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!