Hogle Zoo

On Thursday we went to the Hogle Zoo for the playdate with friends. Here is Evers getting right up to the Turkey's...this boy has NO fear!!!



This pic is for you Grandma!!! It case you can't tell Everett is saying "Snake!!!" The 3 stroller babies...how cute!
Evers was so excited watching this animal just go back and forth.

I thought this pic was cute of Everett and Easton. I just wonder what they were talking about to have such grins on their faces!

It was SO fun to see Everett's (and Reis') face when they saw the giraffe and the elephants...they really are real!!
Reis just hanging out with the biggest grin!! It had been a rainy cold day, but that didn't stop us from having fun!
Everett's bday was in a few days, so I brought twinkies for the kids. They sang happy bday to Everett which he LOVED!! He liked the twinkie too! It was his first time eating a twinkie and afterwards he was SO wound up...running around and screaming....it was too funny!
Everett loved the snake slide...he did it all by himself! We had SO much fun at the zoo. Thanks for all the extra hands:-)

Las Vegas

It finally happened after 2 years...a kid free weekend! I didn't know how I would handle it considering I have NEVER been away from my kids for a night. But I have to tell ya, it was a relaxing weekend. I didn't worry about the kids cuz I knew they were in great hands with my younger brother Josh and his wife Marshanne...a good dose of bc.

So, really the whole reason for the Vegas trip was so Bryan and his buddies could go to the UFC fight. It turned into a nice getaway for the girls too. It was especially fun to have Ashley and Shawn (Bryan's sister and husband) meet us there from Cali. Well, when I think of Vegas I think FOOD! Which is exactly what we all had on our minds...the Bellagio Buffet! We definetely wanted to get our money's worth so we stayed for a good 4 hours.

We had some time to kill before our show, the O Show, so we checked out the Bellagio hotel and the slot machines. I put a $1 in the blackjack slots and got to $5 and IMMEDIATELY cashed out...I don't like to part with money unless it is for clothes :-) But I had such a good time playing, that 5 min later I put the $$ back in the machine and turned it into $10 and walked away for good...I consider myself a high roller :-) Today was Ashley and Shawn's 5th Wedding Anniversary...yeah for you guys. Ours was 3 days earlier...but only 3 years strong :-)THIS WAS THE BEST PART OF VEGAS........BINGO!!! It was better than the food, the UFC fight (considering I wasn't there), and my stone massage (well that might be going a little too far). We didn't win a dang thing but got free SODA drinks and donuts! BINGO has got to be my new favorite game. If only we had a Bingo Parlor in Utah...can you say DATE NIGHT!!!I just love Ashley's face as she was getting her fortune. Bryan got a ticket for a free glass of beer...but he just put it on a slot machine for some lucky drunk!!

Vegas really OPENED my eyes...I think I have been living in Utah too long. I really didn't like the atmosphere...the smoking, young and old drunk, and the oh so little clothing. But what was the CRAZIEST was when I was trying to find a place to get a massage. I checked out 2 places at the end of the strip (by our hotel) and they were definetly sketchy. The first place I inquired had a sliding window inside and the lady wouldn't open it all the way...so I knew it was not a place I wanted to be. The second place, which was at a strip mall, you had to ring a door bell. The lady that answered barely opened the door and was looking around suspiciously....I believe maybe looking for cops cuz maybe there was more than massages going on in her shop!!! YUCK!! So, I thought it best to spend the $$ and go to a Spa inside one of the well-known hotels...definetly well worth it!!!!

When we arrived home, I insisted on being the 1st one to walk in considering Bryan gets great welcome homes from the kids everday he comes home from work. Everett was excited saying "mommy mommy" and was about to give me a hug when he saw daddy close behind and darted for him instead...but stopped halfway there and came back to me ;-) Everett gives the best hugs!! He didn't stop there...he gave everyone in the room many hugs for the next hour!! Here he is giving his friend Easton a hug!Reis wondering who this guy is ;-)Easton and Everett had a good time hanging out eating pizza, riding the horse and being in the swing.

We had such a great weekend. Thanks to all those that made this weekend happen! It was what this momma needed.

BBQ

That evening we headed to a beautiful park in Meridian. Of course, Everett didn't care about the food and went straight to Tucker. Sure enough, he is the one that got ALL muddy trying to play with Tucker. Then he wanted to be cleaned up and then would go right back and get dirty again. The girl cousins managed to be able to stay clean...hmmmm is it a boy thing?!? Everett and his cousins Grace and Averee. What a fun rock...who really cared that there was a nice playset a few feet away!! This is a fun pic cuz all three of them were born in the same year withen a few months of each other. Everett and Grace played very well together....in this moment :-) It was fun watching Everett master the playset by himself...he had NO fear.

It was cute to see them laughing as they bumped into each other. Aunt Lyndsee giving Reis drinks of water for the 1st time. He loved it. His lips weren't going to leave that cup! What a BIG boy....he turned 8 months today.

Oh, and the other thing he likes as much as the cup of water....GRASS!!

All the Bates cousins (except Tucker the dog). They are a good looking bunch of kids. It was great to get them all together!!
Thanks for a great weekend!! Sorry, I hope no one gets sick from my kids!!!!! It was such a fun weekend. Glad we could celebrate with you Josh!

Little Bros College Graduation

Everett, Reis and I headed up to Boise this past weekend to see my younger brother graduate for BSU. The kids did so well at the graduation. Everett made it through 1 speaker before going out in the hall to play with his cars and Grandmas stroller. Everett LOVES his Kyler (aka Kyger). Reis intently watching the bag pipes play! Alicia and I left with the kids a little early to be able to get to the elevator with strollers before the mad rush. So, we saw Josh first and asked him if he wanted a piece of cake and he said the cutest thing..."All I want right now is my wife!" AAAAWWWW!! Here he is with his loving wife Marshanne.Josh and my mom. What a proud mom!!!Oh and I had to get in there too. We are SO proud of you Josh!!It is kinda scary to see the pleasure Reis is getting from pulling Marshanne's sisters' hair. She was so sweet with Reis and Everett.Oh and Everett would just squint and give Grandma the biggest smile. Then he leaned in to rub noses with Grandma...he had SO much fun with her. Thanks for keeping him entertained mom!
So Josh...now on to the REAL world....SCARY!!!! You are going to do great things Josh...you are very caring, and a very dedicated hard worker.

Pool Party

So, my two boys and I headed up to Boise without Bryan cuz he had to work...but that just meant we got to go a lil bit earlier and stay an extra day longer :-) Lyndsee, my sis-in-law that lives in Texas, was in town also with her 2 little girls, so we headed out to her parents house to swim with the cousins. Everett couldn't wait to get into the pool!! Here is their cousin Kyler, or as Everett refers to as Kyger. He LOVES his boy cousin so much. Kyler is such a sweatheart with him...giving him hugs and stuff.
Cousin Madi is SO funny. She wanted to show Grandma that she could go off the diving board. She was standing at the edge...then she started crouching which turned into sitting...then into CAREFULLY touching with her toes the floaty. She is so cute.
Everett stayed in his floaty holding on tight to a red ball and a fish. What more could a boy want?!

Everett showing off the red ball for all to see! Just behind him is his Aunt Alicia and cousins Grace and Madi in the background.
Everett and his cousin Evka had a lot of fun playing bumper floaties in the pool. Evka moved a lot faster than we could ;-) The cousins had SO much fun playing together. Aunt lyndsee getting cousin Averee to kick her legs in the water. Averee and Evka are such little fish! Reis was chilling in the swing waiting to be fed some solids from Grandma!Grandma bringing Reis by the pool to see all the action. I just LOVE his smiles...they make everything worth it!!!
Everett wanted to put on Gracie's life jacket...then go play with the basketball. There were so many fun things to do at Lyndsee's parents house.
Oooohhhh la la...check out the view Everett.
Wow...and Everett even got a popsicle. Life is GOOD!!!Me and my boys after a day of swimming. Thanks SO much Lyndsee for having us out to swim. Your parents are so generous and kind to let us invade like that. We had such a wonderful time seeing you and the girls. We miss you guys already!!