ROCKTOBER

It started off with a beautiful scenic hike up Rocky Mouth Canyon to a waterfall with my brother Matthew and 2 of his children. The waterfall was really pretty and the kids loved hiking through the vibrant leaves! This fall was probably one of the all time prettiest that I have seen. 

Next it was an all day event making Apple Butter for the Holiday's. I have never made it before but I found a really yummy recipe and had to try it. We devoured our jar in 2 days and my home was left with the most incredible aroma!!!

Sweets and I took a gander up to Midway for an evening and brought the pups along. We hadn't been up there for awhile so we thought we would take a little night getaway. Tahoe and Telly ran all around the fields and were in heaven! I can't believe how big and fast Telly is getting. They are so funny when they play together.

Next, we headed down to SG and LV for a weekend trip with some friends to see Jimmy Buffet! This was incredible. First thing first, we had to race the go-cart around the 1/4 mile loop and my Sweets took first. It was so fun. We then drove down to Vegas to hit up the Pawnshop, Traders Joes, do a little shopping, and of course party at the "street party" before the concert. It seriously was a blast! The concert was the MGM and we sang and danced all night to the best island music. It was Sweets first concert so he was a little shy getting involved but he came around when Jimmy sang "fins". Afterwards, we headed to Mesquite for a little money "donation" until 5 am. It was quite the late night and quite a trip!

We rounded out the month with our tradition of Thriller at Kingsbury Hall. We go every year, and each time does not disappoint us. We are still in awe and shock and laugh just as hard as the first time we saw it many, many years ago together.

OBSESSION #1

Don't you just love everything about fall? I sure do, and I am loving that the season has officially started! 

I love the weather. 

I love the layering of scarves.

I love sipping on hot chocolate morning, noon, and night.

I love boots. (stilettos and rider) 

I love cozying up in sweatshirts and sweatpants. 

I love snuggling by the fire.

I love going to and watching U football.

I love politics and watching debates.

I love Halloween. (decorations, pumpkins, candy, and costumes)

I love the changing leaves and the beauty of all the trees.

I love working out and running with the pups in slightly rain/snow weather.

I love soup. (butternut squash)

For me, Fall is the new beginnings that the 'new year' is to most other people. It represents the new me! I feel rejuvenated. Anew. Motivated. Independent. I feel like I am starting my life over with a colorful and fresh approach. But, with all these wonderful beginnings in Fall, my favorite thing still, is my love for Fall TV. 

I love and am addicted to: 

The Sing-Off.

The Biggest Loser.

Most Eligible Dallas.

House.

The Office.

The Rachel Zoe Project.

Modern Family.

Glee.

Up All Night.

One Tree Hill.

The Real Housewives.

It sounds like I have no life. This is not true! I do have a life and this is it in the Fall. I couldn't be happier with working out in the early mornings, heading to work, coming home and making my Sweets dinner, snuggling with my kiddies and watching that days TV treasures. Thank goodness for DVR though! It makes living that much more convenient... 

ONE LOOOOONG PARTAY!

Last week was a full blown "Gardner" week! Between the baby blessing of my nephew Samuel, babysitting and crafting with my 3 nieces all day, a birthday celebration for my sister Kimberly, girls night out to Cheesecake Factory and shopping at Nordstrom with a combo birthday bash for my cousin Abby, family dinner at CPK and watching the Harry Potter: part 2 movie, the temple sealing of Samuel with lunch afterwards at Blue Lemon, and finally another birthday celebration for my Mother at Ruth's Chris in Park City!
WHEW!
Along with all those events, we had work everyday and we still managed to pack up and head out of town Friday. The recap of last week goes at follows:

Handsome Samuel was blessed at home in fabulous style. My sister and her husband catered the whole event with scrumptious food from Gin's Bakery and it was delicious. In total, there were about 75 people there to show support and participate in the blessing. It was such a long-awaited wonderful evening! 

My nieces and I were put in charge of the centerpieces, so the day before we headed out the stores and came up with a cute idea. We decided we would make balloon topiaries. We took galvanized buckets from Hobby lobby and filled them with foam. We then spray painted wooden sticks black and attached a foam ball on top. After pinning all the balloons into the foam (just like the Birthday Balloon Wreath that I made) we stuck it into the bucket and covered the top with orange paper shavings. The girls had fun making these and I had fun spending time with them! All in all, we made 7 topiaries! 

Please excuse the poor quality photo, it was taken with my phone. Nonetheless this awesome chick cuz turned the big 2-0 on Tuesday! Woot! Woot! All of us girls in the fam took her out to dinner followed by a little sale shopping. It was such a fun evening. We laughed, shared stories and did exactly what girls do best! This was my purchase for the evening and they are the bomb-diggity! I freakin' love them

  
Although I do not have any photos of the dinner-&-movie night, it was still a blast! Sweets and I have not been to a movie for so long. It felt good to just relax and be entertained by Harry for the last time.  

  

The Temple sealing was so amazing! Our good family friend Elder Steve Snow performed the sealing and he did an incredible job. I have never seen an actual family sealed before, so it was pretty neat. But the greatest part was that my sweet sister Kimberly asked if I would participate in the Sealing. I was so honored. I was able to hold Samuel and be at the alter with the whole family for the sealing. It was such a neat experience for me to be apart of such an important ordinance, but it was also an awesome experience for the 3 sisters of Samuel to be apart of it as well. They got to see things that children their age don't get to see. How lucky...

My sister Kimberly turned one year younger, yet again, on the 18th. We celebrated her as family and friends with cake, ice cream and cupcakes at her house. It was a great day and she deserved a great one too!

My youthful Mother also had a birthday last week on the 21st! She is an incredible Mother and I am so blessed by her example and her friendship. For her big day we headed up to Ruth's Chris in Park City for a wonderful dinner. This is an annual thing for my family and we all look forward to this occasion every year. 
Happy Birthday!


All in all, it was a perfect week! I have so much to be thankful for and I am grateful to my darling Sweets, my 2 furry - stinky kids, my awesome kick-A family, and for the gospel in my life. Without those things, I would have nothing and be nothing.  

GET UP, STAND UP...

Stand up for your right!
Don't you just love Bob Marley?
 I do.
Summertime is the best for listening to Reggae music. I don't really know why, but I also seem to have it playing in the warm summer months. 



This year, the 4th of July was a low-key Holiday. Sweets and I spent the weekend up in Midway with both our families hanging out, reading our books, horse riding, eating, watching fireworks, swimming and playing games. Life has been busy lately, so it felt good to just relax.
I was in charge of the 'snack' table so I made up some bunches of licorice tied with scrap book paper, dipped pretzels in chocolate and added sprinkles, made confetti cupcakes with red and blue frosting (sorry no pic), and put together some fun Holiday decorations to top it off. Oh and I also set out some sparklers and snaps for the kids. They loved it!
Overall, it was a great weekend and we are so lucky to have the freedoms that we have and we honor those you have gone before us and who are now fighting for our rights of Independence!   

TRIPLE "F"

Food! Fun! Friends!
Last night was the farewell BBQ for our dear friends Mark and Sian. They accepted a new job that has them moving to New Jersey in 3 days(!) and we all wanted to throw them a temporary goodbye party.  We had a smorgasbord of food including: hamburger/cheeseburgers, potato/macaroni salad, BBQ smokies/bacon smokies, veggie kabobs, fruit bruschetta, chips and desserts.

We had quite the turnout from everyone...the Oborn's, Stone's, Packer's, Yates, Memmott's, Hedin's, us and of course the honorary guests, the Davidson's!  It was so great to chit chat it up all night in the somewhat warm(ish) weather and share some laughs. The kiddies ran all around the house scaring people, throwing snaps outside and watching them POP,  jumping on the trampoline and playing with each other. Although this was a last minute thing, it certainly could not have been any better!
We love you and will miss you Davidson' family! 

WHAT TIME IS IT IN THE WORLD?

SHOW TIME!

Sweets and I were so lucky to experience U2 : 360 tour last night!

OMG...it was absolutely amazing! 

Kimberly, Susan, Marie, Christian, Sweets and I arrived at the stadium at 6pm and ate dinner together amongst others on the 6th floor for the VIP party. It was so fun. We ate lots of yummy food and had the chance to relax before the party got started.  

Just before U2 came out on stage)
The Fray opened for U2 and they were great. I usually don't like their music but they did very well and I was definitely getting into their vibe. They rocked the house for the opener!

The rocket-ship stage
When U2 hit the stage...the whole stadium erupted! They had SO much energy and seriously put on the best show! Bono is simply incredible to be performing for as long as he has and still look like he is in the 'prime' of his life. It was one continuous karaoke party for us spectators!

The Gardner girls (minus Amy)
We danced the whole night long, clapping our hands to the beats and singing our hearts out. Our throats are so sore from all the fun! Oh, and our ears are still ringing...seriously...can't...hear...anything!

The man himself...Bono!
We lucked out sitting so close to the stage that we just swooned every time Bono or anyone else came to our side. They performed well into the 11 o'clock hour and we just loved it! It made for long sleepless night but totally worth it.

Cell phone lights only
This picture doesn't do justice, but this was an incredible view. Towards the end, U2 asked if all the lights could be turned off and he would sing just to the lights of everyones cell phones. We all dug out our phones and held them up on display! It was beautiful to see all the tiny white lights flooding the stadium.
I will certainly, always remember this fantastic concert and we are so appreciative that we had the opportunity to experience the great powerhouse legends of Music!

AND THEN THERE WERE 4

Anyone else into The Biggest Loser this year like we are? 

I have to be honest, we are newbies to this amazing show and I am so bugged that I didn't get into it earlier. But, better late than never! As we started watching the show a few months ago, I was seriously squirming on the sofa with embarrassment for the contestants. I mean, who flaunts their weight willingly on National TV? That takes some serious confidence. The whole concept seems a little ridiculous but then if you think about it, America is so extremely overweight, that it is only fitting that we would have a TV show about losing weight, changing lives and having ordinary people be the stars! BRILLIANT! It is one of our favorite shows, even though Sweets watched it last night eating the last piece of his Chocolate Cake (shhh). We have formed bonds with all the contestants and we really don't know who we want to see take the big win from the final four. They all have transformed so beautifully and have inspired all of us at home in so many ways. Although I am in love with Hannah, the underdog to her sisters' shadow, I have to say that Olivia is just stunning! She looks absolutely amazing and she has always remained so positive. I kinda think that she will be taking the victory.      

I do intend on voting for Jay (ps) to be in the top three at the finale! He has shown so much progress and he never gives up. 

THINGS THAT MUST GO

Does anyone listen to X96 in the mornings on their way to work???

I DO! and I love it! 

On wednesdays' they have a game called "Things that must go". I seriously love listening to this segment because it is all about the pet-peeves that people have and how the feel about them. Hence the title, 'things that must go'. 

I have peeves too!   

Lots in fact.  

And they are quite legit!

But to save on time, and hate comments from you non-existent readers, I will only tell you a few:

1-Horrible Utah Drivers. 

(preferably this week with the weather. We get a few drops of sprinkled water on the ground and all the crappy drivers that have been hibernating emerge from their homes and start driving 50! or even 60! mph on the freeway, slamming on their brakes for no good or warranted reason with no other car close to them in crash distance and yet they all seem to think that the far left lane has their name personally written on it just for them to drive in! HELLO PEOPLE! 

the speed limit is like 90! (not really, but it should be) and its a couple drops of rain. Either start driving, move to another State, get off all the major roads, or drive cautiously in the right lane where you are supposed to be! I seriously don't like my commute to take longer than it has too with accidents up the the wazoo all because "you" can't seem to drive in the 'Utah' weather that we get EVERY YEAR at roughly the SAME TIME! Horrible Utah Drivers Must go!)

2-  Pushy Grocery Store Customers

(This is my warning to all of you! If you see me in line and crowd my personal space in the checkout line, breathing down my neck in hopes of getting the checker to move faster or touch my groceries or my grocery divider, most likely (but without fail because I have practically done this) I will juno-chop you in the jugular, drop kick you and go all crazy tomahawk on you! SO BACK OFF! I have proximity issues. Seriously, I do! I get all anxiety ridden when people stand close to me and if I can feel you in my zone, I get scared and go on the defensive. I just don't like it when people touch my space or my things. I do give the benefit though, and I will slightly 'adjust' and shift my weight forward to create more space, but if you move with me every time I move, you are not going to like what is about to come your way. Oh, and do not walk around me while I am at the counter putting away my wallet as fast as I can, even if the checker has started checking out your items, because more hell and fury will be upon you than previously described. Pushy Grocery Store Customers Must Go!)

3- Dog Farts

(they just stink in every way possible and there is no conceptualized way of thinking they are anything but BUTT! Seriously though, why must they singe your nose hairs off? I am positive I don't feed my dog acid! Yet they waft in the shroom cloud, sniffing it up, looking around the room to see what that Chernobyl Explosion was that just went off behind them as if humans could actually produce that stench! Sorry pup, it ain't human! IT'S YOU! Dog Farts Must Go!)

4-Phil

(I know, I know, but you really need to hear me out on this one. Phil from 'Modern Family' must go! He is a creeper! A bad man who looks and sounds like he hurts little children! Every time I see him or hear his voice, I honestly get the chills up and down my spine! Sure he is weird (and yes I can't think of anything else that he is that some-what resembles a positive attribute) and all, but so too are the candy/ice cream men who snatch up kids from the playground or walking home from school. Phil Must Go!) 

C'MON D.J.

Lately I have been into music. It comes and goes in spurts. I guess it's because I listen to the same songs over and over and over again until I am sick of them and then go on an all out search for new songs to beat into the ground. Anyway, here is the latest music craze that I am addicted too but keep in mind that some of them are not newly released and they are in no particular order or genre:

Brett Dennen (new album  Loverboy) Sydney, I'll come running

Pit bull (ft. T-pain) Hey Baby

Mindy Gledhill ( album Anchor) Crazy Love

Three Graces (Three Graces) Requiem

Blake (Blake) Hallelujah 

Paper Tongues (Paper Tongues) Get Higher 

Jerrod Niemann (Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury) What do you want

Josh Kelley (Georgia Clay) Georgia Clay

Easton Corbin (Easton Corbin) I can't love you back
Thompson Square (Thompson Square) Are you gonna Kiss me or what
Mason Jennings (Bonus Track Version) Something about your love
MGMT (Oracular Spectacular) Kids
One Republic (Waking Up) Good Life
The Airborne Toxic Event (Bonus) Sometime around Midnight
Bart Crow Band (Finally) Wear my Ring
Glass Pear (Sweet America) Say it Once
Glee - anything from here

If you haven't heard of some of these take a listen and see what you think. I don't hate any type of music but I definitely have my preferences so I through in a bunch of random but awesome tunes. If any of you have favorite songs please pass them along. I'd love to hear what all of you are into these days...

WKND FUN!

This weekend was a busy jam packed few days full of fun, family and friends!

While Sweets was enjoying the super sunny and warm weather of St. George doing this...

joe. sweets.

  on Friday with his friends (scott, grant, sam, bryan not pictured) getting a couple pars and eagles (yay), I was here doing this...

one of two birthday cakes for the special occasion

dad with some (not all) of his grandkids

birthday boy

celebrating my Dad's Birthday (march 4th) with my family! We ate Mandarin takeout from Bountiful and Andrew and Angie were nice enough to host the Party for all of us. My Dad is the best Dad in the world and has been the greatest example to me. He is caring, loving, selfless, funny, giving, patient, charitable, intelligent and my Dad! Happy Birthday Pops! Love you!

Then on Saturday while Sweets was doing this...

view from promontory tower

one of the models of city creek

working (pooey) showing Promontory the new high rise urban living downtown at City Creek all day, I was doing this...

kerstin. sian. brooke. sara. lyndsey. me.

mama to be

with my friends! I through a baby shower for Sian with the help of Kerstin for all of us wives! (Wives, meaning the wives of our husbands high school group.) It was so fun! We ate Orange Rolls, Cheese and Sausage Strata, Fruit and Dip, Sherbet Punch and instead of games we did a project of making decal onesies for Sian to take home. It was great to see everyone and catch up while celebrating the upcoming birth of baby boy William Riley Davidson!

Finally, and no picture to display sorry, Sweets and I had to chaperone the tri-stake young singles dance at our stake center Saturday night. WOWZERS! We are so glad that we never have to experience that awkward stage of life again. We walked the dance floor and people watched. It was surprisingly fun but not on my list of things to do again! When Sunday came around, we slept the day away after church due to the time change. It was a doozy. We did take a break from napping to take a scenic drive and eat dinner. But then it was back to napping! 

THE BIGGEST UPSET!

If Sweets were sitting next to me (and thankfully he is not) he would be rolling his eyes at me saying "here you go again". And he is totally right! Here I go again!  

This big boy, rather a huggable teddy bear in my opinion, was eliminated last night and I am SO mad!!! 

SERIOUSLY MAD!!!

Bob could not have said it any other way when he described just how bad Arthur needs to be on the show, for that was why the show was created. He said that aside from The Biggest Loser being a game, it is also a helping tool for those who are knocking on Heaven's door just as Arthur is. 

"IT IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!!!

HE NEEDS TO BE HERE!!!

And just because he is not in an alliance with some people, he will be sent home when he is the only ONE that actually needs to be here! It's Bull Shhh." (quote from bob)

I could not agree more and I was screaming at the TV when this all went down and almost chucked the remote across the room. Clearly, sleep didn't help me because as I type, I am getting all upset. I really don't like to blame people, but I have to blame Sarah from the Black team for screwing up the order when she was already on the Red team knowing that Arthur was going home and the entire Red team for shoving him under the bus because he was "new" to their team and not part of their "family"! Who freakin' cares at this point. 

Save his life! 

I get it though. Really I do. It is a game. It is a contest. 

But this is Arthur! The largest contestant EVER to be on The Biggest Loser and someone who truly needs to be on the show. 

I am now on strike against this show and will boycott the remainder of the season!

(i really apologize for those lives that i offended just now while reading this, but this is how I feel and i think its really stupid it came to this. ;) )

WE BE JAMMIN'

That's right...we were jammin' out at the MONSTER JAM TRUCK RALLY! 

this one is just so dang cute with the horns...love it

I seriously love going to the monster jam. It is so much fun to see just how huge the trucks are, watch the trucks compete against each other and jump cars, people gaze at the white trash peeps there and listen the loud roaring hum of the engines. (If I could capture that sound for my car, I would be so happy!) We had a blast and I couldn't have asked for a better activity on a Friday night. Although I didn't get a pic of all of us there, we did have quite a group; my brother and his family, Mic and his family, Sweets and I with the Martin girls (our nieces) watched the rally with excited. All our cheers were for the GRAVE DIGGER! 

maverick (white truck) is from west jordan!

"grave digger" during the freestyle competition 

bounty hunter

AFFINITY FOR ELF CULTURE

Last night was the Arnell family Christmas Party and we were the hosts! Every year there is a new Christmas theme to celebrate so we chose our favorite Christmas movie, Elf! It was so much fun decorating, baking, cooking, organizing, and planning this party. Weston did a fabulous job hanging snowflakes all over the house.

It wasn't quite like what Buddy did to the Hobbs' house, but it was a good start! We borrowed the kids tables and chairs from my parents house and used them to sit on during dinner. It was fun to squeeze ourselves onto tiny chairs all crammed together for the feast. We ate:

and

to start.

 We had Jovie's Yuletide Punch (cranberry apple sparkling cider) as well to wash down the hors d'ouevres. Then it was on to:

Kringle Caprese salad

and Impostor Santa lasagna (beef and cheese). 

Following dinner, we gathered all around and watched the beloved show laughing and singing along with the amazing soundtrack. For dessert we had:

 (which look a bit scary, but they were tasty. I'll have to fix this one for next time)

and Candy Cane Forest which was really peppermint ice cream with hot fudge! It was a great success and everyone had a fun time. They all got to take home: 

 

 which also included a snow globe of New York City. 

I am so sad that this party has already come and gone. It was SO much fun and I want to do this whole thing over. I tried to correlate ideas from the movie into the evening to make it more 'real'. Thanks Arnell's, you simply are the best IL family anyone could ask for! I am so lucky to be apart of such an amazing and fun family! Merry Christmas!

 

and I love you sweets! Thanks for all your help...