Miette's First Two Years

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR SWEET MIETTE!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!
February 23rd, 2006

This is the first time I have used slide.com and I love it!!!
I had so much fun putting this together for Miette!!!
I know that you are going to want to watch this over and over again!
After it plays through twice, you can hit "refresh" or click out of it and it will start over. Also, for those of you that don't like music, you can click on the speaker and turn it off. I just thought this song was perfect! Enjoy!!!

P.S. 127 Days, 1 Hour, 40 Minutes, and 13 seconds

First Babies of the Season!

We have babies!!!!! Babe had two beautiful buck kids this morning!!! Bruce is "salivating" over her udder (which may sound disgusting to most folks, but the udder is what it is all about) and both little guys are doing great! Of course we were devastated to find out that WE DIDN'T WIN!!! Laurie's old lady China, had a baby girl last night. Laurie is so excited about her because China is getting very old and she wants to get her Saanan herd going again. We happily concede to the Petersen family as we start our crazy kidding season. Bruce thinks that we will have more babies today so we are rolling up our sleeves!!! I am most excited about getting the nigerian babies here so Miette, Ezekiel and Sierra can pick out their show goats. It is going to be so much fun introducing them to the world of showing. They will get to name them, feed them bottles and when it gets nice outside they will learn to lead their goats. There is nothing as cute as the peewee classes at the fairs and we are going to have a blast!!!

P.S. 131 Days, 12 Hours, 39 Minutes and 57 Seconds

We Have A Date!

Kyler finally has the date that he will be coming home!!! He leaves Brazil on June 27th and will probably arrive in Salt Lake on the 28th. Of course that ruins any chance that Michael and Timery will have for a romantic 5th anniversary getaway that weekend, but we will be partying all night long!!!!!!!!! Poor Kyler will be traveling for about 24 hours and then we will be eating him alive!!!!! That's what you get for taking 2 years away from your family. He will miss Sweet Ellie's first birthday but will be here for the fabulous 4th of July celebration. I am just so excited to see his handsome mug!!! I have a countdown on my sidebar that will keep us updated to the second. Right now we have 134 days, 10 hours, 22 minutes and 28 seconds. Everything seems to be looking up in our family. Timery found a great job and is so excited to start next tuesday. She is still missing her girls and they are missing her but things are smoothing out now. Michael has a great lead on a new job and Mike found a new job that works really well for their little family. There are so many things that still need help, but I feel so blessed right now and I know that everything will be OK.

Oh and...Happy Valentine's Day!!! Can you feel the love!?!?!?!?! Thanks to our awesome friend Lisa for a wonderful date!!! Bruce and I had a marvelous time!!!!!

Shout Out!

Here is a "Shout Out" for my marvelous friend Jennifer. She continues to SPICE up my life with her witty Jenn-isms! She also has a very attractive hubby that adds to the appeal. Love Ya Jenn!!!

Kisses for Seth

I just wanted to share these kissing pictures of Seth. It is always a bit confusing for the babies to understand Seth at first. They don't understand why he doesn't respond to them like everyone else does but when they get used to him, they just love him to death. I put Ellie with him the other day while I was changing Miette's diaper and when I looked up, she was giving him kisses. I am so glad I was able to get to the camara quickly because I love this pix. Just a week before, I got a great pix of Miette laying one on him. These pictures are priceless! Seth is such a lucky guy!!!

All About Bruce Darling, from my angle...

OK, Laurie Darling! Here you go!!!
What is his name? Bruce Eugene Gates
How long have you been married? Almost 26 years
How long did you date? 6 months but we knew each other for a year before that.
How old is he? 45
Who eats more sweets? I do, Bruce is a chip guy
Who said I love you first? I probably did but he taught me all about love.
Who is taller? Bruce is. I like big, tall guys!
Who can sing better? He has a beautiful singing voice but I sing all the time.
Who is smarter? He thinks he is but I believe I am, hhhmmm...
Who does the laundry? Me! I prefer it that way.
Who pays the bills? Me, but I hate it!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do now. I have always slept closer to the door so I can get to the kids faster.
Who mows the lawn? That is Bruce's job and he does a marvelous job.
Who cooks dinner? We both have our specialties. I would never make beef stew, but his is great!
Who drives? We rarely drive together. I usually drive to town but he drives the longer distances.
Who is more stubborn? Probably me, but he also has a extra large stubborn streak.
Who kissed who first? I think we kissed each other.
Who asked who out first? I was obsessed with him so he didn't have a choice.
Who proposed? Bruce did, but only by default.
Who has more siblings? I win by one if you count my Native American sis. We both have 2 girls and two boys in our families but I am the oldest and he is the baby.
Who wears the pants? I try to let him but I always steal them when he's asleep.

BFF's

This is for my dear friend Laurie, who reads my blog daily and wishes that I had more to say! Bruce and I are thankful everyday that we met Todd and Laurie and their sweet family. We will all be Best Friends Forever!!!!

Vegas Pix

Just a couple of pictures from Vegas, for your viewing pleasure!

Merry Christmas!?!?!

Just when all the stores start to put out their tulips, daffodils, bunnies and the rest of the spring essentials, we get a major snow storm. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but every year when it dumps a foot of snow after Christmas, it just doesn't seem right! We do live in Utah, after all!!! I should be accustomed to this!!!!! It is beautiful to see the snow come down in big clumps and build on the trees and bushes, but even as the beauty takes my breath away I imagine the time when all this snow melts. Melting is inevitable and then we will be swimming in the backyard! Pessimism always seems to get the best of me this time of year. I know that we need the moisture but all I can see is the muck to come! I guess it wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have to get out in it, but the goats, cows, chickens and geese live out there and the dogs need to go out for their potty breaks so we just have to deal with it the best we can. We will be glad next summer when we can water our lawns and flowers. On the bright side, I really can't imagine living in a place that doesn't have the four seasons. I would sure like to visit a bright, sunshiney place for a couple of months to skip the worst of spring but I really do like the end of spring, the first of winter, summer for sure! and I absolutely LOVE FALL!!! That season could go on forever.

I did try to escape winter for a few days last week. I was able to go down to a home decor trade show in Las Vegas with Sugar 'n Spice. I was truly expecting more than 30 degree mornings and highs of 45 during the days. We did spend alot of time indoors at the show but it would have been nice to feel the heat of the sun on our faces and bask in its rays for a minute or two. Even though we were busy, we had a good time. The highlights for me would have to be 1) the short time we were able to spend at a fancy party for the trade show. As we walked into the pool area, we were handed a boa and a top hat. There were bars of food and drink surrounding the two pools and a live band was playing. The pool was decorated with huge lit balls that floated on the water. Those people in Vegas know how to throw a party!!! We tasted all the yummies, listened to the music for a minute, grabbed a water and hurried to the next big event, 2) MAMMA MIA! It was amazing!!! I had seen it about 7 years ago in Salt Lake but it was still so wonderful!!! I couldn't help myself as I danced and sang at the top of my lungs. I highly recommend this show to anyone that wants to have a good time. The last highlight for me was spending a bit of time with my friend Wendy in St. George, on the way home. It was so much fun to meet her babies and visit with some of her family, even if for a short time. She and Thomas are a great couple! While I was in their home, they shared a business idea with me. It was really interesting and I am checking into it. It falls back to my "Change our Stars" goal. You never know where the next big idea will come from! I'll let you know how that goes.

So while I was off having a party! My dear family covered all the bases and the house didn't fall down!!! Bruce did a marvelous job!!! Even in his weakened, no day off for 25 days state, he kept everything together and even found time to clean up water in the basement, put in Seth's new door, paint the new walls with primer and caulk the tub. What a guy!!!!! He is amazing!!!!!! Also while I was gone, Timery got a new job. Not the job of her dreams by any stretch, but it will help pay the bills for now until something "perfect" comes along. It will be fun to have the girls around a few days a week but they are going to miss their mom so much. We will get used to it and it will all work out!!!