Wow.

This Summer the Hatch Family has hit a lot of milestones. 

 Connor got his drivers licence!! 

 We took a family trip with Grandma and Papa Hart to Wyoming and visited Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks!

Anderson is in High School! (Also, Andy grew a bunch!)

Both of the boys got jobs working at the new Danzeisen Dairy Shop here in Payson! 

 Crazy right?!

Taking over the blog

It’s been too long! I’m Kyndall and I’m taking over the blog. Connor is now 14 and is a freshman, Anderson is 13 and in seventh grade, and I am 10 and in fifth grade. I can’t wait to continue the blog!

Team Hatch

Not sure if this is a post about the trickery of brothers or the sweetness of a sister. But somehow, Kyndall got included in the Star Wars craze that is still going strong at this house.



And she was thrilled! And so were the boys . . . also known as Anakin Skywalker and Jango Fett.




She really does like those brothers. Even when she calls them "meatball" or "tutu" (insert a gasp here, because that one is the worst!) or "stinky" and has to sit in timeout. Really, she does.

I like them all. A lot.

Details.

Kyndall's artwork is changing. In just a few short weeks, she has gone from scribbles to "Bubble People" as she calls them.

Here is artwork from last month . . .


And here is one from a few days ago.

Just in case you are not an experienced art connoisseur, this is a picture (from right to left) of Belle, Cinderella, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Above them is the Arizona Diamondbacks snake. Of course, right?!? What else would you expect from a little sister in this house?


I love the little things.

Different.

Another first day. Seriously! There has been some sort of milestone each year for the past four years.

2008: Connor's first day of preschool
2009: Connor's first day of Kindergarten
2010: Anderson's first day of preschool, Connor's first day of 1st grade
2011: Anderson's first day of Kindergarten, Connor's first day of 2nd grade

At this rate, I won't get to have a first day without tears until 2014. At that point Connor will be in 5th grade, Anderson in 3rd grade, and Kyndall will be in 1st grade and this will all just be normal. Boo hoo!!! And then I will cry because of that too.




Today was a great day. At least to some degree. I think. Here is the rundown.



Here is Connor's recap of second grade . . . which I of course got in pieces.

He doesn't sit by anyone he knows and most of his buddies are in other classes.
Didn't understand the work they did today (as we could tell from his paper he brought home).
Got walked in on in the bathroom. Nice.
Had to throw away his M&M's and Cheez-Its I put in his lunch because he got nervous and ran out of time in the cafeteria.
His stomach felt upset all day.

But, when I told him that he needed to watch his tummy this evening to make sure it felt better, he was upset since he didn't want to miss the second day of school because school is so great! Huh?!?! He continues to claim that it was a GREAT day! I don't have the heart to burst his bubble . . . but really?!?!



Here is Anderson's recap of Kindergarten.

They read one of his favorite stories (How Do Dinosaurs Go To School).
He has his three best buddies in class with him.
He only goes to school for 2 hours and 45 minutes. It felt like a "flash" according to him.
He found two more favorite books in the class library.
He LOVES stations.
His teacher is "SOOO nice".

But, this evening he announced that he wasn't sure if he wanted to go back tomorrow because he is just too tired from Kindergarten. Huh?!?!

Let's just say it. My boys are so DIFFERENT. And yet, they balance each other out perfectly. So thankful they have each other. It IS going to be a GREAT year . . . I just know it!

Oh . . . and can someone notice how appropriate Anderson's shirt is?!?! I mean . . . does anyone else think it is just perfect for my Kindergartener?

Three.

Completely impossible. My BABY is three. Her favorite phrases include words like "actually" and "seriously" and "the brothers". She can hold her own. And then some. She is completely spunky, always on the move, loves to be a helper, and adores all things pink and purple. I smile when she puts her hands to her cheeks and says "Oh" before she tells us her next grand idea. Honestly, I can't believe that God chose me to be her mom. I LOVE MY KYNDALL SADIE. Yes, she has fits, stubborness, gets talked to about throwing rocks, knows how to push her brothers' buttons, and can mysteriously end up between Jon and I in bed in the middle of the night. But I honestly am loving those things more too with this third kiddo. Go figure!

Easter!

It has been a fun and busy week at the Hatch house!

Playgroup egg hunt! I think that this is our SIXTH year of doing this. We gather at the park, eat fun treats, and then let the kids hunt eggs. So fun! We have two rounds, and this was Kyndall's last year in the baby group. Hmmm. Not sure I like that.

On the evening of Good Friday, we went on a long family walk and then ended up with a fire in the backyard. Jon read the Easter story from the Bible and we had such a sweet talk with the kids. SO sweet. We were blown away by Connor and his solid trust in Jesus. Completely awesome and amazing!

Then egg coloring . . . of course . . . cause who can celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus without brightly colored eggs, right?!?! Hee hee.



And Easter Sunday . . . love it! Connor actually wore shorts and sandals to church but when he realized he could look more like his dad with pants and his new brown shoes, he changed before pictures. Gotta love the age when a kid wants to look just like his dad!





Such a great weekend!

Proud.

Connor had a student-led conference this past week. It made me so proud. This is the kid that really NEVER loved his mom's "learning stuff" as he would call it during preschool days. The kid that I worried about sitting through a school day. But I prayed . . . a lot. And I think that some Grandmas prayed too.

He is an amazing reader.



Has fun in the classroom and out.





Loves to write. (This was his presidential campaign poster and persuasive campaign speech.)

And . . . he wrote in his conference reflection that MATH was his favorite subject. Be still my beating HEART!!! That statement alone could have earned his ticket to Circle K to get a reward slush. Genius move.

I realize this is just first grade . . . but it is nice to have a great start to a long road of school.

AMAZING Date.

Jon and I went away this past weekend. His parents gave him tickets to the NCAA Tournament in Anaheim for his birthday. He could take anyone he wanted . . . he chose ME! :)

We saw SDSU lose to UCONN and then watched the Wildcats BEAT the Blue Devils. Great games . . . and fun to be with Jon in his element.

But better than the games was the chance to do ANYTHING we wanted. Really??? This was a little hard for my mind to grasp at times. The first night I had this feeling like maybe we shouldn't go get something to eat after the games . . . you know it is getting late . . . we should probably get back. Then I had to catch myself. WHY???? No kids were waiting for us and a babysitter was not worried about getting home and the hotel will let us in at any hour. Wahoo! Let's go!

Our list of activities that made our kids SUPER jealous . . .

Two AMAZING Basketball Games (I married a Sports Fanatic!)

Discovery Science Center (Jon married a geek.)

Downtown Disney

Chipotle

Movie that was NOT animated!

Simple things really . . . but so fun! So thankful for a fun weekend away, an amazing guy to spend time with, super sweet grandparents willing to take care of kiddos, and new ticket stubs to add to our display frame.

Score!

We are in basketball season here. Two boys on one team. I LOVE IT! But, until today, Anderson has not.

Well, I take that back. He LOVES practice and the thought of basketball and playing in the backyard. But, games? Not so much. We have kept him in it mostly because it is such a non-threatening stage. No scores are kept and the coaches have been amazingly positive and encouraging. So we were figuring, it is safe torture, right?!?

First game, he sat most of it with me in the stands, whimpering, and a few moments with dad on the bench.

Second game, on the bench mostly and a few painful moments on the court with tears in his eyes while he shuffled (no running, no sir) around on the court and his arms "sort of" raised. Well, more like hands flexed into some sort of low jazz hand. My mom and I were giggling in the stands because he stood out like a sore thumb and yet was trying to "disappear". I felt so bad.

Third game was today. He had been randomly tearing up and telling us he didn't want to go to the game since Thursday. But, today he played! He ran! He smiled! He high-fived and HE SCORED! Two baskets. You really should have heard all the parents yell! They were so excited for him too. I am giving all the credit to Jon's pre-game talk in the garage before we drove to the community center. It must have been magical . . . because there was a MAJOR transformation in just a few short moments. I told Jon that he should have recorded it. I want to know what he said . . . and we could have sold it to coaches in the NBA. Really. It must have been that good. Because Anderson is a new kid.

Andy with hands up in the center!

Connor has loved the season! Well, I honestly can't think of something that Connor has not loved. Go figure! This is his first time playing basketball on a team though. He loves all the action and running down the court. We think the pace fits him. He is pretty intense and wants to be right where he is supposed to be. But, today he made it all about Andy. He even gave me a thumbs up sign several times when Andy was doing so well. And they elbowed and fist bumped each other on the "bench" (a.k.a. row of chairs) when Anderson came back from scoring. Yep, that redhead got a big squeeze from me when the game was over and I made sure I let him know that I saw his baskets too. But, boy was I proud of him for looking out for his little brother.

The bench. Jon and Andy are on the left and Connor is in the red shorts chillaxing.

It was a good day.

Milestone.

I hit a milestone. ME! Anderson, Kyndall and I went to the park. And, after swinging with Andy and sliding with Kyndall, I LOOKED AT A MAGAZINE!!! I really can't believe it.

I must admit that I have been a little jealous of those moms that were parked on a bench with their nose in a book or laying on a lovely blanket under a tree with a stack of reading material. Hmmm. Bliss!

Well today, I was that mom. Okay, I must be real. I was on a large rock right next to the playground so I could hear everything that was going on . . . it was only for about ten minutes . . . and, of course, I had Anderson who always takes on the role of "personal assistant" to Kyndall. But . . . I did it. And, it was fun.

The HEART Man

FIFTEEN Valentine's ago . . . I got this:



And, honestly, at the time I was confused. Shocked. DISAPPOINTED. But what display of love was I wanting? A card from Walgreens picked out in 2 minutes along with a pack of Trident??? Or a bunch a flowers that are overpriced and pathetic looking in two days??? Some ridiculous stuffed frog with a heart attached to his hands with a button to push in his foot??? Mylar balloons that NEVER sink to the ground??? A bunch of candy I couldn't eat???

I still have the heart man. I carefully accordian folded his arms and legs, secured them with paperclips, and placed him in my "special" box. He comes out once in awhile and was even the inspiration behind a Valentine's day cake a couple years ago. He is referred to as "Heart Man" in our house and comes up in random conversations. And even though I tease him about it relentlessly, it is my favorite.

He MADE it. He sat at the island at his Aunt's house and cut hearts out of construction paper for ME. And GLUED. And ACCORDIAN FOLDED PAPER ARMS AND LEGS!!! Swoon. Really, it should have made me sure that HE WAS THE ONE! Because he was. But, I do wish there was a video of him making it. Now that would be something else I would treasure.

You are the best, Jon Hatch. I am so very lucky! And, even today with a kid throwing up and both of us with colds, Valentine's day is the best with you.

No way.

For a little girl to go from this:

to this:

must completely be the fault of awful parents, right? I am sure a few grandparents agree. It can't be because someone was throwing a major F-I-T about broccoli. No way. Impossible.

And, as a result, a teary Anderson offered up his dessert for Kyndall because he thought that she should get some even though the awful parents said no . . . and Connor offered to eat her serving for her so that it wouldn't go to waste. Go figure.

Hmmmm.

What you might get if you have a kid who is super sweet . . .

(A purple flower in a brown pot that I got today.)

and funny . . .

A conversation at lunchtime recently:
Andy: Thanks for my green plate!
Me: It's not green, it is yellow.
Andy: Oh. I wanted green to match my peanut butter.
Kyndall: Peanut butter isn't green. It's brown. (In a "know-it-all" tone, of course)
Andy: Really, Mom?
Me: Yes, Andy. Sorry!

He laughed and we all got the giggles. It can't feel good to get corrected by your two-year old sister!


and crazy about making stuff . . .

(The model he was looking to copy last spring.)

(His version.)

yet seems to be colorblind.

I LOVE ANDY!!!!!!!!!!

But I am just not wanting him to pick out his own outfits anytime soon.

All he wants for CHRISTMAS . . .

. . . is his TWO FRONT TEETH!!!!

Connor pulled out the other top front tooth and came running downstairs two nights ago with the sweetest (and funniest) WHISTLE when he talks! Jon and I were rolling with laughter . . . thankfully he thought it was funny too.

It is a HUGE hole. No more cute little baby teeth that fit so nicely in a little mouth and make for a straight teeth smile. Here comes the crookedness!!! Ugh . . . $$$$$$$$$$$$.

FIVE.

Anderson David is FIVE.

A whole hand of fingers. Old enough for Kindergarten next year. Officially in the big boy clothes at the store. Able to write sweet notes and leave them on a pillow. But still my little boy!

We celebrated LEGO STAR WARS style with family last night. And, of course, Aunt Jen created an AMAZING cake AND cupcakes. So super talented she is!!!!

Presents for one lucky kid! His comments were classic "Andy". (Oh, and Connor was working on wiggling a tooth all night . . . somehow every picture of him has his hands in his mouth. Yuck.)

Played R2-D2 in TROUBLE with cousins. I honestly didn't remember how frustrating that game can be. Thankfully they all worked through it and really stuck it out until it got too late.



Then, today on his actual birthday, he wanted to build at Home Depot, eat his free birthday donuts at Krispy Kreme and put together a new lego set with Connor.

Happy Birthday, Andy-boy! You are my constant reminder that God knows exactly what we need! So thankful for you, Anderson!!!

She knows too much.

I am feeling guilty. Kyndall and I were picking up some loose limbs this morning from the plant we trimmed a couple days ago, when she ran over to me with something and was so excited to give it to me. I really was expecting a flower since I seem to have a collection of lantana blossoms withering all around the house. But, it was a used blood-test strip. They honestly end up everywhere. Just ask Jon. I told her it was yucky and quickly threw it in the garbage. But I just got thinking.

It isn't yucky to her. She knows a lot about them. She understands that they are important to me and that they help me. This is the girl that often pretends to "put on a pump" when she plays dress-up and is getting ready in the morning. She knows that I need a snack when my blood is icky and will offer up anything she has. Even her treasured Goldfish crackers. She doesn't even ask for my pink juice box anymore. She will probably never faint at the sight of blood because she sees so much of mine when I poke myself. She gets super worried when her little toes get tangled in my pump tube when I am holding her on my hip . . . probably because she has heard me squeal about it too much. She knows many secrets of diabetes and she is only two.

That little used test strip---makes me a little sad, a little proud of her awareness, and a little more in love with her. If that was really possible since I was completely head over heels before.

Guess it struck me because I am feeling a little passionate about diabetes right now. The annual walk to raise money to find a cure is this month. My WHOLE family started walking just last year. I know, it took me a couple years (21 to be exact) for me to jump on the bandwagon. The kids even got into it and it was neat to hear them talk about it all! In fact, mine wondered why I still had diabetes after the walk. I think they thought the cure would be waiting for us at the end. When I was little (okay, maybe just a couple years ago and even last week, but anyways) I was actually scared of a cure. I don't know why. It just seems like after "being your own pancreas" with shots and then a pump, trusting something else sounds kind of scary. I know that sounds a little nuts. Maybe I also thought that hoping for a cure would make me bitter about my daily duties. I thrive on a positive attitude and most days I have one. Well, minus a day here and there and a week now and then, but most of the time I am pretty positive about it all. Although I secretly LOVED it that my grandpa hated my diabetes. I miss that. He would make comments here and there about how terrible this diabetes thing that I had was, and I would try hard to come up with some Pollyannaism about how it was all good. It was sort of a game for me since I had probably already thought about his negative a million times before. It was good practice for my head . . . and heart. And in spite of my diabetes (and maybe BECAUSE of it), I am so very blessed. God has used it to grow me and shape me. Recently my mom shared with me that the doctors and nurses were really concerned about me in the hospital because my attitude about it all was so strange and sort of distant. But, she believed in me. And, I rose to the challenge.

Recently I have met several sweet little ones just getting diagnosed with it, and honestly, I hate that they have to deal with it. There are so many better things to conquer . . . I know. I have a list!

So we are walking for a cure . . . and just maybe we will find it!


***EDIT: Just caught the irony that I used a picture of Kyndall and I at Krispy Kreme for a post on diabetes. Oh well. Maybe I need to get more pictures with her so that I have more choices!! :)

Cheap Fun.

Our neighbors got new patio furniture. We got the boxes. The HATCH kids think we got the better deal. I am loving it!