Lots of really cute pictures!!!!

So we had these pictures taken back at the end of October however, due to the fact that we were using theses as Christmas Presents we haven't posted them until now. Hope you like them. By the way Derek now has 5 teeth instead of just the 2 you see in these pictures.

Just a few funny pictures

Annistyn feels like such a big girl in Derek's rocking chair.

In case anybody wanted to know how Derek Sleeps this is how. As random as he can. I don't think I have ever seen him sleep in a "normal" position.

Christmas Eve

So every Christmas Eve we have a family tradition where we get to open one present and well the present every year is Jammies of course this year was different. Mom and Dad got us all Boston Red-Sox T-shirts and Red Sox Jammy pants. We loved it!!! Also the last couple of years (like 10 years) my parents have gotten a present that is called the family present. It is normally something like a game or movie basically something that we can all do together. Sometimes is something different for the boys and girls but well you get the point. This year the present was a Wii. Dad has been working on this for probably the last 6 months or so looking for the accessories on sale. He got a lot to. Below are pictures of the kids opening the present.

This however is a horrible picture of me do the Ski Jump game. Unless you have done it already you will not understand how hard these games are. But they are just so much fun.

This is Derek just showing off his Teeth yes he now has 5 teeth 3 on top and 2 on the bottom. And yes is case you were wondering they are sharp.

A Christmas to Remember, Anything is Possible, and That is What Families DO!

(Warning long post ahead)

These 3 sayings are what my Dad has been saying quite a bit lately. But they all came together on Christmas Day! Unfortunately, my Brother in-law Chris had to work at the oil rig in Wyoming on Christmas Day! Of course he and my sister Cedar were heart broken for him to miss Christmas and being gone for a long time. So we as a family came up with a game plan. Dad contacted the Bishop of the ward up there in Wyoming and arranged for the Bishop to open up the church for us to use. We decided that we were going to drive up Christmas Morning (literally we were going to leave at 3am) and surprise him when he got off work at 6am. Well then the weather forecast was that we (those of us in Utah) were suppose to just get this huge snow storm on Christmas Eve night. So then the plan was off because we would be driving through the mountains in a huge snow storm. Of course we were sad that we weren't going to go and be all together on Christmas morning but we had to be safe. Then remember though that "anything is possible." Well the snow storm started to slow down and so it wasn't forecasted to start hitting us hard until Christmas Night, so again at the last minute, we decided (8pm on Christmas Eve) that we would go. So again off we went to start packing up the cars and getting everything ready. We packed as though we expected to get stuck or snowed in. But we brought most of the Christmas presents and got all ready to go. We had decided now though to leave a little earlier (2am) to give us some extra time just in case.
When we woke up at 2am though we realized that it had already snowed about 3 inches at our house and we were of course nervous. We started checking weather reports online and all started saying prayers to see how we felt about it. As we looked online we realized that the storm was just mainly in Utah and that we could probably make it. So off we went and what an adventure it was. We drove in a snow storm clear up to the Wyoming border and nearly stopped and turned around a couple of times. But we kept pushing onward. The last hour of our 5 hour drive again was on a little country road driving in the snow. We got to the church the sweet bishop had shoveled the walks and had the church open and warm. My Sister had called Chris and told him that she had surprised him and that just her and my Dad had come and that he was suppose to meet her at the church. When he got there he realized that his little girl, and the whole Hatch family was there to meet him. It was such a learning experience to me because the look on his face was priceless. I realized and was taught right then and there that this is really what Families do and that anything really is possible and this is why this will be the Christmas to Remember! The drive home was actually a little worse than the drive there, but well we survived and nobody got hurt or in an accident. It was a really long day, the babies were so good that we knew that we had been blessed. The drive was horrible, but I would do it again. It may not have been the "best" decision logically that we had ever made but well I would do it all over again just so that we would have this "Christmas to remember."
Dad took a bunch of pictures but I will have to get them from him later.

Christmas Letter 2008

So this is our Christmas letter this year. I know this might be the cheaters way out but well we at least did it! Sorry if some of you received this in an email as well.

Merry Christmas!
Hello to all of our Family and Friends! Mom said that since I love the computer and
punching the keys so much that it was okay if I wrote the Christmas letter this year. Life is
so interesting. There is always something new to learn, try, or get in to. Mom and Dad
sometimes gets mad at me when I get into things that they don’t want me to. I just can’t
help myself though there are always so many cool colors and lights. I love to play with toys
but mostly I like to play with stuff that looks like it should be a toy. I’m getting so big and
tall that now I can pull myself up and will sometimes when I’m brave enough let go and stand
all by myself but only for a few seconds, then I get scared. I love to play in the bathtub. I
love to make lots of noise and splash water all over the place. I also have five teeth. I’m so
big!
So about a month ago we moved to Orem, Utah. I like our new house and now there isn’t
any stairs for me to play with, mom really likes that. It is closer to Mom and Dad’s work and
my Grandma Hatch’s house, so I’m just happy because that means that I don’t have to stay
in my car seat as long whenever we go anywhere. My Daddy is still an electrician for Rydalch
Electric and is still going to school. Mom still works part-time for Shelf Reliance, they are a
food storage company and says that they are so busy right now. I guess there is something
crazy called the economy that is causing that, but I don’t know what that means. While
Mom is at work I stay at my Grandma Hatch’s house and I love it.
Ally is getting married soon and is moving out of the house. This will be different to just
have it be my just my Mom, Dad. and I, but I think it will be good. I hope that she loves
being married to Ryan and that everything goes Okay for her.
Guess what? Something happened this year that I never thought would ever happen
Grandma Carol and Grandpa Joe (Daddy’s Mom and Dad) moved from Georgia to Wyoming.
I told grandma a long time ago I wanted her to be closer so that I could see her more often
and I guess she listened to me. GO ME! “Over the river and through the woods to
grandmother’s house we go.”
Well I guess that is about it for our family. I love you guys and miss you and hope that you
all have a Merry Christmas and that Santa brings you lots of good presents. I can’t wait to
see what Santa brought me this year. I love that Heavenly Father sent me to my Mom and
Dad to live. Mom and Dad say that we have to be thankful for what we have, a warm home,
good jobs, and great family. We are so lucky! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Derek and Mom and Dad (Corey and Nikki Preston)

Happy Birthday Corey

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COREY! So Corey turned 26 years old. He is now over a 1/4 of a century old. I've always thought that Corey had a bad birthday because it is just a week before Christmas. I always try to make it different but it is really hard because he has to split his Christmas and B-day money. Although this is a little different because this is Corey's first b-day with Derek around. Corey and I were talking last night at how our lives have changed so much since Derek came but don't get us wrong we love Derek and we love how it has changed but it has changed quite a bit.

This is Derek with his partner in crime Annistyn. These two love to play together and it honestly is almost easier on the Mom's when they are together because they keep each other company.

This rocking chair was Corey's when he was a kid and when Carol moved out to Wyoming she brought it out for Corey to give to Derek. Can't you tell that he thinks he is so big when he sits on it. I love the picture of Derek and Corey watching football together. You know that this is pretty much what it will be like when they older (probably watch Georgia Dawgs)

The Family Christmas Party

So this weekend was the annual Hatch Family Christmas Party. This is when we all go out to eat somewhere this year we went to Texas Roadhouse (thanks Dad!!!) and then in the past we have gone to a concert or something but this year with the babies we decided to try something a little different, GAME NIGHT!!! Yes we had game night but not just any game night. For those of you that don't know the Hatch family very well we are extremely competitive and we always have to have a prize or something of worth to claim when you win. Needless to say we scared Dani's new husband Tyson quite a bit with our competitiveness. We had a white elephant exchange, Bingo complete with prizes, and the grand finale was the Gingerbread house contest. We all had a kit to use and then we had to bring our own extras to make ours unique. The funny part was we actually went and bought those big card board signs (you know the ones that you use for the Science Fair, the ones that are just a giant size of the folder that you used to have to use in elementary school for the spelling test. Yea we had those to separate us from each other so nobody could CHEAT or steal somebody else's idea. So Corey and I had this great plan to have a log cabin still house. Well, just as a note, Kit Kat bars are way to heavy to put on the roof as shingles. Needless to say our had a hard time staying put together and eventually collapsed. So we ended up with a Indian Grass hut style house, because well we had to cover up the mess from the Kit Kat bars. Below are the pictures of the houses. Dani and Tyson were the winner way to go you guys! I think this will probably be one of those traditions that we didn't have when we were little but will continue on now with the grand kids.

1 23 4

5
1- Dani and Tyson Harding WINNER! 2- Nate and Ani 3- Mom and Dad 4- Ours 5-Cedar and Chris Gambling. They were all so great.

And Finally what do you do when you are in desperate need to vacuum and your son keeps following you around so you can't really do it. You barricade him in with your piles of laundry! Isn't he just so cute.

We finally got a little bit of snow granted we don't want nearly as much snow as Carol has got nor her temperatures but we do need a little more. I'm praying for a white Christmas. Well that is all for now. MERRY CHRISTMAS

FINALLY

OK so just in case anybody was wondering Carol's computer somehow broke during the move so she is still out of commission when it comes to the blogging world but they are cold but doing well.

Sorry this is a long post but well we finally got the internet working in our apartment and I finally have had the time to blog.

There has been so much going on with Christmas coming and us moving. We really enjoy our new place, I miss my old home which was quite a bit bigger than where we are now, but we are saving money and that is the important thing. This has become home though with pictures on the walls and everything put away I finally feel like I live here and am not just staying for a little visit.

Thanksgiving was fun we had dinner at my parents home and of course it was great. That night the boys went to a movie, (a movie that the girls really didn't want to see) and us girls stayed home and decorated for Christmas. Corey left that Friday to head to Wyoming to help his mom move in to her new home. We still laugh when we think that Carol and Joe really do live in Wyoming! We are so excited to have them so much closer and yes Grandma really is over the river and through the woods. It will be fun to actually just be able to drive to go visit and not have to buy plane tickets 9 months in advance. Corey's cousin Ryan was so nice to drive the Uhaul out for them and of course Ryan and Corey had fun spending time together. And according to Carol's blog it is only 146 days until we get to go back to Georgia, however, it will be different because we won't be going to her house; So weird!

With all the uncertainty in the Construction field we feel so blessed that Corey has kept a job and hopefully remains employed. The Lord truly has blessed us.

Ok so Dani got married and here are a few pictures from her great event. She got married in the Logan Temple, had a reception in American Fork, and an open house in Pocatello, Idaho. It was a very busy week but we loved it. Mom also turned 50 the day of the Pocatello reception I could only hope and pray to look like her when I turn 50 (plus I got to learn to like to exercise).

I absolutely love this picture of Dani with her favorite neice and Nephew!

This is Taniel and her cute baby Landon. She was my roommate my senior year in college and was so kind to let us stay at her house while we were in Idaho for the Pocatello Reception. It is always good to have such fun friends. Landon and Derek had fun playing together.



My little Derek is turning into quite the Ham when it comes to the camera. Sometimes he plays the bashful thing but mostly he is just a photogenic cutie pie (We have no idea where he got his photogenic side). OH YES I did cut my hair!

Yes, Derek and Annistyn have so much fun playing together and you would never guess!!!



Finally, the award goes to This House. Yes this is the front window of a home that Corey and I drove past as we were driving around the neighborhood trying to get a feel of our new neighborhood. Yes there are 2 fourwheelers in their front window with Santa. I honestly felt like this was something that we should have found in Texas or Georgia. But no we found it in downtown Orem, UT. Don't worry Chris we will take you by so that you can see it first hand.