were freezing cold one moment and stripping off layers the next. The part that scared Gary the most was a hellish stretch of switchbacks . . . the steepest that I have ever been on. I was impatient and was having a hard time waiting for the fatties in my group. On one particular stretch I decided to go ahead and the timing couldn't have been worse. The reason, when you jar a rock loose on the switchbacks it gains a lot of momentum very quickly the people below you are left to play dodge ball. If the rock is big enough and you lose the game of dodge ball you don't go on timeout you most likely get injured very badly if not die. After getting scolded by Gary and realizing that he was serious I decided to simmer down. We stopped to eat lunch and enjoy the scenery. All I can say is thank goodness our sense of hearing wasn't dull that day. We thought we heard something like a big rock crashing down the mountain. . . . . oh @%#@ it is(can you just see him cursing now:)) . . . . in a split second we look up and hope and pray that we dive the right direction to avoid contact. A rock the size of a volleyball misses Gary by about 12 inches. Although I enjoyed giving him crap about crying like a girl that day it was definitely justifiable.
We continue to make our way to the summit and made pretty good timing that day. Unfortunately the weather got bad enough that we had to turn back that day. I remember being on a big open hill just after the upper saddle and being totally exposed to some of the biggest hale stones I have ever seen. I literally curled up in the fetal position and put my pack over as much of my body as I could. After what seemed like forever and only a handful of welts it finally stopped. This is when we decided to turn back.

Enjoy the pics below. Of course Gary climbed up and took the one of me on the pot. There was never a dull moment with my brother and best friend.

Tender Mercies

I had an experience today that reminded me of God's love for me and my family. I was running around doing last minute errands to prepare for our trip. I was thinking about some concerns that I have and wondering how things would resolve and if God was aware. I ran out of gas on the way to Jerry's office to get the card to go get gas. As I sat there wondering how things would work out, people came to my aid. Tears flowed down my cheeks as I thought about God sending others to serve and help. I also felt like Gary had something to do with me being watched over and protected. I can honestly say that I felt him close. I know he is watching over us as individuals and a family. I really miss him this time of year and I know his family does, too. I can't help but think of all the lives he is touching on the other side and how his work there is so valuable. I hope I will continue to feel his presence during this holiday season. How grateful I was for this experience and reminder.

Dad

K so this is a picture taken on our family trip to Nauvo the summer of '06! We're riding on the wagon tour, you can see me and Nate up front with grandpa behind us. The rest of the family is in the wagon there somewhere. And of course Sadie, the total daddy's girl sitting there on his lap! But anyways, this was one of my favorite family memories that we have so I thought it might be fun to share :) So a little recap on the trip before i fully explain the picture. We left for salt lake the night before our plane left for Chicago, it took us 5 HOURS to get to Salt Lake city Utah from our house in Rigby. This was due to traffic, horrible directions, pride and tantrums. Good start. We then boarded the plane the next morning and for the most part, all went well. The plan was to fly from Salt Lake to Chicago and then get a rental car and drive across the state to Nauvo. So anyways got to Chicago, waited an hour and a half to finally get the rental. So we decide to go get some food before embarking on the six hour drive. Dad's first stop, Hooters. Mom wasn't too pleased with this decision while Nate on the other hand, was in the back seat cheering for everyone to get out and run in as fast as we could. Needless to say we left and went to a pizza parlor. (Best pizza I've ever had). So by the time this is all said and done, we're ready to start the drive... at 4:30 pm. Needless to say, we sat in stagnant traffic for a good two hours before finally starting the drive. A lot of tears were shed on that drive, but it was all worth it. We had a really good time while we were there, we saw grandma and grandpa's shows, visited all the historical sites and got to actually do baptisms for the dead in the newly finnished temple. This was a really cool experiance for me because this was the only other time, besides my real baptism, that my dad got to do this for me. I didn't realize that it would be the last at the time either. The spirit was amazing, Granny, Grandpa, My mom and dad were all there and it was a really awesome bonding, as well as spiritual moment for me in my life with all of them. But as we all know my dad, he had to be a rebal and take everyone to the amusement park in the midst of this divine experiance. Ha ha but it was a great time, we all got to play games, eat pizza, and try talking the waitress into giving us free tokens.(dad) But the best part of that was the go-carts. Grandpa was having a rough time and had to get out a little early... i guess the intensity was a little too much :) Dad was flying around the corners and slamming everyone into the walls, nearly getting us kicked out twice! But hey, that was his style and we all adore him for it. That was one of the only family vacations we ever took, making it by far the best. Dad always was always trying to do out-of-the-way nice things for people. He loved us more than words can explain. That man taught and influenced me more in the 14 short years i got to be with him, than anyone else ever has or will be able to. Now its been almost two years since he's been gone, and I am still learning from him everyday. He is in everything I do and say. He's my hero. I can't tell you how much I brag about him to my friends constantly. He was a great man and I hope he's touched you like he's touched me. He deep drive and genuine love for everyone inspires me to be a better person every single day. I miss him so much it hurts, but I keep my head up and am very proud to say that he's my crazy, fun, amazing daddy and I love him!!!

Party Train

Face it. You know Gary loved this song.

Hunting

I've been thinking lots about Gary lately because it is hunting season and I know hunting was one of his favorite things to do. I had this picture from my Dad's 70th birthday video. It seemed like with Gary, everything he did was 110 percent. I know hunting was that way for him and I know Cabela's sure appreciated his business! He was a great hunter and I am sure is doing some hunting of a different kind on the other side. Love you big brother!

Gary..never a dull moment..

When Gary turned 40 we didn't have a party for him.. I always felt badly about that because it was his thing to make a big deal about any occasion. I guess I was busy or overwhelmed...So I decided to have an "over the hill" party for him on his 41st birthday.. little did I know this would be his last. He was really happy and surprised. He was always coming up with cool things to acknowledge others accomplishments or just to surprise them and make them feel important. He spent countless hours thinking up just the right thing for each person he wanted to honor. He did this for his dad and mom, brothers and sisters, coaches and friends, work associates and children and for me.





Gary loved to go hunting. Goose, duck, pheasant, deer, elk, bear...whatever he could hunt he would. I don't know if is was just to shoot things as much as it was a chance to get outside and be with the ones he loved. He loved his dogs and he especially loved his boy more that words can descibe. He was kind of a pain to go hunting with sometimes because he was always trying to fit so many things into one day that usually something went south and there was some yelling and frustration expressed...like when the 4 wheeler went through the back window of his truck. Nate just sat really still and tried to not be detected. He actually handled that one pretty well, as he just asked Nate if he was okay...Nate was proud of him for that.