Babysitting, Father's Day & Walks

Last Saturday a friend asked me to watch 3 of her kids while the movers came. So obviously she is moving, which makes us sad, but we were glad to be able to spend some time with them before they left. I got really brave (mostly because I hate being cooped up in the house, especially with 7 kids) and I walked them all down to the park. Somehow we all made it there alive but it was getting pretty hot so the oldest girl suggested we walk over to a nearby stream and cool off. Genius idea! The kids all got their clothes soaking wet but they had so much so it was definitely worth it! 

Sunday was Father's Day and our Primary Chorister had Steven come up and had him dress like a dad as we sang dad related songs. It was pretty fun to see him with a mustache and glasses. He also  has on a jersey and a napkin:

I wasn't nearly as good at spoiling Tyler for Father's Day as he was at spoiling at me for Mother's Day. I just made him some cinnamon rolls, bought him the awesome shirt he's wearing below and got him a steak for dinner (I was mean and made him cook his own steak). The kids made him some cool ties and they gave him some sweet hugs. They do love their daddy and we are so grateful for all that he does for us.

This week my van was in the shop getting a leak fixed so anything we did had to be within walking distance. One morning we walked to the library. I thought that might be a bit too far and that I might regret walking there but the kids actually did super well, we just had to take a few breaks on the way home:

I got a pretty bad cough this week and it really escalated into badness on Thursday. Unfortunately, a friend was in a pinch and needed me to watch her kids so I couldn't just relax and recover. Steven & my friend's oldest have identical personalities so they tend to clash which made it tougher. I ended up walking us all to the park at one point to try and stop all the fighting. This was pretty miserable for me but it was just what the kids needed and helped the rest of the day to go smoother. I'm just glad I survived and at least Penny & Benny got along well with my friend's kids:

And here are 2 pictures that pretty much show the messy state that Lucy has been in most of this week...

Seriously this girl just goes outside and plays in the dirt all day and then we clean that dirt off only for her to go eat food and get that all over her face (and the table). Oh my messy Lucy!

And I'm going to end with my car frustrations. Tyler had no problem paying $1000 to fix a leak on the van this week but he refuses to spend any more money on it to get it's biggest problem fixed, the problem where it won't start if it gets too hot. Yet he also won't get a new car because he is determined to buy a house because he's tired of wasting money on rent. And when I complain that I hate not being able to drive anywhere in the summer without worrying that I might get stranded, he says "just stay home then." I'm frustrated. I want a house too but I think a reliable car is more important. And I don't want to just stay home all summer because that is miserable, the kids don't do well when they're home all the time. And this is my frustrations and my vent, argh!

School's Out

The kids had their last few days of school this week. In Ben's class they have had what they called "Camp Learn A lot" so for the last day of their camp, they got to make and eat s'mores. I was lucky enough to come in and help them make them (using toaster ovens, not fires). Lucy was lucky enough to get to eat one too:

Steven's class got to celebrate the end of school by going of a field trip to an indoor pool. I didn't get to go with him but my friend did and she sent me this picture of him with his good friend, Liam:

And since school was coming to the end we had to finish up our teacher's gifts. Here's the end results, complete with mason jars, flowers and candy:

On the last day of school we were supposed to have a swim party with some church friends but the weather was looking rainy so they cancelled. Honestly, I was relieved! I guarantee that pool water would have been freezing and I gaurantee that my girls would have had made me get in it so that I could make sure they didn't drown. Not my idea of fun. Since I knew the boys would be disappointed, I tried to make it up to them. First me and the girls walked to school so that we could all walk home with our neighbors and our neighbor's friends.

Lucy waiting outside the school for the boys, looking cool: 

Our walking group:

After we got home we played in the cold hose water and then had some yummy popsicles:

Then we watched a movie on Netflix and after that we all went out to dinner at Chili's. I know none of that is quite the same as pool party fun but I think the boys still had fun and felt like the last day of school was properly celebrated.

This week also greeted us with more teeth woes. I went to another dentist who confirmed that Penny did have 6 cavities, but this dentist said he wouldn't fix them until she was 3. When I called the other dentist to tell him  this he got upset and said I should absolutely NOT wait until she was 3 to get them fixed. These two conflicting opnions stressed me out so after talking to my mom I decided to call a dentist I trusted in AZ. And miracle of miracles, they're going to fix Penny's teeth when I come with her in July for Jezerea's wedding. And the icing on top, they're only going to charge $550 for the anesthesia, whereas here they were going to charge $1700. Crazy what a price difference!

Other news, Tyler is determined not buy me a new vehicle so I am stuck with my unreliable van. We did take it in to the shop to get another problem it has looked at (it has a leak). They told us that problem will cost $1000 to fix, ugh. When we went to pick up (we're going to bring it back later to get that fixed) it wouldn't start so we had themm look at the problem that is driving me nuts. Their assessment, way too complicated, take it to the dealership. Seriously hating on my van. And seriously not sure if it's worth pouring money into but Tyler is determined not to have car payments. Frustrating.

Wet Concerts, Building Stuff, Kindergarten Celebration & Library Fun

Last Saturday Tyler and I had tickets to a Dashboard Confessional Concert. This was a band that we listened to while we were dating so I was pretty excited, thinking this date might make us feel youthful again, ha! It was completely miserable. We had lawn seats and it rained the ENTIRE time. I had seen a sign when we were parking that said 'no umbrellas' so I left ours in the car, only to find out that they were totally allowed and we could have saved ourselves some major soakage. On top of the non stop rain, all the people around us were smoking, it was suffocating. Then there was this super fun opening band that literally just screamed all their songs and then said the f-bomb as much as they could in between songs. By the time "Dashboard" came on stage we were wet, cold and ready to go home. We managed to find a spot to stand under the pavilion, listened to a few of their songs, took a selfie to prove that we did hang in there and then headed home. 

We learned two valuable lessons #1: We are old #2 Always splurge for seats under the pavilion, ALWAYS

Penny had a very emotional week, this is her life story. I am trying harder to make her eat meals instead of snacking all the time and she does not appreciate this. I have been given lots of stink eyes and she has started this super stinker habit of folding her arms when she's ticked off (lucky for her, it's also super cute). 

Wednesday I hosted Bunco at my house and even though we had 3 people not show, it still turned out really fun. My neighbor, Stefanie, came and had fun with all us Mormon folk. I kept the food simple with BBQ chicken sandwiches, watermelon, salad and store bought pies. I'm glad I kept it simple because then I wasn't super stressed out and I was able to enjoy the night. And people seemed to like my fun summer themed prizes (beach chairs, picnic blanket, tote with summer reads and water bottle...) Now I can just enjoy Bunco because my turn is done for awhile!

Also this week I did lots of volunteering in Mrs. Hess's room. She likes to do lots of what I call "fluff" things like gifts for the kids, gifts for the moms, time capsules...She had lots to get done so me and my girls went in 3 mornings to help. I enjoy being back in the classroom and doing these things. It makes me think that maybe I should start subbing again...we could definitely use the money!

On Thursday the boys got started on making a gift for their teacher. With the help of Tyler they are making centerpiece boxes that we will put 3 mason jars in and then we will fill the jars with flowers and maybe other fun things. Steven had fun using the drill and I enjoyed watching them. I'll post another picture when they are all done. 

Friday was the Kindergarten Celebration. Tyler couldn't make it so I was on my own with the girls. Trying to keep them happy led to this cute picture:

It was fun watching Ben sing the songs. He didn't always know the words but he tended to do really good with all the hand motions. And when he did know the words he sang them animatedly. I cannot believe that he only has 3 more days of Kindergarten! Even if Mrs. Hess has been a little chaotic, and into the fluff, she has still been a good teacher for him. She has a very loving heart and has worked hard with him. He is definitely going to miss her!

Saturday we went to the library to join their kick off for their summer reading program. There was face painting, tattoos, coloring, hat making and balloon making. The kids enjoyed it but Steven got into some trouble because he refused to say thank you. He ended up having to mow our lawn and clean out his closet as punishment. This meant that he was late to a birthday party and he was very upset. I'm grateful to Tyler for coming up with his punishment though. I think it was exactly what he needed to learn some gratitude and it was quite funny to see his little body behind a lawn mower, I wish I had taken some pictures!

Also on Saturday, my car refused to start when I went to leave the Dollar Tree. Thankfully, I had no kids with me so it was only me that had to suffer the hour and a half wait in the 90 degree heat. I ended up having it towed by AAA home and of course 10 minutes after it got home, it was working again. I desperately want a new WORKING car but I also desperately want a house and it is just not possible to have both. I hate being a grown up and having to make these tough decisions. 

Mariah's Wedding,Cranbrook Museum

Since Tyler left for the wedding before me, I was on my own Sunday. Somehow I made it through church by myself with very little incidents but I was not so lucky once we got home. The kids were crazy! Steven had some major attitude and ended up in his room for awhile. While he was in his room, things seemed to calm down and Lucy and Benny shared this really fun moment where they took turns being Doctor & patient. It was the cutest thing:

Sunday night the girls did not want to sleep, I think Lucy was just too excited about getting to spend the night at her best friend Audrey's house. They were turning on the lights, Lucy was getting into Penny's crib and they were giggling like crazy. I finally got smart and put Lucy in my bed and about 9:45 at night, Lucy and Penny were finally both asleep.

Monday morning it was my turn to head to AZ for the wedding. I dropped the girls off with the Chappell's and the boys off with the Hess's. We are so lucky to have such great friends that are willing to help us and watch our kids. Then I headed to the airport. My mom had got me all stressed that I was going to have a hard time finding a parking spot or that I was going to be in TSA for hours. In reality everything went so smoothly, I found a spot to park immediately and their were only a few people ahead of me in security. I ended up being over 2 hours early for my flight. That was ok though. I started to get a really bad migraine so I had plenty of time to buy water and Tylenol and close my eyes before getting on the plane. 

My flight landed in AZ early but I am blessed with a timely family so Mike was already there to pick me up. I'm glad he came inside to get me because my migraine was returning and it would have been hard to deal with my spotty vision and trying to find his car outside. 

Then we headed to Mi Amigo's, oh how I had been missing good Mexican food, where we met my parents and his wife for a late lunch. It was delicious as always and it was so nice to see all my family again.

After eating our food we went to Mike's home so I could see his kids (and so I could lay on their floor and complain about how tired I was ;)). I hadn't seem Lillian since she was a baby and it was crazy how much she had grown! Tyler met us over there and he enjoyed making faces with Lillian:

That night we had the Groom's Dinner and I got to surprise Mariah since she had no idea I was going to make it to her wedding after all. She gives the best reactions, a giant hug and tears of joy. I sure do love Tyler's sister! The dinner was yummy (more mexican food!) and I enjoyed seeing all of Tyler's family. I also felt such appreciation that I didn't have our kids there, it would have been so hard to wrangle them at a nice dinner and keep them out of the fountain and pool that was there. 

On Tuesday I was pooped, I didn't sleep well and the time difference was mucking me up but thankfully we had a pretty relaxing morning. I got to watch Tyler's dad practice his Father/Daughter dance, it was hilarious perfection! Then I got to go get a slip that would lengthen my dress so it wasn't too scandalous and then I had my sister-in-laws do my hair and paid someone to do my make up- aren't I so fancy? I felt way overdone and I wasn't a fan of the purple lipstick but I also never wear any makeup so it was a huge adjustment to see myself like that. I did get some compliments so that was nice :)

The wedding was at 2:15 and we made it just in time, that's really the Hatch way. The sealing was sweet and emotional, afterwards we took a few pictures in the hot sun (but not as many as I thought we might) and then we headed to The Elegant Barn which was a pretty little reception venue. I helped a bit with setting up centerpieces and Tyler worked hard at flexing his muscles with Reese.

Here are some more fun pictures of me all dolled up:

The reception was a Hatch Party, lots of dancing and craziness. I do not love dancing, I always feel SO awkward but I did my best to participate in some dancing so I didn't seem like a total recluse. But I must admit that when the party ended, I was quite relieved. I am lame, I know, but dancing is really not my thing! When it ended we grabbed a bite to eat and then hit the hay, we were pooped.

Wednesday morning was nice and lazy. We packed up, I went shopping with Jezerea for a bridesmaid dress for her wedding, I had lunch at Kneaders with my parents and Mike's family and then it was back to the airport for us. Tyler and I had a pretty good wait in security but we still made our flight in plenty of time and once in the plane, we even managed to switch seats so we could sit by each other. All went perfectly perfect.

Since we didn't get home until midnight, we didn't pick up the kids until Thursday morning. The boys were less than thrilled to see me, they had been having way too much fun at their friends house. Lucy was happy to see me and I think Penny was too, she just had a funny way of showing me. All the kids did really well while we were away except Penny. Apparently she got really sad when she woke up Tuesday morning and realized she was still at the Chappell's home. Poor Penny, poor Chappell's.

I figured after being away for 3 days we needed some family time so Friday after school we took the kids to the Cranbrook Museum-- an added bonus was that first Fridays were FREE admission! It was a great idea because we really did have a blast! There was a mammoth, a giant bear, pretty rocks (Steven especially loved the rocks even though he refused to get his picture with them), T-Rex bones, and a catapult (which Tyler was so proud because nobody could figure out how to make work but him). Good solid fun: