Oh Happy Day! a birthday story.

What a HAPPY DAY!! The Gardner castle was a bustle of activity and birthday cheer. The day began with birthday anthems ringing through the house. It continued with a painting party where the little Michaelangeloes created these masterpieces (after which they took brightly colored baths).

After the royal naps the children were taken to magical McDonald's land where they played in the enchanted forest and ate a delectable feast of chicken nuggets, apple slices, and chocolate milk.

After that it was off to the kingdom's royal library where the prince and princess chose some wonderful stories and "divios" (videos) to take back to the castle. That evening Prince Ben had his very first spaghetti dinner which he THOROUGHLY ENJOYED if you can picture that...and he topped it off with a grand birthday cupcake - the pictures say it all.

After a wonderful day of birthday festivities the sweet Prince Ben was carried - totally exhausted - to his royal crib and left to dream sweet dreams of the joys he will have and the things he will learn in the coming year. Happy Birthday SWEET BOY!

Happy Birthday Benja-Ben!!

My baby is a BIG BOY!! I can't believe how fast time flies. It seems like yesterday I was holding him in the hospital...actually - no it doesn't. I had a c-section with Ben and it took FOREVER to recover from the surgery - so NO it doesn't feel like yesterday.

And it doesn't feel like he just came to our family either. I don't remember life without Ben. It feels like he has always been here. Maybe because it's more of a "reuniting" than a "meeting for the first time" when a new baby comes to the family.

So forgive me for being nostalgic. Here's Benny's first year in a nutshell.

This is the before and after on Ben's birthday. I'm smiling in the first picture because I didn't know at that time that I was going to have a c-section. But lil' Ben (bless his stinkin' heart) put his hand on top of his head and wouldn't move it. The Doctor was worried if I delivered him that way he would break his arm or shoulder. So a c-section it was. As you can see in the after picture my face is as puffy as Ben's. The drugs they use in surgery do nasty things.

This is Rachel's first look at her new brother. I am convinced these two were best friends before they even came to our family. She knew who he was the moment she laid eyes on him. It was like "Hooray! I've been waiting so long for you to get here so I can have someone to play with!" One happy family!

One week old - Big yawn and best buddies


One Month - Halloween - our very own Peter Pan and Tinker Bell!

November - December - Blessing Day (December)

January - February (RSV and Flu) - March

April - May - June

July - August

I love you Benja-Ben. You are my angel boy. I am so blessed to get to be your mom. You have taught me more in one year about love and life and Heavenly Father than I could ever learn in a life time by myself. You have such a special spirit and brilliant personality - I can't wait to see what the future holds. My goal is to teach and pray and lead and love - and then to get out of the way and watch you fly. That's the hardest part. I love you forever Ben! Happy Birthday Sweet Boy! Love Mommy

A Swimming Story

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there were two little children named Princess Rachel and Prince Ben. One day they decided to go to the magic water castle (a.k.a. Vernal Rec Center). But to their dismay, when they arrived the water castle was closed because there weren't enough knights (a.k.a. lifeguards) to guard the castle.

There WERE enough knights, however to keep the BORING COLD POOL open (why they chose to open the cold pool as opposed to the kid pool Queen Mommy will never understand - especially since there were more kids swimming that day than grownups!)

So the King and Queen and their two children swam in the freezing mote and despite the disappointment they had a fun time after all.

The End.

Sugar Cookies!!

This morning Rachel came into the bedroom and said, "Mom can we make some cookies today?" I am trying to practice good parenting skills. One skill my mom taught me is to ALWAYS say YES when you can. Sometimes we get into such a habit of saying "No" to our kids that we take the wind out of their sails and snuff out their creative energy. If I say "Yes" to Rachel most of the time, then when I need to say "No" (like when she asks if she can hit Ben) she understands it's for her good and not just because Mom is on a cranky power trip. So, at 9:00 in the morning, I said "Yes" to my sweet girl and the two of us - in our pj's - made pumpkin shaped sugar cookies. (We ate breakfast first of course - I'm not that crazy).


The roll - - - the cut (Rachel called it her "pumpkin patch")


The smile - - - the taste!!

The recipe is easy, it's yummy, it makes a ton (about 4 dozen), and it doesn't need to chill in the refrigerator. Rachel loved using the cookie cutters. So say YES and give it a whirl!

Grandma's Sugar Cookies (Julia Burton)

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

6 1/2 cups flour (start with 6)

Cream sugar and shortening together. Add eggs and milk and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour, cream of tartar, salt, soda. Mix, adding flour as needed until mixture is no longer too sticky to handle. Roll out 1/4 - inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 min. or until JUST BARELY BROWN on bottom. (baking too long will make them hard). Makes about 4 dozen large cookies.

Do I have something on my face?

BYU Blowouts, BBQs, and Birthday Bashes

What more fun - or B's - could you want in a weekend?!

Paul, Grandpa, Aaron, and Julianne went to the BYU game and sang "Rise and Shout" 11 times!
(Grandma, Nate, and I stayed home and made bridal shower invites for Julianne - too much rise and shout makes me nauseous).



After the game we went to the Pleasant Grove City Festival where they showcase the talents of one cultural or ethnic group that has settled in Pleasant Grove. This year the Dutch had a turn. There was great music, great BBQ, and a great park with SWINGS!!! (Rachel's fav)

Then we came home and had cake and ice cream and presents to celebrate my baby's FIRST BIRTHDAY!! It's a couple weeks early but he doesn't know that. Blue eyed Benja-Ben is 1! I can't even stand it!

Rachel thought it was her birthday...

...and Paul thought it was HIS birthday...

...and in the end Ben didn't mind sharing his birthday with EVERYONE!!

We wrapped up the weekend with a trip to the instacare in Orem (Ben had the croup), a wonderful Sunday dinner, playing with Aunt Julie and Uncle Matt and G&G Hoyt, and a lovely drive home. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun weekend!

Homecoming in Vernal

Last weekend was homecoming week at Uinta High School here in Vernal. This is a big deal people. Since there is only ONE high school in Vernal, and since everyone in town has a kid or grand kid that goes to Uinta, the whole town gets involved. On Friday before the big game they block off Main Street and have a parade. Once Rachel heard that they throw candy at parades she was off and running - gathering her clothes and shoes and heading for the car! Unfortunately it turns out candy throwing at parades is now prohibited. Everyone in the parade had to sign a contract saying they wouldn't throw candy off the floats. I guess it has become too dangerous with little kids running out into the street to get the candy, and other kids getting pegged in the face with candy when they're not watching. Fortunately there were a few kids who would JUMP OFF THE FLOATS and run to the curbside to give out candy - which is safer? Jumping off a moving float or getting pegged in the head? Anyway Rachel got her candy, we cheered for the marching band, and a good time was had by all.








P.S. Did I mention that my husband - a DIE HARD BYU COUGAR - teaches at UINTA...home of the UINTA UTES!! And did I mention their colors are RED and WHITE? And did I mention that the Utes greatest rivals are the Union COUGARS in Roosevelt? heh heh heh

5 Second Rule

Okay, let me start out by saying I am a firm believer in the 5 second rule. I am not a germ-a-phobe if I were I wouldn't be a nurse. I figure by using the 5 second rule (for most things mind you - NOT EVERYTHING) I am just building my kids immune systems. I'm convinced that's why I survived my mission in Africa, I had a very advanced immune system my mom helped me build. ANYWAY - back to the story...

I had just hauled the kids all over Vernal...granted Vernal isn't very big but it still takes a lot out of you! We stopped at Wendy's to buy lunch because I didn't have it in me to go home and fix it and bring it back to Paul at work. We pulled up to Paul's work a bit before his last class got out so we waited patiently in the car until it was over. Finally I unbuckled Rachel from her carseat, grabbed the drink (a 32oz. lemonade) and the food (2 burgers, fries, a salad, and chicken nuggets) and stuck them ON TOP OF THE CAR while I proceded to get Ben. BAD MOVE. NEVER EVER PUT YOUR FOOD ON TOP OF THE CAR - ALWAYS PUT IT ON THE GROUND! IT CAN'T FALL FROM THERE! That is exactly what happened. As soon as I set the food up the drink started to tip over. I tried to save it and as I did so the bag with all the food fell to the ground dumping it's contents all over the cement. The drink ended up flying across the roof of the car spilling it's contents down the windows and into the car. So I did what any good mom would do...

1-I didn't swear - that was the hardest part
2-I took a deep breath
3-I scooped up the fries and put them back into the bag with the other food and took them into Paul for lunch and didn't tell him I had just picked them all up off the cement in the parking lot. 5 SECOND RULE!! (I sure hope he doesn't read this post)

So I don't want anyone telling me of "this one time..." or "I had a friend who...". Don't send me YouTube clips from Mythbusters or any other science show telling me how the 5 second rule is false. That's like telling someone how hotdogs are made while they are in the middle of eating a hotdog (one of my pet peaves). Unless you are a 5 second ruler yourself I don't want you to respond to this post.

My Therapy

All of us at one time or another struggle with depressing times, moments of anxiety and fear, and may wonder if we need therapy. I am no stranger to this. I have had my fair share...scratch that - my MOTHER and MOTHER-IN-LAW have had THEIR fair share of phone calls from me, sobbing, wondering if I will ever feel "normal" again. And my poor husband - bless his heart - quietly, compassionatly tells me how much he loves me and that things aren't as bad as I make them out to be. I am eternally grateful for my wonderful, caring, understanding family who always seem to have a shoulder to cry on and ears to listen. They validate my feelings and help me to know that I'm normal. They are my therapy.

Bless Bob Newhart too - if he was my therapist I'd punch him in the face. ENJOY!



note - I do not have depression - I just feel like I need someone to tell me to STOP IT once in a while (maybe like once a month).

The Journey to "THERE"

Sometimes it's good just to take a drive. My dad instilled that in me. Whenever he was feeling crowded and cramped and overwhelmed he would say, "We're going for a drive!" and we'd all pile in the car on a Sunday afternoon and drive and drive and drive. We'd see the fall leaves, we'd check out a cool rock, and sometimes we'd just get lost. At least my siblings and I FELT lost after driving for a couple hours on bumpy roads in the back of a van shouting "are we there yet?!" Most of the time my dad didn't know where "there" was.

For me "THERE" isn't in this life. It is Eternal life with my Father in Heaven and my family. So - no - we're not there yet. And since I won't get "there" in this life, I am learning that this life is about enjoying the journey.

We learned this to some degree yesterday. We spent labor day driving and driving and driving on dirt roads. It seemed tedious after a while and I had to remind myself a few times WHAT we were doing and WHY we were doing it. I had to remind myself that this was an "enjoy the journey trip". Once I did that I saw things like this...

and this...

and Paul caught things like this...

and when we finally got to the "THERE" on the map it was so cold that we didn't stick around for more than 10 minutes. 10 MINUTES!! YES that's RIGHT! We drove 3 hours for 10 minutes of THERE.

But I'd spend a lifetime to capture a moment like THIS.

On our way home from "There" (which by the way was Spirit Lake in the Uintas) we stopped at Red Canyon Cafe at Flaming Gorge to eat and capture one more moment.

It was a wonderful trip - we made a wonderful memory - and after all, making memories with the ones we love is how we enjoy the journey to "THERE"!