Trouble

Being 3 is rough. 

Benton had an especially rough night.

We had a lot of family in town and there was a lot of action going on 24/7.

Benton was wrestling with his older cousin on the bed and fell into the corner of a dresser, giving him a split open and black eye. 

Then he slammed his fingers in the door.

Later on that night I ran my girls home to get their PJ's on so the could have a sleepover at Grandmas. 

I left Garrett at Grandma's with the baby and Benton. 

Everyone was visiting in the front room while I ran home.

Benton came up to his dad and asked where Mommy went. 

Garrett said, "She went home."

Pretty soon he disappeared...meanwhile, I get a knock at the door.

I open the front door to find my crying, 3 year old!

It was 8:30pm and he had walked home...ALONE...in the DARK!

Two seconds later Garrett and Randall came sprinting into our yard....
Grandpa was searching his yard with a flashlight...
and

Travis (who was sick) went driving around in his van.

Everyone had divided and was searching for Benton.

I am glad to say he only went missing for a minute before the adults realized he was gone. 

He safely made it home...but so many things could have happened to him on his little walk home.

Needless to say, we had a nice LONG talk about NOT walking home alone...especially in the DARK!

great scott

We found the most beautiful, blue Great Dane on our doorstep one day.

We looked for the owner with no luck.

We took this dog in as our own.

She was magnificent with our kids.

She was loyal and protective.

She wouldn't let strangers into our yard.

The time came for her to be breed-ed with so we found another blue Great Dane to mate with.

She was one week away from having puppies...

then someone stole her!

We thought she'd gone away to have her puppies.

Weeks went by...no dog.

No puppies.

Two months later one of our friends heard that some Great Dane puppies were for sale.

She found out they were the same age as our puppies would have been, and they were all BLUE.

The mother was "conveniently" being held at a different location.

No one would let the mother be seen, even if a puppy was being sold.

I know that is our dog!

We fed her...loved her...someone else took her to profit from her puppies.

Garrett is convinced that she will be dumped again once the puppies are sold.

Not many people can afford to feed such a HUGE dog.

I am sure they waited for her to get pregnant...they watched her...they timed it perfectly.

Then they came and took their dog back.

That is one theory.

Most people are afraid to approach such an intimidating dog...unless they knew her.

We are heart broken...and they just want her for the $$.

We hope our dog comes back to us.

Spring Break

This week we had family in town for Spring Break. 

Every time we jumped in the car, my nieces and nephews would diligently buckle up. 

Even if we were just going around the corner from my house to my mother-in-law's house. 

It got to the point where I was transferring up to 10 kids at a time and we couldn't all buckle. 

Some of the kids were very concerned about this. 

My kids kept reassuring them that we would be okay. 

We never reached speeds past 30 miles an hour and all our destinations were less than half a mile away. 

I guess seat belts are a foreign concept for my little country kids.

Whenever I tell them to buckle up they assume we are going out of town. HA.

It is definitely SPRING around our house.

In Mexico, Spring Break is called Semana Santa and it lasts for two weeks. 

We have big plans to relax while Daddy is busy planting this year's crop.

The planting season always falls on Semana Santa so we've started some traditions of our own.

Just me and the kiddos.

Happy Spring Break.

Adalyn 20 weeks old

creative

Living in the middle of nowhere, you have to be creative.

I was using a bar stool for a nightstand and it just wasn't working out. 

I received this inspiration from watching the NATE show. 

I learned how to "re-purpose" items around the house/garage.

I have TONS of books so I stacked them next to my bed and topped it with this vintage breakfast tray I found in the attic. 

It is a perfect nightstand. 

This would also look great with a beautiful silver tray.

black and white

My mom is so good to us. Any time she sees a beautiful dress, she has to buy it...then make sure it has a matching one for each granddaughter. 

She has a great eye when it comes to fashion. Grandma Udall loves to make sure her grand-babies are dressed to the "9's." 

While growing up my mom made me and all my sisters match...every Sunday. 

There was NO escaping it. I hated it. I swore I would NEVER make my kids match. 

Then I became a mommy. 

I LOVE to see them all coordinating. 

I love joining in on the fun. 

I am now eating my hat.

Thank you Mom, I love it!

{extracurricular}

I am a ballet teacher...correction...I am THE ballet teacher. I have a small studio behind my house and I teach my girls, along with their friends.

Living in a small community, we have limited resources. We rely on each others' talents and volunteer efforts for our kids' extracurricular activities.

My good friend is a concert pianist, so she is our piano teacher,

another friend is a gymnast, so she is our cheer coach/tumbling instructor,

our husbands are the football and basketball coaches,

my neighbor is the tennis coach,

my mother-in-law is the "after school tutor",

our Aunt is the town seamstress. 

The list could go on and on...

We all contribute, in a small town, to develop the talents of our children and help them become well-rounded.

It is just a small part of the role we play living here!

secrets

Shhh...

I've been keeping this a secret for over a year now.

I think it is time to record this experience.

Last January my sister was getting married. She had rented and decorated a darling town home for her and her new husband. She graciously let me and my family stay in it before the wedding.

We were all very careful to put everything back that we touched and we tried not to mess anything up.

Until...

Sunday morning!

I was bathing kids and laying out church clothes...typical Sunday morning stuff...

I finally had all the kids clean and lined up for hair. Benton ran past me while I was styling hair and I noticed that he had a poopie diaper. I made a mental note that he needed to be changed soon.

Before I knew it Benton had taken off his diaper and was  SITTING in the middle of my sister's BRAND NEW bed...on top of her sparkling WHITE comforter!

I screamed...

There was poop all over her bed and we had to be at church in 30 minutes.

I panicked.

I threw Benton into the bath and ripped the comforter off the bed. I ran to her (upstairs) laundry room where she had a very compact washer and dryer and I thought I'd try my luck.

I jammed the California King sized comforter into the washing machine, poured in some soap and walked away.

Before long Tori came running upstairs yelling, "it raining down stairs!" 

I couldn't make sense of what she could possibly be thinking, so I went to check it out. 

Sure enough, there was water coming out of the light fixtures and dripping onto her NEW, wooden kitchen table and onto the floor!!

I ran back upstairs to find the washing machine OVERFLOWING!

I was dying!

I hurried and pulled the comforter out of the machine and hung it over her shower,

then I ran downstairs to mop up the water... hoping water rings wouldn't stain the ceiling.

Then we ran out the door, we were late for church.

On the way to the chapel we swore all of our children to secrecy. We couldn't let anyone find out what horrible house guests we had been.

The instant we sat down at church, Tori turned to Grandma and told her that it was raining in Aunt Rachel's kitchen. 

We were BUSTED!

I told my mom the whole story and we promised to keep this from Rachel. After church we all sat down to Sunday dinner when Mom got a phone call...

Rachel was on her way home...to HER home!

I still had her comforter strung out all over the bathroom and her bed was in shambles! Garrett and I dropped our forks and raced to her house to clean up before she arrived.

We made it in the nick of time! 

To this day, I don't know if she realizes how her new bedding was "broken in".

Well....SHE knows NOW!

Love you Rach!

crime

Mexico is known for it's lawlessness, crime and violence. We are the center of CNN a lot of the time. In my neck of the woods we have survived kidnappings, shootings, and corruption.

There was a time when we would lock our doors and windows, afraid to go outside. We wouldn't let our kids ride their bikes in the streets. We lived in fear. We couldn't keep a routine for fear that someone was following us. We threatened to move to the states and leave everything behind. 

Two members of our ward were kidnapped and held for ransom. Two children that attend our private high school were kidnapped. All were returned safely and unharmed.  We would hear news of bodies being dumped on the sides of the road (our roads). Severed heads being delivered to officials. Shootings down town where we would grocery shop, where our husbands have offices.

There was a very ugly time. Two major cartels were fighting for territory. Lots of people died. Some got caught in the cross-fire. Opportunist took advantage of us that were afraid. Kidnapping was turned into a lucrative business.

But through all of that, I believe that God never left our side. 

in the scriptures it says...

"Those who live by the sword...die by the sword..."

We had the strength of our church leaders. We were blessed to have an Apostolic blessing. We were promised that...

if we do what is right we will be protected.

Specifically, if we continue to

read the scriptures daily

keep commandments

attend the temple frequently

the Lord would protect us.

And...

HE did. 

We no longer live in fear. 

The stories that you hear on the news (in the states) are usually blown out of proportion...the details can be exaggerated. You will not be shot down for visiting Mexico. Men don't walk the streets carrying AK47s. There are no riots. Innocent people are not the targets for violence.

We truly live in a peaceful little valley...tucked away from most. And as long as we are doing what's right we will be protected. We will continue to stand in Holy places....we need not fear.

My story

I am Canadian/American...now Mexican.

I was born in Canada and lived there off and on for 10 years. In that 10 years I lived in Utah while my parents graduated from BYU. Then we lived in Michigan for 2 years while my dad attended Law School. 

I attended a French Immersion School, K through 3rd grade. Then we moved to Arizona.

I lived in Arizona for 5 years playing tennis, and dancing while my parents built their dream home. A year after we lived in the Dream Home my parents divorced due to infidelity. 

My mom and me and my 5 siblings moved to Utah. I lived there until I graduated high school. I then attended BYU-I while majoring in Dance. 

I was engaged to be married...it didn't work out...so I moved to Utah.

I transferred to UVU where I got engaged again...that one didn't pan out either...

graduated in Dance...

and met my eternal companion. 

A year after meeting Garrett we married in the Salt Lake City Temple (where my parents were married).

We lived in Utah for one year...I gave birth to our first daughter...

then

we moved to Arizona for 4 months.

We then kept heading South...we moved across the border...to Mexico to house/farm-sit for an uncle who took his wife on a mission for the LDS church.

After a year they came home and we decided to stay for good.

Since that decision was made I've had 3 other children and we've lived in 3 different houses. 

We are now in our permanent home and raising our family.

I never thought this little Canadian Girl would fall in love with a "Mexican" and live in Mexico.

I was a city girl in all aspects and now I am a farmer's wife and I love it!

PS- My husband isn't Hispanic. Just look at our kids. They have the fairest skin EVER.

Drug Bust

The other day the AMERICAN border was closed in Columbus, NM. Some members of our ward were trying to get out to the states and couldn't cross the border.

This can be disheartening when you are considered "stuck" in Mexico. 

Well, come to find out...there was a huge drug bust on the STATES side! They had arrested the Chief of Police...the Mayer...his wife...and others

therefore, they had to close the border so these high profile law breakers couldn't escape.

We live about 3 hours from the border. 

In our small town we have our own, volunteer, police officers.  They hold the authority to arrest and carry a gun. They help keep the peace in our community. 

Lucky for us, they are all members of our ward. Two of them happen to live down the street from us. I can rest assured knowing that OUR police force in Col. Juarez is NOT corrupt.

Die like dogs...

My kids LOVE the Three Amigos. They have worn out our DVD and now it is recorded on our DVR so they watch it constantly.

This morning at the breakfast table, Benton asked, "are we going to die like dogs?"

That is the line that Lucky Day whispers to El Guapo to repeat back to the 3 Amigos when they first meet in the little town of Santa Poco. 

I had to laugh. 

Now, Benton repeats his favorite quote all day long. Cant' wait until Grandma Hatch hears this one.

I washed Benton's favorite tennis shoes. They look like new, now. He was so excited to put them on, even though it was dinner time and we weren't going anywhere.

Once I got his shoes and socks on, he jumped down from my lap and said, "let's see if I can run FAST now!" He then dashed across the kitchen as fast as he could and said, "YUP! Real fast!"

I guess the cleaner the shoe...the faster you can run!

embarrassed

When we moved to Mexico there were many things that I had not ever seen!

I am going to quote my little nephew on this one...he said, "...in Mexico there are lots of dogs, and lots of chips."

Lots of dogs is definitely an understatement. There are stray dogs EVERYWHERE. They get into the school yards, church foyers (yes, it has happened, more than once), sometimes even stores. And you can count on dogs getting in your yard to leave you nice surprises and take off with anything left out.

I'd never seen so many dogs in all my life. Then it happened...I saw two dogs STUCK together!!!! I didn't know what to make of this sight. I was mortified and disgusted.  I couldn't understand why these dogs were dragging each other around, because they were obviously done with the "act" of mating. 

I expressed this horrid sight and concern to Garrett and he said, "I know you are not going to believe me so here...". He then handed me the phone and his DAD was on the other line. 

My poor father-in-law, with a slight chuckle in his voice, proceeded to explain to me how dogs MATE. He made sure to get all the anatomical words correct too! 

I think my face turned every shade of red! Thank heavens he was just on the phone!! I was so embarrassed that I don't think I could look at my Father-in-law in the eyes for several days after wards. And I was furious with Garrett for passing me off to his DAD to explain this!

I got K9 Sex 101...from my father-in-law!

Does this happen at your house??

All of THIS results from those magical words...

TIME TO PRACTICE THE PIANO!

The moaning...and groaning...the tears...music thrown on the floor...

threats of having to play each piece 10 times instead of 5...

then...

the magical cure...

a threat to post her tantrum pictures on the internet!

Her frown turned upside down...into a smile...so she wouldn't be embarassed...

and so everyone would know how much she LOVES to practice the piano!

the great debate

I have a new SUV that I love to drive. It comfortably fits our family of 6 and I am always using it to haul around stuff and extra bodies.

I have officially "moved" into this vehicle. It has my lip gloss in the ash-tray and my tweezers on the dash. My library of CD's are in the middle console and my two car seats are installed and not going anywhere....until my hubs announced that we would be PARKING the car!

Ever since we got married we have always had a nice, new car...that we LOOK at and don't drive! My husband is a believer in "saving" the vehicles. 

My argument is....then WHY buy it??? Who buys a car (that you desperately need) to sit and stare at?!

He is afraid that the sun will beat down on it, since we don't have a garage, and the paint will fade. Well, our SUV is WHITE!! And since we don't have a garage, he wants to park our car at his parents house, in their garage!

I can't tell you how many times I have grabbed the two babies to run out to the car, late to pick up the kids at school, only to find that the car won't start. I then have to huff it...a few blocks...to his parents house to retrieve my perfectly functioning car. AHHH!

Then he will argue that it is getting "trashed" by our 4 lovely children. That is an insult to me because I wash it weekly, I don't let the kids eat in the car, and they have to take everything OUT of the car that they brought IN to the car...daily! I think it is in GREAT shape.

In exchange for parking my new car he has given me a Ford Topaz (from the 60's) to drive. Just kidding, I don't know the year but it was before they enforced seat belts...because there are NONE in this vehicle. It is a beautiful shade of peeling, crackled silver...and it doesn't go into first gear! It only has two doors and the front seats don't lock into place so if you hits the brakes hard the kids can go flying into your seat pushing you into the windshield. It's a beauty!

And so we have debated for many years whether or not we should drive our new vehicles.

His argument....PRESERVATION!

My argument...PRACTICALITY!

march winds

today is laundry day. 

the wind is blowing like crazy. 

the month of march we get hurricane strength winds.

it makes me feel bad for those who have to hang their laundry out to dry.

there is dirt blowing everywhere since we are surrounded by farms and unpaved roads.

my dryer broke last summer so I had to hang my clothes out to dry.

I can't tell you how many times I would find bird doo-doo on the clean clothes.

my kids loved to play in the hanging sheets. it was their new fortress.

i guess i love having the option to dry my clothes in the dryer or outside in the clean SUMMER air.

march is definitely NOT the time to be hanging your clean clothes out to dry...outside!

the garden

it is almost that time of year...again.

we have a garden...as do most in our town.

i asked garrett if he would help me plant a garden and he agreed.

little did i know his idea of a garden was like having another farm!

it takes a full-time team to keep the "garden" under control.

when the plants start producing you need to be prepared to receive tons...literally...of fresh produce.

this is when home bottling skills come in handy

or

an extra large deep freeze.

there is a small window of opportunity to distribute, can, or gift the veggies before they go bad

so

you have to act fast!

i am extending an open invitation to those interested in bottling to come and join me any or every summer.

 this is the area of our yard that we have dedicated to the garden. as you can see, it is bigger than the lot our house sits on. that's what you get with a farmer for a husband.

my pony

Living out in the country we have lots of animals. Not your traditional "farm" animals but...animals.

We have dogs, cats and horses. 

For my daughter's birthday I decided to get her a pony...one of her very own.

As you can tell, we went through a 3 Amigo's phase.

Little did we know...our pony was pregnant when we bought her. 

We woke up one morning to 2 ponies!! 

These little horses are very tame and follow you around the yard, like the dog. 

In fact, they are about the same size as our dog.

I love living where my kids can be comfortable with animals and can run and play outside whenever they want.

Mexican Coke

The Coke in Mexico is a lot different than the Coke in the States.

It is a sweet treat and once you taste one you will have a hard time going back to the other.

They have a stronger flavor and are very bubbly.

The people here claim that it is the only thing that properly washes down the greasy tacos.

No meal is complete without a Mexican Coke...in a glass bottle.

Here they have a "Coke Man" who will come to your door to pick up your empty coke bottles and replace them with full ones.

Just like the milk man...only he's the COKE man.

There are Coca-Cola advertisements on just about every building.

Coke is the unofficial mascot of Mexico.

You cannot visit Mexico without trying their COKE.  

shopping

Shopping in Mexico is a whole new experience. 

We usually get a few girls in town and go down in a group. 

We have done this in the past  for safety reasons and now it just makes it more fun.

Our large grocery store is about 20 miles from our little town. 

The stores carry tons of things...but finding them is another story.

They haven't mastered the art of organization.

We are just grateful that they have some of these "golden" items.

The isles are usually only big enough for a single cart. 

The like to put out promotional tables everywhere too. 

I was pushing a cart with a child hanging onto each side and one got knocked in the back by a stack of crates and the other one would have to get off and walk behind me to fit down the isles. 

It is truly an experience. 

When you check out they have "bag-boys" that bag all your groceries and they like to be tipped. 

Then you are met in the parking lot by men who will push your cart to your car and load your groceries for you. 

They too like to be tipped. 

I must say the service is excellent! 

We feel like celebrities when we go "down town." 

Not too many blond, blue-eyed, TALL girls here.

{death}

Sunday night one of the kindest people in town passed away from a massive heart attack.

She was loved by all and never forgot anyone's birthday.

I had the privilege of having her as my Visiting Teacher.

I considered her my dear friend.

Her death was very sudden. She will be sorely missed.

In our community we have a "burial committee." Instead of shipping off our beloved downtown to the local Funeral Home, we prefer to handle it ourselves. It is also much more cost efficient. 

We have a committee to handle the men and one to handle the women.

(Sorry, if this is too much information.)

Under the Scout Lodge is our little morgue.  The bodies are handled by those who loved, appreciated, and worked with the deceased while on this earth. They are never passed onto a stranger, which can be comforting. And to know your loved one is being handled with great care.

In our town we are able to make all the funeral arrangements within days so there is no need for embalming. Instead a method of closing or stopping up all orifices is performed using cotton, and a salt mixture is rubbed over the skin to help with preservation.  Then the body is tenderly dressed and made-up properly for viewing. 

Some are disturbed by this method but I think it is very personal and a great way to pay a last tribute to a loved member of our community.  

My father-in-law has been over the "burial committee" for several years, and on more than one occasion, has left my mother-in-law to find a body laying on her counter top.

It is a job that he holds sacred and considers it a privilege to be able to help.