Stay Out of the Water!

So today we decided to take the kids up to San Pedrito for a last romp to the beach. We got up there and we're really excited to get in the water. The older kids went out on their boogieboards and caught a few waves in and then Anson stayed back and caught a few ones near the shore. After all the rains we had the beach and the floor bottom of the ocean had changed. We didn't take what happened next into consideration. Anson had just gone back to shore when I looked out and noticed all the other kids were way out and by the rocks with Josh. It got really scary.
Aaron was fighting his way back to shore so I swam as fast as I could to get him. He was getting knocked by every wave that came by. Josh was trying to hold on to the other kids. I thought we were going to lose one of them today. Crenna and Maya made it to the rocks, but got quite banged up in the process. Josh and I were pretty exhausted after all of the commotion. We packed up and got the heck out of there. Andy says he won't go in the ocean again and that we should just stick to the swimming pools. I hope they are not traumatized for the rest of their lives. We are just so grateful that no one was seriously hurt and that we have a knowledge that we can be together forever. It sure does make me appreciate my kids more. I won't take them for granted anymore.
On a good note. We got home and washed up and took the kids for a last time at Hard Rock Cafe. We had fun and Aaron and Anson had to look at all the cool instruments. Crenna also lost another tooth. One of her fangs. She was glad to get it out. But there is a big hole there now. We will be heading up to Utah on Tuesday so the next few days will be busy. It will be a long drive, but the kids are getting really excited. Yeah!!!

Crazy 8

So I got tagged. Don't fully understand these tags. But here it goes.

8 shows I watch
1. Ugly Betty
2. Greys Anatomy
3. 90210
4. Private Practice
5. Amazing Race
6. Desperate Housewives
7. Gossip Girl
8. Privledged

8 favorite restaurants
1. Texas Roadhouse
2. La Country in Cabo
3. Wendys (I know it is fast food) I'm a junky.
4. Pizza Villa (good old Merced, CA)
5. Cici's Pizza (Yummy buffet)
6. The Pie Pizza Factory (see the theme, pizza makes me happy)
7. Long John Silvers (not for the fish, just chicken)
8. Cafe Rio
8 things that happened yesterday
1. homeschooled
2. took girls out to dinner
3. cleaned house
4. washed clothes
5. played on webkinz ( I know it is for kids, but it is so fun)
6. stopped kids from fighting
7. forgot to eat breakfast
8. folded and put clothes away

8 things I look forward to
1. Moving to Utah
2. Playing in snow
3. Thanksgiving and Christmas with family again
4. No more homeschooling
5. Kids on a schedule
6. Disneyland in Feb.
7. Speaking English at Church
8. hopefully going skiing

8 things on my wish list
1. Newer IPOD
2. 4 door Jeep Wrangler (maybe when the kids are out of the house)
3. KitchenAid
4. Josh to find a job in Utah
5. Winter clothes (I only have flip flops and shorts)
6. A bigger paycheck
7. go skiing
8. see Twilight in English

8 words or phrases I use all the time
1. Stop.
2. Be kind.
3. Oh my.
4. Whad ya say?
5. Get off your DS.
6. Times up.
7. In a minute.
8. Let me think about it.

8 people I tag
I'm not going to tag anyone, but if anyone wants to, go for it.

Submarine Trip, Crenna style.

Yellow Submarine Trip

Last Saturday the whole family was able to go on a really cool yellow submarine (well really it was a boat and in the bottom it was deep enough with a ton of little windows to look out, that you felt like you were in a submarine), hence the yellow submarine. Dummy me didn't take any pictures of the actual boat, but Crenna took some good ones of the fish and animals that we did see. Hope you enjoy.

The rest of the week was pretty much the same. Homeschool, homeschool, and some more homeschool. It went alot better than the week before. Our first official week with the new program and books started out with workers in our house making lots and lots of noise. But soon we won't have to deal with workers and homeschooling.

Josh and I have decided that we would try the commute thing. Me and the kids are moving up to Utah to be close to family and to get on a stable structured schedule. Josh is taking us up a few days before Thanksgiving and then he will be back for Christmas. We are hoping that he can find work by February and that way when he comes for our big family vacation to Disneyland he can just stay. It has been a tough, rough year and we are hoping with the help of my family we can all be a little bit more sane.

Celebrating Halloween Mexican Style!

Halloween !!!

I'm not much for one for Halloween, but I know the kids love it, so I made the famous sugar cookies and we all got ready for our neighborhood Halloween party. The kids had a blast. They had a few fun games they played and then a haunted house. They said it wasn't that scary though, go figure. Then they went with Josh around the neighborhood and went trick or treating. I stayed behind at home to hand out candy. Now we get to look forward to Thanksgiving. Can't wait for that yummy turkey!!!

Better Late then Never

As I was going through my pictures on my camera I realized that I forgot to post Crenna's birthday. It was the week before I got sick. She had an awesome time. Some of her friends tried our homemade pizza and loved it, so I made pizza for her party at school. We had cupcakes and a tradition here in Mexico is to smash it in their face. I don't quite understand that one. We were going to do a pinata of a dolphin, but she decided she liked it too much, so she kept it.

I´m a Bad Blogger

I hate to say it, but I am a bad blogger. I was just looking at it and it has almost been a whole month. What have we been doing for the past month? I guess that is what homeschooling will do to you. We have been sticking mostly to that and waiting for our books to arrive from San Diego. Yes, it has taken almost a full month for them to arrive. They are coming on a truck today. Yah!!!!!!!!!!!! If you ask the kids what has been the funniest part so far of homeschooling, it would probably be a few science experiments we have done. The topper was the Pop Rocket where you put alka seltzer in a 35mm film container with a little water and see it pop way up in the air. We also did a little field trip to Chileno Bay. It is a great beach to search for crabs and fish. I even got brave enough to get a little close to the fish. The kids had fun making fun of me because every time the fish got too close I would run back to shore. Ha. Ha.

Another busy happening at the Hatch house this month is that the tooth fairy has visited more then once this month. Crenna was the first to lose one of her first molars. We had to look up on the computer if you were supposed to because we were not sure about that. Sure enough ya do and since she pulled it out herself the tooth fairy gave her extra money. Then not a few days later Aaron lost his first tooth. He is still excited about it and he even has another one that is loose too. He keeps telling Anson that he is older and bigger because he lost his tooth first. Andy also lost a tooth, but I´m not sure exactly how many days after Aaron. He also had one of his front teeth come in. The other one is trying to break through too. It will be so wierd to see him with 2 front teeth, but well worth the wait. And the day I update my blog, Crenna pulls out another molar. It was actually one that she had to get capped because of a cavity. She was excited to get it out because it had been bugging her for a few weeks. I told her that she had to pay the tooth fairy for that tooth. No, not really.

The kids are all excited about Halloween next week. Crenna is going to be Hannah Montana we think, Maya is a devil, Andy is Superman, Aaron is a "Yes, sir", (an Army guy), and Anson is Spiderman. We are having a party down the street at a friends house with a haunted house and games. It should be alot of fun. I´m making my yummy sugar cookies and letting the kids decorate them, so I will be busy next week doing that. The Mexicans really don´t celebrate Halloween. They celebrate the day of the dead which is the following day.

We are excited about the holiday season being upon us and hope that anyone that wants to visit, can.

Homeschooling

Things Change

So it has been like a whole month since I last blogged. It has been a very bad month at the Hatch home. Mom was sick and is still trying to get better. I don´t know what I got, but it knocked me out with fatigue and nausea and a really bad headache. We all say that whatever Sandra my mother in law had when she came back from watching my kids at the beginning of the year had I also got too. We both never figured out what that was. All my tests came back negative and after 3 or 4 blood drawings I was sick of that. If you all don´t know I have the worst veins in the world and to get one draw out of me is pretty good. So I have been laying around for the last month and a half. My wonderful husband has been running the house and the kids. Last week I started getting more of my appetite back and energy, just in the nick of time too. After having a few of the kids turned away at school for not having the right uniform last week and seeing that the twins are not learning anything at the school except how to play on a jungle gym Josh came to a conclusion that we were done with the whole Mexican school system. We have been talking about homeschooling since we got here, but it always felt overwhelming to me with all five, but after talking about it and looking into some of the programs that are out there, Josh pulled the kids out last week. The kids were excited to hear that they don´t have to wear uniforms anymore. So when Josh comes home he gets the kids ready for bed and gets lessons ready for them for the next day. We ordered the program for the kids and are waiting for the books to get here. I am really excited about it. They took placement tests and we realized that they are all a year behind, so we have paid a lot of money this past year and they didn´t learn a thing. The program is excellerated so I am hoping by the time we move back to the states (wish I knew when that was) they will all be up to their grade level again. The twins have an advantage and will be way ahead since they are just starting kindergarten. All keep you all posted on the whole Homeschooling thing to let you know if we are still all alive.

SCHOOL IS IN SESSION

Well, kids have been in school now going on 2 weeks. I am so glad we are on a good schedule. Twins one or the other sometimes both take naps after school. They get really tired after a hard day at school. We have a nice meal after school with Josh. It´s great that he comes home for an hour or so because some nights he will come home late and the kids won´t get to spend that much time with him. Maya has started gymnastics and absolutely loves it. If she can only start remembering all the other things that she needs to do in one day, my life would be a breeze. All the kids have chores this year and it takes alot off of my load. They get a little little allowance. The twins love that they get money. The boys are all saving up for a light up light saber. They don´t know but I have already bought them and they only need to save up half and then they can get them. It will only take them another month if they don´t get anymore deductions from their small allowances. So this week my big outing will be searching for costumes for a dance that all the kids are doing at school for the Mexican Independence Day. Should be fun!!! I love going down in the Centro, not really! I am very impressed though that they gave me 2 weeks to find the costumes. I might be searching for a seamstress too if I can´t find everything we need. Man mom don´t you wish you were here to help me with this one :). One exciting thing that happened to me this week was I was asked to speak in the Spanish branch sacrament. That was fun!! More nerve racking then the time I had to speak in the Spanish branch out in the States. I hope they treat me like a youth and only ask me to speak once or twice a year. I can cross my fingers, right. Not much else exciting has gone on at the Hatch house. Maybe this next week I can post some pictures of the kids in their school digs. Can´t promise anything though.

Pretty Cool in Utah!!

We had lots of fun in Utah also. We had a birthday for the twins. I can´t believe they are 5. Time flys by quickly. We went swimming several times. Some at the Army Base by my parents house and a few times at the Lehi pool. The twins loved going down the waterslide they had there. We went to a really neat aquarium that had a few stingrays, sharks and even some seahorses. Aaron bought a stuffed stingray keychain and he carries it everywhere he goes. He thinks that is a pretty neat animal. We also went up to Temple Square on Traxx the train and saw the Joseph Smith movie and then went over to the Gateway where they have a really cool fountain that the kids can run through. They loved it. For the twins birthday we went over to a new little amusement park where they had bumper boats and go karts and a roller coaster. They had tons of fun. I even went on a few rides. We went camping with my parents ward up one of the canyons and the kids just had a blast. There was a fire that started down at the lower part of the canyon and we ended up being evacuated around midnight. I drove my mom´s car home and the kids just stayed asleep in the motorhome. They had no clue that they were sitting in the driveway the next morning. Kinda crazy, huh? We went to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point once again. The kids can´t get enough of that place. I wasn´t so thrilled to go, but it was $2 a person and my mom had not been yet. We also went with a few of my cousins and their kids. That made all the more fun, although I think the whole state was there with us. What can I say, Utahans like a good deal. We went to a really neat candy factory with my cousins and their kids. We got to see how they make the candy and even taste test a few of them. The kids had the most fun in the candy store, I think. Man they make the best Salt Water Taffy. Our last day before we left we went to the Zoo. Aaron loved seeing this rare white alligator they had. We loved the weather and the company and we´re sad to go, but I´m sure that we stayed our welcome out. Thanks for putting up with us for so long, Nana and Papa. Can´t wait til next summer.

Visiting Grandma´s House

We had fun at Grandma´s house. We relaxed, swam, and went up the river. It was good to see all the cousins. It rained alot, but that was okay. It kept the temp. down. We went camping in Pacheco and enjoyed the rain there also. We only stayed a day it was raining so much. We thank Grandma and Grandpa for putting up with us for a few weeks. Can´t wait until we can come again.

We´re Back!!

We decided to finally come home. We got back on Wednesday the 13th around 4pm. We had lots of fun at Grandma´s house in Chihuahua. Then the few days we spent in Arizona was great too. We got to see Marcia and the kids and Grandma Mimi. Then we were off in our rent a car up to Utah. I did it in a day. We had to stop a little more often then I wanted for pee stops, but we got there in a little over 11 hours. I thought that was pretty good. We had lots of fun with Nana and Papa, but when it was time to go we were ready. School starts on Monday and it will be good to get back on a schedule. We are thankful for all our family that put up with us and can´t wait until our next trip out to bug you all again. Thanks again. We love ya!!! I will post pictures later when I have a little bit more time of all the neat stuff we did.

Count Down to Summer!!!

We are getting very excited for our much anticipated summer vacation. I keep counting down the days left of school. I think I might be a little bit more excited then the rest of the crew. The school parties have kicked into full gear. Friday they celebrated Dia del Padre. Josh went and they sang and danced and recited poems and ate, and ate, and ate. He said it turned out really nice. They are having a few other activities this week, but the kids are not going to go. Can you believe they do a camp out with all the kids?? Even the 3 yr olds. I am not sure I will get used to that school activity. They are throwing a big graduation party the following week for all the kids that are graduating Kinder. Andy will officially be in Primeria next year with all the big kids. The last week is tests and then Kinder will finish on the 27th and the girls will finish on the 30th. Hooray!!!!!!!!! It has been a very long school year, and summer will probably fly by, but we are going to live it up and enjoy it as much as we can.

Change of Address!

Yes, you would think we could stay still for just one second. Well, we have but not our post office box. We decided not to spend the 250 or whatever it was for 6 months for the box here in Cabo and have a box out with John and Sandra in Columbus, NM and then have Sandra ship it over through the Mexican UPS once a month. Saves us mucho dinero. It was only 35 for the whole year. I can put that other money away for a plane ticket or use it on a tank of gas when I come out in a month. Yeah! Here is our new address then if you ever want to send a birthday card, hint, hint uncles and aunts or just to have it. PO Box 966 Columbus, NM 88029.

My Little Photographers Work

My Little Photographers

Aaron got a hold of my camera and started taking pictures. These are a few good ones in my opinion that are worthy for the blog. Some might be taken from Anson or Andy too. Aaron actually does a really good job and he thinks it is really cool to see the picture after he takes it. Maybe someday it will be his profession. Only time will tell.

My Little Girl is Growing Up

Crenna wanted to do something different with her hair, so I suggested we do a perm. One of my friends told me of a good hairstylist here in Cabo, so while my folks were here I took the opportunity to have them watch the other kids while we went and did that. She looks really cute and more grown-up. Not a good thing in my book cause I want her to stay young forever. I know, not going to happen. She loves it because it is less work on her part, since she just loovvees to comb her hair.

Locas Crenna and Maya

Glass Bottom Boat Adventure

San Pedrito!

Maya's Baptism!

Maya's Birthday Celebration!

I''ll Catch You Up!!

It has been a long while since I last blogged. Last Sunday I went to download pictures of Maya's Baptism and family outings and could not find my USB cord to download. I remembered putting it with the laptop. But that was no where to be found. It has gone missing. Then during the week I remembered that I could make a CD and get the pictures that way. YAY!!!



We had a great time with all the family that came for Maya's Baptism. We went to several different beaches, but I think the one that everyone most liked was the one that we are boogieboarding at, San Pedrito. Me gusta mucho!! I would go there everyday if it wasn't so far away. I would become a boogieboard bum.



For Maya's birthday Josh and I went over to her school and did a pinata and had cupcakes with her classmates. After school we went to dinner at Hard Rock and they sang to her. We all went after that to her baptism. That was a fun experience. It was supposed to start at 7pm, but when we got there the gates were closed and there was no parking on the streets. I found a spot, but my family who were behind me could not find a spot to park. Needless to say, with all the one-way streets in the area, they got lost and could not find there way back. By the time we found them it was 8pm when we started. All went well though. My mom did a great job on the talk. Thanks mom again!! It was a very special experience that I hope Maya never forgets.



Sunday we celebrated Maya's birthday again and had cake and ice cream after a yummy dinner. She had like 3 parties. But I am sure it was not enough. You can never celebrate to much for your birthday.



Monday the kids didn't go to school, so we took John and Sandra on the glass bottom boat tour. It was fun because the tour guide was very entertaining and the waves were a bit choppy. In the afternoon we went to a beach near us called Tobasco and Crenna and Maya went parisailing. Crazy!! Locas!! It would take a lot to get me up in one of those things. They absolutely loved it and Crenna keeps on telling me she wants to go again.



All in all it was a fun visit with a great purpose. Thanks again to those that took some time out of their busy schedules to come to visit us on our little island.

Count Down!!

We are all getting very excited for our visitors to come. Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Papa, U. JJ, and Auntie Mel are coming in less than 2 weeks. We are soo excited to show them around and catch a few waves on our boogieboards (care of Jordan and Arian). We wish more of you could come :( We will try and not have too much fun in your absence.

We are thrilled that Maya has chosen to be baptized. She has had like 100 questions about anything and everything. Of course, I tried to answer them all, but if I didn't have the answer she went straight to ...Crenna and dad, of course!!

I am having a swap with some of the play group this week. I don't swap, I just get rid of, but it is here at the house and that will be the last of the things that are still in the way. It will make me so happy when it is all gone and the house will look less cluttered.

The kids will all be out of school too. They have holiday for labor day and cinco de mayo. Josh will have Friday and Monday off, so we plan on seeing some sun at the beach. Don't worry G. and G. Hatch, Nana, Papa, U. JJ, and Auntie Mel, we won't be tuckered out from all the play time at the beach, PROMISE!!!!!

My calling went much smoother today. I have sooo much more to learn, but we have the Primary running like a Primary now, so if the chorister could just get her Spanish to sound like Spanish, that would make it all the more better. Yo puedo!!!! I can!!

Movin In!!

Well, we are back to our normal routine. Kids are in school and going full blast with that. Mom continues to run her errands on a daily basis, unpack, and try and keep up with the laundry. Pretty boring, but that is what we have been up to for the last 2 weeks. The kids have managed to occupy the pool on a daily basis. They are lovin that and so I am. I can get some things done at home while they are swimming. It is also a good reward for the twins if they work at school. We went to our new ward yesterday and I am pretty sure Josh is going to be much happier here. The kids even enjoyed Primary, Yaaah!!!! I didn't even get out of there without getting a calling. Man do they work fast. You know that's the way I like it. I guess I didn't do a good enough job with it the first time so they are putting me back in to try it again, yup, primary chorister, but now I have to do it in Spanish. It wasn't so hard in English, but now I have to learn them all in Spanish. I wish I could take a video and show you how silly I am going to be up there in front of the kids, but I think I will spare you my embarrassment. I guess this is just another way of getting me to learn the language quicker. I am sure they will put Josh to work just as quick. We will keep you posted.

Fun in the Sun!!!

Last Day of Samana Santa (Spring Break)

We had to go out with a bang to end our Spring Break. We went down to Chileno Bay which is in between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. It is a community that Josh might be taking on with his company. It has a nice beach where the kids can swim and play in the sand. A lot of people come to snorkel. We haven't ventured into that yet. I actually want to try and you know how I like not knowing what is in the ocean with me when I swim. One of these days. We met up with some of my friends from our play group and played for like 5 hours. Needless to say, some of us got fried, even with the sunscreen on. The kids all enjoyed themselves and want to go back another day. We even saw a pirate ship and some fun loving dolphins. They were really close to the shore. So tomorrow it is back to reality. Kids back to school and mom packing away and moving things over to the new house. Yah!! The kids have already started bugging me if they can go swimming. What can I say, I have a few waterworms.

Woo Hoo!!!

Spring break is almost over. Kids start back at school on Tuesday. Pobre Cita! Too Bad. We had fun though during break. We went to the beach a few times, went to see Horton Hears a Who in Espanol, went banana boat riding (that was way fun), went bowling. It was muy divertida (very fun). We also packed up a few things so that we can start moving over to the new house. This past Saturday we took a few loads over. The kids are very excited to get into their new house because for one it has paved streets and they can ride their bikes, it also has a playground, but mostly because it has a community pool. I like the fact that the kids will keep busy and I can send them outside to play without any worries. It was a quiet community, but the Hatch hurricane is a comin'.

Easter 2008

We had so much fun decorating eggs. We had a hunt tambien. We even got a surprise as well. We were able to watch New Testament several times during the day. We are grateful for our Savior's sacrifice.

Nothing like camping on the beach!

I was honored to attend YW camp with our Branch this past weekend. What an experience to be able to serve in the YW's. It is so different here, then anywhere I have served. The YW need much support here, since they receive very little from their parents. We enjoyed ourselved very much. It was only an overnighter, but we accomplished soo much!! You don't want to get me started. I will talk your ear off. Let's just say it was not a disappointment. Many hearts were touched and changed.

My little adorable trees!!

At the kids school they celebrated the beginning of spring or the dia de primavera (I think). It turned out so cute. Any excuse to have a fiesta. We enjoyed ourselves and so did the kids.

Andy turned the big 6 this past February!!

We had a great time celebrating Andy's birthday here in Cabo. We went whale watching for one of his presents. He wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frostening and when it was all gone he still kept on asking for more. That boy just can't get enough chocolate.

Paradise!

We went whale watching for Andy's birthday. I think we saw more dolphins than whales, oh whale!