9? Hero Party!!

Happy Birthday could be heard not once, or twice, or even five times sunday the 25th at Lakeside Farms. Let's see if I can count how many times it was sung. Happy Birthday to Alec, Elisabeth, Caleb, Jacob, Rebeckah, Julie, Darian, Benjamin, Jonathan, Michael and... who did I miss? You could see that it is a packed near month and would be easy to forget if I did- not purposefully mind you! Five birthday cakes were made and tasted and somewhere over 101 candles were blown out! (somewhere) A lot of hot air! We ate german chocolate (scratch), better than anything cake, yellow/chocolate 3 cake, lemon poppyseed bundt cake, and carmel brownies! Yummy!

Before the event we all received free movie tickets for the Hatch family theatre which we gave to ......the ticket taker who stamped our ticket and gave us a bag of tokens- to be redeemed later at the concession stand. She looks oh so cute in her outfit doesn't she? A little newspaper goes a long way.Before the movie started phone calls were made to Missouri, Utah and Oregan and we sang and sang and sang! Everyone got to speak to each birthday hero in record time. Pogs, silver squares and other tokens were traded in for drinks, candy, nachos and popcorn! while we watched the newsreel before the film. You've got to see it if you didn't get the chance! My favorite was back on the homefront seeing all the new babies and other additions and remembering car races, canoe rides and turkey trots! Don't we have the most fun!?We sat in soft seats in the back and enjoyed The Ember City- I believe is the name of the film. A good choice for the whole family to enjoy. Even Cami sat through the whole thing occasionally chewing on Jonathan's shoelaces. Nana and Grampa's theatre setting was great! If you haven't seen the remodeled basement here is a very bad picture of it. Shelves, lighting, flooring, projected wide screen and paint put together in a very comfy way.
After the show- more singing of course! Everyone made their own wish and shared their cakes with the rest of us! I took a sliver of each cake and can say that they were all delicious!Some turned 13.

and others turned 28

I especially appreciated this shot of eager little boys one turning 3 of course
the one turning 31 won the award for the biggest gust of wind blowing out his candles. It was very much like the super bowl commercial where the little italian? boy bottles up the wind for his grampa.

and this one who will turn 26 is sporting a new FSU hat and lookin good. They went to a game and the report was that even the wives had a good time!

Thank You mom and dad (and all else who helped)! We had fun, felt loved and memories were created! To all those unable to attend. We missed you and it was neat to have you there even if not in person!

Tribute to a Favorite

Today is the anniversary of the birth of someone very special to me. I remember vaguely her birth, staying with Nana, bathing her in a yellow tub, examining her belly button red stuff, her incessant crying, praying in the room for her to feel better. As she aged, I remember with shame calling her thiefy! thiefy! as she tried to join in Heather and my play with our elaborate Fisher Price structures. (She always grabbed important parts of our infrastructure.) I remember, remember, so much about her life. Half of mine was intertwined with hers. Amazingly, this beautiful sister, my golden haired doll, grew up. As we grew, she was completely loyal, always listening, always understanding. This sister was one person in my life who never was threatened by me or tried to pull me down to proper size. She loves me and supports me and this is a rare gift given just by her. As an adult, she cares deeply about her family relationships. She once told me that when she goes to California she works where Mom is working so she can be with mom. She does that with everyone. I don't know anyone who has made a greater effort for a relationship with her family. She makes regular long trips, sends cards, notes and calls regularly. How I love her calls. She often calls for advice, but she is long past needing that. I always end the call feeling inspired by her life and striving. She has created a life full of virtue, a life lived on her own terms. She doesn't look at others lives and try to copy them, she knows who she is and builds on that. Her hard work has created a paradise of sorts for her darling children. She has studied and thought to parent her children well and thus reaps the rewards of well behaved children. Her talents and hard work have turned her into a fascinating woman who has so much to offer the world. I am so in awe of the way she and Sherwin manage their worldly affairs, the solid way they approach the gospel, her steadfastness and her trustworthiness. I would want to be stranded on an island with her. Today is her birthday and I have not begun to share all the things I love about her, so I will save some for next year. So, here's to knowing Julie, for having the privelege of sharing her life. Thanks to a loving Father who gave her to me. Family, what do you love about our Julie? I would love to know.

A Lakeside PJ Fondue thank you!

At Lakeside Farms while all the chickens were fast asleep,

Nana and Grandpa had a pajama party with the kids on New Year's Eve. I think this is the cookies and milk after storytime. Then some fell aslep and some watched a movie while us bigger kids played games over a little fondue. It was fun to bring inthe new year with family even though many of us were tired. Cami slept through the whole thing and Hyrum's family didn't make it- I'm sure that they have spent plenty of the new year's nights awake.

Then, of course, Mom and Dad (the same people as the aforementioned Nana and Grandpa) let everyone drive home and they stay up even later cleaning up. Thank You to two very wonderful people who love us and ours and are continually showing us!

A very happy new year to all!

A very blustery Day

It was a very blustery day outside. I could hear the wind whistling through the trees and pulling at the windows trying to get in. The ground was saturated from all of the rain. The worry of trees careening down on top of the house filled my mind. It is still gusting now and again but the only mischief was a few trees (not by the house) and the trampoline getting thrown on top of the saw horses.

New Years Thaw

The great snow of 2008 led to the new years thaw. With water rising by the hour, Darian and Wade worried about their animals in the barn. What would the flood waters do if they reached the barn? In the early hours of the morning Darian and Wade joined in prayer to ask that the floods would go down and keep the farm safe. Darian worried about letting the goats out of the barn in case they got too close to the flood and were swept away. Their prayers were answered and the floods did go down.