Okay, I got these ones from Sarah :)

Sarah took these pictures at my Dad's Birthday Party. They're way cute!! Here's Heidi pushing Luke.


That's Steve- he's swinging hard core


This looks so funny- it's Charity pretending to get hit by Luke's feet while he's swinging- Luke just about busts a gut when ya do this for him- Charity's such a fun big sister.



I could do without me in this picture- I thought she was just getting cute sleeping Noah.


WEEEEEEE


Here's one of Grandpa :)


The kids were so excited to pick out their own presents to give Grandpa. Kelly got him pistachios- she "was hoping that Grandpa would share them with her- and he did!". Charity got him some chocolate covered pretzels (I kinda talked her out of the Power Ranger idea). Bradley got him a pez dispenser- and of course ate most of it :)



Kelly lives to ride on Grandpa's shoulders.





Very cute Sarah!! Love this one!



aww, that's cute too.


What a fun day.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

I had such a nice Mother's Day! It all started with a note on my bedroom door telling me not to leave the room!! awww!! How nice- being forced to stay in bed- gotta love that! Not to mention the smell of bacon cooking!! And the lack of screaming/hungry kids :) Then my cute little kids and their sweet Daddy brought in my breakfast while singing a song that they had made up. It goes to the tune of "Happy Family" but it goes like this "I love Mommy, yes siree. We are so darn Lu-ucky. She is the reason, can't you see- we have a happy family!" How cute is that!
So I got to eat my yummy eggs, sausage, bacon, and English muffins in bed. Luke was so cute- as soon as they handed me the glass of milk- he asked for a drink of it :) I love how kids do that. Anyway- it was really special and yummy. Then they took me into the front room where my "surprise" was waiting. They gave me some really nice frames (they look similar to my favorite ones that Bradley broke a few months ago :)). Very sweet and thoughtful. Nate is the king of thoughtfulness! He really knows how to top things off with a cherry and I love that about him. The kids all gave me some cute little bookmarks that they made in Primary, Bradley gave me some chocolate kisses and hugs, Charity gave me a pot that she had painted at school with a flower in it, and she made me a little book at school with pictures of us (it's SO CUTE!! I should get pics of it). Needless to say I was very spoiled. Then all the way to Grandma and Grandpa's Bradley kept wishing me (well, all of us technically :)) a "Happy Mother's Day", and they all kept telling me that they loved me!! So sweet!! Even sweet little Lukey threw in a little "Wuv you Mama"!! I just loved it!

I just love Mother's Day. I think it's such a good time to take inventory of how I am doing as a mom and realize what I need to do to better and what I need to change. I love that feeling. Kind of like a Mom's New Year. I am really grateful for my kids. I don't know what I would do without them. I was filling out a "profile" thing the other day on my facebook, and I realized that I really don't have too many interests and hobbies anymore that I can really call "interests" and "hobbies" that I really do-- other than my kids. They are pretty much all I do (other than my blog). And when I realized that, it seemed a little weird, but then it hit me that I am really okay with it!! I am really okay with them being my everything. They really are. I can't help but think what a miracle they are in my life. I remember when I was 17 and Dr. Lewis informed me (after a laporoscopy and endometriosis removal) that I would have a hard time getting pregnant and that I would most likely need fertility treatment. Could he have been MORE WRONG :)!!?? (five kids in 6 years... with no fertility treatment whatsoever..... talk about a miracle :)) But I remember what a scary thought that was for me back then- to not be able to have kids. I am just really grateful that Heavenly Father had a different plan for me- I don't know what I would do without my kids. All five of them- they all hold such a special place in my heart. They add so much more to my life than any other "interest" or "hobby" ever could. It's great to be a Mom- I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I am also really grateful for my sweet partner and teammate. I feel like Nate and I make such the perfect team. It's so nice to have someone who knows me as well as he does and yet still loves me! He does so much for our family. I am grateful to have a husband that can take care of our kids, and me and still be singing through it all. He really is amazing. I'm glad that he made me a mom. If anyone had ever told me that I was going to have such a wonderful man to spend eternity with and that we would create this beautiful family and life together I would have laughed because I totally don't deserve it.

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Hatch!!

Charity swinging.

I don't think I even got a picture of my dad. Whoops.
And once again I got lazy with my camera since there were other cameras there. I always assume I can get their's.


This is a picture of my brother throwing a frisbee- you can barely see the frisbee looks like it's under that jeep in the background. But anyway- I worked really hard to get one of him actually throwing it. (I couldn't get one of him catching it because he never did :) HA HA jk brent)


Daddy and the boys!


Luke was being way cute on the swings. He gets a little nervous at first, but then he just starts laughing. Way cute.






Luke and Brad had a blast in the big pipe things. I remember playing in those when I was little. I can't believe they still have them, they're kind of dangerous!




Brad jumps off of everything now! He's such a boy.



Here is another one of those precious moments. Bradley was so sweet to help Lukey! If Luke would've just put his donut down for two seconds he could have done it himself though I think :)





It was my dad's birthday on Saturday, so we went up to Bountiful to celebrate. It's always fun to hang out with everyone at the park. My kids are in heaven practically the whole time with all the attention and spoiling that they get from their Aunts and Uncles and especially Grandpa. It's funny to me that I look back and realize that I kinda just sat there the whole time while everyone entertained my kids. Luckily Nana was there to entertain me :) I really appreciate all the love that everyone shows my kids though.... sure was a fun Saturday. After the park we went over to my Mom's and celebrated an early Mother's Day. I love being able to see Grandpa M too. He was so fun to talk to. He's always so fascinated by my kids, and that makes me feel good. I hope he has recovered from all the chaos that comes with our visits :) Happy Mother's Day, Mom! Happy Birthday Dad!!

Don't you wish you still had the Imagination of a child!

We were playing outside on Thursday, after the rain (turned into such a NICE day!!) waiting for Daddy to come home. I had been kind of in and out with Noah, but the kids were out there playing for quite a while. When I finally got outside and sat down on the grass with Noah- I looked over at the steps, and saw this. Charity's little stuffed dog had a "leash" (Steve's drawstring for his hoodie), tied to him, and then the leash was being stabilized by a huge rock- so he wouldn't run away I guess :) It just made me smile at the thought of how much imagination had gone into that. And the girls do stuff like this all the time, so I know it doesn't take much for them to think of it. But how fun! They can really do anything!! I love it!


This isn't the only shirt he has, I promise :) I just loved this picture. He loves being outside (well...when it's not windy he does :)). I can't believe he's FOUR MONTHS OLD already!!!! Where does the time go!!! If anyone knows how to slow the growing down- let me know :)

Friday was a really great day too! I didn't remember my camera, but we got to go hang out with Sherry!!! I had to take the girls and their cousins up to Grandma Ruthie and Grandpa Russ's house to go see a play with Daddy (that was a lot for one sentence- we met Nate there and he took them all to see Wizard of Oz :)). So before heading up to their house we stopped off at Carl's Jr. and met up with Sherry there. It was such a nice little visit. Who doesn't love some adult conversation. And aside from losing Marcus- I think everyone had a good time. The girls got to go see the play with Daddy, and the boys got to hang out with Mommy! We had a ton of fun!! We basically just went shopping and ran a few errands :) but we got ice cream, and new shoes and still had a lot of fun. I was AMAZED at how not-easy it was with just the 3 boys. I had it all planned out to run those errands while I had 2 less kids, and thought I was going to have it made in the shade, but I was wrong! Apparently the girls are a LOT more helpful than I have ever given them credit. The boys were fine, it was just not a whole lot easier than with the five :) I think the girls add a nice little coral, keeping the boys in line. Bradley definitely needs their good examples to follow. He's a lot more mischevious without them showing him everything they see and do. But at the same time it's always nice to get some time with the kids when there are less though because it lets me give them a little more attention- and they love it too. They get spoiled by Mommy for a change. (It was so funny when Luke accidentally spilled some ice cream on the table- he needed a napkin to wipe it up and then as he was wiping it up dropped the whole cone, wiped that up, and then kept dripping on the next spot as he was cleaning it up- I was laughing my head off!! He's somewhat of a neat freak :) and then when he was walking past me with his ice cream cone and side swpied my leg with it :) "Ice cream... Mommy.... Pants :) giggle giggle :)" What a goof) Anyway it just makes me appreciate the girls a little more :)

Next weekend is the Fathers and Sons Campout, and the girls and I (and Noah of course :) ) will get to spend the evening together, so I'm really looking forward to that :) So is Brad :) He's been counting down the days like it's Christmas :)

A Rainy Day

We had THE BEST day on Thursday! I really think it all started with a full night's sleep! Noah has been sleeping for almost 7 hours some nights!!! I didn't want to make a big deal about it and jinx it, and it really hasn't been too steady, but it's definitely been REALLY NICE. So anyway- I got LOTS of sleep Wednesday night, so Thursday was really one of the best days we've had in a long time. One of the things we did was make Banana Bread. I told the kids we would make some and that they could pour their own loaves, and then I was feeling so happy and motivated, that I actually let them MAKE their OWN. I gave them each their own bowl and spoon, and they even got to crack their own eggs, (that's the highlight for Charity and Kelly), and it was actually REALLY fun! I think it could only happen on a day like Thursday where everything seemed to be going great, and I had lots of patience, but it is definitely something I would love to do again. Thanks to Adele we had all of these little mini loaf pans, so they each made 2 mini loaves. And I must say they did taste pretty good. Luke has a habit of sampling, so I think his batch only had like half a banana in it, and his were definitely smaller :) But it was really neat. I think the reason I never tried this before was because I've never had so many bowls, but I think it really cut down on most of the bickering that goes on when we just make one big batch with mom. So anyway- I just wanted to share this- it was such a great day! You can see in these pictures that it was raining pretty hard too- the kids thought it was SO COOL that we had a HUGE POND in our backyard. Kelly and Bradley couldn't get enough of that. Kelly finally got to wear her raincoat in the rain :)

Precious Moments

On Tuesday the boys made their way outside (without permission), and were playing on the big electric box thing when I finally found them. I almost reprimanded them for going out there without asking (since Luke has a way with running off into the road and down the street....), but then I realized that they were totally playing with each other!!! Nothing melts my heart more than my boys playing together. It's weird because the girls were like best friends the minute Kelly was born, and spent every second together, but the boys have been so different. Bradley had a really hard time getting used to the new baby when Luke was born, and has always seemed like he needed to compete a little. It has been getting less and less for about the last year, but it still feels like a fun little precious moment when they are playing together without any prompting. Bradley was totally helping Luke climb up on the box, and then Luke would watch and clap for Brad when he would jump- it was so dang cute!! Luke totally looks up to Brad, even though he will be the first one to tease Brad, you can tell he really does look up to him. I love that. So anyway- we ended up sitting there watching the boys play for like a half hour :) So much for teaching them to ask before they take off outside.

More fun

We went to the park to have a picnic with Brent, Sarah, Heidi and Steve. It was really fun. My family has SO many pictures at this park when I was growing up, so it's always fun to go hang out there. Bradley and Luke LOVED the train coming by blowing it's "choo-choo". Noah could have done without it :) but the big boys loved it.

Then Uncle Steve went and bummed some cotton candy off of some people for us- Thanks Steve! Who doesn't love cotton candy!! (well besides Luke anyway).


Then we made our way back to Salt Lake and went to Marci's reception. It was really pretty at the Gallivan Center- I couldn't believe I had never been there before! The kids LOVED the water fountain thing, the pictures aren't so great since it was pretty dark out :) but anyway. It was neat to see the Coles and everyone else that we got to see there for that matter. It was like a Ridgecrest 1st Ward Reunion! Nate and I were saying how there is just something about those people that just make you feel so much love. We feel like we are with family- and we were even gone for 2 years!!! Can't get enough of the Coles either- we need to make it up there for Sunday. Congratulations Marci- you're gonna love being married! Claire- I need some of your pictures!!!

Temple Square

Our friend Marci was getting married in Salt Lake on Saturday, so we decided to just make a whole day of it and go visit my family before going to the reception. On our way there we decided to stop at Temple Square. It was such a beautiful day, and it was so fun to experience Temple Square again for the kids' "first time". They didn't remember any of it from before we moved so it was all brand new. Nate and I spent a LOT of time there when we were dating, so it's always a memory jerker when we walk around the temple grounds. The flowers were all in bloom- everything looked so incredible!! I just love Temple Square and the feeling there. The girls enjoyed watching all the pretty brides walking around in their big white dresses. They have their weddings already all planned out it seems. Iguess that's how we all do it huh :) We were only there for about an hour so we didn't get to see it all, but we plan on going back to spend a day there. But what an awesome place. I liked that picture because you can see the Conference Center and the Temple.


Brad and Luke couldn't get enough of all the fountains.


Bradley wanted me to take a picture of "just me"








She just loves this sweater :)


I can't get enough of the Salt Lake temple- it's beautiful- it's so great to be back!


Here's Kelly pointing to her favorite- Angel Moroni! She really loves the Angel Moroni- she wanted us to name Noah "Moroni" so bad.

The Best Dentist Office Ever

Hey, so I keep meaning to post this-- The receptionist at this Dentist office I was referred to talked me into scheduling 4 of my kids at the same time for their teeth checkups. I really am not sure what possessed me to go along with it, but it probably has something to do with the price of gas. But anyway- I was WAY nervous the night before since I knew how much I HATE taking my kids to the Dentist (almost more than I hate going for myself), and that times 4 seemed more than I wanted to take, but I sucked it up and we went. The reason I wanted to tell everyone about this is because it went AWESOME!!! They are TOTALLY equipped for children- movies on the ceilings, toys, little climb on toys in the waiting room, sweet hygenists that are WAY good with kids. I literally sat there with Noah the whole time while they rushed all four of my kids around from room to room getting their x-rays, cleanings, and then to be seen by the Dentist. There was one assistant showing Brad and Luke the fish in the tank, and then one that held Noah for me while I helped the Dentist with Luke- that was the only bad thing the whole time- was Luke didn't go for it one bit. Which apparently is okay since he's only 2 so I'm not gonna let that taint this wonderful experience. It was just INCREDIBLE. I can't express how impressed I was with this place. Charity and Kelly were crying when we had to leave because that place was "so perfect for pretending to be a horse" (they clippety-clopped all through the office- horse stable decor a plus!) It was just so wonderful. And minus the fact that we need to take Charity and Kelly back for more dental work, (unbelieveably Bradley and Luke were the ones with the "perfect teeth" who woulda thought- maybe sugar is actually GOOD for your teeth) I was just in heaven. And the Dentist- don't get me started on him- he of course has 5 kids under 8 so he's totally familiar with what my kids' stages are, totally knows how to talk to them and make them feel comfortable. And he gave me several reassurances that the cavities don't mean I'm a bad mom (am I the only one that feels that way at the Dentist?)- "even his kids get cavities"!! I was just so amazed. Anyway- if you want the number let me know- I'm the new president of their fan club. I'm just so happy things went well. One more thing I am okay doing with all of my kids there- definitely a blessing!

Saturday

Man, I feel like I am posting all the time, and then all of a sudden I upload my pictures and I have all these pictures I forgot about! This was one Saturday ago. We packed a little picnic and walked down to our park. It's really windy out here, so we did have some wind, but other than that it was a really nice day. It jsut felt good to get out of the house.

After the park we all came home and crashed in front of the playoffs.


My son needs his own dress up clothes can ya tell :) jk. Kelly was using his ninja turtle dress up clothes, so I guess it all evens out :)


Noah watching the game.


The boys had a really good time wrestling with Nate. It's funny because every night before we go to bed Brad asks Daddy if he will wrestle with him when he gets home the next day. It's their new thing I guess :) Luke has gotten in on the action a number of times though- it's really fun to watch them all.


This is how Noah feels about it all


Luke's totally laughing his head off in this picture- lol

Some more memories

On the 24th of April we were able to hang out with some of our really good friends from AK. They came down for a wedding, but kindly squeezed in a day of fun with us. We had planned on playing at the park and having a picnic, but it was just so darn cold and windy! So we put all the seats down in their sweet rental and had our picnic inside :) Then we all came back to our place and bummed around for the rest of the rainy (and snowy) day. Who knew this was the way to go if you need to go to Tooele. I was really happy that Noah got to meet them too. I think he recognized voices from the womb, but it was nice for him to be able to put a face with the sounds :)

Anyway, it was really great to see them. We have so many memories with the Manwarings and so much we've learned from them. They are the most giving people. They are the ones that let us crash at their place for a week when we were stranded in Anchorage and couldn't get back to Utah. I mean who wants to give up their space and home at Christmastime!! It was something that we will never forget and always be forever in their debt for. That's not even the half of it either. They're just amazing people. Hopefully they know how much we love them. And don't even get me started on the kids--- our kids are completely obsessed with their kids. It was really hard to tear them away from each other when we moved, so it was neat to be able to hang out again, and spend that time together, play dressups one more time. :) Hopefully it's not the last, whether it's here again, or there.....we'll just have to make sure it's not. We just loved it!

Perception, Creativity, and Simple Faith

I just had to share the cute things that Charity, Kelly and Bradley all said the other day.

Charity is so perceptive! We were watching tv, and the commercial came on about Calvin Klein coming to Macy's- if you haven't seen it- they're showing Calvin Klein through the Macy's mall, and as he's walking through meeting people all the famous women are swooning all over him- sighing, bla bla bla- so the commercial ends, and Charity bursts out really matter-of-fact like, "He's handsome, but he's not as handsome as Daddy!"
I just thought it was so stinkin' cute! The love of a daughter! Well, and I did think it was amazing that she even knew that that was the message they were trying to get across- I saw it again last night and realized that they don't even say anything (in words) about him being handsome! It's just assumed. Who woulda thought a six-year old would pick up on that. Scares me a little :) She's right though!

Then cute little Kelly, trying to figure out this whole nursing thing, says to me,
"Mom, does Noah's food come out one side and his milk comes out the other?"
I just think that's cute and so very creative :)

And then sweet little Bradley- we were driving home from the Dentist, the sun was starting to peek through some of the dark clouds we had seen on the way- and he tells me that
"Heavenly Father turned the lights on!!"
I just love being a part of my kids' lives and being able to hear their cute little thoughts. One of the great privileges of being a mom!