Organizing the Home

I get urges some times to organize the home.  It mostly stems from me getting bored and wanting to redecorate, but the decorating budget has pretty much always been at $0.  So reorganizing is all I can do.  There have been a few Pinterest ideas that have inspired some of the ideas, but mine were all free.  I think they look pretty good for being free, at least good enough for us.

I found this bookshelf thingy on the side of the road and I made Charles turn around so I could pick it up.  Some day I may paint it white.  But not now. 

I wanted little cubbies and hooks in our front closet for shoes and jackets, but that would cost, so I used a diaper box and push pins.

In the boys' room I made a reading nook in the closet.  One of the doors broke off and won't stay on consistently so it was a good excuse.  I even put in a little light for them.  They seem to like it.

On the other closet in their room I organized their toys into baskets we already had and made shelving from old planks of wood that used to be shelving in the basement (I made Charles take that shelving down since I would whack my back into the corner of it when I did laundry.  Someone wasn't thinking when they put that in.).

We picked up these from a ward member when we went to help them move.  I have the boys sort their toys into them.

My sewing and craft stuff used to be in one of the kid's closest, but I realized that I really wasn't constantly using my things and so I put some in our second closet in our room and the rest in the basement office.  This picture makes the closet look incredibly over packed, but I promise it is actually quite organized although very full.  I do what I can with the space I have been given.

Teaching Little Ones the Joy of Motorcycles...that Annette will forbid them from ever having.

York, PA is one of Harley's manufacturing hubs.  The plant is so popular that York County has put a York County Visitor's Information Desk there.

This was the part of the visitor's center that was the most interactive.

Lizzy was the most daring of our children and didn't mind hopping on a bike right away.

Once Henry saw that Lizzy could do it, he became the next-most-daring child.

 It took a lot of prompting to finally get Charlie on one and he definitely won't have done it if the other two hadn't.  We go through cycles (no pun intended) where we teach him to smile for pictures.

I think that's the first time by myself on a motorcycle.

I'm not sure why my eye's look so huge.  Kinda creepy.  But Elizabeth looks good so I didn't delete it.

They probably didn't design this bike to be a three-person bike, but it is.

They thought this one was cool because it had three wheels.  This picture is positive proof of Henry's addiction to playing with Elizabeth's hair.

Who needs to hold the handle bars when you can practice waving for future parades?

I've never wanted to buy a Harley Davidson more in my life than at this moment.

This is the only motorcycle the kids will ever have while living under our roof.

Annette is teaching the boys about this activity.  They've never seen such large magnets in their lives.

Here's a little video of it.

Here's the better-educated and happier family leaving the plant.

Hatch Reunion

We went to California for a Hatch Reunion.  It was very fun and all had lots of fun.

The shuttle from the parking lot to the airport was a huge hit with the boys.

Airplanes are always very thrilling in the beginning.

Since we had woken the kids up early Henry slept on the floor and Lizzy in Charles' arms. 

Uncle David and Aunt Laura made us wonderful breakfasts every day.  The first day was crepes and bacon.  We had bacon every day for breakfast.  It truly was a vacation with that much bacon. 

Since the Hatch family is too big to all stay at Grandma Hatch's home, our family (Grandma Sandra and down) stayed at a house we rented just down the road.  They had lots of fun toys to play with in their gorgeous backyard.

Aunt Colleen brought Eliza's next size of clothes.  Elizabeth was pretty excited and she totally posed for this photo in her new dress.

Lizzy wanted to learn like Charlie. 

They had tons of toys!

Elizabeth cuddling with Uncle David who was trying to help Mommy win Settlers of Catan.

Elizabeth and Sterling were our little twins with their same hair and frame.

 They even beg the same.  Aunt Colleen was feeding them grapes.

Charlie and Gideon had fun hoarding grapes in the corner.

Grandma Sandra gave a wonderful lesson on some of our ancestors in our family history.  Adeline, Lizzy's second cousin, found Eliza's umbilical hernia fascinating.

Our kids transitioned to PST pretty well, but were still some of the first to wake up and start on breakfast. 

Doheny Beach was fun.  The kids didn't want to get dirty at first, but kind of got over it.

Elizabeth took a bit longer than the boys.

Mommy and Grandma Sandra

Mommy and Daddy.

Charles helped the boys make sand castles, but they demolished them very fast.

Mommy and Lizzy.

Lizzy tuckered out and slept under the canopy.

We ate and played minute-to-win-it at the church in the cultural hall.

Elizabeth and Sterling had fun being together.

Lizzy being cute!

The kids played with extra cups from the games.

The first game was to get five people, hands tied together, to all eat powdered doughnuts the fastest.  Charlie did great, but Henry didn't want to eat it.  Henry told me afterwards in a very sad voice, "Mommy, I wasn't hungry."  I guess he ate too much dinner.

The second game was to stack the cups up and then take it down again.

The third was to shoot marshmallows through pvc pipes at a tower of cups to knock them all off the table.

Gideon, Charlie, and Henry spent a lot of time together.

 The boys ate a snack in Great Grandma Hatch's kitchen.

Elizabeth helped grandma Sandra play Rage.

Charles grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone.

Lizzy hung out with Uncle Nathan after a nap.  That seemed to be the only time she hung with her uncles.

Charlie chatted with his cousins once removed during lunch.

Eliza scarfed fruit and soaked her shirt.

Four generation photo!

Our flight home was all night.  Henry slept on the floor, Charlie across two seats, and Lizzy in Charles' arms.  There was some bad turbulence so we put the boys in their seats to buckle them up and they just kept sleeping.

The kids were pretty messed up on Monday and Tuesday so they put themselves to sleep around the house.