Surprise Visit

A couple of days before the 24th we got an email from my cousin Josh saying that he and his wife Meghan were driving back to Iowa and wanted to come see us. This was a fun surprise. It had been a few years since i've seen him. Josh got married on the 17th and I was bummed to miss his wedding. Josh and Meghan made a quick visit over the weekend. It was fun to see them. These are just some quick pics of their visit.

We spent the day hanging out at my moms. We had a nice BBQ over there. We took the dogs for a walk and went to the park. It was fun to meet Meghan and to just catch up. I love how they decorated their trailer.

Even though the visit was short it was fun to see them. We hope to see you guys soon.

JULY 24th

For the 24th of July weekend we had a family BBQ at our house with the Gardiner side. We also celebrated Grandma Gardiner's 85th Birthday. It was extra fun to have Duane and Trudy here from Texas. IT was a great day! Very hot too!

These pictures are from the BBQ and birthday party of just everybody hanging out and visiting. We don't have pics of the food but it was all very yummy! Uncle Duane did handled the BBQ.

We had a guest a few days before and the air matress was still up. The kids loved it. My favorite pic is of Aunt Sarah, Aunt Rachael, and Uncle Paul with Presley. Pres loved bouncing on it.

I bought the each of the older nieces and nephews their own seal for when they come over and go swimming. I gave Payton and MaClain theres at the BBQ. I think they had more fun with them in the yard than in the pool. They raced them and just hung out. It was cute.

New Toy

New Summer Toy

The next couple of posts are going to be fun things that have happened this summer. They may be out of order, but thats ok. I'm still trying to get all my pictures uploaded. Mary and Ryan decided to buy a pool this summer. This is where i've spent a lot of my weekends. We have already enjoyed family bbq's and swimming parties. I don't have many pics. but these are just a couple. The first one is of me with Halle and Jack. I love spending time with them. Jack is finally starting to like the water. At least now he will be ready for Cali. The other one is of Me with my brothers and friend Nowers. We were all kind of just messing around. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and staying cool... we sure are!

This Century

This Century

Last Wednesday, July 14th I was lucky enough to enjoy a concert with my family. I am now in love with the group This Century. My brother was able to set up an acoustic set by them at my moms house. This Century is a light punk music group. Right now they are traveling with the Maine. I'm really into country, so I'm not sure who all the groups are that my brothers are into, but this group is AMAZING. They do home shows on their off days. This was a fun opportunity for us. I love their music. I wish I could post a few recordings but I can't figure out how. If you want to listen to them you can find them on facebook and myspace. These are some of the pics I took. They are really nice guys. They came and hung out at my moms and had a bbq with us and then did a set for us. After that they hung out and signed autographs and also took pics with all of us. It was such a fun night. Thanks mom for letting CJ have the show there.

Joel Kanitz-Vocals

Sean Silverman-Guitar (I really hope I got the brothers right)

Alex Silverman - Bass

Hunter and Jack chilin to the music

The Performance

Me with the group. Ryan Gose is also a member of the group. He's the drummer so he didn't perform. They are all great guys!

CJ and the band

They really liked Halle and Jack. This pic is too cute to pass up. Too bad Jack wasn't looking.

This is a group picture of most everyone who came. It was such a fun night! Yay for new music!

Family, Love, and Laughter

This last week Heaven took one of the very Best back home. This post is in rememberance of my loving Aunt Gayle.

I feel very blessed to have married into such a wonderful family. I'm also thankful for the opportunity I had to know Aunt Gayle, my mother-in-law's sister. Gayle is has one of the MOST positive attitudes. She was always looking on the bright side and always made the worst situation into something good. No matter what trials she was going through she was always positive. She will truly be missed. I'm glad Paul and I had the opportunity to say our goodbye, its a good memory even if it is Bittersweet.

Aunt Gayle's death did bring more family together. I was finally able to meet the Aunt Norma, the Arizona sister. It was fun to get to see cousins and family that we havn't seen for awhile. It's too bad it was under these circumstances. We did take advantage of having family in town and did a girls lunch. It was fun. It was for my mother-in-law sisters and their girls. There were about 20 of us for something put together last minute and it was fun getting to know the cousins better. We went to Archibalds in Gardner Village. It was yummy, Good Food, Company, LOVE, and Laughter is the best recipe for happiness. These are a few pics of the lunch.

Sisterly Love

Lynette, Aunt Norma, and Aunt Carol

Robbie, Jeanna, and Michelle

Me and Cindy

Stacy and Sarah

Becky and Maco

Lorena and Ileah

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!



I probably say this every year, but this year was one of the best 4th of July holidays ever! Since it happened to fall over the weekend we had a 3 day celebration. On Saturday we were able to go to Stadium of Fire with some of our friends. Carrie Underwood was amazing! I'm so glad Danny was able to get tickets for us. When I thought about going it was already sold out. Not only did Carrie Underwood perform, but there was also a few other groups. It seems like the others were kind of rushed so Carrie can do an actual concert, but honestly i'm glad, because I was there to see Carrie Underwood since she's not scheduled here on her tour. The 5 Browns performed a song. They are a local family who are amazing pianists. They did a good job. We also heard a song from Jenny Baker, she plays the violin. The Osmond 2nd Generation did one song but it was a medley. The medley was pretty much dedicated to the scouts who just earned their eagles. There was a fly by from the airforce. I'm still trying to decide which was better, Carrie or the Fireworks. Stadium of Fire is known for the firework show! It was amazing!

Sunday the 4th we had a dinner with my mom and family. We had a bonfire that night and made yummy s'mores. We also did a few fireworks. It was funny, my 8th month old nephew loved the fireworks and my 3 1/2 year old niece was scared. I think the noise scared her most. It was fun doing them with my brothers and sister.

I really wish I had pictures of that night. Oh well.

Monday my sister-in-law, Mary and her hubby Ryan hosted a family bbq at the house. We went swimming and had a yummy dinner. I was still fried from Friday so I didn't really get in the pool this time, but it was still fun. Great food, family, and fireworks. I love holidays! Hope everyone has a good July!