Established 1996

Established 1996

Thursday, September 10, 2009

New School Year...



JD, Camryn and Christian all started school this week. Crazy. I'm always sad to see my babies leave once the summer ends. Camryn was oh so very excited to begin kindergarten. She wanted to ride the bus to her 2nd day of class. We all waited patiently for the bus to arrive. She could hardly stand still long enough for me to take this picture! This was the only time she got to ride the bus to school. The bus was way too unpredictable so I just take her to her afternoon class everyday. She walks home with JD and the neighborhood gang every day. It's kind of a long walk for a little chiquita banana like her. I've requested an additional bus stop be added. We'll see. Her teachers are Ms. May and Ms. Marley. Her best friends in class are: Kimberly, Elise and Sheradan.



Christian started preschool with his best buddy, Charlie. He attends Ms. Kathy's home-based preschool. He seems to be enjoying it, but he likes to think that he gets to stay home and play video games instead. Keep wishing buddy!




Sadly, I don't have any pics of JD's first day of school. How did that happen? His teacher is Ms. Nystrom and his buddy in class is Andrew. He is turning out to be a great reader (thanks to Percy Jackson books!). I help out with math in his class about once-a-week. It's fun for me to connect back to my teaching roots.


It's always difficult to start school in a new city. Luckily my kids had already made some friends prior to school starting. They're all very nice kids, so Mom couldn't be happier!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Summer of Weddings...


A few months ago, Joel's sister announced her engagement and shortly thereafter Joel's brother announced his. The weddings ended up being 2 weeks apart! What? Crazy, but that's how Joel's family rolls. I'm just so grateful that we FINALLY live so close because all of the travel would've been very costly. Anyway, I'm not sure how Joel's mom survived, but somehow these two weddings came together. The great thing is now our great big family has swelled by even more. Saweet.

First came Joel's brother's wedding. It was a simple and beautiful wedding - just perfect for them. Camryn was so happy because she kept getting all of these flower girl dresses to wear!




Spence with Great-Grandma and Grandpa Gardner


And Spence with his Great-Gammy...


Spence and Camryn with Lisa, mother of the bride...


Now just a short 2 weeks later came Joel's sister's wedding. This too was a beautiful wedding and reception - just perfect for them. And again, Camryn was in heaven with all her new dress.


Me and my man. Yo Caitie, we did this whole thing 13 years ago!

Mom and the kiddos...



...and Spence with his Uncle 'Thaniel...

JD with his cousin, Joseph

Camryn and her cousin, Sara - up to no good in the Joseph Smith Memorial Foyer...

Here are all of the Gardner men...

Here are all the Gardner women (in-laws)...

Lisa (below) formed quite a bond with my little Spence. He loved her and she adored him. I think she loved the fact that she didn't have to speak any English while around him. She babysat him in one of the visitor centers at Temple Square while Caitie and Jeff tied the knot. During the whole ceremony I kept thinking, "What am I doing leaving my baby with a non-English speaker that I hardly know?? Crazy. As soon as the ceremony was over, I practically sprinted to retrieve my baby. We couldn't find Lisa at first so I started freaking out a bit. The sister missionaries didn't know where she was either! Luckily, Joel found her in a side room watching a movie. Phew! I'm such a freak.




I feel so lucky to be part of this big Gardner Fam. It's already huge, and it's just getting started! Grow baby, grow!