A few things we have been up to

It has been awhile since I have posted. Here is a quick update of what we have been up to. I have lost the charger for my camera so these pictures are all from my phone. I do not have a fancy phone so they are not the best quality photos.

My sweet Whitlee, she is almost two and so much fun. She is a sweetheart and keeps us going.

For Mother's Day we had Dustin's sister and her boyfriend over for a Bar-b-que. We also had his nieces and nephew.

 We have had the wonderful opportunity of having Dustin's two nieces and nephew spend a lot of time in our home. They come over a few nights a week for dinner and we get to do fun things with them. Since Dustin is gone a lot for work it is fun to have some company.

 Whitlee is a little bit of a Daddy's girl. I was hoping that I would have one kid that preferred me, but it isn't looking good so far.

 One Saturday, while Dustin was at work, we went for a long Rhino ride. I guess the vibrations put them right to sleep. They slept almost the entire way.

My little sassy girl. She loves to wear boots. I think it is because they are easy for her to put on by herself.

 I love spending time with this sweet boy. He melts my heart every day with his sweet hugs and kisses.

 Dalley was hiding while they were taking a cow that had calved to the barn to be milked.

 I decided to teach Dalley about plants and how seeds grow. We spent an hour talking about what will make a seed germinate and keep a plant growing then we planted some seeds that he chose so he could watch the process and learn to take care of them.

 This girl is such a show off. I love her so much.

 I called the kids one Saturday and told them I wanted to go do something fun. We decided to drive up Birch Creek for a picnic. We had a lot of fun hiking around and exploring and had a fun picnic.

 A cool tunnel we found while exploring by East Zion

I have been experimenting with my camera settings, I really like this picture of me little bug.

I put my garden in my raised flower beds because our pet rabbits eat any plants we try to plant lower. Miss Whitlee helped me get the flower bed ready for planting.

Sunday afternoons we go for walks. Dalley rides his bike and hunts for rocks.

We usually head down to the baby calves on our walks so the kids can have them suck on their fingers.

He is always stopping to pick up rocks. We had to create a rock garden to keep all of his rocks together. His shirt and pant pockets are always full of rocks.

We have been having Family Home Evening every week with our friends the Sudweeks. After the lesson we usually hang out and play a little while.The boys love to create swamps. I put food coloring in vinegar and fill a pan with baking soda and it will entertain them forever. I go through a lot of baking soda and vinegar. It is a good thing they are cheap.

A couple of weeks ago we headed with our friends to Panguitch to watch a movie. We ate at the local drive in then went to the movie and of course had to end it with ice cream.

Cedar City had a fun aquatic center. We took the kids swimming one weekend. Dustin was such a good sport to go in with the kids and they had a great time.

Whit got really tired at the pool

This is what most mornings look like, we usually have an extra or two by morning.

Miss Whitlee broke her arm at Grandma's house on Christmas. It was not a fun six weeks with a cast.

She got to where she barely even noticed she had the cast on

The day she got her cast off was a wonderful day. I was glad when it was over. I learned what an amazing thing the human body is. Whitlee's healing was amazing.

The three people that make up my whole world

Can you tell that Dalley wants to be just like Daddy?

Top 12 of 2012

Here are the Top 12 events of 2012

1. Yellowstone Vacation- I was supposed to go to North Carolina for two weeks at the end of July first of August. Dustin's sister Haley offered to go with me so I could take my kids. I was able to talk my boss out of sending me, but since Haley had already asked for the time off we decided to take a week vacation instead. We headed to Yellowstone and toured a bunch of the surrounding sights as well.
2. Roger Hatch Family Reunion- At the end of June we were able to enjoy a reunion with my dad's family in Cedar City. It was fun to see a lot of family we don't see very often.
3. Grandparent's 60th Anniversary- We were able to join my grandparents in celebrating 60 years of marriage.
4. Whitlee turned 1- My sweet little Angel baby turned 1 on June 7. She had two parties and plenty of cake.
5. Dalley turned 4- My little cowboy turned 4 on February 28th. I did a party for him at school and we had a family party that night.
6. Dustin got a new Job- After 7 years of working 70+ hours a week with very little recognition, Dustin was able to quit and go work for my brother. It has been a good change. He is now at a job where his abilities with horses and cows are appreciated, and he feels good about the work he is doing.
7. I achieved 10 years at my career-On May 7, 2012, I achieved my ten year pin. It is crazy to think that I have been working at this job this long. I worked a year in Cedar and have been in Panguitch 9 years. I am very blessed to be able to say that I still love what I do and I still feel like we are making a positive change in Agriculture.
8. I got a promotion- Five years ago I was promoted to be the District Director over the Upper Sevier District. there are only 10 District Directors in the state. I have been  paid less than all of the other Directors for the last five years. This year I was able to request a desk audit where they analyzed the work I was doing to determine if it deserved a a higher pay grade. They determine that I literally was working above my pay grade. It was a huge deal for me when they promoted me this last November. It felt good to have my work recognized
9. We were able to make about ten trips to Hiko this year- It is a lot less than I would like, but I am glad that we get to go as much as possible. If I had my way we would live closer to my parents. I was so blessed to live close to my grandparents growing up and I wish my kids could have the same opportunity. Until we find a way to move out there we are just going to have to go out as much as possible.
10. Family dinners-Dustin has two nieces and a nephew that live here in Circleville with their dad. Their dad works long hours 4 nights a week and they are home alone all of the time. We were able to start having them come over on the nights their dad works to have dinner with us. It has been such a blessing. They are good kids and it is fun to have them around. Feeding three more people has definitely dented my grocery bill, but it has been totally worth it.
11. Thanksgiving- I love thanksgiving and spending time with Family. We went to Hiko this year and spent Thanksgiving with my parents and Luke's family. then on Friday Rowdy's family came down and we were able to spend time with them.
12. Christmas and New Year's- We headed out to Nevada again for Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve with my grandparents then Christmas day with my parents and Luke's family. rowdy and Shauna came for New Year's. I took two weeks off work and the kids and I spent the whole time in Hiko. I can't think of any better way to spend the Holidays

This last year was a great one. Full of ups and downs and changes. My family is so blessed and I would change any part of it!