Happy Birthday Michael!

So, here on Michael's birthday, I'm going to do a post about him... even though he wont see it, because he rarely reads this... but because I love him! (I stole this idea from my very smart, very clever friend Rachel.) In honor of his birthday, 36 random things about him you may or may not have known, in no particular order:

1. He is competitive. That is putting it mildly. I don't know if I've ever met anyone more competitive than him. He even does puzzles competitively.

2. He served his mission in New York. I think that he is a New Yorker at heart.

3. Loves the smell of coffee, and would no doubt be a coffee drinker if he wasn't a member of the church.

4. He is a great water skier (although he's not on a ski in the pic).


5. He has an identical twin (so, Happy Birthday to Steve too... ). He wont appreciate the pic, but it's a favorite of mine because Sam and Jenna seem to be kindred spirits...


5. He is a hard worker. He's probably one of the hardest workers I've ever met.

6. He likes to have fun. Before he got married and became a family man... he liked to do many things like mountain bike, ski, golf, etc. He still likes to do them, it just doesn't happen as often as it did when he was single. One day he'd love to have 4 wheelers.


7. He has a great smile.

8. He is probably the most photogenic person. He always takes great pictures.

9. He loves his mom and dad a lot.

10. He is a genuinely nice guy.

11. He is a great dad. He will wake up Sam to help him shovel the snow because he knows that Sam loves to do it with him.


12. I appreciate that he doesn't watch sports. He likes the occasional BYU-Utah (go cougars!)game or the superbowl... but other than that we are sports free here and it's great.

13. Even though he doesn't watch a lot of sports... he is an active watcher and yells at the t.v. for good plays and bad plays.

14. He loves cold cereal.

15. He used to work in a snow cone shack.

16. He expects a lot of people, I think this is because he gives his best always so he expects people to do the same.

17. He does a great Kermit the frog impression, but he would probably never show you... he does it for the kids though, and they love it.

18. He loves ice cream.

19. He would do anything for me. One time when we were in New York he took a whole different subway, RAN in his work clothes, to a pretty shady place where he most likely was in physical danger to buy me a purse he thought I would like. Then ran to catch a different subway in order to meet us in time to where we were going to go.

20. He swears. Whenever this has come up, people are surprised, which surprises me... because he has since I've known him.

21. He likes Rush. (The music group, I had to clarify, because I didn't know who they were when I started dating him.)

22. He will watch the Bachelor with me and pretend he is not really interested (even though I know he is!)

23. We have read all the Harry Potter books together.

24. Sometimes he laughs until tears come to his eyes.

25. He is proud of his kids and he loves them a lot.

26. He is a perfectionist.

27. He has fallen asleep while driving. Twice.

28. He is handy. He has put in our yard, poured cement, fixed cars and finished our basement.

29. I think he likes our garage more than our house.

30. He's been skinny dipping (probably on more than one occasion-- not with me).

31. He doesn't like animals and we will probably never get a pet.

32. He was a police officer in another life.

33. He's been to Ireland, England, Germany, Switzerland, France, Australia, Austria, Lichtenstein, Mexico, Canada, Bermuda... (I think I got them all). He'd like to see more!

34. He is an Eagle Scout.

35. At one time he was a licensed Radio Ham operator (I probably spelled that wrong). Maybe he still is... do those things expire?

36. He's a really private person and probably wouldn't like all of these things out here in the open about him! But I love him, and I love all of these things about him, because they make him him! Happy Birthday Michael!

Train Show

On Friday we went to the Train Show at Thanksgiving Point. We had heard it was really fun to go to last year, and missed it. So this year we made sure to go. Sam is still really into trains so we thought it'd be fun. Sam had a great time. Kate not so much. Me, not so much. I forgot to ask Michael. It was crowded and it seemed like a majority of people there were old men playing with trains, very nervous that these kids might touch something. If I could have inconspicuously taken a picture of a couple of these old train guys, I would have! There was one place that Sam was able to play with a train, which of course was the highlight for him. But I think the only reason he was allowed to touch anything, was that guy was also selling them. One booth was giving away a safety train packet to teach kids to stay off of train tracks and the kids got a baggie full of stuff to color and a train whistle (I'm about to smash that train whistle). Kate wouldn't blow hers because she was worried that some of my lip gloss, which I let her put on, would come off.

I took a pic of this because I thought it was funny, in the literature to get you to come to the train show it said something like "Harry Potter fans will love the Hogwarts Express train, etc" anyway, this is all I found at the lego train station was this lego sculpture thing (what do you call it) of the witches playing quidditch. But other than that it didn't seem like a Harry Potter display at all. Right next to it was a display of cowboy and indian legos...

Afterwards we went out for hamburgers and it was a fun night!

Daddy's dinner

Katelyn loves to eat Michael's food. Even if what is on her plate is exactly what is on Daddy's plate, she will say "Can I have a tiny bite?" and the tiny bite ends up being multiple bites. She will almost always have 2 dinners if Michael has been working late and we've eaten dinner without him... Kate will plop herself down in front of him or wriggle herself onto his lap to share his dinner. This time he got home just before bedtime (notice the jammies) and she snagged the last of it while he went to change his clothes.

Childhood ambitions...

So, in honor of all the snow... here's a little video of the kids sledding. We have a great little park near us where the hill is just big enough that it's fun, but not such a hike to get to the top and no trees or anything to dodge. The best part is, it's minutes away.

An update on my exercise goal: I have done really well, and I have been walking/running on my treadmill consistently, however I do NOT like doing it while the kids are around. The kids plant their little bodies right in front of the treadmill and say things like "Run faster mom!"

I took Sam to his 5 year check-up, which includes everything to get him registered for kindergarten. Among other things like an eye test, he had to pee in a cup for them to check something (diabetes I think). When the doctor came in he asked Sam what he wanted to be when he grew up. Sam's answer was, "A doctor" (I did not prompt him on this, I think it was because the doctor was asking him). When Katelyn was asked "what do you want to do when you grow up" she said "Pee in a cup"

Resolutions...

So, it's been cold and snowy all day and we've been couped up all day long doing laundry. I need a break so I'm going to blog...
In the past I haven't done very many reflective entries... mostly just events. BUT, I've been wearing my glasses because I've been reading in between loads (as a side story, I don't have glasses... a year or two ago, I felt like my sight wasn't as good as it was, our plan paid for a set of glasses I got my eyes checked and they said I could use them for driving at night or movies... and so I got them since my plan paid for them. Anyway, I hardly wear them, but I've been reading a lot lately and my eyes started twitching, so I started reading with my glasses in case it's straining my eyes). ANYWAY, the glasses somehow have made me feel a little reflective, smart and attractive. I don't know, maybe it's the Sarah Palin eye glasses effect ... but even though I know I look dumpy in my ponytail, sweatshirt and jeans... I feel just a little more attractive. Sam came in and took a pic of me reading with my glasses, and a pic of my book... but then he looked at them and said he was going to delete the pic of ME, not the one of my book. So... maybe he doesn't feel the same.

Anyway, I've been thinking about resolutions but I hate to actually write them down in case I'm held to these resolutions. Growing up we ALWAYS had an FHE on resolutions, the first FHE of the year... so that should be tonight. Anyway, the first year we were married, I tried it with Michael and when we "shared" our resolutions... his were all silly or resolutions he made for me, and then I felt stupid sharing my soul bearing resolutions. So, we haven't done it since.
But, since I'm in my attractive reflective glasses wearing mood... I'm going to actually write down a resolution and put it out there in cyberspace because maybe that will give me good karma or something and help me achieve some of them.

So, I will divide it up into categories, mind and body. First,

"Come What May and Love It"
Recently, (I could look up the date but I wont) Michael was working late, and Elder Wirthin had just died that day. I decided to read his conference talk to remember his life. His talk was "Come What May and Love It." That talk is so great and the message was definitely something I could work on. I was glad that I didn't turn on the TV like I usually do when the kids are in bed and Michael is working. I even went so far and read the entire December Ensign (the likes of which haven't happened since I don't know when -- so it must have had some sort of affect on me right?). The next day, I ended up calling up a friend of mine and we were talking and for some reason she mentioned things were busy for her because her grandfather had just died. I told her how sorry I was and if there was anything I could do, or if I could watch her kids. Then she told me that Elder Wirthlin was her grandpa. I was really surprised. I have known her for 5-6 years, and I didn't know this. This girl is so great, and I've always been so impressed by her... I have known people who have been related to General Authorities or whatever, and it seems like a lot of the time they throw their names around a lot and somehow you ALWAYS know they are related to someone important from the church. Anyway, that is beside the point.

I have been reading my grandmother's journals. Boy, she had a hard life. Just living in that time had to be hard... (I'm right now reading in 1942) and just every day life was HARD. She is an inspiration to me. I have only read one year of her life, and so far, she has lost one little baby (she lost two little babies, both only lived for a day or two,but I haven't gotten to the second one in the journals yet) her husband traveled a lot and was gone with work or church duties. She had sick kids with stuff like measles, scarlet fever and the mumps (and I complain when my kids are grouchy from the shots that keep my kids from getting those things). And although I haven't gotten to this part in her journals, she was widowed with 8 young kids... at a young age and never remarried and did it all alone.
I am going to think of my grandma or mother and their tough lives and think "Come what may and love it" (because it CANNOT be as bad as what they went through?!) Plus, it will help me be happier and in turn our home will be happier.
Next is body, and I don't want any reminders or comments like... I thought you were going to work on your appearance. But...
Exercise.
I got my renewal license in the mail the other day, and I renewed it online and they just sent me a new one without any going into offices, etc. (slick!) Anyway, my old pic is on there... along with my old weight. I did NOT lie when I put that weight down... but, sadly it is a lie now. So sad in fact, that I don't know if I will ever get back to that weight. So, in my sadness... I'm going to try to exercise MORE (can't take much to do more than I have been doing... so this shouldn't be too hard right?!) I'm not going to quantify here, how much more, other than more. I remember laughing until I cried, when I was a college freshman, talking to a cousin of mine about "the freshman fifteen" (dumbstruck on how someone could gain weight when I was such a poor college freshman and living off of ramen) and she had told me of her and her roommates quest to lose weight. They decided one night to eat all of the food in the house that might tempt them, a big old smorgasbord of food. Bags of marshmallows, bags of chips, etc. At one point I thought that it was so ridiculous that I laughed at it... but it seems like ever since I've made this resolution in my mind... I've wanted to do exactly that. Down all the food in my house that tempts me. So, here I am... throwing it out into cyberspace trying to gain the willpower not to eat every last chocolate chip in my house...
Ok, that's it. I'm just doing two, they seem pretty big to me. I'm actually going to post this. I may regret it and decide to smash those glasses in retaliation for inspiring me to do something as silly as posting my resolutions online.

Sam's Birthday (New Year's Eve)...

New Year's has never been a favorite holiday of mine... and Sam has made a good reason to like the day. Sam has been counting down to his birthday since probably August. I always worry that his birthday is overshadowed by the holidays. We took Sam to see Bolt on his birthday (cute show) and then had cake and opened presents at home.











I am not one to make "cute" cakes, I'd rather have a "yummy" cake, so you wont really see any cute character cakes or themes from me... anyway, I don't know why I have a picture of the cake, because it's nothing fantastic to look at (it was yummy though). I have the candles all bundled together in one corner because I'm not a fan of eating cake that has spit all over it.








This picture is Sam's idea. We went up to Michael's brother's house for dinner and Sam said "How about you take a picture of me with my 5 fingers up, since I'm 5 now."










Michael made homemade peppermint ice cream (my favorite) and this is Kate eating it.

These weren't all the cousins that were there... a couple left early (and some weren't there), but we have a young crowd at the Gardners. There are 10 grandkids under the age of 5. The kids all played downstairs pretty well, and we even got in one adult game. We put the kids in jammies, in hopes that they would watch a movie and we could continue the games... but things dissolved and we all left before midnight. We had a fun night!