HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TRISHA!

There's nothing like a good ole "shop till you drop" shopping spree to celebrate a birthday!   Since Trisha and Dana will soon be leaving for their 3 year mission in Mexico City, and she won't be around to celebrate her birthday with us for a few years, Lynnette cooked up a birthday shopping trip for her, and us!     We celebrated in El Paso, where we enjoyed a yummy luncheon at Olive Garden and lots of missionary shopping  and soon good hours of "ambiente" late into the night!

Makenzie will be heading off to college at BYU in Provo and her mother will head south to "mother" a platoon of Helaman's army! 

 It may be a while till they celebrate either of their birthday's together!

Nothing like walking the mall to help you work up a healthy appetite!

(Yep!   Here are Dan and Link with all the girls!

Some guys will do anything for a good meal!)

Yes... we finally did drop!   The best part of the day....

 just sitting on the bench to rest our feet and "platicar!"

HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY, TRISHA!

We will miss celebrating with you for the next three years....

But ya never know...

we may show up on April 18th on your door step one of those years!

Wouldn't that be fun!!

Just a little piece of heaven!

Yes.... our daughter, Angie and her family have moved ONCE again!   So... this month,

Big Bear and I traveled to California to enjoy a little bit of heaven!  As if visiting our daughter and her precious family isn't enough..... their latest move has landed them in what I could catagorize as "as close to heaven on earth as you could get!"

They live in the cutest neighborhood!   We fell in love with their new house.... so cute, with it's picket fence and lush greenery!



Livy, Tessa and Clarita gave up their bedroom to Big Bear and Lita and slept on the floor in their parents bedroom!    Little Clarita was so thrilled to have us there!   She kept coloring pictures and cuting paper and taping her creations onto Big Bear and Lita's shirts!  (I wish I had taken a picture of us with all these little papers taped to the front of us!  It was so fun!)

We loved the bike rides around the neighborhood!   We did this several times while we were there!  It was one of my favorite things about the visit!   There are beautiful bike trails around a gorgeous lake!   While trying to convince us to move near them, Angie and Mike took us right past the "senior citizen center" that was along our route.   The seniors were out on the veranda doing their thi-chi exercises!  I have to say, that looked tempting to me!

Clarita LOVES feeding the ducks!   They are very eager to entertain you by flying up and snatching pieces of bread right out of the air when you throw them!   They also will follow you along begging for more bread!   At times they are a little too eager and almost take a piece of your finger

off with the bread!  

While Dublan was experiencing very cool weather, we went to the beach!   Teague LOVES the sand!  It was a challenge to keep him from eating it!   The beach is only about 15 minutes from Angie's house!

As a special treat, one afternoon we went to watch the BYU Young Ambassadors!

They did an excellent job and it was fun to see such wholesome entertainment!



Tessa especially loved the Young Ambassadors and wanted

her picture taken with one of the performers!

Darron and Shauny live about a mile away from Mike and Angie and we got to help them move into their new apartment.   They live on the 3rd floor so it was a lot of work carrying everything up the stairs!   Tessa worked harder than any of us!   She literally ran up and down all three levels carrying arm loads of stuff!  It made me tired just watching her!  ha ha!  

 On Sunday, Baby Jersey Marie was the star of the show on her blessing day!

This little beauty has already figured out the she does not like the camera!   As soon as she sees it in front of her face, she starts to fuss!  

After church, Shauny's parents had us all over to dinner!  Cindy really knows how to put on a delicous spread!   Lots of Wares family and friends were there to celebrate little Jersey!

Cindy made this beautiful cake to help celebrate the occasion! 

 Shauny's parents also live right near the beach and their family enjoys lots of surfing!   Darron is picking up this new sport since he married into the Wares family!

Can you believe those eyelashes???

Little Jersey and Baby Jazy were both blessed in this pretty white dress!

We look forward to many return trips to this beautiful area that is as close to heaven on earth as you can get!  It is so pretty here!  The weather is perfect.... everything is landscaped just beautifully and is a lush beautiful green!
  I LOVED IT! 
 Can't wait to go back!

Jersey is #18!

Jersey Marie Hatch was born on December 22, 2010.

This little beauty makes #18 grandchild for Big Bear and Lita.

She is Darron & Shauny's first baby and they are absolutely crazy about her!

She will be showered with love.... that's for sure!

Finally finished!

Our remodeling job is finally finished!



Is it any wonder that Frank says he feels an

 overpowering urge to eat

CHOCOLATE every time he walks into the house????

We love our new surroundings!

This huge "gathering" area is gonna be so nice

when our whole family comes for a visit this summer!

I am "anticipating" already!

Number 17 is here!

Our 17th grandchild, Jazmyn Raquel Siruno was born

on November 20th 2010!  

Ashley and Demy have two molds!   The "Demy" mold.... Tyson and Sayda, and the "Ashley" mold, with Denali and JAZMYN!   This baby girl takes me back 29 years to when her mommy was born!  Baby Jazy looks a lot like her mom did!

Welcome to the family, #17!

We already love you a ton!

Legally HATCH !

I fell in love with Kayla the first time I met her when she was just 4 years old!

Brandon brought Laura and Kayla to the house in El Paso to meet us when Brandon and Laura were dating.

Kayla was such a beautiful little girl that she stole my heart immediately!  Brandon told us that the very night that he met Michaela, she took his face in her hands and asked him..."Are you gonna be my daddy?"  So, I guess that Brandon stole Kayla's heart too!  She must have been inspiried because that is exactly what happened!   Brandon did become Kayla's daddy when Brandon and Laura were married!  A lot of time has passed since then.... more then 8 years!  A few years ago, Big and Lita went with Kayla to school on "grandparents" day.  I remember the shock I received when on her desk was written in big letters, Michaela Jensen.   It hadn't dawned on me until then that she didn't use the Hatch surname.  We have waited a long time for Kayla to legally become a "Hatch" but it finally became official on November 22, 2010.

We all met at the Tucson Juvenile Court House for the big occasion!   This is Brandon and Kayla outside the door to the courtroom that day!

Brandon, Laura and family were seated in front of the room, before Judge that morning.   The Judged asked a few questions of Brandon, Laura and Kayla.   She asked if Laura wanted Brandon to adopt Kayla.  Then she asked Brandon if he wanted to adopt Kayla.  Then last, she asked Kayla if she wanted to be adopted by Brandon.   After they all said "yes"  the judge banged her gavel and pronounced the adoption final.  It was all very short and sweet!

Most of the Jensen family and Big Bear and Lita looked on while the proceedure took place!   Big Bear was waiting to welcome Kayla officially into the Hatch family with a bouquet of flowers.

The Judge teased Kayla by telling her.... "It was so nice to meet you, Michaela!   I hope I never see you again!"   Since she is a Family Court Judge we all got the hidden message behind her statement and we all giggled!   This is a picture of the family with the Judge in the background.

Dad, mom and Kayla outside the courtroom.

As always, the Jensen's were there to support Kayla in this big event!

The Hatch family wasn't able to attend but they showed their support with phone calls, flowers, cards and a special banner make by Aunt Angie, Livy and Tessa.

Michaela changed the spelling of her name.   She is now known as Makayla Alyssa Jensen Hatch.

I wanted to make sure Kayla knew how much we love her and how much it means to us to have her legally be a Hatch.  I made her a jean quilt and we bought her this beautiful jewelry box engrraved with

MAKAYLA,

Legally HATCH

Nov. 22, 2010

IT WAS AN EXTRA SPECIAL DAY FOR ME!

KAYLA WILL BE A PART OF OUR HAPPY HATCH FAMILY THROUGH ALL ETERNITY!

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS.....

Christmas is coming early this year to our house!   We have a remodeling project in full swing which will count as our CHRISTMAS!   Big Bear is very happy (as am I!) with what took place while we were in Arizona and Utah!   Wish I had taken "before" pictures but, I didn't so we'll just show you the progress so far!

The upper cabinets and wall have been removed from this area to open up the view into what will soon be the "family gathering room!"   The cabinets we took out are now installed above the sink in the laundry room!   When finished this backside of these cabinets will be a bar, complete with stools!

The computer desk is gone and a few walls.   This really opens up the living space.

and shows off a new entry way!

Looking back into the kitchen from the "bar" where the sweet little granchildren will get their meals served to them at Lita's house!

We now have a arch the goes down into the living room.

The new resurfacing of the fire place.   This was a surprise to me.  I had thought to put stone here but when I left I told the builder... "just do what you like!  I know I'll like it!"   And I do!   Amazingly this looks very similar to a fireplace at Ashley Furniture store that I really like and took a picture of!   Arturo must have ESP!

We plan to put the dinning room table in front of the fireplace when we are all finished!    So, you can see the progress and how much we still have to go!  I think I will be living with a "happy mess" all through the holidays!   This is a long anticipated face lift for our house!   Big Bear is thrilled and comments every time he walks in on how much he likes it!   He says "You may never get me stopped now!"

Don't I wish!!????

Rest in Peace, Phillis !!!

I got Phillis from the animal shelter in El Paso.  The instant I saw here I knew she was the cat for me!   I loved her distinct looking face.... mustache and all!  After we got her home I sent a picture of her to my kids and asked what I should name her.  Angie had the best response.  

She asked me, "Mom, who is your favorite person with a mustache??"  

 " Dr. Phil, of course!"  was my response.  And so my kitty became Phillis!

Phillis died today and I am sad!!   She had practically ruined all our furniture with her constant scratching and clawing!  We got her a scratching pole but she refused to use it.   We tried spraying the furniture with something that was supposed to make it upleasant for her to scratch.   That didn't help.   So, when our remodeling project began... (we are planning to buy some new furniture too!)  Frank took her to the vet to have a front claws removed.   After we brought her back from the surgery she just seemed so depressed!   She hid from us!   After a few days I noticed she wasn't eating or drinking anything.  I told Frank that I thought she was depressed. so I began to pay more attention to her.... petting her and talking to her.  I even called Shauny to ask what I could do for her but she didn't answer.   Finally on Wednesday evening I told Frank that I thought she was going to die. I think the minor surgery, plus the big remodeling mess, and constant pounding and hammering as they took out walls and floor were just more then she could handle.   Frank took her back to the vet and asked them to keep her and treat her for a couple of days.   The vet called this morning to say that she had died.   I feel like we murdered her!  I feel really sad!   Although she wasn't a friendly cat, I loved her!  She slept on the bed between mine and Frank's feet!   Frank often laughed about her skiddish personality!   He said she was "one mixed up cat!   Any why wouldn't she be??   First off, she was abandoned by her mother and left in a shelter.  Next.... what female with a mustache would have good self exteem???   Then her female reproductive organs were removed!   She must have had a hormonal imbalance!  (something I can relate to!!)   And I guess the straw that broke the camel's back was having her "fingernails" removed!   That was just something she could not handle, I guess!   So this post is my little tribute to Phillis!   I loved her and will miss her!  (tear rolling down my face!)   I have always loved cats but right now don't feel like I wanna go through this again!   It's happened many times in my life!   You love a pet and then you HURT when they die!   We will especially miss you at night, Phillis!    Rest in peace!

Maybe Phillis will be buddies with Nacho up there in "kitty heaven!"   Nacho was a unique and very smart cat the belonged to Darron and Shauny!   He would play fetch with them!   Eat fruit and drink water out of a glass!  He liked to sit on the bathroom counter and watch Shauny get ready for the day in the morning!  I also shed a few tears when Nacho died!   He was a special feline!!

This past year we also lost Echo and Thriller!   They were Jared and Meghan's dogs.  When Jared and Meghan moved to El Paso I took to taking them walking with me in the morning so they could get out of the yard!   They LOVED running through the orchards chasing rabbits and birds!   One day.... after our walk they didn't return home with me!   I didn't worry too much about it because I thought they would eventually show up.  But they didn't!    About a week later we learned that they had wandered down to Longhurst's pecan orchard and were bothering a horse there so the Longhurst foreman shot and killed them both!   Besides making me just so sad, this also made me furious!!   These two dogs were beloved family pets who 99% of the time were locked behind a fence in the yard.   One time the run off and were senselessly murdered!  

                         And so in 2010 I have lost some dear friends!   It's sad and my heart aches but I still am glad to have known them!   The love you feel for a pet is a special kind of love because they love you back unconditionally!   They keep you company without demanding a big investment of time and money!   Just knowing they are "around" puts a smile on your face!    I will miss you Phillis, Nacho, Echo and Thriller!   You have gone to join the many, many cats and dogs who have belonged to the Hatch Family!   I wonder if we will get all our pets back after the resurecction and if they will be a part of our eternal family!!   ??????? 

This spot reserved for pictures of Washington, D.C.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier... changing of the guard, Arlington National Cemetery