Brét Zach Iyrlend and Easton Gates

4th of July Wreath

2011-06-26T16:01:00.001-06:00

Do you use Pinterest? If not you are missing out, it's a virtual pinboard. You know when you find something online you like & you bookmark it and then if you're like me you have so many bookmarks you don't know where to find that awesome DIY project you found 2 months ago. If you have this problem you need to join Pinterst, you have to have an invite but just leave me your email and I'll send you one. While on Pinterest I found this wreath I wanted to try, unfortunately it was basically just a picture on someones blog not a whole tutorial so we kinda just figured it out on our own. I did it with my friend Bethany who is one of those people that I like to refer to as "hiding in a hole" cuz she's not on Facebook and doesn't have a blog but don't worry she really exists in the real world. We haven't done anything for ages but we got together a few weekends ago for a girls weekend in Vegas with 4 of our other friends it was a total blast, hopefully I'll blog about that within the next year, ha. Any we decided we were going to be crafty so this was our first attempt and though it took us a while I think they turned out awesome. If anyone is wanting to make a last minute 4th of July wreath here's how we did it. If you're as thrifty as me & you make it with a friend you could make each wreath for around 5 bucks! I found the felt at the DI, they sale packages of pre-cut fabric so it was $5 for 5 different colors of felt & there just so happened to be red, white, & blue all in one package. I also saw on Pinterest that someone used foam tubing from the pluming dept at a hardware store for a cheap wreath form. Ours was a $1.25 I think and there was extra tubing after we cut what we needed for our wreath. You have to cut it to the size you want and then duct tape it but it worked fine. We got wood stars and painted them white, curled some wire, hot glued it behind the stars and them hot glued them in the blue area. We cut the felt into 2x2 squares & I think we used about a yard each of each color. The hot glue does melt the foam a little so I put it on the fabric & then stuck it to the wreath. That's pretty much it. Let me know if you try it & how it turns out.

Talk

2011-03-20T14:52:00.001-06:00

Today Zach and I talked in sacrament meeting. I always get so nervous and really dread it, which is sad cuz I feel like I use to not mind it much as a teenager and it didn't really stress me out. I didn't even use to really type much when I would give talks just write a few notes and go on the Spirit, for some reason since we've been married every time we're asked to speak, maybe it's cuz I start typing up our about us info., I always type my whole talk and just plan on reading it. Last night I was thinking my talk wasn't that great and my much more spiritual husband said just think of your topic and add personal experiences of how it's touched it. It was about midnight and we were in bed and I realized my talk was lacking any personal experience it was just basically repeating the talk I was assigned to talk on in my own words. So I started jotting down notes on my finished typed talk. I was so nervous my talk was going to be a big mess and I'd loose my spot if I tried to add stuff but I prayed hard that I would listen to the Spirit and be able to do well. I think I succeed, I realized why I got into the rut of just typing my talk it's cuz I must be more emotional now that I'm a mommy and as soon as I feel the Spirit I just start crying. Which makes it hard to get out what I really want to say so in my mind it's easier to just read it but that's not really getting as deep and spiritual as I know I could, so the congregation had to be patient and watch me shed a few tears but I think it was worth it. There is such a feeling of satisfaction after you give a talk when you feel like you listened to the Spirit in sharing. So once the giving of the talk is over I really do like doing it. Any way today made me realize what a strong testimony of the Relief Society I have because my talk was on a talk given at the last general Relief Society meeting by Sister Julie B. Beck, Daughters-in-My-Kingdom: The-History-and-Work-of-Relief-Society. I have never really felt or understood the real power there is in Relief Society until now. I have just recently started doing my visiting teaching consistently and it has blessed my life so much. I know Relief Society is truly an inspired program that is here to bless all of us. Here are a few quotes from Sister Beck's talk that I really enjoyed and used in my own talk today.
"The purpose of Relief Society is to prepare daughters of God for the blessings of eternal life as they increase in faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. The history of Relief Society teaches us that our Heavenly Father knows His daughters. He loves them, He has given them specific responsibilities, and He has spoken to and guided them during their mortal missions.”

"Relief Society clarifies our work and unifies us as daughters of God in defense of His plan. In this day of mistaken identities, confusion, and distraction, Relief Society is meant to be a compass and guide to teach the truth to faithful women. Righteous women today seek an outpouring of revelation to resist distractions, fight evil and spiritual destruction, and rise above personal disasters by increasing their faith, strengthening their families, and providing relief to others.”

Isn't Sister Beck so great, I love, love, love her. I know the Lord has shaped Sister Beck and all of the past Relief Society presidents to be the perfect women for the job at just the right time and I know he will also shape each of us, if we desire him to, to be the right wives, mothers and daughters of His kingdom in our day and with our own families. That is why Joseph Smith was inspired by Heavenly Father to organize the Relief Society to help shape each and every sister and help us to prepare for the blessings of eternal life. Just thought I'd share a little of my talk and testimony with you here on the blog so I can have it forever. Happy Sunday!

Fashion

2011-03-18T21:52:00.001-06:00

So I have just discovered this whole outfit of the day craze and while I think some of the blogs are a little much I've found a few I am a bit obsessed with. I guess a lot of them aren't really the outfit of the day but thrifty fashion. This has all happened in that past week so I'm sure there is lot's more to be discovered, which could be a little scary. Do you ever feel like there is so much at our fingertips with the internet/google/blogs etc... that's it's almost too much. I guess if you're the type of person that can just look at one neat blog and be done then you probably don't have this problem but I find one I like and just keep going on this crazy adventure looking at all their links and all the next blogs links and so on. Any way after looking at a number of fashion style blogs I really became excited to go through my closet and refashion as they call it some of my clothes. I already found quite a few new ways just to wear things that I wouldn't have usually even thought of. It sparked something in me I guess, I've always loved clothes not been real big on "fashion". I like to think I'm fashionable but I really don't know much about it and haven't really felt like I dress that cute since having babies, but reading a lot of these blogs has given me hope that I can make some super cute outfits out of what I already have and things I can find for cheap. So I need to take up sewing and I hopefully I'll find a great hobby that I really enjoy that's also saving me money. I'll be sure to post a pics when I really do refashion something and for those of you that hate the outfit of the day blogs don't hate me if I post a pic or two of me in a refashioned outfit. So here's a few of the blogs I'm loving:
http://cottonandcurls.blogspot.com/
http://uberchicforcheap.blogspot.com/
http://melissaesplin.com/home/
Oh and I'm so doing this, it'll probably be my first project!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6yDxK68OZc

Here I am again and it hasn't even been 2 months...

2011-03-18T20:00:00.002-06:00

I'm starting to feel the blogging vibe again so hopefully I'll get on a roll.....We have been loving the weather lately so here's a few pics of the kiddo's enjoying it in our little backyard, that I totally love!

I love this time of year for so many reason, my birthday, Easter, good weather etc...My birthday is next Sunday so my mom, me and my grandma are all going to Vegas Fri and Sat to do some shopping, get some pedicures, lay by the pool and party it up. After that a few weeks until Easter and the week after Disneyland I have a lot to look forward to and a lot coming up that will be blog worthy so hopefully you'll see some fun updates here soon.

What I'm loving right now....

2011-02-01T13:12:00.012-07:00

One of my friends did this post today so I thought I'd hop back into the blogging world after 7 months and copy her.....

Right now I am loving my little family even the craziness of having two kid, as hard as it is sometimes, most days I just sit back and think is this really my life cuz it’s pretty awesome.

Though I’m not loving not having my brother just a phone call, text, or 15 minute drive away I am loving these.

I am loving a new tradition my grandma, mom and I just started. We're going to have a project Saturday at least once each month where we take turns helping each other do a project we've been wanting to do at our house or what not. So last Saturday we had our first one and we got a pedicure (that I’m loving) and did a little shopping for things we all needed for some projects. While shopping I found this awesome ctr ring, that I'm really loving.

I also love my new hair cut, my hair really needed something and this cut and bangs seem to be just what it needed.

Another love is some free formula, that I got from Zach's cousin, who can't love that.

I saw this brilliant organizing tip on a blog and am loving it. You just attach the sticky hooks to the back of a cupboard.

I am loving my new love for the DI and the great finds I find there.

I am loving waking up and having sore abs today thanks to this brilliant website: http://randomabs.com/today/, they post a different routine everyday.

I am loving that for the first time in a long time I am doing my visit teaching. Along with that I truly love our new ward and where we live.

Oh and what I'm really loving this week is kids that aren’t sick anymore, such a happier house for everyone.

I don't have it yet but soon I know I will be loving this soap from Renee.

I'm not sure if I love it but I love the $ and the people watching that comes along with giving Plasma, can't get much better than $50 for 3 hours of people watching.

I am loving Coyote Exchange and my new jeans from there. What's better then getting new clothes in exchange for old ones. Plus I think I prefer second hand jeans I wear a smaller size & they already fit like your favorite pair!

I love having a camera again so that I can actually make this post more exciting. Plus the finding of old pics that came along with a new camera once we put the old sim card in that had 500+ pictures on it.

In a few months I'll be loving this even more than I did this time! Iyrlend will love it so much more and Easton will be there to enjoy it too.

Last but not least I love my husband and how hard he works. I also love his wonderful job and love even more how much he loves it. I love it for reasons like us getting to go to Vegas this weekend for a conference and getting to stay here, for super cheap!

What are you loving right now?

Easton's New Born Pics by Davi Livingston

2010-07-13T19:16:00.012-06:00

Easton Kopper Gates Born June 6th 2010 2:53 AM 8 lbs 5. Ounces 20 inches

2010-07-13T19:10:00.003-06:00

WARNING: This is an extremely long birth story so if you're not interested in the whole thing or if you get bored, just skip to paragraph #4.

So for my delivery story I have to first give some background info. For this pregnancy I decided to go a midwife. I talked to a lot of people who had gone to midwives before I got pregnant and decided that it would totally be worth it because the cost was so much less and you get more one on one care. I had no problem with my OB doctor that delivered Iyrlend, I just hated waitING at his office and then paying tons of $ for a short visit. So my plan was to go to a midwife for my prenatal care & then have my OB deliver at the hospital. In the beginning I said I was going to deliver at the hospital cuz I wasn’t ready to give up my epidural yet, but sometime during my pregnancy I decided I wanted to try it without an epidural, mostly because I had hear the recovery was so much better. For a while I even thought about having a homebirth, so I went back and forth but then decided the hospital would be best for me but that I would just try and labor at home as long as possible and hopefully just show up at the hospital to push. I was nervous things wouldn’t turn out how I wanted cuz everyone that I talked to who had their baby at home warned me that it would be hard to have a natural birth at the hospital and everyone I talked to who had babies at the hospital told me I would want an epidural basically as soon as the contractions started.

If any of you didn’t see me the last few weeks of pregnancy I will give you a visual, my belly was so low that everyone had been asking me for at least a good month if I was due any day. On top of my belly being so low and large I had Iyrlend 2 ½ weeks early so the last 2 weeks were so horrible. I went to my OB doc on May 25^th just to have one check up with him since I hadn’t seen him my whole pregnancy. He checked me and told me I was at a 4 almost 5 and 90% effaced. He was sure I’d go any day and I had felt so much more pain, braxton hicks, and so many things I didn’t feel with Iyrlend this pregnancy that I thought for sure it had to be any day as well. I had already been having Braxton hicks for a few weeks at least but after this appt. they just got more and more frequent, the best way to describe my contractions up until the real thing was constantly inconsistent. My doc was going out of town that weekend but was sure he’d see me before then, well instead he saw me a week later at the scheduled appt. I had that no one thought I’d make it to. At this point I was ready to through my whole plan out the window, walk over to the hospital and force them to induce me but thankfully I didn’t. That week was horrible I was just waiting for everything to happen & doing everything I could to make it happen not to mention everyone was telling me what I needed to do to make it happen and everyone was constantly asking if I had the baby yet. So the next week I just chilled out and told myself I was probably going to go past my due date.

Well I guess that was the trick because Sunday morning at 12:45 I woke up feeling crampy but not really thinking it was anything cuz that had been happening quite often. I went to the bathroom and was pretty sure my water broke but it wasn’t a big gush like I had expected so I still wasn’t sure, but I started having some pretty painful contractions so I thought it had to be the real deal. I had been told by my midwife for a while and my doc at my last few appointments that Easton was really low, which was kind of obvious any way, but they both had said his head was way down there so I had hoped that as soon as my water broke he’d just come flying out well that’s pretty much what happened.

We left our house at about 1:15 drove down the road to drop Iyrlend off at my parents and pick up my mom. I was having really strong contractions the whole way to the hospital and once we got there it was hurting so bad I could barely get out of the car. We walked in and I told them my water broke and they didn’t really believe me cuz they said was there a big splash and I said no, then they said are you wearing a pad and I said no, so they took me in the observation room and soon found out that my water really had broken. They too were shocked when I told them I had been at a 5 for about a week and a half. They checked me and I was at about a 6, they said they were going to move me to a delivery room and that’s when my contractions started just killing me. As soon as I got in the delivery room I went in to go the bathroom, my contractions were just on top of each other at this point and I had Zach come in and was telling him I just didn’t see how I could do it and that I wanted an epidural. I couldn’t decide and he wasn’t helping me know what to do so I finally just said this is stupid tell them I want an epidural. He went out and told them and I tried to make my way to the bed. Everything from here on out was just like a big blur to me cuz when I was in the bathroom I was going through transition and I didn’t realize it, I just thought that was the beginning of contractions and it was just going to get worse and go on for a while. Well once I got on the bed they said they wanted to check me and I just kept saying no cuz I was in the too much pain so my mom finally told me they really needed to check me so finally I let the nurse checked me. Good thing cuz as soon as she did she said no time for an epidural you’re complete. I wanted to cry but then realized that meant I was almost done which I had not expected at all so I was somewhat relieved. At this point the nurses started telling me how to breathe through the contractions; they were really so much help. They were worried my doc wasn’t goin make it but as soon as he walked in I was pushing. I had one big long contraction and did four pushes through that one contraction and Easton was out. We got to the hospital at about 1:30 and Easton arrived at 2:53, he literally came flying out and thank goodness cuz after those last few weeks I felt like I had been in labor for a few days.

So everything went just how I had hoped and I am so glad I did it natural because the recovery was seriously like night and day. I felt great from the moment I had him and have felt pretty good sense. We sure love our little man, who doesn’t seem so little already. I think I’m starting to get adjusted to life with 2 kids, super challenging but oh so worth it. Iyrlend loves her little brother and can’t get enough of him just like the rest of us.

My New Life

2010-05-06T09:21:00.001-06:00

Watch this to be truly inspired! NieNie is amazing!

DUE WEST - CD Release Countdown

2010-04-06T15:34:00.003-06:00

If anyone is interested in getting a cd on the release date let me know because we are going to put an order in at the end of next week.

6 months later....

2010-03-29T00:08:00.005-06:00

So obviously I suck at blogging since it's been about 6 months since I last posted, which means I didn't post about Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Zach's B-day, or updates on my pregnancy. Oh well I'm not really looking to back track and I don't have any pictures at the moment but I'll work on getting some on here. Yesterday was my birthday and that's not even what I was going to post about but I will mention that it was a great one. It kind of was a three day birthday, cuz my cousin who's birthday is a few days before mine came down so we had a BBQ for the both of us on Friday & went to the NTB concert at Tuachan. Saturday on my actual B-day, Zach Iyrlend and I went to garage sales and scored some sweet stuff, then went swimming with the Gates fam cuz they were down for the Due West concert that night. We went to Samari 21 with my family & had an awesome dinner, then my parents watched Iyrlend so we could go to the Due West concert at Tuachan which was so fun and I even got a special Happy Birthday wish from DW during the concert. Then tonight we went to Grandparents house and had a birthday dinner as well, so it was a great 3 day birthday. So I turned the big 22 this year and that is what this post is about. Yes I will be 22 with 2 kids and you know what I'm dang proud of it and don't think there is anything better I could be doing with my life. I sometimes get exhausted explaining why I got married and 18, and began to have kids right away. I guess I don't need to explain myself here or to anyone cuz I know the decisions I've made have been the right ones for me but I get a bit sick of defending them. I guess I just had to get it all out and remind myself that I really am doing the right thing and that prayer and faith are the reasons I made the decisions I did. I know that as long as I stay close to Heavenly Father and do what I know he wants me to, I don't have to worry about what everyone else thinks. So this quote & whole talk actually by Julie Beck from GC 2007 are my motto tonight, today, this year, for life! "Mothers who know desire to bear children. Whereas in many cultures in the world children are "becoming less valued," in the culture of the gospel we still believe in having children. Prophets, seers, and revelators who were sustained at this conference have declared that "God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force." President Ezra Taft Benson taught that young couples should not postpone having children and that "in the eternal perspective, children—not possessions, not position, not prestige—are our greatest jewels." You can find the whole talk here: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-775-27,00.html#4
So bring on baby #2 at age 22!

Halloween

2009-11-03T19:36:00.010-07:00

So this Halloween was one my favorites. My sister in law sent me these costumes she made for her family a few years ago. She had twins so they were pebbles & bam-bam. We of course don't have bam-bam yet but maybe next year. You couldn't really tell what Iyrlend was unless she was with us cuz she won't let me put anything in her hair let alone a bone. I took her trick-or-treating at my mom's work on Friday & she wore her flower costume that I bought a while ago but she looks like a fairy without out wings cuz she wouldn't wear the hat. Oh well I still think she's freakin cute. But she got so much candy at Skywest that we didn't even take her trick-or-treaking again on Halloween. Not that she even needs any candy, but she was loving it. She would take like handfuls put it in her bag and reach for more. Every year on Halloween my mom makes hot dogs & hot chocolate for the trick-or-treater's so we always go over there & help. Iyrlend just ran around all night in her little boots & loved it. We had a fun time, here's some pictures to prove it.

We're still alive!

2009-10-10T12:06:00.003-06:00

So if you couldn't tell I kind of gave up on blogging. But I have some exciting news so I figured I'd post about it, & maybe just maybe I'll slowly come back to blogging world......Any way baby #2 is on the way. I'm only about 5 weeks along, I can't keep things in for long....That puts my due date as approx...June 10th. So not in the dead of summer thank goodness. We're super excited to bring another bundle of joy into this world!

Iyrlend's silly face

2009-05-04T23:10:00.001-06:00

Modbe Swim 2009

2009-02-23T17:52:00.009-07:00

Hey everyone Modbe Swim 2009 collection is here! I posted some pics of a few of my favorite swim tops but check out my website www.modbeclothing.com/bretgates for the complete collection. If you order online be sure to put party#1447 in at check out to receive 10% off if you order 3 or more items. If anyone is interested in doing a live or virtual botiquie be sure to let me know. There are some awesome deals for hosting a partying right now including the new 20% in boutique sales rather than only 10%. If you have any questions on sizing or which swim suit style is most flattering for your body type let me know. Happy Shopping!

My Little Model

2009-02-13T22:27:00.017-07:00

So I decided to do a little photo shoot with Iyrlend today. I'm not much of photographer but I have quite the model. I must say me and Zach sure made a beautiful little girl. As you can see I'm not very good at just picking a picture or two as my favorites. It was hard enough to narrow it down to this many but do you see her? Can you blame me?

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-13T22:24:00.002-07:00

Due West and Park City

2009-01-28T11:07:00.018-07:00

So last Thursday we headed up to Park City for an awesome Due West show. If you don't know Due West is Zach's brothers band from Nashville. They had been in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival and Thursday night they had a little private party/show. We actually got to stay 2 nights at the amazing house they performed at, which is were they were staying as well. Tim and Berta were so nice to let us tag-a-long with them on Friday when we got to go snomobiling with them and all their friends in the Park City Mountains. It was an amazing trip and we're so glad we got to go. I'm a dork and didn't take any pics of the room we stayed in which was pretty much the size of our house or pics of us at the show which was a bummer cuz we we're all dressed up but here's a few pics of the band from the concert, other parts of the amazing house we stayed in, and our snow mobiling adventure!

We're Still Alive

2009-01-06T17:52:00.002-07:00

So it's been way too long since I've blogged. So there's a million pics below that explain what we've been up to. We got our Christmas tree up early this year but I never posted a pic so there that is, there was snow in St.George (cr@zy), we had an awesome friend Christmas party the weekend before Christmas, Iyrlend was festive for our Christmas Eve party, Iyrlend saw Santa on Christmas eve, Iyrlend was very excited on Christmas morning, Iyrlend is a GANGSTA, our family on New Years Eve, we partied with out Iyrlend that night but we got a family pic before we left her with the grandparents, Iyrlend has had two teeth for a while but in this pic you can see them along with her black eye she got trying to climb up our bed, she fell and hit the bed frame and the next day she hit her head about 3 times, she trys to pull herself up onto everything now and I can't believe she keeps trying after all her falls, and last of all Iyrlend and her dress up game w/Dad. So a few other things that we don't have pics of. It's our 2 year anniversary today we celebrated it on Friday and left Iyrlend with my parents why we stayed the night at the Marriot Courtyard, kinda crazy not having a baby for a night, also I started working part time at my old place of employment today. Zach stays home with Iyrlend the few times I work and brings her to me when he has class. It works out pretty good but sometimes I think of our life, we're only 20 and almost 24 years old, but yet we work (Zach almost all the time w/ 3 jobs), go to school, are raising a child, go to church, spend time with family, hang out with friends, travel, own a home, pay the bills, and I don't know how we do it all while STILL BEING HAPPY AND IN LOVE! Maybe that's why cleaning the house and making dinner aren't on my list, somethings gotta give....ha Someday I'll be a better wife. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Our Christmas Tree

2009-01-06T17:51:00.000-07:00

Snow in St. George?

2009-01-06T17:50:00.001-07:00

Friend Christmas Party

2009-01-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

2009-01-06T17:49:00.001-07:00

Iyrlend and Zach w/ Santa

2009-01-06T17:49:00.000-07:00

Iyrlend excitement on Christmas morning

2009-01-06T17:48:00.001-07:00

Gangsta Baby

2009-01-06T17:48:00.000-07:00

New Years Eve

2009-01-06T17:47:00.001-07:00

Iyrlend's 2 teeth and black eye

2009-01-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

Long Johns 3

2009-01-06T17:46:00.001-07:00

Long Johns 2

2009-01-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Long Johns

2009-01-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

Last Minute Christmas Shopping/Modbe Blowout Sale in St. Geezy

2008-12-19T17:04:00.016-07:00

Any one need some last minute Christmas gifts? Here's so more info for some last minute Christmas gifts.....

Monday December 22^nd 10 am – 2pm

Modbe Blowout Sale in St George

$ 5 Shirts, Skirts, Swim Bottoms

$5 Kidbe

$15 Swim Tops

$25 or 2 for $40 Juliette and Naomi Jeans (not shorts – Jeans)

(Irregular – Manufacturer Defect. Try on there to find the pair that fits you.)

Cash or Card

10,000 + items on hand to take with you that day.

896 W Blue Mnt Rd

Washington

Located in Green Springs

(Sliverstone Three Development)

Also I have a few Modbe items on hand that I will sell for awesome discounts, plus no tax or shipping, so the price you see is the price you pay. Take a look and get your items right away for amazing prices! The items I have are:

Jane- Regular 32 1/2 inseam SIZE 2 regularly $78.00 I'll sell for $50.00

Core Capri-Charcoal SIZE L regularly $46.00 I'll sell for $29.00

Balance Tank-White SIZE M regularly $32.00 I'll sell for $20.00

Printed Tee-Black & Gray SIZE M regularly $19.00 I'll sell for $14.00

Second Skin Cap Sleeve-Black SIZE M regularly $18.00 I'll sell for $13.00

Camisole- Black SIZE L regularly $16.00 I'll sell for $11.00

Hoodie with a Tie-Heather Gray SIZE L regularly $39.00 I'll sell for $26.00

Second Skin Cap Sleeve-White SIZE XL regularly $18.00 I'll sell for $13.00

Kidbe Pajamas-Teal & Brown Stripe Top & Bottom SIZE L regularly $14.0o for each I'll sell both for $19.00

If you have any questions or want to come look at the items in person and or try anything on before you decide, let me know! Thanks and MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Christmas Time

2008-12-15T16:58:00.003-07:00

So it's been quite a while since I've posted anything so I thought I would do a quick little post. This past weekend I went with my family up to Provo for a family Christmas party. Zach had to work so just Iyrlend and I went. It was fun to see family and get in the Christmas spirit but it was sooo cold and snowy so the whole time I just kept saying how glad I was that it doesn't snow in STG. Well what has it done today nothing but SNOW! Kinda cool cuz we never get it but not cool cuz it's cold and it really sucks when you have a baby cuz it's so hard to go anywhere. I don't know how people do it in SLC and with lot's of kids. I don't want to find out either. Any way.....Maybe I should do a little recap of everything that's been going on with us since it's been so long. Last month we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in St. George with my family. This month we have just been going to Christmas parties and getting ready for school to finally be over! WAHOO....But I am pretty upset because we only get a 2 week break instead of 3 and I think were the only school in Utah that is having finals this week instead of last week which makes me angry but at least it's almost over! Iyrlend is 7 and half months, has two teeth, and gets into everything! We're almost ready for Christmas, we got the tree up a while ago but have yet to take a picture so I'll have to do that before Christmas comes and goes. But we're super excited for Iyrlend's first Christmas it will be a fun. I even made Christmas cards this year and have given about half out the rest might get to everyone before New Years! Maybe I'll post that too but I'm too lazy right now so here's a few pics from this weekend of Iyrlend in her super cute Christmas tutu, that we got at the Dicken's Festival.

Modbe 30% Sale End Tomorrow

2008-11-25T16:58:00.004-07:00

Just a reminder that I am now selling Modbe and currently EVERYTHING is 30% off. The sale ends tomorrow so hurry and do your Christmas shopping TODAY. Not only do you get the 30% off but if you order 3 or more items you get another 10% off. All you have to do is go to www.modbeclothing.com/bretgates then when you get to check enter the promo code above to get the 30% off and also put party #1112 for the 10% off. They have some super cute stuff that's super cheap right now so at least check it out! Thanks! Any questions let me know.

Family Pics

2008-11-22T21:52:00.004-07:00

Zach's sister Davi was down in St. George last weekend so we decided to take advantage of her great photography skills and have her do a quick family photo shoot for us since we haven't had any family picutres since Iyrlend's been born. They turned out great and of course all the best ones were of Iyrlend so here's a few. Iyrlend looks so big in this last one, it's kinda makes me sad she's not just a little baby anymore, I can't believe it. Her first two teeth are coming in and that really hit me hard that she's growing so fast and is closer to being a year old than being a new born. Boy how the time flies!

Our Little Bumble Bee

2008-11-01T21:45:00.007-06:00

So as you can see for Halloween Iyrlend was a bumble bee and I think just about every baby girl her age was too, which was fine this year but because I like to be different it looks like I'm going have to start getting creative for the halloweens to come. Any way my mom always makes hot dogs and hot chocolate for the trick or treaters so we went over to her house and helped. I was an orange witchy and Zach was the natural DORK he always is. He was way excited about his nerd costume he threw together the night before so he could be dressed up at work for the costume contest which he won for the FUNNIEST costume and got $50 bucks for it. Hope everyone had a great halloween I know we sure did.

Grandpa Norm

2008-11-01T17:09:00.003-06:00

This past week has been a bit of a crazy one for my family. But with everything that happened it made us all really step back and realize how lucky we are. My grandpa Norm had a minor heart attack on Monday. He didn't even know he had a heart attack until he finally went into the doctor Tuesday. His chest had been bothering him for about a week but he never went to the doctor and just kept on golfing and going on like nothing was the matter. Finally on Tuesday he decided he better go in since not only was his chest hurting but his heart too. Once he got to the doctor they told him he had a minor heart attack and was really lucky that was all that happened because his arteries were so blocked. A lot of times they can just put stints in but his arteries were too blocked for stints so they scheduled a bypass surgery for Wednesday. Luckily everything went great, he has been doing and looking a lot better than expected and is recovering just wonderfully! He really was not looking forward to the surgery and the recovery time and was making us all nervous that he might not go through with it but my mom informed him that he lost is agency in this case and he was having the surgery no matter if he wanted to or not. I think he's glad he did now because he's feeling pretty good. He's not much of sit down relax kinda guy so it's been really weird to see him sitting in a hospital bed and he wasn't too excited about the down time that comes with surgery but he seems to be excepting it. I love my grandpa Norm so much and I'm so glad everything went so well, he's the best grandpa and thanks goodness he's still with us!

Sunset at Seal Beach

2008-10-20T17:25:00.001-06:00

My Favorite Pic

2008-10-20T17:23:00.004-06:00

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Zach and Iyrlend in the freezing water

2008-10-20T17:22:00.001-06:00

Me & Iyrlend at our favorite place

2008-10-20T17:21:00.001-06:00

Iyrlend on the Beach

2008-10-20T17:20:00.006-06:00

Iyrlend loving Disneyland in her Minnie hat

2008-10-20T17:20:00.005-06:00

All of us w/ Mickey

2008-10-20T17:19:00.002-06:00

Me and Iyrlend at the "I"

2008-10-20T17:17:00.002-06:00

Iyrlend's Cute Halloween Outfit

2008-10-20T17:16:00.004-06:00

Zach and Iyrlend on the Carousel

2008-10-20T17:16:00.003-06:00

Our little family

2008-10-20T17:15:00.001-06:00

Iyrlend's Silly Face in her Winnie the Pooh hat

2008-10-20T17:14:00.001-06:00

Me and Iyrlend at the Whale

2008-10-20T17:13:00.001-06:00

Serious Stuff

2008-10-18T23:01:00.004-06:00

So we just got back from a week long vaca to Cali! We went to Disneyland for three days and just hung out at the beach with my sister-in-law Davi her husband Cody, and their kids Oaklee and Beckham. Beckham is about 2 months older than Iyrlend and Oaklee is 3 so we did lot's of kid stuff at Disneylan and it was a blast. When we told people we were going everyone kept asking if we were taking Iyrlend and my thought was of course why would I go to Disneyland (or any where for that matter at this point at least) with out my child. But I do see that some people might think oh boring you can't ride any rides you have to have a stroller blah blah blah. Well welcome to parenthood, I thought!! Now everything you do is a lot harder than it use to be but you do it all so you kids can have fun. Well that's not the case at Disneyland! It's a whole different experience with a baby or just young kids. I've been to Disneyland lot's of time the first time when I was even younger than Iyrlend so to me just taking the babies is what you do. But I never realized that it doesn't even stop you from riding the rides. Before I new that I didn't care much cuz the last few times I've gone my favorite part has been the food, ha well not just the food but just the whole experience. I just love being there no matter how many rides I go on, I guess it's just cuz it's the happiest place on earth. Any way there is a number of rides you can go on with babies. And all the ones that you can't take a baby on you get on faster than everyone else. There's these passes called stroller or parent passes and you're suppose to have one couple wait in the regular line go on the ride then get the pass for the couple that is with the kids, but sometimes they make you show the baby to get the pass. So occasionally we would just go up and show the kids and get the pass the first time before any one had waited in line and then it's like you have a fast pass so you just have to wait in that line. It wasn't too busy when we were there so we hardly needed them but on the last day when UEA had started and it was packed we got one for SPLASH MOUNTAIN and it was amazing. Any way Disneyland really is the happiest place on earth they promote children and families, thank goodness someone in this world still does. Any way, the only picture I have so far is this super serious(I got really into could you tell?) one from the Buzzlightyear ride that they e-mail to you. Soon I'll have lot's of fun ones of us and Mickey and Iyrlend loving the beach.

Modeling Session

2008-10-10T16:37:00.001-06:00

So Iyrlend had a little modeling session with Grandma Voran the other day. My mom found this adorable outfit for Iyrlend but had no idea that the hat was so cute cuz it was just in a bad connected to the shirt so when I brought her over in this my mom went nuts and had a little photo shoot. Iyrlend's quite the model if you ask me. She pulls so many facial expressions and sometimes even smiles when she see's a camera. I loved all these pics so much if you can't tell I couldn't narrow it down so here they all are.

2008-10-10T16:32:00.002-06:00

2008-10-10T16:32:00.001-06:00

2008-10-10T16:32:00.000-06:00

My lil model

2008-10-10T16:29:00.001-06:00

Finally after over a month a new POST!

2008-10-03T22:34:00.014-06:00

So Iyrlend is 5 months now! I can't believe how time flies everyone warns you but in the begining of course you don't realize how true it is. My good friend/cousin-in-law Mia just had a baby and when I went to see him I sounded like everyone when they saw Iyrlend because I just couldn't believe how small he was and I really don't remember her being that small even though she was actually smaller than him, it is truly crazy. I love Iyrlend's age though, she is always smiling and squeeling and laughing if Zach's around. She's laughed for me a few times but mostly just for Daddy. She never naps so my house is usually a total disaster and I'm lucky if I get to get ready for a the day which can be a problem since I'm going to school so life is a bit crazy but I love it. Being a mom is the hardest thing ever but definatly the most rewarding. And seeing Zach and how wonderful he is with her and what a great father he is one of the greatest things ever. Any way life is good in the Gates home. Between school, work, and being parents life is crazy and exciting. Here's a few pics or more like a whole ton of the one and only Iyrlend Brittyn.......(The first few pics are some older pics that my sister in law Dani took of Iyrlend and her daughter Maggie, I don't think I posted them yet and I don't know why so here they are now)

Gates Look-alike Meter

2008-08-20T16:19:00.003-06:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free pedigree charts - Free genealogy

So some people are actually starting to think Iyrlend looks like me not just Zach. Like today when I was getting a pedicure as soon as Iyrlend woke up the lady giving me the pedi was like she looks like you. I was like thanks not many people think so. ha I haven't cared much that people think she looks so much like Zach cuz in my eyes that's not a bad thing but it's nice to hear that she looks like me too. Last week my Zach's sister Dani took some pics of Iyrlend and her baby Maggie in their blessing dresses(check out her blog to see the pics) and as soon as I saw them I totally thought Iyrlend looked like me. I never have before but in some of those pics I was like wow! It's a weird but neat experience seeing yourself in your child. Any way I saw this look a like meter and thought I'd try it and as you can see apparently she REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE ME! Cuz everyone knows the computer knows best ;)

Some more pics!

2008-08-05T17:04:00.015-06:00

So since I don't have a computer at my house I get a bit behind on the whole blogging thing and then have a lot of catching up to do. So here's some pics of Iyrlend from the past month or so.

This is all the fam at Iyrlend's blessing!

Iyrlend and Papa Voran

*Four Generations*

This is our niece Chevia and the dress Iyrlend is wearing was actually her blessing dress.

HOW NEAT!

Chevia and Iyrlend

Our Happy Little Family

Zach holding Iyrlend and our niece Maggie who's only two weeks older than Iyrlend. She was blessed the day before Iyrlend.

Iyrlend's Cute Pink Toe Nails

Iyrlend and her cousin Beckham

They had fun grabbing at each other and rubbing each other's tummies.

Iyrlend and Daddy

Do you think she's a Daddy's girl?

Iyrlend and Maggie again, this time sharing a car seat. (Zach thought of this idea, of course!)

So as you can see our life is baby baby baby but we love love love it. As the pictures show we blessed Iyrlend on the 3rd of Aug. Zach gave a beautiful blessing and it was wonderful day. Thanks to everyone who came and all those who brought delicious food for the luncheon after. Zach's still working hard almost everyday and we're both getting ready to go back to school in less than two weeks, I'm a little excited and Zach isn't quite so much but he'll survive I think. So all is going well in the Gates home.

Some old and new pics

2008-07-11T16:41:00.002-06:00

Fourth Of July

2008-07-11T16:15:00.005-06:00

So for the 4th of July we went to Island Park, Idaho with all of my mom's family. We all stayed in a big cabin there and had a blast. My family has been going to that part of Idaho for the 4th of July for as long as I can remember but Zach and I weren't able to go last year so it was fun for us to go as family this year and have Iyrlend start the family tradition already. Plus I think all my family was pretty excited to see her for a few days a few of them tried to talk us into letting them take her home. ha We had a lot of fun, we floated a river there, Zach went fishing, I got totally fried that last day floating the river since I forgot sunscreen and it ended up being about a 4 hour float instead of 2, we went to West Yellowstone did some shopping and the last day we went to Yellowstone Park and saw Old Faithful and quite a few animals.

The Pics

2008-06-13T09:54:00.003-06:00

FINALLY A New Post

2008-06-13T09:39:00.003-06:00

So I don't have a computer at my house so as you can tell I'm not doing too well at this blog thing lately. I'm by a computer a lot at my parents or Zach's but I'm always in a hurry or something so here's a quick post of some more recent pics. Also for an update on Iyrlend, she loves to be outside, at night when she's a little fussy Zach will take her for a little walk around the neighborhood and she'll fall right a sleep. She's even sleeping through the night some nights. She is a super good baby and very bright eyed, awake, and content most the time. She's already been on her first airplane ride. We went up north for my cousin's graduation with my mom and little brother about two weeks ago and she slept the whole time on both the flight there and flight home. Oh and don't worry on the flight home I was coming back by my self and got selected for additional screening with my one month old baby, how ridiculous huh? Any way I'm enjoying being a full time mom and Zach's working harder than ever so that I can be home with Iyrlend. Having a child is the hardest and most rewarding thing ever. I feel so blessed and I don't know what I'd do without my having my mom so close she's been such a great help. And Zach is a great dad and is wonderful about helping out. I don't know how people do it without great husbands and help from family.

Iyrlend Brittyn Gates

2008-05-09T20:34:00.015-06:00

On April 30th at 1:26 am our baby girl Iyrlend arrived, she was 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 inch. long. I have so many pics so for now I'll just post some of those and give all the details later. Pictures are more exciting than reading about her any way.

Our Adorable NEPHEW Beckham!

2008-03-28T11:23:00.008-06:00

So my last post was about my baby shower I had up north a few weekends ago and that same day March 8th my sister-in-law Davi had her baby boy Beckham. She was induced about a week early and he still weighed 8lbs! My mom and I stopped and saw them at the hospital on our way home and they both looked great! Beckham didn't even look like a new born since he was so big. This weekend they came down for Easter and Zach finally got to see Beckham, he was so excited, he has a number of nieces and as much as he loves all of them there hasn't been a new nephew in quite some time. On top of that it made him super excited to have a little baby of his own to hold, even if it will be a girl. ;) We were lucky enough to have Davi, her husband Cody, our niece Oaklee, and new nephew Beckham stay at our house so we got some extra time with the little guy. I'm horrible though and didn't take one picture but luckily Davi sent me some adorable pictures of Beckham so I thought I'd post them so you can all see how cute our new little nephew is. So Davi had Beckham March 8th, my other sister-in-law Dani is due with her little girl April 18th, and I'm due with Iryeland May 16th. How fun for our little ones to be a month a part from each other. I know they'll be close little cousins and I'm SO EXCITED!

Baby Shower #1

2008-03-24T10:26:00.005-06:00

So a few weeks ago my cousin Jessica gave me an awesome baby shower at her house in Kaysville. It was really nice to have a shower up North because lot's of my family got the chance to come, that probably wouldn't have been able to make it down to STG. It was so good to see everyone and I truly got "Showered" with so many great gifts. As you can see from the pictures, we played the game where you cut ribbon in the size you think my belly is and then everyone comes and measures there's to see how close they get. My mom's cousin Hillorie was right on, she only had like half a inch of ribbon left. It was a lot of fun and I'm so lucky to have such great family! Thanks everyone!

2008-03-14T14:32:00.002-06:00

So Zach has been super busy lately. Him and our brother-in-law Paul started G&H Washing, a mobile car washing company. They just started getting things going the last few weeks. It was a little hard with both of them being in school and having other jobs but they've managed to make some time and now they're doing great! They've been out doing some advertising handing out flyers and what not to different businesses. So I thought I would do a little advertising for them myself. Just like the card says, "They Come to You!" at work, home etc... They do regular washes, washes with vacuum, and full car details. If you're interested or know anyone who might be let me know and we'll get you some info. or just give Zach a call. I'm super excited for them to get this business going, I know they'll do great! I'm amazed at how ambitious and determined Zach is and it's so great to know I have such a hard working husband that will always provide for our family. Lucky Me! :)

Nursery?

2008-02-27T11:09:00.008-07:00

So this first pic is my "DREAM" nursery. It's a pic from Babies R Us. I love the country look a lot and the colors are perfect. So that was going to be my inspiration but then.......I found all of these others! So I'm liking the stripes as you can probably tell, but I don't know how to go about it. Do I do stripes on all the walls or just one accent wall? Do I do green and pink stripes or just one color. Do I do thick or thin stripes? So many decisions.

So I think I'm leaning towards the pic on the top with thick green stripes and little pink ones right next to each other. But I also like how in the pic just below it the stripes are just on one accent wall and then there is one horizontal stripe around the rest of the room.

So here are four different rooms all of which I like. So now how do I choose? Thick,thin,pink,green,both,one wall, all walls? Let me know what you all think!

Crib Set

2008-02-27T10:37:00.003-07:00

So this is a picture of the crib bedding set I got. Of course this isn't the actual picture of it in my house but this is the picture from e-bay where I got it. I found a pretty awesome deal so I was stoked about that. I've been looking at tons of pictures of nursery's online and there is so many cute ideas I don't know how I'll ever choose! I think I may just post some of my favorite rooms and ask for everyone's input and opinions.

Prego Pic

2008-02-21T10:14:00.003-07:00

Here it is! A prego pic of me, finally! This is me at 27 weeks. Only three months to go, WAHOO!!

2008-02-21T10:11:00.004-07:00

Zach wanted to take some sexy shots too.....He looks sexy though and I just look large! ha

Ultrasound Pic...

2008-02-19T16:06:00.002-07:00

Look at her profile. Her little face is already so precious, and check out those lips!

First Post

2008-02-19T15:22:00.005-07:00

So I constantly look at blogs all day long and have been hesitant to start one because I'm determined I don't have that much to say but we'll give it a try. I guess since we'll be having a baby in less than three months that will give me lot's more to talk about. As of right now Zach and I are both working and Zach is going to school. I took a break from school this semester because I didn't really want to be taking finals and giving birth at the same time. Zach is starting a mobile car washing company with his brother in law Paul, they have all their equiptment and a few accounts already so hopefully they'll do well. I've been feeling really good lately, my belly is getting bigger and bigger and with less than three months to go we're both getting anxious to have our little girl in our arms.