Swinging Into Fall

Well, the kids are back in school, we don't need the air conditioner all the time, and we are overrun by zucchini! Sure signs that fall is just around the corner.


Anyone care for a zucchini as big as your arm? (They kind of got out of hand while Ammon and Abby were at Disneyland!)

I haven't said much about what I have been doing the last couple months, but if you go to Katrina's Blog http://reidramblings.blogspot.com/ you can see because I was the fifth wheel on most of their summer activities with the exception of their trip to Lake Powell. It was great fun.

Just a few pictures to recap my summer.



First is the day trip that Katrina and the girls and I took to Cedar City. The girls and I took a short tour through an art exhibit on SUU campus. Of course I had to take a picture of the handcrafted saddle that was worth a fortune! There were quite a few good paintings and sculptures but I think our overall favorite was the soft sculpture exhibit.

Since it was during the Shakespearian Festival, we went to the nearby park and participated in a few activities. That is where the girls rode the camel. On our way home we stopped by Cove Fort because I hadn't been there before. It was quite a windy day, but we had a very pleasant tour guide who took us through the fort.



The girls took tennis lessons for two weeks in early July and I sat and observed during their lessons. I decided that maybe it isn't too late for me to learn tennis, so I went to Wal-Mart and bought a $20 racquet and some balls. I substituted my daily morning 2-mile walk with tennis practice one or two times a week. I know I won't advance very rapidly at that rate but I have enjoyed it. Hopefully I will soon be able to serve the ball over the net more than 50% of the time so that I can start playing against an opponent.



I knew from experience that the girls would be spending several hours a week with piano practice and weekly lessons. I would have to miss my violin lessons but took my violin with me so that I could practice and hopefully realize some improvement by summer's end. There is still a little time for that I hope.



I enjoyed helping the girls prepare for the 4-H Fair in conjunction with the Sevier County Fair. They did great with their projects in spite of my mistake that cost them their blue ribbons on their pajama pants. We went over to the fairgrounds a few times, once with Brian, Teresa and Brigham. Katrina has pictures of Kadance and Kasidy participating in the Little Cowboy Rodeo. She showed you a picture of the girls with the bear. I got the "real picture". I am glad there was a panel protecting them from the bear who loves sweet treats. Brigham was happy watching from a distance.



Many summer evenings were spent reading books together (I was always a bit disappointed when the girls had sleepovers because that meant we wouldn't read that night). We were able to get through four books together, and I read a couple others on my own. It was light reading but very enjoyable. I found a couple new favorite authors and ideas for some future reading. Thank you Kyle, Katrina and girls for a wonderful summer!

A New Key to Freedom

Does this look familiar to anyone? Many of you may know that I have been having a few car problems the last couple months. I have wondered how much life was left in my old white car, but I found that it took me a lot further than Verlin and I anticipated when we bought it. We thought we would try and make it go for a year so we would have time to buy a new car. Thanks to Ammon and Jiffy-Lube it lasted two years longer than I hoped. In the last month or two, Ammon had to change the key switch, the battery, and the water pump. Then the fuel pump failed so I was stranded for a time. Ammon and I started searching online to see if we could find a car but it is hard for me to shop long distance while I am in Richfield.

I had a chance to spend this week in American Fork with Ammon's kids while Abby is at Girl's Camp so Ammon came to Richfield and picked me up. When we pulled up to the house, this was sitting in the driveway with a big red bow on it. A brand new Subaru Impreza that Ammon and Andrew picked out for me.




Abby came out and presented me with the keys. I cannot describe the emotions that I felt in those first moments--shock, wonderment, disbelief but mostly gratitude!

Wow! I have never had a brand new car. I hope I don't get too mental worrying about keeping it in brand new condition. After all, everyone drives used cars don't they? I will never drive it without thinking about the unselfish act that made it possible for me to have a reliable car and peace of mind when I travel.

Fourth of July Get Together

I thoroughly enjoyed the family reunion this 4th of July. I didn't have to do a lot of planning and everyone pitched in to make it fun. I was having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. I will have to rely on some other family members sharing some pictures of the Timp Cave hike, the dutch oven dinner, swimming, barbecue and annual "candy cannon" activities. I didn't make it to the parade this year but I did go with Sonia's family to watch the fireworks from the Marriott Center. Before we went to the fireworks we stopped by the cemetery to put flowers on Verlin's grave. As we received the last regular contact letter from the Intermountain Donor Services they sent a very lovely medallion honoring his gift of life.

It was designed to place on the cemetery marker. The inspiration and meaning for the design is described as follows:
"The Gift of Life Donor touches and gives new life to others. The donor touches the hand of the recipient, and passes on the precious gift of life (the heart) and love (the rose). This magnificent and honorable giving of oneself is illustrated in the rays extending from the heart."

I was so happy that Aaron and Sherri made such a great effort to come a long distance to be with us, although it was for a very short time. They added to the spirit of the week. I was happy to see new baby Marshall. Thanks to Sonia, Katrina and Alex who each drove 2 hours to come and Andrew who came from southern California and Teresa's family who drove from Vegas. And thanks to Ammon and Abby who prepared the facilities and made room for all of us in their home. We surely missed those family members who could not join us this summer but look forward to next year. We decided that we would like to have the 4th of July be an annual Verlin Hatch reunion. We hope you will all plan your vacations and days off around that timeframe and try to join us in 2010.


We tried to get a follow-up picture of the youngest grandchildren but could not find a time when all of them were up from naps, not eating or crying or doing something else so I just tried to take pictures of each of them.

Here are just a few pictures that I captured of the weekend.

Some of us were worn out by the rush of activities but it was a good tired.

A Bit of Nostalgia, a Lot of Fun

This past weekend I went with Kyle and Katrina and their girls on a boating excursion. We filled the boat and pickup bed with gear, food and clothes and headed for Piute Reservoir. It was a bit windy and sprinkled on us a little when we were setting up the tent. Piute is a smaller reservoir with camping sites around the shoreline. There is no potable water so we hauled our own water. We ate dinner and cooked S'mores and went to bed. Saturday morning was a fairly mild day, just a bit breezy at times. We didn't get on the water as early as the Hatch clan used to go out but the water was quite nice. Katrina and Kyle skied and then we towed the girls around on a Nautica three-man towable tube. We all took a ride on it and later Kyle and Katrina skied again.


After dinner, we cleaned up the best we could and drove about 30 minutes to Panguitch to their hot air balloon festival. Panguitch has a lot of old stores and buildings and there are several shops that sell great Americana antiques. We wandered around the shops and streets waiting for dark while the balloonists set up their balloons up and down Main Street and Center Street. It was fun to see all of the balloons glow when they fired their burners. They didn't launch, just glowed for a while and then took down their balloons. It was an interesting event.

Between the boating trip and the trip down Americana Main Street of Panguitch, there was a lot of nostalgia for me, some things taking me back to my youth (the antique shops made me feel like I was back in my parent's home with the old Frigidaire refrigerator, treadle sewing machine, the old tin bathtub, saddles and cowboy hats and chaps, etc.) and others reminded me of our Hatch outings, such as: tent camping, hauling water, campfires, S'mores, heat, sunburns, sand, "glass", being the "spotter", gasping cold water, wind and waves, The Beach Boys, sand castles, bugs and mosquitoes, treks to the John, neighbors playing their loud music and laughing late into the night. Even the ride was nostalgic as we passed many farms that reminded me of Montana as a child, old farm equipment, aging buildings etc. All in all it was a very enjoyable weekend. We ended with a birthday celebration for Katrina yesterday. Happy Birthday, Katrina!!

Hummingbirds and Moms (and Dads)

As I was looking for a document the other day, I found a story I had written about our summer of the hummingbird (the year Teresa left for college). It goes like this:

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One summer day, without announcement or invitation, our temporary guest moved in. Well, not in just a day, more like a few weeks. The porch light seemed like a good choice for a home. With its plastic panes long since gone, victims of time and use, the frame hung there gathering cobwebs and dirt. It seemed apparent that she would not be disturbed here. Only one light bulb worked now, and oddly enough, she chose the corner farthest away from the working light bulb. At first it just looked like bits of leaves caught in another cobweb, but after a few days, I could tell these fragments were carefully and intentionally placed. It seemed to take forever, but soon the nest resembled half a walnut shell, just the right size to hold a hummingbird, and she moved in.


She was very cautious at first, sitting tentatively in her nest ready to take flight whenever we walked in and out through the front door. It became a habit to look up at the nest whenever I went in or out to see if I could get a glimpse of her before the hum of wings and flash of color announced her retreat.
It wasn't long before she seemed accustomed to the clamor in our yard and remained in the nest in spite of the traffic and noise. I had only seen a few hummingbirds in my life, and never so close up, but I realized that since it is not common to be able to get such a close-up view of a hummingbird, her strong resolve to remain in the nest must have grown from the fact that there were eggs in the nest. I decided that the next time she took flight, I would look in the nest and see for myself. I got a mirror ready and when the opportunity presented itself, I chanced to peek. Sure enough, the mirror revealed two little pea-sized white eggs.


I went to the Internet and looked up information about the hummingbird to see what the incubation time would be. I wasn't sure exactly when the eggs were laid, but the incubation time is usually between 14-21 days, depending on the temperature. I calculated that by the time we returned from a weekend trip for a family reunion, the hatching should be complete. Upon arriving home, I took the first opportunity I could to check the nest. The mother was gone so I grabbed my mirror and looked in. At first all I could see was the broken egg shells, and I was saddened that they did not make it, but in an instant I could detect two little open mouths in the grayness of the nest. The hatchlings had both survived.


Now the mother hummingbird's courage was tenfold as she remained on the nest to keep her babies warm until their feathers grew sufficiently and yet taking frequent flights to forage for food for them. I watched her whenever I passed by the window and occasionally saw her feeding her young. It was a daunting task to think about, because hummingbirds use so much energy just in ordinary flight, that they require great amounts of food to maintain their own energy, let alone feeding two growing babies.


Over the next few weeks we watched as the baby hummingbirds grew larger. First we could see the tips of their beaks, then more and more until we could see their heads. It didn't take long for their bodies to completely fill the nest and it seemed that the nest would soon break apart with the load placed on it by two nearly full grown chicks.


During all this time, at intervals the mother would appear, perch on the edge of the nest and feed her babies, and then take off again. Finally the day came when the baby birds left the nest.



They did not immediately fly away, rather landed on the porch below, flitted from one spot to the next as they tried their wings, and after a period of "practice" they gained the strength to fly away.



As I watched this mother hummingbird caring for her babies and then stepping back and letting them try their wings, I thought of our own years of caring for our children that seems to be drawing to a close as our youngest child has recently gone away to college. Does that mother hummingbird feel the same emptiness inside that I feel when she looks at her empty nest? I hope she finds comfort in knowing that her children have learned how to fly. Hopefully they will know she misses them and come back to visit…

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Now I can stand back and watch all of you and cheer you on. I think your Dad is cheering too. You are who you are in large part because of his influence. Way to "fly"!!

Historic Washington, D.C.

Well, I finally made it to the Nation's Capitol, Washington D.C. I spent 2 1/2 weeks in June with Bryce, Heidi and Isaiah so that Heidi could start training for a new job. I got there a few days before she had to start work so we could do some sightseeing. Can you believe I forgot to take my camera?! Luckily, Heidi took her camera...well she actually forgot her camera part of the time too :), but we got some pictures to document my visit. The weather started out nice and we were able to see quite a few monuments/memorials in the first couple days before the weather got rainy. Isaiah was very good to sit in his stroller all day long while we rode the Metro and roamed the National Mall. The first day we visited the Washington Monument Lincoln Memorial Jefferson Memorial and Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, and the Holocaust Museum. We also saw the Capitol Building and White House but did not tour them. (As a side note, two weeks later, on June 10, an 88-year-old man went to the Holocaust Museum and opened fire with a rifle and ended up killing a guard.)

The second day we went to Arlington Cemetery and wandered around and watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That was about all we could manage that day because it was quite warm


Sunday afternoon we drove to Baltimore and visited Fort McHenry and watched them retire the enormous "Garrison Flag" (a replica of the 30' X 42' flag with 15 stars and 15 stripes that flew over Fort McHenry when Francis Scott Key wrote the words of the "Star Spangled Banner". That flag is now in the Smithsonian) and raise a smaller American Flag for the night

Then we drove past Johns Hopkins University so I can tell people "I went to Johns Hopkins". I'll bet Alex is so envious!


From there we drove back to D.C. and visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...


followed by a brief stop at the National Archives Building. I kind of teased with Heidi all week about finally being able to stand...not on the famous ground where memorials are built to our founding fathers but...where Nicholas Cage stood during the making of "National Treasure". It's true!! But we did see the original Declaration of Independence and the other documents in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom. It was kind of dark and cold in there but I had a reverent feeling in that room.


Next stop was the fairly new Air Force Memorial. There was not a large throng of people here and we enjoyed a peaceful visit to the monument built to honor members of the Air Force.

I thought of Verlin even though the only time he flew in the Air Force was when he was traveling from one place to the next. From the Air Force Memorial we could see the Pentagon and part of Arlington Cemetery.




Heidi then took us on a roundabout route back home on I-495 so that I could view the Washington D.C. Temple as it suddenly loomed in front of us as we rounded the bend.

It was beautiful in the evening sun but more so when we drove to the temple grounds and viewed it from a closer perspective. It was the perfect ending to our day. The following Tuesday evening I had the privilege of attending the temple with Heidi. On my last day in Maryland, Bryce and Heidi took me to the National Cryptologic Museum next door to the National Security Agency in D.C. It explains the role of the NSA in the history of cryptology and national defense. As with the other places we visited there was far too much to see and read in a short period of time but the video gave us a good overview of the history of cryptology, breaking and making codes to pass or intercept secret messages during the various wars including the cold war and in today's complex global fight against terrorism. Following our visit we stopped for lunch and then Heidi took me to the airport. I was introduced to a new favorite sandwich shop while I was in Maryland. It is called Potbelly Sandwich Works and they have yummy sandwiches! I had a great time and was sad to see it end. But there are bound to be new adventures ahead.

Logan in May

I had the opportunity in the month of May to spend two weeks with Alex and Laura hanging out with Graham while Laura attended class at the University. It took a day or two for him to warm up to me, but when he figured out that I was the one to take care of his needs, especially at mealtime, he was quite friendly and loving. We enjoyed going on walks. We walked to the temple sometimes and to the grocery store sometimes. We walked down to Mooch's (a gas station/car wash) on Main Street and visited with Sonia while she was at work. For Mother's Day I spent that weekend with Shane, Sonia and Taylor. I enjoyed spending time with them. The last Friday there I went with Alex, Laura and Graham up Logan Canyon and we cooked hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire. The picnic area was full of people enjoying the first mild days of spring. My visit ended all too soon!! A day or two before I visited with Alex and Laura I had my laptop out and let Audrey see herself on my computer with the Webcam. When the kids see the slideshow that plays as a screensaver on my desktop, they like to identify the pictures that come up. When Audrey saw herself on the Webcam she started saying, "Audrey, Audrey". I saved the litte clip I made of her. When I got to Logan I noticed that Graham and Taylor both enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror so I let them look at the Webcam also to see their reactions. Later, in Maryland with Heidi and Bryce I learned that Isaiah has a great interest in computers and keyboards so I filmed him on Webcam also. He was not too interested in the picture on the screen but really got excited that I was letting him get that close to my computer keys which were "off limits" most of the time. Here is the "candid camera" video of the kids. I don't think it will win any nominations for the Oscars but it is fun.