DATE NIGHT - ICE!!!

DATE NIGHT!!!  We had a VERY special early Christmas present...free baby sitting!  Jason tooks us to ICE at the Gaylord.  2 MILLION pounds of ice sculpted by 40 artists from China, kept at a FREEZING 9 degrees!  We walked through giant scenes from a Charlie Brown Christmas, including an ICE SLIDE.  The final scene was a giant nativity ice sculpture :)  Fabulous.

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Yes, we know it's the eve before Christmas Eve and we're FINALLY posting Thanksgiving pictures...

Thanksgiving was extremely non-traditional this year.  Not necessarily by choice...half the family ended up with the stomach virus, passing from family member to family member at the ranch and keeping others from travelling all together.  John was taking a preview trip to Thailand (please read about his radical mission! http://www.examiner.com/baptist-in-denver/john-hatch-going-out-on-a-limb-thailand), and Grandma was sent to the Amarillo hospital Thanksgiving morning with an unusual heartbeat.  Fortunately, we're SO BLESSED to be a part of the Hatch family tree - it is filled with amazing people.  Not only did dinner make it to the table, but we realized that dispite the "tragedy" of overtired babies, absent family members, and sickness, we have so many reasons to be grateful.  Crying babies mean we have another generation to love and teach :)  Missing John and several others proves we have a loving family :)  Vomit reminds us that a 24 hour bug is our biggest health concern :)  What an awesome family! 



HATCHES in PATCHES

If there is one thing Hannah loves about this time of year, it's PUMPKINS!!!  We submerged ourselves in the holiday spirit this year, enjoying a carving party with the FBC Irving College group, a picnic in the Grapevine pumpkin patch, and Storybook Pumpkin Village at the Dallas Arboritum with Dana :)

FBC Irving College

...ooey gooey pumpkin seeds...

Grapevine Pumpkin Patch

Storybook Pumpkin Village 

...she made us promise to send her tickets when Judah plays defense for the Cowboys...

MERRY HUNTING SEASON!

It's Jason's most wonderful time of the year!  For many, the atmostphere of the holidays brings family together...for the Hatches, it's the atmosphere of hunting season :)  Our merriment is extended...from opening weekend through December, it's like everyday is Christmas.  We recently enjoyed another trip to see Grandma Bobbie, happy to also spend time with the famous Rodgers family!

p.s. - Dylan is over 2 and a half years old, while Judah is just about 8 months...yet the weight was pretty equally distributed on Cynthia's knees in this first picture...