2008

HAPPY NEW YEARS to all of our family and friends..we love you and hope 2008 brings you health and happiness!

Tis the Season

SO we went home for the holiday and had a blast hanging out with our FAMILY! Unfortunately our trip had to be cut short because Matt got a 'surprise' from work..they decided to schedule him the day after Xmas which meant that we had to leave for Chico on Christmas day when the plan was to come home on Thursday..bummer huh? There were lots of people that we wanted to see and hangout with but that will have to wait until next time we're in Bako..sorry! The important thing was being with our families for Christmas and thats what counts! :0) We stayed with Mom and Dad Gates and had so much fun hanging out with them, Andrew, Milly Dog and ALL of the kitties :0) We brought our cat Lu-Lu with us and she was shy at first but made some new furry friends by the time we left :0) It was so nice to relax and be around the people that we love and dont get to see as often as we'd like :0) Christmas Eve was alot of fun. Every year for as long as i can remember my family has gathered at my Grandma and Grandpa's house for good food, fun and Christmas tradition!

After we eat dinner and catch up with warm conversations, we all sit down and sing our favorite Christmas carols!

It was tradition that if we sang as loud as we could,Santa would hear it and would leave us a bag of presents by the front door. After one of our LOUD carols, my Grandpa would say "Did you hear that kids?!" and that was the cue for all of us to race to the front door and find Santa's famous bag of presents! Usually there would be at least 10 kids racing to the door and someone would end up getting hurt in the stampede but this year that wasn't the case. My two nieces were the only 'kids' there this year..

..i consider myself a kid so i ran for the bag too ;0)

Next we bring the bag to Grandpa and he will then read "The Santa Letter" Which my grandparents make every year that notes everything thats been going on with each family and kid. Its always neat to see the kids' amazement when they find that 'Santa' knows everything about them in the letters :0)I dont know where they find the time and energy to make that every year (considering the fact that my Grandpa is almost 91 years old and Grandmas not far behind) but that just makes it 10 times more special :0)

My Grandma makes her famous English Toffee every year and gives it as presents..i cant tell you how much i admire her cooking/baking skills!

We were exhausted by the time we got back to Mom and Dad Gates house and we all sleepily watched some cute Christmas shows together before bed and i made Matt read me The Night Before Christmas before we went to sleep :0) The next morning we woke up to the smell of sausage sizzlin' in the kitchen (dont you love that?!)and we rolled out of bed and wished everyone a Merry Christmas with hugs and kisses :0) We all opened our presents together and had so much fun with the 'finding the PICKLE in the tree' tradition :0) Do i even need to tell you who found the pickle? ;0) Anywho i think its safe to say that we got spoiled this year in the present category..thank you SOOO much! We went to my parents house and had fun opening presents and chit chatting with the fam :0) i got to show off the new fly rod and reel my awesome hubby gave me for Christmas..i think its safe to say that i made a couple people jealous ;0) jk

After saying our goodbyes we packed up all of our stuff and hit the road earlier than we wanted to...did i mention that my little nieces Andy and Paige gave me a PRESENT too?? They were both really sick and i left with a new sore throat and temperature! :0/ Oh well..its a good thing that they are stinkin CUTE! :0)


I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas full of fun memories, love and FAMILY.

HOME for Christmas!

Matt and I are pleased to announce that we will be spending Christmas in Bakersfield :0) We will be in town from the 22nd through the 27th SO feel free to give us a call if you want to hang out!! Happy Holidays :0)

I Heart Christmas Trees!

So i almost forgot to show you our beautiful Christmas tree..which would've been a tragedy :0) Last year Matt and i went and cut down our own Christmas tree in the forest (you can do that here) but this year we bought one and managed to squeeze it in the Bug..if you look closely you can see my little head poking out :0)

We got it home and started decorating..Mom Gates was in town so she helped us string popcorn and cranberries..good times :0) Alright here it is!

Lu-Lu loves to knock the ornaments off and play underneath it :0) Anywho i just thought id share!

My Festive Kitty :0)

I just HAD to share..isnt she CUTE?! Happy 'hump day' everyone! :0)

The Reason for the Season

The holiday season is here again! The parking lots are FULL of people competing for a spot to park and Every store is PACKED with people buying gifts, gifts and more gifts. While im at work cutting hair, all they talk about is shopping and presents and what they bought and what Santa is bringing them...It just seems as though people(me included) sometimes lose track of what Christmas is really about and what our minds should be focused on..the important things...



If you have a minute, you should try this out..its pretty neat :0)
Look at the image above. Notice the 4 small dots in the middle of the image. Focus only on those four small dots for ONE FULL MINUTE. Dont let your eyes stray from those 4 dots for 1 minute. When you've stared at those dots for one minute, close your eyes. Keep them closed and something will appear...The TRUE meaning of Christmas. HINT: if you do it right, you see the Savior :0)

I've been DOUBLE Tagged :0)

Erin AND Laura both 'tagged' me SO i guess im supposed to tell y'all 6 things you might not know about Me :0)

1: We just put up our Christmas lights..bet ya didnt know that ;0)

2:I had a paper route for the longest time and threw papers at 4am every morning!
3:I was a TEN POUND baby...sorry Mom!
4:I LOVE Q-tips and use a TON of them :0)
5:I am DEATHLY afraid of sharks but find them strangely fascinating. I love 'shark week' on the Discovery Channel :0)
6:Im still slightly afraid of the dark ;0)
BONUS: I own a Ferret :0)

Did i surprize anyone?? Now I 'tag' Mom Gates, Mom Bulkeley, Brittany & Tae :0) xoxo