Frosting, Firsts, and Family

Do you think he's excited?

2011-01-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

I think he might be just a little excited...

What do you think?

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Oh Christmas Bee....I mean Tree

2010-12-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

Don't let these cute little smiles fool you. Choosing a Christmas tree can be dangerous.

So this year we went to Lowes to pick us up this years Christmas tree. I know, how festive to go to a home improvement center to pick up a Christmas tree, but we didn't really have any other real options and I'm cheap like that so Lowes is where we ended up. OK on with my story... So we were outside the garden center where they had a VERY small selection of trees to choose from. Spencer and I started looking through what they had while trying to keep a handle on the kids. While I was handling the crew Spencer came across our perfect tree (pictured above). How excited we were to find something we liked with out major drama, or so we thought. After taking this lovely picture of the kids in front of our chosen tree we proceeded to take it inside to have the bottom trimmed and tied up to get ready for transport. As we came around the corner we were immediately swarmed by bees!!! Now my kids don't do bugs in general, and when there is a large amount of bugs... oh holy chaos. Some froze in the middle of the swarm, and others ran for cover. Needless to say none of us got stung, but trauma was definitely experienced.

We made it inside and got our prized tree packaged up and ready for transport.

The kids wanted to have a hand in all things tree so they helped Spencer get it from the top of the car and bring it into the house. The decorating process began and Tyson was WAY excited to "help". His technique of "hanging" the balls on the tree consisted of a wind up pitch with a line drive arrival straight into the tree. There was some "adjusting" needed after all was said and done.

As we approach the end of this year we are thankful for all the many blessings in our lives. We are thankful for our children and the happiness they bring to our lives. We are blessed to have the gospel to guide and direct us. We are also grateful for our many friends and great family that supports and helps us daily. We would like to wish everyone a Merry CHRISTmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

Love, The Hatch's

Just a few changes

2010-12-15T13:49:00.004-07:00

BEFORE

DURING AFTER

Emily's change was on her birthday. Not only did she turn 9 but she asked if she could get her ears pierced. She promised that she would take good care of them so Spencer and I decided that she could. She LOVES being able to wear earrings. Now to just keep her from wanting the really big dangle ones.

WHY????

LOOK I"M A LITTLE BOY NOT A BABY!

ALL SHOWERED AND HAIR DONE

Tyson's recent change was him finally getting a hair cut. I kept putting off because he had the cutest curls of any of my kids, but it was time to cut it because I was getting tired of people calling him a girl. He could be wearing a shirt and tie and he still got the girl comments. So now we no longer have a baby. It seems the hair cut has cut away all the baby, and a toddler has emerged. Oh they grow up way to fast.

Just some more cakes

2010-12-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Star Wars Party. This was a fun one to do. It took me out of my comfort zone, but I like how it turned out.

This was for Brandon's end of the season football party. The Be Tough was on the t-shirts all the parents wore.

This was for Emily's end of the season soccer party. I wanted to try something I had never done before so this is what I came up with. Emily helped me design it. I know what I would do different the next time, but all in all this was a fun one.

When we play.... we play hard

2010-12-13T09:53:00.002-07:00

This Fall we were busy, busy, busy with sports. And when I say busy I mean busy. We were either at a game or a practice 5 days a week. This was the first year we had three of the kids in sports. Did I mention we were busy??

GO BLUE COLTS!

This year was Brandon's second year playing flag football. Brandon LOVES playing football and I think he would play it year round if he could. This year he played on both offence and defensive lines. There were even a couple of games where he was able to try his hand at quarterback. Brandon had a hand full of sacks and some defence saving flag pulls. Spencer was also able to help out as the offensive coach. This was Spencer's first time ever doing this, and he did a great job.

In this picture Brandon is #45.

GO LONGHORNS!

This year was Emily's 4th year playing soccer. She played in the U10 league and it was her first year where they actually have refs and keep score. I would have to say this was the best year of soccer so far. It was an exciting season and they just had a great team. Emily had a hand full of goals and a good number of assists as well. He team made it to the semi-finals only to unfortunately loose in over time. Maybe next year.

GO WILDCATS!

This was Aubrey's 1st year playing soccer. It's been a little while since we were back in the "swarm of bee's phase" with soccer. I call it this because everyone swarms around the ball trying to kick it like a bunch of bees. The team had a tough season as everyone was a first time player but one, and we weren't the most aggressive of groups. It's a learning process though. By the end of the season I think they we starting to get they hang of it. Maybe next year it will be even better, although Aubrey keeps saying she wants to be a cheerleader so we shall see. Aubrey was able to score 2 or 3 goals and made a lot of good kicks.

Like I said it was a fun Fall season of sports. Yes we were busy, but it wouldn't have been as fun if I couldn't watch all my kids in their games. What's next? BASKETBALL starting at the end of next month. Here we go again!

Where the Ghouls go to party

2010-11-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Take a look at this ghoulish group. This year we decided to go with the classic monster movie theme. Emily was our resident vampire. Brandon and awesome werewolf, Aubrey a sweet witch and Tyson a mumbling mummy. This Halloween was a busy time for us this year. We had one activity after another. Friday night consisted of a fall festival at the elementary school. The kids got to do a couple of activities and some trick or treating. After that we were off to the Halloween party at Aubrey's preschool. They were able to eat awesome snacks and play some pretty fun games and win some great prizes. While all this was happening I had a soccer game going on in the women's league that I am in, so it was nice to have Spencer's parents in for the weekend to help out with all the running around. So on to Saturday we had the combined ward Trunk or Treat and our adult Halloween party that Spencer and I hosted after the trunk or treat for all our great friends. We had lots of good food and company. This year with Halloween being on Sunday we THOUGHT that Halloween might be a little less crowed at the house but you wouldn't have known any different. We still decked out our house as usual and handed out candy to all the kids that came. We had fun being together as a family and I think that my kids would all agree that Halloween is one of the best celebrations of the year. The Hatch's definitely know how to do Halloween. I think it's just in the blood.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My most favorite time of the year

2010-10-11T21:45:00.004-07:00

Don't forget to pause the music at the bottom of the screen!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

We Rocked We Rocked On!

2010-10-08T16:27:00.002-07:00

Well Spencer and I scored some MAJOR cool points a couple of weeks ago when we took the kids to their first concert. Now this wasn't just any concert this was the concert that the kids have been asking to see for at least a year now. The best part though was that they didn't even know that they were going to a concert until we were standing in line and handed them their tickets. We had a count down in the house for the "secret surprise". The had to keep there rooms clean and be good to get the secret surprise.

We saw the Jonas Brother, Demi Lovato, and the cast of Camp Rock all in one night. It was AWESOME!! This is Spencer and the kids before the concert and no the little lighted stand in the back was NOT the stage. :)

The kids danced and sang during the whole concert. They loved the laser lights a pyrotechnics too.

Even Tyson enjoyed himself. He loved the music and the little snacks.

This is the kids during the intermission. We went and took pictures with the Jonas cut outs. They didn't turn out very good because of the misters that were on, but it was fun anyway.

Even though we didn't have the best seats in the house we rocked out all night and had a lot of fun. The kids are still talking about it and are still thanking us for it. Another awesome memory logged in the Hatch memory book.

There's always cake at our house

2010-09-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

Well here are some more cakes that I have done lately.

Hope you enjoy.

This was done for a little girl that turned six recently, She had a Hawaiian themed party.

This cute cake was for an 8 year old. I was given a picture to copy and I think that it turned pretty good.

This was for our friend Karter. She was just baptised this last Saturday and wanted a white cake for her special day.

This was for an American/ Army themed birthday. You can never go wrong with red, white and blue.

I love how this one turned out. 12 never looked so good.

This was for a 5 year old party. I was given a napkin to get ideas form and this is what I came up with. I think the end result was awesome.

2010-08-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ravioli YUM!

Diary of a Triathlete.....Yes we're talking about ME!

2010-08-26T11:14:00.001-07:00

Dear Diary,

What to say about the awaited day otherwise know as "THE TRIATHLON". Well for starters I could have done without the anxiety build that occurred the previous days before, but I'm sure that had to do with the unknown. Now that I'm a seasoned triathlete : ) I'm sure that won't occur the next time. (RIGHT) : ) OK enough of this lets get down to the detail of the story. Our day started at 4am by getting out of bed and getting ready for the unknowns of the day. This also included getting the kids out of bed and ready so they could go over to a friends house while we were racing. We had to be at the race start at 5 am to check in and set up our transition stations. There were 105 entries including teams so it was a bit crowded but from what Spencer says that's a small race. Whatever, is was big enough for my first time. So after consuming some mighty gross "energy producing" items Spencer and I were ready for our swim. We were in the 1st heat lane 7 A & B. We were lucky enough to be placed in the same lane. This was a little bit of a relief because I didn't want to have to seek someone out in the end to apologize for kicking them. Instead I got to kick Spencer and it was all good, after all we will be kicking each other for eternity. The swim went well. It was a little weird know people were sitting there watching you. All the training I've done there has only been one watching, the lone lifeguard. It was fun having friends around to cheer you on, and I may or may not have stopped in the middle of my swim slightly to give a thumbs up. Hey someones got to keep it entertaining. : ) That was the last time Spencer and I were together throughout the race. I knew there wasn't anyway I was going to be able to keep up with him. He finished a full lap of the 800 M swim before me. I took my time during my transition due to the fact I wasn't sure how my body would react, and I was determined to finish the race, so taking my time was what happened. Now, I may or may not have gotten some weird looks when I put on my knee high crazy socks but hey someones got to keep it entertaining. The 13 mile bike was what I had expected, easy on the way down up hill the whole way back. I would have to admit that it has been the only time I felt relief seeing the cemetery because that meant that I was getting close to the end. I did see Spencer for the last time during the race as we were going in opposite directions. We gave each other a woot woot and we would meet up when I was done with my race. What a feeling having pulled into my spot to park my bike and get ready to ~~run, jog,~~ walk, OK well a combination of all of the above. So I was off on the 5 K run and I guess I went on the wrong side of the cones because I was corrected immediately. Soooo to correct myself I may or may not have weaved in between the cones like a slalom course to make sure I ended up on the right side. Like I said someones got to keep it entertaining. I made sure to take full advantage of the water stations on the walk. I must have looked really tired because I sure got a lot of comments that I could do it and to keep it up. In all honesty I was totally fine and having a lot of fun but if it made them feel better to say that more power to um. I finally finished 2 hours 31 minutes and 22 seconds later. Does that really matter? No, all that matters is I FINISHED! Now I may or may not have gave a little running pose on the finish line for the photographer at the end, but someone had to keep it entertaining (OK I promise that was the last one). I thought I was in last place the whole day, but when the newspaper came the next morning SOMEONE TOOK LONGER THEN ME! I DIDN'T COME IN LAST! That just makes my achievements that much sweeter. All in all I had a blast and would definitely do another one. I completed my goals of finishing the race and in under 3 hours. With more training I'm sure I could have done better (I really only swam about 8-10 times before the race biked about 7-8 times and ran 3) but that will just have to happen for the next one. I'm sure there were some out there that thought I couldn't do it, but that only makes me want to prove them wrong. I'm very proud of myself and I'm excited to try my next. Watch out Tri World Lisa and her crazy socks have arrived!

Above from left to right: Allison, Holly, Alisha, Sarah, Jill, Lisa, Brittany (down front) not pictured Kayla

All these awesome women are from my ward and all participated in the triathlon.

Above from left to right: Spencer, Dave, Brian, Brian's Brother in law(I don't know his name)

not pictured Landon

All of these awesome men are from our ward and all participated in the triathlon too.

The rainy days of summer

2010-08-24T15:40:00.002-07:00

Every summer here in Arizona we get monsoons. These aren't your everyday kind of storm. These storms have massive thunder and lightening, and flooding of the streets within minutes. These storms are even know to take down power polls and trees. On occasion when the storm isn't to bad I'll let the kids go outside and run around in the rain. It is a blast had by all. Tyson especially LOVES to get rained on. It makes him the happiest kid on earth. He wants to play out there so long her starts to shiver, so he'll come back into the house and get rapped up in a towel to get warm and only a minute later he wants down to go back out in the water. It's a vicious cycle.

We have GOT to move

2010-08-24T15:01:00.002-07:00

(CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO RECEIVE AN EVEN GROSSER LOOK)

This is enough of a reason for us to get out of here. What kind of place do we live in that has beetles like this flying around! I'm SURE these thing show of on the FAA radar. DISGUSTING!

WE HAVE GOT TO MOVE!

School's back in Session

2010-08-13T09:03:00.001-07:00

Now that we've been back in school for about a week things are just starting to get back to normal. It's hard to believe that Emily is in 4th grade and Brandon is in 1st. They are getting big sooo fast. So say they don't want their kids to grow up. I like that my kids are getting older. It means they are more independent and more adventurous. They are willing to try new and fun things. Sports become more exciting and I'm able to more involved in their lives on a different level. Bring on getting older! Although that means I'm getting older too. That is NOT the cool part out the whole my kids are getting older thing. Oh well what will be will be.

The answer you've all been waiting for...

2010-08-06T09:36:00.000-07:00

Brandon

PLUS

(popper)

THESE

EQUALS

THIS

The answer is D

Yes my friends those are hickeys! You never know what is going to happen when you send a child to bed. Brandon went to bed a normal looking kid Saturday night and woke up looking not so normal. He sucked one of those poppers to his face and must have left it on for a while, and he obviously did it more then once. I'm just glad that it didn't make it down to his neck.

Brandon gives me the best things to blog about. : )

Survey Says...

2010-08-01T19:09:00.002-07:00

This is Brandon as of today.

The survey of today is....

Who can tell me what they think happened to Brandon's face?

A: Brandon lost ANOTHER fight with his older sister.

B: Football season has DEFINITELY started.

C: That wall jumped out of no where!

D: We thought we wouldn't have to worry about hickeys until he was 16!

E: The attack bird came right out of the sky attempting a dive bomb mission on my face.

F: Frost bite sets in fast here in Arizona.

G: All of the above. (We ARE talking about Brandon)

Sooooo Leave a comment as to what you think the answer is. Answer and full story will be posted at the end of the week.

You can never have too much cake

2010-07-21T22:00:00.001-07:00

Well I've been up to my old tricks again. Here are a few pictures of some of my latest cakes Hope you enjoy!

This cake was done for a bridal shower. She was really into purses and make up so this is what I came up with. Hat box lower tier with purse, pearl necklace and earrings with some lipstick.

This cake was done for a first birthday party. I thought this was so sassy and cute. The mom even had her little girl dressed in an outfit that went right along with the cake.

These little beauties were done for a baby shower we just had for a couple of girls in the ward who are both having girls. We had it at a restaurant so it was nice to just have a little something at each place setting to make it a little extra cute.

This was a fun one to do. This cake was for some twins in the ward (boy and girl). They are really into Toy Story right now, and how fitting it was that they were turning 3!. It all couldn't have been more perfect.

This is one of my favorites to date. This cake was for a little boy who just love Mario Brothers. He had his party at the city pool so it was fun walking in with the cake and hearing all the oohs and awes.

Like I said you can never have too much cake!

California Gurls (and Boys)

2010-07-18T20:30:00.002-07:00

We were able to go back to Cali for a vacation/ Renshaw family reunion work party. Although our main purpose was to help out at my parents house we were able to have a good amount of fun as well.

We were able to go to the San Diego fair while we were there. That was a time of fun rides greasy food and smelly animals. WE LOVED EVERY BIT OF IT! Did you know that you could even order deep fried BUTTER? And I thought that they had thought of everything. Guess I was wrong.

While we were in Cali Aubrey turned 4! She thought that it was so cool that she was going to turn 4 in California. It was as if she was the only person to have done this. We were able to go over Spencer's parents house and have a birthday pool party. Hot dogs, hamburgers and yummy Little Mermaid ice cream cake was had by all. If only we lived closer to be able to do this for all our birthdays.

We were also able to got to the Birch Aquarium down in La Jolla and see all the awesome sea life. They had a bunch of interactive things that the lids to touch and do on there own. Everyone had a lot of fun including Tyson.

The kids loved posing in the shark mouth. We had Aubrey hop in by herself and told her to pose and this is what she came up with. Aubrey's interpretation of what a model would look like getting eaten by a shark. CLASSIC!

Our final activity as a family group was going to the Saturday Night Padres game. We love us some Padres. We try to catch a game whenever we are back. We had pretty good seats and had a lot of fun. Unfortunately they lost but hey we got like 6 ~~cluttering~~ AWESOME bobble heads of a guy that wasn't even playing that night and 8 coupons to Jack in the Box for 2 FREE tacos. GO PADRES!

We had a great time while being back home and got a lot accomplished at my parents house. The cousins had fun being with each other we just only wish we lived closer to everyone. Until next time PEACE!

Big man's movin up to first grade!

2010-06-29T15:40:00.002-07:00

My not so little, little boy is moving on to first grade. This is Brandon at his kindergarten graduation with his teacher Mrs. Townsley and the principal Mr. Roppe. Brandon did soooo well this year. He was a great help to his teachers and excelled in all subjects. Brandon was even placed in the highest reading group. He was the only boy in this group. It was just Brandon and the girls the whole year. His teacher expressed how smart he was and if he continues on the path he is on she would recommend him being tested for the discovery program (like the old school gate program) Way to go Brandon! We are so proud of you.

Take Me Back!

2010-06-03T22:02:00.012-07:00

Spencer and I were fortunate enough to be able to go on an awesome vacation to the Caribbean at the beginning of May. We chose to go to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. It was a great place to go on vacation. I only wish I could have stayed longer then the week we were there. I guess though that I had to come back and be a mom again at some point.

This was the view from the balcony of our room. This resort had awesome pools and an awesome beach. We were able to relax and enjoy ourselves no matter which area we were in .

We also got to go on a couple of tours while we were there. The first one was a catamaran boat ride to an uninhabited inland where we could just veg and enjoy our time together. On our way back from the island they stopped at a sand bar that is in the middle of the ocean where you can pick up star fish and just be able to relax in warm shallow water.

The other tour we went on was to go snorkeling with the sting rays and sharks. This was very cool. The reef that they took us to was filled with fish. Definitely fish I had never seen before.

We enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. Nonstop eating, sun, and yummy tropical drinks. What more could you ask for. I can't wait for the next adventure.

Howdy Partners

2010-05-28T17:11:00.003-07:00

As you know from my last post Tyson has turned one. Now finally getting to blog about it has definitely taken me a while. I will happily say that I have been out of the country, but that is a whole other post soon to come. Anyhow...... We had a cute little cowboy themed party for the big #1. We had sheriff stars, squirt guns, and bandannas for all the kids to get into the cowboy mood.
Here's Tyson blowing out his candle. He had a little help from the wind that day other wise I'm not sure if it would have been blown out.

Of course after blowing out the candle he got his very own cake. He got the little cowboy hat off the top of the cake, and dug right in. I would say by the look on his face that he LOVED it. YUMMY!

We had a pinata for all the kids to hit. When it was broken open the candy we gone in a few short moments.

Tyson received a lot of nice gifts and loves to play with all of them. We sure are lucky to have such great friends around when family lives so far way. I can't believe he is one. Where has the last year gone?

So Fast

2010-04-23T07:36:00.005-07:00

It couldn't have been a year already.....

.....But what a year it's been.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TYSON!

WHAT!?

2010-04-02T09:57:00.004-07:00

Me: Hey Guys what should we have for Easter dinner?

Everyone else: I don't know.

Brandon: We should go hunting for bunny, then we could have bunny for Easter dinner.

HHHUUUMMM........

I'm not sure what to think about this. Slightly funny yet slightly disturbing.

Attn. Tooth Fairy

2010-03-31T13:48:00.002-07:00

Well it's finally happened. Brandon lost his first tooth. He lost it a church on Sunday. He couldn't wait to put it out for the tooth fairy. So much so the tooth fairy had a little trouble in locating the newly lost tooth. An awesome $1 bill was found in the morning. I tell ya excitement is never in short supply at the Hatch house.

Google

2010-03-28T12:42:00.004-07:00

At Emily's school the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders were able to participate in a national competition sponsored by google. They had to come up with a new invention, and then draw a picture about your invention and incorporate the google insignia. Emily's invention was Winter during the Summer. This machine would allow snow during the summer so you could cool down and play in the snow whenever you would want to.

This is a color copy of her submitted project.
So only 6 entries were allowed to move on to the NATIONAL competition and...... Emily was one of those! The chose three 3rd graders, two 4th graders, and one 5th grader. Soooooo now we wait and see. The winners get trips to NYC. Emily is wishing and hoping that she ends up being one of those. We shall wait and see. Good Job Emily.

Muffins with me

2010-01-31T14:28:00.003-07:00

This past Wednesday was muffins with Mom at the school. It was something that we started when I was on the PTO board a few years ago, and they have continued it. It's fun to go with the kids to school, sit and have some breakfast, and to spend a little time with them.

My Latest

2010-01-31T14:18:00.002-07:00

This is my latest cake I made this last weekend for a little girl in the ward who was turning 7.

She asked for a fairy with blond hair, a purple dress and green eyes.
I had a lot of fun making this one. It was something that I hadn't done before. I think it turned out pretty good. ENJOY!!

My sleeping (not so giant) Giants

2010-01-18T14:00:00.003-07:00

Lately I have been finding my kids (at least the ones that still take naps) in the funniest and strangest positions while they are sleeping. It really baffles my mind how someone could even dose off in some of these positions let alone fall totally asleep. This is Aubrey having fallen asleep in her "secret" club house in her closet. I believe that is her dress up make-up that is keeping her head propped up.
This is Tyson after eating dinner one night in his high chair. The bottom of the bottle was the only thing keeping his head up.
This is how Aubrey ends up taking a nap most days. She lays down to watch a little TV and ends up falling asleep with her hands behind her head and legs crossed.

Lately Tyson has been in bed with me at nights due to the back surgery. It's still hard for me to lay him down in his crib at night and since Spencer is still working nights it's just easier that way. Although I won't lie and wish he slept through the night in another room. :) Anyhow, lately he tries to cuttle at night. He scootches himself over until he finds the edge of my pillow and snuggles right in. It really is the sweetest and cutest thing.

This really has been the sleeping position of all sleeping positions caught on film to date. The other day I caught Aubrey asleep at the dining room table. Yes folks, she has her head "resting" on the wood chair arm, hand in bowl still clinging on the the dry cereal. No I didn't leave her like this. I moved her AFTER I grabbed the camera and took a picture. :)

You would think that I make my kids work in the mines for 16 hours a day with the way the fall asleep anywhere and everywhere.

12 Happenings at Christmas

2010-01-05T16:07:00.005-07:00

12 Christmas Lights

11 Snowballs Thrown

10 Years of Family Ornaments

9 Times Removed from UNDER the Tree

8 Fun Christmas Balls

7 Trees to Choose From

6 Handmade Stockings

5 Hours of Snow

(That's how long it lasted.)

4 Happy Kids

3 Warm Snuggies

(Yes, I went there, and made these too.)

2 School Christmas Concerts

And 1 Real Christmas Tree

Hope everyone had as great of a holiday season as we did.

We love you all, and have a Happy New Year!

I'll quiz ya

2009-12-07T21:04:00.003-07:00

Today Brandon and Spencer were in the front room quizzing each other.

Spencer: Brandon... where's your brain?

Brandon: Inside my head.

Spencer: Where's your cerebral cortex?

Brandon: Huh? What's that?

Spencer: It's part of your brain.

Brandon: Oh, my turn. Dad where's your dignity?

Spencer: (Silent, and staring)

(Mom laughing hysterically from the other room)

Aubrey: It's in your throat.

Brandon = Never ending free entertainment.

For your Holiday viewing pleasure

2009-12-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Holidays from the Hatch's

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We love our Veterans

2009-11-15T15:14:00.005-07:00

This year we went to the Veterans Day parade in our town. Emily was able to be involved in it through her school this year. We made a sign for the kids to hold up as the soldiers and veterans walked by to show them our thanks for all they have done for our country.This is taken at the begining of the parade. The US flag, the AZ flag, and the POW flag.

These were the mounted soldiers representing the Buffalo soldiers that were stationed at Ft. Huachuca, in the 1800's the Fort that is located right next to Sierra Vista.
Now I bet you are wondering if I copied this picture from somewhere..... Nope. This is me playing around on some photo editing softwear that I love. I tinkered around with all the photos in this post.

One of the groups of soldiers that marched in the parade.

Three of my cuties showing there appriciation for our vets. Thanks Dad and Cain for all of your dedication.

This is Emily in the float that she road on. She had to try out at school to be able to ride on it. They sang patriotic songs down the whole parade route. Sorry about the quality of the video it was taken on the little digital camera that we have that's not the most high tech. Emily is located in the lower right of the float.

A little decked out

2009-11-08T09:41:00.002-07:00

Halloween is by far most favorite holiday! It's so fun to dress up and deck out the house. Every year we try to tweak the decorations just a little, and every year we acquire something new to improve upon the scariness. Spencer does a great job with his special effects. Here are just a couple of the pictures that we have of the house this year.

Straight from Brandon's mouth

2009-11-07T10:59:00.006-07:00

No matter how many times we have corrected Brandon he just can't seem to catch on.

Before during and even after Trick or Treating Brandon went to the doors and said.....

TRICKLE TREAT

I just think that it's funny that he's a boy and says Trickle Treat.

It just brings me back to the days of potty training the boy.

Love you Brandon!

Halloween Goodness

2009-11-06T13:20:00.003-07:00

The kids had a lot of fun this year with Halloween. Usually we try to have a unified theme for costumes, but this year was kind of crazy with sports, so we went with what we had. Emily dressed up as a witch this year. I wanted to put make up on her, and make her look really witchy but she wanted to "look like a nice witch" she said. Brandon wanted to be a football player. He had a game earlier that day and we gave him a blue and white mo hawk. So he wanted to keep the mo hawk so he just kept his uniform on voila instant costume. Aubrey was Wonder Woman. This was a costume that we had used for Emily when she was that same age. She was instantly sassy when she put ths on. Tyson was Superman and used Brandon's old costume. He looked adorable. He didn't really know what was going on, but he looked cute. This year we took the kids around the neighborhood, and they loved it. They all got way to much candy and most of it is gone by now. I guess it is good that Halloween only comes once a year, otherwise we would be at the dentist quite often.

To be like Him

2009-11-05T13:55:00.003-07:00

Our main reason for going to California was to baptize Emily. It was really great having family and long time friends around to witness this great occasion. Emily has been looking forward to this for a very long time. Brandon was able to give the baptism talk and did a fabulous job. We all sang a song as a family ( I cried of course), and Aunt Kimmy gave the talk on the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a very special night. What a great experience to see Spencer baptize his oldest. It's hard to believe that she is 8 already and is choosing to take on such great responsibilities. She is a great example to her younger brothers and sister. We are very proud to have her as our daughter.

FORE!!!!!

2009-11-04T08:21:00.008-07:00

While in California Spencer was able to take Brandon golfing with him. They were joined by Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Jake. This was Brandon's first time golfing and he loved it. He still carries around his prized golfing pencil that he used to write on the score cards, it's quite funny. Brandon has a real knack for it. He was able to connect with the ball and get it in the whole, and riding in the awesome golf cart wasn't to bad either. On the last hole he was able to get a 7 on a par 4. Not to shabby considering it's a course that adults play on. I think Brandon will give Spencer a real run for his money when he gets a little older. Good job Brandon!

I LOVE MY PREPPIES!

We love us some California!

2009-11-03T07:48:00.005-07:00

Who wouldn't love sandy beaches and great weather? We certainly don't mind it. Going back home was great this last time. We just went and did what we wanted, and going to the beach was a definite must.Brandon wrote me a little note in the sand. He's such a loving "little" guy.
This was Tyson's first time to California and to the beach. His first time with his feet in the sand. There's no going back now, California all the way!
We went down to OB ( Ocean Beach) where they have some pretty cool tide pools. The kids saw lots of different sea animals and played around on all the rocks.

115 pounds

2009-11-02T15:58:00.003-07:00

Every year when we get to go back to CA for fall break we have to stop at our favorite pumpkin patch Bates Nut Farm. They have the best and largest pumpkins. 115, Yes that is how much our pumpkin weighed this year. Although it wasn't as much as last years weighed, it was still a great pumpkin to have. It took the whole group of them to get it in the wheel barrel. Our abundance of pumpkins. You can never have to many.
Our silly kids being silly.
Aubrey and Brandon feeding the animals at Bates Nut Farm. It was a fun time had by all, and a yearly family tradition. The kids always look forward to going to Bates.

Huh??

2009-10-28T12:51:00.003-07:00

One of the conversations that occurred on our way home from CA a couple of weeks ago.

Kids: Mom can we stop at chum bucket on the way home to eat?

Spencer and I: HUH???

Kids: Yeah, you know..... the place that we had chicken and dumplings at on the way over.

Spencer and I: You think that place is called Chum Bucket?

Kids: Yeah.

Spencer and I: So.... do you know what a chum bucket is?

Kids: No, what is it?

Spencer and I: It's the bucket that fishermen use to store there bloody chopped up rotting fish in. So they can throw it in the ocean to try to catch sharks.

Kids: EWW that's gross. So can we go to Chum Bucket?

Spencer and I: It's called Cracker Barrel, not Chum Bucket.

Kids: So can we go?

Spencer and I: (looking at each other with look of baffle on our faces) I guess.

Needless to say they continued to call it Chum bucket several times after this conversation. Where do these kids come up with this stuff?

My baby's 6 months old

2009-10-23T22:32:00.005-07:00

Wher does the time go?

Now this is scary

2009-10-08T11:25:00.003-07:00

Do you think they could have even see out of those glasses?

Starting the Halloween season right!

2009-10-07T06:53:00.001-07:00

Don't forget to pause the music on the right!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

8 is Great! Party Like a ROCK STAR!

2009-09-28T16:27:00.008-07:00

WOW!!! My oldest is 8. What an exciting time. Emily has been looking forward to turning 8 for a really long time now. We we able to have a fun party for her. It was originally going to be a slumber party but with the sudden back surgery we shortened it to just a night of partying.

ARE YOU ON THE LIST?

We decided on a Rock Star theme for the party. We had it all, from a red carpet all the way to the "security" bouncer. Brandon was happy to help out in this department. He took his job very seriously. He was decked out. He had the shirt, glasses, and even his security earpiece. As the guests arrived Emily greeted them on the red carpet so they could get their pictures taken by all the POPO (ie: Spencer and strobe lights). Each pose was unique and classic.

NO AUTOGRAPHS PLEASE!

This is the whole group of Rock Stars that attended. There was purse making, pizza, and a whole lot of candy had by all. They even busted out the Wii mic and sang a few songs.

WE PARTIED LIKE ROCK STARS!

San Diego Super Chargers!

2009-08-24T12:47:00.007-07:00

We went to see the San Diego Chargers play the Cardinals this past weekend up in Phoenix. It was a blast. The kids really enjoyed the game. We all had our Charger gear on and cheered proudly for our team. We had many taunters around but as the game went on, they slowly became more quiet because..... We kicked some booty!!!

Yeah Chargers!!

Aren't they cute when they are getting along?
Thugs at play. Fo shizzle.
Sassy Sassy Sassy!!! We made shirts for all the kids to wear to show there spirit. It was a great time had by all. We can't wait to go back and win again. Spencer and I have yet to go to a Chargers game where they have lost. We MUST be good luck charms....So if anyone is willing to sponsor us on any of the playoff games we would happily attend to ensure a win.
Way to go Chargers!

Back to school baby!!

2009-08-06T08:57:00.005-07:00

School is back in session, and boy is everyone excited, and I mean everyone. What does starting a new school year bring to our family you ask, well I'll tell you. Starting back to school means Emily will a 3rd grader (wow I feel old). Brandon starts his first day of "real school" he's a kindergartner (now I feel even older). This means that I only have two at home, with two mornings a week with only one at home (yeah even older). For Aubrey this means getting to pick whatever movie, show or anything else she wants to do without having to "compromise" shall we say with her older siblings. Dad finally will be able to sleep during the day with some peace and quiet, and I might actually get some stuff done during the day. It's just a win win situation all around. Did I mention school was back in session? WOOHOO!!

This is Emily and Brandon heading out to the bus stop on the first day of school. Emily has Mrs. Simkins and Brandon has Mrs. Townsley. It even rained on us as we were waiting for the bus.

Our newest kindergartner. He was super excited to get his academic career started.

This was the highlight of the day getting to ride the bus for the first time. He has been waiting years to do this.

This is what Aubrey and Tyson did on there first day of school. Augh isn't this the life?

Buddies

2009-08-03T12:44:00.004-07:00

I just had to post this picture. I thought it was too cute not to share it. We did our last little bit of school shopping this last weekend and found these cute sweater vests at the children's place for$1.99 each. I just couldn't resist. So at church yesterday Brandon and Tyson were twins. Green vests, white shirts, khaki pants, and black shoes.

TOO CUTE!!

Gettin' back into the grove...

2009-07-27T23:32:00.005-07:00

This is my latest cake I was asked to do. This was for my friend Angie's little girl, Sydney. It was for her first birthday. I really loved doing this cake. I've been waiting to do something with this color combo and something with paisleys.

It finally happened...

2009-07-26T22:53:00.005-07:00

Well, after having four kids I wondered when I would be asked this certain question by one of the older kids. It just happened to be Aubrey. Yesterday I was burping Tyson and Aubrey comes over and we have the following conversation:

Aubrey: When are we going to take Tyson back to the hospital?

Me: Why? Don't you like having a baby brother?

Aubrey: No. (shaking her head)

Me: Why do you want to take him back to the hospital?

Aubrey: I want a girl one.

I think she might have put her request in a little to late. She'll just have to get over that he's staying and he will forever be a boy. Sorry Aubrey.

Sunnyside Ghost Town

2009-07-10T15:14:00.003-07:00

When all the family was down for Tyson's blessing a group went to one of the ghost twons in the area. The kids really liked it . They could still see some of the old news papers that were used as wall paper, and a lot of the old constructions styles used back then.

A little competition

2009-07-08T15:43:00.001-07:00

Who can win the most games?

Summer Activities

2009-07-06T13:30:00.008-07:00

We have been trying to keep the older kids busy this summer with a couple of activities that they have never tried before. The cities parks and recreation offers many different kinds of classes for the kids so we decided to take advantage of them this summer. Emily decided this summer to try her hand at tennis. Now I know she is my daughter and all but she really has a talent for tennis. I was surprised at how well her hand eye coordination is. She does really well and seems to really enjoy it. So we signed up for another round of lessons starting today. There aren't that many kids in the class so she really gets that one on one attention.

Watch out Willams sisters here comes Emily!

Brandon decided to give Karate a try this summer. At first I was a little worried that he would attempt to "practice" on his sisters but he has really been responsible and kept his karate moves to himself. Brandon REALLY likes the uniform he gets to wear. You will often find him check himself out in the mirrors of the class room. Focus Brandonson Focus!

Here he is the next Karate kid. Mr. Miyagi eat your heart out.

Lions and Tigers and BEARS!!!!

2009-07-02T11:09:00.005-07:00

Spencer took his scouts out this last weekend for the first time as the scout master and look what they found lurking around camp. Needless to say it wasn't the scariest bear. I think it at least provided so much needed entertainment.

FYI: This is taken at the top of Carr Peak at the camp ground. Can I say a little to close to home?

Baby Blessings

2009-06-26T13:39:00.003-07:00

This past Sunday on Fathers Day Spencer was able to bless Tyson. It was really neat to be able to do this on Fathers Day. The blessing was beautiful and Tyson did great. We were able to have lots of family out for it as well. It was really great so see everyone. This is all of my side of the family that was able to come. My sisters Kim and Jennifer, her husband Cain and their daughter Natalie and my mom and dad.

These are Spencer's parents. It was also great to have them out as well. It is always nice when the kids get to see their grand parents. They can never get enough of them. Thanks to everyone for enduring the drive out. We love you.

Border Patrol Rocks!

2009-06-09T19:32:00.002-07:00

On memorial day we were able to travel to Artesia New Mexico to the Border Patrol academy to see Cain (my sisters husband) graduate. Spencer was able to pin his badge on him. It was really a neat thing to see since none of us we able to see Spencer graduate when he graduated 7 1/2 years ago. Congratulations Cain!! Good luck on the spanish portion of the academy you'll do great.

Kindergarten here we come!

2009-05-29T16:39:00.003-07:00

Brandon is on his way to kindergarten, and he can't wait. He thought that once he graduated that kindergarten would start right away. He wasn't getting that there is still a summer vacation in between.

This is Brandon with his teacher Mrs. K. She was great with Brandon. He is really going to miss her.

We dropped the ball

2009-05-18T22:44:00.008-07:00

Emily's class along with the rest of the 2nd grade classes at her school participated in the 3rd annual 2nd grade egg drop competition. The rules were it had to be no larger then 18"x 18"x 18" and you had to make your project look like something. Meaning they just didn't want it to be a box for example. You also couldn't spend any money on building materials it had to be things found around the house. So Emily and dad took the challenge on to see what they could come up with. They found a green foam ball and decided that it would make great housing for an egg. They made an access to the center large enough to hold the egg snug and took it outside to test it. Wouldn't you know it passed with flying colors. We were a shoe-in to win. The decorating was the master mind of mom. We couldn't just leave it a green foam ball. I had a Styrofoam ball in the craft closet decided to cut it in half and voila Kermit's eyes. It all took off from there. Well we definitely had the cutest looking egg holder ever. The time came to drop the egg holding contraptions. Our hopes were high at having a successful launch with no breakage. With faith running high down comes Kermit from the sky (about 50-60 feet) SMASH!! Did it break???? Unfortunately our faith was crush along with the egg. We found out the teacher didn't place the egg correctly in the ball therefore breakage was eminent. I think I was more crushed then Emily was. We were sure of victory. Well maybe next year (if they do it in the third grade). At least we had the best looking egg drop contraption out there and no one (Holly and Jill) can say otherwise. We will just never be able to look at Kermit the same again.

The Suessical Musical

2009-05-15T12:24:00.005-07:00

The second graders at Emily school put on a junior version of Dr. Suess' Sussical Musical. They did a great job. Everyone was very animated and knew there parts well. Good Job Emily, you were fabulous.

And then there are Four....

2009-05-10T11:47:00.019-07:00

Tyson Judd Hatch

Born April 23, 2009 at 10:24 am

Weighed 7lbs. 3 oz.

19 inches long

Well we have four..... what a change. I thought three would be really different but four is definitely different. So much to do so little time. Although I would definitely say well worth it. Having a baby around the house again is great. Tiring but great. He is a joy to have around.

As for labor....well lets just say it was labor. We went or should I say I went 100% drug free this time and it was not that bad. I would have to say that being able to get up from my bed whenever I wanted afterwards was well worth it.. I think my recovery has been a little easier as well. I'm not saying that I would want to do this on a daily basis but it wasn't bad. Being home has been great too. Adjusting to everything new has been a challenge and keeping all the poking fingers away has been a challenge but it's been nice to be home.

Emily has been a great big sister. She loves having a baby in the house. I think she likes having a sibling that won't take her things and won't talk back to her (yet).

Brandon is super excited to have another boy in the family. He asks everyday if Tyson is ready to start sleeping in his room yet. I wonder if he will always feel the same way about sharing a room.

Aubrey is Tyson's second mother. She is always by his side ready to stick in the pacifier at a moments notice. She is in love with having a baby in the house.

We love our baby!!

Preschool Easter Party

2009-04-15T10:15:00.015-07:00

Brandon's school had an Easter egg hunt at one of the parks in town. Aubrey was able to tag along and partake in the fun as well. They were able to find candy filled Easter eggs, and played

many different games.

Everyone had a fun time, all ate a ton of candy. This was Brandons last time having this Easter party, and was a little sad when he realized this, but he is super excited to be starting kindergarten soon.

Dr. Seuss Week at school

2009-03-06T15:08:00.002-07:00

Today was dress up as your favorite Dr. Seuss character. So we decided to keep it simple. Emily was Daisy Head Maisy from the Dr. Seuss book Daisy Head Maisy. It wasn't anything to extravagant but she looked cute and was happy that she had something to contribute to the day.

Tags.....Why?

2009-02-13T12:04:00.003-07:00

Ok so I never do this tag thing, but I've been getting harassed about it lately so I'm doing this one because it's a short one, and I'm lazy. So I'm suppose to go to my sixth picture folder to my sixth picture in that folder and post it. So here it is......

This is Emily at the beginning of this last soccer season at her first practice. Although they didn't win every game this season she sure had fun. Way to score those goals Emily.

Now as for tagging others consider yourself tagged, but guess what... if you do it great, if you don't will I care? Not really. Peace!

Time....What's that?

2009-01-27T13:50:00.003-07:00

Ok so I know I have been slacking on the whole blogging thing, but there really has been lack of time and modivation. Now that I am almost 27 weeks into pregnancy tourture, and I thought I should actually post something atleast. We have found out that we are having anthother boy. This will I am sure guarantee us two chiildren in the NFL at one time or another. We can't really agree on a name so any ideas would be great.

Emily is enjoying being in the 2nd grade. She just recently lost her top front tooth. She swallowed it before she noticed to was gone. So she had to write a note to the tooth fairey explaining the situation. Emily is convinced that the reason that she got a paper dollar bill instead of quarters is because she was honest and wrote a note. Way to go Emily.

Brandon has turned a whoping 5 this month to match his whopping stature. He out weighs both of his sisters, and I'm sure he will out grow Emily within a couple of years. He thinks that now he is 5 that he has to try on all of his clothes to make sure that they fit, because he is convinced that he grew over night from being 4 to turning 5.

Aubrey is as spunky as ever. She loves going to nursery and playing with all her friends. She makes sure to tell Spencer and I that every week. She loves taking to the baby in moms tummy. She thinks that my belly button is the way of communication like a microphone. She sticks her mouth right on my belly button and makes her voice known. "HI BABY"

I promise this year to make an effort to post more and I will get more pictures up. Although that would require me to find and locate my digital camera. We'll see how long that takes. I hope everyone is well, and keep an eye out for more posts and pictures.

Why I haven't been posting

2008-11-05T11:13:00.003-07:00

Well, besides the usually excuses of why I haven't been posting here is the main one..... I'm nasty sick puking pregnant and being so nauseous as it is, sitting at the computer makes it worse. Sooooooo....... bare with me as I am 15 weeks tomorrow and hopefully the nasties will end soon. (That is a big hopefully.)

My Twilight Quiz

2008-10-29T16:52:00.003-07:00

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

My little Pixie

2008-09-11T15:30:00.006-07:00

This post is courtesy of Brandon. Earlier this week Brandon decided to reach out and try to discover new hidden talents. One of those undiscovered talents would be the art of hair. After attempting the new trend of A-symmetrical hair cuts on himself (he cut a small section of the front of his buzz, nothing huge), he thought that he did a fab job, and then turned his attention to Aubrey. Brandon's side of choice was the right side. He did a fine job of cutting her hair all the way to ear length. Now lets remember the hair cutting technique of the day is A-symmetrical. Well that is exactly what was done. Thank you Brandon for trying to find those hidden talents that the Lord has seen fit to give you, but.... I don't think that this is one of them. So poor Aubrey was walking around with a new hairdo courtesy of Brandon for about a day until we could get in to the real hair dresser. So the official first hair cut was given. I wanted to try to keep as much length as possible, but that was a little hard to do, due to her previous stylist. So now we call Aubrey our little pixie just like her new hair cut. We will just have to give it time to grow out, and keep the scissors away from Brandon.

Yeah Mom!

2008-09-08T13:47:00.004-07:00

Well we have made it through our first week of pre-k and Brandon is lovin it. Although I think that I am lovin it even more. Brandon goes to school at noon, and the best part of it all is that Aubrey falls asleep in the car on the way home from dropping off Brandon. The first day this happened I got absolutely nothing done. I just sat there and listened to the silence. It was fabulous.

When we dropped Brandon off, Aubrey saw that Brandon had a lunch bag for his snack with some ice packs in it. Well Aubrey wanted to be just like her older brother and had to carry her new Dora lunch bag with just one ice pack in it. She wanted to stay so bad. I just have to keep telling her that she can stay next year. Yeah Mom!!

Frosting Fun

2008-09-05T12:41:00.003-07:00

Here are some more of the cakes that I have done recently. This was a cake I did for our friends Alisha and Jeremy's baby shower. She is due to have twins in a month, a boy and a girl. We are all very excited for them. It was a lot of fun to do this cake.

This cake was for a coworker of Spencers'. It was for his (the coworker's) girlfriends birthday. The "Hatch frosting" is getting quite a name for itself over at the Sonoita station. I think that I might have start packaging it in IV's and sending to work with Spencer.

Primary Carnival

2008-08-26T11:43:00.014-07:00

This past Saturday our ward had a primary carnival. All the kids had a lot of fun. There was so much for them to do. I think Brandon's favorite game was the dunk tank. Bro. Bodily (the second counselor in the bishopric) was the first victim in the tank, and Brandon was the second person to dunk him. It definitely surprised us all. After dunking Bro. Bodily Brandon went over to the cupcake walk and immediately had his number chosen to win a cupcake. Man if only I had that kind of luck. Emily was the next number immediately called after Brandon's. GO HATCH'S!! They had mini golf, dart throw, penny toss, fishing, snow cones, and many other games. All in all the kids had a blast and let Dad get some yard work done while we were gone.

Soccer has offically started!

2008-08-24T21:04:00.005-07:00

Thursday was officially the first day of the 2008 Sierra Vista soccer league for our kids. Emily and Brandon are both playing this year. They are both very excited. What is even more exciting and crazy at the same time is that Spencer is coaching. Yes, both teams!! Like I said crazy, right? He just couldn't pick between the two kids so he caved and is now coaching both. Brandon's team is the Storm, and Emily's team is the Racers. They will get there uniforms tomorrow, so then we'll know what colors the teams will be. We will definitely keep everyone posted on how the season comes a long. GO STORM!! GO RACERS!!

Happy Birthday to Sierra Vista 5th Ward Young Women!!

2008-08-23T12:57:00.003-07:00

This last Wednesday we had a combined young women's activity where we celebrated all of the young women's birthdays for the year. We had a BBQ and swim party, and we had Bath and Body Works stuff for all the girls so we did a rubber ducky and bath theme. Of course I was asked to do the cake and I thought that it turned out really good. All the girls loved it and have all asked if I would do their wedding cake. I told them that we had plenty of time to think about that :) Being in Young women's is the best!!

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-08-20T11:46:00.014-07:00

Just wanted to send a Happy Birthday shout out to my Mom who turns 58 today (I'm sure she will appreciate that). I hope you have a wonderful day, and that Dad get's you something good. LOVE YA!!

My latest cakes

2008-08-02T17:22:00.002-07:00

This cake was for our friends son Jackson Bodily. He just turned 6 and wanted a dinosaur themed cake. Everyone thought that is was really cool when we stuck some dry ice with water in the volcano and it started smoking. It was a really cool effect.

This cake was Emma Williams. She got baptized today, so this cake was for her birthday and being baptized. She has been planning this cake out for months. She asked for butterflies and flowers that looked like they were in a meadow. I think that concept was achieved.

You can never have to much cake!

Ring Pops..... YUM

2008-07-25T13:21:00.003-07:00

We have been going to the free movie that is held every week this summer. One of the treats that the kids wanted for the movies was the ever so fun RING POP. We had Blue Raspberry, Green Apple, and Cherry. Not only did it turn their tongues colors but pretty much everything they touched. Got to love those ring pops.

Cali here we come!

2008-07-15T11:47:00.021-07:00

So with the reunion ending Spencer got a phone call from work and they said that they were sending him to training in San Diego for two weeks. Bummer!! NOT! Perfect timing. The reunion ended and we went straight from Utah to California minus a couple of detours. Spencer didn't have any of the things he needed for training, so on the way down to San Diego we stopped in Las Vegas. We had to hit the Treasure Island buffet and then we dropped Spencer off at the airport so he could go home and get the things that he needed. The rest of us headed down to California (wow that was fun driving all by myself with the kids). The next day Spencer was back in Cali and thus began the second part of our vacation (I mean work trip). We were able to stay right in down town San Diego in the marina. It was beautiful. Everything that I wanted to do with the kids was within walking distance. We definitely got some foot mileage in. We went to Horton Plaza (a huge mall down town) a few times and got to go to Seaport Village a few times as well. Every time we went to Seaport Village something new was happening so it was fun every time we went. A new children's museum opened up about a month prior with a playground so we decided to get a year pass and go there as much as we wanted. This museum is fabulous. Everything is very hands on. They have a VW bug that is parked in the museum that the kids get to paint all over. Every time we went the kids got to make clay sculptures. They had a climbing wall area with proper climbing shoes for the kids to wear so they could scale the walls. I think one of their favorite areas was the mattress room. The walls are covered floor to ceiling with mattress. It was like one big bed to jump on. They could slide down the mattresses and everywhere you looked were these piles of fabric covered foam tires. The kids would stack these up around them and tip over obviously never getting hurt. We loved it. The imaginations it allowed the kids to have was great. We of course visited the beach while we were there. Our Friends were camping at the beach while we were visiting so we went and visited them while they were at the beach a played around for a while. Spencer decided to "try surfing again" after probably a 12-15 year dry spell. Lets just say he was slightly sore the next coming days. It's a good thing the hotel doesn't limit the amount of pillows your allowed to have. We went swimming a lot at the pool, and got to visit the Del Mar fair while we were there. The kids had a blast riding on the rides. They even got to ride on an elephant, and go to the petting zoo while we were there. One of my favorite things was going to the Padres game. This was in walking distance to the hotel as well which made it really nice. We sat in the bleacher section for the kids. They have a big sand box at the foot of the bleachers and only kids are allowed down there the call it "The Beach". It kept them well occupied while we got to watch the game. Unfortunately the Padres aren't having the best year so they lost, but at least they had a fireworks show at the end of the game. The best part of the fireworks show was being able to go onto the field and watch the show. None of us had ever been on a professional field before. We also visited Old Town. This is were they have the Mormon Battalion visitor center and little town with buildings that are still decked out like there were years ago. The kids thought that was cool. On the Saturday before we left Spencer, Brandon and Papa went on a tour of the USS Midway aircraft carrier. They got to sit in airplanes and do the training simulator. It was definitely a guys outing. All in all we had a ton of fun, visited some great friends, ate good food, and saw our wonderful families. We miss San Diego, and hope to be back home soon.

My Marshmallow Kids

2008-07-13T18:24:00.003-07:00

Brandon is my very silly boy. Glowsticks and all!!

Emily is my marshmallow girl. She could eat them everyday.

Silly as can be still lovin the marshmallows.

This is the marshmallow lover of them all. You have to love the delay of a digital camera sometimes. It can catch the funniest shots sometimes.

We arrive at the reunion

2008-07-13T17:46:00.014-07:00

After our much needed stretch at the dinosaur museum we finally arrived in Orem, UT for the family reunion. Our reunion lasted a total of 5 days. The kids had a lot of fun hanging out with their cousins, and the adults had a blast competing against each other at Guitar Hero!! We got to go to Bridal Veil Falls. Spencer and I renamed it Procreation Falls due to all the large amounts of families there. Afterwards we had a picnic at a near by park and Brandon caught his first fish. He was so proud. Emily went fishing as well but only nibbles for her. We had a luau, a western BBQ, a birthday party for all of us since we are really together for any ones birthdays, and our first Olympics (I rocked of course). The kids got to do some fun crafts, and play a lot outside. We went to Orem Fest and saw some fireworks. We ate great food and just had fun being with each other. Thanks to Mike and Allison for hosting us all. Now if we could only catch up on all of our lost sleep.

The vacation continues

2008-07-09T15:24:00.006-07:00

So we packed up and left in the morning of fourth day of our adventure and headed for Orem, UT for my side of the families family reunion. On our way up we stopped at the Price, UT Dinosaur Museum. This was a great place to stop and stretch our legs. The kids thought that it was so cool to see all of the dinosaur bones. They even had little activity areas for the kids to do some hands on stuff. They had an area where the kids could excavate dinosaur bones. This kept them occupied for a while. They had an aquarium tank that had turtles and an alligator in it to represent living prehistoric animals. They had puzzles where you could create your own dinosaur, and the exhibit were fabulous. It was definitely worth the stop. We even tried to lighten our load by trying to feed the kids to the dinosaurs :0) We all had a lot of fun.

The Cliff Dwellers

2008-07-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Our next stop was Mesa Verde in Colorado. Four Corners wasn't to far from Mesa Verde so we went straight there after visiting Four Corners. We ended up staying 2 nights there which made it a little more relaxing. We all got showers (yeah) and had some really good meals. Exploring all the cliff dwellings was really fun too. We went to a couple of visitor centers as well. The kids were really good and even asked questions. I think they learned a lot. There were areas were we had to climb up and down ladders to gain access to the dwellings. Aubrey being the climber that she is did really great. There was even a 10 foot ladder that we all had to scale. We were a little worried that Aubrey might have trouble because they require everyone to have two hands on the ladder at all times. She had no problem with them at all, and she wasn't even two yet at the time. Everyone was very impressed. We were able to see deer and other wild life from our camp site, and the kids thought that was great. All in all it was a great choice to stay there. We all had fun and were able to relax a little. Next stop Price UT and the Dinosaur Museum.

Gettin' "Cheekie" in Four States

2008-07-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Our next stop on our trip was the Four Corners Monument. By this time deodorant and make up was on ration. We definitely were not looking or smelling our best. Making sure we didn't get too close to others, we all had a good time. Everyone got to sit in all four states at once and they all thought that was cool. Of course Spencer has to pull out his GPS and let all of us know that the monument was about 1000 feet or yards (I can't remember) off. Whatever, It was still fun. We got to look at all the Indian shops and stretch our legs. Next stop Mesa Verde, CO, and a shower.

What a whirlwind of a trip !

2008-07-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

So we planned on leaving the 8th of June on our 10 day summer vacation. By the time all was done we almost didn't get to leave on the 8th and our ten days extended into 22 days. As we started to get things ready to go Spencer had to take care of some of the new plants in the back yard so they wouldn't die while we were gone. He had to run some new soaker hose off the main sprinkler line. As he was searching for it he ended up hitting and that's were all our troubles began. No water for a day due to the break and all preparations for the trip at a stand still. Finally the morning of the 8th pipe was repaired and things back in motion, but we were way behind. Finally get on the road at 3:45 (we wanted to leave at about 8:00) and we start the drive. We drove 2700 miles through out our whole trip, and yes we are airing out the car as we speak. We had a DVD player installed, that was a life saver. Wireless head phones are great. The only down fall to them is that the kids feel they need to talk really loud when they are on their ears, and Aubrey just can't seem to figure out how they work yet. Our first stop was to be Big Lake in the White Mountains of Arizona. On the way there we were almost plastered by three very large buck elk (it was dark by this time) , but Spencer's defensive driving training really paid off. After our hearts stop beating out of our chests and breathing back to normal we finally arrive. Spencer and I set the tent up in about 2 minutes (it was really cold) we had all cooked and eaten in about 5 minutes (did I mention it was cold?), then all settled in for a cold night in the tent. We all got up early to try to catch some fish, but not a single bite was to be had. I think our wards scout troop that went up a week earlier caught them all, and the kids were bored in about 2 seconds. So we went back to the camp site to have breakfast, explore, play some games, and pack up to head on up to Four Corners and Mesa Verde as our next stop/ adventure.

The never ending Vacation

2008-06-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

Ok I know that it has been forever since I put up a post, but I have been gone for forever. I am still not a t home and I won't be for another week or so, so don't expect anything exciting for a little while. I can't put my pictures up yet because I don't have my usb cable with me. I know you are all in suspence and can't wait, but you're just going tot have to be patient. We miss our bed and all of our friends. See you all soon.

Patagonia Lake or as Spencer likes to call it the mud pit

2008-05-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

We all went to Patagonia Lake with a couple of families from church. The weather was great and the kids had a lot of fun. Almost all of them said the water was cold, but that didn't stop them. Brandon went off and fished with dad for a little while (unfortunately no pictures of that) but to no avail not a fish to be caught. Maybe next time.

Mama's Little Helper

2008-05-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Every time it's time to make a cake I always have a couple of small hands willing to help out with whatever needs to be taken care of. Aubrey always knows when cake is being made. She is always willing to help "clean up" any mess that needs taken car of. I think she can smell cake coming from a mile away, no matter what form it is in.

It never hurts to have your trusty sippy on hand to wash down all that yumminess. Once refreshed she is back to business.

Once all is consumed I always have the happiest child in the world, always looking for more. After all she is mama's little helper.

Hope you're happy

2008-05-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well I finally did it. I have my own blog. Now all those that really care about what is happening at the hectic Hatch household will now be able to know how hectic it really is. Now I just need to figure out what the heck I'm doing. This blogging thing is a whole other world for me, so bare with me and I'll see what I can do. Here it goes........