I went an entire year without writing about anything. I'm lame, and I'm sorry. No excuses, just an apology. I'm sorry.
This is the first picture I have of you from 2015, and it cracks me up. This is what you decided you were wearing to school the first day back after Christmas vacation. I posted it on Instagram (I wonder if you will even know what Instagram is when you read this), with the caption "Patterns are in for 2015." I love your fashion sense and hope that you always let your fun personality shine in the clothes you decide to wear. Occasionally I'll have to ask you to maybe put on a different shirt with those pants or vice versa, but for the most part we just let you be, even if that means 5 different colors/patterns in 1 outfit.
The rollerblades you guys got for Christmas were a big hit. As I'm looking at this picture a little more closely I see Logan on the ground as you skate on by. You got the hang of rollerblading really quickly, and the basement made for an excellent roller skating rink for you guys.
But we took to the open road more than once this winter too. You were a big fan of holding my hand and letting me pull you uphill to the park though. That road got bumpy!
After a few times where I made you skate to the park without being pulled you decided it was better to pack the rollerblades in your backpack and walk to the park before skating back home.
On Valentine's Day we took Toby and a picnic out to gunsight point where mom had a perpetual heart attack the whole time trying to keep you guys from running off cliffs. This picture of you and Ty enjoying your sandwiches is too cute not to include.
See the reason for the heart attack? You guys had no problem getting close to the edge, and Toby had no problem trying to chase every rock you guys threw over the edge.
Later that month we took you guys to your first Jazz game in Salt Lake. We got to downtown a little early, so dad and Logan headed off to the Hunting or Sportman's Expo that was in town, while I took you and Tyson to Temple Square to check things out and kill a little time. Gotta love your little brother ruining all your pictures by pulling faces.
Inside we let you guys pick what was for dinner, and you and Logan chose pizzas. We had a blast watching the game and taking turns taking you all out to get more food, more drinks, and for bathroom breaks.
The next day before we headed home we stopped at Scheel's to ride their Ferris wheel. You and Ty rode with me, and this crummy quality picture is proof of the fact that I was scared to be holding my phone out because I didn't want to let go of whatever I had previously had a death grip on. You two are cute though!
Dad's new engine came this spring, and we had to go down to Tanglefoot to check it out. It's HUGE! You didn't even come close to the bottom of the door!
Kanab's new "Balloons and Tunes" hot air balloon festival included an appearance by Smokey, played by your dad for at least one shift, and we went down to check it out and keep Smokey company. Smokey is unusually good at Frisbee for a bear.
We had a pretty big snowstorm come through, so we did what everyone does and headed out to the sand dunes to sled. Except we don't have sleds. So we just played in the snow for a bit until dad realized that if he threw you guys you'd get pretty stuck in the snow.
About this time reading really started to click for you. You'd left preschool knowing how to read really little books and sound out words you didn't know, but by the middle of kindergarten you were reading chapter books and doing really well with your comprehension and sounding out words you didn't know. You've only gotten better and better as you've stuck with it, and we couldn't be more proud!
We got an adventurous bug this spring, and dad took us out to a new canyon for us to explore. You are always happy to go, and every time we did you would always say at least once, "This is the BEST DAY EVER!" When one of your kids says that you make it a priority to do whatever it is you were doing more often, so we went on quite a few hikes this year.
This is of our first trip to Peekaboo. I can't believe we haven't gone here before, but our truck really HATES sand, and the road to Peekaboo is all sand. On the way back out the trip was a little bumpy and you were feeling carsick. You asked us to ask you questions to keep your mind off your stomach, so dad asked when your birthday was. This is how that conversation went:
Dad: When's your birthday.
You: June 1st.
Dad: What year?
You: (very confused).....uh.....every year?
Me: **Dying of laughter.
Dad had to admit that your answer was right, but it was so you that it just killed us, and we spent the next few minutes laughing instead of worrying about the crazy way dad was driving.
One day of spring break I took you guys out geocaching. We never did find any of the geocaches we were after that day, but we did find a pretty cool cave that runs under the highway by Mt. Carmel. I really didn't want to go in, but you guys ran ahead until I had no choice!
And fill them you did! I always try to keep you from eating it all in a couple days by letting you have a piece here and a piece there before finally getting tired of policing you and just telling you all to just eat however much you want. Then someone usually throws up. It's a lot of fun.
But really, this Easter tradition is one that we all love.
For career day your dad brought his engine to school so your kindergarten class could see how cool he is. He brought his gear and dressed you up in it while he talked about what it was and what he used it for. I think it was a pretty proud moment for you!
Another Sunday hike with dad we took.
I have no idea when this was or why this was, but it's sure a cute picture of you trying to contain cousin Brody!
You had fun this year with the kids that we babysit, and I had to get a picture this day when you all had some random dress-up type thing on. That's your buddy Mason on your right who I hope you are forever friends with.
Another trip to the park done, and Tyson was too tired to ride his bike home, so you jumped on with your rollerblades and managed to make it home in one piece! (Check out that view! I love Kanab!)
I got brave and figured out how to find the K-Hill trail. It sounds like it should be simple since it is a giant K on a hill you can see from practically anywhere in town, but finding the trail was tricky! We did it though, and even though you guys hadn't wanted to leave the house that day, you were pretty stoked when you got close to the K and saw how big it was! Unfortunately, the trail goes about 100 yards down the hill from the K, but that didn't deter us, and we scrambled up the hill the 100 yards until we got to it where you guys proceeded to freak me out more by climbing ON the K.
It was your first year of coach pitch baseball this year, and you improved quite a bit over the season. It was so, SO hard for you to hit that dang ball on a pitch rather than the tee, but you never gave up! Each at-bat you got 5 pitches, and if I remember right you made contact with the ball in a couple of your games. The best part about watching you was seeing how you were still upbeat and positive on the times that you didn't make contact. You'd run back to the dugout, pass off your batting helmet to the next teammate in the lineup, and start cheering fr you team again.
The last week of school your bottom tooth got especially wiggly, and I knew it was almost time for it to come out. On a trip to Junction for an after school snack of fries and ice cream I took this picture to put on Instagram with the caption saying something about it being one of the last pictures without all your baby teeth. Sure enough on the last day of kindergarten we pulled it out!
You were an acrobat in the Kindergarten circus, and that's quite an honor. I had a blast watching you swing on your trapeze, and you did everything perfectly. We LOVE the kindergarten circus.
The boys enjoyed the after-circus treats too!
I ordered myself a kayak with my Christmas/birthday money, and we were so excited to get out on the reservoir and try them out that we took them out the very evening after we got home from picking it up from Grandma and Grandpa Hillier's house. Unfortunately we found out the reservoir had swimmer's itch which made it fun to try and find a place to take them, but we definitely got our use out of them this year.
We had a fun-packed summer that was kicked off early with your birthday , and first thing that morning you wanted to open presents.
I'm not sure why you're holding a baseball. Maybe Logan gave you one?
Great-grandma Hillier gave you this cute penguin which you immediately declared your love for.
And mom and dad got you a new bike which you needed after I tried to change the tube in your back bike tire, which would have been fine except we lost all the pieces to put your bike back together and then it never happened.
We went to Pizza Hut for dinner and had PINK cake for dessert.
June was the month of the reunions for us this year, starting with the Veater reunion out on the East Fork. Grandpa and Grandma Veater were in charge this year and picked a nice spot next to a little pond where we spent lots of time in the kayaks and then playing games on Saturday with all the other cousins.
One of the nights Bosten came to our trailer to have a sleepover, and you guys stayed up chatting and making shadow puppets on the wall of the trailer. It was pretty cute. I love the bond you two have. You both are pretty content to play horses in grandmas trailer for hours on end and have a really similar, mellow personality.
A few weeks later was the Hatch reunion at Tropic Reservoir. Dad was even able to come up to this one for a day, and we somehow managed to get him in the kayak!
Fourth of July weekend we went to Fish Lake with Grandma and Grandpa Hillier. We took the kayaks out, went on a hike with Grandma and Grandpa, and finally geocaching with Grandpa, I love how relaxing it is to stay up there, and you guys had a fun time playing games and exploring the streams.
We did a lot of geocaching, and this was one of the ones we found up by the gun range north of Kanab where you were showing some sass.
And this was one we found one Saturday when Grandma and Grandpa Hillier came over to visit and go with us.
I'm not sure what this picture is or why I took it. Chances are you were doing something fun and asked me to take a picture. I'm also not sure why there is a 5-gallon bucket in the background, but we'll just go with it.
Some friends in our ward own one of the local pharmacies, and this summer they built a nice new location with an ice cream/soda fountain. It was our duty as friends to go try out the ice cream the week they opened. We approved and have been there quite a few times since! During Western Legends I had to take their little guy, Bridger, to his uncle right as the parade started and noticed a couple from our ward sitting under the misters eating ice cream while they waited for the parade, and I realized that they had the best seat in the house to watch the parade! I tucked that little nugget of information away for another day...
Dad was SUPER busy on fires this year. He left on an assignment the end of July, and we didn't hardly see him again until September. He came home from an assignment right before school started, so we took his R&R days as an excuse to run to Salt Lake and go to Lagoon. We didn't tell you guys were were going, which made it fun. We got to our hotel in draper fairly early the day before we were going to Lagoon, so we found a fun arcade/bowling alley close by and had a good time there before heading to pizza. We about had you guys convinced that we had driven all that way to go bowling.
The next day when we pulled up to Lagoon everyone was pretty excited. We had a good time and the adults only had a few meltdowns a piece. Here you are being a good sport and riding a kiddie ride with Ty...
..and on the train that goes by the animals...
...and squished on the log ride with the whole family (the look on my face is because I'm worried I'm going to drop my brand new phone in the water). It was so nice to have dad "home" for a few days, because he was only home about a day or two after our Lagoon trip before he was off again for 25 days!
Another "you should take a picture..." moments.
The week after our Lagoon trip you started first grade. You were a little nervous about going to all-day school but so excited when you learned that you had Mr. Willardson, the same teacher Logan had in first grade. It seemed like every one of your friends we asked had one of the other two teachers, which made you even more nervous, but to no one's surprise you have made lots of friends, and Mr. Willardson says that everyone loves to choose you when they get to pick a friend to do something. We're so proud of the happy and helpful girl you are.
Did we mention silly?
You're a sweetheart at home too, for the most part, and love to help out your little brother when he's feeling a little sad. I'm guessing that's what happened in this picture.
This summer we all went to the dentist in LaVerkin. Logan's had cavities before, and I figured if you and Ty were anything like he was you'd both have some too, so on the way to the dentist with you and Logan in the car I told you both that if you were cavity free I'd pay you $20 (I almost said $50!), and wouldn't you know it? You and Ty were both cavity free! So while Logan was getting his cavities filled you and Ty got to stay and hang out with grandma and grandpa before heading out to Peach Days later.
On Labor Day we headed up a canyon we'd been to with dad before and found that the monsoons had left some deep pools in the canyons which you guys immediately jumped in.
It didn't take too long before you guys started to freeze though, so we headed for home, letting you guys ride in the back with Toby until we got to the highway.
When we asked you and Logan if you wanted to do soccer this fall you were the only one who said yes. You have graduated to the older groups who play on Saturdays and have practice during the week, and so we spent the Saturdays in September and October watching you play soccer. You love to be a "defender," which is another way of saying "one of the 2 goalies," and you made quite a few good stops during the season. A couple times during games and practices you got hit with the ball pretty hard, and we were always impressed with how tough you were, especially compared to some of the other kids who bawled when they barely got hit!
You worked really, really hard to read a ton and take lots of tests so you could get your Accelerated Reader goal as soon as you could, and you ended up carrying on your brother's tradition of being the first one in the entire school to earn your shirt as a first grader. That's a HUGE accomplishment!
After losing both your bottom front teeth during the summer you were finally getting a wiggly top tooth. One night I told you that I was sick of seeing it be so creepy and loose that I was going to just pull it out. It took a second or 2, but pretty soon out it came. As I sat there holding that tooth in the tissue in my hand I realized that the next day was school picture day! Oh well, it made for some cute picture-day pictures.
Speaking of picture day pictures, your hair in this picture is pretty much all my fault. During the early spring we found out that the man who owned the house we had been renting for almost 5 years was tired of having real estate in Kanab and was putting it up for sale. Ugh. Not only is it a pain to live in a house that is for sale, but there are NO decent rentals in Kanab. We prayed and prayed for something to work out. My visiting teacher, Sister Douglass, found out we were looking and told me that she wished the timing was better as they had just received their mission call and were leaving in October. We kept in touch over the summer, and when it came down to it, it all worked out that we needed to be out of our house 10 days after they were needed in their mission! I KNOW it was an answer to our prayers, and it has been such a blessing to have some time to help us figure out our next move.
So...back to the story of your picture day hair...the house is in the same ward and just a couple blocks away from our old house, but instead of being almost the last ones to get on the bus you guys are now the first ones to get on the bus. The week of picture day was our first week in the new house, and only the 2nd or 3rd day you guys had ridden the bus which now came at 7:15(!) in the morning. Needless to say our morning routine has changed a bit, but that day we were super rushed and I was in the middle of doing your hair when the bus came. I sent you out the door in hopes that someone at school could help your hair for pictures. (Logan ran to the bus with no shoes that morning!) When they came I saw your hair was a little funny, but your smile was so cute there was no way I was doing retakes. I love them!
For Grandma Hillier's birthday Aunt Lisa scored all of us tickets to Tuacahn later that summer. One Monday evening in October you and I met up with them and grabbed a pizza and headed to Tuacahn. We saw When You Wish, which was a fun medley of Disney movies. It was a really fun girls night that we are hoping to repeat next year!
Deer camp later that month was a muddy, rainy, cold mess, but we had fun anyway. Your dad and uncles made a swing for the kids to play on, but you must have thought it got too crowded because pretty soon you had made your own swing on the other side of camp. We were all impressed with how sturdy you had made it on your own!
Ready to go hunting with dad!
You'd gone back and forth about what you wanted to be for Halloween this year, but after seeing all the Disney characters at Tuacahn you decided that Pocahantas would be a fun one to be. We had a fun Halloween activity with the YM/YW in our ward the Wednesday before Halloween and then the big day was Saturday.
We went to the trunk-or-treat put on by the city before hitting our old neighborhood up by the park and then hitting some houses of friends, teachers, and neighbors.
We felt a little differently about those nice shade trees when they started dropping all their leaves everywhere this fall. You guys liked playing in them more than raking them up. One day in December we finally decided we better get them raked up before the snow started falling, and I put you to work standing in the trash bag-lined can stomping them down while I scooped them in. You though that was much better than helping rake!
I taught you how to make bracelets with all the embroidery floss that Grandma Hillier gave to us from her cross-stitching days, and since then I've had bits of floss and random bracelets all over the house. It's a rite of passage to learn to make those though, so I'll deal with it. I especially like you teaching Tyson how to make them.
We put you in gymnastics when the school year started, and to say that you have enjoyed it is a HUGE understatement. You stand on your head half the day, and when you aren't standing on your head you are doing cartwheels or flipping over. You got your costume for your performance, and Ms. Angie asked us to let her know if there were any issues. I thought something looked a little off with yours, so I wanted to send a picture to her to see if she thought we needed to change anything, and this is what we got with the first try. Always bombarded by those brothers!
We did end up adjusting, but I didn't get a picture of you on the day of your performance (so bad, I know!), so this is the best I have until spring. You had a tumbling pass you had been working on, and one of those moves was a front limber where you put your hands down in front of you, land upside down in a bridge, and then eventually kick over. You could flip over just fine, but your feet always slipped out from under you when you were supposed to stay in a bridge. You worked and worked and worked on that move, especially the week before your performance. The day of your performance you were a little nervous. It was during the halftime of a basketball game, and Grandma and Grandpa Veater came through on their way home from Cedar to see it. You were the first to do your tumbling pass, and you NAILED it. I got tears in my eyes then, and I've got tears in my eyes now as I write this remembering how proud I was of you for working so hard. It is so fun to see you learn a new skill and be so determined with it. Ms. Angie says that when it is time to work in class you are all business, and she appreciates that.
We went to Grandma and Grandpa Hillier's house for "Fakesgiving" early in November so that they could have an excuse to make a turkey dinner. I always forget to take pictures at their house, but a good time was had by all and lots of yummy food and pie was eaten. We'll always take an excuse to have 2 turkey dinners!
On Thanksgiving Day we went to Grandma and Grandpa Veater's house and had more food and some football.
And the next day we went looking for our Christmas tree and found one of the better ones we've gotten out on the East Fork.
That Saturday was Kanab's annual light parade, and we went to our new favorite parade spot at the new pharmacy building and got some hot chocolate and watched the floats from there.
I loved decorating our front room for Christmas this year, mostly because of the mantle over the wood stove. How fun to have a place to actually HANG our stockings rather than just on the wall.
At our ward Christmas party we had our usual gingerbread house decorating before having yummy Houston's dinner. I had to laugh at you when I saw that you had put a couple handfuls of jelly beans INSIDE your gingerbread house to save for later! Santa came, and you asked him for a robot puppy.
The Saturday before Christmas we had our annual Pollock Christmas party with Grandma Veater's side of the family. That day we went up early and had family pictures taken and then opened presents with the Veaters. You got a couple cute outfits and some a fun Barbie set from Grandma and Grandpa. Then we set out to the Pollock party where that Santa brought you another Barbie, and you asked for a robot dog.
On Christmas Eve Logan was sick, but we still had to make our Christmas cookies. I let you guys just have at them, other than the few I snuck away and frosted for me and dad since you guys were coughing and sneezing on yours.
Later that night you guys opened your Christmas Eve presents, which were new pajamas, candy, and a new Scooby-Doo movie to watch later, and we made hot chocolate and headed out to look at lights before going home and heading to bed!
On Christmas morning we thought for sure we would have to wake you guys up, since Logan is generally our early riser and he was sick. I set my alarm for 6 after telling you guys that if you DID wake up before us that we wouldn't open presents until after 5:30. I snuck out at 6 to hit the shower before you guys woke up, but there you were sitting on the couch looking at the tree all by yourself! You said you'd woken up at 5:30 but remembered something about not opening presents then, so you were just waiting for everyone else! I sent you in to wake up your brothers and dad, and we got down to business.
You got a new dress, a spirograph, clay charms book/clay, Littlest Pet Shops, and a CD player for your room. Mom and dad got you guys a new swing set for the backyard too, which will hopefully be more fun when it is warm! You weren't all that sad that Santa didn't bring you a robot dog (he ran out!), and you had fun with your presents for a few hours before we headed to Hurricane.
At Grandma and Grandpa Hillier's house we met Aunt Lisa, Uncle Joe, and Brody for a fun breakfast/brunch and then presents. You got a stocking full of fun goodies and some more Pet Shops, which you love. I took pictures this time....but none of my kids somehow, but we did have a good time relaxing and playing before heading back home to Kanab.
A few days later was Ty's 4th birthday, and you guys had to jump in the picture with your little brother and his new bike.
Me and dad had also gotten the family tickets to a Jazz game for Christmas, and we wanted to go in December so we could see the lights at Temple Square. The game was on Ty's birthday, so after we ate breakfast we got on the road. You guys really enjoyed the lights and visiting City Creek Center before we walked to the game.
We will continue to buy the cheap seats until you guys decide that you enjoy the actual game more, but we did have fun buying our dinner from the concessions and then me and you headed back out later to buy you some Dippin' dots ice cream and the rest of us a giant shake to share. It was a fun way to spend Ty's birthday.
On New Year's Eve I wasn't feeling the best, so when dad mentioned that we could go to Panguitch where they have a dinner and games for kids I decided it was worth foregoing the tradition of the New Year's tree for. We ate dinner and then turned you guys loose to play the fun games they had, and you got your face painted.
Then you tried out the climbing wall. We were pretty excited to see you get so high! It was definitely a fun way to spend New Year's Eve for you guys, and we had a hard time getting you to wind down after we got back to Grandma's. I'm pretty sure you guys made it to midnight, but I sure didn't!
2015 was really a great year. We did lots of exploring around Kanab and fun things with our family at Lagoon and camping and other things that I hope you guys will remember. You are such a sweet, sweet girl 99% of the time, and we are so happy that you are in our family. Everyone that knows you loves you, and that's something your dad and I can't say, so we are hopeful that you'll keep your amazing personality. You are good to your brothers, and as I write this you've been playing nicely with Tyson all afternoon. What a blessing you are to our family, and we can't wait to see how much you grow in the coming year. Hopefully it won't be that long before I write again!
Love you Bessie,
Mom
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