Corn Maze

We had so much fun going to the corn maze at CSI the other night! It was such a beautiful warm evening and the kids were so excited to go exploring. We let Jaxyn lead the way, with no help of course, and she didn't make one wrong turn. We were to the end in no time at all - good thing I wasn't leading the way we would have never got out! I had gotten the kids glow sticks, but as you can tell in the pics it wasn't dark yet, that didn't matter to Hatcher he was so happy to have a glow stick its all he could talk about. He kept holding it up saying "Cheese". I sure love and appreciate all these simple pleasures with our little family.

We Love You Sassy

So we finally got the cutest pony ever! I have been searching craigs list for sometime now for a well broke rodeo pony for kids for a great deal and my hard work paid off! Jaxyn and Hatcher can't get enough of her and Jaxyn looks so cute ridding her and taking care of her. She is a great pony thanks Kylee for parting with your pony, we will take good care of her!

Hand-Me-Downs!

I cleaned out Hatchers closet this weekend and put up all the

too small clothes and got out the next round of hand me downs from Bodie and Briggs. I had so much fun going through all the new stuff, better than Christmas. Hatcher was so excited when we found these tractor PJs. He could not wait to get them on, and he wore them 2 days in a row - cried when I took them off, so back on they went. He has a big head and we couldn't get the top over his head. He was so disappointed, so I cut slits in the shoulders and he was happy as a lark! Thanks Haley for all the wonderful hand me downs we sure appreciate them!

This is what happens when dad is in charge!

Mom gone, dirt, water, neighbor boys, equals big mess and a whole lot of fun!

Funny Story

So we are in the car tonight and see a man holding a sign. He is an older man and his sign says that he broke his hip and anything would help. We passed the man and then I said to Randy, do you have any cash? He told me he had $5 and we both felt like we better go back and give it to the man. Jaxyn and Hatcher are in the back seat and Jaxyn is worried about the man and is watching close as we turn around to go back toward him. I make the comment, its too bad we are not rich, if we were I would take that man to Winco and buy him as many groceries as I could and make sure he was taken care of. Jaxyn pipes in quickly, "Ya, its too bad we have to waste all our money on Hatcher." She is always making us laugh!

Texas Trip 2009

Our Texas trip was so much fun! Thanks Dane and Linds for a wonderful time. We shopped, shopped, shopped, got pampered, ate amazing foods, and loved on Emmy and E - love those kiddos. Miss you all so much already, can't wait till we are all together again.

A Big Kiss For You

Fall Fun

Thanks Brooke for the fall photo shoot!

Jaxyn is looking so old lately. She is such a little mommy and packs Hatcher everywhere. She is his boss - and he just takes it, I think he is glad he has someone calling the shots. In her 1st grade play she stole the show - I am so proud of her and her ambitions to do everything!

My Sweet little Hatcher Pants. I am so grateful for the everyday excitement he brings to our family. He loves the fall, the pumpkins and all the scary Halloween stuff out in the stores. His favorite is the big talking skeleton at the craft store. He says, "scary mom." I was so worried when Jaxyn went to school that he would be lost without her. He does miss her and cries when she gets out of the car in the morning, but I am so thankful for our one on one time almost everyday. We have been going on walks every morning, looking at birds, the neighbors yaks and ostriches, and just having simple conversations. The weather has changed this week and its too cold to do our stroller ride. He climbs in the stroller in the garage when we get home and says "Peas mom, peas." So I have been taking him out to the horses, to pet and chat. What wonderful memories. He follows me around all day saying "hold me now" and I do, my arms are always sore from packing him all day. I love playing horses with him, we get out the barn and he is so sweet, his soft little voice is so gentle and kind, a true angel. Thanks Hatcher for being my Buddy and helping me to cherish each day with you.

Look who lost a tooth!

Jaxyn finally lost her 1st tooth. She has been watching her Friends loose them over the last year and could not wait till one came out. She was eating her apple at lunch when it came out. She was so excited to go to bed that night in hopes the Tooth Fairy would visit. Randy asked her, so what are you hoping the Tooth Fairy brings you? Her response was, "I am hoping she brings me a gift card." We got to laughing afterwards and she was happy in the morning when she found gum, fake finger nails, and $1 under her pillow.

Buhl Junior Rodeo

I had to post Jaxyn getting her buckle. She was so fun to watch this year flying around the barrels, goat tying, and mutton bustin. She looks so little up there on that big horse. I am so proud of her, she sure has a zest for life and horses! She had me ask her what her passion was the other day and her response was, "barrel racing and sheep ridding." All this rodeo stuff makes mom nervous, but she loves every minute of it (so does Randy).

Catching the wind

This was so funny. Hathcher loved the wind coming out on the deck of the ferry boat and Randy would tell him to catch the wind. He would open his mouth and laugh and laugh, so did we!

Best Cousins

I'm so happy Jaxyn has such a great cousin. She could hardly wait to be with her and they didn't leave eachothers side all week! Thanks for all the fun memories Kenna.

San Juan Island Vacation

The San Juan Islands were so much fun. We enjoyed being together with all the Hatch clan. A highligt of the trip was visiting Roch Harbor for fish and chips and the retiring of the colors. Look out Randy that cannon will make you jump every time!

Planting A Garden

We finally have a garden! A friend of Rnady's and his family came over and helped us plant our first garden. The kids even got to plant purple and white carrots! It has been fun going out and watching new things pop up out of the ground. It will be a fun project for the kids and I this summer. Jaxyn has a few strawberries plants and can't wait till they grow fruit. Hatcher just likes playing in the dirt.

Summer Time!

We got out the slip n slide and the neighbors put up "Mauger Mountain". Jaxyn is always surrounded by boys, most of her friends are boys and all of the neighbors are boys but she seems to stay pretty girly with her shrill screams sliding into the cold water. Hathcher is so happy just to be part of it all. He is so sweet and is excited to try any new thing. He loves putting his face in the spray from the slip n slide and lets not forget his girly scream, thank goodness he has all those neighbor boys!

Wheatley Kids "COOL" over blow snake

It was a beautiful evening in Wendell Idaho when Randy Wheatley decided to play outside with his two kids. They enjoyed their normal routine of swinging, horse feeding and playing with the bunny, when Wheatley noticed a large blow snake in the yard. He pointed it out to the kids and sent Jaxyn to get his shovel. The kids watched as Randy cut its head off, then jaxyn helped rinse it off with the hose. Hatcher they youngest couldn’t stop saying “ssssss”. When they had it all cleaned up Jaxyn went in to get her mother. Britt repots, “I was shocked to see my two little angels thrilled about the recent kill.” Jaxyn told her mom, “This is so COOL!” Wheatley put the snake in the freezer and plans on helping Jaxyn skin it so she can put it on the back of her saddle. Jaxyn tells her mother that that’s what a real cowgirl would do. Jaxyn will have her first peewee rodeo barrel racing event Tuesday June 9th – Ye ha!

Posted in "Around The Horn" June addition.

Stroller Rides

The kids love taking rides in the stroller! The longer the ride the better. Both Jaxyn and Hatcher like to go fast. Hatcher says "wee" when I jog. We are so happy summer is here.

Island Park

We had a fun weekend with the Wheatley gang in Island park. Jaxyn loved being out in the snow and going fast on the sled and snowmobile, but her favorite thing was eating the snow. Hatcher was just glad to be part of it all and cried when he had to go inside, get out of the pool, take a nap, or go to bed - I'm so glad he is full of life, what a blessing!

Funny Story

I had to take Hatcher to the doctor tonight and after we had finished with his appointment he did not want to get in his car seat. I had had a long day and was running out of steam. After trying to get him in for a few minutes I put him on my lap and said to him, "Hatcher, you can do this with a happy heart and make mommies night better or ..." Jaxyn immediately popped in "Or she'll spank you." I said, "I have never spanked Hatcher." Jaxyn, "Oh, I have, when you are in the bathroom he can get pretty naughty." I thought I was going to die laughing, she was so serious, I wish I could have captured her expression - I love that little girl and yes, Hatcher decided to be a good boy and get is his car seat.

Giddy Up

Jaxyn is getting ready to do pee wee rodeo and is willing and ready to ride any time any horse. If a horse is saddled and Randy is ridding then she better be too! Perhaps a little too confident and is working on getting her horse to run. The faster the better, but Randy is making sure she is in total control before he lets her. She tells us that once she runs her horse she is never going slow again.

"New" Dog

Yes, another dog! Randy was out doing some visits for church and thought he saw a dog in the barrow pit. On his way back by it was still there, so he pulled his truck over and sure enough a shaking pup with a hurt leg and hip. It looked as if it had fallen or been thrown out of a truck, and he was scared. Because his wife is such an animal lover (ugh, not another dog) he brought him home and doctored him up. The next morning he tells Jaxyn what had happened and the two of them went out to evaluate the situation. The dog is very gentle and kind and by the time Jaxyn came back inside she was in love once again. She comes right up to me and says, "Mom, I know you don't want another dog, but this one is a keeper." Those big brown eyes are hard to say no to and she has spent every spare minute "training" him. She feels so confident in her "training" and can't believe how great this dog is. She is all over him and he just sits there and takes it. (I can't imagine why, maybe the bad leg has something to do with it.) I wish I could say at least Hatcher was on my side, but notice who is in the background wishing he was out doing some of his own training. That little boy would live outside if he could! So, mom loses yet another battle - Mom I guess its payback for all those years I begged for a dog!

"Pretty Much a Mircale"

This week Jaxyn had a friend over from her kindergarten class. The kids were playing in the living room and I was in the kitchen making them a snack. Hatcher was trying to join in on what they were doing and Jaxyn said to her friend, "He is pretty much a miracle." Her friend asked her what a miracle was. Jaxyn then laid Hatcher on the floor, took off his pants, unsnaped his onesie and showed his scar. Surprised her friend looked at her. Jaxyn then said, "So basically if you have three open heart surgeries, and a big scar, that pretty much makes you a miracle." She then snapped his onesie back up, put on his pants and continued to play.

Heart Buddies

This is our good buddy Chris who just had his 3rd open heart surgery. He has been such a hope and inspiration to me. Hatcher loves him and we got to go to lunch with them after the boy's cardiology appointments. Way to go Chris, we are so glad you are home safe and sound and healing fast.

On The Go

Hatcher is on the go and is just days away from taking his first steps. He gets behind his walking toy and it reminds me of a little kid walking a big dog - he just tries to keep up - funny.

Black eye

I guess this photo sums it up, busy, busy, busy! Hatcher hit his check on the tile floor and got his first black eye. He is into everything and loves it when he can get to the toilet paper. Hatcher managed to get a pack of graham crackers out of the pantry. By the time I realized what he was doing I am pretty sure he had eaten most of the pack because about a half hour later it was dinner time and guess who wasn't hungry.

Bath Time Reward

I had a busy day of paper work that I needed to get done. I told Jaxyn if she helped me and babysat Hatcher she would earn a fun surprise. Needless to say she went above and beyond playing with him and even changed his diapers! I was not sure what the surprise would be and she was getting more and more excited for it as the day went on. The idea of a luxury bubble bath popped into my head complete with treats served in the bath tub. I thought she was going to explode with excitement when she saw me bringing in the tray. She could not believe she was getting a diet coke in the tub - a dream come true. When I came back in later she had her feet on side of the tub relaxing and drinking her pop. I tucked her into bed that night and she asked if I had any more paper work because she would love to help me out again.

4 wheeling fun

4 wheeling fun! On Christmas morning Jaxyn noticed that Hatcher only received one gift from Santa. Trying to make sense of it she said, "Well, he has been a little naughty this year, you know with the three open heart surgeries and all." Hatcher has loved his 4 wheeler and I am glad Santa brought it to him. He feels so big on it and enjoys Jaxyn pushing him around the house. The faster the better, they both know how to get a reaction out of me!

Jaxyn and Hatcher are such great buds! Jaxyn loves being a big sister and is truly in love with her brother. She wants to marry a cowboy and live on Papa Ralph's ranch. I love my little cowkids!

Jaxyn loves her new heelys she got for Christmas and she is getting really good! She wore them to Walmart the other night and she says, "Mom, I bet everyone thinks I'm at least 17". I love age 5, she is so independent, but still wants to snuggle and have me by her side. I had parent teacher conference last week and her teacher only had wonderful things to say about her. Brought home a perfect report card, she is one smart cookie.

Funny Jaxyn quotes:

We were watching Disney Chanel when a boy and girl kissed. I said to Jax that they were way to young to be kissing. She then asked me how old she had to be to kiss a boy. I told her at least 18, shocked she says, "18, that is young"!

After school Jaxyn asked me if we could go to the dentist. Yes, I told her, but why? "Well, I was wondering if I could get some gold teeth like the other kids at my school".

Look who is one! My sweet little baby is now looking like a sweet little boy! What a journey he has taken me on. I have to pinch myself he is doing so well. His new hobbie is the toilet, he loves it! Trys to flush it, and jumps at the chance to put his mouth on it. I have become such a germ freak you can imagine what it does to me! He loves music and we are pretty sure he will be a choir conductor, infact he lead us in FHE the other night and did a dang good job! He waits for Randy at the door everyday and can't get to him fast enough. Tonight I took out the garbage, the kids were playing with toys, when I came in Hatcher expected Randy and when he saw me he started to cry. I am grateful he loves him so much.

Welcome 2009

I welcomed 2009 with open arms! I recently read a quote, "The best journey one will ever take is the one that leads him home". I hope 2009 will be a year at home enjoying the simple pleasures of everyday life.