tis' the season

Due to the fact that Alex and I were so recently engaged Christmas day sure was a busy one for us! Two breakfasts, two lunches, and two dinners were the result of both our families living here in sunny St. George. Instead of typing another novel ill just post the pictures from Christmas day! 

Grandma Gates' house was our first stop where we had a delicious breakfast that consisted of Grandma Tobler's cinnamon rolls, and hot chocolate!

Grandma Hafen's was our next stop where we had breakfast #2! She is seriously so cute, she felt bad that she didn't have a present for me so she went and got all of these things she has been saving for the next person to come into the family. What a doll she is!

We had lunch at Grandma and Grandpa Esplin's house where we stuffed ourselves silly. As if we hadn't already had enough to eat that day... Their house is absolutely adorable, and when Alex and I get married we will be living in their basement where they built an apartment for their grandchildren to use as they were married. Rent free? yes please!

We had our next lunch and my mom's brothers house in which I could not eat one more bite. Except for desert:) There will always be room for a little cheesecake in my day! Along with my family is my Grandma Vink and her husband Roger. I don't actually have a picture with my Grandpa Isom but he was here as well! 

Here's to a wonderful 2011 and a new year full of new adventures!

the proposal

Christmas has officially come and gone! But I am happy to say that this was easily the best Christmas i have EVER had. Christmas Eve was so far, the happiest day of my life! I worked an eight to five shift which wouldn't have been my first choice to spend my Christmas Eve but somehow I survived. I went straight from work to the Santa Clara Christmas Eve program where all of the Santa Clara families get together and the kids aging from 4-12 participate in a program. This is easily my favorite tradition. The little kids are such a hoot, and its also a fun thing for our family since my dad participated in the same program when he was a kid. I must say the home videos make for a great crowd pleaser! After the program we {usually} head over to my grandma gates' for a soup and breadstick dinner. Apparently Alex had other plans in mind. I have been begging to go look at Christmas lights and that is just what we did. We headed over to the St. George temple, and then over to Grandma Esplin's house due to her amazing view of St. George, then to an unbelievable house that i may have made Al drive around twenty times because I was in love with it! We finally made our last stop up on Foremaster Ridge where we used to go have late night chats. We talked for a while and then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! Excited is an understatement, I cannot wait to marry this cute boy he is the greatest thing that ever happened to me! 

This was right after we got engaged and spilled the news to my parents! Alex and my dad decided to be really sneaky and not tell anyone that he had already asked my dads permission so no one knew it was coming! I really feel like the luckiest girl in the world and I am so excited to spend the rest of forever with this great guy! 

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!