Simply A Maizing!!!

We took the Fish Co. kids to Sauvie's Island to a corn maize (a maize maze!) and attempted to lose them amongst the corn, mud, and hay. Much fun was had, everyone got muddy, and a few of us got to shoot the corn gun...120 lbs of air pressure shooting 1/2 a corn cob across a field! Everyone made it out of the maze unscathed, and relatively clean. We had to get through the maze using our wits and a card with clues based on scripture (ex: how many times is corn mentioned in the Bible? a) 784 - turn left b) 187 - go straight c) 47 - turn right. the answer was 47, so we turned right). It was quite cool. Fun for all! Tonight - The Great Pumpkin Chase!!!

The Lost Tooth Episode 3: Revenge of the Tooth Fairy

Hannah was really happy yesterday, because Diane found Hannah's 1st tooth in some papers on a side table in the family room. So Hannah wanted to put it under her pillow of course. Now, recall that she had already got money by leaving a note with a picture. So we wrote a new note explaining that she had found it, and wanted the Tooth Fairy to have it. Who knew what would happen?

The tooth fairy really must have wanted to have that tooth, because she ripped the doorknob right off of Hannah's door. But she got the tooth. And she left a really nice form letter saying to eat less sweets. I'm beginning to wonder if that horror movie Darkness Falls about the tooth fairy killing kids might be true...I think that I'll stay on her good side just in case.

Comment On My Blog

Some folks have had problems leaving comments on the posts here. And I've had problems with random sales comments from unknown spammers. So...You don't have to have a BlogSpot account, but you do have to type in some wacky letters ("word verification"), just to prove you're not a spammer or computer. So please comment, mock, whatever. I welcome it. I take requests too!! -kevin

Wedding Photos

On March 17th, 2005 a wonderful thing happened to me. I drank 4 pints of Beamish Stout. Oh, and Diane agreed to marry me in front of a pub full of Irish drunks. So then we got married on the 20th of August, 2005. Basically, 2 months and 2 days ago. Pictures have been late in coming, as our "real" photographer has disappeared off the radar, and our pictures with him. Luckily, our friend Jennifer Crumine was there with her camera. And she was nice enough to put them on the web for us. So here's how to get to them...

Go to www.flickr.com
Click on “sign in”
Choose the Yahoo option
User: gateswedding Password: dianeandkevin
DO NOT VERIFY EMAIL on the next page. Choose “do it later”
Click on the “groups” tab up at the top
Click on “gateswedding” and you’re there!!!

You can download full sized pictures at no cost. Enjoy, and if I ever get the official photos, I’ll let everyone know.

The Lost Tooth

Yesterday Hannah lost her first tooth. I awoke to Hannah standing over me. "My loose tooth came out." she said. "hmgdf?" was my response (I don't do mornings well). Luckily Hannah realized that meant "How?" "I just pulled and it came out!" she replied. How wonderful! Diane and her made plans for the tooth fairy to come later that night, but...Hannah carried the tooth around the house all day. Everywhere. And then nowhere. When it came time to put it under her pillow, the little white tooth could not be found. Being 5, she had covered every square inch of the house in the last hour since anyone had seen the tooth. After a search that lasted almost 2 hours (mostly by Michaela & myself) Diane thought of a grand idea. Bedtime. So Hannah & Michaela wrote a note to the tooth fairy explaining the situation, and that we would leave the tooth when found. As proof, I printed out the coinciding picture and we placed those under the pillow. This morning I awoke to cries of "She came! She came!" and sure enough, a shiny new quarter had been left in an envelope with a response letter of understanding. Next tooth, when we say "Why don't you put that down somewhere safe?" will be accompanied by action by a parental figure...probably.

Now, I excluded Diane from the search for the tooth, but she was very busy being "Doctor Mom" to Lucy, who hadn't eaten or drank voluntarily for 2 days. I'm happy to report that I just caught the little bugger munching on some cat food, so we're pretty sure every one is going to make it. Toodles for now!

Cats, Couches, & Computers

This post is dedicated to the cats in my life. You've met Lucy & Susan. but you haven't met Keaks (kee-kee). She hates me. She hates men. It's tough to live with her. She hates the kittens too. She doesn't want to come inside the house anymore. We miss her, even me. But she will stay in the garage occasionally. She likes the old couch in there. When I came, I brought a newer couch. So of course she prefers the old one. I found her in the garage on the couch, glaring at me for disturbing her and decided to immortalize her here.

Susan was sick for a bit, as I mentioned in an earlier post, but now is feeling much better. And it turns out that she is a climber. Chair, tables, draperies, desks...I found her on my computer desk when I came home, and it bothered her not one bit when I started typing. She typed too. She likes the number "4". I didn't post her comments.

Lucy is coming down with a cold, or something. It's not what Susan had. She drools and slobbers everywhere. Coming downstairs for coffee (woah, Susan just climbed up my leg! ouch! I only had shorts on. That's going to leave a mark. She wants to type: bvfg. well that's not bad for a cat I guess) I stepped in a huge puddle. I thought the dishwasher had leaked, but no, it was Lucy spewing liquid from her mouth. She had an unevenful trip to the vet, where they gave her antibiotics and an IV for hydration. She's hiding now. 'Not sure where. It remains a mystery.
Well, I must leave now, for Susan is trying to type again. toodle-oo for now. jbvccxcvb

Choir Girls Are Groovy

This morning at our church (Lake Grove Presbyterian) there was a huge massing of all of the choirs singing together. It was actually music commissioning sunday, so the girls got to sing in the same group today. Hannah is part of the young Joy Choir, while Michaela sings with the Cornerstone group. There were at least 3 other choirs on stage with them, and the New Life Choir singing at an earlier service. Combine that with the 2 youth praise bands, and that's alot of people committing to the Ministry of music for His Name's sake!!! Pretty cool if you ask me.

Dating My Wife

Last night Diane and I went on a date. We had already eaten dinner and had a movie waiting for us at home (where no daughters were) so we went to Moonstruck Chocolatiers in Lake Oswego. Apparently a great place to frequent around 7-8pm on a Friday night, as we were one of two couples there. Dating Diane was always a great thing to look forward to...and then I married her. But I find that we still love to date. I've heard it before from folks, and it's true. The 4 days or so before I just didn't get enough Diane in my life. Setting aside time to go out (or stay in) just the two of us is simply marvelous, and we will remember to do it as often as we can. After our Truffles, Cordials, and Mochas, we headed home to watch Hide & Seek together in the dark. Guys love scary movies. Why? Because our dates get scared and are forced to jump in our laps for protection. Is it any wonder that I own over 100 horror movies? Or that I married a woman who freaks out on them? Not to me it isn't.

School House Rocks!

So Hannah came to me today with a DVD that she wanted to watch. To my great surprise and joy, it was the 30th Anniversary Edition of School House Rocks! I mean, I grew up with this stuff! And she digs on it, too. She dances to a bunch, and sings along with Conjunction Junction! So I decided to note the occasion for you all. Enjoy! Oh, and as a selling point-you too can buy this incredible educational memorabilia for your child! At a store near you! -K

A Playdate To Remember

So my friend Danika brought her daughter Ceanna over to play with Hannah tonight. Ceanna's a little older than Hannah, but they have fun together, playing Barbie, watching Barbie movies, et cetera. A wrinkle popped up when Ceanna complained about a "sunflower seed" in her ear (there's a long story behind this from a couple of weeks ago), and sure enough, there was a sunflower seed in her ear canal! We were able to break it up a bit and get little bits out, but Ceanna complained that it hurt too much to keep working on it. So they played Simpson's Clue for a bit. We hope to have Danika help us out by holding Ceanna down while Diane (a Registered Nurse) gets the little bugger out. Meanwhile, everyone enjoys the Chocolate Chip Ice Cream that I just made from scratch! It's good to have giving relatives at wedding time...

Anyway, if I can get any really good ear canal pictures, I'll repost with more of the excitement.

-Kevin

Clan Photos

So I realized that I had only posted an old picture of myself (circa 1996) and that I had neglected to show you the rest of the clan except for the cats! So here's us!

Susan & Lucy

Today Susan (B&W) and Lucy (B) came home to live with us. They are just so cute. They are sisters, about 3 1/2 months old, and we met them at the Home & Garden Show last weekend. They are Diane and my first "children" together and are bound to be spoiled. Their favorite spot so far is on top of the vent on the cable box. Lucy is adventurous and curious about the house, wandering about, and even sitting on Hannah's lap. Susan tends to be a bit shy (she was spayed this morning) and stays out of the common areas in the house. The one bad thing is that we have a litter box in the house...as much as I missed kitties in my life, i certainly didn't miss the smell of a freshly dropped bomb. But we love them much, and they will also appear in random posts from here on out.

A Blog for us!

So today I start the Gates Clan blog. Why clan? Because everyone else uses "family", and I have folks in my clan with other last names. So let's meet us!

I'm Kevin Gates, live in Lake Grove, Oregon, mere minutes from where I grew up. I dig on music (thus the picture), Jesus, and a whole other mess of stuff that will eventually arise in later blogs.

Diane Gates is my new (August 20th, 2005) wife, who is a transplant from California and moved to Lake Grove 4 years ago. We met volunteering with jr highers a couple of years ago, and started dating a year later. Now we're husband and wife! cool.

Michaela Bloom is Diane's firstborn, a graceful dancer and sincere teenager, I actually met her before Diane, as Michaela was in a small group I was substituting as leader for. Learn more about her in later posts.

Hannah Bland is Diane's second daughter, a mere 5 years old, but full of life and insight (at least to me). She dances like her sister, and has a bottomless pit for a stomach, as the saying goes, "Full? I'm not full, I'm Hannah!" Hannah is sure to pop up from post to post.

I hope to post new blog's often, whether anyone reads 'em or not. So check back often to see what the Gates Clan is up to, right here, same bat-time, same bat-channel!

-Kevin