Chopped night!!!

I doubt anyone is as obsessed with the Food Network show Chopped as we are.  We have it on our DVR and watch all the episodes we have time for :)  Nate and I used to love watching it at night after the kids went to bed, but recently we let the girls stay up with us one night while we watched it and they just fell in love with the show!  Now THEY are the ones checking to see if we have a new episode of it :)   It's a pretty fun game show type cooking show.  Four people start out with a basket of mystery ingredients.  They have 20 minutes to complete an appetizer using the mystery ingredients.  Based on taste, presentation and creativity, they are very brutally judged by world renowned chefs and three are chosen to continue on to the next round.  ONE is CHOPPED.  The second round is the same, but with 30 minutes and they are required to make a main dish.  Another contestant is then chopped and the remaining two move on to the dessert round.  30 minutes again and the winner is awarded $10,000!!!  Nate and I love to cook, love the fun recipes that are tried on this show, and we love making fun of the judges responses.  The girls love to root for the girls :)  So why am I telling you this?  Well, we finally had our Chopped Family Night this last Thursday (we had missed our usual family night, on Tuesday and then rescheduled twice to finally end up doing it on Thursday.... the girls suffered, but the day finally came).  We didn't have a lot of support from the boys.  Brad had a friend over, so we decided (since we were also short on judges) that they could be judges along with Steve.  We split up into two teams (we had to change it from the show a little, since we only had 2 people who can use the stovetop alone :)) Boys against Girls.  Basically Nate ended up cooking alone while Charity, Kelly and I whooped up on him!  HA! jk.  (trash talk, you know) 

So for the appetizer round, the mystery ingredients were:  ramen soup, apples, cauliflower, and honey.  The girls and I made a salad (I was trying to copy my ramen salad recipe, but used way too much vinegar).

The boys (aka:Nate) made a little roll up.  Both appetizers were okay, but not the best.  Steve ate all of Nate's. 

The Entre round mystery ingredients were:  marshemellows, ice cream, chex cereal, and Chicken in a Biskit crackers

Nate made this fried chicken with chocolate sauce on top of pasta with roasted marshmellows on the side (a very nice touch, but melted before we remembered to take the picture).  Steve didn't eat much of it.  I thought the chicken was really good.

The girls and I cut up some chicken and dipped them in vanilla ice cream and then crushed chex and crackers.  Then for a dip we made honey bbq sauce.  They were not as crispy as I would have liked.  Should have tried the deep fry method Nate used.  We also added a few honey glazed carrots to garnish.  Steve doesn't like the carrots.  But he loved the dip.  

The entree round had it's own ups and downs with Noah needing so much help in the bathroom.  Sounds gross, making food and doing the potty stops, but somehow it worked out.  We did give ourselves an extra 10 minutes though.

For the dessert round, the mystery ingredients were: pie crust, pumpkin, jalepeno cheese crackers, and oranges

This seemed like a really easy one to me, we did our pie-pops recipe that we made for Thanksgiving.  Just with pumpkin, pie seasoning, and crushed cheese crackers for the filling, then an orange and powdered sugar glaze.  The girls and I had planned on making this into pie-ice cream sandwiches, but ran out of time.  We finished plating BARELY in time.  And it looked like a HUGE mess because we had been so pressed for time.  I did have the added Noah pottying and Erika needing to go to bed element during this round as a handicap also.  But they turned out really good! 

Nate made these amazing little fried pie tart-type things.... SO GOOD!!!  I might have to make these again sometime.  They reminded me of cream cheese wontons.... very good.  He did a great job.  He did basically the same thing as us, but fried.  Which is always better.   

Ultimately it came down to Steve being a softy and not knowing who to choose as a winner.  He gave the winning title to the girls and I, but I really don't quite know how he came to that conclusion.  We did really good though, so we relished in our victory!

As the winners we got to choose the ice cream that we bought with the Cold Stone Gift Card we received as a Christmas gift.  We chose Strawberry Cheesecake.  It was spectacular also!! 

I think we will have to try this again sometime.  Possibly with more people and more judgmental judges.  Pickier eaters maybe.  Steve did a fantastic job of eating, judging and babysitting our kids for us while we destroyed (and I mean DESTROYED.... like three days worth of dishes.... the kitchen).  This would be a fun double or triple date activity.  Someday.

Furniture Shopping

Does anyone know of a furniture store where the employees are not paid on commission??  I just might be okay with my junky old furniture forever if I can't find a place where they won't stalk me as I sit on and rub my hands over every single piece of furniture in the store.  Even the nice ones make it difficult to enjoy yourself and browse the selections at the same time. 

We had ALL SIX KIDS with us and I realize that's probably strange when looking for couches, but here's a tip, if you want a family of eight to pay hundreds of dollars for some furniture in your name, don't approach them saying, "WHOA!  You have quite the crew!!!  Did you get here in a BUS???"  It's really tacky, and REEEEEALLLY annoying.  And if I'm having a hard time-of-the-month, I just might be tempted to bite your head off for it.  Just sayin'.

Insecurity

Alright, so I finally put a name on how I've been feeling lately.  It's insecure.  I'm not sure why I'm making a post about my insecurity, but for some reason it felt like it might help to get some feelings out there.  Nothing serious, just been on my mind the last week or so.  Probably just PMS at it's best/worst.  Have I mentioned how much I hate PMS?  Yeah, I think that could be one of the main contributors to my having a large family.  Not really.  But probably a little. 

I have finally been making friends in my new ward.  I was invited to an "American Idol night:" that some of the girls here have, and that was a lot of fun.  I've been doing my Visiting Teaching, I was visit taught, I have mingled with a lot of people at church and at the school with Charity and Kelly being in the play and all.  And I've just been talking with lot of other moms.  More than usual.  I think there's something in my brain (or maybe it's just Satan, who knows) that makes me feel like everyone is doing better and more than me.  Whether it's having the "fulfilling" part time job on the side, or the extravagant hobbies, home remodeling or super smart kids.  I'm not sure why I have to feel the way I do, but lately it's been kind of low-self-esteem overload.  Or as I am now calling it, insecure.  I feel like everything I do on a regular basis is constantly challenged.  And I feel like I have to constantly redefine why I do what I do and constantly validate myself to myself.  I do sound crazy.  I probably am. 

I am a Mom.  That's all I really am right now.  And in my heart I know that that is enough.  I know that I love my kids, they love me, they are taken care of and most of the time are happy.  This SHOULD be enough right??  Well, why does my brain have to keep telling me it's not?  Why do I have to keep justifying it to myself?  Lately I have spent a lot of time online doing the couponing.  I enjoy finding a good deal and possibly saving some money for our family (or in my opinion it's not saving money, it's getting more for your money, but either way, I feel like it's a good thing to spend my time doing).  But it's really time consuming.  I spend a lot of time filtering through emails and blogs..... sometimes I wonder if it's worth it.  It's almost a hobby at this point.  And for the most part, I enjoy it.  But then when I hear about some of the really productive or "fulfilling" hobbies that other people have, I guess I get a little jealous.  I feel like I'm doing the lame saving money hobby while everyone else gets to do the fun (spending money) hobbies.  I don't want to be jealous everytime I hear about what someone else can do.  I hate those feelings!  I hate it when I go through craft blogs and all I can think about is how little time and money I have and could never accomplish something that cool.  It all comes back to being a mom and how that SHOULD be enough, but sometimes it doesn't feel like it is. 

I'm really grateful that Ashleigh sent me that link to that blog a while back because I keep trying to focus on the things I read from the prophets about being a mom.  I keep trying to remind myself what it means to be a mom.  It's so hard to feel like it's enough.  Is it because I'm not doing enough as a mom?  I don't know.  Is it just Satan weasling his way into my thoughts?  Probably at least a little.  I hate Satan.  He's such a jerk!  Trying to ruin my self-esteem when I have the coolest job on the planet!  I hate how I have to second guess all the things that I do too.  It's like I was telling Nate, I almost wish I had someone standing over me, telling me what to do every second.  I almost don't like all the "free time" I have or managing my own time.  Sometimes I'm good at it, but sometimes I'm horrible and it's times like those that I just know I"m not using my time wisely.  I hate that.  Wouldn't it be nice to just have a little checklist from Heavenly Father (he's the one we work for, as moms, right?) telling me step by step what to do each day.  How many times I should sweep the floor, how many times the dishes can wait, and how often I need to wash the towels.  Which kid needs to have his toenails clipped on which days, whose homework folder needs to be checked off and which week we're on.  I wish He really could just spell out all of my responsibilities as He sees it.  That would make things so much easier for me.  Which is probably why he doesn't huh.  "Hard makes us stronger".  That's what I told Charity the other day and when it came out of my mouth I realized it wasn't something I had thought of and said on my own.  Heavenly Father wanted me to notice it too because it's been stuck in my head since then.  I know that managing my time, and learning to manage it well is one of the things I need to learn on my own.  It's a bummer, but it's true.  I think I've been doing well at it lately and now Satan is trying to make me second guess it all.  Stupid Satan. 

Well. 

Anyway. 

I feel like I need to be more secure with who I am.  I need to be more confident with what I am doing as a mom.  I need to recognize what a blessing it is to be a mom and spend my time with my kids.  And not just part of my time, I really do get to spend ALL of my time with my kids.  That can be just as fulfilling as a part time Nursing job, or the newly remodeled kitchen if not more.  I need to just keep that in my head and have it ready there as ammo as soon as those negative thoughts come rolling in.  Reminds me of Brother Green in the Russian Jack ward, talking about how the Bible and the Book of Mormon are in their holsters ready to be whipped out and used/taught on whoever or whatever is out there.  And knowing that you have that protection.  I need to keep my happy-Mom thoughts, and good self-esteem in their holsters, right at my side, so that as soon as I get those feelings I am not good enough, I'll be ready. 

Wouldn't it be nice to have a paycheck as a mom.  And not just for the money (though that would be nice), but to have it spelled out for you exactly what you've accomplished for the week.  All the things that mattered that got done.  All the fights  you broke up, and all the lessons that were learned.  Even the things that may have been gained from your example.  All the extra things you did that you really didn't have to do, but you sacrificed some of the time you could have used for yourself in order to better the home for the family.  All the HOURS and HOURS of sheer WORRY!  Yeah! that would REALLY make things nice and "fulfilling".  Just like hearing Nate say, "house looks nice" is music to my ears!!  It makes it all worth it. 

So anyway. 

Like I said, I just need to stop being so insecure.  I need to be okay with myself.  HAPPY with myself in fact, and what I do.  I think I would be able to smile easier too if I just focused on letting what I do be enough for now.  Until I can do more.  And doing what I can to manage my time wisely.  Those are the things I'm going to start working on. 

Well, I need to go read with Brad now.  Something I love and enjoy, and will put on my list of things I accomplished AND ENJOYED today!  Thanks for letting me vent.  Thanks for not judging me too.  (please) :)

Future Memories

- Friday I was sick all day.  What is with me getting sick on the weekends so that Nate has to spend his only free time doing all the stuff I would do.  I hate it.  It's times like these that I think, "I might as well be pregnant!" But I realize that's kind of a strange thing to say.  I'd just rather my sickness be productive and have a beautiful outcome.  When I'm sick it's just me sick.  then try to recover.  Stinks.  Hopefully this week will be a good healthy one for our family.  We just finished week 3 of constant bugs.... seems like there was someone sick everyday.  I'm sure we had a day here and there, but right now I'm too negative to think about it all.

- Sunday morning, Nate made breakfast, bisquick pancakes, but he added something really clever, the little heath bar nuggets that have been sitting in the pantry for almost a year.  They were spectacular!  Erika ate a record breaking FIVE pancakes!!  And Luke, believe it or not, had TWO!!!  They were a winner with everyone else, but I'm not sure how much everyone else had, these were just too amazing to not mention :)

- During Dinner (this was our EARLY dinner before Nate left for work at 2:00) on Sunday, I decided there was too much fighting going on and I mentioned to the kids how when I was in fourth grade I went 3 whole weeks without fighting with my brothers or sister!  And I got fifteen dollars for it!!  (I also went without sugar those three weeks as well, and got fifteen dollars for that too.... very productive 3 weeks off track from school!)  They all got talking about how THEY all could go a YEAR without fighting!  Charity decided (and asked) that if she went without fighting for a whole year she would get a dog!  I consented.  Then Kelly said she would go a year without fighting so she could get a Kitty!  And then Brad of course joined in and HE wants a Bunny.  I said yes to all of them.  I thought it was funny that Luke didn't really seem interested in the wager.  Maybe he saw how unrealistic it was..... who knows.  But I thought it was cute and we spent the whole meal being nice to each other, say nice things, talking about church, it was spectacular!  I am pretty sure the first time anyone fought (that I noticed and pointed out to them) was Monday.  So a whole day!  Not too bad!!  We keep "starting over" on the year thing.... at this rate we'll never have to buy a dog or a cat.  Could work out to be a good idea for me :)  HA! Jk.  If Charity is reading this she's probably almost crying.... I will still let you get a dog somehow Charity!!  The no fighting thing would be your cheapest route, but just so you know, I do want you to get a dog someday.... didn't want to freak you out with this post.  Anyway.  It was a lovely moment for us, felt the Spirit very strongly through the whole evening.  Loved it.

- I worked out!!!!  I finally gave in and took Luke, Noah and Erika to the Day Care at the Gym so that I could work out.  It's been something that's been haunting me for a while.  I don't think I'll do it everyday, but I'm okay with an hour or so every other day now that I've taken that step.  I don't know what it was.... I hate leaving my kids and even worse, leaving them when it's for something like working out.  But it really has just come down to this.  I don't want to sacrifice sleep and I don't want to sacrifice time with Nate.  So I guess Luke, Noah and Erika will suffer until I can get things straightened out with my sleep schedule.  I hope that doesn't make me a horrible mom.  I am sure there are worse things I am doing.  I figure it's better for them to be happily watching a movie and playing with strangers and strange new toys while I work out than nagging me and making me frustrated that I can't get in a whole workout.  I don't know.  Whatever..... can ya tell I'm still trying to justify it!  I wish I could just not worry about stuff like that!  I miss my little ones.  They seriously couldn't care less, they hardly even wave when I drop them off and they're not that happy to see me when I pick them up, so it's debatable whether they even care..... But anyway!  I worked out!  3 miles!  Two days in a row!!!  I'm happy about it.

- In the car today (actually, as I was driving the last few drops of gas out of my car) trying to distract myself from the frustration of an empty tank, I asked Luke what he was going to be when he grew up.  He said, "Play games person".  And I said, "You want to play games when you grow up?" And he said, "Yeah, but not kid games, parent games!"  I asked, "Like what kind of parent games?"  And he said, "Like Tennis and that kind of stuff!"  Eventually we came to the conclusion that he wants to be a pro athlete!  How cool is he!!!!  He said Baseball, but I'm okay with him changing his sport :)  I just thought it was cute of him.  He really is the athletic type.  And if we can get him to do more than play the wii and watch tv, I think we could really have ourselves a good money maker here :)  HA! jk.  Just a cute little Lukey thing to say..... fun stuff.

- Noah had his 3 year well child visit.  He was SO shy!  He's measuring in the 25% all the way around, so that's kinda good :)  He's just small.  He got a little lecture from Dr. Judd about using the big boy potty and how diapers are for babies.  So I got all self-conscious and decided to start him on potty training as soon as we got home.  He did mostly imaginary poops and pees and a few accidents, but today, the next day, he has already gone twice!!  It's so great!!!  I'm not sure we're done, we have yet to poop, but I think he's got it for the most part!!!  I'm happy for him! (1-26-11)

Happy Sister Day!!!

Sunday Night Charity put on a little "Sister's Day" celebration for her coolest sister.  (Well, I'm sure Erika was invited, but she was being a pill)  Charity thought of this idea herself, made the 12 page sign herself, thought of the sandwiches, cauliflower and ranch dip herself, and then gathered up the games and set it all up herself.  What a fun big sister!  It was cut a little short because Grandpa Hatch and Pam came by, but that's fun too, so it was all good.  Kelly doesn't seem surprised at all by how sweet her sister is.  Course Kelly deserves every bit of it.  She's such a great sister to Charity. 

The idea was so cool, Brad went and threw a Brother's Day today!  He had wanted to do it Monday and Tuesday, but we weren't able to.  He didn't go all out like Charity did, but he did make some sandwiches and serve them to his brothers as they played Mario.  Well, He and Noah played Mario.  Luke watched since he is grounded from the wii right now.  But anyway!  It was a fun time :)  They were extra nice to each other too.... so fun for me as well.  No pictures....

Random Pictures

I take a lot of pictures of Erika.... most of the pictures in this post are of her :)  Sorry, to my older kids, but she just lets me more!

This was really cute because Erika had been waking up from her "nap" (I thought she was down for the night, but I was wrong) and Lukey came over and she normally is so sweet and willing to play with him, but this time she was hesitant, and I whispered down to her, "you should tickle Lukey!" and she got her little prankster smile on and (luckily Lukey leaned in for her) reached out to tickle him..... he giggled and they loved it!  These two better stay buds forever or I'll cry.  HA! I'm kidding.  But they are sweet buds.

HA!  love this face.  And can I just say, does she not look like a 13 year old girl in this picture with the way her coat is falling off.....  she treats her boys like she's 13 too!  Taking Dad's hat, pulling on his shirt, just all around teasing and bugging him!  I hope Nate liked Jr. Highschool girls because he's got one living with him.... and she's not going anywhere anytime soon :)

Luke and Noah filled their cups with bird seed and went around the yard sprinkling them all over themselves the grass.

oh, if only we could get a little more hair on top!

another funny face :)  And I'm giving in to the temptation to talk about the boogers with the cracker crumb stuck to them...... gross huh.  Too bad I couldn't see it from SO FAR AWAY with my awesome new lens..... anyway.

Kelly and Erika are really good friends these days.  I'm not sure what it is, but Erika just really trusts her and relaxes with her.  Kelly does have a way of making Erika fall asleep.  If I need someone to rock her, Kelly's the woman for the job.  It's really sweet if you ask me.

I love this picture of Luke.

I forgot to mention how much I loved that all of Charity's brothers and sisters were VERY patient and very supportive of her and her Hoop Shoots.  They clap, they get excited!  It's good.  I'm glad that they don't sit there and whine about having to be there, because I sure would have if I was them.  Next time we'll have to make some cool posters or something.

This picture is JUST for showing the amazing clouds that we had in front of us on the way back from Tooele after the Hoop Shoot.  It was AMAZING!!  This definitely doesn't do it justice.  And the cop car.... well.... can you say SPEED TRAP!!!  jk.  Nate was driving so no worries.... he never gets tickets the lucky duck!

SO TIRED!!!

The Hoop Shoot- District Level!

After winning the first two Hoop Shoot contests Charity moved on to this one, in Tooele, last Saturday on January 22nd.  I really just can't express how proud I am of her!  And her willingness to win!  She really practices hard and tries her best.  I'm surprised at how nervous she gets, but at the same time, I'm not.  I'm actually a nervous wreck the entire time as well.  I couldn't believe how pail she started to look while she was practicing.  I started to worry about her a lot.  She really looked like she was going to vomit or pass out or something!  She really seemed like she was struggling during the practice at the beginning.  I wasn't sure she was going to make it!

I kept looking at her next to those big tall girls and thinking just how small (and young- sorry Chars, but you are) she really is!!  This picture especially!  She just looks so innocent and sweet and little.  Just as she is.  It's hard for me to think about all that she's done in her short little life and all that she has ahead without being proud.  She really is an amazing little girl.  And so full of life and ambition.  To think that she just randomly decided to sign up for this "hoop shoot at school" completely on her own and pulled off two other wins all by herself!!!  just blows me away.  She really is going to go places and do some really cool things, I can feel it.  And more than she already has :)  I hope she realizes how amazing she is. 

Here she is all ready to go!!  She was up against 3 other girls this time, which is a lot compared to the ONE at the other two!!  But she has a different technique than most of the girls there and she has it SO down that we just don't even worry about it :)  She kept wondering how tall everyone was going to be and worrying that they were going to be way taller.  I just had to keep telling her that height is not what matters what matters is SKILL!!!  And she's got that, so no worries.  Charity loves my pep talks.

SHe's so little!!  She was so brave!!  She got up there, first one to shoot! and blew us all away with 3 in a row!!!!!  WOW!!  What an amazing turn over from the few minutes prior when she was missing them all.... what a relief that was!!!!  She did AMAZING during her five practice and then hit 6 of her first 10.  We all couldn't have been more happy with that.  Brad and Kelly were counting everyone else's turns and so were the people in front of me, but I didn't want to know who was winning, I wanted to have a happy smile on my face for Charity the ENTIRE time, not thinking about winning!!!  thinking about having fun!  She watched everyone go and miss a lot, got up and started sinking them again during her 15!!!  She got 7 of those.  SO AMAZING!!!  After the fourth girl had missed a few of hers the people in front of me turned around and said, "SHE WON!!!  Your daughter WON!  Even if this girl gets the rest of hers, she still won't beat your daughter!!" 

YAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I almost cried.  I couldn't believe it!!!  She had completely blown them out of the water too, the second place girl only got 9 of her 25.  And charity had 13.  She did pretty good. 

So after this one (just like the last) they had a little Luncheon, free food.  Then while we were eating our pizza and salad, they had the trophy ceremony.  This time the first and second placers got trophies and the third and fourth got medals.  Her trophy this time was even nicer than the last one!!!  She's very proud!  So are the rest of us.  What a cool thing for the Elks Club (gosh, I don't even think I mentioned who puts this on!!) to do for these kids!!!  I don't ever remember having even an opportunity like this.  They do it all for free, we have not paid a cent!!  And I've heard that if she makes it to the Nationals (winning this next round) the competition could be out of state and they will pay your way and any hotel costs that you incur to compete.  Pretty cool stuff.  Oh, they also gave her a basketball.  Says "Elks Hoop Shoot" on it!!  Woo woo.  I really just can't say enough about the whole thing.  It's really been neat to be a part of it all.  I'm proud of Charity and really grateful for the people who make it possible.  Fun stuff, good memories, and great for her self esteem!

Future Memories

- Thursday, (1-13-11)  Nate got his new phone!!!  This last week has brought new meaning to the words, "I'm going to get a new phone"  I will never think of them the same.  I'm so happy to see him enjoying something so much though.  It really has been a fun toy for all of us.

- Saturday was a drag.  Everyone except Kelly and Nate were feverish and sore.  I hate wasting weekends on being sick.  Hopefully it will end soon.... we're going on about 2 weeks of passing crap around.  Not fun.

- Sunday I taught my primary class for the first time.  I think we're going to have to come up with a good behavior motivator.  They were okay, but I definitely don't want to have it go like that every time I teach.  Brad says that the other teacher made the boys sit away from each other..... I'll have to be sure to try that next time.  I do love being in Primary again though!  And teaching.  It's fun.  And I LOVE that I get to be with Brad the whole time.... he's a sweetie.

- Monday.  It's a good thing we didn't have school today because I would not have made it out for it.  I felt like I had been drugged ALLLLL day!!!  AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!  We need to get better!

- Nate just checked out on sector 5.  He's getting closer!!!  Training has been getting really old.  Nate will be happy to be done with it.  And hopefully it's soon!!  (1-19-11)

- My good ol' friend Suzie stopped by to drop off some stuff and stayed to visit for a while.  It was SUCH a nice surprise!!!  I looked horrible, hadn't showered or put on makeup, I wasn't even dressed, my house was a mess, Erika had a stinky diaper on still, but it was the best thing!!!  Haven't seen her since we moved and it was nice to see an old friend.  I just wanted to remember our nice visit.  (1-19-11)

- I have been making new friends in the ward here and it's been SO nice!  I feel like it's been a while since I had friends nearby to talk to.  I was at the school yesterday for the Mandatory Parent Meeting for the School Play (that wasn't really mandatory), and couldn't stop talking to people.  That never happens, and I loved it.  It's nice to have people my own age around as well.  Nothing against old people.  They're just not in the same station in life.  Makes it tricky.  But I'm having fun.  And yes, the kids are going to be in the School Play apparently.  Just Charity and Kelly... Bradley wasn' timpressed with it and decided it wasn't worth the $15.  I'm glad.  This should be an interesting 2 months of practices!  I think they'll have fun doing it.  I hope.

Everything About Charity's Life

So I'm making Charity go private with her blog.  I think we'll shoot for a week from today.  I don't know how many of you would be interested in receiving an invite, so please give us your email if you are.  She's a little annoyed with me for making her do this, but I told her that she would still have her same readers..... so please keep reading :)  and commenting (she LIVES for the comments).  CHARITY'S BLOG, in case you haven't had a chance to see it yet, is  RIGHT HERE.  Just leave your email in the comments or email it to me at christamm1979@gmail.com and we'll get your invite to you!  Thanks!!!  Happy reading!

Sledding

We went sledding on New Year's Eve Day with my Brother and his family.  I always get excited when Uncle Brent starts getting out all his lights and camera stuff.  
 I thought I'd put in a little plug for their blog so that you can all see the amazing sledding pictures.  It's not their photography blog, but you can click on the link to that when you get there :) 
COOL pictures!! 
Click HERE
This would be such a fun way to get family pictures in the Winter Time. 

It's like we live in a wild life observatory

These were our latest visitors.  Nate got some really nice pictures of them, and since they were "boy ones" I thought I'd post them :)  We have deer in our yard daily and take pictures of them almost EVERY TIME, so even though it seems like I post these a lot.... it's really not as often as it could be :)  Just so you know.  Pretty cool though huh!

I have to say that I am still not sick of them.  It's still fun to see them everytime we do.  The kids haven't even lost interest yet! 

The other night when I was bringing in my groceries, there was this HUGE buck coming across the street.  It totally creeped me out at first, since it was dark and he kind of startled me.  He just walked up a little further, walking a little faster, and I walked a little faster and hurried into the house.... we were both fine :)  Pretty cool.

Party Day

My kids don't usually have as many expectations for their birthdays/parties as I do.  There.  I said it.  And frankly it takes a lot to focus ONLY on the things that really matter TO THE KID.  Well, Noah had about a handful of things he had been obsessing over and would mention anytime his birthday brought up.  The Happy Nato Cake.  Charlie.  Jarom.  And Charlie and Jarom coming over.  He was very excited about his two most favorite cousins coming over.  SO when we found out it might be difficult for Jarom's family to come out for the party we decided to take matters into our own hands and go pick him up!  And as long as we're driving out to West Jordan, we might as well stop at the Gateway on our way back right?  And stop at the Discovery Museum?!  Just make a day of it!  Of course.  So that's what we (last minute) planned to do.  And since Charlie was invited to his party that night as well, we decided we just had to have him come to Discovery with us. 

Things went a little differently than we had planned, we accidentally took a few detours.... I like pointing that out because it was as a result of Nate and I getting carried away in a conversation we were having and losing track of what we were doing.  I like that we can still have that much fun together :)  So yeah, we were a little behind schedule and didn't get to spend as much time as we had wanted at Discovery after stopping for lunch for some hungry little boys :).  We really only had about an hour there.... so that was a bummer.  But they still seemed to have fun.  We had to get home for the big kids to get home from school.

We got home and got all ready for the party.  I made another Happy Nato cake.  Much simpler than the first one.  No sink AND no computer.  And a Triple Chocolate Cake because I wanted some chocolate cake :) but NOah had picked Strawberry.

I'm not sure what happened with this party.  I normally have a set routine that I like to follow for the order of things at a party.  You eat.  Play games.  Dish up the Cake and Ice cream.  Then open presents.  Well, we pretty much did the opposite.  And simply because Noah wanted to.  Yeah, he's spoiled.  I tell ya, he's just like his Dad.  There's just something about him that makes you just want to do it his way.  And you don't even question it at first!  Weird stuff.  But whatever.  I don't think anyone else cares.  Just me. 

He was way cute opening his presents.  I ended up just using the video camera because I was so happy with how much he was doing on his own.  Plus I'm sick of the opening presents pictures not turning out.  I can never capture the right face.  He sure has improved even since his first few gifts on Christmas morning!  January is a good birthday month for that I guess.

He got lots of fun presents.  Thanks everyone for that.  And thanks to everyone who came to the party!

Kelly made the Pin The Nose On Larry for us.  She did such a cute job.  Noah didn't want to have anything to do with this.... mainly because he had brand new toys to play with instead.  A good reason to wait to open presents.

We even got Grandma Hatch and Simon to play that game and Charity won.

We played a game called Pass The Larry/Cucumber (we couldn't settle on a name).... Noah actually played and I think most of the kids liked it.  Just like musical chairs, but passing a cucumber.

Then we had the pinata.  Noah had picked out the helicopter one since they (sadly) didn't have a Happy Nato one.  I'm still kicking myself for not making one.  Would have been so simple with a long balloon and then a round one.... oh well.

I'm pretty sure this was the most exciting moment of the evening.  When Grandpa Hatch took a few swings at the pinata.  That sounds like an understatement for some reason.  Grandma and Simon took cover.  It was really hilarious. 

And the picture of Brent swimming around on the floor making all the kids cry because they thought he was stealing all the candy didn't turn out, so we're just left with this boring one.  Yeah, I'm still wondering why we put so much candy in these things when it's mostly our kids doing it.  I don't even see Charlie there.... hmmmm..... all in the name of fun I guess.

And then the cake and ice cream. 

And then of course Noah had had enough and konked out on Grandpa.  So cute. 

This is about the time that all of my kids started showing signs that they were not feeling well.  Including Charity throwing up and Luke's fever.... how nice for all of our party guests.  Sorry everyone.  We had no idea.  And that was that.  I thought it was a good night.  Good food, good fun..... And a Happy Noah :)