Months of work, for a day of pleasure!

It was definitely a day of pleasure. This was the first year we actually didn't leave our house. We stayed home, opened stockings (2 sets; g'ma and g'pa's too), then Brenton made us yummy breakfast burritos. After all that, we spent 3 hours watching the kids open presents. OH Boy, were they spoiled this year!






Santa brought Victoria an iPod nano, and Gavin a Nintendo DS Lite, and Maddy got toys galore! I have to say we were really blessed this Christmas and had a wonderful day. I visited my family yesterday and the kids and Blayne and I called her this morning to sing her happy birthday. Christmas was the Yates Christmas this year so Mom and Dad and Brenton, Melissa, and Kingston all spent the night so we could wake up together Christmas morning. As our family gets bigger I'm not sure how many more years we can pull that off. We skyped with Sean early this morning, we really missed not having him home this year and I think he really missed it too. So as we prepare to end 2009 this next week, hopefully we will remember all the blessings the ending year has brought us.

Another Blog!

I have joined Mary and Melissa (MIL and SIL) in doing a family blog. We decided since we are spread out we would keep each other posted on what is going in our lives. Then at the end of the year we want to publish it and add it to our personal journals and genealogy. It is off to an exciting start with Maddalyn meeting her new little cousin Kingston and loving on him every chance she gets. If your interested, go check it out, dmyatesandfamily.blogspot.com

Also.....Aunt Melissa and Uncle Brenton spoiled the kids by making up for the birthdays they missed this year. It was kind of like an early Christmas. Tori with her BOP-IT, Gavin with his Nerf Gun, and Maddy with a Baby with a backpack on wheels. They couldn't have picked better gifts. Good Job Guys!!!



With the busy lives we lead, we forget to try to document the most we can. All I can promise is I will do my best. Keep checking back, my life can be entertaining at times. ;)

It Backfired!

I don't know if was the fame or money but I think the bribery may have backfired. Tori came out of the bathroom last night with yet another tooth in hand. I told her she needed to hurry and pull the second tooth because she looked like a snaggle tooth girl. Well she did. The first thing she said was, "where's my ten bucks!" So 'tis the season, Victoria really wants her two front teeth for Christmas!

Was that bad..............

So, Victoria has two front teeth that have been loose for a long time. She is going the the dentist on the 15th and they will be pulled if they are not gone yet. They are in the way. I gave her the choice that either Dad could pull it or the dentist would have to do it. So she reluctantly agreed to let Dad do it, I offered her $5 if she went through with it, so that made her more motivated. Blayne was very tender and he showed her how to twist and turn, forward and back repeatedly. He started then she decided she wanted to do it. So, surprised, I told her, "Serious? If YOU pull it out I will give you $10 instead of $5!" As the blood started to get on her hands, she just grabbed a paper towel, Blayne worked with it a little, Chelsea twisted on it too! Finally Blayne felt that it was really close, so he told her to keep turning. All the sudden you hear this scream, "I GOT IT!!!" I followed with a , "WOOHOO!! Good Job!!" Victoria quickly came back with, "Give me my ten bucks Mom!" Hands covered with blood, blood all over her mouth, she just wanted her prize money. Victoria is the tender, girly girl type. This was not in her comfort zone, so I am very proud of her. I learned that all it takes is ten bucks and I can get her to do anything, good to know, I will definitely remember that! I can honestly say she surprised me tonight.

So again I ask, Is that bad, bad that I bribed my 7 year old to pull her own tooth?

Christmas? So Soon?

November went like a whirl, I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner but surprisingly enough I think I AM READY!! WOOHOO!!!!

November, gone already. It has been so long since I have done a post. Hmmmm, after Gavin's birthday we pretty much just continued to get ready for Christmas while Thanksgiving was approaching.

Our Maddy, because it wasn't good enough to get stuck in the frame of my bed once so she thought she would try again. Thank goodness she wasn't successful, I don't think I could have handled that again! Of course I had to stop and get a picture!


The weekend before Thanksgiving was another work weekend for Blayne at the Martins. I bought these punch balls from the dollar store to help the kids pass time. They loved them. Poor Abram, I didn't blow one up for him at first but then it became apparent that he wasn't having it, he started taking everyone elses. It was a good thing I bought extras.


Saturday night, we all went to see New Moon, except Jake, he volunteered for kid duty (gladly volunteered)! It was great except............I came home to Victoria with a 103 degree fever. UGH!!! So much fun, not really. Tuesday we were still dealing with it so we took her in to urgent care and it was the same ole' "It's just a cold virus, it will have to run it's course, they last from 5-7 days and day 3 or 4is usually the worst, she should be on the down hill side of it." R-I-G-H-T!!

Then Thanksgiving arrived and it was a really good day. We spent it with the Fletcher family this year. All of my brothers and sisters were in town and we got some great pictures. We also used this as our Fletcher Christmas since not everyone will be home this year for Christmas. I enjoyed it a lot, it was busy and hectic but I wouldn't have had any other way. We took the opportunity to take some group family pictures.








Thanksgiving evening it was back to Martin's for another work weekend, plus Ashley and I wanted to do a little shopping on "Black Friday". Our plans were foiled, Emily showed up on Tuesday to my house with a bit of a cough and fever which she could very well have gotten from Victoria. Wednesday Abram woke up with "the" high fever. Friday Ashley took them in and both of them had Croup. Saturday morning Gavin started in with the fever and cough and Saturday afternoon Maddy. Needless to say there wasn't much shopping done. We did drag them to Freddy's on Friday to pick up some intended items we needed but nothing special. They actually were all pretty pathedic looking.


So lets hope December holds more holiday fun at less time taking care of my sick little lovelies. I am happy that I am mostly ready and can spend less time stressing out and more time enjoying the season with my kids. They are all of an age that they know and can enjoy more so the meaning of Christmas and not the whirlwind of it all. I am enjoying our traditions we are starting for our family.

The Boy Turns #5

What a birthday it was! Gavin got to spend the whole day with G'ma Mary. She started with coming over and making the kids chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Then she took him shopping for his birthday present. He was begging for converse high tops, so G'ma bought them and also the coolest Smart Wool socks ever!!! Then out to lunch and ice cream.


When he got home, G'ma Julie, G'pa Lloyd, Kaleb (cousin), Tony, Mom, Dad, Victoria, and Maddy were waiting for him. I cheated and bought Spider Man cupcakes, I made a cake too it just wasn't decorated. So he had cupcakes and MORE ice cream.


Presents Galore! Rubber boots, pants, shirts, etc. I had him open the big present from Blayne and I last. I thought I had bought the best present ever, we got him 2 airsoft guns. What cool parents we are (I thought).
Then it happened, Chelsea showed up after everyone had left. She and Tony purchased a gift together and Gavin had to stay up late, and wait for her to get there. Finally the time came and he opened it, there it was, THE BEST PRESENT EVER!!! What every 5 yr old that loves transformers wants..........TO BE BUMBLE BEE!!!!!

He talks, he plays music, he makes the transforming sound, he changes the sound of your voice. Gavin loves it. Later that night after he was told to go to bed I went upstairs to check on him, after being told not to leave Bumble Bee on his night stand because when Maddy got up at 6:45am she would find him and play with him. So when I got up there, I couldn't find where he put Bumble Bee, then I noticed it, Bumble Bee was under his covers with him. He wears him every chance he gets. Did you know he can do anything with Bumble Bee on, like punch Victoria in the nose and claim that Bumble Bee did it. LOL! I felt bad but it was funny!





It didn't end that day. G'pa Doug was unable to be at his party. So the next evening he took Gavin out to McDonald's for dinner, they played on the play structure for a while then he took him out to DQ and got him a blizzard. My boy is going to turn into ice cream soon! Let me tell ya, we had one busy birthday!

It's the moments like this.........

It's the moments like this that I love being a Mom. I love catching the sweet moments, when nobody knows your watching.

I had run up stairs and I captured these pictures of Maddy and Blayne. Blayne was supposed to be coming up to get some socks, instead he took the opportunity to bond with Maddy while listening to some music on the iPhone. It is so sweet seeing them!


Then......Gavin, my precious little boy comes in my room while I'm on the laptop and says,"Mom, will you put this on me (Victoria's headband)?" Why I don't know but I did it. Then as he is dancing around with the music coming from my iPod he runs over to me while laughing and says,"Mom, do I look like a girl?" I started laughing too. I quickly told him regardless of what he put on I don't think he could never pull off being a girl.


I love being a stay at home Mom and being around for all the little things. Chances are those "little" things are going to be my fondest memories ever!

What a happy Halloween it was!

It all started with Victoria's Bug and Spider party at school. Mary and I went, with Gavin and Maddy, we helped the kids do a scavenger hunt. In their hunt they found all of the ingredients to dirt cake, it was messy! Later that evening we went to the ward Harvest Party where the kids got to trunk-or-treat.

Halloween finally came and the kids would have been trick-or-treat at 10:00am if they could have. The city of Sandy did safe trick-or-treat from 2-5pm. Maddy fell asleep on our way up there so Blayne took Tori and Gavin while our friend Kristal and I took Maddy home. It gave me time to get ready for dinner etc. My Halloween tradition is a pot of chili with cornbread and I put cider in my crock pot with mulling spices. We had Kristal, Truman, Shannon and Lexi, Tony, Chelsea, and Mary all at our house for the majority of the evening.

The boys took all the kids out. After a bit they brought back the two little girls, Lexi and Maddy, home then took the the big kids back out. The girls stayed home and gave candy out to our trick-or-treaters.

All and all the evening was a blast, the kids got MORE THAN ENOUGH candy. It will last them all year. I enjoyed it because all of my kids are now old enough to actually enjoy it.

Quickly off to November we go!!!

Not Swine Flu!! Thank Heavens!

So when you call the Dr. because your 2 1/2 year old spiked a 103.3* fever it's great when they say, "well, you shouldn't have to worry unless she has like asthma or something." WHAT!!!! I introduce to you one of my asthma ridden children, ta da!

I was so relieved when her fever broke at 2:00 this morning. They said if it was swine flu her high fever would last for days. So we are probably safe in saying it's just regular flu. Although I still have to closely monitor her (and Gavin's) asthma. If by any chance they get swine flu, that is where they will struggle. Asthma is one of those,"it's only bad if you have an existing ailment." conditions.

I am happy to see her beautifully jumping around this morning. She does still have a stuffy nose and a little temp., 99.6*, nothing compared to last night. Believe me, we are counting are blessings!!!

Beautiful!!

So, those of you that don't live close to me, we had a pretty eventful storm on Saturday. I was at Super Saturday for our stake Enrichment and it was noisy. I happened to be outside, when it started with huge rain drops, then immediately this awesome lightning strike that lit up the whole sky, followed by a huge rumble of thunder. Needless to say I ran right back into the church, whatever I was doing couldn't be that important :)

Not the point though! Friday previous, the day was so warm. Mary and I were running errands, complaining about how warm and muggy it was. When I got home, I was in my room and this was the view of the sunset from my bedroom window. It was beautiful!