Mark and Monica's Wedding

In June were able to attend an event that is so rare that one could consider it mythical:

THE WEDDING OF A HATCH BROTHER.

Sadly, I don't think I took very many pictures of the bride in question, but she is real! We love her! Her name is Monica.  She and Mark are a delightful couple, and their wedding was a blessed event. 

The Hatch brothers- including Mike, an honorary member.

Tiffany and I.  

Lauren and I.  

I made Monica's bouquet.  It looked like this.

On the drive home, we had not one, but TWO flat tires.
This is the girls killing time waiting for AAA by playing, "Catch The Stick>"
It's a perennial favorite among stranded motorists.  

Portland, OR With My Favorite Aggies

Sometimes, the planets align in a way that can only be described as miraculous, and you find that you have managed to sneak away for a weekend with your college roommates for 4 solid days of pure, unadulterated fun.  It happened for my last June, when Brooke, Rose, Jennie, and I snuck away for the Dar Williams concert in Portland.  

We stopped at Multnomah Falls just outside of Portland.

We marveled at the roses in the gardens.

We ate.  And ate.  And ate.

Here's what I'm learning about life- there's a lot of day to day "busy but boring."  All the hours are filled, but it's all very routine.  Every now and again we get a golden moment or hour or day that is amazing and magical, and I am grateful for it.  Don't get me wrong- there's a certain kind of blessing too in the stability of a good routine, but a weekend with some of my favorite people in the world is going to live in my memory as one of my most wonderful vacations ever.

Done Is Better Than Perfect

 I have fallen further and further "behind" in this journal, but I have decided not to be paralyzed by thoughts of having to be "caught up."  The fact of the matter is that I will never be caught up in general, let alone in the specific matter of blogging.  This blog, ultimately, is for my family and children, so off I go.  

I'm starting with some family pics from last spring and summer.  

We got to spend a little bit of time with my niece Lauren before she left on her mission to Nicaragua.
All is well on her mission- she's only been robbed at knife-point once and even though she is in a constant state of sunburn, skin cancer is highly curable.

Kate and Aunt Jill.

Toothless.

We got to see Mark and Monica in St. George at the half-ironman.  This was right before they were married.

Sun bather.

Kate and Maggie ran their first race.  

This was not his first race, but he did great too!

The Barratt/Hunter/Hatch gals.

The One About the End of May

This one time, I started to run a marathon, but at the halfway point I thought, "%$#& this."
And I caught a ride to the finish line.

Months later, I was complaining to Maggie about how a mom's job was to always be sucking it up, and she said, "Except for the day you quit that marathon."

We went to the AF Cemetery on Memorial Day.  Aunt Susan was there and gave us a guided tour.

Charlie was baptized.  This is the collected Hatch/Shelton/Reed kids.

Squinty one and Squinty two.