Twins.

Josh's brother and his wife welcomed their twins into the world on January 3rd (a day after we left town). They had a boy and a girl, Jack Hayes and Lucy Katherine. Both babies were healthy and happy, so they were able to home within a few days. I heard that Jack favored Gray, so when Melanie posted these pics on her Facebook page I immediately saw the resemblance. 

Jack and Lucy Kate.  

Aren't they sweet? I can't wait to meet these two!

Two years.

I can't believe it's been 2 years since I lost my Dad. He was the most amazing man I've ever met. He was honest, loving, hardworking, overprotective, funny, loyal, intelligent, fabulous, and oh so cute. 

He once told someone at the Prep Center that he never had any trouble out of me (after she had a terrible day of Lynda). She asked him how he managed to keep me in line and he responded "I just find out what she wants and I give it to her." I can just see that twinkle in his eye and little smile that I know was on his face when said it. I miss those looks. 

I miss his voice. I miss the occasional sneaking of a cold Coke up the back of a t-shirt. I miss the twisting bottom I would sometimes see while walking down the hall behind him. I miss seeing him sitting in his recliner in his underwear at all times of the day. I miss hearing "Hello there Doll" when I would call or "Call me when you get there" before walking out of the door. I miss the stories from his duck hunting days, World War II, and rolling back the pedometer back on his parent's car. I miss Police Jury meetings. There are so many things I miss... 

I am sad that Gray won't ever get to know him like I did. I'm also sad that Daddy never got to see him or hold him. I know he would have loved Gray. He loved babies... 

Jennifer's wedding. 

Just after my engagement to Josh.  

Graceland. We both love Elvis.

Two pregnant daughters at Christmas.
He never got to meet either of those babies...

My rehearsal dinner.

Jennifer's wedding. 

Two new son-in-laws. So glad Daddy got to know and love these guys. 

One of my favorite pictures from Jennifer's wedding. 

Favorite seat in the house. 

There are so many things I'm thankful for and I find that I become more and more thankful as time passes. I am thankful that I was born into a wonderful family with two parents that loved each other so much that their love was demonstrated by over 30 years of marriage. I am thankful that I know both of my parents believe in the Lord and took us to church. I am thankful I will see my Daddy again one day, in God's kingdom. I am thankful that there was nothing left unsaid. I am thankful he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was #1 in my eyes and I loved him with all of my heart. I am thankful for all of the occasions Dad was able to be a part of, like graduations and weddings. I was so proud to have him walk me down the isle on my wedding day. I am so proud that he was my Daddy. God couldn't have given me a better one.

(by Kelly Moore Photography)

(by Kelly Moore Photography)

(by Kelly Moore Photography) 

I miss him a little more every day.
(02/07/25-02/04/09) 

January has been insane...

We have had quite a busy month since we got back to San Diego from our Christmas trip. As soon as we got back to SD, Gray got sick. Then I got sick, and in turn Josh was also under the weather. Now we are all able to breath and our sore throats have cleared out. We have been doing lots of early spring cleaning and are finally settling into January. 

And yes. Before you ask. I do realize it is the 26th. 

We also thought there was a move in our immediate future, so I spent many hours searching neighborhoods and Craigslist for a new place to live. As it turns out we will be staying here for at least 16 more months! Hooray! Josh is glad, but I may be glad-er. He hates putting up curtains and I hate hearing him complain about putting up curtains. :)

Yesterday I was playing with my camera and got this ultra cute shot of Gray in the bathtub. Of course, there have been many other things going on at the Gates' household since my last post, but Gray is currently ready for bed, so a longer post will have to wait! I hope this post will tide you over until I can get that Christmas post up in the next day or two. Or twelve.

Monkey loves bath time!

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Josh, Gray, and I have flow South (errrr... East) for the season! We are at home celebrating the holidays with family and friends! We hope you are having a very Merry Christmas and that you have a happy New Year!

  

Merry Christmas!

Santa!

Gray loves everyone. Except Santa. 

Last year he proved the point by screaming bloody murder on three separate occasions. Real tears included. He was terrified and decided that Mommy laughing was less than desirable if he wanted to be rescued from this terrifying figure. 

Gray and I made the trip to the mall again this year to see Santa. I let him watch the other kids for a few minutes and he even checked Santa out up-close before sitting in his lap. He wasn't sure about Santa but he wasn't terrified. When I put Gray in Santa's lap, he had several reactions. He squirmed. He wiggled. He tried his infamous back arch. The photographer refused to take a single photo while he was between movements (acting natural), so the best shot we got was one just a second after he started to whine. 

There were no tears. No screams. No frightful looks at Santa. Just a "Please let me down mister. You are a stranger and none of the other strangers I see wear such ridiculous clothes. I'm a little worried about you and I would like to get down. Quickly. Thanks." I think this was a vast improvement over last year and if this keeps up, we may get a smile next year! 

Gray says "Merry Christmas Everyone!"

Gray needed some face time on the blog...

Does anyone think they need more Gray pictures? If so, here is a post dedicated (almost entirely) to my Monkey! If not, I think you will enjoy them anyway. 

Gray is catching up on his reading.

Here DaDa, you look thirsty.
If you do what I'm doing, you should have no problems drinking out of this bottle.

Playing in the back of DaDa's 4Runner. 

Gray loves the malls in San Diego.
Malls are much more fun with dolphins and water!

And I would hate to leave out my other child, Fletch! He is simply adorable too! 

Fletch is a great doggie! 

Mexico!

Josh and I decided recently, we were in need of a vacation. We haven't been on a 'real' vacation since our honeymoon, if you don't count a quick trip to Arkansas before Gray was born. We have traveled a lot and seen a lot of new things, but I don't think sightseeing while moving counts as a vacation. I'm assuming you don't either. We were debating what to do or where to go. (I was also worried about Josh getting leave or inability to actually leave when the time came.) 

We debated about going back to Hawaii or going to Mexico or staying in the mainland and visiting some National Parks we are both dying to see.  In the end, we decided a cruise would give Josh the relaxation he enjoys and let me see some new places. Josh had never been to Mexico, so that was a plus too. We decided to cruise the "Mexican Riviera" mostly because the ship leaves out of San Diego, which makes life much easier! We decided to go the week after Thanksgiving and were ready to pack and go! 

Mom came to San Diego to help us watch Gray while I completed the Susan G. Komen 3Day for the Cure. She decided to stay here for Thanksgiving and bravely volunteered to keep Gray while we went on the cruise. Originally we planned to take Monkey with us. We were going to sign up for a few tame excursions and eat meals in the dining room with just the 3 of us. We booked a room with a balcony so we could sit outside while he took a nap or let him decompress from being around strangers all day every day and still be outside. Josh and I actually thought out taking a toddler on a cruise and planned according, THEN Mom volunteered! We were grateful to her for offering and excited about spending some time away together. Not to mention the ability to sit (actually sit) by the pool and read a book or do any excursion we wanted! The possibilities were endless!

Our cruise ship, the Oosterdam, in port at Puerta Vallarta. 

Our cruise stopped in Mazatlan, Puerta Vallarta, and finally Cabo San Lucas. Mazatlan wasn't really what I expected. It was very industrial and not really all that nice. There was graffiti everywhere and it looked like a lot of poor areas from our tour bus trip through the city. We opted for a zip-lining excursion, so we drove out of the city and into the Sierra Madre mountains. It was a good choice, because we both enjoyed the zip-lines. After we finished we were given a quick tour of a tequila factory and were able to see tons of the blue agave plants used for tequila.

Some of the Mazatlan scenery (much prettier views from the water BTW).

Josh was a zip-lining master!

Waiting on the group to finish up.

Before getting back on the boat, we did a little shopping.
We had to get Gray a few of these luchador masks to play with when he gets a little older! 

Leaving Mazatlan.

The next morning we rolled into Puerta Vallarta. Josh and I decided to forgo any excursions so we got off the boat and hopped in a cab. We were dropped off in the older part of town. Immediately people started trying to get us to spend our money. The people were so pushy about buying their souvenirs, excursions, or even some vacation property! We tried to be friendly and say 'No thanks' but lots of them would keep talking to you long after you passed their store! It was wild. Josh and I walked up and down the shore line, where we saw tons of art, statues, and sand sculptures. We stopped in a restaurant for some lunch and watched a few Mexican wrestlers on TV (which was AMAZING). After lunch, we decided to rent a scooter and drive around town. It was cheap and super fun, but maybe a bad choice. I think Mexican drivers are insane and the lack of stop signs (or one way signs) doesn't make it easy for tourists to blend! We were also told by the rental chick that if we got stopped we could discretely offer the cops some cash so we wouldn't get ticketed. I was thankful we weren't stopped because I could just see Josh going to a Mexican prison for the rest of his life for offering a cop $25! 

This guy was so stinking cute.

The Cathedral in Puerta Vallarta. It was stunning.

Puerta Vallarta was much nicer than Mazatlan!

The life endangering scooter we rented for $15/hour.
Possibly the dumbest/most fabulous thing we did while in Mexico. 

Cabo San Lucas was the last stop on the cruise and by far the nicest. We decided to snorkel in Cabo, but we had a few hours to walk around and see the sights before meeting for our excursion! Josh and I felt it would be wrong to skip Cabo Wabo, so we dropped in for a t-shirt for Gray, some chips and salsa, and a shot of tequila (which Josh said was pretty tasty). We walked around for a few hours then went back toward the catamaran to see Land's End and snorkel!

Cabo's Land's End. Gorgeous. 

Waiting to board our catamaran for our snorkeling excursion. 

On the catamaran, Josh's head is covering the arch.
(That's what happens when you take self-portraits.)

Snorkeling self-portraits. 

Josh snorkeling. 

Did I mention Lorenzo Lamas cruised with us? No big deal. 

Lorenzo Lamas and his lady friend waiting on an excursion.