six year tribute

karol hatch
dec 20, 1953- may 31 2004

(i have this description of her framed in my house)

loyal, supportive, enduring, persistent, artistic, patient, atheltic, loving, kind, beautiful, never complains, is fun and loves to laugh, great friend, has a special love for her parents, prayerful, has a lot of faith, an example to all, loves the gospel, devoted mother who loves and cares for her children unconditionally, is righteous and faithful in teaching her family, adorable baby sister and loved by all.

six years have passed and we have all changed. jake is married and living in nebraska. trevor remains close to the same :) just a college grad with a little more money! he is dating a cute girl at least. brady is married, a college graduate, and living the grown up life. baylee is grown up, smart, athletic, righteous. griffin is growing up, obedient, funny, and righteous. they are turning into everything you would ever want them to be. i am a mom!! i wish everyday i could share the joys of parenting with you. jason works a lot (that hasn't changed). i wish i could spend my spare time talking to you like the good old days. you were such a good listener and always made each of us feel so loved. i would ask you how you stayed so positive through all your trials? you endured so well and were such a good mother to all of us. i need to be better at following your example and finding joy in the little things. the longer time gets the harder it gets. right after your passing i went into survival mode. i had to be strong, right? not anymore. i can't help but think how much better life would be with you around. all of my daily struggles would seem lighter. i miss you whole heartedly. thank you for being our mother. thank you for teaching me. thank you for your example. life is uncontrollable but we are all who we are today because of you and i wouldn't change that. i love you and can't wait to see you again!! xoxo

i {heart} super start

avaree had her preschool graduation yesterday. it was a big day for both of us. i can't believe she is graduating. it was so fun to see her perform a program that she has worked so hard on. they had memorized an hours worth of songs with actions. it was impressive! she was the loudest singer there. i have video to prove it. she is an amazing student. her school work is perfection and she is reading! she has the nicest, prettiest teachers i know and i'm sad that this special time of her life has come to an end. it makes it easier that i don't have to say good bye yet because weston will be attending the same school next year.

i'm so grateful for her "super start!"

she sung her little heart out and i loved every minute of it.

they said a little riddle about each child as they received their diploma. i wish i had it written down but some of the things they said about avaree are-

if there were a girl president,

it would be avaree! (s0 true),

she is smart, creative, amazing at cutting & art,

she is nice to her friends &,

she is the most stylin kid in class. (thank you)

her favorite classmate, maren.

we missed you bennett!

miss darcie and miss kris

avaree will miss you!

miss kenzie (darcie's daughter and class helper)

the graduate.

i couldn't be prouder!

yay for summer break! and then kindergarten?!

you have to watch the first video! it's not long and it will make you laugh. you will need to pause the music on my playlist so you can hear it. i'm so glad i got that moment on tape. i am horrible when it comes to recording. the second one is cute too. i love her singing and her moves. enjoy! i can watch them over and over again.

region champs

lone peaks softball team was region champs and took 5th in state this year. baylee plays center field and bats 2nd for the varsity team. she also plays catcher for the jv team. she had a great season. she made second team all region and won the most improved player award. unfortunately, it was a cold season and i didn't drag my kids out to as many games as i would have liked. i'm happy for baylee's success but it's so nice to have her home after school again!

schools almost out

something is wrong with this picture.

school is out for summer in three days.

hiking in the rain

love living so close to american fork canyon.

andy bell

andy bell from nitro circus is our neighbor. he is moving to california for 6 months to film a show he is hosting for mtv so we went to say good bye. he is super nice.

av & i

jason has been working a lot of late hours (what's new?). avaree and i had a much needed night out. we went sandal shopping, went to noodles & co for some mac & cheese (her favorite), and then ended our night with frozen yogurt. we will always have a special bond because we are mother/daughter. i'm so glad i have a girl. she may be my only one. i hope we will be bf's forever.

first boating trip of the year!

we took the boat out to deer creek our first possible weekend. it was a little chilly when the boat was moving but for the most part it was a perfect day for a boat ride and picnic. the water was cold. wes was the only one that dared brave it and he had a spring suit and was still freezing. my kids played in it on shore though. they were in heaven. we were in need of some good family time and sunshine. the sun lifts my spirits! (fyi... lots of pictures)

weston was so cute. he was so worried about things flying out the boat... notice his hand on the car seat?

weston freezing.

how pretty is that? snow, green, and water!

he finally agreed to put a sweatshirt on.

i'm looking forward to more of these days!

rock stars

today we were all out the door by 8:25 am to make it on time to the dentist. my kids were total rock stars! i was so proud of them. 7 months ago, weston freaked out and wouldn't even let them brush his teeth. they couldn't believe he was the same child. avaree does have one little cavity that we have to go back for and she can't wait?! she is looking forward to another goody bag. we'll see how she feels after they drill her tooth.

10 months

frankie is 10 months! he weighed in at 16.2. he is still a little guy but at least he has gained some weight. he has made the switch to formula and table foods and is eating constantly. it just proves that his size is mostly from genetics not my milk. he is such a joy! he is still not crawling (which is okay with me). he'll probably take off any day now. he says "da, da" all day and loves to clap his hands. people make a fuss over him everywhere we go. i personally can't get enough of him!! i also can't believe we are going to be celebrating his 1st birthday in a couple of months! i just love my little frankers!

brady the college grad

brady graduated in honors with a nursing degree from the university of utah. he's worked so hard supporting his wife and going to school full time. i'm so proud of him.

afterwards we devoured chinese food per brady's request. it was a treat to have jake and angela in town for the occasion, especially because they treated us! (thanks again... xoxo) congrats brady!

celebrating the big TEN

jason and i went to park city for the weekend.

wish we could've celebrated somewhere exotic but time, money, and kids didn't permit. one day we'll go to hawaii.

we had a nice weekend away.

we relaxed, dined like royalty, shopped, slept in, jacquzzied, hiked, and relaxed.

i've forgotten how to relax since i've had children.

it was wonderful.

jason took this picture with his phone of me in a size 16 shoe.

our view

on our way home, the weather was beautiful and we decided to hike bridal veil falls. jason pulled out his new nikes. i was wearing dress flats not made for hiking but i managed. i want to bring the kids back.

happy ten years to us.