A Hard Week...

Ok, so this week has been rough - since mom has been out of the hospital, she has been at home in bed for over a week now so I have still been helping out with grandma and grandpa Bates who have had a rough time lately too. We just found out that they will have to move out of their rental house soon because the people that they are renting from are going through a foreclosure and have to move back in to their rental home. What a mess!! We have moved grandma and grandpa 3 times literally in the last year - very stressful! We are praying that they can sell their house in Prescott so they can buy the rental house from the people so they can buy something else. Does this even make sense?? It is sooo late and I can't believe I'm still up, and I have to work tomorrow! I've had a little trouble sleeping lately, but am trying not to be too much of a worrier! Anyway, hopefully good times will come again soon.....

I have several things to look forward to coming up, so I'm trying to focus on that:

1. Kelly Clarkson, 20th row!! November 20th ( see picture above)

2. Seeing pictures of Kayla, Shawn, and Alexandra in their Halloween costumes... CAN'T WAIT!

3. Mom and Dad get in from Iowa November 20th - so excited!!!

4. The Holidays - my absolute favorite time of the year!

5. Going to see Wicked in LA the day after Christmas with Jason - he's officially obsessed and we both are really excited to see it!

See I already feel better. Whenever you get sad or down, just try to think of things that make you happy. It always helps me.

Alexandra at the pumpkin patch

We were so glad to get new pictures tonight of our niece in Iowa, Alexandra! Jason's sister Jenn and her husband Jay live in Des Moines and they took Alex to the pumpkin patch and an apple orchard today. We can't believe how big she looks! And that red hair is adorable! My favorite picture is the one of Jay and Alex and how they both look like they are in the the middle of a laugh! We sure do miss our family in Iowa. The last time we saw mom and dad, and Jenn, Jay, and Alex was last Christmas. We had a lot of fun, but wish we could see everyone more!!

Jenn, send more - we love to see new pictures!!!

Mom

Well today we had a scare with my mom. I worked at my dad's office today and my uncle called me and told me she had been rushed in the ambulance to the ER because she was vomiting and was so dizzy she couldn't stand up or do anything. They admitted her, and even though she couldn't put up much of a fight, she didn't want to be admitted. They are saying it's a pretty nasty case of VERTIGO, but are still running some tests. I feel bad that she is at the hospital all by herself tonight. But, my uncle and Jason gave her a blessing, and it was a neat blessing. I'm grateful for the priesthood and what a peaceful feeling it always gives me. It really helps me to feel comfort. Mom, I know you'll be ok, and I'm thinking about you tonight. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow.

Kayla & Shawn

So when we were in Vegas last weekend, I caught the cutest moment between Kayla and Shawn. Kayla was acting a little high maintenance (probably because her momma wasn't there) and so I settled her down with a snack, some yogurt. She wanted me to pull her hair back in a ponytail, so I did that, then she sat down at her little miniature table. She was so cute eating her yogurt by herself with her mini spoon, then food lover boy came over and sat right next to her and just watched her. She looked at him, then started feeding him her yogurt! It was the cutest interaction I've seen between them. So anyway, here are some pictures of the incident.

PS. The blue bear blankie thingy that Shawn has, is something that he cannot sleep without. He has to put the bear's head in his mouth to fall asleep - Angela has replaced it 3 times with new ones, because they all smell so bad.... like mildew! It's the funniest thing!

Las Vegas

After such a busy week, I'm finally writing about our eventful weekend to Vegas! We watched Kayla and Shawn and I have to say, I was worried that now Jason does not want any children. But, everyone keeps saying that it's different when they are your own! Ha ha We went out Saturday night, and mister 'night owl' himself stayed out with me until 1:15am! I was so proud of him! We went to the Rio and had their awesome buffet - I had basically 1 thing - Crab legs!! They were delish! One of my favorite foods. Then we went to Bellagio and saw the fountains and this was my first time seeing it. It was amazing! The song that the fountains dance to was "Con Te Partiro" which is now the song that you hear when you go to our blog. This piece of music is so beautiful, it took both of our breath away. Since we got back Jason has been playing it throughout the house!

We had a guy play a Richard Marx song on his harmonica for us - he was great! (Right Here Waiting For You) We saw the gardens at Bellagio which are unreal!!! Then we walked over to Caesar's Palace and watched all the crazy's going into the Pussycat Dolls Lounge - that was fun.... Anyway, we had a blast, and here are some pictures.

Pay it forward

So Tuesday I get this call on my cell from this guy saying he found my wallet! I ran to my purse to check, because I didn't even know it was missing, and sure enough it was gone. I remembered getting gas that morning and I must have left it on the top of my car when I took my debit card out. Scott, who was taking his dry cleaning in that morning happened to see it in the road on Alma School and the 202! He had to call 3 different people before tracking me down. He went through so much trouble, and I was so grateful to him, I wanted to give him some cash to say thankyou. I wrote a note telling him how much I appreciated him and how much trouble this saved me and put some cash in an envelope. When we met up and he handed me my wallet I handed him the envelope but he absolutely would not take it. I felt so blessed and happy knowing that there are still honest people in the world! So make sure you put your business card or something with your cell phone number on it just in case you ever lose your wallet and are lucky enough to have someone try and return it to you! Here's to you SCOTT, wherever you are....THANKS AGAIN!! I will make sure to pay it forward....

Fun being together

Angela and Christian got into town Friday night, and Saturday we all had lunch at Gecko grill. This was our pick due to the fact that our funny sis. Ashlee now works there as a waitress. She did so great, and I even slipped her a big tip! haha She was a good sport because we were taking pictures but we are so proud! We were calling Shawn bean boy, because by the time we left, he was covered in them!

Jason had a fun time golfing and met up with us later at mom's. He fed Shawn his bottle and I couldn't help but thinking what a great dad he is going to make someday.... (sooner than later we hope!)

Sunday everyone came over for dinner, and of course Jason worked his magic on the grill. Kayla wanted to watch Aladdin, so she snuggled up with Jason to watch.

Jason and I will be heading to Vegas this weekend to play mom and dad while Angela and Christian paint their new house. We're excited to be able to spend this much time together! We sure do love our family. (Can't wait for the other half of our family to come in November!!!)