Drake is 1!

I'm a little slow in getting this posted, but our little Drake recently turned one. I can't believe how fast that year went. He has been such a cute and fun baby since the day he was born. It has been so fun seeing him begin to grow up this past year. He is always smiling and he laughs easily (especially at his big brothers.) He is walking now and says a couple of words like "mama" and "no no". We enjoy him so much and we are so grateful that our family is blessed with our little Drakers.

Some Fall Pics

We are still here. We're just enjoying the nice fall weather and scenery. Here are a few pics from our recent adventures.

We hope you are all enjoying your Fall season as much as we are ours!

Champion of the Book Fair

The other night Dallin talked us into going on a family outing to the school book fair. We went and bought each of the boys a book of their choice and as we were leaving the lady at the front desk told Dallin to put his name in a box for a drawing worth $25 worth of books. I didn't think much about it but helped him write his name and his teacher down on his ticket and we left for home. At about 9:00 we got a call from the library and they said "Dallin is one of the two winners of our $25 dollar book drawing. He was quite exited about it, but it was time for bed and so we said our prayers and put the boys down. Tonia and I were listening to thier conversation while they were winding down and Dallin said "Thomas I'm the champion of the book fair!!!" He was quite enthusiastic about the whole thing and really felt he was on top of the world. This is one of the reasons we love Dallin and his personality.

Random Pics

A few summer pictures that I never got around to blogging about. So, here they are in a nutshell.

Thomas learned to ride his bike without training wheels. Now, the child has a helmet, he just is not good about wearing it. At Dallin's Kindergarten doctors appointment, the doctor asked him if he could ride a bike without training wheels. Dallin answered "yes" with a tone that sounded like "what a ridiculous question." She then asked if he wore a helmet. He paused for a second and then said "Well, I have a helmet." What can I say? My boys are danger loving, thrill-seekers with no regard for their own safety.

Thomas also learned to pump himself on the swing. HOORAY!!!! He loves it and spends alot of time every day on the swing set.

The boys waiting for the Sweet Corn Festival Parade to start. As you can see, they came prepared with bags for their candy, and it was a good thing because they made BANK!! There are advantages to having "Mr. Hatch" as your dad when it comes to these small town parades.

Drake, waiting for the parade to start. Not quite as excited as the others.

The cement truck at our house, pouring our new patio. This was exciting for everyone - but for vastly different reasons.

The boys amongst the sunflowers. There were millions this year. So cute to look at - horrid for the allergies.

Dallin at the campfire on our family camping trip.

Drake at the family camping trip. Filthy! But, it is not as bad as you think. He was eating an Oreo.



We had a fun summer and we hate to see it end, but we also look forward to the pretty autumn colors and that lovely crispness in the air during the Fall.

Six!

Dallin officially turned six last week. He had several days of birthday celebrations, as we finally let him have a party with friends this year. We then celebrated on his actual birthday with a small family party complete with a trip to McDonalds for Happy Meals (his request). He had a fun couple of days and was exceptionally appreciative saying things like "Mom (or Dad), you are the best Mom (Dad) in the world!" Or "Mom, you do the best birthdays!"

Dallin wanted a pirate party with his friends. We had a lot of fun planning it and putting it together, and I think the kids had fun at the party.

These are the cute invitations we made. Fun little messages in a bottle.

Some of our pirates, all dressed up in their pirate bandanas. These were cuter in real life. Dallin has so many friends, we couldn't invite them all - much to his dismay. The pirates had fun digging for gold, completing an obstacle course, going on a treasure hunt, and destroying the treasure chest pinata. They especially loved it when they were awarded their swords at the end of the party. The sword fighting got pretty intense (but don't worry, no one got hurt, the swords were inflatable.)

The pirate ship cupcakes. Yum!

Dallin is such a fun, smart, and happy kid. He has such a zest for life and gives everything he does his all. He has a great ability to make friends easily and is always super outgoing. We love our Dallin and the happiness and laughter he brings into our lives. Happy Birthday Dal!

First Day of Preschool

Thomas started his second year of preschool last week and is so happy to be back. We are so lucky to have an incredible preschool teacher in our neighborhood who is affordable and great with kids too. I know Tom will have another great year in her school.

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Dallin's First Day of School

Dallin started Kindergarten this week. It was a great day for him and a bittersweet day for me. He actually could have started last year, but I didn't want him to be the very youngest in the class, so I kept him home an extra year. He is sooo ready for Kindergarten, and I must admit, it is nice to have a few hours with one less child in the house, but at the same time, I am sad that this phase of life is over for us. I looked forward to being a mom of little ones for so long and I can't believe how fast it went. At least they have reverted back to half day Kindergarten here in Arizona, so I only have to send him off for three hours a day. We look forward to that bus pulling up at 11:00 to drop him off everyday. As soon as it does, he literally jumps off the bus and comes running with a huge smile on his face. When I ask him how it went he replies "AWESOME!"

Isn't that awesome?! Love you Dal! Have a great year!

A few reasons that I love summer

I have heard it several times that it is almost impossible to grow anything in Taylor (except weeds) because the wind blows so incessantly for so long in the spring. We have found that our plants and flowers do struggle in the spring, but somehow we manage to grow a few things each year. These are a few pictures of things I love in my yard, disproving the well accepted theory that nothing grows in Taylor.

I really love my hanging baskets. They always make me smile every time I walk up to my front door. The forsythia you see in this photo is probably about six feet tall now. Jeremy prunes it down to almost nothing every spring after it has bloomed, but it just grows like crazy and I love it. When we first were putting our yard in, I told Jeremy that I really wanted forsythia, because it reminds me of my mission. The yellow blossoms in the spring just scream "Kentucky" to me.

Our little flower garden out front is finally coming back. It had a rough go while we were gone and I was afraid it couldn't be saved, but I didn't give up on it, and with some TLC it is rallying. This picture doesn't do it justice. The colors really are beautiful.

Here is a close up of some of those flowers. Love them!

Our little garden out back. We would like a bigger one, but our backyard is pretty small, so this is about all the space we can manage. It still manages to provide plenty of fresh, organic, beautiful produce for us all summer and plenty to freeze and put up to be used through the winter as well. Jeremy does such a good job with this.

Well, there you have it. I'd post more of our backyard, but we are adding a small family room onto our house, so the rest of the backyard is a mess of a construction zone. Maybe next summer.

Swimming Lessons

Dallin and Thomas just finished two weeks of swimming lessons. They both passed their level with flying colors and Dallin even gets to skip a level. They absolutely loved it and wish they could take swimming all the time.

Waiting for class to start.

A little chillin' in the shallow end.

After class. Good Times!!!

Vacation

We recently returned from our trip to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. It was a good time, but one of those things that is better termed a "trip" than an actual "vacation". Our boys were great little travelers - but 5 states is a lot of driving, even for us grown ups. Here are a few pictures from our travels.

Somewhere along I-15 in Utah

Thomas, Jack, and Dallin at the Elberta Dairy. My Dad took them on a tour of the whole operation while we were there. They loved it!!

Me and Jack at Idaho Falls

The boys with some buffalo in Yellowstone.

Me and the boys at the brink of the Lower Falls in Yellowstone. Notice Thomas spying the camerman (Jeremy) with his binoculars. It was quite a hike to see these and Jack wet his pants all over Jeremy's shoulders on the hike back up. The day started to get a little long after that.

The family in Yellowstone.

The boys just outside the park.

Some moose visited our cabin one morning.

Jeremy with the boys at Henry's Fork on the Snake River. This was really a beautiful place.

Thomas and Jack at Idaho Falls. Thomas made us take him back here on our way back home, because he was having a rather bad day when we stopped there on the way up. He wanted a better picture for his scrapbook. Notice Jack is a little bit afraid of so much water.

We're Back!

We just got back from a family reunion and trip to Yellowstone. I will post more about our vacation soon - but for now - here is one of the reasons I won't get to that post for a few days.

This is how my laundry pile looked when I walked in the door.

This is what it looks like after unpacking.

Welcome home to me!

Drake's New Trick

I looked across the room last night and saw Drake doing this . . .

Drake is 6 months old. It was a happy moment, but at the same time I can't believe how fast this is all going and it makes me a little sad to see my baby growing up so quickly. Do all moms go through this with their last baby?

"It Wasn't Me!"

Last night, the boys had a bath and were getting ready for bed. After several minutes, Thomas emerged looking like this. We got after him for writing on his tummy and legs. He told us that Dallin had done it. Dallin denied it, and we almost believed him, until we discovered this. . .

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BUSTED!!!!

Then Dallin's defense was - "Thomas tricked me!"

Springtime in Taylor

Spring has arrived in Taylor. The wind blows non-stop through June. I am not kidding. It is honestly Hell on Earth. A kid in his mission report a few months ago talked about a hurricane he experienced in Central America. He said he thought "Are you kidding? This is nothing like the wind we get in Taylor." Sadly - I actually believe it. Wish me luck getting through the next few months without pulling my hair out.



This video is of one of our milder days here. Sorry about my filming skills - - I was in a hurry.

5 months old

My baby is now 5 months old. He is so much fun, very happy, and very demanding. We are all crazy about him. He is a big-time smiler and talker, but when I put a camera in front of his face, he just freezes. I wish I could get some cute shots of him smiling, so I can always remember this cute phase, but so far, he is not cooperating.

We managed to get a little smile for this shot with Dallin's help. Dallin is a fantastic big brother and Drake just adores him.

Spring Break

Last week was Spring Break. Jeremy had to work during most of it, but we did manage to sneak off to Flagstaff for a quick overnight trip. I enjoyed the shopping and the boys enjoyed the swimming. I think Jeremy mostly enjoyed not having to work. It was nice to get out of town for a little while.

Jack

Thomas

Dallin

The boys at the pool.

If you will notice, it is snowing outside. Thank goodness for indoor pools!!

After we got back, Jeremy worked on our garden. Our yard slopes away from the house - which is very nice in our area, since it is prone to flooding - but - we always end up with a pool at the end of the garden and nothing grows very well down there. So, Jeremy built a garden bed and leveled everything out. It will work much better (we hope) and it definitely looks nicer.

The new garden! Nice and level. I can't wait to eat that fresh summer produce! Thanks Jeremy!!