07.10.2008 JULY - BUBBA'S NEW FIRSTS !!!

I was marveling to DeRell all the new things our youngest has accomplished so far this summer! Like counting the milestones for a baby, it is great to see the accomplishments and note how far he has come! As many of you know, he is our sweet, loving child who was very ill as a young baby with so many bouts of pneumonia, ear infections, hospitalizations... which has affected his hearing and speech, overall developement & hitting of milestones on time, his size, his teeth, etc. It is great to see him thrive and improve and he has accomplished so much these past few months! We wanted to note his accomplishments!

Bubba is...............

* Finally FULLY potty-trained (at 4)

* Can Dress himself

* Saying more and more of his words "right" and thriving in speech therapy

* Taking Showers (he only would take baths)

* Is wearing sandals with NO SOCKS

* Will go barefoot (he NEVER would before, always had to have socks-VERY big deal)

* Goes downstairs to the basement toy room (Alone)

* Recognizing and writing some letters (so far writing only A, B, T, and X)

* Can count to 30

* Can FINALLY sit through an entire movie in the Theater (Kung Fu Panda)

* Got his frist Bee Sting and lived 07/9/08



I'm sure there are many more-but these are pretty HUGE things for our little guy. We love you Bubba! WAY TO GO!

06.22.2008 More Pismo Beach Vacation Fun !

Danielle and Lindsey smiling after putting their feet in the sand for the first time this trip. Danielle saw some lovely people hanging out under the pier and asked Lindsey "Are those real live pirates?!"....Oh, out of the mouthes of babes! Wish i had a shot of them. Not pirates but lovely locals with all kinds of tattoos, piercings, and raggedy clothes. You can see why a 6 yr old might be confused!

We strolled a bit around town, and inside the new mini-mall (where there was a roller rink when i was growing up there!) was a cute coin operated carousel. Lindsey got on after much prodding-apparently not her favorite. She smiles anyway, cell phone and all..."Hi Corey!".

Here is Danielle thoroughly enjoying the carousel. She would have gone on 5 more times if i laid out that much cash! She loves the big one we ride on in Missoula too!

06.22.2008 WE MADE IT TO GRANDMA's!!!

Nothing is better than a trip to Grandma's and everyone will agree! It is truly Bubba and Danielle's most cherished vacation spot! It's all about WHEN ARE WE GETTING TO GRANDMA'S?! After a couple of days in the car and a pitstop at Karen's we headed out and made it Sunday to Grandma's. Here Bubba is sampling some of the local wares...the YUMMY strawberries. They are never as good from anywhere else, and these are fresh and grown locally unlike the yucky produce we get in Montana. Lindsey is forever ruined after having so much yummy produce from the sunshine state!

The most exciting part was finally being able to see the OCEAN. We drove down that evening just so the kids could put their feet in the SAND, FEEL the WATER, HEAR the WAVES, and SMELL the lovely OCEAN! It is bliss. Danielle and Lindz were brave enough to go out into the water!

Auntie Lynnette and Bubba are watching the water....yep, this is close enough. That is Lindz & Dani in the left of the pic playing in the water. Close enough to Heaven for Missie. I don't know if i'll be able to leave!! Yeah, 4 more days of bliss at grandma's!

06.20.2008 Vacation stop @ Karen's House

On Friday night we arrived in Ripon, CA to stay a few days with my friend Karen before moving off to Grandma's house. It sure was fun. As soon as we got there Lindsey was itching to put her talents to work on Karen's flower bed out friend that needed some attending to. It was over 100 degrees as she began, then i helped the next morning and together we got it weeded and Lindz rearranged the crooked bricks & found some snails for the kids.

Boy were they excited! Must be too cold for snails in Montana, that kept them busy for HOURS! With the park across the street there was never a shortage of fun.

Karen was wonderful and got a little kiddie pool for the kids to play in, and they loved that during the hot days.

We got to watch Zach's Basketball Tournament in Stockton on Saturday, and went to Karen's church on Sunday and got to see her sing! Whew! So much fun packed into a short time. Thanks to Karen for squeezing us all in and making sure we had fun! So far California is fun and HOT.
OH, and we were subjected to some domestic drama from the next door neighbors as we attempted to pack our car and leave that Sunday...that we wont soon forget!

Oh, and of course Lindz got to hit Sonic for some Cherry Limeade! Yippe!

06.19.2008 The Trip Begins

 

We started out on Thursday, June 19th heading towards California for vacation. Lindsey came along to experience California and help with the driving (thank you Lindz!) We didn't leave until the afternoon and our goal was to make it to Jackpot Nevada on the 1st day. Generally not a problem, but following the GPS directions...it had us detour due to road construction (that we had already sat stopped in for over 20 minutes) onto a smaller road, which turned to an "all weather road", then a DIRT road, and finally to a road with 2 seperate postings claiming it is not maintained for "passenger vehicles"...hmmm?!! After travelling over 20 miles on this bumpy, dirt road was i supposed to turn around? We decided to move ahead anyway, whats the worst that could happen? The GPS must know what it is doing! HA! This gorgeous pic was taken nearing the end of our journey, as we descended the dirt trail hardly large enough for 1 car, with no guard rail mind you...into an awesome valley that eventually dumped us out into Sun Valley/Ketchum Idaho and the beautiful ski resort area there. Then some bumper to bumper traffic for nearly an hour and then we hit our destination at dinner time. Yummy mexican food at the restaraunt there in Jackpot, and continued our travels the next day all the way through Nevada - again Kudos to Lindsey who drove that stretch! And from Reno to Ripon we went for a couple of days w/Karen.

Vacation, Vacation, Vacation

No new posts for a while while we were on vacation. It was SO fun!!! Me, Danielle, Bubba, and my friend Wendy's daughter Lindsey all DROVE to California for a fun packed 10 days...that turned into 14. Much was planned; a stop in Ripon to see my friend Karen, then off to the coast to see Grandma & Aunties and BEACH, then to So. California for my older sis wedding! Whew! It went off without a hitch -mostly- so fun stories and photos to follow asap!

06.15.08 Fathers Day Picnic

This year we had church services outside and a Fathers Day picninc all together! It was a fun day of fellowship, fathers, fishing and fun!
 
Derell and Bubba relaxing.
 
A rare photo of Mom and Dad together.
 
3 generations of Coates boys! DeRell, Bubba and DeRell, Sr.

Danielle caught this fish all by herself with her own Barbie fishing pole and some borrowed bait. This little trout was actually eaten for dinner that night, yum, yum.