Utah Trip

So here you have the first extension of the Bates' Family, as it sits in 2009. With Jessi and I and my two brothers, their wives and kids, my sister, and my Mom. We only get to do these pictures once every couple of years. Our chosen paths have taken us all in different directions and it has become very difficult to get us all in one place at any given time. However, every time that we pull it off I think to myself...this is what it is all about...this is what we need to be striving towards. It is such a pleasure to be with everyone, as hectic as it gets (and it does get hectic) it is always immensely pleasing just to see everyone!Unfortunately I wasn't able to update frequently on this trip so you won't get a day by day but I will hit up the highlights.

First the Kids. I know what you are thinking...four kids, that can't possibly be that loud. But trust me it can be! This was the first time that we had met Lola, the youngest girl. Her and her older Sister Bailey, and Jaxson and Max absolutely made me want to have kids...in a few years. The amount of energy that is expended by these four is astounding. I tried to keep up for the

first day or two, and when the kids got on the trampoline I did my best to climb on there and jump with them, but by the middle of the second day my back was spasming, and I thought I had pulled one of my stomach muscles. Now, academically, I know that a baby is not born with the ability to make you run all over the place to play, and that you grow together and play together, but this trip made me wonder if I would ever be able to keep up!

And now the Siblings! I forgot how smooth and comfortable it is to be around all of my siblings. There is nothing in this world that makes me feel more at home than to be around the group of people that I grew up with. We have all taken different paths and have our own viewpoints...not all of which line up exactly...but when we cometogether and just sit down and talk it is like

all of the time that has past melts away and I am back to being a part of a bigger whole. It really is a magical experience. Maybe it is made all the sweeter by knowing that it will be a while before I get to experience that again. But I try to relish in every moment that we get to spend back together as a cohesive unit!

Followed by the Spouses! I don't have a picture of just them so here is one of the girls all together! What a collection of amazing women! This is a group that has the strength to pull these three brothers in the right direction. Which is, in itself a monumental task. But they also have the ability to bend and flex that allows them to melt so perfectly into the strange and wonderful pot that is the Family Bates'. Each one different than the other but somehow all of them perfect for their match. The men of this family would not be half of what they are without their respective partners.

And finally Mom! Mom is where the members of this family get a lot of what makes them who they are. She is the reason that we can come home after a day of work and get to work. She has raised four wonderful children who only occassionally make monumental mistakes. It is her strength and compassion, and a few good spankings that led us to be who we all are...and each of us is pretty great!