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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Always an Adventure

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter! It was nice of my Uncle Dennis to send an e-mail to all my Hatch family relatives regarding my last post. Keeping in touch with loved ones far away is why I continue to keep up this blog. Love and hugs to you all! I haven't done a good job of posting about all the things we've been up to as a family lately, so here comes one big post.
We're starting to see signs of spring at 7,000 feet above sea level. The first tulips are coming up in our yard and the grass is getting more green. What a treat to move and find beauty that I didn't have to plant. I hope the family who lives in my old home is enjoying the azaleas, hydrangeas, and tulips we left for them.
Yesterday was a day off from school, so the kids and I hiked the Palmer Lake Reservoir Trail, northwest a few miles from where we live. Its about a 1200 feet incline from where we started, and is rated moderately easy. It was not Easy for me, but I could give it a moderate rating. It was pretty much all uphill, but the path wasn't too rocky, and it was wide enough for a truck to drive up. As long as I didn't go too fast, I was fine.
It was certainly beautiful, cutting right between the mountains. We saw a belted kingfisher whiz past when we arrived at the lake. They're only found in mountain lake areas, so that was a treat. It's beautiful blue and white markings help to see it against the green trees. BigBuddy had brought his Colorado bird book with him, so we could easily identify it.
The views were gorgeous. Here you can see our views on the way down. We did see bear scat on the way and kept our eyes open for cougars too, but didn't see any large wildlife. A little snow started falling while we were at the reservoir, so we didn't stay too long, not feeling prepared enough for that kind of weather and on the way home we saw lightning in the Springs. It was a beautiful hike, and one I'd do again.
A week ago Saturday our whole family went about five minutes east to Fox Run Regional Park. Its another beautiful place, with lots of hiking trails. My goals are to get MyGirl ready for Trek and keep Big and Little Buddies from getting bored, and all of us want to experience what Colorado has to offer, so hiking seems to be an inexpensive, but rewarding way to accomplish all the above. It used to be a fox farm that went under, and the owner just let all the foxes go, so we were sure we would see some on our hike there, but we didn't. Instead, we saw one in our neighborhood on the drive home. . . can't complain.
The best part of hiking is the togetherness, of course. This was definitely an Easy trail to walk. BigBuddy came back later that week and rode it with his mountain bike, and said there were harder trails, we just hadn't taken them. Still, it was a peaceful place, and I am feeling grateful we have such beauty so close to home.
We found some interesting tree shapes along the way. The twisting and contorting provided a little variety in the otherwise traditional forest landscape.
This past Saturday I spent most of the time getting ready for our Easter Dinner. I knew Sunday would be a busy day for me, with leading the Primary music, doing my YW Secretary duties, and going early for choir rehearsal, so I made everything on Sat. except the deviled eggs which I made Sunday morning while listening to the Spoken Word on TV.
I kept the baskets to just a few of everyone's favorite treats.
My mom had given me the recipe for a yummy and easy dessert, and it sounded good, so I broke the rule of never serving something new for company, and it turned out great. Its so easy I was pretty sure I couldn't mess it up, and my mom said it was tasty, and she was right. These are the only ingredients - an angel food cake mix, lemon cook and serve pudding mix, cool whip, and sliced almonds.
You bake the cake, let it cool, then tear it up and put it in a 9 x 13 pan. Cook the pudding, and while still warm, pour it all over the cake pieces. Then let that cool for about a half hour, then spread Cool Whip over the top and sprinkle on almond slices. Let it sit in the fridge overnight, or just for a few hours, and it holds up nicely, and was delish, even thought I'm not a big fan of Cool Whip. Next time I'll probably just wait and top it with Whipped Cream right before serving, but it was a good dessert for me to make ahead.
I love all lemon desserts.
I was most thrilled that my roll recipe works at 7,000 feet. I had made a couple of high altitude adjustments a week ago when I tried it, and forgot to do those this time, and they turned out just great anyhow. The recipe made 26 rolls, which were perfect for the eleven of us eating. Our sweet neighbors have brought us dinner or invited us over twice since we moved, so we wanted to host them, and it was fun. However, by Saturday night I was tired. Feeding fifteen on Friday and getting ready for eleven is more than I'm used to, and the mess I made was spectacular. . . .
Just keeping it real! But not to complain at all, I loved seeing dear friends in our home and sharing a meal with them. Now we're getting ready for Cowgirl to come here in only two more days!!! We can't wait! And, she likes to cook, so she'll be a lot of fun to make messes with in my kitchen. :-)

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Easter Thoughts

Thanksgiving has long been my favorite holiday. To me it could cover everything that's most important to me in one wonderful day of gratitude, and I love that opportunity every year. It's not too stressful, there is no commercialism or pressure for presents, just one nice meal, time together with loved ones to contemplate all our blessings, and I do love that!

However, we change and we grow, and I have realized this Easter season more than ever before, that this holiday means everything to me! Without the Savior's willingness to suffer and die for us, this would be all there is. But, we know there is much more.

Everything I live for is based upon the events of that one supreme weekend we now call Easter.
The Resurrection, Eternal Families, Life Beyond the Grave, all are possible because of the love of Jesus.

Yesterday, my good friend from Maryland, Kirsten Eads, and her husband and six children and two grandchildren came to our home for dinner. They were here because her father-in-law had passed away, and he lived just a few miles from where we do. It was WONDERFUL to see her and all her family again. (Why do I forget my camera at such moments??? I guess I'm too busy enjoying their company, but still - that was a once in a lifetime opportunity!!)

Anyhow, as I was thinking about the continuation of families, that Dave has lost his dad, but not permanently, I was reminded of how grateful I was for the bittersweet chance I had to see my grandmother at springtime a few years ago before she passed away on April 23 - today!

It was bitter because I knew it would be my last time for a long time, but sweet to be able to spend that time actually with her and know that it wasn't the last time as well as being able to see so many other loved ones too.
When I see this photo and remember that time, I am SO GRATEFUL FOR EASTER! I look forward to her smile and hugs and love again someday.


We live about five minutes south of our county line. The next town north of us, is Castle Rock. The stake president of the Castle Rock Stake is my dear friend, Amy Gillie's, uncle. I think of her every time I pass through there, and lately I've been thinking about her a lot. It was April last year that she had her first stroke. I just drove through Castle Rock on the way to the temple this week.

As I think about Amy, I am also grateful for the chance to see her again. I was so sad to see Kirsten go yesterday. Friends are sweet blessings, and I still miss the sweetness of Amy. I guess I always will until the blessings of Easter are realized in my life.


On a more upbeat note, my nephew, Adam, got his mission call to Las Vegas, the same place my cousin, David, went many years ago. Adam has been there before, to visit us when we he was six months old, for BigBuddy's baby blessing. They have been roommates this past year, and become even more wonderful friends in the process. We are so excited for him to preach the gospel and let more people know all the good the Savior can do for them, not just at Easter but throughout their whole lives.

I am so blessed by the gospel in my life! I truly "stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me."
Happy Easter!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Tulips at the Temple

Today school was canceled due to a train leaking toxic materials just a few miles from our home, so since I wanted to go to the temple tomorrow, I decided today would be even better to get out of our town for a while. There is a fabulous mall about ten minutes from the temple, so I dropped my three children there, while I went. What a joy to see the tulips in full bloom when I arrived at the temple. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me. I just wasn't expecting them, but what a delight. These are pictures my mom sent me last year from her trip to Thanksgiving Point in Utah. At my desk area downstairs I have a picture of the Washington D.C. temple with all the tulips up there, and it makes my heart happy every time I see it. I can remember more than once being overjoyed with happening upon them each Spring and its a good reminder to me of the hidden blessings that come to us as we attend the temple. Today there were several beds of tulips in front of the temple today, but my favorite was the one with all reds and pinks. When I took the children back to see the temple after I was finished, MyGirl loved that color combo best too.

While I was busy, the children went to lunch, spent time in several fun stores, and were happy to get out of town and have a little unexpected fun for the day. On the way home we stopped by the Outlet mall on the way, looking for smoky mustard. We couldn't find it in any of the cooking stores, but I'll keep searching. Mom had some when I was at her house, and it was delicious! The boys were happy to settle for some Rocky Mountain Fudge instead.

It turned out, the conditions were just right so that no vapor cloud formed, and everything is back to normal in Monument. A hazardous team was brought in from New Mexico and we were blessed to receive the much needed rain we've been praying for in our part of the country. Once again we feel grateful for more tender mercies that have come our way.


Sunday, April 17, 2011

Little Known Facts

Today MyMike and I played a piano/organ duet in church. Mike arranged the hymns Jesus Once of Humble Birth and He is Risen into a lovely duet we could both play together.

We met working on a piano/organ duet many years ago - over 24 to be exact, so this was fun, and only the second time we have performed together like this since.

Anyhow, most people listening today didn't know Mike arranged this, and then tonight when the two youngest had a youth fireside, BigBuddy, MyMike and I all played Wii pictionary, and Mike was fantastic! He beat us both badly! Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to list some of his talents, because he's such a quiet guy and easily stays in the background of life, but in our life, he's the one that makes things happen the most.

1. He has a wonderful singing voice, and fills our home with songs that he makes up regularly.
2. He is a pretty good artist and musician, and totally supports me in all my artistic and musical endeavors.
3. He is totally fluent in French and still reads his scriptures in French, but now on his Palm.
4. He always does the dishes on big holidays when the mess is the absolute worst, and cleans the whole kitchen to perfection. I love that about him for obvious reasons :-)
5. He is super disciplined and has been exercising every week of his life since he was fourteen. His favorite things to do has always been swimming.
6. He built our last basement, put in a stone patio, and can do any project he sets his mind to.
7. He's neat and orderly and his desk is always clean.
8. He does math and physics I have no inkling about, understands it all, and wants to learn more.
9. He is constantly trying to improve himself personally.
10. He makes great waffles and anything I give him to cook on the grill, he cooks to perfection.
11. He has a good sense of humor and remembers and tells good jokes.
12. He understands principles from a lot of different disciplines and can converse about many subjects easily. I have learned a lot from him.
13. He loves to ride his dirt bike, and has promised he will ride it more in Colorado.
14. He handles any issues we've ever had with neighbors with great diplomacy, to the point that they always afterwards consider him their friend.
15. He is level headed when someone is injured and usually accurately assesses what is needed.
16. He knows how to work on cars and computers and all things mechanical and technical.

Now, while he has a lot of great talents, he would be the first to admit, he is far from perfect, and I'll just leave that at that. But, it was fun to share and be the beneficiary of one of his talents today. . . . Now I just have to work on my drawing skill on the Wii. . . . rematch coming up! :-)

Friday, April 15, 2011

A Little Creativity

While going to pick up my boy from his dorm - seen here with his cousin and roommate,

MyGirl stayed with Grandma and made cute things. I thought these Easter cupcakes were darling, and tasted great too! They dyed Easter Eggs too.

By the time I got back from Rexburg, my Cowgirl was there too, and had brought the cute idea with her about how to make flower barettes for the hair. Grandma has all kinds of fabric, so we used different colors to make these. They were easy and darling.
Here's one in MyGirl's hair that she wore on our trip to Antelope Island. It was a cold snowy day in Utah, last Saturday, but we still had a great time. This photo is one of our funny memories of the day. . . . She went to kick some of the sand off her shoe and ended up kicking her shoe into the Great Salt Lake. Fortunately, her brother was close to her, and was able to pick it up before it drifted out. His hands were COLD afterwards.

We drove up to the Bountiful Temple on Sunday before my parent's Stake Conference and enjoyed the peaceful beauty there. Just being together is the best!

Yesterday MyGirl brought home this tile from her Ceramics class. She made this on her own, and I absolutely love it! She is a perfectionist, and her attention to detail shows in this. Right now its on display on our kitchen table. Soon she's going to let me put it on the shelf in our kitchen so we can enjoy it year round without fear someone will knock it over when reaching for the salt and pepper.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hurray for Jobs Well Done

I've been out of town for about a week, and am just getting back into my routine again. I went to pick up BigBuddy from college. It was good to be with three of my children at the same time, but every time we went out the door, I kept counting and reminding myself the fourth was already accounted for, but not by me. . . . Just those mothering instincts, I guess.

I'll share some photos from the trip soon, but right now I need to process what's happened since I got home.

Yesterday, I mistakenly thought it was trash day. I had put the trash out in the morning when I saw a neighbor's trash out also. I thought it was funny that Mike hadn't done that, but forgave him quickly, realizing we had a harrowing night on Monday.

I drove almost ten hours on Monday to pick up BigBuddy from college. Less than forty-five minutes after arriving home, I heard a scream and footsteps running up the stairs. As I went to see who it was, LittleBuddy was running towards me, holding his hands under his mouth, and when close enough, spit pieces of his teeth into my hand. Playing Wii quite excitedly with his brother back from college, he had pulled the steering wheel back towards him to make a flip (in Mario Kart) so fast and so hard, he broke off his two front teeth! The right one was a clean break, leaving a straight horizontal line revealing half the tooth was gone, but at least it was in one recognizable piece. The left tooth had the center corner knocked off, rounded, like it truly had been hit by a round steering wheel, and that section had broken into three small pieces, which I was now carrying. I immediately put them into a small plastic lunch bag while his dad was hugging our boy, and commiserating with him, as he, too, has chipped front teeth.

I had been in the middle of stirring the mashed potatoes, and I turned back to stir them twice more; my mind was just spinning. I was so tired and overwhelmed by the sight of his broken teeth it was hard to think, but then I realized I needed to call our local dentist. We only met him two weeks ago, for a consult for LittleBuddy's fang tooth, and I felt bad calling his emergency phone number on a Mon. night, but this seemed to be a real emergency. The dentist was very nice, and told us to meet him at his office in an hour, which we did.

He proceeded to bond back the big piece. We're praying it doesn't need a root canal, but it was broken right to the root. . . . waiting and seeing. For the other, he had to create a new tooth to replace the smaller pieces, and after over an hour, miraculously, he has front teeth again.
And, they look fantastic! Our dentist did such a great job! And, how nice of him to not make us wait until the next morning, but to take care of it immediately. LittleBuddy was so thrilled, he actually gave the dentist a hug, which resulted in the biggest smile I've seen so far on the dentist's face. The next morning, in his usual humor, LittleBuddy quipped, "Maybe this year I really will ask Santa for my two front teeth." :-)

Obviously, when we got home around 9:30 that night, I was exhausted, and we all slept in and missed seminary, but sometimes, that's just the way it goes. Anyhow, back to the trash. . . .

I didn't realize it wasn't trash day until afternoon (Oh yeah, its only Tuesday - duh - still pretty tired), and just kept it out for Wednesday. This morning I needed to drop some of BigBuddy's things off at Goodwill, after he went through the decluttering process, and upon arriving home, our two trash cans were placed nice and neatly up at the top of the driveway against the third car garage, with their lids on. Seriously! Can you believe it?

This happens Every week. Not left down at the curb. Not with the lids inside the cans or lying next to them. No chance my trash cans will ever blow down the street. These trashmen are not just doing a job, they are doing me a service. One week I forgot they were coming, and didn't get the cans put out until they had already passed my house, but on the way back, they stopped, and did them then. I'm floored by this. In all my years, no trash company ever went to this much effort. When I mentioned this to my husband when we first moved here, that this is amazing service, his comment was, "That's what competition will do," and clearly he is right.

In our little town of 7,000+ people, there are three trash/disposal companies you can select from. I just used the one the previous tenant had used. I am assuming some of them serve the larger city south of us also, but the fact that the truck who comes to pick up our trash is not mandated by our county or community, but is a choice, gives them an incentive to work hard to keep their customers satisfied. All I can say is, Long live the free market and competition! I can honestly say I have never been so happy with my trash company in all my life. I am one very satisfied customer!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Can you see it?



The other morning, just as I was packing lunches and getting LittleBuddy out the door, he shouted from the kitchen table, "LOOK! Its a creature." That's how we refer to all things with legs that we don't immediately identify. As I ran to get my camera and switched to the telephoto lens, he was no longer directly approaching us, but turning to check out the creek area in front of him. At first we thought it was a cougar, but I am not sure. In some views it looked more like a lynx and in others like a coyote. I'll never know for sure. It went behind the scrub oak to the left, and then I didn't see it again, as I turned to get my boy out the door. Still, it was exciting, and reminds us that we really do live in the country.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

I Love Conference

It's lovely to be watching Conference at 10 am again. Growing up, we could only watch the Sunday am session at 9am, with nothing available in the afternoon or on Sat., and for the last twelve years we've started watching it at noon, so 10 just seemed wonderful. It's perfect for working around meals and having a good day, not squished on either end, if that makes sense.

Its not a tradition, but I usually make something good for breakfast, and today it was waffles. I used up the last of the Trader Joe's mix. . . will miss that! We had leftover whipped cream from the chocolate cake, so LittleBuddy thought that'd be delicious, and it was, on top of the maple syrup. (Clearly he likes it a LOT - Lol!) I used up all our strawberries but that would have made it even better.



For lunch I tried out Pioneer Women's Olive Cheese Bread.
Everyone was excited for it, but it was just too cheesy for me, and I didn't even come close to using a whole pound of cheese like it called for. I did like the olives and green onions, but probably won't make it again. Still, it was all devoured, so it certainly wasn't bad.



Yesterday was 78 degrees. Today, the wind blew something fierce, and brought this to our neighborhood. Its deeper now, but this was taken shortly after it started. We haven't seen any snow in a while. Now we're hoping for a 2 hour delay tomorrow.

My favorite part of the day, and in fact the weekend, however, was listening to the words of the prophets, apostles, and other general leaders. I heard a message I know I needed, and was grateful for the spirit that was present, which I felt throughout. I can't say I had a favorite, but several I loved. It was especially sweet to have my youngest son go with his dad to the Priesthood session, and also for all of us to hear the Prophet speak about the temple, as that is what he spoke about last Sept. when we had the chance to speak to him in person. It seemed like a reminder to our family that the message hasn't changed, that is still the most important thing for us to be focused on. I'm excited that we get to take BigBuddy through for the first time when he gets his mission call sometime this month.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Hosting a Dinner

We had our first real dinner party last night. Before we'd even moved to this area for a couple of weeks we were invited to a friend of Mike's from high school. Her parents had come to our reception 20 plus years ago, so he knew they lived around here, and when he contacted her with a couple of questions, she invited us over. It was so nice after two weeks of fast food and take out to have a real sit down home cooked meal. Her husband works for the church as the building rep for the whole western U.S. So he's been recently to Indianapolis and north of Independence (I know that threw me too) to oversee the work on temple building there. (Its known as the Kansas City temple - trust me, I was starting to think I'd missed something important when he mentioned going to Independence like three times in the conversation.)

Anyhow, we wanted to let them know we appreciated their hospitality and invited them back. Her kitchen was huge and to die for. She works as a nurse too, and my kitchen is still a work in progress and about a third the size of hers. Anyhow, I got over my not-good-enough-to-host-initial-thoughts, and just set about thinking about what food I made that tastes good. It turned out well, so I thought I'd share the easy recipes, because, that's all I make, and then we played Apples to Apples afterwards and had some good laughs for a couple of hours.

Grilled Chicken -
1 cup 7-up or Sprite
1/2 cup soy sauce
Cut up skinless chicken into 1/3 breast size pieces
Put it all in a ziploc and let it sit overnight.
Grill it up and listen to the oohs and ahhs.

There are other recipes that have more ingredients, but
trust me, this is enough, and everyone loves it.

Easy Risotto
Dice one onion.
Put it into a large skillet with 2 T. butter and 2 T. olive oil.
Let the onion get soft and translucent.
Then add 2 cups arborio rice.
Keep stirring until the rice kernels change color and look milky.
Now add a can of no-msg chicken broth.
Turn the heat to where it is on a gentle boil. For me, this is between 4 and 5 on my electric range.
When the liquid boils almost out, add another can of chicken broth.
I usually need between three and four cans, so keep doing this until you take out a piece of rice that tastes done - not hard.
Now add another T. of butter and some shaved parmesan cheese. I don't measure this, but just kind of dot it over the pan. Add about 1/2 tsp. pepper and you're ready.
This usually takes about a half an hour, but doesn't require you to stir it constantly. I just check it while I'm doing other things, and add more broth when it needs it. Easy and tasty!

Grilled Pineapple
I bought a fresh pineapple package at Walmart for under $4, already peeled and cored and ready to be sliced.
I came home, sliced it into about 8 even slices, and put it on the grill.
That's it, and does it taste good with the smoky grill lines on it. Seriously, I LOVE THIS!
I also had fresh strawberries and blueberries, and it made for a lovely fruit plate.

We also had Greek Salad and some Italian bread. . . easy too and I know you already know how to do this!

Dessert came from the Lion House Bakery cookbook.
Because I'm still figuring out high altitude cooking, I needed a no-fail dessert, and I know our guests like chocolate.
This is called Sinfully Delicious, and the picture looked good, so I followed a never-do-this hosting rule, and made something I never have before. I picked it because it used a cake mix that didn't require any changes to work at my altitude. Here it is, and it was yummy too, though, not the best chocolate cake I've ever had, but I had to go to Paris for that, but this is a good replacement.

Bake a German chocolate cake mix according to the directions.
As soon as it is out of the oven, poke holes in it all over. Pour an entire can of sweetened condensed milk over it, covering the entire cake, while it is still hot.
Now pour on half of an 11 ounce jar of caramel topping.
Let it cool on the counter a bit. I think I let mine sit for an hour, then cover it and put it in the fridge for the rest of the day.
When ready to serve, add whipped cream to the top, covered thick, and broken up Skor or Heath bars on the very top. Not too hard, and turned out great.

I owe another three families meals, so I'll be needing to use some of these recipes again soon.