The Yates Family

Closing out 2011

2011-12-30T09:11:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is the last day of 2011. So, I am closing out the 2011 blog. For updates on our family in 2012 and the future, please refer to our landing page - http://jcyatesfamily.blogspot.com. Happy New Year everyone!

Saying Goodbye, Good Riddance

2011-12-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

I read on the news today that it is Good Riddance Day. What? That really exists? I guess so. So, I am using this opportunity to say goodbye to 2011.

I can't really say good riddance to anything, except a crappy boating season. This year was not what we wanted for boating/skiing. Here's to hoping 2012 brings better water.

Other than that, 2011 was a good year for our family.

January - We began the year out with snow. And we <3 the white stuff.

We also said goodbye to a friend of ours, Nathan Davis. He died much too young and left a lot of loved ones behind.

February - We celebrated Valentine's Day and warming weather with our first trip to the park:

March - I caught spring fever and went crazy painting the house. Well, part of it. Before I got burned out on it.

April - Easter came and went. Jon's birthday brought our first round of golf together, ever. That was a fun day:

And we had a quick weekend getaway to Phoenix where we soaked up some much needed pool time.

May - We were finally able to get the boat out on the water.

June - Chicken pox hit our house.

July - We were finally able to go and watch the fireworks on the 4th with the masses. Our kids loved them.

August - Jocey started school. Sniff sniff.

September - Jocey turned 5. We celebrated with a Mario birthday party.

And Jon and I celebrated 6 years of married bliss with a weekend at the Cosmopolitan.

October - Our kids went trick or treating for the first time. Caylee wanted to be a witch like her big sister.

And Jon and I were able to go to the Smashing Pumpkins concert:

November - We started the holiday madness. We celebrated Caylee's 2nd birthday, and my 25+9th birthday with a shoe party.

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents and some of Jon's family. And we went to see Aviation Nation for the first time.

December - Oh this month has been CRAZY busy. We've seen lots of lights, lots of Santas, and had a lot of fun together as a family. Christmas this year was one to remember. And we are ending out 2011 so grateful that Jon has stable employment, that we were able to do some things that have long wanted to do for our family. We're so grateful that I was able to successfully start my own business where I can work from home. And we're so grateful to be ending the year healthy. So, here's to 2011. You were good to us. Thanks for the memories.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011 will go down as one of our best. It start out with cookie making for Jocey's class party at school. She was THRILLED to be able to cut the cookies out all by herself this year.

Then on Christmas Eve morning, the kids woke up to presents already delivered for them from Sherman, one of Santa's elves that has been keeping a close eye on the girls for the past few weeks. (No, we don't have an elf on the shelf - those things CREEP me out!)

And look who we caught this year! Yup, Santa got an extra surprise when he heard my camera beep!

The girls were thrilled Christmas morning. Jon and I were even more thrilled that they didn't get up until 6:30! This might be the last year that happens.

(Caylee was so happy to have received some Bubble tape from Santa.)

(Jocey received numero uno that she asked for - a stuffed Clarice doll from Rudolph)

(Jon has recently revived his interest in golf, playing with his boss at least once every other month. So Santa brought him some new, high tech golf balls.)

(Shylowe was so excited that she was included in the gift giving this year. She received several toys and treats.)

(Santa brought Caylee a princess tent. The girls hid out in it all day and played with their new dolls while Jon and I vegged out on the couch.)

(The fallout from Christmas morning)

(And now, a very empty Christmas tree. So glad though.)

Whobilation

2011-12-27T15:38:00.001-08:00

Saturday night, we held our annual Christmas Eve party. In the past, we've called it our Cajun Night Before Christmas party. But, this year, we had a new theme. We based it off of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." And it was a B.L.A.S.T!

I found this awesome wrapping paper at Target that looked very Grinch-ish to me. It was used as a tablecloth. I have found the beauty in using wrapping paper for a tablecloth at parties - I don't worry about linens getting dirty, I can just throw it away!

Each place setting had a name card (with each person's own "Who" name), and a white snowflake ornament with a tag I found off of Pinterest.

And now, for the food. This was where I had the MOST fun planning this party:

(Virgin appletinis, garnished with sour apple slices and maraschino cherries)

(Stuffing)

(Mashed Potatoes and Gravy)

(Asparagus spears with Hollandaise sauce)

(Cranberres)

(Fried turkey, injected with a creole garlic marinade)

(Banana Salad - don't ask, I can't give you the recipe, but it is DELIGHTFUL!)

(Deviled eggs - I used green gel coloring, meant for icings, to dye them green)

(Key lime cheese ball)

And of course, we had to have our own "Fudge Dudge" contest, complete with egg nog)

The kids made some crafts while the adults cleaned up.

And the best part of the evening, I don't even have pictures for. We had a "Present Pass It On" where we each brought a gift, spending no more than $1 each. We sat in a circle while I read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," and each time I said the word "Who" everyone passed their gift to the right, and each time I said the word "Grinch" we passed our gift to the left. It was so much fun, and everyone got really creative in their gifts.

We ended the night in our new jammies that our Christmas elf, Sherman, brought us. It was definitely a Christmas Eve to remember.

"JOY TO THE WORLD!"

2011-12-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

Our neighborhood held a light contest this year, and Jon was all too willing to participate. Frankly, I think it looks AWESOME! We tried to figure out how many strands of lights we used, but we lost track. :)

Christmas at Bass Pro Shops

2011-12-14T14:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, we took a little drive down to Bass Pro Shops to see Santa and hang out in their cool craft area. They had coloring sheets, letters to Santa, and ornaments for the kids to do.

(There was this GINORMOUS catfish in their fresh water tank. The girls were a little intimidated.)

(Isn't this guy so cute? I seriously love him.)

(Jocey was waiting in line to see Santa, thinking hard about what she was going to ask him for.)

This is how my day began

2011-12-06T15:01:00.001-08:00

About 30 minutes after Jon arrived at work this morning, he called me and said, "You know, I never should have gotten out of bed this morning, that's how bad my day is already." About 30 minutes after that, I repeated the same phrase.

Jon had been at work for an hour, and I was getting the girls dressed for the day. I was in Jocey's room helping her get dressed when Caylee closed the door behind us, leaving us in the room. I didn't even flinch. Until Jocey said, "Uh oh, Mommy, I kind of locked the door." No big deal, right? WRONG! When we moved into the house, we turned Jocey's door knob around the other way so that the lock was on the OUTSIDE of the door because she likes to get out of bed repeatedly at night. And now, I was about to pay for that.

I went over to the door, and sure enough, Jocey and I were locked in her room. I once had put a "key" up in her closet in case that happened, but apparently the monkey found it and put it somewhere else. I called for Caylee, who came over, peeked under the door, and then took off. Yup, she realized that she had full reign of the house and wanted to take advantage of it. I looked for anything I could use to open the door. I tried Barbie furniture, a nail on the wall, a hook on Jocey's Christmas tree. And then the bribing began of Caylee - offerings of chocolate, toys, and then slightly mild threats. And after an hour of screaming for Caylee to bring me the phone, cursing the day that I switched the d@mn door knob, I realized that I was going to have to break my way out of the room.

So, we now have a lovely hole through Jocey's bedroom door, and my day just can't be over soon enough. Oh yeah, and Caylee never did come back to try and help us. I found her downstairs, watching cartoons under her snuggie, complete with an assortment of snacks. Typical.

Boulder City Santa Train

2011-12-06T14:57:00.001-08:00

This past weekend, the Santa festivities continued with a trip down to Boulder City to visit Grandma Lynnie and ride the historic Boulder City train, complete with Santa and Mrs. Claus! Jocey was very excited for her first train ride. They even got balloon animals while on the train. It was FREEZING, but the kids didn't seem to mind so much.

Las Vegas Speedway and Santa

2011-12-06T14:23:00.001-08:00

During Thanksgiving break, we decided to head on over to the Las Vegas Speedway for the Glittering Lights display. They line the raceway with lights (about 2.5 miles) and you can just stay in your car and drive through the display. Then, at the end, Santa is waiting for the kids. It was a fun experience.

A Shoe Birthday Party

2011-11-30T09:00:00.001-08:00

We finally had a birthday party for Caylee this past weekend. And of course, it was shoe themed. It turned out so much fun, very girly. I even had to send the boys upstairs to watch football while we girls played. :)

(This was the party invite that I designed. I seriously had so much fun organizing this party.)

(The birthday cupcakes were very girly, topped with pink sprinkles and Barbie shoes which I washed off afterwards and gave to Caylee.)

(Of course, we had to have all her favorite foods - grilled cheese sandwiches in the shape of shoes, strawberries, pineapple, chocolate covered pretzels, peppermint kisses, and pink drinks.)

(We teamed up and decorated a pair of shoes each. Dawnie and my mom with their flip flops.)

(Caylee and I were in charge of this pair.)

(Londyn and Taylor got another pair of flip flops.)

(And Jocey and Janalynn got this fetching pair. Jocey used everything that everyone else didn't.)

(The gift bags, which included chocolates and nail polish.)

(Caylee is now the proud owner of a lovely pink barbie doll and several pairs of new play shoes. She is THRILLED!)

Aviation Nation

2011-11-29T20:00:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I am playing catch up here. Lots of stuff has happened over the last few weeks. I started out the month with FULL intention of writing things that I am thankful for on each day. Um. Nope, did NOT happen. But, for that, I am grateful - I am grateful that I have had so many wonderful things happening that I did not have time to hop on here every day.

Going back to the beginning of the month, we finally attended, as an entire family, Aviation Nation out at Nellis AFB. It was a lot of fun to take the girls out there and see all the planes and to watch Jon all befuddled. :)

(It was fun to see the BIG C class planes. They remind me so much of growing up in the military. When we were stationed at Keesler, there were C class planes all over the base. In fact, I have a picture just like this one of me and my sisters when we were younger.)

(This was HANDS DOWN the coolest plane at the airshow, and the most intimidating. As you can see, it was heavily guarded the entire time. Seriously awesome.)

(The Japanese Zero was my favorite - it made some amazing maneuvers out there.)

Happy Birthday!

2011-11-18T08:08:00.001-08:00

We are celebrating 2 birthdays in our house today - mine and Caylee's.

(Me with my parents, circa Spring 1978)

(Caylee, the newest addition to our family)

It's so incredible to be able to share my birthday with my baby. 2 years ago she decided that she wanted to share this special day with me, and I was more than happy to oblige. I love this sweet girl. Every day she makes me laugh and watch her in amazement as she grows up so quickly. She is wonderful and our family would not be complete without her. Happy birthday, Caylee B!

Day Three

2011-11-03T09:04:00.000-07:00

22 - I am thankful for a warm house. And that the house belongs to us. And that our house is filled with memories, laughter, and the people that I love.

Day Two

2011-11-02T08:11:00.000-07:00

23 - I am thankful for our dog-ter, Shylowe. She has been very sick lately, and it's been difficult to watch her struggling. She is an amazing dog and companion. Our family would not be complete without her in it. I love you, Shy-bo. :)

A month of Thanksgiving

2011-11-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again! And I am ready. Ready to give my list of things I am thankful for leading up to the big day of thanks.

24 - I am thankful to have my Christmas shopping done. And I am thankful that we were financially able to buy Christmas gifts. There are so many others out there who won't be having a Christmas this year.

Halloween

2011-10-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

We had our Halloween celebrations this past week. First, Jocey had her costume parade and trunk or treat at school.

Then we had our ward trunk or treat. They both made pretty dang cute witches, if I do say so myself.

Anti-Drug Week

2011-10-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

It was anti-drug week at Jocey's school this week. Each day they got to dress up a particular way. The latter part of the week was my favorite though.

Wednesday was Silly Hat Day. We found this stunning piece at DI and Jocey instantly fell in love. She ran around the playground and house yelling, "YEE HAW!"

Thursday was Crazy Hair Day. Look crazy to you?

What about now?

And today was PJ day. I think this is a favorite of everyone in our family. Jocey was thrilled to be able to go to school in her jammies.

The Parentals Visit

2011-10-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Warning: LOTS of pictures ahead!

This past week/weekend, my parents visited us from Evanston, Wyoming. My dad was attending a psychology conference here and it gave them the perfect excuse to get away for a visit. We had a lot of fun while they were here. While my dad was at his conference, my mom stayed here with me and the girls. Then on the weekend we played.

My mom taught me how to make hats on the knitting loom - so much fun! I can't wait to try more! Here's the hat I made for Caylee:

Jocey's school was also having their fall carnival while my parents where here. It was so much fun for the girls to have them there.

(Grandma helping Caylee at the duck pond)

(Jocey, after she won the ring toss - she won a 2 liter bottle of rootbeer)

(Jocey playing the fish bowl toss...)

(which won her this. We now have 2 little goldfish at our house - Ellie and Elmo.)

(Jocey and her teacher, Mrs. Curth.)

(Jocey's class made the decorations for this booth. Jocey's art is proudly displayed.)

(Jocey winning the softball throw. Is there anything this kid cannot do?)

(Jocey with a proud Grandma and Grandpa, and her fish)

Over the weekend, we took them out on the boat. It was so much fun to be out there with them - we took them over to Hoover Dam, got Grandma out water skiing, and even convinced Grandpa to go for a swim. The water was a little chilly after all the cool weather and rain we've had.

(We saw these mountain goats while we were out. It's a first for us.)

(We ended the day with a view of the paddle boat cruise that goes over by the dam.)

Date Night

2011-10-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

We've finally hit a milestone in our marriage - we can now go out on night dates again. Both girls are old enough to be babysat, and we have a babysitter we totally trust and who the girls love. We've done a couple of these dates in the last 2 months. This weekend though, we were invited by a friend of ours to go to a Smashing Pumpkins concert.

(Our VIP tickets gave us a great view of back stage.)

(The Cosmopolitan has a jumbotron by the pool where they broadcast the concerts when they are playing. It was nice so that I could sometimes sit down and still see the action. Dang high heels.)

It was fun to go to a concert - the venue was at the Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan here in Vegas. And it was a perfect night for it. We had great views of the stage, and the lead singer of the band (Billy Corgan) is also an incredible guitar player. He graced us with a 5 minute long solo riff. It was awesome.

(Our friend, Amber, works at the Cosmopolitan. I swear, we could be sisters.)

Vacation Day 4

2011-09-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

Today, we hit the lake, again. But this time, everybody got out to ski (except Caylee). It was awesome. And again, nobody out on the lake. It's just crazy, but I won't complain! The weather was perfect and the water was sooooooooo nice.

Jocey got up on skis for the first time - I could not be more proud of my baby! She did so good!

Here's a few shots of the day:

(Me, on skis.)

(A ladybug flew onto our boat, and the girls had a little pow wow to look at it.)

(My favorite picture from the day. My girls are best friends and are so good to each other. Makes me the happiest mom alive.)

(Caylee finally got up the guts to jump off the boat to Daddy.)

(While we were waiting to trailer the boat, the girls had a good time feeding the ducks some fish crackers.)

Vacation Day 2 and 3, and 6 years

2011-09-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

We spent days 2 and 3 of Jon's vacation celebrating our 6th anniversary. The day started off like this:

Then we dropped the girls off at my sister-in-law's house, where they would spend the night. Then we headed down to the strip and popped into Nathan's to have a hotdog.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Cosmopolitan and checked into our room, which was so graciously upgraded to a wrap around SUITE on the 55th floor! It was incredible!

(This is the sitting area of the room.)

And this was our view from one side of the suite. You are looking at the Bellagio and Caesar's directly in front. Please click on the picture so you can see the full view.

I loved the wallpaper in the bathrooms. I thought it was a very nice pattern. Then, I looked closely...

(Yeah, that would be women making up the pattern.)

Then I got ready for our evening out. Fancy dress, fancy shoes, fancy hair, it was FUN! We went and ate at Scarpetta's, an Italian restaurant in the Cosmopolitan. It was sooooooooooooo yummy!

Then we headed over to the New York New York to catch a little Cirque du Soleil show - it was incredible! Truly amazing how the human body can bend and move.

(6 years, and still so very in love.)

We got back to the hotel room, and this was the view. OH MY GOSH! I wish I could explain in words how awesome it truly was.

Then, we got up this morning, sat out on the balcony for a while and giggled at the lack of drunk/hungover people from the night before. :) No, we really just sat there and loved being alone and loving the weather and view.

Had a little room service brought in (Nutella stuffed french toast and Eggs Benedict).

Took in one last view of the bedroom, and headed home. It was seriously the most wonderful gift I have ever received - to be able to get away with my hubs for 36 hours and just be a couple again. Truly wonderful. (And BIG thanks to Dawnie for watching the kidlets!)

Vacation Day 1

2011-09-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Jon took this week off of work. We didn't have the opportunity to have a family vacation this summer, so we are taking it now. Day 1 of our family vacation involved our most loved activity (which has also be our most neglected activity this year due to weather and boat problems) - skiing. I think we saw a total of 5 boats out there the whole day with us. It was a beautiful day, flat water, and some great skiing. One of the best moments of today was not captured on camera, simply because it took us by surprise and happened so quickly. We were coming back through the narrows, when very suddenly, a Black Hawk gave us a fly by! LITERALLY! It was so close to our boat that we could see IN the helicopter! Flying very low and being in the canyon, it HAD to be so close to our boat. I bet the pilot was just laughing at our reaction. Probably the soldiers inside as well. It was incredible.

(My new girls - they treated me well today.)

(Caylee wanted a turn on them. She has to wait a while though.)

(Caylee took a turn driving the boat.)

(Look at this beautiful purple fish we saw in the lake today!)

(This was the only major wave we saw on the lake all day. Could not have asked for a better day.)

So what does tomorrow hold for us? Jon and I will be celebrating 6 years of wedded bliss. I will not be posting anything until Saturday about it, so stay tuned! It involves my new shoes! GLEE!

Sick

2011-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

(How do I know when Caylee is sick? She becomes moody, cuddly, and will sit still for long periods of time. And she definitely has the gumboo this time around. Poor kid.)

Mountain Getaway

2011-09-14T08:31:00.000-07:00

With the cooler temperatures this past weekend and the rain showers, we thought it might be fun to run up to the mountains for a day and enjoy nature and fresh air. We love to be able to get away from the city and the heat up at Mt. Charleston. It was gorgeous and the kids loved it.

(This is up at Mary Jane Falls. Gorgeous hike.)

(Caylee got to ride all the way up - she was pretty happy about that.)

(Jocey led us most of the way - apparently she remembers doing this hike when she was a baby, even though this was our first time up there.)

(Our oldest dog-ter. She was the happiest of all of us to be up there. Cute puppy.)

(Jocey found a walking stick. I think it was a little too big, what do you think?)

As a side note, we noticed that all the deer crossing signs up there had these little red magnets placed on the nose of the deer. Pretty funny.

Happy Birthday, Jocey!

2011-09-07T07:07:00.000-07:00

5 years ago today, my sweet little Jocey was born. There are so many wonderful things about this girl. She is kind. She loves everyone around her. She is smart. She is giving. She is funny. She is forgiving. And so many other things. But most of all, she is mine. Happy birthday, Jocelynn. Thank you for coming to live with our family, we love you oh so very much.