Maia's Birthday

Siblings

 Maia's big gift was a brand new bike!

 Then came the Surprise from Grandma Jeannie and Grandpa Steve...

Meet Smash Hulk

Gardiner Family Pics 2014

Remembering Hayden

I'm not really sure what I want to say with this post.  I'm grateful for the memories that I have of my brother and am happy his memory lives on. You will never be forgotten Hayden. I love you and miss you each and every day. Thanks for being an amazing brother.

9 Years

 Jon Bernthal: Shane.  Need I say more?   Walking Dead

Brando Eaton: Jonah Mitchell, Trinity Killers son on Dexter

 

Usually for our anniversary we try to do a get away even if it is short. This year Comic Con was going on so I agreed that as long as we were celebrating our anniversary too, we could stay locally in SlC and go to Comic Con for awhile. I wasn't so sure what to expect but I've got to say for not being into all that stuff I did have a good time and I think I'd go again, only for a day though I really don't know how people do it for three days. I am a fan of The Walking Dead, Dexter, and Castle. Being able to meet Jon, Brando, and Nathan was a great experience for me. I like Star Trek and Star Wars too, but i'm not a die hard fan having to go to things like this. Paul went for a couple of days and was able meet voices of characters, attend panels, and whatever else was going on. I never envisioned spending an anniversary attending Comic Con but it was fun and I'm glad we were able to do something different and we both ended up enjoying it, I was honestly doing it for Paul and letting him choose what we did this year. We also found other things to do downtown but this was our big thing this year. I really liked how these people were so down to earth. Some of them did have big egos but not as many as I thought. We were able to just sit and have real conversations with them and I was so gaga over Jon. 

April and May

Happy Birthday Kaden!

Happy Birthday Kamber! & Congrats Stephen!! 

Sunday Volleyball

April and May flew by for us. We did have a few celebrations and other activities that I'll post about in later posts. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year now that the weather has started to get warmer.  So I am the oldest of 11 kids with a combined family. I hate saying step and half and whatever terms there are to go a long with it because in all honesty they ARE my brothers and sisters.  anyways this bottom picture is of me with three blood siblings, my niece and nephew, and of course my husband Paul. We took this picture for my dad and Robin for their first year of marriage. It really doesn't have to do with anything but these are kind of rare moments we have that we send to my dad. The funny thing is they kind of planned just to take a snap shot when we got together for dinner so Paul and I really didn't know about it and come to find out for the most part we were color coordinated. I have to say that I'm blessed to have these people in my life and am thankful for them. I love coming from an even bigger family. Family is the most important thing to me.

Conference Weekend

Our church has General Conference twice a year. Like most families, We have a family tradition of getting together for the second session on Sundays and having family dinner and time together. This last April my Aunt, Uncle, and cousin were in town and stopped by too. I thought this would be a great time to have a pictures. Believe it or not, we were missing half of the family. I love coming from a big family. 

Pauls Birthday

Happy Birthday Paul!!

This year Paul's celebration included: 

Bowling

Dead Sea Scrolls

Clark Planetarium and other Down Town activities

Dinner at Ruby River on day 1 and Dinner at Cantina on day 2. 

( when birthdays fall on the weekend, we make a weekend special out of it. )

Any random activity we can come up with that we havn't done in a while. 

 

I'm very lucky to be able to call this man my best friend, my husband. He is such an amazing guy and example to have in my life. I'm lucky to have found him and fall in love with him. He makes me want to be a better person. I can't imagine my life without him. I love you Paul. 

January and February 2014

 2014 started out well for us. I am lucky to have been able to find a new job. I have to say that when it comes to finding new jobs I have been pretty lucky. I have now been there for a little over four months and really feel comfortable and like I belong. I know this is where i'm supposed to be at this point in my life and and grateful for the way things have turned out, even if it wasn't in my time. One of the activities Paul and I enjoy is bowling. For one of our date nights to start out the new year we decided to go. The picture above is what we do when we are bored and waiting for our lane. We like to laugh and have fun and just goof around. That is one of my favorite things about my husband. He can always make me laugh and pull me out of my shell. Like most of my posts this is random because right now, that is our life.

 In February Grandma Elms came out for a visit. My baby brother was in his last middle school musical and grandma made a special trip just for that. It was a quick trip but it was fun to visit. We got together for a Sunday brunch with most of the family here. I love when she comes.

This is my baby brother Hunter. I can't believe he is already 15. Time flies. I can't remember his role in Aida but it was the father to the Prince or whoever the main character is. He had a solo and did awesome. Hunter was made to Perform!

2013

So I had these big plans this year to update my blog and keep it current. Obviously I'm failing on that idea, but I'll do what I can as this blog is what keeps you informed on whats going on in our lives. My other idea last year, was to do a different type of year in review with pictures. Seeing as it is half way through the year, I decided not to go with my original idea but still thought it would be fun to post some pics from each month last year. I hope 2014 is going good for everyone and I love being able to stay updated with you and your beautiful families.