My Dad Totally Called Me Out...

...he feels I have not updated in a timely fashion. Hopefully this assuages him.

We arrived in Phoenix late Monday night. The girls spent Tuesday getting reacquainted with their Hatch cousins.

Kiki and Lani

Allow me to recreate their conversation for you.
Kiki: Hey there, I'm Kiki.
Lani: What kind of a crazy name is that?
Kiki: Nice haircut, %#$%@%^.

They played and played. This pretty much covers what they did for the majority of our stay.

On Wednesday, Kate helped Grandma Hatch make the rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.

We also had family pictures. I was sweating bullets about how to convince Kiki to wear "dressy" clothes. Children's Place saved the day- I found some velvet shorts and Grandma's ice cream bribe sealed the deal. Strangely, Grandma Hatch was absent when the time came to PAY for the ice cream, so Ruth, you owe me $2.00.

Kate and Kiki with Uncle Mark.

Earlier this month, I harassed 6 out of the 7 Hatch siblings into signing up for a 10k Thanksgiving morning. They were all faster than me- every single one of them. That's what I get for calling them lazy and scared. I set myself a goal of finishing in less than an hour, and crossed the finish line at 59:59. At least I understand my pace.

After burning 700 calories running for an hour, it was time to consume several thousand.

Christy and Wes

Tiffany and Kate

Brett, Burke, and Lirio

After Thanksgiving dinner it was time to collapse.

I guess one advantage of a Phoenix Thanksgiving is the post-feast sunbathing.
Tiffany and I made delicious pies- coconut cream, banana cream (my Grandma's recipe), pumpkin pecan, pumpkin cheesecake, and triple berry. I hate to brag, but they were awesome.

On Friday we headed to the park to celebrate Kate's birthday- it's a little early but who cares?

Bruce, Burke, Mark, James, and Paul

We ate cupcakes and rode the merry-go-round.

Then we rode the SLOWEST train around the park.

Ellyse and Lani.

When we left the park Kate said, "They know it's not really my birthday, right? I'm still 5, right?"

Saturday we stopped at Bruce's parents for a fat breakfast before we headed out. Kiki cried and cried to leave Grandma. It was heartbreaking- earlier in the week she'd said, "I get to be with Grandma? I can be happy now." The ride home was long and uneventful. We lunched in Kanab, hit a terrible snowstorm between Kanab and Panguitch, and thanked our lucky stars for the 80 mile speed limit on I-15. We were in Nephi when my mother-in-law called to tell us the BYU game had 5 minutes left, and I was sick thinking about being stuck in traffic when we were so close to home. I'm pretty sure she said a little prayer for us (So, football fans, thank Ruth Hatch for your exciting game that went into overtime) because we made it home by 7:30 with no traffic hitches at all. Thank heavens I know someone righteous or I would never get any blessings.

We had so much fun, but I am happy to be home, even though I have been cold ever since we got here. It was a great Thanksgiving break.