Camping Adventure!

This past weekend we made the trek up north to the rim for the Hatch Family Reunion. I felt like I did nothing and yet somehow the weekend flew by. Here goes the recount....

We drove up early Friday morning and once we got there we spent what felt like hours setting up the tents (the boys got their own tent this year). Here's Ben being cranky in front of his tent:

Then Tyler did archery with Steven & some of Steven's cousins & 2nd cousins. He also did archery with the grown ups (his brothers & sisters & his own cousins). It was fun to see who had the skill...and who not so much. Me & Lucy observed comfortably from a blanket nearby. 

After all the archery fun,Tyler abandoned me to go back into town to get potatoes for his potato gun (which ended up not working) and some other miscellaneous things for people. After he came back it was pretty much dinner time and socializing. As it started to get dark we got hit with a huge storm. Lots of rain and lots of crazy close lightening. There were two lightening strikes that I couldn't even count to "one Mississippi  before I heard the thunder. Scared the bejeebers out of me & the kids (and made Tara's husband jump and scream like a girl ;) ). It was exciting but it made it hard to get back to our tents for bed time and it made it hard for me to leave the boys alone in their tent. I was paranoid all night that something might happen to them & I wouldn't hear it over the rain.

By Saturday morning the storm had passed and all that was left behind was mud. Lucy slept well during the night but woke up at 5:30am so she got to spend some time bonding with her daddy:

 She even got to ride with him on a child sized quad that Tara had brought:

Benny was pretty tired & crabby Saturday morning but after much persuasion I finally got him to flash his infamous happy face for the camera. That was probably thanks to the juice....

Steven spent most of Saturday morning on the hunt for frogs. There were about a zillion of them in this pond. They were super noisy during the night (making a sound that I thought sounded like quacking). Steven loved trying to catch these jumpy things and got super muddy doing it. He then had to wear flip flops for the rest of the day.

We tried to get a picture of him showing us the frog but he wouldn't open his hands because he was afraid it might hop out:

And here is an awesome picture Melissa took of Steven with his cousins at the frog pond:

After lunch we went up to the top of the rim. Steven & Ben rode in the back of Tyler's Uncle's truck and Tyler & I rode up in a 2 seater ATV . It was a pretty view from the top. Us women folk and all the kids (except Steven) hung out there while the men hiked down a bit.

 

I was a little freaked out that Tyler decided to take Steven with him on such a steep climb. After I complained to one of Tyler's cousins about it, Ben got really worried and said, "Are they going to be dead?" I had to quickly explain that I was just exaggerating and that I was sure they'd be fine (although I wasn't). Ben was still pretty worried and here he is looking sad with his 2nd cousins:

Thankfully they all survived! We took Ben back with us on the ATV and he fell asleep on my lap. It was pretty cute and it was a much needed nap. When he woke up from that one he was a much happier boy.

Then there were some games to be had. The kids had a water balloon toss with their dad, walked the plank and the grown ups played water balloon volleyball. I opted out on volleyball this year and was happier for it. No need to be hated for my bad volleyball skills ;)

And later that afternoon there was more archery for Tyler and after that he went shooting. Unluckily for me while Tyler was out shooting we had some drama. Steven & Bryson were riding on the child sized quad and rolled it. Thankfully they were both wearing helmets and weren't injured but it was terrifying for Steven (& me too!). And maybe them rolling the quad was a blessing in disguise because it was then that we discovered Steven had a small but pretty deep cut on the bottom of his foot that he then informed me had gotten it that morning. As you might recall he had soaked his shoes & was wearing flip flops all day. That meant this deep cut was filled with dirt. 

Here came the truly traumatizing part for me & Steven....cleaning out his cut. You would think I was chopping off his foot. There was shrieking, screaming, kicking, thrashing, crying...It was awful. And the awfulness spread to Ben & Lucy who also started to cry. I am so thankful that a cousin of his that is a nurse and another one that is a fire fighter helped me with the cleaning. But despite all the good helpers I lost my cool after lots of minutes of the cleaning and broke down. It was not a fun moment for me. When Tyler came back I was one huge mess.

When all that was done it was pretty much dinner time & then bed time. Lucy decided to further my unhappiness by waking up Sunday morning at 4am and refusing to go back to sleep. We would have let her cry it out in the tent but Tyler's brother had decided to park his tent right next to ours so we couldn't. I swear moments like this are true marriage testers--- Tyler & I do not get along well at 4am in the morning. We eventually put Lucy in her car seat in Tyler's truck and let her cry it out there. Then when she was asleep she came back into the tent and thankfully stayed asleep until 7am.

Sunday involved lots of cleaning up and packing. It also involved a small church service. A missionary to be, and a recently returned one spoke. Then Tyler's mom talked about Mariah. Then there was sharing of stories about people who have passed-- Tyler's grandpa & grandma and his aunt Leslie. It was interesting to hear about these people I never got to meet. Then there was a good spiritual lesson by Tyler's dad on raising up the youth of this generation. His dad always get's teary eyed which makes me get that way too. Steven on the other hand had issues with listening because he was busy letting a frog jump & pee all over him. Ugh.

And when we finally headed home---this one passed out with a half finished PB sandwich sitting nicely in his lap:

Oh these Hatch Family Reunions are always an Adventure :)

Getaway Day 3

Sunday I got to the park a little past opening time and after seeing McQueen roll down the street, I had a yummy breakfast at Flo's Cafe. Btw, we never did get to go on the new Car's ride. Wait time was literally ALWAYS 75 minutes or more. Just not worth it :(

After that, I went on Tower of Terror with Leslie & Michelle. Tyler's sisters did not want to go on it and were making me SUPER nervous about it but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I quite enjoyed being terrorized in that tower. Then we got a wheel chair for Keshia, she's pregnant (with a friend for Lucy) and had been cramping the night before and was starting to feel bad again. I'm so surprised it didn't hit her sooner- she had been keeping up with all of us all that time!

Next we went on the Grizzly River Run which was good times! All the girls squealing when water came their way---it was too funny! 

Then we did a little more shopping and then it was off to get lunch and on to the airport where everything went smoothly--- except that Melissa left a large can of aerosol sunscreen in her carry on and Tara's pump worried a security employee. Fun times :)

And the first thing Steven says when he sees me, "Where's my lollipop?" I feel so loved. Here are the kids with their souvenirs.... 

Getaway Day 2

On our second day we once again had a late night the night before but we still got to the park when it opened. The parks were a little bit more busy but still not bad wait times. Things we did...

--Got my hair braided by Keshia while waiting in line for Space Mountain

--- More posing for roller coaster pictures--this time instead of being terrified,  I'm sleeping through Space Mountain

 

---Watched Michael Jackson's video "Captain Eo" in 3-D 

--- Rode Indian Jones again and then tried a Dole Pineapple Whip-- SO delicious! Made a great breakfast ;)

--- Traveled to Bea, CA and ate lunch and dessert (obviously) at Farrell's- an old fashioned ice cream parlour. I got an ice cream dish called Straw-Ana--it was divine! But not as enormous as Keshia & Jezerea's ice cream! 

--- Went to Huntington Beach. It was FREEZING! The Hatch girls ventured into the ocean water but us in-laws hung back and stayed warm. Afterwards we did some shopping at some nearby shops. 

---Went back to Disneyland to check out the fireworks show. We had to take a bathroom break before it started and got blocked from the spot where Leslie & Michelle were at. We were trying to figure out what to do when a guy asked us if we needed a spot to watch the fireworks at. He said he had a really good one and took us to it. It was really good! It was a special reserved spot and despite one women's protest (this is reserved spot and their names aren't on the list) we were able to bring Leslie & Michelle over to watch them with us! So lucky!

---Did some shopping (spent TOO much money on the kids) and then we saw Minnie Mouse- I love Minnie Mouse!

Getaway Day 1

This past weekend I went with the in-laws (Leslie, Jezerea, Keshia, Melissa, Tara & Leslie's friend Michelle) to Anaheim, CA. It was loads of fun AND completely exhausting. I still feel like I'm recuperating and this is my second day home. I decided to split each day into it's own post so it wasn't one crazy long post. I don't have a ton of pictures because I was lazy but I did steal a few from Melissa on Facebook and I will HOPEFULLY be getting the one's Leslie took. She took lots of good ones!

We left Thursday night and our flight there was delayed, of course, so by the time we got our rental van and drove to the hotel and settled into bed it was almost 3am and I was SO tired. But somehow I got out of bed in time to get to Disneyland when it opened. We basically spent most of our day there and a little bit of the day at Ca Adventures. I have to say that we lucked out major because that day we got on pretty much every ride we wanted to go on and hardly spent anytime waiting. Typically we waited like 15 minutes and the most we waited was like 30 minutes. It was magical!

Tara and I also became pumping buddies that day- yeah for being nursing mothers! We rented a locker for pumps and milk (only to find out that the first aid center would keep the pumps for free) and we became regulars at the baby center (it had a nice curtained off spot for pumping that had an outlet).

I am such a spaz and would freak out before each "roller coaster," only to realize that they were NOT that scary- I have been to 6 Flags after all. I think I probably drove Tyler's family insane. Anyways, here's a list of the rides we went on that day : Space Mountain, Indiana Jones Adventure, Pirates of the Caribbean (twice), Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, It's A Small World, Matterhorn Bob Sleds, Mickey's Fun Wheel, California Screamin, and The Little Mermaid

The Hatch family is posers and before each flash everyone had to strike a pose. Sadly, I was not posing in this one...

After pumping, we came out just in time for the parade- so fun!

Waiting in line for the Matterhorn Bob Sleds. Oh my goodness that ride is SO not smooth! My whole body ached afterwards!

Michelle & Leslie were SO excited for It's A Small World

The rest of the gang....not so much...

Mini Trip #2

My second adventure this week was to Tucson to visit Katrin and her daughter Anika (her husband was busy at work while we there). I have literally never driven that far by myself-- I really dislike driving, especially "long" distances. And for some reason I got 3 kids and thought, "hey if I can have 3 kids I can drive 2 hours with no other adults, I mean come on Jenny, it's only 2 hours." 

Only the thing is, now I have 3 kids. And I was the only adult in the car. And though I had this "genius" idea to put buckets of toys and food by Ben and Steven so I wouldn't have to try to get things while driving well... it was less than "genius" since Ben couldn't reach his stuff (thank you 5 point life saving harness). So let's just say there were a few stressful moments on the drive there but overall, it actually went superbly well.

Once there though, Lucy was a disaster. She was starving but didn't want to nurse. I finally decided just let her cry, we were going to the Tucson Zoo regardless. And it was a good decision because she fell asleep, and woke up much happier and ready to nurse (but not under a nursing cover so I became one of those ladies that I never wanted to become due to desperation). Anyways, I quite love the small scale of this zoo because it means less walking and easier viewage of animals. The kids seemed to have fun too and there was even a little splash area for them.        

After the zoo we went to Peter Piper Pizza to get some lunch. The pizza was yummy and the boys had a fabulous time chowing down and playing a few games. It was especially fun to watch them play Skee Ball. When they were done playing, they enjoyed picking out prizes. Steven took FOREVER to pick out his but at last decided on a tiny fish and a fake, gold coin.

After Peter Piper we hung out at her house for the afternoon. The kid's played different games (Giraffe Limbo, 5 Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, etc) and then they played around in the backyard. We were also lucky enough to have Katrin make us some delicious smoothies. 

It was a good trip, sure it included typical kid drama, but that's hard to avoid. It was nice to see my friend and it ended well. The drive home was very peaceful since the kid's all conked out- thank heavens! And now I feel like maybe I can venture out on a little trip alone with my kids again :)

Mini Trip #1

This week I had no tutoring so...I got adventurous! On Monday, we joined Tyler on a trip to Payson to find a good spot for his archery adventure with his scouts. The area we checked out was beautiful! We took a small hike which was fun--minus Ben having a Ben moment. (The only pictures we have are from Tyler's phone and I can't figure out how to properly download them from skydrive so....not the best)

After our little hike we searched for the Tonto Fish Hatchery which Tyler said he knew exactly where it was. Only to find out he was exactly wrong. So we scratched that plan and stopped by Tonto Natural Bridge instead. We decided the hike down to the bridge would be too long for Ben (based on the melt down from the first one) so instead we went on a short jaunt down some steps to see what they called a "waterfall" (more like water trickling down a cliff side). Still pretty though.

Then we walked to 2 viewpoints of the natural bridge and had a semi close encounter with some active bees. I dislike bees greatly!

In the end though: Beautiful weather+ Beautiful scenery= Beautiful time with the family

Snow Day!

Every year we take a trip to see the snow- that's what people who live in Gilbert, AZ do- instead of the snowbirds that flock away from it, we flock to it. Usually we go with all of my family but there were lots of lame-O's who couldn't come this year- Tyler was plumbing, my mom was working in the temple, & Mecca had to stay behind with sick Oliver. So it ended up just being me, my dad, my brother Mike & my kids that headed to Payson. 

My kids did relatively well on the drive up, little crying from Lucy and very few complaints from the boys. When we got to Payson we ate at McDonald's & then we headed up along the rim until we came to the perfect patch of snow. We found a nice snowy spot that we had been to a couple of years ago. This spot is not my favorite because it is super windy and I can't cope with the wind when it's already cold. But I didn't venture out into for very long so I suppose I can't complain.

After decking out the boys:

I had to feed Lucy and by the time I was done, these crazy boys:

...Had long since disappeared with their poppy & Uncle Mike into the woods:

While there, I later learned that Steven had a little trouble keeping his pants on (apparently the adjustable band needed some adjusting) but he didn't seem to let that get in his way:

 

When all the crazy boys finally came back into view, me & Lucy took our snow picture as proof that we were actually there:

And then we quickly returned to our toasty van accompanied by Ben:

  

While Steven continued to enjoy the snow with this Poppy & Uncle Mikey Dude:

And once they had all had their fill of snow we headed home.

I am so grateful for an excellent dad and brother who played in the freezing cold with my boys while I hid away in the van. And I am also thankful that my brother who took such great pictures for me. And although I basically spent the trip in my van, I enjoyed most of my time 'cause I got to hang out with my excellent dad & brother. They're the bestest :)