The Thatchers: April 2014

Quick update:

Zac got a new calling at Church and is now the first counselor in the Stake Young Men's Presidency. We also put in for our deer tags and will hear back at the end of May if we got them, here's hoping! He also finished ripping out a ton of bushes in our garden and put in a beautiful fence to expand out garden a ton. Such a handy man :)

Ilene is training for a marathon that will take place on June 14th so running is my hobby right now. The kids take up the rest of my time and they're a hoot. We've been working on preschool workbooks and playing outside which has been wonderful!

Anne is finishing up preschool and still loves it! Her teacher Mrs. Jo says she is one of her favorites and is such a sweetheart. She is doing fantastic with her progress both academically, emotionally, and socially. We are so proud of all her hard work. She has now lost 5 teeth which has made her smile even cuter. She loves playing dress up, riding her tricycle, and playing with her sisters.

Rachel is having a blast at her joyschool with her friends from the ward. She also loves doing preschool with Mom and is flying through her workbooks and stories. She loves to build legos, blocks, and train tracks. Recently she's taken up a love of drawing and loves to draw elaborate pictures of machines and people. Rachel is a great big sister to Sarah and helps me keep a good eye on her. Sometimes she gives her too much love :)

Sarah is now a big walker! In the last week she has switched entirely from crawling to walking and loves to explore. Her word list is now: mama, daddy, please, thank-you, amen, whoa, shoes, shiz, hello, bye, "mmmm" when she she's something she wants to eat, and kiss. She loves to be goofy and do things to make everyone laugh. She understands so much of what we are saying and is starting to answer questions. She also knows when she's being a stinker or doing something naughty because she tries to "run" away or looks at us and shakes her head. Sarah is also a big fan of books and loves to just sit in her room and flip through them.

St. Patrick's Day Greens

Anne's drawing of herself.

Our trap for the leprachauns, created by Rachel. Since the leprachauns like gold she found lots of yellow and gold things to attract them.

Rachel's self-portrait

We didn't catch any leprachauns this time, but they left some treats and a note.

The awesome new seat for my bike so I can take all the kids on bike rides :)

Family Home Evening bike ride to the duck pond.

Storytime at the library. The big girls go to the big girl story time and my little independent Sarah loves sitting on the blanket at the toddler time.

Outside time. This girls's poor clothes got trashed from crawling everywhere outside. Oh well. We're glad she is now a walker.

She loves going up to the gate and playing with Shizzie through the slats.

Cutie patooties.

I found a hidden reservoir in Spanish Fork that has a sandy shore. We call it our secret beach :)

How pretty is that?

Our buddies, the Evans.

One of the girls' chores is to empty the dishwasher. Even Sarah lends a hand, little squirt.

A picture I found in an old album when I was in first grade or so.

Anne's picture of a house she made at Preschool.

Someone's a big fan of green smoothies.

The three amigos.

Celebrating my Grandma Hebbert's birthday.

Grandpa Hebbert still "Doin ok for a youngster" :)

They picked out their own matching outfits.

She's losing her chompers!

Storytime with our buddies.

Visting some horses on one of our bike rides.

At the park

The girls' chalk artwork in the back yard.

Conference chile rellanos. In loving memory of Granny.

Our little cupie doll.

Back at the beach.

Our favorite outing, Home Depot!!

How Rachel got Shizzie's leash on all by herself, I have no idea.

I got elected as a county delegate which has been an incredible and enlightening process. I encourage anyone who is able, to go and do this. It really doesn't take that much time and it is amazing (and crazy) to see how our political system works.