MARCH 2023

 DENTIST

I had to get an old cavity re-filled with Dr. Dave this week.  Kinda sucked and I wish I had a way to describe the sensation when he numbed it, but my heart raced so hard!!  It was so weird!  I don't love that.  Things went pretty well though.  I think I'll live.  And now I can chew on that side!  3-1-23

TALENT SHOW
The youth all had a talent show for their activity this month.  Sounded like it was a lot of fun.  Erika and Nate displayed art.  I don't know what the boys did :).  But it was a fun evening.  3-1-23

LUNCH WITH JULIE CLEMENS
Julie and I finally got together for lunch!  It was so nice!  We went to Robintinos and were able to visit pretty well even with Sadie there.  She did really well, actually.  Til my phone died of course.  I just love Julie!  I love that we are in the same stage of life with adult kids/missionary stuff/younger kids- a lot of the same issues.  It's just nice to have someone to talk to.  Julie and I see a lot of things the same and are able to kind of join forces with the issues we face as moms.  I love her strength and her example.  I wish I had advice for her YW problems- we are lucky to have such great yw in our ward and not have the problems poor Julie has to deal with!  We need to get together more often.  3-2-23

YOUNG WOMEN BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
Our cute yw made it into Regionals!  I mean, we really didn't get to play very many teams this season because everyone else was forfeiting, but we had so much fun and did so well when we did, we made it in to the tournament.  I was really nervous for our girls, going into it, since we hadn't had much experience playing other teams, but within the first few minutes of our first game, I knew we had a chance.  We played awesome in the first game and won!!  We were lucky to have both Erika and Kate along with Cameron.  The other girls are great and such awesome cheerleaders and have so much heart, but we relied heavily on Erika and Kate for points and coaching during the games :).  They did so good!  We go on to game 2 tomorrow!!  3-2-23

BRAD AND NOAH TOURNAMENT
After our YW game, we all loaded up to go watch the boys play their tournament game 1.  They did REALLY well!!  It was a lot of fun to cheer them on and enjoy that victory with them.  There was some drama with the other team's coach, but overall, it was a good game.  We kinda killed them.  I was proud of my boys!!  Luke had to miss because he was out on his day date for MORP.  3-2-23

GAME 2- YW
Friday evening finally came and we got to have our second game of the tournament.  We were a little nervous because we were not able to have Cameron or any of the older girls, they were all out on their dates for MORP.  But we had high hopes.  I wish I could do this game justice, just writing about it, but I know I can't.  Our girls did so well though!!  Cute Erika and Kate racked up the points at the beginning.  We were winning by a lot for a really long time.  Kate had to leave about 20 minutes in to the game, so the other team started creeping up on us.  It was harder for Erika to score without another really strong player.  Elise and Lexie totally stepped up to the plate though and scored a few points each.  Cute Allie scored.  There was so much heart in this game you wouldn't believe it!!  Poor Erika was getting so beat up and pretty worn out.  She took only a tiny little break to get a drink and then she was back in.  We were so proud of her!!  I think she felt really good about her performance too.  There was a point where the other team had caught up and we were trying to stay alive and Erika had the ball and was just dribbling over on the side to draw the other team over and just as she was about to go score, Stori's dad's foot inched onto the court and the ref stopped the game.  I was so mad!!  He didn't need to stop the whole game in my opinion.  So anyway, we had to throw the ball in and it was stolen, which was a total bummer.  Then there were a few other missed shots that hurt pretty bad, but I was so proud of our girls!!  They seriously played SO HARD!!  If they'd had another couple minutes we could have pulled ahead for sure.  But really, it was a great game!  I was really proud of them.  And after the game, the ref, even, came up to Erika and told her what a great game she played and that she did so well!  I thought that was awesome!  He was really trying to favor her in the end there, giving her several foul shots.  It really just wasn't meant to be that we win.  I was grateful for the chance to try, but it just wasn't our night to win.  And we were okay with that.  Christie and I were happy we didn't have to give up another date night next week :) haha!!  They did awesome though!  We were so proud of them!  3-3-23

BRAD, LUKE AND NOAH'S GAME 2
After the girls' game we headed over to the Creekview building for their game 2.  They did a great job as well.  Played SO HARD!!  I was so proud of them!!  But they lost also.  The parents on the other team may have killed someone if they hadn't won, so we're all glad we didn't have to find out who it was that took the brunt of their frustrations.  There were plenty of complaints even while they were winning.  3-3-23

STAKE WOMEN'S CONFERENCE
This meeting was a challenge for me.  I think I did okay, I wish these didn't have to be so hard for me, but I think I did okay.  I liked all the reminder to go to the temple and scheduled some temple trips for us coming up.  That was good.  3-4-23

DEEP CLEANING- KITCHEN
When I got home from the stake women's meeting, Nate and the kids were already started on the kitchen!  I was so glad!  This is something our house really needs, so I'm glad it's become a priority to everyone.  We didn't have as much time for the kitchen as I would have liked, but it went well.  3-4-23

MORP
Saturday was MORP!  Bradley and Luke were both going.  The theme was Dynamic Duos so Brad needed a greek God costume which we were able to borrow from the Maughans and Luke's date wanted them to do Peter Pan and Wendy and we were able to whip up a Peter Pan costume for Luke the week prior.  I thought they both looked great!  Their pictures turned out so cute- this was such a fun theme idea.  I wish they had more of those.  But they both seemed to have a lot of fun.  Brad's last girls choice dance!  3-4-23

CAST OFF DAY!!
Sadie and I had really been counting down the days to her getting her cast off.  We were very excited for her to be able to wear pants, boots, walk easier, run, jump, swim!, take baths!!  We were just so anxious!!  So we went on Monday and she was so brave getting it off- even giggled quite a bit because the loud saw was tickling her :).  She did so well and then didn't want to have anything to do with standing or walking on it.  She's struggled to get back into full mobility.  I'm not sure what to do with her.  She still wants me to carry her most places and is needed constant help with going to the bathroom, getting dressed still... so kind of anti-climactic, but I am hopeful that we will get there.  They did say her leg would be kind of tender for a good week or so, so I'll try to be patient.  She's such a good girl, and she's been so tough through it all, I really shouldn't complain.  3-6-23

ACT
Tuesday was free ACT day for Luke and Noah.  So Bradley and Erika got the day off!  We were trying to make the most of it, Erika went to breakfast with Kate.  We played a few games, went to Costa Vida for lunch (we picked up Noah on the way, so he got to go with us as well), and laid around a lot :).  Brad took full advantage of being able  to sleep in and such.  I actually really loved the day.  It's always nice to get a different dynamic going with different people together.  3-7-23

SKITS
Molly was a little nervous to do skits at her activity days this week, but totally braved it and surprised me when she said she did it!!  I was so proud of her!  She did something hard!!  Something she didn't think she could do.  And did well!!  Super cool!!  3-8-23

NOAH FESTIVALS
Noah had his choir festival on Tuesday and then his orchestra one on Wednesday!  Big week for him!  3-8-23

CHARITY'S 21ST BIRTHDAY
We had such a great time celebrating Charity this year!  (Minus the weird "computer gliche" when Texas Roadhouse called us in and weren't actually ready for us)  We drove up with everyone including Aunt Jen and Grandma Ruthie and then met up with Grandpa Hatch, Kelly, and Charity and company (Josh, Kora, and Lindee).  We had fun chatting in the car, laughing at Charity and her funny stories.  Nate and my dad visited in the front seat, talking about the UFO stuff.  It was just nice.  We let Charity open some of her presents out there while we waited.  Next year we will pick a day that ISN'T a FFA convention (or whatever it was).  But we did eventually get seated and the food was good, the company was better and everyone seemed to be having a good time.  The hangry kids got their food and all was well.  Charity got to be the center of attention as she sat on the saddle being sung to.  Fun stuff.  She told us the cute story about how she and Josh held hands for the first time and how their hands were like a millimeter apart for about a half hour of their movie and then she finally went to make the move and he pulled his hand away to fold his arms.  Then later they ended up playing around with their hands and interlocking fingers.  It was cute because I said, "Maybe he wanted to make the first move?" and he goes, "Or maybe I was just totally freaked out!"  So adorable.  Cute kid.  I really like Josh.  Charity seems very happy with him and the way that he treats her.  It's super cute.  We said our goodbyes in the parking lot and drove home.  Sure was great to see my girls.  3-9-23

TEMPLE DATE
Nate and I got to go to the temple finally!!  It was so great!  We had to go to Ogden because I made the appointment kind of last minute.  But we were able to go do an endowment session with all the new changes.  It was really nice.  I kinda liked the new changes and the extra attention it drew.  I love the focus on Christ.  We went to Union Grill for dinner afterwards, my cobb salad was delicious!  3-10-23

DAY OF REST?
Sunday didn't feel very restful this week.  Not sure why, but I felt like I was running around just as much as any other day.  I love the things we did and it was a good day, just not super restful.  I feel like I need more rest in my life right now and I am not getting it or the recharge that Sunday used to be.  Between choir, Preparation for Life firesides, interviews, presidency meetings, the family meeting, etc... just hard to relax.  I think I'm going to revamp our Sundays.  We'll see how that goes.  3-12-23

FAMILY MEETING
We made it to the family meeting this week.  A little late, but we made it.  We got to pick up Becky on the way.  There was a lot going on this week, but everyone seemed pretty attentive.  I liked talking to Nancy for a few seconds.  That's about all I got before it felt like it was time to go.  I wish we had more time to visit.  But it was a good evening.  Grandma gave everyone some treasures to take home :).  3-12-23

CLOSET
I spent a good two hours cleaning out and organizing my side of the closet.  I needed to make room for all the new craft stuff and things from grandma :).  It feels so much better in there!  I'm going to work on some of my drawers tomorrow.  3-13-23

FIRST TRACK MEET OF THE SEASON!
Davis canceled our meet on Wednesday and had it today instead.  It was just a dual meet, against Farmington, kind of chill track meet, so that was kind of nice.  Brad did the 110 hurdles, the 4X200 relay, the long jump and the 4X400.  He did really great in all of his events.  I don't know times, but he got 18.3 on the long jump, possibly the best distance.  Luke did the 110 hurdles, the 4X200 and the 4X400.  He did great as well.  It was a lot of fun to watch him and cheer him on!!  Jack, Molly and Sadie loved cheering as well and then when Erika and Noah got there, they helped too :).  It was a nice time.  Crazy that we're finally here!  3-13-23

COOL LITTLE MIRACLES
I have been better at noticing the miracles that occur in my life on a daily basis and I wanted to document some from the other day.  I was bummed that there weren't any protein bars in the pantry (I've started doing the intermittent fasting with Nate) and I was going to have to get more creative and then just seconds later, Sadie came over to the pantry and pointed up to the left (where I forget to look) and said she wanted one of those- it was the protein bars!  A whole box of them!  Kinda put a smile on my face.  And then the other one I wanted to remember was that I remembered the track meet at kind of the last  minute and needed to grab elementary kids before I could even go up there, but I was able to go grab the kids and get up to the high school JUST IN TIME for the hurdles!!  They're always first thing so I miss them sometimes, but even with the whining and dragging little people over there, we made it!!  I got to watch Brad and Luke both run.  Kinda cool.  Made me happy.  3-13-23

PIE DAY!
The night before Brent's birthday, it occurred to me it was pie day, so I quickly looked up a "breakfast pie" recipe (we didn't have much to make an egg quiche which is what most of the "breakfast pies" were, but) I decided we could make a coffee cake in a pie pan and call that pie :).  I found a really simple one using white cake mix, so that was awesome.  I was so pleased with the reaction from Molly and Sadie about pie day!  Haha!  If you wake one of them up saying, "Good morning! It's ______ day!" With a happy tone, they get so excited!!  It's really fun :).  And fun all morning!  Not just for a minute.  So we had our breakfast pie for breakfast and then for dinner I made some chicken pot pies for dinner and a delicious Oreo pie for dessert.  I realized that I just need the slightest little motivation, like a silly "something" day and I am on top of things.  I had a really productive day, got lots done and cleaned the house and I think it was because we had something silly to look forward to.  Kinda funny.  I did feel horribly ill all night long thanks to all the wheat and sugar I ate, but I was glad for something to motivate me :).  The kids loved it too.  3-14-23

LUNCH WITH DAD
My dad took me out for lunch on Thursday.  We brought Sadie with us, she did so good!  We went to Olive Garden this time, it was really yummy.  I loved this.  We had fun talking and laughing.  It was a really nice visit compared to how things have felt lately.  I think we are going to make it a regular thing- third Thursdays :).  3-16-23

LAST DAY OF THE TERM
We had an awesome last day of the term.  This term stood out for some reason at our house.  We don't usually talk much about the end of the term, but I think everyone had things they were catching up on and wanted certain grades changed before, so this was a big day! It was early out for the Elementary kids even though it was a Thursday, and when everyone got home, we were all just very relieved to have the whole evening to just play and have fun.  We were all anxious for the day off the next day.  I spent a little time working on my hoodies for Leprechaun's day!  That was fun for me and things went SO SMOOTHLY it was a miracle!  I think I only messed up on one little thing, that never happens!!  Nice day!  We watched Shazam with the little kids for our movie night.  3-16-23

LEPRECHAUN'S DAY
This is my favorite holiday!!  It was a great day!  We even had school off so I was able to go all out :).  I loved surprising the kids with their personalized green hoodies first thing in the morning.  I wanted to do hoodies this year and somewhere along the way came up with the idea of putting something they said when they were little on them :).  It was a lot of fun going through my blog looking for funny things for each of them.  Charity's says, "sorry dis" for when she was walking around the Christmas tree excusing herself for bumping presents.  Kelly's says "uh oh doop doop" HA!  Bradley's I found from when he was about 3.  He came into our room to ask Nate if he had to work that day, Nate said, "no, why?" and he said, "I was just asking you that so you would wake up" HAHA!!  Funny kid.  It reminded me of how much he lived for time with Nate.  That was in Eagle Mountain right after Nate got home from OK, so I'm sure he was just anxious to have time with him.  Super cute!  Luke's says, "thank you my highness" HAHAHA!  Noah's says, "I ate my ice cream can I have a treat now?" funny kid.  Erika's was of course, "it bin in da dote" from her whole monkey poop/giraffe poop comment.  Hahaha!  Jack's says, "What you say?" for his constant asking that when he was little.  Makes ya wonder if he had some hearing loss or something.  Molly's says, "I knew it I knew it I knew it" for when she used to say that while we played Apples to Apples.  Funny girl.  And Sadie's hoodie still isn't here, but when it comes I think I'm going to put, "it's fine" on it.  She got a little green shirt with a rainbow on it.  I was so happy to make these even though I know they may never wear them in public :).  But they liked them in the moment.  Then we finally got the kids all up and were able to start our Pot of Gold Scavenger Hunt!!  This ended up being a lot of fun, I just wish I hadn't made so many tasks.  It was funny to see their faces change when they realized I wasn't making them do a bunch of housework for the tasks :).  I'll have to post the paper I wrote up.  It was fun.  Lots of time together.  The boys had to skip out and do track which was a bummer.  But we went to lunch with Becky in the middle and were able to get the whole thing done and found the pot of gold before Nate and I needed to leave for our Brian Regan show.  This was another highlight!  We had so much fun!!  Grabbed Zupas on the way downtown.  We weren't sure about the start time because the tickets said one thing, my calendar said another, and then the schedule on Eccles theater site said another!  So we got there as soon as we could and hung out waiting for an hour.  We got lots of things planned and talked about- that was actually really nice. Brian was hilarious.  Along with the guy before him- Kermit Upeo? not sure how to spell his last name.  But we had so much fun!  My abs hurt in the morning.  I loved it!!  Merry Christmas to Nate :).  3-17-23

TRACK MEET- SALT LAKE CLASSIC
We had a track meet down in Draper this Saturday.  We had planned on taking everyone down there, but with how many events the boys were doing and since Nate had a bunch of things he needed to get done on his last half a day off, he opted to stay home with all the littles and I went to the meet.  They canceled two of our meets so this was only our second and I've been really anxious for Track this season, so I was super excited to go.  Brad's long jump was first thing- I stood there for a good hour to watch him jump :).  The parents around me were all new to the track game, so I was able to help them out and give them the link to the meet.  Felt good.  I got to watch all three of Brad's jumps, he did AWESOME!  18.8 on his first one!  Then I raced up to the stands to catch Luke's hurdles!  It was pretty crazy how close those two events were to each other.  Luke did awesome!  Even caught himself after snagging the last hurdle.  Then not long after that, Luke surprisingly ran the 4X100 and did awesome!  his team didn't win, but he did awesome!  Then I got a text from Becky asking if I was there, telling me that Alicia was there!  I was so excited to go down to the end of the track and watch the pole vault with Becky and Alicia.  I loved meeting her cute kids and being able to hear about her year.  It was so nice to be there.  I got to go watch Brad's 4X200 which he won!  So fun!  Then I found Kelly and Cam, we went and watched Brad's 300 Hurdles, which he won!  He really did so awesome!  I took Kelly and Brad over to meet Alicia, then Kelly left, Brad left, I stayed to watch Henry do pole vault and visit some more and then it was time to go.  I picked up Kelly and we stopped at Wendy's house on the way home.  That was actually really cool.  I loved seeing Wendy!  We've been having fun on Marco Polo lately and hearing about her mom has been awesome.  It's just really fun to rekindle that relationship.  Kelly was cute with Carter.  We hurried home, stopped at Mo betta's and waited for Charity, Josh and Kora to show up!  3-18-23

CHARITY AND KELLY
We had a fun little game night Saturday night with the girls and their friends here.  It was pretty late so the younger kids were off a little, but it was still really fun.  They spent the night and went to church with us the next day.  So fun!  The whole ward wants to know about Charity's boy and why he had his arm around her all through Sacrament meeting :).  3-18-23--3-19-23

A NEW KIND OF SUNDAY
After our FHE Monday, changing how we want to run things for Sunday, we came up with some new ideas- traditions- that we want to do each week.  Puffy Pancake for breakfast, church music playing (I was going to make a new playlist, forgot to do that), a craft (painting the russian dolls to look like us), relaxation, dessert (apple crisp), go on a walk.  We did most of it and it was great!  I really loved it.  I think the kids did too.  It was fun that we had Kelly, Charity, Josh, Kora sleep over the night before and were able to enjoy their company for most of the day.  They left around 2:00. 3-18-23

BRAD'S LAST GAME
My heart sank a little as we were watching Brad's games Monday night that they were his last two games, possibly ever on an organized team.  Makes me a little sad.  I know these kids are all growing up and I am trying really hard to prepare myself for it all, but it's so hard.  I hope that Brad finds other teams to play on though.  He's mentioned playing with the Elders, etc.  But for now, he is going to take it easy on his ankles and knees so that he can have a decent track season.  I'm so proud of him and all that he has done with his basketball skills and life.  He was such a fun player to watch.  He was usually the star of the team, but you hardly knew it because he was so good at NOT being a ball hog.  I almost didn't like it sometimes because I wanted to watch HIM score :).  SO MANY assists, so many proud moms and happy teammates who got a chance because of him.  I just really love that Brad is himself out on the court.  He doesn't turn into a different person.  He still treats others with respect and makes his family proud.  I have loved this Roy team he was on this year.  Something about this team and the refs and the way it is put together made it really entertaining and a nice little treat to watch.  Unfortunately, this last two games didn't quite feel like that.  The first game was to determine who would go on to play against the other championship team and we won that one- pretty close game, but we won and then had to play back to back games for the championship.  Kind of a rip off if you ask me, but it was a Roy team that we played, so maybe there was something to that.  The refs were horrible these games.  I'm not sure what it was.  So many missed calls and so many upset parents, it got really heated and then with 16 seconds left, we were five points down, the ref called the game.  She was sick of the complaining from everyone, including Mike Flood who got kicked out.  It was sad.  Kind of a weird way to end the season and Brad's last game.  But I can't say he didn't do a great job.  He played a good game, played hard.  No regrets whatsoever.  I was really just so proud of him.  He seemed happy afterwards and agreed with me that it was kind of sad it was his last game possibly ever.  We have had a few moments lately where we are both realizing he is moving on.  Kinda crazy.  I'm sad and happy for him.  He's going to do big things!!  So many big things!!  I really get excited when I think about all that that kid can do and will do in his life ahead.  I'm really just so proud of him.  3-19-23

NOAH CCR
We had an awesome CCR appointment with Noah.  Very informative and helpful.  I think this will be really useful for him.  I want to remember there's a webiste for help with finding out the career best suited for you.  I think a lot of my kids could use that.  Noah is too cool.  I'm excited to see what he ends up doing with his schooling.  3-20-23

KELLY OBGYN
Well, we finally made it to the blessed OBGYN appointment and as usual, it was very underwhelming.  It's so frustrating to get our hopes up and think we've reached the end of the wild goose chase and then they wow us with yet another referral.  Who knew there was more to this.  We did learn a lot about Kelly's hormone levels and where she's at there, and got some information there.  No answers or solutions yet of course, but it was nice to know how her hormones were three months ago and why she was referred to OBGYN.  Her hormone levels are similar to those of a post menopausal woman.  She is experiencing Premenopause.  Kinda weird.  She tested negative for all the diseases that reflect that of course, but good to know.  Unfortunately, this OBGYN doc couldn't do a thing about it, so she ran some more blood tests to confirm the previous one (and can I add THREE!), which is always so exciting.  She did get to endure a pelvic exam which showed no problems there.  Awesome.  But as usual, she was referred to an REI doctor.  Probably will take a few more months to get in with them which sucks, but whatever.  Kelly is tough.  I guess we could find out just how tough she is.  I love that girl.  I wish I could take away her pain and trials.  I really wish I could just give her my easy life and let her relax for a while, but she's Kelly.  She has to be tried at the level Kelly can be tried at.  I know she's hurting and stressed, but she is handling it like a champ. I hope she can be blessed with the strength to keep pushing on.  She's so awesome.  I'm so proud of her!  Here's to another three months of waiting for a stupid doctor appointment.  Hopefully there's answers at the end.  3-22-23

ERIKA OPEN GYM
Open gym started and even though Erika knows she's going to be running several miles after school for track, she still had the guts to get up at 5:00 and go tto open gym Thursday.  She's planning on going every week!  I'm so proud of her and her hard work!  It's not easy for her to get up early and she gets so worn out with all the track stuff, so I am beyond impressed with this girl!!  So cool.  3-23-23

LUNCH WITH MARIANNE
We had another nice lunch this week.  We went to Blaze pizza.  I'm loving this and enjoy talking with her so much.  I hope she is benefiting too.  3-23-23

SNOW
We've been getting SO MUCH SNOW lately!!  Like it looks like Christmas outside!  It's been so beautiful!  But also so frustrating for our Track season!  Poor Brad and Luke's meets keep getting canceled because of the weather.  We missed another one Friday because of the snow and they've already moved Wednesday's to Tuesday based on the reports.  Kinda nuts!!  This is supposed to be Brad's big season!  His last season!  So we've been annoyed.  But hopefully it will clear up enough for the district meet Tuesday.  He has had some awesome runs though!  I've been so proud of him!  3-24-23

DATE NIGHT
We got our date night this week, on Friday, but we got it.  We went to Blue Fin and then to the store for ingredients for Nate's Salmon Dip to put inside the bunny belly for the family party.  Then we went to see the movie Shazam II.  Pretty entertaining.  Not one I want my kids to see, unfortunately, since there were some really fun parts, but pretty entertaining.  I just enjoyed being with Nate.  3-24-23

DIPPIN DOTS
This is just kind of funny.  As we were leaving on our date, I looked down at the ground and the snow falling looked a lot like dippin dots :).  It was basically hail.  So I quickly sent Erika (who was babysitting) a text saying, "Looks like dippin dots outside!"  Thinking she would want to show the kids and have something fun to look at.  Well, when we got home, someone said something about the snow looking like dippin dots and I thought they had gone out when I texted, but then Erika informed us that she had thought I was texting her that there were dippin dots outside in the freezer to eat.  SO they went out and got the dippin dots in the freezer and ate those rather than going out and looking at the snow. HA!  Kinda funny.  And pretty rare that we have dippin dots in our freezer, so kind of funny that way too!  3-24-23

DEEP CLEAN
I'm so proud of us!  We've been so good at our deep cleaning!  One hour on both bathrooms today!  Everyone works together, we all get the space cleaned up and organized, and we all get to enjoy the clean space for a few hours :) HA!  Just kidding.  They look great though!  I was really glad we still did it.  3-25-23

EASTER PARTY
We had a fun Maynes Family Easter Party.  Everyone was there!  Well, not everyone but SO MANY PEOPLE!!  It was super crowded.  I really think for these parties where we have games and stuff, we really need to have it at a church.  But it was still really fun!  Different but fun!  There were salads for lunch (the meat didn't go very far), Then a new way to get easter eggs- the kids would try to get the older people to say the Easter words on the paper hanging up and then they could steal an egg from them.  Kinda cool.  It took a minute to teach Molly and Sadie how to do it, but they were all in after that.  They ended up with quite the haul by the end!  Lots of eggs full of candy!  I think they liked it.  I smiled when we got home and I realized Molly had purposely brought her gloves in her easter basket (borrowed from the storage room cuz she couldn't find hers) to wear because I think she thought they were going to be hunting for them in the snow :).  How cute is that!  She's a planner sometimes!  Makes me smile.  Then we did a little cake walk thing for the bunny shaped treats everyone made.  We had brought some cookies that Molly slaved over and iced to look really cute and some rolls in the shape of two bunnies with Nate's salmon dip in the tummy.  They were awesome until we put them next to everyone else's treats.  Oh well.  Ya can't win 'em all.  There was some mix up at the end and apparently people like sweets rather than rolls and salmon dip, so we ended up with one of ours.  Totally fine with me.  We said goodbye to Nate nad then packed up to leave as well.  Everyone was so hungry because nobody likes salads, we stopped for some Little Caesar's on the way home.  I just love my kids.  They are the best!  Becky did a great job on this party.  3-25-23

SATURDAY FUN
We struggled coming up with an idea this week for fun, but then the church gym was calling everyone's name.  We went over to the church, played some lightning, some chair soccer and then got kicked out because someone had the church reserved.  Bummer.  But it was fun while it lasted.  We came home, got baths and then watched High School Musical.  It was a nice evening.  I liked it.  3-25-23

SUNDAY
This was our second Sunday with our new plans.  Puffy pancake, clay pen craft, sticky popcorn for dessert!  No walk since it is freezing.  I thought it went really well.  3-26-23

BRAD'S PHYSICAL
We finally went in for Brad's mission physical!  This was exciting.  Dr. Woods even took it very seriously, had fun telling some stories about his own mission call to Portugal (the ONLY place he didn't want to go).  They said he needed one shot and then forgot to give it to him, but he went back to get the TB test read the next day and then a few days later to get his other one.  We're getting closer!  3-27-23

LUNCH WITH HEIDI
WE met up with Heidi, Alyssa and Porter for lunch at McD's.  That was fun.  I grabbed a salad for Heidi and I at Chick-fil-a, the kids ate and played.  It was a nice break from the day.  There was a bunch of chaos and confusion from the High school because the door to the locker room was locked, Brad wasn't able to get in and get his spikes out of his gym locker.  I was really irritated that the school wasn't doing anything to fix it.  Called a few times, made a fool of myself.  Did nothing.  Pretty frustrating, but we all made it up to Syracuse for the Track Meet and Brad did awesome!  Victor said it was because of his lucky spikes Brad was wearing :).  Luke did a great job too!!  3-28-23

DATE NIGHT WITH DAN AND ADELE
We finally made it up to Bue Fin with Dan and Adele!  This was a lot of fun.  It's always nice to spend time with them.  We went to see Dungeons and Dragons after.  3-29-23

GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND
We had a great weekend!  Very edified in word and spirit.  And we ate lots of treats ;).  This conference was great!  There were so many good talks.  I really loved it.  I liked using the pictures of the Apostles for the girls to learn a little more about them and the BINGO cards.  I had some prizes for the last session since the girls were getting a little restless near the end there.  I loved watching the kids get into it this year- most of them stayed away most of the time!  Very impressive.  Brad found a cool new method of taking notes- that was cool.  It was just a really great time!  4-1-23--4-2-23

FEBRUARY 2023

 HEIDI'S HOUSE
Sadie and I finally made it over to Heidi's to play with Alyssa and Porter- this was a fun visit!  It's fun to see our kids playing together and having fun.  Sadie and Porter have come a long way :).  2-2-23

ERIKA'S KJH SEASON
Her season is winding down.  Kind of sad, but also good.  She was getting pretty worn out with all the practices, early mornings, and stress of the new thing.  She did SO WELL!!  I was so proud of her all season!!  We loved the home game when Mrs. Burns came to show support to Erika and Kate and Grandma and Grandpa Hatch made it to a few as well.  She has had a lot of fun, a lot of growth.  It's really exciting to think about the future when she will be able to play longer and even more exciting games!  Fun stuff!!  2-2-23

BRAD AND LUKE'S TEAM
Thursday nights have been Brad and Luke's games.  They have had a rough season, losing most of the games.  They are both playing great, just not a lot of reliable players on their team.  Kind of a bummer.  But it's fun to watch them play together one last year and fun to sit and visit with my friend Krista :).  2-2-23

LUKE'S 17th BIRTHDAY!
I had fun making Luke's sign the morning of :).  We had crepes for breakfast.  He had to go to school which is always a bummer.  Then we spent the evening getting ready for his super short party.  Grandpa Hatch and Heidi and her kids came.  We hurried through cake and ice cream, presents, and singing to Luke.  Then raced off to the Olympic Oval to watch Brad do his triple jump!  Kind of a crazy evening!  It was fun to have Charity and Kelly meet up with us there and since they were WAY behind, we were able to sit and visit for a couple hours!!  So fun!!  I actually really loved that part of the day.  I felt bad Luke had to share his birthday, but I also knew that we were going to be throwing him a surprise party the next week, so I knew he would be happy about that when it came.  He was so sweet about all of his gifts- drone, squishmallow hamburger, comfy... lots of fun stuff- and so grateful.  It's crazy that he's 17, but it looks good on him!!  So proud of him!!  2-3-23

LEATHERBY'S FOR GRANDPA RUSS
We all went down to Leatherby's to celebrate Grandpa Russ.  This was nice!  I got to sit and visit with Liz the whole time.  And watch my boys be adorable.  Fun times.  Happy Birthday, Russ!!  We miss you!!  2-4-23

BRAD PATRIARCHAL BLESSING
I know I've said this before, but this is definitely one of the coolest thing I've been able to be part of as a mom so far.  It strengthens my testimony so much!  Especially of the Priesthood!!  Brad was a little nervous I could tell, and he'd been fasting so his tummy was grumbling the whole time, but he seemed like such a grown up there.  And it didn't help that Patriarch Huls was calling him a man the whole time :).  He really is!!  And what a cool blessing he received!!  I was in awe at this kid after that.  I really don't think I can treat my kids the same after hearing their blessings.  They are just so special!!  So neat!!!  I hope he wrote about it in his journal :).  I loved it!  (that morning I realized that I had received my blessing just one day later, 29 years ago on 2-6-1994- pretty cool!) 2-5-23

JACK'S DATE
We finally got to take Jack out for his dinner with Mom and Dad!  This was a great time and he was so awesome to talk to.  He is such a cool kid!  I'm so proud of him and all that he is learning and thinking about.  Such a good boy!!  2-6-23

BRAD'S FUN GAME AGAINST TONGA
Brad's team was totally nervous to play this team because they had a giant kid and had won all the games up til then (just like us, but Brad's team was still pretty nervous).  They had spent a lot of time hyping themselves up!  It ended up being one of the most fun games I have ever seen!!!  SO MUCH FUN!!  I mean, Brad made like 13 points within the first few minutes of the game!  We were ahead by at least that much the entire game!  The only time they really gained on us was when they took Tyler and Brad out at the same time, but they fixed that pretty quickly.  65-32 was the final score!  HA!!  Brad scored almost 30 of those!!  He made 12 out of 13 shots, four three point shots, had SO MANY assists!!  It was INSANE!!!  SO FUN!!  I seriously loved it!  I would have paid money to see that game :).  So fun.  2-6-23

NOAH'S PERMIT
We were able to get Noah over to the DLD and he passed his first test and earned his driving permit!!  Wahoo!  We stopped at the church to practice for his first time, in the van, and then we've gone several other times in the week in the Prius.  He's loving it!!  Such a crazy thing to have him driving already, but I think he's ready!!  He's even tall enough now!  So cool!  2-7-23

MOLLY ACTIVITY DAYS
Molly had such a fun activity.  They did the cool icing for the sugar cookies.  I was excited for her to do the activity cuz I knew she would love it and then when she brought her cookies home I was shocked!!  Her cookies looked AMAZING!!!  Even Lindsey texted me after to tell me that Molly's were the most amazing by far!!  Kinda cute!!  And I was happy to hear she's not too shy there :).  Fun stuff.  2-8-23

YW BASKETBALL
Our YW season has been really fun as well.  And is also winding down.  Unless we make it to regions.  Which would be pretty funny considering how young and small our team is.  Nobody in the stake showed up all season so we played ourselves mostly.  We only lost by one point though when we finally played a big team, so that says a lot.  It's been so much fun!!  Erika and Kate are basically our stars :).  They've been helping the younger girls so much, which has been so fun.  Good times!!  2-9-23

TEETH CLEANING
Unfortunately, I found out I need some cavities refilled.  Such a bummer.  I've been doing so good!  2-10-23

DATE NIGHT
We went to Texas Roadhouse and then came home to watch a movie with the kids :).  Such a nice time walking through the mall and talking while we waited.  I just love this man I married.  2-10-23

REC BASKETBALL ERIKA
Erika had some rough back to back games this week.  She wasn't too happy after and learned some hard lessons, but I was so proud of her and how hard she pushed herself!  Even with a VERY jammed finger!!  The other coach had even purposely expoited her injury.  2-11-23

LUKE'S SURPRISE PARTY!
We had so much fun planning this party and getting things all ready for it.  Brad helped so much!  We decided to go to Uncle Mark's breakroom!  It was so nice of Mark and Nancy to sacrifice their Saturday night to let us use the breakroom.  They have everything there and Luke has been talking about it since the last time we went there, so we were sure he would love it :).  Brad took him to the store and then his friends all came and waited and waited while Brad took a minute to bring Luke back- haha!  But they came, everyone jumped out to surprise Luke, he was SHOCKED!!  Even went a little white- it was so cute!!  We drove everyone out to Sandy and had pulled pork sandwiches and waffle bar for dessert with lots of yummy treats and snacks in between.  It was so much fun!!  He has some fun friends.  He looked happy and that made me happy :).  Happy birthday Luke!!  2-11-23

STEVE'S 35th BIRTHDAY
We went up to Grandpa's for Steve's birthday on Superbowl Sunday this year.  I forgot it was the superbowl.  It was a very chaotic night, with the kids screaming and the echo and such, but I was glad I got to talk with Steve quite a bit and spoiled him with a really yummy, Reese's cake.  He loved it :).  I was happy about that.  I have the best little brother on the planet.  I hope he knows how much I love him.  2-12-23

LUNCH DATE WITH BRAD
My mom came to watch Sadie, so Brad and I were able to go on a date!  We went to Chick-fil-a and Pretzel bites after.  It was such a great time talking with him.  It's been a while since we were able to do something like that.  I love my Brad.  He's such a good kid!!  I can't even imagine my life without him right now.  Such a good kid.  2-13-23

VALENTINE BOXES
Molly's box was a fun idea I had, a hot air balloon.  She and I pulled this off quite nicely!  She really loved it and her eyes grew so big when we got the balloon filled with helium :).  It was so cute!  She worked really hard tying all the ribbons on the basket and then I got the thought that maybe she couldn't take that with the latex balloon.  Luckily Ms. Smith didn't mind.  When she got out of the car on Tuesday someone goes, "WHOA!!" and I think she suddenly became embarrassed about how big it was and kind of tried to hold it down and close to her after that.  I hope it was okay.  She seemed happy with it at school when we stopped to say hi, and then again at home when she was showing off the goods.  Such a cute girl.  Jack's box was an idea he came up with after browsing Pinterest a little.  He didn't want to buy anything for it and didn't seem to want any help.  But he pulled off a very cool little basketball court!  So fun!!  He is such a good boy, so good at creating things too!  2-13-23

VALENTINE'S DAY
We had an awesome Valentine's day this year!!  I made pink waffles for breakfast and threw in lots of pink and red in their lunches.  We got the kids off with their boxes and cards (actually Fun Dip :) ), then Sadie and I went and did some last minute shopping of our own.  Then we created a game for Jack's class party and enjoyed a visit from Richelle Pearce- we played Jumanji and Richelle (or Michelle as Sadie calls her) gave us her leftover eggs before she leaves for Hawaii.  That was so fun of her.  Then we headed out for Jack's party!  We did Fish Bowl, which ended up being a bit of a struggle for his class.  Not sure why.  They weren't listening to the instructions.  But anyway.  We came home, Dad gave everyone their chocolate caramel hearts and then Nate and I headed out for our date!  Friday I will be at Simplot so we moved our date to Heart day!  We decided to risk going out to eat- went to Blue Fin.  They told us the wait would be an hour and a half and we only waited for about 15 minutes!  Kinda nice!!  The food was amazing as always!  Good conversation- I am so thankful for Nate.  So glad that he's mine!  I just love having him in my life.  We are my favorite team.  We came home, gave each other our gifts- I gave him a Jazz shirt, hat, almonds, werthers, and a basketball standard for the door.  He gave me a cute penguin warmie, heart stuffed animals that magnet together- SO CUTE! and a really sweet Willow Tree figure of a wife and husband with the wife standing behind the husband arm around him.  I love it!!  We said goodbye to Nate- he was working the mid, watched the rest of the kids' movie and then went to bed!  Good times!  2-14-23

FAMILY FUN
Charity wanted us to meet her new boyfriend Josh, so we quickly planned a very special family dinner/basketball game :).  We were so excited, cleaned up the house, waited :), Kelly, Charity, her friend Kora and Josh all came and we ate chicken tacos/salad.  It was a really nice dinner!  I loved it!  Josh was really nice, really polite!  It was fun to see them both so happy and flirting.  We got all ready to leave and then realized the van key was in the Prius that Brad and Luke took to their game, early.  We frantically looked for the other key, couldn't find it, thought about asking Krista for a ride, and then realized we still have the kids' car, so we searched for that key :).  Luckily, Brad answered his phone and told me where it was.  This was chaotic, but then Nate (in Charity's car with all the friends) and I all went to the wrong place!  Their games were usually at Farmington Gym, but this one was at centennial.  Kinda lame!  So we missed the first half of the game.  Kind of a bummer!!  BUT the last half of the game was so much fun!  Almost made up for it!  We loved having Charity there to help cheere for their last game.  We even had Sierra and Matt there as well along with a lot of Brad's friends!  So much fun!!!  After the game, Brad, Luke and their friends took SADIE and some girls to McD's :).  Charity, Kelly and their friends went to visit Lindee home from her mission.  The rest of us came home to get NOah and Erika from Youth Activities.  It was a very full evening for sure!!  Everyone ended up back here and we all got to stay up and talk, asking questions and having so much fun till midnight!!  So crazy.  I'm really feeling it this next day!  not my favorite.  But lots of fun!!  I love my family!!  2-15-23

TRAIN RIDE 
Sadie and I got to go to Owen's birthday party on Thursday.  It was a train party so we rode the train up to Ogden and had some treats, games and train whistles on the way there, then got back on and rode home.  It was a lot of fun.  I could tell that Sadie got a little over-stimulated by the end.  She was such an angel to begin with.  We had picked up Lacy to bring her along and she and Lacy were having so much fun together on the elevator and on the train in the beginning, but slowly lost it's thrill.  Sadie has a shorter attention span.  But we had a lot of fun playing BINGO and talking about the train.  She did really well.  2-16-23

SIMPLOT
Brad decided to try Simplot this year!  Erika and I were thrilled to go and be his cheering section!  Thursday, we all rode up together, just after lunch.  We got to the Arena in time for Brad to warm up and get ready for his hurdles.  This is the biggest indoor track meet in the nation!  Pretty amazing!  He did so great on his hurdles!  He had the 4X200 on Friday and did really well on that one too!  I was very impressed when he passed the other team after being pretty far behind from the first two runners.  His ankle was hurting quite a bit after the 200 so he opted out of the other relay he was supposed to be in and chose to save his ankle for his Triple Jump.  Unfortunately, the Triple Jump did not go as well as he had hoped.  The track there was quite the challenge and made it really difficult.  But we were so proud of him!! Thursday night we all had dinner at Costa Vida, watched some movies, did some shopping and had some fun navigating Pocatello.  Friday night we let Brad go hang out with his teammates at the pool and rooms while Erika and I went to Red Robin for dinner and then to see the new Antman Quantumania movie.  We had a lot of fun, loved the movie.  Then headed back to our room for another movie and our delicious dessert.  On Saturday, we had fun getting lunch at Jimmy Johns in between events.  Then my Aunt Bambi showed up for Brad's Triple Jump on Friday afternoon so I got to visit with her and meet her new husband, Kell.  That was pretty cool of her to come up for that.  On Saturday we got up and out of our hotel pretty quick, didn't bother going to the Arena for the Finals and just headed home.  First we stopped at my Great Grandparents' house, Grandma and Grandpa Mottishaw's grave, and to stop and visit Bambi for a few more minutes.  It was nice.  I loved this trip- it was long enough to relax and short enough to not feel like a burden.  Fun times.  I was really proud of Brad for competing and putting himself out there and for doing so well in so many events.  Cool kid.  Thanks goes to Nate for being the single parent for the few days.  He's a rockstar and way better at my job than I am.  2-16-23--2-18-23

PRESIDENT'S DAY
This was kind of a lazy day for us.  Didn't do much.  But we did get to go to Brad's basketball game in the evening.  Kinda nice.  2-20-23

NOAH CHERRY HILL
Noah applied for Cherry Hill, went to his interview and got another job there, all by himself.  So proud of this kid!  He is headed to great things with his ability to take initiative.  Good job Noah!  2-21-23

PIPE AND DRAPE ASSEMBLY
This annoyed me more than it should have probably, but I went to put up the pipes and drapes again as usual and they had recruited a bunch of other people to help, so there were too many cooks in the kitchen and I had way more on my mind that I needed to focus on than this dumb little assignment, so I was irritated.  We got done way before the job was supposed to be over, but I just left anyway.  Kind of annoyed.  I should have been happy I was done early, but I was left feeling like I didn't do enough for some reason.  Whatever.  It's done.  2-21-23

CHOIR CONCERT- NOAH
We got to go watch Noah perform in his choir concert!  That was awesome.  I really love that Mr. Simon is the choir director.  He does a great job!  I loved all the technical songs and that they sang them so well.  Took me back to 7th grade choir with Mr. Farley- he was awesome.  Noah did great!  I loved hearing him sing!  2-21-23

ERIKA BASKETBALL TEAM BANQUET
We got to go enjoy Nate's pulled pork in the presence of Erika's team and parents on Wednesday!  This was a really cool banquet that felt like the coach had put on.  She did a great job.  I loved hearing her passion for basketball, photography and making photo videos :).  I could totally relate.  She made the cutest video of all the girls.  I loved seeing Erika in her element and loved that she's had that team this year!  I think it was so great for her.  She got to bring home a picture of her and some fun treats and a sweet note from one of the captains.  She's really going to miss the varsity girls next year, but I think she's pretty excited for next year overall.  2-22-23

MOLLY ACTIVITY DAYS
Molly is loving her activity days so far.  They did a getting to know you thing and now a writing thing.  She has some great leaders and all the girls are so fun.  2-22-23

DATE NIGHT THURSDAY
With YM/YW basketball over with, we were able to move our date night to Thursday this week so that we could do Jack's play on Friday.  We went out for sushi- it was delicious. 2-23-23

FAMILY HISTORY CENTER
I am working on Brad's graduation book and needed to scan a whole bunch of pictures, so I went to the Family History Center.  I had a little trouble getting started, but this cute service missionary was very helpful and stood and talked my ear off for a good half hour after ;).  He has some version of Autism and was explaining his life and that he was an only child and that he wishes he had siblings so that he could have a support system.  I loved the thought that my kids have such a large support system, having so many siblings.  He was telling me he is going to write a book.  I was going to look for it when it comes out but now I can't remember his name.  I think it was James Tanner.  I might be wrong.  But anyway.  I got all of my pictures scanned and work on the book continues ;).  Thanks to Nate, Sadie was well entertained while we were there.  2-24-23

ORCHESTRA CONCERT- NOAH AND ERIKA
We heard about this concert at the last minute, but we were able to squeeze it in before the play and LOVED it!  I just love hearing the bass cleft and knowing that's my kids!!  It's a fun part to play if you ask me.  They all did great!  We were happy to have the grandmas and Jen with us.  It was kind of a chaotic evening, but we made it work!  2-24-23

SHREK JR- JACK
We finally got to go see the fruits of all of Jack's labor!!  He's worked so hard on this play, it was fun to finally see it.  Friday night was our family night to see it, we had Nate, me, Charity, Kelly, Brad, Luke, Erika, Molly, Sadie, Grandma Hatch, Grandma Ruthie, Aunt Jen, and Charity's friend Josh also to cheer him on Friday night.  He did awesome!  I love seeing him on stage- he just shines!  It's been a fun outlet for him and I think he really enjoys it.  He was Young Shrek, got to be in the very first scene! and did awesome at it!  Then he was also Jack and the Beanstalk.  He was cute to yell out his "name" during the one song.  He really wanted a speaking part this year, maybe next year though!  Then Saturday night, we had Grandpa Hatch and Jo, Steve, Noah and I.  He did great both nights.  I think he loved the candy bouquet I made him :).  Can't wait til next year!  2-24-23--2-25-23

DEEP CLEANING
We've started our spring cleaning while it's still really cold outside :).  We did the living room first.  It went pretty well.  I'm hoping to get a room a week done.  We'll see how it goes.  Everyone was really helpful for the most part.  2-25-23

KELLY
I got a phone call from Kelly, Monday morning, telling me she had been let go from her 911 Dispatching job.  This was so sad.  I felt so bad for her.  She has worked SO HARD for this and was mostly loving it so much.  It was so hard to imagine that CRPS could be getting in the way of yet another thing she loved and wanted to do so badly.  She has since decided that it may have been for the best and realizing that she would have let the stress of that job eat her up, she realizes she might be better off.  It's been hard to watch, but I'm so proud of her and the way that she is enduring life.  She really has been through so much, it's painful to watch, but she bounces back and is able to look on the bright side so well.  I just really couldn't be more proud of her.  I hope she is getting the emotional exercise she needs for this life.  (she of course got turned down by the guy she was liking, kneed in the ribs, possibly breaking one or two, and then got tonsilitis all in the same week!  This girl is a brick wall!)  BRICK WALL!!!  2-27-23

ERIKA DR. WOODS
We were able to get Erika in to see Dr. Woods this week.  This appointment ended up being more than we'd planned.  She got to have a mini pelvic exam- ugh- and found out she has an imperforate hymen.  So she will most likely be needing a procedure done in a few months to take care of that.  I'm really hopeful that it will help with her pain.  Not sure if it will, but at least we know that's the cause of her monthly pain she's been dealing with the past few months.  We'll see how this goes.  2-27-23

SADIE
Sadie was playing with something she was calling a map and said, "Let's see what the map has to say about that." HA!  Funny girl.  2-27-23

HEAVY
Life got really heavy this week with all the different challenges our kids have been facing.  It was really hard not to feel the weight of it all as parents.  So Nate decided we needed to go out.  We went out on Tuesday night this week :).  We went to Sushi Monster and were able to talk through a lot of the things ahead and make some plans and kind of team up.  It was nice.  It's crazy to think that things are only going to get more and more challenging as time goes by.  Hopefully we can also get better at it.  We'll see.  2-28-23

DECEMBER PHOTOS