Familia

We've been hanging out with family a lot lately which has been great and Mac can't get enough of his cousins or the potato chips and popsicles which usually accompany these get-togethers.

All the Hatch grand kids looking like quite the adorable motley crew.

Mac enjoying singing Yankee Doodle for the hundredth time that night, it never fails to bring a big smile.
Today we met up with the cousins at the park for some water fun and a picnic. I love seeing Mac interact with his cousins and they're all really sweet with him even when he steals cheetos right out of their hands.

House Redo (Round Two)

Here's Mac looking amazed at all the work that was done on Friday.

Once upon a time this was the front of our house. A plain beige box, coloring akin to a subway restaurant and most importantly no front door, homemade architecture at its best.

As of one week ago we are now the proud owners of a real front door! No more babysitters/friends/pizza delivery men walking around the house trying to find the door, huzzah!
This is our second lot which when we arrived was a bit of a wheat-filled no mans land. We've decided to build a new house on the lot and rent out our current place. So the first step was to address the trees.

The tree men doing their thing.

And finally our poor pine trees. For all the tree lovers out there don't worry we still have plenty of pines left and these particular ones were on their last leg with a lot of dead branches and a fungus, so sadly it was their time to go.

Our lovely old garage which sits on the site where our new house will be located. My little bro Ev will be single handily taking this apart this week.

And our new garage at the back of the lot. I decided that since our house was just going to be a simple cottage I wanted a dramatic color, so red it is.

Our wonderful volunteer Uncle Lerin who came by at 5am to help break stuff down.

Art, etc.

My first show in Spokane just opened up at the Transit Authority building downtown. It was a mad rush to get everything up but I love the space and it feels nice to finally engage with the art community here in Spokane. Here' a link to more photos: www.daniellehatch.com/2009/trapped

I showed my MFA Thesis work along with my new work, "Trapped".

My great friend Emily helped me install it all in one morning, no easy task considering all the ironing that was involved. However the installation gave us a few ideas for performance pieces we'd like to do in the future that involve ironing in public places.

And finally a few pics of Mac and I during one of our daily trips to the park.

May/June

The birthday pals

The big race

Out and about in San Fran and Sunnyvale

The amazing linguist Laura McPhee

Last month came and went in a big blur. We had so much going on that it was quite hectic but luckily we managed to fit it all in and not go completely crazy. Much of my time was spent calling family and friends to come watch Mac so I could finish up my new sculptures in time for the show at the STA on June 5th. I've definitely used up all my family babysitting requests for the year, but luckily everything was finished just in time. I used fiberglass and a whole lot of bondo for this project which are both light and sturdy materials but smell quite awful and toxic when you're working with them so I'm not sure I'll use them again in the future. I especially owe a big thanks to Cam's dad Jeff for reliving his old taxidermy days and teaching me how to work with the fiberglass.

About a week before my show opened I used my superior planning skills and decided I should take a week long trip to Utah and San Fran with Mac. Mac Stayed in Utah with my Mom over the weekend while I flew to San Fran to run a half marathon with my buddy Sarah from Wellesley. It was so fun to see Sarah and Britta again and the race went perfectly (no chaffing this time!).

When we flew back to Spokane Cam and I had a few days to finish things up and then my great friend Emily helped me install my show Friday morning and the opening was that evening. The next day was Mac and Lucy's joint 1st birthday party and it was lots of fun. Emily's in laws were nice enough to host the party since they have a pool and the kids had a blast splashing around. To balance things out the plan for the upcoming month is to lay around for long periods of time staring off in to space (no doubt Mac won't be game for this but it's nice to imagine none the less).

For the Love of Houston

Last week we took a quick trip down to Houston to celebrate my dad's 50th. It was wonderful to see family again and I fell in love with the place. Here are some reason's why:

Seeing siblings play with Mac

The Menil Collection

beautiful art and architecture, plus oil money = no admission fee :)
I've never been a fan of Bulldogs before but Brutus changed my mind.

The Houston Children's Museum
Mac was in awe and loved every second of it

Marcela's cooking

Reminding me of the joys of fried plantains

Little Pals

The weather has been all over the place lately, from hail to rain to snow to bright sunny days. Every chance we get it's out of the house to the park to enjoy the fresh air and avoid a mental collapse from being stuck inside all winter. Mac is just standing up by himself and loves to watch all the big kids play around at the park, while he quietly munches on leaves and other equally tasty things he finds lying around.

Here's Mac and his best buddy Lucy at Manito Park. Taking in (though perhaps not yet loving) their first high school track meet.Mac and his buddy Javin braving the bitter wind.Still getting the hang of the swing.Easter fun with the cousins.Kimbal sporting the classic dragon bunny look.Our tasty Easter breakfast: raspberry bread pudding, easy to make and delicious, definitely a new family tradition.And finally when Mac's been silent too long he can usually be found doing one of the following things.