The Buck Mountain Little Big League

Mattox, Cole and me @ Buck Mountain

Aliyana @ bat, Elandro, Cole and Mattox
along with Kelleigh, Hector and Annie

Mattox @ bat

My sister Vonda, brother Tom and me @ Buck Mountain

I haven't been out of town in so long that just going to neighboring Scottsdale to my doctor to endure my annual prostate exam seems like a real adventure! So when Kenny and Karen invited the entire Grove family to join them in a weekend jaunt to Buck Mountain for a little R & R on August 20th I could hardly contain myself until the day arrived. Vonda would drive her Honda Pilot across town to my house and pick me up at 7AM on that Saturday morning. I was so excited I woke up at 2AM and couldn't go back to sleep so took a shower, found a jacket to take; accumulated my share of the lunch, bottled water; a fresh baked Boysenberry pie; a big family size bag of potato chips; and a thermos of freshly make 2AM coffee. And, Oh yes, a giant roll of toilet paper (since there are no facilities at Buck Mountain). Neither did I forget my big fat book which I am half way through, THE HELP. Vonda arrived right on the dot with her stuff including Kentucky Fried Chicken and KFC coleslaw. We got everything packed in the car and away we went. When we got to the point where we turned off McDowell Road onto the Beeline I could hardly contain myself with excitement knowing that soon I would be out of the hellish heat of Phoenix and into the cool wafts of a mountain breeze and be able to see the gorgeous greenery of pine forests. The trip was lovely, stopping only once to get gas in Payson. At the end we turned down the designated Forest Road and there we found Kenny's and Karen's red expedition waiting for us along with other vehicles. So many of our family were there. Lots of hugs and kisses and as time wore on others arrived and soon we were quite a bunch: brother Tommy Grove and wife, MaryAnn, two of my nieces, Karen Woodhouse and Kelleigh Baker; a great niece, Molly Woodhouse and her boyfriend, Ryan Gard, stationed at Luke Air Force Base as a dentist; grandson, Jeremy Grove and wife, Annie with two of my great grandsons, Mattox and Cole. My granddaughter, Rachel Serrano and husband Hector with my great grandson, Elandro and my great granddaughter, Aliyana. Then my grandson, Andrew Grove, arrived alone as his fiance, Marianne, had to work that day. Lots of visiting and catching up!


Cole's mommy asked him if he would like to go for a walk and he invited me to go too but I declined and he seemed kind of disappointed so I told him to find either a pretty little rock or a bouquet of wild flowers to bring back to me. That seemed to pacify his disappointment and off he and his Mommy went on their jaunt. Elandro had brought his electric car and he and Mattox were having fun with that. Aliyana was keeping too busy for me to see exactly what she was intrigued with. Some of the others decided to take a walk down the Lake Mary Road and see where it led to. Before too long Cole and his Mommy were back and he presented me with a small bouquet of long stemmed mountain flowers in shades of white, yellow, blue and pink. I thanked him profusely. He is a beautiful child and just a few months shy of being 3. His hair is a beautiful peroxide blond color and a mass of tight curls cover the back of his head. He walked with me to the trunk of Vonda's car and we laid the flowers in the car. Of course when I got home the flowers were dead and dried out and I gave serious thought of what to do with them because I knew I was not going to throw them away after that little darling put forth the effort to bring them back to me. So after searching my living room I found the perfect place....a beautiful picture on my wall 18 inches wide and hung by a gold chain The length of the flower stalks and dried blooms was 18 inches. So I slipped them under the chain and laid them along the top of the picture. That place was just made for them and that is exactly where they belong. I will write Cole a note telling him of what I have done with them and the next time he comes to my house he will be able to see them. They, and how I got them, are permanent now in both my house and my memory. I think Cole will be pleased.


We were instructed that everybody would bring their own lunch. That is what everybody did but then it seemed it would be more fun to just throw it on the table we had and share everything with everybody and that is what we did and of course there was more than enough for everyone and leftovers to take home. So after lunch, several decided to take a jaunt down Lake Mary Road to see what they could see. After they came back it was decided to have a ball game for the little boys. There was a nice flat bare spot there where such a game could be played. It was decided that Molly Woodhouse, a recent graduate from law school was a natural for pitcher; Kelleigh Baker, a recent retiree from the Phoenix Police Dept. was a natural as the "catcher", Jeremy Grove would take over 1st base and Ryan, the dentist, would play 2nd base. The batters would be "Mattie" Grove, Elandro, "the Mechanic" Serrano, and last but not least "Curly" Colee Grove. Mattie Grove is comin' up on 5 years old in November and is a slugger first class; got a hit every time at bat and slammed it into the piney woods every time he came to bat. Elandro Serrano is comin' up on 4 in October and is following in his Dad's footsteps as a mechanic but very definitely did not let his team mates down in this slug fest. Curly Colee Grove is comin' up on 3 years old in November. After getting him to face in the right direction and teaching him that first base was where his Daddy was standing he slugged more than a few into the piney woods too! It was a fantastic game and the audience was amply rewarded for all their screamin' and hollerin' and support. So after some cooling refreshment it was time to head down the mountain to the inferno of Phoenix. Ken and Karen planned to spend another night there at the site. So with a lot of kissin' and huggin' and regretful goodbyes the cars one by one pulled out on the Lake Mary Road and headed in the opposite direction with many memories of a great day with family and memories I will keep for the rest of my life of the "little sprouts" on the Grove Family tree who entertained their old Grandpa GG and this includes my beautiful Aliyana who is a homerun in herself with her amazing beauty.


When all is said and done......enough can't be said for family!!!!!!


Great Grandpa Grove (GG)