FALL BACK INTO FALL!

This is just a little somethin' somethin' to keep you occupied while I finish downloading, uploading, tweaking, writing, and posting the rest of the "catch up" stuff! Until then...

MY VERSION OF HEAVEN

I have spent the last few weeks in what I like to call, Heaven!
Sun Valley is my safe haven, my sanctuary where I can think, regain strength, and compose my life in the quiet altitudes of the mountains! My family goes there off and on through out the year but every August, we tend to just move up there. Literally. Although I couldn't stay as long as I wanted to or am used to, I did have a great time and look forward to another trip soon. 

The vacation started with a benefit concert from the Sun Valley Symphony Series with the 11 year old phenomenon Jackie Evancho! She is incredible and has such power. Her voice is pure, angelic and took our breaths away! If you don't know her music, please check her out. You will not be disappointed!
For the first 2 weeks of August they have other concerts almost every day. We loved walking over to the resort and sitting on the lawn and listening to the beautiful music at night.  

With so much time, we sure did lots of fun things throughout the weeks. Sweets drove up for a few days and we all headed over to Red Fish Lake. Andrew had his sailboat there and Matthew had his ski boat. Between the 2 boats, we had a blast cruising on the lake and watching all the kids fly off the tube together. The weather was great and the scenery was even better. We ate a little lunch at the grille and set up shop on the beach for the afternoon. It was definitely a good time!  

Tahoe stayed with me in Sun Valley and we went running, hiking and swimming every day. When Telly came up with Sweets we decided that we should take him swimming and see how it goes. It was Telly's first time in water and boy was he a kid in a candy store! He was nervous at first and followed Tahoe around but after that, he couldn't get enough of it and even started retrieving tennis balls and sticks!  

We had a BBQ with my Aunt and Uncle and their whole family at our house. It was so good to see my cousins and spend time with them. Dinner was fabulous and the stormy weather held out until after dark!

 After a hard day of exercising, heading to the pool, playing tennis, eating the most scrumptious meals, reading and knitting and doing puzzles, I have 2 awesome neices that would rub my feet! It felt great and the best part about it is they asked to do it!!!

I love Sun Valley and it is always a peaceful time for me! 

LIKE ALL OF YOU!

Everyone posts about the "stats" of their children, so I thought I would join in on all the fun and post the "stats" of our furry kids. 

I am the proud mother of 2 beautiful fluffy boys and all I want to do is run to my porch like Rafiki in The Lion King holding them up to the neighborhood and proclaim their awesomeness! So here it is on the scale... 

Tahoe:

(t-hoe, taj, dorkface, big guy, luffer, buddy)

4 years and 6 days

81.1 pounds

golden fur

Tahoe no longer has his double ear infection. Poor guy would scratch all day and night trying to get some sort of relief but to no avail. When I took him to get checked out last month they told me to wash his ears out every 3 days with a special soap, administer ear drops daily and give him pills morning and night. The cause of the ear infections were from his allergies (hmmm, he must get that from me)! We have followed this regiment religiously and I am happy to report that he is doing AWESOME now. The vet doctor cleared him yesterday and said he no longer needs the ear cleaning or drops. The pills, she suggested, keep them going because they will help control his allergies. 

Also, he has lost 4 pounds and he is doing better with his weight. He is no longer in the "concerned" weight category. 

He loves sleeping on Sweets side of the bed, or on our bed at night. 

He sleeps through the night.

He can sit, lay down, come and shake.

(we are still working on him rolling over)

He knows and will do 'get in the car', 'get the leash' and treats.

He has the most infectious personality and makes us laugh constantly! 

Telly:

(shi-thead, lil' guy, rascal, runny-aroundy-thingy, satan's child)

3 months and 5 days

25.8 pounds

blonde fur

Our sweet new addition is doing fabulous! After his vet doctor appointment, he has gained almost 5 pounds since last month and is growing up beautifully. He received his second round of shots and a little benadryl to help ease the pain. His check up went well and he has nothing cautious to report. 

He sleeps on my side of the bed. 

He does not sleep through the night waking about twice for whiz time and play time.

He sits and lays down on his own and not by command.

He rolls over unintentionally.

     He loves going on walks and holding Tahoe's leash in his mouth. 

He has fangs as sharp as blades and chews on everything, especially Tahoe!

He gets really really ornery when he is tired and you try to touch him. 

He is our lil' guy and we love him dearly. He is so much fun and adds a whole new flair in our home!

NUTHIN" BUT A "G" THANG!

No, I am not quoting Snoop Dogg or Dr. Dre! The "G" as in GARDNER! I am actually posting about the mega-awesome Gardner Reunion we had 2 weeks ago! I seriously love family traditions and I was raised to honor them. Every two years, the entire Gardner clan get together for a reunion and this year it happened to be in Midway. It was held from July 1st to the 2nd.

This was one hellava non-stop party complete with:
fine grilling eats thanks to Uncle Dan and Aunt nancy,
train rides,
horse rides,
a spectacular firework show arranged by 'the pyro', my Mom,
a Lincoln & Phyllis Gardner Tribute Program put together by Aunt Suzanne, 

line dancing and other sorts of dancing thanks to the great DJ Dan, 

an amazing UTAH RED (captain Uncle Greg) against BYU BLUE (captain Uncle Scott) golf tournament at Solider Hollow, 

matching family t-shirts,

great conversations, laughs, and stories made through family bonding,

smores and campfire songs around the bonfire,

boxing matches, 

running races, 

camping, 

kid-friendly games, 

and over 200 people to share the weekend with!

This was such a blast to celebrate the 100 years of Lincoln B. Gardner with his posterity. There are so many of us and our family just keeps growing! Thank you to all those who helped make this such a special family reunion. 

The sons and daughters: 

Gary, Kem, Suzanne, Dan, Phil, Greg, Scott, Rulon and Sally

p.s.

the UTAH RED team won in golf by 2 strokes! 

Way to go Sweets for the Victory!!!

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Quite literally! 

Where does time go?

Time is not infinite!

Case in point of me not blogging for the past while. There is just no time. It seemingly has flown out the window and got lost. 

Not really, but I don't seem to have enough of it. 

Every night Sweets checks the clock and sighs. He complains that there is never enough time in the day to get things done. I couldn't agree more with him.

Until I find 'time' and lasso it under control to download all the gazillions of photos I have and share with you some of my 4th of July extravaganzas, here are some fun facts about where time does in fact go.

If you take 2 minutes in the morning and 2 minutes in the evening to brush your teeth, in a week that is 28 minutes. In a year it adds up to over 24 hours. That is an entire DAY devoted to brushing your teeth! 1 out of 365 days is lost to brushing your teeth! 

Imagine brushing your teeth nonstop for over 24 hours...could you do it?

Here are some other examples about where time goes...

30 minute TV show once per week = 26 hours (1+ days)

60 minute TV show once per week = 52 hours (2+ days)

10 minute shower everyday = 60 hours (2 1/2 + days)

Ask yourself: "Could I sit down and watch 26 hours straight of TV?" My answer is yes, if there were reruns of Keeping up with The Kardashians and The Real Housewives of ... (any of them will do. I love them all)! Just joking! My honest answer is NO! I couldn't do it!

It is just crazy how fast time flies and how we decide to use the time we have! 

 I am convinced that if we just prioritize better, stop procrastinating, and cut back on wasting time, then we will have more minutes in a day that add up to more days in a year to get the things done! 

For instance, if I read less this week, cleaned less this week, worked less this week, attended to my pups less this week, cooked less this week, exercised less this week, drove less this week, beautified myself less this week, and slept less this week, I could have blogged about the holiday to all of you!

LEARNING TO TRUST

"This life is an experience in profound trust--trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5-7). To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.

"To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality. Yet at times we act as if we knew it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you.

That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. While you are passing through each phase, the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love." 

- Richard G. Scott

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS!

Do you ever feel like this?

I have felt this way a lot lately. It is almost as if I am in the movie Groundhog's Day and every day is 

M-O-N-D-A-Y!

I am one of those who suffer with S.A.D.S. and with the weather and all being out of whack this spring, it sure has taken its toll on me. It has sucked me up in a whirlwind frenzy of emotions, drenched me with mounds of water from constant floods of tears, tossed and mangled my body with fear, nervousness, anxiety and then spit me back out again to this ever so unpredictable and unreliable world.

I hope for brighter days ahead and more positive situations.

My day yesterday went a little something like this:

woke up twice in the middle of the night for puppy pee time with Telly,

hit the snooze button several times in the morning to try and catch the last few minutes possible of sleep that I didn't get during the night,

got Tahoe, Telly and our doggy-sat dog Callie outside and fed them breakfast,

got myself dressed and ready for work at half awake capacity, 

drank breakfast on the go,  

drove frantically on the freeway to work to ensure I wasn't late, again, while listening to "Radio from Hell" on x96,

fanned myself off with a work file-folder because my 'hot flashes' last more than just a flash,

remembered that I forgot to put out our frozen steaks to thaw for dinner,

yawned a few times and google searched "why my left eye won't stop twitching",

did computer stuff that somehow reflects my job description but I had no clue what it was that I was doing while using the function of only one eye,

fanned myself again and used an entire box of tissues to wipe away all the sweat dripping down my face,

got home and checked in on all my pups giving them lots of hugs and kisses, 

became overwhelmed for the fifty-hundredth time and cried uncontrollably again, 

forced myself and Tahoe on a jog down Wasatch trying to count the many blessings in my life that I have been given,

headed to the grocery store to buy new steaks,

started the never-ending loads of laundry that seem to be stalking me around the house in heaping piles,

yawned some more and wished for a D.P. to rid my migraines, 

started building the A.R.K. for primary that is a gazillion feet long out of teacher butcher paper using only 30% of my potential function due to lack of sleep, 

texted Sweets to find out what time, or how long, he would be home for,

grilled up the seasoned steaks and paired them with a steamed spinach, grape and almond salad, 

cleaned up after dinner and loaded the 2nd dishwasher because I never unloaded the 1st dishwasher from the day before,

fed my pups dinner and snuggled with them until they could no longer stand me,

attempted to sit for a nano-second without having to feel guilty and catch my breath while the laundry room kept beeping at me to change loads, 

changed the loads of laundry and folded all the clothes, 

yawned again, 

stuck my head in the freezer and realized I was still sweating so went for the whole body in the freezer thing, 

shed one or two more tears before Sweets invited me to Home Depot with him to buy a drill,  

cleaned up the last bit of dishes and wiped down the kitchen while putting the laundry back into its respective place, 

binged ate a handful of BBQ chips, 

showered and got ready for bed,

let out a big and much deserved sigh,

watched True Grit with my Sweets, Tahoe, Telly and Callie, 

fell asleep feeling completely worn out!

I am usually not one for such a Debbie Downer post, but I got to be honest with all of you! This is what goes on inside of me every day and each day it continues I feel worse and worse. Sorry Sweets for not confiding in you earlier, but thank you for being my constant rock! 

I love you!

AND THERE'S YOUR SIGN...

Sweets and I are the proud new parents of TELLY! Yes, we got another dog!!!! A blonde Golden Retriever to be brothas (from anotha motha) with our Tahoe. We seriously could not be any more excited! OK- story time...but first enjoy these pics:

Ever since we were married I wanted to get another puppy so Tahoe could have a friend to play with. Sweets would remind me that our home was too small for 2 big dogs and said he would think about it when we moved. Well, we moved in November and I didn't let it go. I begged and pleaded for a new puppy for Christmas - I didn't get one, then I begged and pleaded for Valentines Day - I didn't get one either, then for President's Day, St. Patty's Day, my birthday, Easter, Mother's Day, for his birthday, Memorial Day - and still I didn't get one! But, late Friday night as we were laying in bed I found this really cute liter online and asked Sweets if we could just "look" at them (tehe). He agreed and we headed up to Kamas Saturday night after his work. The true intent was just to look. As soon as we arrived to the house, this little guy came barreling out of the house and straight into Sweets lap. (a sign indeed). All the other puppies just sniffed us and walked away. After Sweets played with him a bit I took over and he just gravitated to me too. (another sign). We mutually decided that we were interested in this little guy but we needed our secret weapon to seal the deal. We got Tahoe out of the car and let him meet the puppies. Once Tahoe stepped into the yard this little guy, again, came awkwardly pouncing over to Tahoe. (sign). He never left his side as Tahoe walked around the yard sniffing. (yet one more sign). The other puppies didn't pay any attention to Tahoe but this guy couldn't get enough of him! (a heck yes sign). Sweets and I both turned to each other, smiled and laughed. We hugged and in a whisper he said "go get the check book". I kissed my Sweets and ran to the car. We had been looking for puppies for awhile but nothing ever felt right until we met Telly. It was plain and simple that he had to be apart of our family! I grabbed the check book and headed into the house to finalize our newest addition to our family and the rest is history in the making...

Tahoe and Telly just love each other. They have so much fun playing, when it's convienent for Tahoe, and sleeping/cuddling together. Telly still follows Tahoe all around the house and yard and just can't get enough of him. We are so happy to be growing our little family...but our next addition we hope is a wee little human baby! 

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! 

TIMING IS EVERYTHING...

AND THEN SOME! 

TIming is good, bad, slow, fast, long, short, tearful, happy, sad, joyful, frustrating, exciting, nerve-racking, thrilling, stressful, stress-free, patient and stupid!

This is where I am right now!

I am trying to have faith in His Timing but it is beginning to take a toll on me. This is something that I have been struggling with for quite sometime now. Although I have learned this rule of thumb since I was little and am reminded of it every Sunday at Church, I somehow think that there should be an exception to His Timing, and that I could be that exception. Sadly, as time goes on, I realize that I am not!

So, after many days, weeks and months I am left here in the same place as I was before all this started... 

broken, tired, emotional and stressed!

WHY?

I have no idea, but I sure hope that I find out soon. In the meantime, I will continue on practicing my faith that He knows what truly is best for me and that He will take care of my needs at His right Timing!

THE SPECIAL DAY

tulip festival  

I am totally lame, I know, but I didn't take any pics of this year's Mother's Day! However, pictures or no pictures, it did not detract from the special day that we got to share with our wonderful mother's. 

First, my Mother decided to celebrate Mother's Day on Saturday, so we headed over to my bro Christians' house and we BBQ'd it up big time with steaks, bratwursts, cheeseburgers and salmon! Plus we had the additives of yumminess such as salads, veggies, fruit, chips and dip and you mustn't forget the amazing strawberry shortcake al a mode for dessert. So, while the adults ooh and ahhed over the cute little baby girl addition from my bro Andrew (and I mean the parentals), the children (rest of us) played dynamite on the basketball court, dodgeball and street hockey. It was so fun! 

Secondly, we spent Mother's Day evening at the I.L.'s celebrating Mother's Day with the fam. It was great to see some of the extended family there from 'that place down south' and the Gma/Gpa duo! We celebrated with scrumptious desserts consisting of ice cream, strawberries, brownies and cookies while playing Settlers of Catan! Unfortunately, yours truly didn't win, but I am glad that my SIL took the victory over the boys. 

We are so blessed to have such amazing Mother's and women in our lives. Each one of them (Aunts, Sisters, Grandmothers etc.) have touched our lives in so many special ways. We appreciate the love, sacrifice, selflessness and patience that our Mother's have expressed to us and feel very fortunate to call them Mother's! They exemplify the best relationship of friendship and we certainly are the luckiest kids. 

VITAMIN D

Sweets and I spent the last few days with some of my family soaking up the UV Rays in Laguna California. And boy was it DELIGHTFUL! 

Laguna California 

The weather was absolutely perfect! The highs were in the mid 80's with clear sunny skies.

walk path at the Montage

We sat out in the sun and read our books all day. We were so totally lazy but that's what make it a vacation, right? I don't feel guilty, I got tons of reading done and we even found the time to burn! YIKES!

reading our books

We had some great laughs together from exercising, reading, cheering about Osama, eating wonderful meals, movies, shopping, Trader Joes etc. and it couldn't have been better. 

christian and marie

the parentals

We spent one morning at Rogers Garden and I was seriously in heaven! It was beautiful and everything smelled so good. I might have done a little damage to the CC but I am not sure. I can't remember...

decor inside one of the buildings

a tiny section of flowers among the whole massive gardens 

this place was incredible

We visited the temple and it was gorgeous. I love how it blends right in with the area and is a pink(ish) color. My dad explained to me that pretty much 99% of all the temples have a water fountain on the grounds and told me to look for this one. After a few moments of searching I told him I couldn't see it said he was bluffing. Then he pulled out his spirit-doctrine speech that always leaves me in awe and said it was the Living Christ, and that it represents the spirit of Christ flowing out of the temple to all the people in the land. His version took a good 30 minutes but you get the point. I never knew that but I am glad he told me...

newport temple with the fountain

I can't wait for the next time that we are able to go back to Laguna. It was the most perfect trip and I can't thank my parents enough for such a fun time! It truly was paradise! 

bird of paradise

HAPPY THURSDAY!

SO WHAT?!?

I unfortunately am the Queen of saying "So What". I say it often and I say it with conviction! I don't mean to be rude, or shady or act as if I don't care. I do care. I do care about the "So What's" in my life. But I only care enough to understand that in time, things will all work out the way that they are supposed to. I understand that people are concerned for me and want the best for me. However, I don't need constant reminders of everything I should be or should not be doing. It'll all come together in due time!

So What if I like to watch Keeping up the Kardashians? So What if I am still in school? So What if I treat Tahoe like a real child? So What if I don't have any human children? So What if I have strong negative feelings toward the FB? So What if I work part-time? So What if I enjoy Dr. Pepper? So What if I have gained a few lbs. over the past year? So What if I can't remember the sixty-some odd kids in my Primary? So What if my closet always seems to have a heaping pile of clothes on the floor? So What if I am late to work because I want to snuggle with Sweets and T in the morning?  


So to all the questions that I get constantly about who I am and what I am doing, I say "SO WHAT"!

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...

DUALLY NOTED

Sweets spent Friday and Saturday in Castle Dale (outside Moab near Price) playing cowboy with a group of his friends. It is an annual trip that they take to the Johanson Ranch to herd cows, ride horses, brand cattle etc. They all had a great time and no one was hurt this year! WHEW! Once they were finished, I met up with him and we took our own little vacation.

Sweets and I spent the later part of Saturday through Monday in Moab! What an incredible place. The weather was perfectly warm and we loved being out on the trials jeeping! Some of you may not find excitement in sitting in a beefy jeep bouncing all around (sometimes violently) crawling at 2 mph for hours at a time, but we sure do! There is something to be said about putting all your faith into the tools available and completing an obstacle in the middle of nowhere surrounded by beautiful red rock! 

Hells Revenge

Hells revenge

Fins n things

We are so lucky to live in Utah. We are home to some of the most beautiful places on earth and we don't ever take that for granted. As we sat on Sunday afternoon eating our picnic lunch in the middle of slick rock, we contemplated our blessing and felt so much gratitude for the things that we are able to experience in this life together. The scenery around Moab is gorgeous and we enjoy every opportunity that we have to go down there and be succumbed by it.


We had an awesome time and we can't wait for the next trip. 

TWENTY - SEVEN

I turned the whopping 2-7 yesterday!

cute banner given to me from my chick-SIL bryn. 

Although my day consisted of the usual items of my everyday living, I still had a wonderful day!

I arrived to work to find my desk completely covered in "happy birthday" banners, sticky notes and balloons. I also was given a 3-layer pineapple rum cake and mint brownies from Leslie's Pastry's. I seriously have the best office!

the delish cake

A few family members took me to lunch after work at The Happy Sumo and it was divine! I am so in love with their Brooklyn Roll...YUM!

I spent the evening at Momentum, rock climbing with Splore. I enjoy working with the kids and learning from them and couldn't imagine doing anything else on my special day than this. It is truly such a great gift to me just to be with them for a few hours a week. 

When I arrived home, later than expected, I was greeted by my two favs, Sweets and dork-face. I quickly got dressed and cleaned up and headed to Silver fork for a late dinner. It was freezing cold up in the mountains but it was so peaceful. I appreciate that my sweets knows exactly what makes me the happiest woman in the world! After dinner, dork-face helped me open my gifts and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them! 

Thanks sweets for making my day the best and all about me. I am in complete love with you! 

Thanks family for all the calls, texts, gifts and birthday wishes! 

Thanks friends for the many "happy birthday" 's!   

Love you all!