Quick Visit with the Grand Parents

After dropping Jordan off we stopped by for a quick visit with the grandparents. Dan's parents live so close to Jordan it makes it easy to stop in and say hi. After leaving there we stopped by and said hi to my Mom while she was at work. She was so happy and excited to see the girls, especially Allison since it was only her second time ever seeing her. Here are a few pictures of the girls with their Grandmas and Grandpa.

Fun with Jordan

As said earlier Jordan came home with us for a few days after picking her up on Fathers Day. We all really enjoyed having her home, our family felt so complete. Ashley enjoyed waking up in the same room with her and anxiously awaited for her to wake up each morning. We had a picnic at the park and played some frisbee one day, we went to the movies another and enjoyed playing games and watching movies at home, Jordan even tried Zumba with me. =) Kido, we love and miss you so much, thank you for coming to visit for a few days. We hope to see you for the 4th of July.

Ashley took this when we were at the park
she took this one too.

Ashley loved having her hair done by her big sister

Jordan & Ashley

Jordy & Alli

Reuniting with an old Girl Friend

Many, Many years ago, in Jr. High, Dan dated a girl named Deidre. She was his first love and he never forgot about her and always wondered where life had taken her. In 2007, Dan was able to reconnect with Deidre on classmates after finding out that Deidre had lost her Mother in December (Dan's Grandmother had also passed at the same time). They chatted through email a few times, then Dan introduced Deidre to me, through email of course, her and I kicked it off really well. It was soon after that that it was Deidre and I emailing, texting and talking on the phone. Well, after a few years of talking, texting & emailing we finally got to meet in person. After picking Jordan up on Fathers Day we headed over to Deidre's. Dan says it was like watching me reunite with a n old girl friend not him, LOL. We hung out for just a little bit before heading home. It was so nice for me to finally meet her in person and Dan enjoyed seeing her again too. Thanks for letting us drop in Deidre, we enjoyed visiting with you guys. =)

Dan & Deidre
Me & Deidre

Our Kids

Adrianna & Allison

These two became like best friends in a matter of seconds. =)

Happy Fathers Day

To my Wonderful Husband
We both know that being a parent is one of the most rewarding and demanding jobs there can be...
On Fathers Day, I want you to know that I feel lucky to be sharing the decisions, the laughs, the frustrations, and all the happiness with a terrific husband like you.

You are such an amazing Dad, our girls love you and look up to you so much, thank you for all you do for us. We love you!

This year for Fathers Day, we headed to Phoenix to have Supper with Dan's Grandpa, Dad, Uncle & Brother...It was a gathering of The Bates Men. =) We had a great afternoon, then got to go pick Jordan up for a few days. Having our three girls together on Fathers Day, what more could you ask for.

4 Years

Every step on our journey together has been an adventure...

and without each of them, we wouldn't be here today with so much to celebrate, so much to look forward to...

We've got such sweet memories between us- crazy days to laugh about, not so funny days we thought would never end, joyous times we'll count as the best of our lives.

Dan, I hope you know this journey we're on means more to me than anything in the world- and nothing sounds better then spending the rest f my life with you. Happy Anniversary Honey, I love you so much and thank you for a wonderful four years of marriage.

The BEST Bridal Party EVER!!!

Love you guys!

The HOTTEST Groom Party

Sealed with a Kiss

One of my FAVORITE pictures

Another Favorite

To all our family & friends thank you for being there for us then, here for us now and in the future. We have the best family and friends, we know you support us and our marriage, can't ask for a better way to go through life. We love you all!

June 17, 2006

A visit from Kurstin

Our "Niece" Kurstin came to stay with us for about a week. It was fun and nice to have her around. We worked on some crafts while she was here, we made her some spirit flip flops, a photo board for her room, hair flowers and decorated letters for her room. We also went to the movies and a craft fair one day and she went to Zumba with me another day. Then we spent one day taking pictures of Kurstin since she never buys her school pictures. We had a lot of fun doing them and they came out super cute. Thank you so much for coming to visit Kurstin, we enjoyed having you and look forward to seeing you for the 4th of July.

Snuggling with Alli

Zumba

Zumba, have you heard of it? It is a fairly new kind of work out, it is a mix of Latin dance and aerobics, it is a ton of fun and kicks your butt at the same time. Yavapai College is offering it over the summer and bunch of the fire wives were signed up to take it, so I joined too. It meets every Tuesday & Thursday, I am very lucky that Dan has been able to stay home and watch the girls so I can have some time away, it worked out perfectly, he only works 3 of the nights, not too bad. =) I am so loving the class, it is a nice break, a great workout and I have tons of great company to do it with. Thank you to all the fire wives who invited me to do it with them and thank you to my honey for watching the girls so I can do it. The picture above is our "fire wife" group, well kinda, were missing Farren and Mark is a fireman taking it with us as well.

Time with friends

Last weekend the girls and I headed down to Maricopa for a sleepover with Rollie, Mindy & Ruth. It has been over a year since the last time we got together, so our visit was way overdue. Ashley was really excited to see them in person, rather then on their blog and in pictures. Ashley & Ruth had lots of fun playing together and got along really well. It was funny to see the girls together, Ruth is just over a year younger then Ashley, but they are pretty close to the same size. =) Mindy and I enjoyed making Ruth hair flowers and hanging out. Thank you guys very much for having us over, we enjoyed seeing you all. Looking forward to seeing you again soon, we can't let another year go by till we see each other again. =}

Riding Bikes
Watching a movie...so cute!

Mindy & Ruth

Our cute girls in their matching outfits

Best Friends

Us & our girls

Ashley & Rollie

Mindy & Allison

Rollie & Allison

VBS

Ashley spent last week in Vacation Bible School (VBS). She had a great time learning about God, making new friends, singing, dancing & playing. On Sunday, they had a performance to show the parents & church the songs & dances they learned, Ashley had a huge melt down and ended up not performing. I was so sad, Dan & I both looked forward to the performance all week. I know she knows the stuff because she came home doing it everyday, oh well, maybe next year.

First day of VBS
Ashley & her crew leader Danielle

Ashleys group

Ashley, Ashley, Danielle & Madeline

Beach Blast

We go to the most AWESOME church. We love our pastors, the people and the music. Our church is somewhat large, but it sure doesn't feel that way. Throughout the summer the church likes to put on several family days to get everyone together to meet new people& to enjoy some time together with your family, Junes family day was a beach blast. They had tons of inflatable water slides, a wadding pool. jump houses & obstacle courses, they even served hamburgers, chips & drinks. We had a great day hanging out at church.

Ready for church
Allison is too

Water slide #1 they had to climb up this side to slide down

Ashley tried to jump down the slide while holding Dans hand. Double click on this picture to enlarge it, because it is hilarious!

Another slide

Ashley coming through the mouth of he shark

Landing in the pool at the bottom of a different slide

Hanging in the wadding pool