the beginning

In September we made a debut at the St. George Roundup rodeo on "pink night" it was cancer awareness and these two boys sure dressed up for the occasion!

A bit later in September we made a quick trip up and back from salt lake in less than 24 hours to visit a few of Alex's mission companions and to take a tour of the conference center.

We learned a lot about each other on this trip and it was way fun to be able to talk and get to know each other a little bit better.

On this quick little trip we decided to detour and make a stop at the Draper Temple. It was amazingly beautiful and well worth the stop.

September was a busy month for us, and one night we went to The Little Mermaid that was put on at Tuacahn Amphitheater with our friends Berkley and Kyle. I absolutely loved it, and even though Alex and Kyle weren't too excited about going i know they were glad they went.

The Staheli Farms Corn Maze is always a must in October and one Monday night we decided to head on over for family night! We brought along a few extras... but the more the merrier right?

For last minute Halloween costumes we decided to switch up our high school roles. We had a Halloween party with some friends and took my seven year old brother trick-or-treating.

Every Wednesday night Alex played on a city league football team, and even though it was FREEZING cold at every game it was so much fun to go watch these boys play. They ended up winning the whole tournament and I was sad to see it come to an end. Luckily, Alex was asked to play on a city league basketball team which will continue to keep us busy, and give us an excuse to visit with friends.

In the beginning of December we decided to make another quick trip up north to go to the BYU basketball game with one of Al's mission companions, and we might of made a quick visit to the Cheesecake Factory which never fails to satisfy.

One of my very favorite Christmas traditions is our progressive dinner where we make little stops at each Gates family household. At my house we decorated gingerbread, we watched home videos from when our parents were young at another house, had salads and dips, and played games at lots of other houses.

We have had a really good last few months and sure are excited for the days to come!