Enough is enough!

While we were home in Arizona, Taryn was trying to drop a hint that she was through with formula. We've had to keep her on formula because my girls stomach can't handle regular milk until they are about 2. But while we were home Taryn found the powder very entertaining. Three times she opened a full can of formula and dumped it out all over someones house. First was Brian and Lanae's, the Vonda's newly cleaned floors, and the last was at Grandma Maurine's, which she thought it might also be fun to add orange juice to the formula powder to make a nice paste that sticks to everything.

Oh, how I love her.

Needless to say, I stopped buying formula.

The hunt!

Aunt Vonda was nice enough to let all the Hatch invade her home for Easter dinner and festivities. After a delicious meal, and enjoying the delightful company, we sent the kids to the front yard so that the Easter Bunny could work his magic in the backyard. I always try to prepare my kids for the hunt but they lack the aggressive drive necessary to acquire eggs when hunting with the Pros of the sport. Fortunately, we had a few older cousins who helped my kids find some success.

Taryn found three eggs and a stuffed animal from Aunt Vonda's toy room which satisfied her Easter fix.

We decided to find a piece of shade to enjoy the spoils.

Grandma likes to play a Easter Question and Answer game with the kids after the hunt. Upon answering her deep doctrinal question on the resurrection, the kids win dollar store prizes from Grandma. It's loads for fun and a crack up to hear the kids try on answer the questions. My favorite was these two little men, who were cracking each other up.

I love this picture of my niece, Kam. The bucket, glasses and her serious determination to answer Grandma questions. I love her.

Kendall found a willing adult to allow her to open all the candy her heart desires. As you can see from the look on her face, unless it's chocolate, Kendall would rather feed it to the dog.

In the first pictures she's think, "Who put this lame bubblegum in my bucket?"

But in the second, she's say, "Now this is what I'm talking about?"

Down Home Fun!

Our first week in Arizona we spend in Jo City visiting my parent and sister and her family. I had forgot how much kids love everything about this small town.
First off everyone owns a dog, which is the greatest thing ever to my kids. Not to mention the dozens of other farm animals in every ones backyard.
Also dirt is a cheap toy. And for some reason sandy dirt was particular interesting to my kids. Maybe it's because there is so little grass, dirt in easily accessed.
Speedy's was also a hit with my kids. Speedy's is the only store in town. The other grand kids call Speedy's the "Candy Store!" We became reacquainted with their greasy bean and cheese burritos. What a treat!

And you can't forget baking with Grandma and teasing Grandpa. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Hatch for letting us enjoy a relaxing week in small town Jo City.

The highlight of our stay in Jo City would have to be chasing chickens. Kamryn the resident professional chicken catcher instructed my children on the art of catching a chicken. The real problem is overcoming ones fear to just grab the feathered creature, but it's difficult to do, even for me. Garrett quite quickly abandoned all hope of catching a chicken and moved on to jumping on the tramp and digging the dirt. But Kendall was obsessed with those stinking hens. Sweet Kam would catch them and taught Kendall the proper way to put that chicken under you arm and on our hip to carry them around.

Easter morning

Although Garrett enjoyed the surprise of the Easter basket, he wasn't that interested in the candy, unlike Kendall who wanted to gobble it all up. But he was a bit concerned that the Easter Bunny forgot to hide the eggs over night, so he had to wait till after church for the Bunny to come back again just to hide eggs.

Forgetful Bunny!

I love these pictures of Taryn but wish my stinking photoshop would work so that I could fix them up. Oh, she's yummy!

Note for future reference:

We each come into our marriage with different family traditions, good and bad. The Hatch family traditions included Easter baskets full of goodies and toys that the Easter Bunny left for you along side your Easter dress, hat, gloves, shoes, and new fancy tights. He'd hide eggs and prizes in the house or backyard. (Which the Easter Bunny totally forgot to do the night before this year. Lazy Bunny!) To some this may be a little over board, but to me it's a memory I cherished as a child and want for my children. We also went to church talked about the meaning of Easter and great blessing of our Savior.

This year we celebrated Easter morning at the Jones' (Grandma and Grandpa Jones' house). Keith and I had discussed the differences in our family traditions, so I was full aware that my festivities may be viewed at over the top. But I decided to move forward with the traditions that I grow up with and loved.

Even though my sweet husband had to make this comment, "We (the Jones family) choose to celebrate Easter my remembering the Savior and the resurrection."

Nice honey!

While we at the Hatch household celebrate a big fat bunny, fluffy chicks, marshmallow peeps, and costly apparel.

Nobody likes a Smartalic!

38 years and still growing!

I can not let my 38th Birthday go by without noting moment. Unfortunately, I was experience a miserable mixture of morning sickness and a sinus infection the whole day, so I sleep much of the time away. But my sweet children and handsome husband showered me with flowers and cards to celebrate the day. All I wanted for my birthday is a playground set for sanity this summer, which we are hoping to arrange soon. It's always fun to be big and fat on our birthday, but hopefully next year Weight Watchers and I can change things around.

All I want is a little, just a little silence.

For the past month I have been enduring a ear-piercing metal against metal screeching noise that has been coming from my brakes on our "new" old car. We have taken it into the mechanic twice, to have them tell us "They needed cleaned but are in great shape."

Ok, whatever, but they are so noisy that I can't talk on the cell phone at the same time as I brake. And when it rains, they are even worse. It seems to be raining everyday out here in springland.

Last week I had, had it, so I took the good car with crap for brakes into the shop one more time. Finally one of the mechanics realize that the previous owner had put the wrong type of brake something or other on the front brakes.

Ah-ha! I'm not crazy!

However to fix the problem of course is $200.00 or more dollars and they have to special order the parts so that won't be able to get to the soon.

Grrrh! But our brakes really are perfectly safe but obviously NOISY!

Fine, whatever, I'll just stay home more.

Right?

But no, I can't seem to find silence in my own home.

And no, it is not because of the small children which roam my house.

So here's the story.

We have a vent in our downstairs bathroom that opens to the outside. Well for the past few months I could hear a bird going in and out of the flap to the outside, but he/she never stayed long so I didn't worry about it. Wrong decision!

A few nights ago, while Keith was out of town, I heard a rustling noise downstairs. So I grabbed the phone and headed downstairs to investigate.

To my surprise the noise was coming from my bathroom.

But where at in my small 1/2 bath?

I looked behind the door, under the toilet, even out the window, until I realized that it was coming from above.

Mommy bird's little babies had hatched and were making quite the racket. For one brief moment I thought, "Ah, how sweet!" But then I realize that I must now endure our new tenant's until they learn to fly or I go postal on them and send them to a better place.

Those baby birds chirp constantly. They never shut up!

How long will it take till they learn to fly and leave the nest?

Nest belong in trees not bathrooms!

Note picture below.

My sister, Vonda's visit

I was so excited that my sister, Vonda and part of her family came to visit us. It was even funnier to planning the announcing of Kristal and I's fourth pregnancy around the day that she arrived. The bummer was how sick and lazy I was the whole time they were visiting. But I think they still had a great time.

It was also a blessing to have her come to help me take Flat Stanley around for my niece. Flat Stanley enjoyed his personal tour of DC.

The kids really enjoyed playing with Brennon and Danica. Garrett's favorite was wrestling with Uncle Bill. He would get so wound-up it made it hard to get him to go to sleep every night.