Gardner Family Fever: 2010

Watch Out!

Reunions can create contagious hysteria!

Reunions strike fear into the heart of many... Small talk, old people, granny kisses, sore cheeks from all the "you're so cute" pinching. Sadly, these two "freaks" did not stand a chance. They went crazy and so could you. Watch out for...

Mind numbing delicious food that we did not have to make.

Horrendous bouts of laughing.

Retina burning beautiful surroundings.

Lung clogging fresh air.

Bone crushing hugs from loving family members that couldn't wait to see us!

I guarantee you could never survive it. Let this be a lesson to you...reunions can be contagious. Someone is bound to say that they will, "See you next year!" Ahhhhhh!! Please think twice, make sure you can handle the pressure, and whatever you do...please remember...your color coded shirt for reunion family fun night!

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Flirting

During our fabulous Gardner reunion, we stayed at a nice resort that offered a hot tub, pool, kiddy pool, and splash pad. Many of us enjoyed a bit of a swim. My sweet and charming nephew, Bryant, is full of energy and loves the water. And...as everyone knows...splashing in the kiddy pool totally attracts the ladies! Bryant found a beautiful little friend to splash with today. They look to be the same age. They kicked and kicked and had a blast. In the top pic, he was quizzing her color knowledge.

Bryant: Do you know what color this is?

Girl: yes...yellow.

Bryant: Do you know what color this is?

Girl: yes...I know all the colors!

She wanted to be clear that she was a color expert! He giggled, she giggled and they splish splashed again.

Oh young love...or at least a fleeting romance. Love is love!

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I am 8!

WooHoo! Eight is Great!

JD is finally eight! He's simply ecstatic!

JD says, "Eight is the best birthday cause you get baptized and start cub scouts. Both things I like!"

"That's right!" I said. "And you get to help me more around the house!"

JD says, "Now that's something I don't like!"

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Top L- JD, Ashton, Brennon, Clark. Top R- Clark, Ashton, JD.

Bottom R- JD and his bird chest. Bottom R- JD and Ashton.

JD had a few boys over for hot dogs and water games. The small pool and slip-n-slide was a big hit. I think I heard, "cannon ball!"...splash, about a million times. The boys had a whip cream eating contest. I hid three nilla wafer cookies on each plate, then put a huge mound of whip cream on the plate. They had to find and eat the three cookies without using their hands. It was hilarious to watch. JD's friend Ashton won by a land slide. After swimming, eating and presents, we made custom milk shakes. And finally, as you can imagine, I passed out and all the boys found their way home. It was a fun afternoon. Eight really is great!

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This is the Place!

This is the place! Definitely! Yesterday my mom, JD, and I went to This is the Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City, UT. The Gardner side of the family (descendent's of Joel Hills Johnson) were invited to the Johnson Family Reunion. Now, we are talking about a lot of people! Unlike most reunions, we knew very few people at this reunion. All the people there were distant relatives. But, we decided to go for the experience. Glad we did, because it was soo much fun! There was tons of things for kids to do and see! It was a beautiful little village. Inside each building you experienced a different aspect of how the pioneers lived. The picture above is the This is the Place Monument with a view of the Salt Lake valley behind it.

Here's some of the things JD loved the most...

JD made friends with a scarecrow, rode a bull, drove a pirate ship, and panned for gold. JD was really drawn to the scarecrow and wanted to hug it and take a picture with it. He even had a bit of a conversation with it...a little weird if you ask me! lol. He played on a really big pirate ship. There was living quarters below deck where he lounged on the triple bunk bed. JD panned for gold. It took a while but he finally found one good sized piece. Then we took it to the bank in the This is the Place village and he used the gold to buy a piece of candy. And best of all he rode a mechanical bull...twice! That was his favorite part!

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What a Relay!

The plan: Fri, June11@4:00-Sat, Jun12@12:00.

The reality: Fighting against cancer...good. Hanging out with friends...good. Staying out all night and raising the roof...good. Rain, rain, and more rain...not good!! When we began to set up for the relay it had already rained a couple hours. As we were finishing erecting the shade awning it began to rain again. Good timing! It rained for a while and then stopped....rained then stopped...then rained for a looonnnggg time! To add to our discomfort it was windy and cold. Now, I had just recovered from bronchitis and pneumonia just a few days before. I felt good, though! No coughing, no tightness or chest pain. I felt good for several days. Little did I know the cold air would set me back. I began to cough and not feel well. Long story short, I had to go home and was not able to stay over night. Then when I woke up and dressed to go back in the morning, I found out that my sister had gone to the ER because she hurt her knee! So, to the ER I went to check on my little sister. She was okay so I headed to the relay. We finished walking and packed things up. It was still cold and windy, but thank goodness no rain! The very good part of this story is...our Utah county relay raised over $26,000 for the American Cancer Society! And we are still raising funds for another month and a half. Cross your fingers for $30,000!

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Just Us!

Road Trip!

On our way to Canyon Glen!

Peek-a-boo! JD was in and out of the trees and brushes like he was born in the woods! I couldn't catch him very often. But, he was willing to stop and smell the branches once in a while with only slight nudging and threatening!

JD and Dad.

JD and mom.

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Canyon Glen Park, Provo UT

This morning we went to Canyon Glen Park. It was beautiful! Doug had the day off of work and suggested we get some fresh mountain air. Canyon Glen is about 10 minutes from our house. Right now weather in UT is so nice. A little warm in the late afternoon, but mostly perfect. I took lots of pictures. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

The river is really running right now. It's high and it's fast. It makes the most amazing sound. I love the sound of a rushing stream. JD threw some big leaves in the river and watched them drift away...fast!

I took a few snaps of UT fauna. I literally caught these wonderful flowers in the act...It was a bit breezy and these delicate flowers were bending and drifting in the wind. I caught them just as they were resting before the next breeze.

Lately my dad has been painting. These flowers should make excellent works of art.

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The mysterious blinking bug bite!

If you are queezy read no further! JD woke up this morning with a bug bite. Seems harmless enough. It is swollen right on his knuckle so it makes his finger stiff. He is complaining like kids do. Before I even look at it I know I am going to kiss it and throw a band-aid on it. But, I do my motherly duty and study it like I am a trained surgeon. Much to my surprise!!...The bug bite is blinking!! O-M-Gosh! I have seen a lot of freaky stuff in my day, but I have never seen a bug bite blink! If you stare at the pic, I'm sure you can see it blinking too! It's not just me, right? So, I close/open my eyes and look again for confirmation. Yep, still blinking. What could it be you're thinking? A rare radioactive mutant mosquito is my guess! I know you were thinking that too! No, a lass, it is not...just a harmless little...boring...little bug bite. I was seeing the pulsing of his blood under the bite, no doubt trying to heal his finger. So, I guess his body is working correctly and not at all radioactive. False alarm folks! But you have to admit that was pretty freaky! Have you ever seen a blinking bug bite?!

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Birthdays are the best!

Jeremy's birthday wishes...BBQ chicken, potato salad, veggies, and ice cream cake. Great choice! Dinner was fantastic and super yummy! The ice cream cake was perfect for summer. Kids had fun playing outside and giving each other "staged" hugs. Hey! If that's the only way I can get them to hug, I'll take it! Happy birthday, Jeremy! We are glad to have you as part of our family.

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JD and Mom

JD and Doug are two peas in a pod. But today JD and I got to spend some time together. We laughed and laughed at all the horrible pics that we took. But there were a few gems for us to share.

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Sprinkler Time!

A warm towel after a run in the sprinkler is the best!! This is the year's first towel wrap. School is fun but we are sure glad summer is finally here! Check out JD's sprinkle

r fun.

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Summer Blogging

Summer 2010 and I finally think it is time to start a blog. I have lost nights and nights of sleep thinking about blogging. In my dreams I have this fantastic blog that 182,457 people follow and some big executive calls me and asks me to make my incredible blog a hot new t.v. show. I would be as big as Glee! I love Glee! I am a certified gleek...but back to my hot new blog...I would be a household name and everyone would want to be me! But, I fear that this will be your typical family blog that will be followed by grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and friends and neighbors. So, welcome family, friends, and neighbors! XOXO!!

For some reason JD was worried that he was not going to pass the 2nd grade. I don't know why. There was no indication that he would not pass, but he was worried. So, on the last day of school I met him walking home from school and he ran toward me and jumped up into my arms (just like in the movies)! He said, "I did it!! I did it!! I'm going to third grade!!" It was soo cute. I cried a little. Cause I always cry when finishes school...and when he starts school. *grin* I cry all the time - mostly tears of joy! So since the last day of school, JD has had fun sleeping in and playing with his friends.

Yesterday JD's friend said he was running away from home. The boys came to me and asked if he could move here with us and be JD's brother. I didn't know what to say, so I told him that if he went home and asked his mom if he could run away and she said yes, then he could come to our house. Well, his mom must have been really fed up with him cause she said yes!! Okay...I was not expecting that. So, over the fence and on my back porch shows up 1 sleeping bag, 3 pillows, 1 binder of baseball cards, 12 webkins, a wallet, and a box of pixels. So, then I really did not know what to do! We finally decided that it was not a good choice to runaway when we are mad at our family. So all the stuff went back to his house and he stayed for just a movie. I'm sure it was a good cooling off time for him and his mom!

Well, gotta go...the summer is calling and I think I hear the ice cream truck driving by.

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