Bates Family

Today is Jaxson's 8th Birthday! I remember this day 8 years ago all too well...I had been on bed rest for two months with pre-eclamsia and I had a lot of pain in my upper abdomen so my mother made me go in, yet again to the hospital (on March 30th). They decided I was going into HELLP syndrome which is where your blood pressure is so high that you can have a stroke or seizures so they induced me. Jaxson wasn't supposed to come til May which we were guessing at since I didn't know the date of my last period. At 12PM the next day I wasn't dilating at all...not even a 1 and Jaxson started showing stress so they took me in for an emergency C-Section. He came out at 4lbs 7oz...later that night he only weighed 3lbs 12oz. My mom, Troy and Jen were in the operating room and I can remember hearing Jen say, "wow he is really small". Then I kept wondering why he wasn't crying. They said that my placenta had basically stopped working and he was also really out of it too because of the meds (mag) they put you on while in HELLP syndrome. They rushed him off to the NICU where he lived for the next month. He had to be fed through a tube and in an incubator the whole works. Pretty scary! Jaxson has fit the preemie mold to a T. He had four operations on his urethra area because it wasn't developed, tonsils out because of sleep apnea, asthma, crappy immune system. He has had it rough these first eight years and my birthday wish for him is that it is easy sailing for the next 8. He deserves it! Happy Birthday bud...we love you!



7 Years old


6 years old


5 Years old


5 Years old

We had a great Easter/Spring Break weekend...especially with the weather we had! Saturday we took the boys to the Easter Egg Hunt in Layton. They divided it up by ages and Max got a kick out of it. Jaxson only got two eggs because he thought he was too cool to egg hunt. Until of course he saw all of Max's. Then it was "why didn't I get that much"? LOL! Then later we went over to Grandma Sandi's for dinner and colored eggs with her and Aunt Suzy. Then she hid them each a basket full of goodies. Come Sunday morning they were already on sugar overload. We had some friends over on Sunday for dinner. I cooked a Ham and funeral potatoes the works. Now if this weather can stay the way it is, March would be perfect!!!



Coloring Eggs!


Watching Big Brother do it first!


Bart, Suzy and mama!


Thank You Easter Bunny!


Beautiful Eggs!






Boys at the Easter Egg Hunt!






Plethora of Eggs!




Max waiting to cross the line!






The Aftermath!






Coloring Eggs at Grandma's!

We had my grandmother's wake on Saturday. It turned out lovely....my mother and aunt did a great job on food. There were lots of neighbors, friends and family that showed...some who we hadn't seen in a long time. I am a person who isn't a big fan of funerals...so this wake was really nice to just get to visit with everyone. I got to setup the picture table and it was great to see all the old pics of her. She truly will be missed. We love you G-ma!

Unfortunately, the night before I left for NYC my grandmother passed away. Anyone who knows me knows that she was definately my second mother...I lived with her through out my life for 22 out of the 30 years I have been alive. We just recently moved out of her house in February to move to Layton. She meant the world to me. We will miss her dearly. My family waited for me to do the funeral which I am so greatful for and I got to help my dad write her obituary this morning. These are just some candid pics through out the years...I am making copies of her old ones this week to post...almost a century old.

Our beloved Mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away March 5th 2008 at home surrounded by her family. Born June 3, 1914 to Frederick and Florence Davies in Cleveland Ohio. Arlene grew up in SLC and Murray Utah. She graduated from Granite High School where she went on to work for Remington Arms during the war. Her entire life revolved around caring for her loved ones. She helped raise her brother and cared for her parents till they passed on. She Married Clifford Verl Walker on March 28, 1952 and had two boys whom were the light of her life. Arlene retired from Skaggs Corp. after 20 years of service with the company and has resided the last 50 years in Riverton, Utah.

Granny loved watching the wheel of fortune and of course her number one team…The Utah Jazz. She never missed a game! She was a phenomenal cook and love to comfort with food. No one could make a pinch-me-cake like hers. We will never forget Christmas Eve’s at grannies or how she made us laugh with her great sense of humor. She will be missed greatly.

Arlene is survived by her two sons, Scott Walker (Debbie), Jeff Walker (Denice), grandchildren Sarah, Sandi, James, Staci and Michael, and 5 great grandchildren: Jaxson, Ava, Max, Sydney and Nolan. Preceded in death by her parents and all her siblings: Russell Davies, Dorothy Wilson, Alice Taylor, Florida Huffman, Frank (Pat) Davies, Leone Davies and Freddy Davies. An open house dinner will be held in her memory at 2658 West 12270 South Saturday March 15th from 1:00 to 4:00 for all family and friends.


Granny & Jaxson 2003


Granny and Max this last summer!


Granny & Jaxson 2005! He was her first great grandchild and it showed!


My cousins and I with granny 2004!

I just got back on Monday night from NYC! My drill team took Nationals (again)! This year it was really exciting because we had several more Utah teams as well as teams from , New York, Louisiana, Texas, Georgia, California, Tennessee, and New Jersey (to name a few). They did amazing and we had 14 trophies to bring back on the plane. It was a blast! When we got home all three news stations were at the air port along with their student body. They are truly an amazing group of girls. GO CHARS!
PS. I celebrated by buying myself my first real Coach bag on 5th avenue. :)