I Seriously Need To Post!

We have been pretty busy around here doing different things. I noticed I never posted about Thanksgiving, so I should probably start there.
Thanksgiving was great! We went to Mom and Dad's, of course. They had all the other Crockett's over: my Uncle Jon and Aunt Leslie and their kids Kendra and Monty (and their kids)and Kensey and Kade. Plus Grandma Crockett and Aunt Virginia and Aunt Kim were there too. None of my brothers or sister came with their families because they are all coming for Christmas, but we live locally so we got to see all the cousins. It was great. The food rocked!
Jeff said it was okay for me to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving in Mesa with my sister, Megan. This is HUGE since I actually had a deer tag that started that day. But luckily, so did my dad and Jeff was able to live vicariously through Dad the first day of the hunt! Jeff did not have a deer tag this year. Megan and I did not brave the crowds early in the morning. We waited to leave until all the sales were actually going on and still had to weave in and out of traffic on the roads and in the stores. We had fun and were very tired at the end of the day. No pictures of this though (I can't ruin any surprises we might have!)
The week after Thanksgiving Jeff took off work so he could help Dad and me with our hunts. truth be told, if it were not for Jeff both of us might have thrown in the towel on day one! Sadly though, neither of us filled our tag. We didn't even see anything. Not a thing! I won't be putting in for the hunt next year! I bet Dad won't either. Sorry Jeff!
December 1st someone called and came over to look at our piano; which we have been trying to sell. It was too big for our house and we didn't use it as much as we should have. This guy was sold at first sight. He wanted to get it for his wife for their anniversary (I totally know, right). Tuesday they brought a crew of about five guys and loaded it up and hauled it away. We no longer have the piano; which is sad, but it went to a nice family (who turned out to be cousins of ours) and who will use it and I have more space in my front room again. We saved the money and will use it in the future for an upright piano; which takes up less space.
Also the week after Thanksgiving was my 35th birthday! Yay! I know. Well, aside from going hunting in the morning and getting tired and sore from that, it was a great day. We went out to lunch. Jeff took me to a movie and Mom and Dad watched the kids. Then we had red velvet birthday cake after and Jeff gave me my gift: Bones season 4 on BLU-RAY! I guess that means we are getting a blu-ray player for Christmas! I can't wait for all the extra special features etc. Thanks Jeffie! Mom, also got me a new temple dress since our new temple here will not have clothing rental as an option. I am excited to use it soon. My Grandma crockett also crocheted me a "Grand-daughter Doily" which is beautiful! I love it! Thanks Grandma!
The day after my birthday (Friday), we decided not to send the girls to school and went down to Mesa for another weekend of shopping and fun with the kids. We actually had a surprise for the girls. We took them ice skating at a place in Gilbert. They had no idea and were adorable when we told them. We stopped by Megan's house first to pick her and her daughter up to join us. It was a great girly activity. They all actually did a great job picking it up. I thought we would come home with more bruises than we did! There was an ulterior motive for this activity...the girls have been obsessing about ice skating for a couple months now. They have asked for nothing but ice skates and the movie Ice Princess for Christmas and have not stopped talking about it in the longest time since Adam. So I thought that if they experienced how hard it was and got a taste of it they would pipe down and think of something else to ask for. Total backfire! They loved it and did very well. They did agree that since our backyard is mostly concrete it might be better to get some roller blades and occasionally go to the place in Gilbert for some ice skating, but that thought was also fleeting. We will see what happens on Christmas morning!
We also did a little more Christmas shopping while we were there and I got to go to Toby Keith's new restaurant for my birthday! Woohoo! It was exactly what you would expect for a bar and grill and I was not disappointed. The food was good and now I can check that off of my to-do list! This week has been busy. I am trying to finish up my Christmas crafts and quilts. Plus trying to get the last of the shopping done. I am excited for Christmas coming up and look forward to some relaxation as well. Sorry about the long post but now you know where I have been! Pictures coming soon!

A Lifetime Of Gratitude...

Thanksgiving pictures will arrive soon:


Yesterday was Thanksgiving 2009. It was a wonderful and peaceful day. But what I want to post about is from Sunday in Relief Society.


We have the BEST "musical moment" sister ever! Every week she takes us on an adventure of learning involving music and the gospel and life! I happen to love her just a little bit extra because we were visiting teaching partners for two years! She is in her eighties (I think!) and is as vivacious as the day is long!


This past Sunday in anticipation of Thanksgiving, her "moment" involved the Thanksgiving hymn (I am not sure what the actual title is) "For health and strength and daily bread..." We sang it as a round in Primary long ago. I am not sure how much it is sung these days. Her point was that in this hymn we give thanks for three things: health, strength and daily bread. She had come up with more for her list and made a second and third verse. We were to guess the things she decided were important enough to make it into the song. I guessed family which was one and the other two were life and home. The third verse she made up included being grateful for knowledge and for truth and right; because truth alone isn't always good. Some truths can still be harmful, so she added "right".

Then she said that this list can be added unto by each of us for the rest of our lives. Each time we are stuck in a red light or at a stop sign or are waiting in a Dr.'s office we can be thinking of more things that we can be grateful for and add them to our song. As simple as this is, at the moment it was profound! Thank you so much Sister Wheeler for your dedication to your calling and your wonderful thoughts and wisdom!

For health and strength and daily bread,
We praise thy name, oh, Lord!

For life and home and family,
We praise thy name, oh, Lord!

For knowledge and for truth and right,
We praise thy name, oh, Lord!

New Dresser!

After re~painting the girls' room and making it actually look good. I decided to keep going with one of their dressers. I got this dresser at a Habitat For Humanity shop in Colorado several years ago. I painted it bright pink for the girls and it has served us well. I even spray painted little palm trees to match a comforter I made for them. I decided the pink was no longer right for the room and it needed a makeover. Since everything else in the room was matching pink or green I went with just plain white. This will also make it easier to move around if we ever get new dressers for the girls.
First I had to strip all the paint off. I used a paint thinner and a scraper. It went well; except for the dresser top where I had spray painted. The spray paint apparently made a seal for the underneath paint and it was difficult to remove and even sand down. There were small raised spaces where each palm tree had been. After a while I was satisfied enough to move on.I love how the paint bubbles up with the thinner doing its work!All scraped off. Well, mostly! I even filled in the holes from the hardware so I could get rid of the drawer pulls that we had. They were annoying to me. I can't explain it!A coat of Primer to make sure the underneath madness doesn't start seeping through. I even decided to paint the back white just for more finished look. All the white splotches you see on the sides are where I had accidentally gotten pink paint from the last time. So I covered it up as to destroy all evidence of the previous dresser!

I bought some new hardware and moved it in. I am happy with it. This is a very well built dresser. I am happy that I was able to find it when I did.

And to top it off I found a perfect headboard on clearance at the furniture store and brought it home to complete the room!

Of course, wouldn't you know it...Last week I was driving around town and a woman had a bunch of furniture out in her front yard. I stopped and she had a matching dresser to the other dresser the girls have in their room. It would have been perfect to bring home and I could use this white one for something else. But the insane woman wanted $100 for it. It is OLD. I had dressers exactly like these when I was about four years old. And they were not new when I had them! Hello lady, get some sense! I did not buy it. After all we have a perfectly good dresser!

I might go check the thrift stores in town later today to see if she just donated it somewhere! shhh

Book Club!

For an updated Halloween post click here!


Yesterday I had book club at my house again. This time we read "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain... Well, some of us read it. Most of us had not finished it yet. Either because it was hard to get into or because they were reading something else that they couldn't put down. I am one guilty of not getting into it, though I have enjoyed what I have read. Mark Twain has a great style to his writing. I am hoping to finish it before next week when my Mom's book club (that I also go to) meets to discuss "Tom Sawyer"!!!I also made this yummy dessert for the club. I always try something new when people are coming over. It turned out really good. It is basically a giant snowball: chocolate cake with a cream cheese filling with pudding frosting and coconut topping. I am excited to make it again for another occasion. It was a big hit.
We also fed the missionaries last night after book club. Jeff made the soup recipe that I posted not too long ago and we served them the same cake. They loved it all. Thanks, Jeff for taking care of dinner while I chatted with my ladies!

Its Unanimous!

Well, you all should be very proud of me because I have kept my mouth shut about this and not told a soul! Today Jeff was put into the Elders Quorum Presidency as 2nd Counselor. Apparently all his checking in on people who don't come and making phone calls to invite people to activities has landed him in the hot seat! I think this will be great for him. He has been saying that he doesn't really know many people in the ward. This will be the perfect opportunity for him to meet and get to know as many as possible. He will be away from home more often when they have visits to make but I think we will be blessed for it as well. "Yay Jeff" for being worthy and willing to serve! We love you and know you will be awesome!

Also today was our Primary Presentation program...it was really good. I am proud to say that Bronson and Madelyn had their lines memorized and said them perfectly clearly. Kaitlyn also had hers memorized but opted to read hers at the pulpit. What do you do? She was also very eloquent. The nicest thing about the program today was that I was not in charge of it! haha I just sat there and enjoyed it. One Sunbeam in particular was great for entertainment's sake. She knew all the words to the songs and could sing on key (always a bonus) and she would belt it out on every song! You could hear her above all the others. Thanks Adelynn for your dedication! I love "good church" days! haha

She Keeps Growing

Kaitlyn had another Dr.'s appointment in Mesa last week and she has grown another inch (plus) since July! That makes more than four inches for the year. I am so glad these shots are working for her and that she is catching up on some much needed growth. It looks like we should be able to do these shots for several more years based on her growth plates and bone age...That will be great to get her as "tall" as we can!
The Dr. did notice that she has uneven hips and took a closer look at her legs. We discovered that Kaitlyn has one leg that is longer than the other; only by about half an inch though. We need to bring it up with the regular Dr. sometime and then maybe see an orthopaedic Dr. to talk about getting a lift for her shoe and any other possibilities.
We really like her Endocrinologist. He seems just right to work with kids and help them with their issues without making them feel different. Kaitlyn, I think, likes him too; which is good since she will be seeing him probably until she is about 18!

Happy Halloween!

This year for Halloween, my mom put on a carnival for all the grand kids. We had done one about six years ago when there were about half as many kids and it was fun. Since it was on a Saturday everyone was able to make it over for the weekend. It was a lot of fun!

First, Madelyn went to school that Friday for all the festivities. Kaitlyn was actually sick that day and missed everything. Don't you hate it when that happens?! We are lucky enough to be able to have actual Halloween parties at our school. I guess in many areas they call it Fall Festival and keep it on the politically correct side of things. We have a parade with all the kids dressed up and teachers as well. Everyone participates! I love that!

Saturday, at Mom's, there were so many activities to do. We had carving pumpkins, painting pumpkins*, a doughnut eating contest*, a bean bag throw (into the giant jack-o-lantern)*,
check out my skeleton hands fingerspelled shirt!
making popcorn skeleton hands,

a "fish pond"*, a pinata,

a costume fashion show,

Yes, that is me in the bunny costume and would you believe I went around the whole neighborhood like that???
and a haunted house!

Not to mention the prizes that went with each activity! It was crazy fun for everyone and at the end of the day we had dinner in a pumpkin and a bunch of other delicious food. Followed by trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. It was a great day of fun with family and smiles all around. Happy Halloween everyone!
* for activities I did not take pictures of...I need to get those photos from Megan and Mitch!

Okay, One More!

Last night in our Family Home Evening everyone was saying something they liked about another person. There was no rhyme or reason to this and most comments were along the lines of "I like Madelyn because she helps me clean or because she plays with me." Bronson was called upon to say something he liked about Daddy. Bronson in all seriousness said, "I love Daddy because he doesn't punch me in the face."
And the winner of the Funniest~Kid~In~Town~Award goes to...(rum roll) Bronson Ryder Hatch! That kid cracks us up!

Sunbeam Moments!

Today Bronson gave his first talk in Primary. He was so cute this morning getting ready. We put his suit coat on him and combed his hair extra nice! He seemed to know it was all for his presentation! When the time came for him to go up, Jeff went with him to help. Jeff would whisper what to say in his ear and Bronson said it exactly how we practiced at home. Then I saw that Jeff would whisper in his ear and Bronson would whisper back to him and they would go back and forth a few times before Bronson would actually say his next line. After church I asked Jeff what was going on when Bronson was whispering back to him...He said that Bronson was telling him that he didn't want to say that part right now! Luckily, I guess, Jeff won that argument because he gave the rest of his talk exactly as it was planned out! He is so funny! We love all the crazy, funny things he says all the time! Good job, Bronson on your first Primary talk!
(Picture coming soon!)

Kids, Kids, Kids...

Here are some funny conversations I have had with the kids recently:

1)
Madelyn this morning after eating breakfast (she's always hungry right after eating): Mom, am I allergic to {sneakers}?
Me: (thinking~what could she be talking about?...oh!) You mean Snickers??? Yes, you are allergic.

2)
Bronson (after I told the kids they could watch a movie): Mom, I wanna watch "Sweeper By The Dozen"!
Me: We don't have that movie. We have "Cheaper By The Dozen"!

3)
I took the kids to EAC to watch a drama production of "The Emperor's New Clothes." Right after the new clothes were revealed ...
Madelyn: (with wonder) They're invisible!
Bronson: (with practicality) Its just a hanger!

Quilts...

I finished this quilt today. I started it probably sometime in September and put it away for a while. Today all I had to do was add the borders. It wasn't hard, but time consuming. I used a jellyroll that I bought at Walmart. It was a bunch of assorted batik fabrics (already cut into 2 1/2 inch strips). I normally stay away from fabrics like batiks just because they are not my favorite look. But I was branching out. I had to decide on a pattern that used strips since that part was done for me; and when I saw this one I went with it because I have done this pattern before and knew exactly what to do. I ended up picking out a background fabric which I thought worked nicely with the other colors in the batiks. I think it looks yummy! If I were the kind of person who names her quilts I might call this one: Confetti Cake or Tutti Fruity !!!
What do you think???

Happy Birthday Dear Gwenny!

Today is my sister-in-law, Gwen's, birthday. We are very excited to celebrate this today as it has been a long time since we have had cake. Luckily, Dad made some cake in her honor and we participated in eating it. Yay! We hope your day is as great as you are! Oh and the kids sang you a song too! (Again I apologize for their lacking musical skills!)

Since Hunting Season Is Upon Us!

This is seriously cool. Enjoy!

My New Kitchen Bling!!!

In April, we had the opportunity to have a home demonstration for Salad Master where we learned about some seriously great cookware. This cookware has proven to improve peoples' overall physical health as well as to help people lose weight and eat less and more healthily in general. We loved it but could not afford to buy a new set of pans at the time. We made an unspoken decision to work on saving some money to buy some in the future. In the mean time, we have been using our "poison pots" as I dubbed them after hearing about the many health hazards associated with copper, Teflon and a aluminum pot ware!Not long ago I was talking with my good friend who happens to sell these pots and she mentioned she was going to sell a certain set. I immediately offered to buy them from her. And Voila! We have a our new kitchen pots and pans that have a lifetime warranty and look so pretty. I love how they all nest inside each other and the handles are interchangeable. No more "poison pots" for us. And here's to some healthier eating habits. My old pots have been reduced to the camping supplies and that's if we don't just take these with us everywhere we go from now on! Thanks Sandy!