The Bates Girls!

Cotton Eyed Joe

2010-11-23T09:27:00.000-06:00

Take a little trip over to Chelsea's blog and you will not be disappointed. :)

Happy almost Thanksgiving everyone.

2010-11-21T16:32:00.000-06:00

Here are a few more videos from our Minute to Win It Championship. Mom's and Pappy's were too funny to leave out. Listen for someone to yell "Turn it up!" in mom's video. And Pappy...all he does is move his eyebrows. Hilarious. Enjoy!

Marty Shake Belt from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Pappy Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Minute to Win it!

2010-11-17T13:50:00.001-06:00

While we were camping at Defeated Creek in October, Aunt Becky had a great idea. Why don't we make our own Minute to Win It Championships?? Well, we did just that. Kristin, Maggie, Aunt Becky and I sat down and thought of as many games as we could think of. We gathered everyone together and began the competition.

We flicked paper footballs into a hole...

We tied a tissue box to our back, filled it with ping pong balls and tried to shake them out...

William Shake Belt from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Maggie Shake Belt from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

We blew ping pong balls into a hole...

We tried to move an oreo from our forehead to our mouth with no hands...

David Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Darryl Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

William Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Maggie Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Kristin Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Chelsea Oreo from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

We stacked jacks...

We bounced ping pong balls into a hole...

We bounced a paper wad off of each others notebook into a trash can...

Maggie and Kristin Paper Basket from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

(they did it in 1 minute and 3 seconds! man!)

And all with in a minute! Whoever does it the most/best/fastest wins........some of Aunt Becky's cookies! We never actually decided who the winner was, but I think it was me. :)

2010-10-29T20:48:00.000-05:00

Why is she so happy? Because Defeated Creek camping picture and our awesome Minute to Win It videos are coming soon, that's why.

St. Louis/Chicago Part 3

2010-09-26T13:42:00.001-05:00

I have gotten off track the vacation photos. Here is part 3 and it is definitely a picture overload but they are all worth it. This was our third day in Chicago and we are heading to the Planetarium and the Willis Tower (used to be called Sears Tower btw). We woke up as early as the Bates girls can wake up and got ready for the day.

Ollie was up bright and early.

Here we are at the front of the planetarium.

We are about to go on a Journey to the Stars!

Maggie looking at her birth month in the old book.

This is how the monks dressed while studying the stars, so we thought we'd try it too.

I guess this is what monks do...

And then we went to a class room setting to learn about space.

We saw a 3d movie about stars and space, it was awesome!

View of the city from the planetarium.

This was a ride you could get inside of, we did not get to do it but it sure looked fun!

Maggie as Neil Armstrong, as Jess would say,
"Neil Armstrong is a quarterback, a football player!"

Shoot for the moon!!

This was supposed simulate how it feels to walk on the moon. Directly above was a video of yourself with a picture on the green screen...

....that looked like this!

And we touched the moon!

Here you wrote, "I want to be the first __________ on the moon."

This progression of pictures makes me laugh so I put them all on here.

Mom is climbing the stairs to the space shuttle :)

I want to do that to her sometimes, too. JK!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Next, we rode the bus to the Willis Tower. It brought back many memories of the MTA bus we rode to school. Those were "fun" times, right?

Yes, this is what we are about to go up in!

Looking up from the bottom of the Willis Tower

City Girl

I love pictures of buildings, without the ground you lose the sense of direction and what they are even supposed to be. It's awesome.

Here we go!

This was the only picture of us going in all the doors (the turny kind?) together. But I like it.

So, I told Maggie to go by this wall and BLOW. She did this...

...but what I meant was THIS. Leave it to Maggie ;)

And this is the breathtaking view from the top.

And that sticking out into the water is the Planetarium.

These were the boxes hanging over the city. It was awesome! Yes, those are cars under there.

All of these are inside those boxes hanging more than 100 stories above the city.

This is from one looking into another.

We weren't going to let Mom get off the hook that easy. She was going to conquer her fear!

And those were the best pictures we got of her in the box :)

Elevator picture is a must!

And this is the street we waited on for Nikki to pick us up.

After the tower, Nikki took us out for an early birthday dinner for me because she had a meeting the next day. We went out for awesome sushi.

After, they took us to a great cupcake place. Randomly, Eric (Nikki's fiance) told us that this is the same street where they filmed Public Enemies. That was all Maggie needed to go and investigate. Very fittingly, there was a restaurant named in "honor" of John Dillinger. I guess it's in honor of when they were a gangster? Anyway, it was very neat.

This is the actual theatre where the real John Dillinger was shot and where JOHNNY DEPP ACTUALLY WALKED AND FILMED THE MOVIE! Maggie was thrilled.

This was the play he saw before he was shot. This was the only memorabilia they could leave up for him and for the movie because the governor, or whoever, does not want to promote the gangsters, but thats history!! And they have a gangster tour but we can't promote Public Enemies? Oh well.

And now, for the debut of Maggie's acting career. Maggie as John Dillinger...

Maggie at the Biograph from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

It was a blast!

Happy Birthday Shelby!

2010-09-05T15:45:00.017-05:00

This Saturday was Shelby's first birthday party. There were so many paparazzi around while she opened presents I could not get a good shot. But I got her eating cake, and boy did she eat it.

Here is one party guest. Nolen by the pool.

Jamie let me play with her lens and this was from all the way up by the pool.

Her shirt needed to be washed, it was COVERED in icing.

All she needed was a little dip in the pool...

...and she was good to go.

Here are some more party guests. Makyna staying close by mommy.

Two of the great grandparents.

Drew, right before he fell off the see-saw. But still smiling!

Makyna cheesing.

Mitchell shivering.Trevor dipping his hair in the pool.

Thanks Shelby for the breakfast! I hope you enjoy all of your presents!

Slumber Party with Mitchell!

2010-08-27T10:22:00.010-05:00

Maggie, Emily, Jessie, and I went swimming with Mitchell, Kristin, and Shelby around the beginning of August. We always joke with Mitchell, telling him that if he comes and stays with us he can stay up late, eat all the sugar he wants, play video games all night...you get the idea. Well this time he bought it! He actually came to stay with us all night long and didn't miss his mommy at all! JK :) (the pictures are a little out of order, sorry)

Mitchell informed us that he has been practicing to be on the show "Wipeout". After a few hours of the Wii, Maggie and I decided to make a course at the house for us to "practice" on. Here is Mr. Hula Man ready to go.

Wipeout 4 from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Wipeout 3 from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Maggie just could not let Mitchell beat her, it just isn't in her.
Next, we played dress up. Don't let the hat fool you, Mitchell is the good guy.

We painted Mitchell's superhero in our painting room earlier in the day, but since he is a superhero we needed a picture. (He did not like the mask, he thought it meant he was a bad guy, oops. But he got used to the idea of a good guy wearing a mask)

He put his handprint on the wall of handprints

He killed a bad guy with his ninja star.

He ate chicken nuggets while watching SpongeBob.

We stayed up late watching Finding Nemo.

Mommy and Shelby came the next day to join in on the "Wipeout" fun.

Now he knows who's boss! (is that Shelby smuched under her brother?)

She loved the cushions.

Now that I think about it, everything we joked about doing with Mitchell we actually did! Thanks for coming Mitch, can't wait till next time!

St. Louis/Chicago Part 2

2010-08-20T16:27:00.011-05:00

Tuesday.

Oliver woke Maggie up bright and early. We were all exhausted by now from many late nights and early mornings, but we were so ready to sight-see it didn't matter.

We stopped to take a picture on the way to the train station. (FYI this is not Nikki's apartment, mom just wanted to stop and take a picture here)

The train!

Mom looking cool, paitently waiting for a seat.

Me and Maggie were used to the train, it is much like the MTA bus (no seats, loud, crowded) which we all rode EVERYDAY!

This is in front of the Shedd Aquarium!

Mr. Starfish in the tide pools.

The deck at the aquarium had a beautiful view.

This is Mr. Turtle who was hanging on tight to his lettuce.

The dolphins at the dolphin show we got to see! It was awesome.

America's Next Top Model. Tyra would be proud.

Now, we're waiting for the water taxi.

Off to Pier Park.

Yes, we rode this thing...

Maggie was NOT happy.

We were so proud of mom because she really hates heights!

And on to the swings...mom rode the ferris wheel but was to scared to ride the swings...we didn't understand.

We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. The food was GREAT but because we sat outside we had a few little visitors. We were enjoying our fantastic meal when we hear Joanna say, "Uuhhhhhh, uuhhhhh Maggie. Uhhhhhhhhhh", as she scoots closer and closer to mom. After about two whole minutes we finally got it out of her. She said, "UUHHH SPIDER!" Maggie and I of course jumped right up. We called a waiter over and he, who was scared of spiders, grapped a napkin, lunged toward the table, smashed it, and ran away....so we thought we were in the clear. Maggie and Joanna both found a another spider each. The little girl at the next table said, "We already found 5 over here." Great. The next waiter we asked for help just said, "Oh they're everywhere, it's ok." No, no it's not. Needless to say, Maggie, Joanna and I left while mom calmly finished her meal.

But the food was great!

After we got home and relaxed for a bit, Nikki took us to an awesome yogurt place where you get your own yogurt as well as whatever toppings you want. You pay per ounce. It was great!

Thanks Nikki!

Day 2 of Chicago coming soon.

St. Louis/Chicago Part 1

2010-08-16T19:44:00.006-05:00

William brought us to mom's work and we left for St. Louis after mom got off work on Friday. This was a corn field at a gas station in Ina, Illinois. Maggie went really far into the corn field and screamed. I knew she was just trying to scare me, but I just thought, "What if she isn't and I ignore her?" Then I got mad and made her come back out :)

We arrived around midnight at Aunt Linda's house, greeted by her, Uncle Jack, her daughter Robin and two of Robin's kids, Kayla and Mariah. Our cousin Jackie's son was also there. Maggie and JoJo went straight down to the theatre room and started a movie after we chatted a bit. The rest of us stayed up until five in the morning! It was a much needed catch up. Aunt Linda had cookies already baked for us to munch on, as always.

Saturday we did our share of shopping while Maggie and Joanna went to Six Flags. Sunday was a relaxing day. We really just hung out at the house while we visited with some other cousins. Maggie and Joanna went to Six Flags again.

On Monday, Aunt Linda took us to brunch at the cutest place. It had tons of girly things for sale and was set up like a little cafe. Plus, it was delicious.

This was my vegetable wrap with carrots, eggplant, squash, spinach and hummus wrapped in a sun-dried tomato wrap.

The plates were garnished with frozen grapes and lemons (my favorite)

We ate it all!

Of course, Aunt Linda ordered us this amazing lava cake. She loves desserts!

This was the same day we rode the train to Chicago. Mom and Maggie walking to board the train.

Us over the train tracks.

All Aboard!

We rode in business class on the way. It's so roomy! It has tons of leg space, chairs that reclined really far and a complimentary drink!

They were on the computer together.

Joanna on the left, Mag on the right

We took this for mom :)

We finally arrived after our delay, but we were so excited about the train ride we barely noticed we were stopped. This is Nikki's dining room. We just picked up a frozen pizza and relaxed for the night.

We had to get up early for the next day...

More to come soon!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-06T15:08:00.007-05:00

Last Sunday William and I went to see Tracy Morgan's stand up at Zanies. It was hilarious! For those of you who don't know him, he is probably best known right now from the very funny show "30 Rock". You should watch :)

Here is Maggie doing her Top Model pose, remember this one Jess?

"Ro-ma Ro-ma-ma, GaGa Ooh La La"

We swam with a dolphin!

We had a low-key, relaxing 4th that was very enjoyable.
We ate dinner, and, of course, shot off those fireworks. Well, I say we, but William shot them off. He got a little addicted. He said, "It's so much more fun when you don't have to watch the adults do it." I don't know if I agree but as long as I didn't have to light them I'm happy. Good thing we had mom there to lend us her cig.

Jules actually was brave enough to stay outside with us for a little.

Here she is watching the ones that were exploding above the house :)

Our personal fireworks man. And what bottle would we use other than mom's white zinfandel bottle :)

This one was called "Purple Rain"!

Listen to William at the end of the video.

Untitled from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

Laser Tag!

2010-06-14T21:52:00.001-05:00

Laser tag!

Mag Laser June 2010 from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Mag Laser Score from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Chelsea Laser June 2010 from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

TWEET FROM RUSSELL CROWE

2010-06-06T21:03:00.003-05:00

So, I, Maggie, tweeted to Russell Crowe, who recently quit smoking, and asked him to ask mom to quit smoking. He is a sweet man and obviously cares about his fans and is passionate about smokers and quitting. He replied, and keep in mind that this is a VERIFIED ACCOUNT, so it IS the real Russell Crowe. This is what he said:

@maggiebates2 Hey Marty, get off the fags/darts/gigs/gaspers/coffin nails your beautiful kids want you to be around as long as possible.

Notice he used her NAME, and called her kids BEAUTIFUL. (: Please comment on this and let her know who else wants her to quit the disgusting habit because we ALL want her alive for as long as possible.

Comment! Now!

Peace and Love,

Maggie B

Birthday Girl

2010-06-04T19:26:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Kyna!

We love you little girl!

And you are so girly already, just look.

You and Shelby have to make up for being outnumbered :)

Happy #1!

"Filthy Changeup"

2010-05-11T11:50:00.005-05:00

Ok. I feel like a proud old mom bragging on my kid, but I'm just a proud sister bragging on my sister :)

Hume-Fogg beat East Lit yesterday 14-0 in part of the district tournaments yesterday. There was a guy from the paper there and here it is.

Maplewood softball escapes with win
Panthers advance in 10-AA tourney
By Jeremy Acree • THE TENNESSEAN • May 11, 2010

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Buzz up!Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A When Ashley Thompson stepped up to the plate in the fourth inning, the bases were loaded with no outs and East Literature was down by two runs in a District 10-AA elimination game against Maplewood. All she wanted to do was hit.

Instead, she was hit by a pitch, causing her to toss her bat in disgust at the lost opportunity. It forced in a run, but the next two batters could not tie the score.
Maplewood added an insurance run in the seventh and went on to win 8-6 Monday at Buena Vista Park.
"If we tie the game up things may be different," said East Literature Coach H.R. Roberson, whose team finished 9-12. "They play us well every time. I don't know why, we just have trouble against this team."
Related
High school tournaments scramble to locate places to play
District tournaments
Maplewood (7-10) scored four runs in the third inning on four singles, and Paige Lewis allowed only one hit after getting out of the fourth-inning jam.
Lewis pitched a complete game, struck out four, and got plenty of defensive help, including two double plays that started with lineouts to second baseman Shannan Patton.
"That's kind of the ball we play, get ahead and shut it down, play defense," Maplewood Coach Talton Moore said.
The Panthers will play the winner of Monday's M.L. King-CPA game in another elimination game Wednesday at Buena Vista Park.
Hume Fogg (14-14) beat East Literature 14-0 in Monday's first game and will play David Lipscomb in Wednesday's winners bracket final.
The Blue Knights scored four runs in three different innings.
Hume-Fogg's Maggie Bates struck out six and allowed only two hits in five innings.
"She's got a filthy changeup," Blue Knights Coach Mike Caldwell said. "When she's throwing it and throwing it for strikes she's very, very tough."
Hume-Fogg and David Lipscomb split their first two meetings.

Here's the "gladiator" getting her dirt.

FINGERS! It's that filthy changeup

Wouldn't you be standing at the plate looking at this?
Finally she can use her meanness for something good :)

LOVE YOU MAGS!

I knew it!

2010-04-30T13:01:00.001-05:00

We always knew he was evil!

Now we have proof, Felix.

My yogis :)

2010-04-20T14:46:00.001-05:00

The other day we all did yoga. And Jules just HAD to squeeze right in the middle and join us.

Here's Jules, Mag and Mom stretching.

Have a good day!

Asparagus and bare butts

2010-04-15T14:53:00.003-05:00

We like to try new recipes when we actually have the time. Sometimes, we don't really know what we're doing and we just go with it. I had been craving asparagus randomly and was not quite sure how to cook it. We got some fresh asparagus and experimented.

I cut off the very end of each piece...

...threw it in a pan with random spices we grabbed from the cabinet...

...and then we ate...

...and it was delicious!

Pappy gave us a Bradford Pear tree and something else to plant in the backyard which I am very excited about!
It's going to give us shade, it's great for the earth, and they are beautiful trees.
Yesterday we planted them in the backyard...mom, pappy, drew, and I.

"Excuuuussse me?"

Pap hard at work.

Drew hard at play.

Well, the planting trees turned into swimming. I had to clean out Angel's BIG water bowl for the summer. Drew wanted to help and this is how it turned out :)

Look at that tan!

The Thinker
Off to water our trees!

Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful?

2010-04-11T13:43:00.012-05:00

Yes, the time has finally come for Maggie to get her teeth put back on (as she refers to it).

She has been waiting and waiting since the day before her 14th birthday to get those awful things off, I don't blame her.
And everytime she went to the orthodontist he would say, "Oh maybe next time we can schedule an appointment to get them off!" She would come home sooooo excited. Then, on her next appointment he'd say, "Hmmm, maybe next time we can schedule an appointment to get them off!"

So after about the 10th time she stopped believeing him. Until now. April 8th was the day! But she didn't get her hopes up until the lady's hands were in her mouth taking them off.

Before
Her rainbow rubberbands she put on about a week before she got them off.

"They better take these d#$n things off or someones getting it!"

It's happening!
(ouch)

Yay! Dr. Grant approves.

The first glimpse of her new teeth.

"It's true, it's true!" (She will get the rest of the bottom ones off when she goes to get her retainer in about a week)

She had to catch the ice cream truck and eat some with her new teeth.

"Hey, get me some!"
"No, Jules, you can't have sugar."

The exchange.

Congratulations Mag!

William said, "She will really have to fight the brothas off now!"

Zoo, Tattoo, Birthday, and Easter Part 1!

2010-04-06T10:48:00.012-05:00

A few weeks ago, Sissy and I decided to take Drew and Makyna to the Zoo.

Most of the pictures I took are on Sissy's camera but these are what I have.

Taking a rest before he begins going wild :)

And here he goes!

She had to get in on the action. She wanted my camera.

ROARING like a lion

You should have seen his face when those monkeys started screaming!

He was like "What the heck is that?"

Inside the reptile den. They loved the fish.

It was a great day. Not too sunny so it was pretty cool. Half way through Drew decided to take his shirt off, of course! Then he wanted to pull Makyna in the wagon. He pretty much pulled her the rest of the way. :)

Thanks Sissy for taking me!
==============================================================

Two Fridays ago William and I went to Lone Wolf to get more of his sleeve. It's awesome! I can't wait for the color. His tattoo artist, Will, invited him to come to their annual convention and be tattooed. How awesome is that! Although, I wasn't surprised because all they do is laugh the whole time. Here it is...it's hard to get the big picture but it is really amazing.

These are the outlines for what is going to be filled in later.

His chrysanthemum! You should have seen it and heard it when he was getting his elbow done, it's all bone!! OUCH!

It is going to look even better when it is finished! I can't wait.

============================================================

I actually don't think I have pictures on my camera of Drew's actual birthday, just videos and I will post those later.

On his actual birthday they took him to "Mino" so he could get a sombrero, a shot of tequila, and get sung to. But they brought him ice cream instead :)

This video cracks me up. His mouth is wide open the whole time :)

(It may be just me, but something about his mouth reminds me of Jessica when she was that age. It may be the cute "sometimes underbite" or his cheeks and chin. But it really does remind me of her in this video)

Drew's 3rd Birthday at Camino from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Illyum and Day Day

I know I know, it's way bright, but look at those eyes!

Illyum trying to tame the wild man!

Mags and sweet Makyna

Happy #3 Bud!
===========================================================

The day before Easter I caught up with my friend Cayce. We have been friends since, well, since we were born. We decided to try a new church with them on Easter Sunday.

Cayce and I

She's walking everywhere! Jessica, you've got to see it :)

Miss Shelby. She's precious. All those smiles. She was too into her egg and the grass to look up though.

Mags, Emily, and Jessie

Mitchell. I should have gotten a picture of him in his hat, he was soooo cute!

He gave me a look so I said, "What's wrong?" In a mean voice he said, "I'm having a GOOD day!" Hmmm...

He is soo sweet! I just laughed because it was so cute.
Here he is!

I love this picture. LOVE it. Look at those dimples in his hands too :)

OMG! Precious.

Here is the tomboy in a dress. She and Timmy and Dave were playing football.

Just waiting for all the women to get done with the photo session.

He loves his Bobby.

They loved staring at the water.

And being dipped in it!

Maggie, this picture is awesome! Really. Everything about it.

The girls. Mag, Me, Makyna, Kristin, Shelby, and Tiffany. (Jamie we were missing you! But you guys had already left)

We're sort of catching up with the boys!!

Pappy and his first babies.

M 'n' M

Uncle Buddy and Mitchell hanging out

This is Easter Part 1. I have more great pictures to come. Plus playing in the pool.

Love to everyone and Happy Easter!

I Always Feel Like...

2010-04-04T22:14:00.004-05:00

...Somebody's Watching Me!!!!!

(notice the eyes in the background)

Happy Monday Everyone!

More pictures to come...

from the zoo, to cooking, to Easter, to divas, and more. SOON!

Love, the Bates Girls

~Dramatic Black and White~

2010-03-30T19:11:00.002-05:00

The I Heart Faces theme this week is dramatic b&w. Maggie had the perfect idea to double the b&w :)

we thought this was a really good picture mom took. The candid shot, the angle, the moment.

Check out other pictures at...

2010-03-23T10:45:00.002-05:00

So, we are really far behind. We have a lot to catch up on, but for now here's a video of our ALL STAR in her tournament this weekend :)

Untitled from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

And yes, she won the game because of that hit. It was tied 0-0 the whole game. I wonder who taught her all that?

I Heart Faces! Bundled Up!

2010-03-16T20:54:00.002-05:00

Jumping for Joy!

2010-03-09T14:40:00.004-06:00

I Heart Faces...

Jumping for Joy! She and William were working on her karate moves in the pool. I love this shot because they just keep trying to out-do each other, which is why William is watching so intently. :)

Have a great day!

Miss Shelby and Ninja Warrior

2010-03-08T17:53:00.006-06:00

This has nothing to do with what I am about to say. But look at that! If that doesn't put a smile on your face...well maybe it doesn't if you know Felix because you know he's evil! He's probably dreaming about pouncing on me and biting me. But for a second he looks so sweet :)

Anyway. Last Tuesday I made a LONG overdue visit to see Mitch and Miss Shelby. And Kristin too :)

Mitchell was in his swimming trunks when I arrived...and it was snowing. He said he was ready to go to the beach. :)

After he ate lunch we played Wii. He had it turned on ready to play before we even got up there. And he kicked my butt!! Mario Kart, Super Mario Brothers, Monster Truck Racing, you name it.

Look at that face! "When is it gonna be my turn?!"

She jumped forever with the biggest smile on her face.

2010 March-Shelby in Bouncy Swing from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

SEE!

Thanks for letting my come play!

Shelby had her dedication at church this Sunday. And I think Aunt Becky's right. Noone probably heard a word because they were watching her big brother turn into a ninja in the front. It was hilarious. First, he was watching the pastor with the meanest look, like "What are you doing with her, mister?" Then, he looked at the crowd with the same "What are you lookin' at?" look. Then, he went into the front and turned into Ninja Warrior. It was priceless! That's ok Shelby, we do have it on video :)

Mitchell loving on his sis

Here he is, NINJA WARRIOR ready to attack!

Look at that face!

Love you Shelby!

I Heart Faces!

2010-03-01T19:28:00.001-06:00

This week is "Hilarious Outtakes". Every year in Florida, our large family has a photo night where everyone comes to the beach dressed nice. We take as many pictures of everyone in as many different combinations as we can possibly think of. Now, not everyone is happy about this, especially the boys. (Hint: Look at Drew :) ) Makyna wasn't so happy either! Tiffany wanted a sweet picture of her beautiful kids loving on each other...this is what we got :)

But they are cute.

P90X Brother!

2010-02-22T18:00:00.005-06:00

Sweet Makyna and Mag

Drew said, "Take a picture of me and Maggie!" (yes, Drew was nice to Maggie!)

And he was very into getting his picture taken.

This is Maggie's outfit for tacky day. Check out that lipstick...

This is my painting I did for Jessica for christmas.

Here is our new infomercial for P90X!
(I love my new video camera)

Oh and excuse my laughing...

P90X Brother!! from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2010-02-14T22:06:00.002-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I got an early present from mom and Aunt Sissy...a new camera! These next pictures are from my new camera. Maggie got one too :) Thanks guys! Also, William got me a Nook which is totally awesome! It is an electronic reader that you get ebooks on. Amazing! Now me and Jess can share books on our nooks :)

And here is sleepy Julesie-bear

Our Little Lovebug in her Valentine's Day scarf. Everytime she goes to the cleaner's she comes back smelling like roses, toenails clipped and with a pretty little scarf. If only her breath would smell like roses...sorry Jules! We still love you :)

New camera again. It took forever for him to smile for the camera.

This has nothing to do with Valentine's day but look at that hair.

Illyum and his presents. With his favorite cookies...oatmeal raisin.

Mom and her present. (You can see it better if you click on it). And yes, she cried, silly mom.

Mag with her man and her new popcorn holder. She got a few Johnny D movies and candy from mom.

Love you all!

Maggie is a Big Girl! Homecoming 2010

2010-02-11T15:15:00.008-06:00

Maggie had her homecoming dance Saturday, January 23. And she looked beautiful! As always :)

(And a little "Pants on the Ground" by Drew Michael)

Her friends JoJo, Heather, and Lauren came over to get ready.

Putting on their faces in mom's bathroom.

There she is! Miss America!

JoJo, Maggie, Heather, and Lauren

Mom and her baby

She had to get a kiss from Johnny.

Camino before the dance.

Maggie and her two favorite boys.

Stuffed and ready for a night of dancing!

Oh, and here is Drew's rendition of "Pants on the Ground".

It is a song sung by a guy on American Idol. If you haven't seen it I put it below. HILARIOUS! Both of them. Drew is right up there with the guy.

"Pants on the Ground" by Drew from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

LOOKIN LIKE A FOOL WITH YOUR PANTS ON THE GROUND!

love,

chelsea

I Heart Faces! I Heart Kisses Week!

2010-02-08T17:31:00.004-06:00

This week is I Heart Kisses Week. Uncle Tony sure does love his Derek. What a perfect moment between daddy and son.

SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY!

2010-01-30T20:26:00.010-06:00

Our first big snow in SOOO LONG! It was awesome to play in. The top was icy and it was inches deep, so as you walked you would fall right through! It was awesome :)

We had layers and layers on to stay nice and toasty.

Even the little grass was frozen.

Believe it or not, this little stream was only inches wide. It looks like a river in the picture.

Smile with mommy!

And sister

This is how we attempted snow angels. The old fashioned "lay on your back and move your arms and legs" just did not cut it in the ice. We had to break it.

Up in the trees! And that better not be a deer stand! They probably just use it to watch the pretty view...

Our journey in the back yard

Jules watching over from Maggie's window. Little Miss Priss does not like the cold so she chose to stay inside. Angel came out for a little while until her teeth began to chatter.

We actually fit! But can we steer?

Another snow angel. We were trying to break through the ice, but even both of us could not do it without pounding the ground.

The first is us sledding down the hill. The second is Maggie attempting to run across a frozen pond!

1st Person View Sledding from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Maggie Running Across Pond from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Love,

Talent.

2010-01-28T22:59:00.001-06:00

Make sure to watch the whole video!

What Talent We Have from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

"We Are Family"!

2010-01-18T22:03:00.002-06:00

This week on I Heart Faces it is "We Are Family" week!

Well here we are!

I Heart Faces!

2010-01-12T17:51:00.002-06:00

I Heart Faces! Maggie and I's favorite website. There is a contest each week and this week is "Best Face Photo". I had so many to choose from but decided on Shelby and her Aunt Marty. It just captured so much :)

Just click here and see for yourself!

Picture Overload!!

2010-01-05T15:35:00.016-06:00

So I was looking through our old pictures (we have millions) and I love to do this. This time I remembered we just bought a new printer with a scanner...so that is why they are oldies. BUT goodies. I know there are a million pictures but trust me, every one is worth looking at. Keep in mind that some are not the best quality but that is because the original is not the best quality, but they're still awesome!

Grandma's birthday. March 1996

Maggie, Kristin, and David

Maggie in Florida 1997 I believe

David, me, and Maggie with their chocolate milk bottles summer 1994

David and me. Christmas 1994

Grandma with some of her grandbabies. Spring 1995

Me and David at my 6th birthday party at the skating rink.

little Dave!!

Pappy, Grandma, and Craig

Grandma and Pappy. Christmas 1994

Mom and Sissy at Carole Glover's wedding

The kids. Christmas 1995

This is one of my favorite pictures of mom (at Carole's wedding)

Awww they love each other! 1995 I think

Uncle Dorick and me

Aunt Becky you will be proud of this picture. Go Jeff Gordon!

Haha mom and Sissy

Sissy and Pappy

AAWWW! (Carole Glover's wedding)

Our flannel picture for Grandma and Pappy

They're so little

Maggie sneaking Allison some lunch

David, Grandma, Derek, and Uncle Tony at Miss Emma's

This is where it all started. Look at that stance!

Hermanas

David, Jess, and Maggie

Pappy's Birthday at our house, notice Craig, Maggie, and David :)

Craig, John, Kristin, Jamie, Chelsea, Jess, Maggie, Pappy, and David

Little Felix! He was sooo tiny!

David, Kristin, and Jessica

Florida

Uncle Tony and a passed out little David

This picture cracks me up!

Uncle Derek and Pappy looking sexy on the beach!

Pappy, Elizabeth, Jess, Kristin, Erin, Chelsea, John, Joseph, Derek, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Bobby, Maggie, Tinny, David, Heather, and Darryl

Her first day of school!!

Mom and her girls

Uncle Buddy, Kristin, and Darryl.

Christmas

Yes, this is David as Princess Belle, in Scooby Doo slippers and a goat mask :)

Courtney, Shelby, Maggie, and David.

Maggie's Birthday 1998

David, Chelsea, Pappy, and Maggie

She is wild. And has sunscreen on her face.

Maggie and I in Florida

Muffin, notice the tattoos

She was the funnest kid, still is

And yes, this is how we slept!

Dad, Maggie, Jess, and Chelsea.

Poor mom we kicked her out, but she would fit until she got sick of it!

The cousins, with Maggie and David as Rudolph

Christmas 1996

Maggie babysitting Sophie (notice how close she it to the tv)

Maggie and her pride and joy, Spot-Dot

And now for Maggie and David. When I look back at these pictures they make me smile. They were the two most happy, free-spirited, fun-loving children I know, and still are.

Love you guys!

Their chocolate milk bottles! Taking after me.

Hope you enjoyed these!!

I CAN COOK!

2010-01-02T21:48:00.003-06:00

This is my dish I made. The recipe came from Jessica. It is tomatoes, green and red peppers, onions, spices, and red wine. Put it over ravioli and it is delicious!

I used the big pot for the sauce and it took 3 pots to cook the ravioli :)

Finished product!

My model. And my tester. Even though he was tired of me taking pictures of him.

YUMMY!!

Beat-Boxing Baby

2010-01-01T13:52:00.004-06:00

Here's to a new year and a big laugh.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Part 2

2009-12-29T16:25:00.005-06:00

Tho boys wrestling before presents.

They also all gang up on Nolen after Drew'sIindian dance and him and Mitchell screaming "Merry Christmas!" and "Happy Holidays". :)

Royal Rumble from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-27T14:58:00.024-06:00

There are some very funny videos at the bottom!

Christmas Eve 2009

The Girls

We're so glad Jackie could join us for Christmas this year.

Merry Christmas!

William brought his Wii for everyone to play. As you can see, everyone was watching :)

Still watching...

Still...

Jess and Uncle Derek

William and his #1.

The boys playing.

Even mom played Wii. Her back must be better! jk

Miss Makyna

Drew decided to run naked after his bath because Daddy had to go get pjs. Good thing mommy made him out his big boy underwear on!

Little girl playing with trucks.

I love this picture!

Kisses!

Christmas Morning

Mom opening up her mp3 player.

Jules looking in her stocking!

She was exhausted from the holiday festivities. This is what she did all day.

Our favorite gifts from Santa. My small video camera, Jessica's Nook, and Maggie's netbook!

And my gorgeous new necklace from William.

It was on a self-timer so we had to get down low :)

His PS3!! He loves it.

The boys are waiting so patiently at Aunt Becky's house for her delicious dinner.
Trevor, Drew, Mitchell, and Nolen

WD40 Coming SOON!

WD40 Coming Soon from Chelsea Bates on Vimeo.

Drew kissing Shelby. So sweet!

HELP! Maggie is missing!

2009-11-25T17:49:00.002-06:00

Help! Someone has stolen Maggie and put a look alike in her place!!

This stranger girl is doing laundry...

We never thought this day would come.

Mom is so proud.

2009-11-23T19:47:00.003-06:00

I Heart Faces is an awesome photography blog that Maggie and I love. It's all about faces of course. Each week there is a photo challenge and anyone can enter a photo in to win. This week's category is sun flares. I know, I know, this picture doesn't have a face but I thought it was an awesome picture Maggie took of a sunflare. It was at Defeated Creek while we were camping last year. It is my favorite. Enjoy!

Another Painting

2009-11-22T10:53:00.002-06:00

This is another one of my paintings. This one was for William's birthday.

Aww...look what I found

2009-10-19T12:51:00.004-05:00

The little boys...They're soo little!

Mitchell and Jess summer 2007

Drew and Maggie summer 2007

Me and Drew summer 2007

Jess and Trevor Thanksgiving 2007

Craig, Nolen, Trevor, and Drew Thanksgiving 2007

And next will be our little girls!

Chelsea's Art

2009-10-07T14:46:00.005-05:00

So I've been painting a lot lately and I thought I'd show a finished product. This is pappy's favorite bridge in Florida, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and he mentioned he would like a painting of it. So, I painted it. Hope you enjoy!

This is another one of my works of art. Enjoy!

Baby Update! and other random things

2009-09-15T11:18:00.009-05:00

Baby Shelby is here!!! 9-9-09 at 9:09 a.m.! just kidding not at 9:09 but that would've been neat lol. She's here, she's healthy, and she's beautiful!

Mommy and Daddy waiting paitently.

Beautiful Shelby Dianne with her first bow!

Mitchell checking out his new baby sister :)

Sweet hands with mommy's hands

Teeny feet!

"I am so excited I can't stand it!"

Mitchell and Drew celebrating

Yay! Cousin Maggie holding our new girl

A few weekends ago, Maggie, her friends Chelsea and Heather, mom, William and I went to the drive-in! It was so fun!

Here they are relaxing before the movie.

The next day we went to see the Broadway play Wicked. And it was amazing! Thanks mommy for taking us!

Waiting for the magic to start

Sweet Makyna smiling

Jules guarding her baby

oh...and kissing her!

Drew loves listening to Mag's ipod ;)

Drawing while Maggie does her homework. He's so cute!

Jessica came home the last weekend in August for a wedding. While she was here she decided to cook us dinner...

"Is it ready yet?"

"Yes, yes it is."

She and maggie cooked stuffed peppers and they were delicious! They had veggies, rice and ground turkey inside with melted cheese on top...yum!

I got a hammock for my birthday and I love it!! (Sorry cousins, I hope its not hard to cut the grass with the hammock there...just tell mom you deserve a big tip!) Me and Mag set it up and were quite proud.

Pappy stopped by to see Jessica before she left.

And here's the hammock! With Angel wanting some attention :)

Me and Jules relaxing

This video is hilarious. Drew decided he wanted to wear my backpack and it's really heavy!

Sweet girl

Happy late birthday Mark :)

2009-08-26T17:46:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures we thought you would enjoy!

Erin's Wedding

2009-08-21T18:28:00.007-05:00

Erin and I met in 4th grade when we were just 9 years old. Well, 12 years later we're still just as close and now she's MARRIED! She and her now husband got married Aug. 15.

Before the wedding

The bridesmaids and the bride. (l to r top row: Katie, Erin's Aunt Debi, Matt's sister Lindsey, and me. bottom row: Erin's sister and maid of honor Sara, Erin, and Mallory, and in front is her Debi's daughter and Erin's cousin, Natalie.)

Sisters

Erin's mom and sister

Here comes the bride!

Those shoes killed

Exhausted at the reception but it was beautiful.

Mom and me

Dancing with my girl

I guess he likes UT...

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-08-20T10:01:00.007-05:00

On my 21st birthday we went to Camino Real to eat...of course!

It was great and everyone got to come and celebrate. Thanks!

Jules wishing me a happy birthday!

Me and Mitch, he is so sweet. He made sure I had enough chips all night. :)

And he sure loved Aunt Marty's cupcakes

Enrique checking my ID for the drink I ordered for Derek haha

The Boys

Shelby, Kristin, and Maggie.

A remake of a picture they made with Mitchell.

Thanks Karen and Landon for coming! Even though he was worried about the whipped cream they would put on my nose he still had a blast.

Cowabunga Pap

Mommy and me

The babies

Of course he can't just smile normally :)

Enrique with his favorite customers

The whole party minus Erika, Jessie, and Emily

Playing outside under Drew and Aunt Marney's "moking" tree

Yay!!

And my awesome cookies and cream ice cream cake!!!

Thanks Everyone!

PCB!

2009-08-13T14:19:00.010-05:00

Panama City Beach, Florida

August 2009

Here's the gang that stayed in our condo...Mom, Erika, William, Jessie, Emily, Maggie, and me.

Enjoying a meal at Margaritaville, along with Uncle Tony (in the background grinning), Aunt Sissy, Darryl, Tiffany, Drew, Makyna and Uncle Doorek. David and Brock were probably out on the beach looking for ladies but we missed them!

Mom and Derek searching for Darryl in the water.

Mom and her baby :)

Sisters, if only Jess was here

Big boy flying his kite all by himself.

Working on getting rid of her softball tan haha

Meanwhile, as were are having fun burying Mag and Darryl...

...Drew went missing. I ran to the pool to find him happily swimming with Uncle David. He walked up to David on the beach and told him he wanted to go to the pool, so off they went as everyone freaks out on the beach searching for Drew haha.

Mom, one of her favorite nephews, and Maggie

Me and our sweet girl, Makyna

Gigi, her baby Makyna, and Mom

Shipwreck Island!

The Boys at Margaritaville

Princess Maggie

Relaxing on the beach

Admiring our beautiful Makyna

Grammy Ruth, Maggie, and Emily

The Boys on the Beach.

Derek, William, Darryl, Dave and Brock

Banana Boat!!!!!
Mag, Bobby, and Emily

And the fighting begins...

Left: William and Darryl

Right: Derek and David

William and Darryl wrestling before William get bit and Sissy ran over to break it up haha

Worn out and sandy

Drew looking for "deer tracks" as he said

Photo Shoot at Pier Park

Beach fun

Cousins

Family Pic

Mag, Emily, and Jessie putt-putting

Silly Face at Margaritaville

Margaritaville

Mr. Moore

Em and Mag

We had a blast!!!!!

Our Photo Shoot by Lissa

2009-07-27T15:47:00.007-05:00

These are the awesome pictures taken by Lissa. We met her and Emmi in Murfreesboro where we had our photo shoot. These are just a few, and it was hard to choose which ones but i tried to get a variety of different ones. She did an awesome if I do say so myself...ENJOY!!!

Happy Birthday Pappy!

2009-07-20T13:05:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday Pappy! We love you :)

Jessica trying to burp Makyna while Aunt Becky is laughing at us.

Before the puke, a nice red shirt...

The birthday boy!

Drew thought he needed to run right towards the camera. He was over the pictures.

Her hair is starting to look like pappy's used to :)

After the throw up...a nice grey shirt from Uncle David

The Kids and their Daddy

Only some of his grandkids and great grandkids

The Bates fam

Drew sleeping...Not!

Happy Birthday Aunt Becky!

2009-07-13T16:09:00.008-05:00

Happy Birthday! We love you!

And thank you for always feeding us...you are the best cook in the world ;) really. We hope you have a great birthday!

Jessica's Spanish Lesson

2009-07-13T11:53:00.002-05:00

Jessica, the adjective always comes after the noun in spanish. It is the opposite of english. So I am a...hermana dulce...(literally sister sweet but is read as sweet sister in spanish)
So now you know ;)

JESSICA ANNE BATES...

2009-07-10T19:18:00.004-05:00

...IS COMING HOME WEDNESDAY!!!!! and mark too :)

These are our finger staches. This was not too long before Jess left for Miami in May, 2008.

Jess, Mag, Mom, and me

at Jess' party in October.

William, me, and Jess

Mark, Jess, Mag, and Drew with his curly hair!

Thanksgiving 2008

Jess and Mag looking so excited :)

Sweet little Jessie, what an angel.

Jess and Drew listening to Maggie play guitar Christmas Eve.

William, Mark, and Jessica in Miami

Sister shopping in Miami.

Me and Jess
At the Ft. Lauderdale airport my last day.

Can't wait till you're here hermana!

Happy 4th! a little late... :)

2009-07-08T17:45:00.008-05:00

Last minute edition at William and Maggie's request :)

On the 4th of July, Maggie, Mom, me, William, Tiffany, Darryl, Drew, Makyna, Sissy, Erika, Emily and Jessie all went to Buddy and Becky's to swim and cookout. We planned to go to Providence to watch fireworks after but as you all know, it stormed. So that didn't work out. Instead, we went to Smoothie King :)

Maggie and JoJo watching fireworks, playing with our new bouncy ball!

William's karate kick

Hi-Yah!

Maggie's karate kick

Yah!

And me jumping in.

Flip!

Sweet Kyna in her new bathing suit!

This is the video of the squats I've been trying to post and it finally did. This is how William REALLY works out.

Watermelon, Transformers, Maggie's tournament, Jules, and Drew...

2009-06-24T19:28:00.010-05:00

We haven't posted anything in a while so I thought I'd sum up the past few weeks. Except i put the pictures in backwards so its actually starting from most recent. Anyway, Mr. Moore in the kitchen helping mom with the watermelon. She said he was trying to prove he does more than "yap" as she says and sleep :)

Last night we went to the midnight show of Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. It was awesome!!!!! So we decided to take pictures to show our excitement.

Emily and Jessie joined us and mom was taking the pitures.
We were getting pumped up for the movie before we went so we decided to do squats. With Jules...

And William...

And again...

And Maggie and Chelsea

This weekend Maggie's team got 2nd place in their tournament. Mag caught and pitched all day Saturday and Sunday...whew

Go Thunderbirds!

Maggie getting her trophy from coach (dad) lol

This is a picture of Jules after she attacked and ripped up the Swiffer duster. I'm trying to post the video because it is hilarious, but the computer is being difficult.

A few weeks ago Aunt Sissy and Drew came for a visit.

Trying to scare little Drew.

Drew playing with "Ill-yum" (as Drew pronounces it)

Rocky Raccoon!

2009-06-11T22:19:00.003-05:00

We had a visit from this little creature last night and after much hissing and growling I finally ran him off the deck with a broom. Tonight when Mag and I got home Angel had him trapped under the grill. After trying to brush him out with the broom again he refused to budge. After a little inventive thinking I put a box behind the grill against the bottom. Maggie cut a top for it and with cheese and the broom handle we finally got him in the box and pushed the trap door between the back of the grill and the box closed. Thankfully I had some good shipping tape and we taped a side at a time until we could flip the box and tape the top. We drove him to the community center and released him so hopefully Angel can eat in peace now and none of the animals have to fight with him! They are cute little creatures but they are really aggressive also!

Bringing Makyna Home!

2009-06-07T14:29:00.005-05:00

She got to come yesterday so I went with Sissy and David to bring Drew to the hospital to bring his baby home.

Sweet Miss Makyna opening her eyes.

Feet!!! They're so cute.

Drew kissing his "Kyna Reese"

"I love my little sister" :)

Giving her kisses.

And more.

Brother wondering why she's crying

Gigi and her babies

Sweet girl

Baby Drew in Makyna's basket

Photo shoot while she was knocked out

Drew refreshing with HIS (William's) water bottle

~Makyna Reese Glover~

2009-06-05T10:58:00.011-05:00

Drew's baby sister is finally here!!!!!

Congratulations!

June 4, 2009

Daddy's hands

Mommy, Daddy, and Makyna

Mommy's hands

Aunt "Marney" like Drew says

Sweet Girl

Tiny Fingers

Me and our girl!

Sissy, Pappy, Makyna, Mag, and Derek

Pap's first great granddaughter!

Mama and baby

Gigi giving her some love with Uncle Derek

Uncle Derek

Mag and Makyna

Daddy and cousins welcoming our girl!