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So Much Fun!

Maybe not masterpieces, but I'm pretty impressed with "Nikki's" ability to capture light!!

Introducing Cami Hatch

That's right, Cami is a camera (it is so a creative name). So, I finally did it, I bought a dSLR. Now I can take my photography to the next level...and I couldn't be happier about it. And...I need the practice, so I'll probably be borrowing your families and children to hone my skills!

PS By popular demand, Cami "camera" Hatch is being renamed to Nikki "nikon" Hatch.

Justin the Helmet Baby

So, I took Ethan and Justin in for their well-child visits yesterday. Ethan is completely, totally, and 100% healthy, and holding steady at about 30 lbs. He's just above average in both height and weight. Woohoo!!

Justin, though healthy in every other aspect, will most likely have to wear a special helmet to help reshape his "abnormal" head. We've known that his head is less than perfectly round, but it has gotten better, and I was hoping that it wouldn't come to this, but it hasn't improved enough. Also, the doctor pointed out that it's not just the side of his head, but that his right eye and right cheek are a little off-center. I hadn't noticed it because he always tilts his head to one side, but once his doctor pointed it out...well, it's true. I know it's not really that big of a deal, it's like braces for his head, but it makes me sad. No one likes to hear that their baby isn't perfect. Thankfully it's a cosmetic thing, and not a health thing, I guess I'll just have to get over my pride. Also, our current insurance runs out in about 2 weeks, so we have to figure something out. I'm not sure what this procedure will cost, but I hear it's very, very expensive. Anyways, I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Up, Up, and Awaaaaaaaaaaay!!!

Last week, I finally made Matthew's birthday cake. He told me months ago that he wanted a Superman cake...so, I went on the internet, found a few different types, and then let him choose wich one he wanted. Not being an expert cake decorator, I thought it turned out rather well...

All, except the gel that ran together. Oh well!

My Wisdom Teeth

"Get your teeth out, Heather"... "It's not that bad, Heather"..."You'll feel so much better after you do it, Heather"

You're all a bunch of liars!!

This is how it went down:
Wednesday morning, James took me to the oral surgeon's and all was going according to plan. The last thing I remember before drifting off peacefully to sleep is one of the nurses placing a tiny oxygen mask over my nose...


Then, I heard some faint voices, and then I felt them remove three of my teeth...all while I was supposed to be peacefully drugged up. It wasn't as horrible as you're probably imagining it. It was like I was woken up in the middle of the night, still really groggy, and not really all that awake, somewhere between consciousness and dreamland...but I still felt it, and I can remember that I felt it.

Then next thing that I remember is waking up in the recovery room, and a nurse changing the gauze in my mouth.

After that, things were pretty much normal, a little pain, but not too bad...and being really hungry and thirsty, but not being able to do a whole lot about that for the first day...okay, so the pain was really bad in one of my "sockets" (I admit it, I cried), but after the first day, not too much pain, just a numb lower lip.
That's right, it's been three days and my lower lip (half of it, anyways) is still numb. When I called the oral surgeon, he didn't sound surprised at all,


"The roots of your lower teeth were wrapped around the nerve, so we had to do some twisting and pulling to get it out without severing the nerve, but your feeling should come back."


"Should come back?!!!!!"



"It's rare for it to be permanent."



"PERMANENT?!!!!!!!!!!!!"



The only good news from that conversation came when I mentioned that my lip had been itching and tingling and driving me crazy...apparently that's a good sign. It means that the feeling should return in a few weeks, maybe a month or so. That's right a month or so. So, maybe I won't have a lop-sided smile for the rest of my life...maybe.

PS James got me a bouquet of flowers after the surgery...kudos to him!

Lassen Volcanic National Park

A week ago, we had the awesome opportunity to visit Lassen Park in Northern California. When we were kids, and living in the Bay Area, we camped there a number of times in the summer. I have a lot of fond memories of Lassen: the hikes, the nature walks, completing the Junior and Senior Ranger programs, the Ranger programs at night..and being able to use our new K-mart flashlights to light our way in the dark, spending my allowance money on polished rocks and honey sticks at the the campground store, roasting marshmallows, dad's ghost stories, fishing in Hat Creek...catching a big one...and all the while wondering if that rattling in the bushes was a rattle snake about to get me, the infamous honking the horn in the middle of the night episode (another post for another time), climbing the volcano...and buying a t-shirt to brag about it, and generally just having a great time with our family. Lassen has always had a special place in my heart, and it was a thrill to be able to go back.

That being said...I have so much more respect for my parents. Taking us camping year after year is a feat I never understood, until now. While I enjoyed the trip immensely, I have to admit, it was more work than vacation! And, my parents did all the cooking and everyone helped out with the kids a lot...why then, was I so exhausted? I'm still trying to figure that one out! Part of it, I think, was that both Ethan and Matthew came down with fevers and sore throats while we were there, and then milked it for all it was worth...the complaining alone about drove me crazy. Then, came the night when no one slept well consistently. First Ethan was waking up, then Matthew was waking up, and all the while, James and I were both waking up because of them. Miraculously, Justin was great through it all...I'd be happy to take him camping, anytime! After one particularly hard night, James and I were ready to pack up and go home...but we stuck it out, though chanting "R-E-D-D-I-N-G!" under our breath for the rest of the week (the nearest place with motels and civilization to placate our boys). Even thought the nights were a literal nightmare, the days were fun, and Matthew and Ethan really enjoyed that part. Ethan became a child of the dirt, and I was convinced that neither he, nor any of his clothes would ever come clean again! In reality, Ethan cleaned up nicely, and most of his clothes are no worse for the wear...though we left a nasty ring in that bathtub in Winnemucca!

(the victorious volcano conquerors)

All in all, we had a great time, though it was sad not being able to do all the things that I love Lassen for because we had little kids in tow (like climbing the volcano). We'll just have to go back when the kids are a little older!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!!!

Matthew turned four years old while we were camping at Lassen. Call us crazy, though I think we've already established that we are, but we used up precious cargo space in the back of the Pilot to bring a bike, and hide it, for Matthew's birthday present. On the morning of his birthday, we parked the bike in front of the tent, with a blanket over it, classy wrapping paper, I know, and waited for Matthew to wake up and discover it. Once Matthew did wake up, he poked his head out of the tent, while James and I were waiting anxiously for the yell of surprise and delight...instead, he didn't even seem to see the bike, came back in, zipped up the tent, and declared, "Nope, no grandpa yet, I'm going back to bed." The second time Matthew woke up, we made him actually get out of the tent, still expecting the squeal of delight...he walked right past the bike and headed to the table to wait for breakfast. Finally, I said, "don't you notice anything different near the tent this morning?" He looked at me, then pointed at the blanket-shrouded bike and asked "Are you talking about that surprise for my birthday?" What a funny kid. He finally pulled the cover off to unveil the coolest bike in the world, and was pretty happy. We took it for a test spin on the uneven paved roads of the campground, and at the coaxing of James, he attempted to turn around at one point. The bike fell over, and dumped Matthew onto the pavement. He didn't bump his head, or even get scraped up, but you would have thought he was about to draw his final breath, the way he carried on. After that, he didn't want anything to do with the bike...until he unwrapped his spiderman helmet, elbowpads, and kneepads. With those on, we convinced him that he wouldn't get hurt, and he's loved his bike ever since.

James putting together the bike before we left.

The Time Capsule

One of the main events of our CA vacation was to try to locate and dig up the time capsule our family buried 18 years ago. All I'll say is that we buried it somewhere in Northern CA, but I'll leave the actual site a secret. We had compass coordinates, a hand-drawn map, and lots of pictures of where we buried it to aid us in our treasure hunt. However, one thing that really hampered the search was the presence of a snow bank directly over the spot where we thought we buried it. Dad, Brett, and Robb took turns clearing away over a foot of snow before they could dig down in the slightly frozen ground. It took awhile to find it...at one point, we wondered if it was even still there, or if it had been dug up by an animal, and was lost forever. Just when I was about to give up hope...Sucess!!! Dad and Brett unearthed it. It was a lot of fun to open it up and see what everyone had put in it. We had newspaper articles (one was the newspaper from the day after the San Francisco earthquake back in '89. We were living in the Bay Area at the time, and experienced that event). We also included a small amount of money, pictures, momentos from each family member, and my favorite part: a list of family predictions. It was funny to read through them and see which predictions actually came close, and which totally missed the mark. When I get a copy of them, I'll post a few...they're pretty amusing. Now we have to come up with the site for our next time capsule...

Eureka!!

King's Creek

While at Lassen, we had to hike the King's Creek trail. Ever since we were little kids and started going to Lassen, we would hike that trail everytime. It's a pretty hike that's not too long and fairly easy...though as a kid, I remember thinking it was the longest hike ever, and super hard. It was a great place to spend the afternoon, relaxing and reminiscing. Matthew even caught his first fish...with a little help from Grandpa.

Wuz up?

Ethan shaking his booty

Ethan terrorizing Uncle Brett

And, you guessed it...Justin asleep

The Lily Pond Trail

One of the fun things that we did while at Lassen was hike the Lily Pond trail with the boys and my mom. It's a mile long loop, along basically flat ground (so it was easy) and highlights some pretty cool things. These are some of the things we saw:

A lily from the the Lily Pond

Ethan sniffing a Jeffrey Pine to make sure that it really does smell like vanilla (it does!)

Justin...asleep, again

A snow flower

The Lily Pond

A cute Ethan boy

Burney Falls

Burney Falls is a California State Park that has great campgrounds, hiking trails, Lake Britton to play in, and of course these really beautiful falls. The hike down to the falls wasn't bad, and the mist and cool air from the falls felt great on a hot day. While there, I took the oppurtunity to do a little letterboxing. If you want to know more about what that is, visit: http://www.letterboxing.org/. It was the first time I tried it, and it was a lot of fun (thanks for the tip, Summer!) The only downside was Matthew came down with a fever while on the hike, and James had to carry him all the way back to the car while the rest of us had the fun of discovering our letterbox treasure. Burney Falls was beautiful, and we really enjoyed the night we spent camping there.

Fall River Mills

Six days after the big move(are we crazy or what?!), we went on vacation with my family. Our first stop was Fall River Mills, CA. My dad grew up there, and it was fun to see where he went to school, where he played football, where he lived, where he hung out, and the elementary school where my grandpa taught. Here are a few of the highlights:

After our visit, we now all have "Bulldog Pride"!

This was the sign in front of the high school...I found it amusing.

Fall River High School

Fall River Elementary, where my grandpa taught.

3 out of 4 of the Hays kids (Brooke and her husband couldn't make it) being kids

Just chillin'

The door to the classroom where my grandpa taught.

Ethan enjoying the merry-go-round at the elementary school playground


Matthew with his crazy uncle Robb

"Get me off this thing!!!"

Me in front of the ER where I got stitches when I was five, during one of our camping trips to Lassen.

The old Fall River Homestead (the trees in front have grown quite a bit, so I couldn't get a very good shot of it.)


This is the "Bulldog Bite", a place right across the street from the high school where you can buy concessions.

Where my dad played high school football.

It was a lot of fun to learn more about where I came from. Even though we'd visited Fall River when I was younger, I didn't remember much of it, so it was fun to get to see everything again.