MO' Woodland's

Back to the 80's.... I mean School

2010-09-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Ok... so I just thought it was so funny that my girls all looked as though it was an 80's flashback day... but it was the first day of school. Even Jackson was sporting the bright colored polo shirt (No Lacoste Alligator... but), we popped his collar... just to give it even more 80s' edge. They are cute and are so excited to be back in School. (ME TOO!)

Where did the year go?

2010-05-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Crazy! It is the end of another school year.

Hannah is finished with the 7th grade, Whitney is done with the 4th grade, and Mia has completed the 2nd grade. YAY!! It has been a busy year and the summer looks to be just as busy. Jackson is thrilled to have someone at home with him besides mom!

Here is a look back at some fun from the last time I posted!

Longest Winter EVER

2010-02-25T07:23:00.000-08:00

I will be so happy for this winter to be over. It has lasted way to long and been way to cold and wet. We all have been sick to often and had entirely too many snow days. Rich and the girls are going skiing/ snowboarding this weekend for the first time this winter and they are pumped! So I guess some good can come of it. I however cannot wait to be able to run outside again without the literal spinning wheels on ice or without coming home with mud flipped all over the back of me. Here are a few photos of some of the things we did while cooped up inside.

In the above photo ... the girls are ice skating on the pond on the front yard. They also enjoy sledding by way of the four wheeler.

Hannah and Whitney are bakers extraordinaire! They bake cakes and cookies of all types. The YM in the ward are always happy when Hannah brings refreshments!

Hannah played on her first basketball team. Her team went undefeated (so did her soccer team earlier in the year). It will be tough when she finally has to feel what it is like to loose.

Ah... this is classic. Richard on his iphone.. and Jackson on his "phone"... the ipod touch. They could sit like that for hours. I thought it was cute!

Lots of Love!

Back from Summer Break

2009-09-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

We had a busy summer... I think we were gone more than we were home. We were able to visit Idaho twice!! As well as have some other very fun trips to other destinations.

Here are a few photos...

San Francisco, CA with my mom and sisters, St. George, UT to see Footloose with my girls and dad, Vegas with dad, Branson, MO Silver Dollar City, and Vail, CO. So that is one month worth of our Summer... I will be back with more!

Whitney's Haircut

2009-06-07T10:19:00.001-07:00

Whitney is growing up... she looks so much more mature with her new haircut. It is very cute and she is super excited about it. We just thought we would share.

My kids would love to have a dog!

2009-06-01T13:10:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately for them I will NOT get them a dog. But fortunately for them we have some good friends that raise cute little dogs. My kids beg me to take them over to their home so that they can hold the dogs. After one visit Mia went to school the next day, she came home and said, "mom, I was really good... I almost went to the counselor."

"Why would you go to the counselor?,"I asked her.

"Because of the dogs, mom. I want one so bad."

So I am apparently causing all sorts of emotional damage because I will not get them a dog.

By far Jackson is the most taken with the dogs... he LOVES them... Here are some of my favorite photos of him with the dogs.

YAY! I get to blog again!

2009-05-11T07:04:00.001-07:00

I am so spoiled! I got a new toy... a new MacBook so that I can go park in random places in town (currently the Public Library) and post photos and just get to use this wonderful wireless connection. Dial up was killing me... so it is a lifesaver.

Anyway... so much has happened. So I will try to hit some highlights.

* The new house is wonderful and we love it.

* Hannah had her Twelfth birthday. I cannot believe it. She is a Young Woman! She also took her first temple trip to St. Louis... and lucky me... I got to go with her. (Love my calling!)

* We took a family trip to Disney World.

* The girls had a wonderful time at the very fancy Daddy- Daughter Ball.

* Uncle Phil was married to Aunt Amanda... so quick fun trip to Idaho.

* We have started all sorts of fun activities this year... soccer, dance, swim team, tech club, piano lessons... we have kept busy.

I am so excited to catch up... love you all!

A Quick Photo

2008-12-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick photo of the front of our home. We are so glad to be in and (Almost) settled for the New Year.

This one is of the kids spelling out a New Year wish for all of you! HA!

We miss high speed internet.

2008-12-26T12:49:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We love and miss everyone but are adjusting to Clinton, MO. The home is beautiful and wonderful. However... we are currently to far out to enjoy the little perks like a close Target and high speed internet. (If anyone knows me... they know that these two little perks are a huge deal to me.) The internet is becoming a major problem. I am still praying that they powers that be will soon let us into the high speed club... until then I will make do with dial up.

I loved the many Christmas cards that we recieved. It is truly my favorite thing to get a Christmas card with an accompaning photo.

I hope to post more soon.. until then...

We are moved... but not settled

2008-11-08T19:14:00.000-08:00

The last time I posted was the day that we moved into our new home... YAY!!! However... I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to convince high speed internet providers that a) our address does exist and b) that we have neighbors that get internet service... therefore we should be able to get it as well. So far it has not worked out. So I am now trying a wireless connection. It is way to slow, so I will continue to search for other options. So excuse the lack of blogging as I try to find better service.
Love and Miss you all!!!!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

2008-10-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

We are so lucky to have won Jackson in the baby lottery. He is an amazing addition to our family. Right now as I type he is dancing to the Backyardigans. He really takes care of himself... he will grab his blankets and walks himself up to bed, he can play with cars for hours, and he is just so delightful in every way!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jackson!!!

Park Fun

2008-10-21T05:44:00.001-07:00

What happens at your local park on weekends? Culture (or lack there of) Shock happens daily here. I should be used to it... but I am not!

We had an end of the season soccer party at the park this weekend. Rich coached Hannah's team and assistant coached Mia and Whitney's team so we had a couple of teams and their parents there. Across the park (yet still within rock throwing distance) was an intense game of geriatric bingo. In the middle of the soccer kids and the bingo players was... this

It was some sort of pseudo "wrestling". Who has a ring set-up like this? Do you see the guy with the bedazzled lacy robe? Some poor grandma is missing her nice bathrobe. What about glitter and gold lame fabric says macho? It was such a surreal thing. You would hear screaming "Boo... get him....B- 9..." Hysterical.

=w=eezer!!!!!

2008-10-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

How great was my weekend? So great!! I got to see all but one of my siblings (Miss you Tia!), my mom, my beautiful nieces and even a pretty fun bro. in -law. Jackson and I flew to Utah to go see everyone and attend a fairly awesome Weezer concert.

It was SO MUCH FUN! Phil and I even made wicked cool tees for the concert. The first band was complete crap. It was supposed to be The Tokyo Police Club... it wasn't. Then Angels and Airwaves took the stage to open. The music was good... Tom Delonge, the lead singer, was a total dirtbag. He was cheesy and lame all at the same time. Although the guys in front of us were absurdly into it. A crazy Hippie chic danced WAY to close to Phil. Oh and Weezer was FANTASTIC!!!

Rivers was eccentric (what's new) and they played most of our favorites (No Good Life or Only in Dreams). I sang/ screamed along to it all and am still hoarse. I love my family so much... it says something that they still hung out with me after the concert started and I was crazy. Grandma Nina stayed at Maggie's and watched the babies... she is THE BEST!

Jackson was a champ on the airplane. I just had to sing Popcorn popping constantly and he was just fine.

The Outside is Finished

2008-09-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

It is not totally finished... we need to landscape, we need to paint the door... but it is all but finished. The inside is getting there. The trim is going in, and now we wait on the finish paint.

Tour de Missouri

2008-09-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

It was a huge event here in Clinton. The Tour de Missouri just came through. Cyclists from 22 countries racing their way through Missouri. There was a big bash the night before... there was a fun little band, baked sale goodies, barbecue, popcorn, sno-cones and lots of bike stuff. They gave away free bike helmets, bike licences (complete with photo), and blinking lights for your bike. It was fun to watch the kids dance to the band and just enjoy the small town festivities.

The next day the cyclists came into town, signed autographs, and raced on out. All of the schools got out to watch and cheer on the racers. The girls all commented that the support cars took all the time and the cyclists went really fast. Maybe Lance Armstrong will be here next year after coming out of retirement.

Here Jackson rings the bell to cheer on the racers. So... some fun things here in small town, MO.

A Little Update

2008-09-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

I was determined to get some photos of the house up today. It rained all day yesterday but I got some photos anyway.

As you can see they are finishing the brick and stone work on the front of the house. They are painting and putting in the trim on the inside. The flooring and finish work will be next. All the utilities are in and running... so it is just a matter of weeks before we get to move in. YAY!!!

This is the left side of the house with a little bit of the back. We are pretty excited about getting everything finished. I am a little tired of living out of boxes. Soon......

First Day of School

2008-08-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school. The girls were ready! They had all the supplies and were set. I think that I was the only one that was nervous.

Hannah has started middle school!!! Ready or not... here it is! She is thrilled. She thinks she is so big. She forgets that she will forever be my little 3 lb. baby. It was a great first day... she made a friend with a girl that is new as well and they have all of thier classes together on the "red" days. Yay!!! I am so glad. She cannot wait to join all of the clubs she can.

Whitney and Mia started the Third and First grades, respectively. They were equally excited and they had really good days too. All third graders and up get lockers... so Whitney felt relaly special. Mia had a good time and said the it was "EASY"!

Now Jackson and I are going to have to get hobbies!!! What will we do without the girls?

Summer fun!

2008-08-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun during our trip to Idaho... here are a few more photos to share.

Here we are enjoying the Lava pool with Phil, Alli, and Leigh. Whitney and Hannah both went off the platforms!

Cousin's camp with the Woodland side is always a highlight for the year. They get

to spend time with the many cousins that they rarely see as well as riding horses, camping out and an evening talent show.
After Cousin's Camp we drove to Boise to visit Grandpa Craig and we barbecued, and did a lot of playing around. We already miss everyone like crazy! We cannot wait to see you all again!

What a Month!

2008-08-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

We are so happy to be connected to the modern world! It has been a hard week and a half! NO internet and no TV. It was very trying... for all of us. It is one thing to move to a new town it is an entire other thing to move to a new town you know nothing about and have nothing to do at home either!! Lots of fun stories to follow... but I just wanted to add a few photos from July. We were able to spend lots of time with family. We miss them like crazy already!

The first stop was to visit Maggie and her wonderful family. I was able to celebrate my shared birthday with my neice Abby... Maggie made a beautiful cake. Hannah spent her week at BYU Gymnastic camp.

Lagoon was our next stop. We had such a great time with Grandpa Craig and Shauna, Phil, Alli, Leigh and Derek, Mag and Fam, plus all of us.

We then left to visit Grandma Nina, Leigh and Allison! We had so much fun!

More update to come... but I must go get some other things accomplished today!

Wonderful Vacation

2008-07-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have been having a lovely vacation visiting family. I will have lots of photos to post as soon as I get to a computer that I can download them on. Hannah had an awesome time at gymnastic camp and is having a blast with all of her cousins. Whitney is making up dances and using phrases like "Ghetto, YO!", proving that we are in fact from St. Louis. Mia is still crazy... singing and saying inappropriate things, she also decided to chew off chunks of her hair.. so I took that as a cue to get her hair cut. Jackson is a SAINT! He has been so amazing, he is the nicest little baby I have ever seen. I am so glad that I have the children I do. They are so great!

It is also nice to not have to worry about a house sale in St. Louis that will be closing in 2 weeks. I am equally thrilled that do not have to worry to much about the house in Clinton because this time we are not the general contractors!

We are looking forward to going home in a couple of weeks and getting back to the real world. Until then we will enjoy the leisure here!

House Update

2008-07-06T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here are a few new photos of the home. We are getting so excited as it progresses.

The Best For Last

2008-06-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

It is my last post from St. Louis! The very best thing about St. Louis is....

Our Friends!

Hannah, Whitney and Mia all made great friends and we will miss them all! I am sure they will all keep in touch in some way or another!

My good friends from the gym have been so amazing! They have always treated us like family and we were all lucky to have them in our lives!

Now for My Girls! I have made lifelong friends and I am still not sure how I will survive without them. However... I know that I will never be without them. This is the amazing thing about them all. We will still find ways to get together and share all the things that our lives have in store for us. They have been a support system and a family to me here. They threw me birthday parties, baby showers, attended baptisms and were at every important function! I am eternally grateful to them and the things that they taught me. Missing them just does not cover it!!

I have to send special love to the best friend in the whole entire world... you never let me down, you uplifted me when I needed it and you were the big sister/ auntie to my children. Whenever they needed a "special friend" You were thier go to girl. Always first on the list to be invited to birthday parties and the life lessons that you taught were priceless! You will always be the first I call when the important things go down!

I Love and will miss you all!!!

Running out of time!

2008-06-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

There are really awesome things to do here. So To make this shorter... because I am moving in 3 days (AARRGHH)! I am going to pimp out the rest of St. Louis family destinations here. My favorite and final things that we will miss about St. Louis will come later.

So the Magic House, we love it! The three story slide, the play city, the water works area, the full body "pinpression", little Rock climbing wall, and of course the magnetic ball that makes your hair stand on end. It is really the go to activity for a St. Louis family. Plus it is free at least once a month (once a week in the summer).

The St Louis Zoo... Best zoo in the nation! So great.. iti s always free and it's fabulous! My favorites are the penguins, Rhinos, Hippos, and Elephants. The primates smell and amphibians are creepy... but still cool.

Also in Forrest Park (So much there alone... can't go into it all)... is the Science Center. It is wicked cool. It has so many experiments that you can try and learn from, Dinosaur exibhits, lifesize hamster wheel, it is incredible. A must see if you ever make it... plus it is free too!

Grant's Farm. A free good time! Shuttle around the huge property and see the cage free animals, finish up with a free beer (It's owned by Anhieser-Busch of course, this is St. Louis)! The Clydesdale horses are magnificent. The harmonica playing and painting elephant isn't too bad. The Bald Eagles are majestic and goat feeding is pretty great too. Also on the property is a Ulysses S. Grant museum.

Free concerts under the Arch... So much fun! This one was a Lifehouse/ Goo Goo Dolls concert with my amazing friends.

And we cannot forget the Gateway Arch. It is really cool to see. Located right on the mighty Mississippi. It is an amazing sight to see. We actually rode up to the top this last week and the view was awesome! Here are a few shots from/ at the top.

So that is my brief love fest of St. Louis. A wonderful town that we had the privilege to live in for the last five years. We will miss it!

Celebrate!

2008-06-17T10:41:00.000-07:00

June is a crazy month for us... always has been and always will be, I predict. There are 6 family birthdays, Father's Day and add that graduations and many weddings are held during the month... equals CRAZY!

This year alone... Phil (the coolest bro ever), Neil (the best neo-con bro-in-law a girl could have), Leigh (nicest most wonderful little sister ever) and Richard all graduated.

Jen Higbee (Sweetest sis in-law ever) had a birthday on the 6th, Allison (the most fun littlest sis ever) turned 17 on the 7th, Tia (my newlywed best friend/ little sister) is having her 22 birthday- Today, Phil (Again, one awesome kid) turns 27 (!?!) on the 22 and Abby and I share a birthday on the 25th. CRAZY!

I did want to send some Father's Day Love to the great Fathers in my life.

Grandpa Ed... We love you. It has been a rough year and we wish love and sympathy. You are so much fun and we are so glad that you are our Grandpa!

Grandpa Bill... We think you are an amazing man. You have done such a wonderful job raising your children. I am especially grateful for the job you did raising my husband. He is hard working and very determined... which attributes are clearly a credit to your hard work and determination. Thank you.

Grandpa Craig... Your charity never fails. You helped me become a strong woman and mother. Thank you for all that you have done for me and my entire family. We love you.

And Finally... Richard, What do I say? You do it all. I really am not a lazy person... but compared to you, I am a slug! Thank you for all you do for our family, day in and day out you work so hard to make our lives better. You are a wonderful leader to our family and I am forever grateful for all you do.

Thank you and Happy Graduation/ Birthday/ Father's Day to all!

A Few More...

2008-06-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

St. Louis has so many fun activities for families!

Here is an excurtion to the Butterfly House. It is really fun to go and see all the different types of butterflies. They are gorgeous. The girls all tried to sit very still so that the butterflies would land on them.... and it paid off... a black and white variety landed right on Whitney's knee!

Jackson thought it was AMAZING! He would chase after the butterflies... which meant that I chased after him. Here he is sitting in the butterfly chair. He didn't like holding still for the photo.

We also went to the really beautiful Missouri Botanical Garden with Mia's school class. It was pretty awesome! Besides the gorgeous plant and flowers they have some wicked cool sculptures that the kids can climb on and in. Here is one of the kid's favorites (I love that they all have to climb into the nose cavity). The other photo is Mia peeking out through the teeth.

Next is a St. Louis classic. Ted Drewes frozen custard... Yum! It is always packed and always good. We went back last week and I just wish I would have ordered extra "Teddad's" the famous frozen custard sandwiched between two of Dad's Famous scotch Oatmeal Cookies (another St. Louis staple). It is pretty sad that we went more for the frozen custard than the butterfly house and the botanical garden.... but it is so worth it!

Last minute crunch

2008-06-14T16:03:00.000-07:00

We are down to our last week here in St. Louis. It is going to be hard to leave all the great things that St. Louis has to offer. But thanks to a visit from my little sister, I had the motivation and the wonderful opportunity to go see all the things that make St. Louis great.

So I plan on posting quite a bit as we bid farewell to and highlight the city that we have called home for the last five years.

One of the first things on our "to do" list was to go watch the St. Louis Cardinals. There are other major league teams (Blues, Rams) here... but it isn't their season and the Cards are the best ticket in town! So I called an amazing woman that happens to be a good friend that works at the Card stadium... this friend also happened to teach gymnastics with me while she also found time to be a principal at a private elementary school (She is AMAZING!). A BIG thanks goes out to her! She was able to not only get us tickets last minute, but got us crazy good seats that included an all you can eat buffet and free drinks. Can you imagine? It was AWESOME! The only thing that would have made it better would have been a Cardinal Win. Unfortunately, we lost... but it was a fabulous game anyway!

This photo was taken from the Cardinal Baseball field last year when the girls and I performed with the Team Central Gym before a game. You can see the Arch and it was such a rush to be on the baseball field. We were very blessed to get to participate in such amazing activities while we lived here.

We will always have found memories of visiting Cardinal stadium and watch the greatest major league baseball teams ever!

GO CARDS!

Progress!.... Kinda

2008-06-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

So here is a little update on our home building. In this new photo... the roof is on... which is great because all the excess rain that we have had this season has been setting things back... and as of today all the windows have been put in and most of the shingles are on.

So I guess there is that!

The kids and I will be in Idaho visiting for the month of July and then we will join Rich in Clinton in August. It looks as though we will be homeless for a month or two (we hope not much longer than that...) and then we hope to be moved into our home in the early Fall.

Human Pinata

2008-06-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

It was a boring Summer afternoon and Richard was bored and came up with a game of... let's string the kids up in a tree in a very dangerous, irresponsible way. Now... before anyone calls social services on us... no one was hurt and it was FUN! So that makes it okay... right?!

Goodbye, Parkwood Elementary

2008-06-04T13:51:00.001-07:00

We have been a busy family as of late. So I will start with the closing of another year of school. Hannah just finished the fifth grade, Whitney just finished the second grade and Mia just finished Kindergarten. It was an exciting year and it went very smoothly. It is bittersweet to end the year because we will be leaving the school and the teachers that we love so much at Parkwood Elementary!

So this is a little tribute to the teachers we love so much!

Mia says... I will miss Mrs. Mesnier because she taught me so much like math, calendar, and she was really nice!

I will miss Ms. Finder because she helped me with reading and she let me have fun. They were both beautiful!

I say that I will miss them both. They taught Mia so much responsibility and were able to work well with her strong personality. We will all especially miss Ms. Finder because she taught all three girls and devoted extra time and effort to the Woodlands and we consider ourselves blessed for it.

Whitney says... I will miss Ms. Barnholtz because she is the best teacher ever. She is really nice. She does lots of cool projects and participated in Locks of Love with me and helps me with lots of school stuff.

Hannah had Mrs. Kirksey and then she was put on bed rest and then Hannah had Ms. Weiss until Mrs. Kirksey came back from Maternity leave. She liked both teachers very much. She also loved the chance to work with all of the fifth grade teachers since they went to a different teacher for each subject, thus getting them used to having many different teachers during middle school. (AAGGHH!!!) Although I am not used to that idea yet!

We had lots of fun this year and did many fun things... Here are a few photos from recent end of the year activities....

Sunday Drive

2008-05-26T07:11:00.000-07:00

We took a quick drive to Clinton on Sunday to check out the state of the house. We left on a very rainy day in St. Louis, and so when we got to Clinton and it was 90 degrees and humid... we were a little over dressed. The girls all got out of the car and ran down to the pond.... and ended up totally muddy.

Jackson was having a great time exploring the house. He looked out every window, and ran everywhere. The only mishap was when he was in the basement... that had puddles left from the heavy rainfall we have had... he ran right into a huge puddle and dove into it just like he was sliding for home. He was soaked and loved every second of it.

The home is really going to be beautiful. We are excited for it to be finished... but it looks as though it will be a while before it will be.

I just thought that we would share a few photos of the progress.

Puddle Licker

2008-05-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

So Jackson is having an identity crisis at the tender age of 18 months. He pants, runs after cars, makes noises at the birds, and now he has officially taken it too far!

This is what I walked outside to see. Jackson was licking the puddle in the driveway. Here are a few thoughts you may be experiencing (I did too)...

Gross!

Sad, he must be so thirsty!

What a horrible mother!

So I have to believe that he is channeling his inner dog.

I will hold off on therapy until he starts to bum sniff!

I think Mia misses Gymnastics

2008-05-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Call Me crazy!
After the competitive gymnastic season ended this year Whitney and Mia decided that they wanted to take a break. It has been kinda nice. I do not have to go to the gym every day and we can accomplish a little more at home. But since that time.... Mia has been climbing, jumping , flipping, and sliding down everything. I mean everthing! Just ask my friends... yes they are not immune from Mia the climber.
In other Mia news...
We still have not decided what Mia wants to do for her birthday party this year. She changes her mind daily. First it was a bowling party... until she found out that real bowling was not as easy as Wii bowling. Then there was chuck-E cheese(?!), gymnastics, cupcake, and a spy party. Right now I think that she still wants a spy party. If you have any ideas for a spy party... please "clue" me in!

If your child were a Disney character who would it be?

2008-05-10T09:32:00.000-07:00

Yeah for Mother's Day! I love my children! I woke up to an interesting sight this morning and I'll share it with you here a little later... this experience made me think of a certain Disney character. So I was trying to decide which of all the vast Disney characters best reminded me of my own children.

I am not sure if it is a Gardner thing for instance... Phil was always considered to be a little like Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh, but it is an interesting blog if nothing else.

Here goes:

Hannah... This was hard! She is so sweet and very helpful so I am going to say Snow White. She does not look anything like my beautiful Hannah... but still so sweet, helpful and sometimes a little naive. However... Hannah has a lot more ambition in life than just wanting some silly prince.

Whitney was a little easier. Whit has a lot of spunk and girlie attitude... she is a born leader... but she also has a very soft sensitive side. I decided to go with Kim Possible. Aside from the cheerleader thing (which also fits), Whitney is strong physically and mentally. She really could do anything that she wants to do, even saving the World, if needed.

Skipping Mia for the moment...

Jackson is a little young to put any major labels on him. But right now he is my Prince Charming! He is so wonderful. He loves his mom and is so low maintenance. I love it!

So here is the visual that brought me to this post...

Mia, my beautiful, browned eyed firecracker. What character is she? I woke up to see Jackson's toys put together like this. Yep this is a Mia creation. I wish it were a little bit surprising... but very little surprises me with Mia.

I guess that I could go with Jasmine for Mia's look and fiery personality... but I really know who Mia is... She is Sid... yes... Sid from Toy Story.

Now I could go into detail, but anyone that knows her would have to agree.

So there it is! I would love to here who you associate with Disney characters!

It's Fun to be the Mom and Dad... Just Not Today!

2008-05-06T15:05:00.001-07:00

Gross out seems to be the theme right now... so I shall not disappoint.

Hannah became very sick to her stomach... and for some unknown reason ( I mean she is 11 years old) she did not make it to the bathroom in time to throw-up. Nope... in fact she did not make it to the bathroom to throw up until she had puked on every surface between herself and the bathroom. So I am going to give you all a visual of the road of puke. Not the actual puke... but the path of destruction.

So as we cleaned the couch, the carpet, the hardwood floors, the doors, the tile, and the toilet Jackson sat and dry heaved until it wasn't dry heaves and wallah, we had puke all over the kitchen.

Kids are fun like that sometimes.

MMmm... Subway

2008-05-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

So we have been enjoying the $5 footlong subs at Subway this month. This is a photo of what was on the floor next to us at the restaurant....

So we spent the rest of the time giggling when people would walk in and almost step in it. Richard and I are the worst example. What are we 12?! Finally, right before we left some one did step in it. We laughed.

And the answer is...

2008-04-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Alrighty... let me start by saying, nobody was right!
A... I was so sick and tired, nothing but a screaming child would have gotten me out of bed!
B... Richard remains unafraid of anything except stickers, band-aids and glitter.
D... Whitney can and does still sleep through ANYTHING!
E... Mia would not give the time to anything less than a level 10 earthquake!
F... Jackson remains the greatest baby in the entire world and I am certain that he will potty train himself in a few weeks!
So that leaves me my eternally worried Hannah. She was literally in our bedroom within a split second screaming at us... and bless her heart, standing in the door frame. When I said, "It's only an Earthquake."
She answered..."But that's a natural disaster!"
It took us time to calm her down, but she did go back to bed... and so there it is. Have a good one! And I hope that no Natural disasters... or any other disaster comes your way!

There is a 5.2 Earthquake 140 miles away... who feels it?

2008-04-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Okay here is the question... Yes, there was a 5.2 Earthquake 140 miles East of us at 4:30am. Who felt it enough to wake up the rest of the family screaming and crying? One of these is correct.
A) mom... after the week she's had anything will freak her out!
B) dad... He may seem all tough; blood, guts, near death don't phase him... but Eathquakes are scary man!
C) Hannah... always the sensitive child, had everyone up fast enough that they could enjoy the tremor too.
D) Whitney... And I thought she could sleep through anything!
E) Mia... She has been feeling ill this week and she will find any reason to throw a fit.
F) Jackson... He just wanted to get up early.

So I'll let you know later who the culprit was!

According to Mia

2008-04-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

The best way to "hold it"...

While waiting in the car for dad and Whitney, Mia decided that she really had to go to the bathroom. So this was the best way to keep the urge away... according to Mia.

According to Mia... "if it happened to someone else it can happen to you!"
How did she come to this conclusion?
Mia: "Mom, I have throw up in ,my mouth."
Mom: "why?"
Mia: "It happens"
Mom: "Really, Why?"
Mia: "Mom, if it happened to someone else it can happen to you!"
Mom: -confused, questioning pause-
Hannah: "I've had it before"
So I guess, point proven.

I imagine this to be a reoccurring theme on this blog.

Career Day!

2008-03-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

I think that this is such a funny thing! As if you really know what you want to do with your life in elementary school... I am still not sure that I know now. I am a firm believer that they can be anything that they want to be... as long as I approve (see below).

Hannah is pretty sure that she wants to be an FBI agent... we even took her photo in front of the Official FBI building in Washington DC last week. She looked pretty good with her black pant suit, dark glasses and FBI ID card.

Whitney had a difficult time. There were a few career paths that I didn't think were ummm... right/ appropriate?!... for her to dress up like. The first she wanted to dress up like was a Pro Cheerleader (I apologize to all pro-cheerleaders out there, but I imagine that a day job for pro-cheer gals to involve poles and dollar bills... call me judgemental... I'm just saying.) The second choice was a hip hop dancer... I have to admit I still hold that dream... I so wanted to be a back up dancer for MC Hammer! I just couldn't figure out what to dress her in. So Whitney ended up dressing up like a Fashion Designer. I guess she caught the Project Runway bug. She did get a sewing machine for Christmas this year... so I guess we will see. Doesn't she make the best Edith Head like designer?

And of course my Mia... I think she already is a Rock Star in her own mind. This was not much of a stretch. She looked great and had her Rawk Horns rollin'!

All in all, not bad career choices for my gals!

Spring Break in Washington DC

2008-03-23T20:06:00.001-07:00

It was a long drive... but we managed!

Jackson Loved the ipod... which means... so did I!

We saw so many great historical sites that I could never show you all the photos... but it was awesome!

We all loved the Abraham Lincoln Memorial. The girls loved the tour of the home that he died in across the street from the Ford Theater ... I guess because it was so personal as compared to all of the statues. The home made it a little more real.

One of my favorites was the National Portrait Gallery. I loved seeing all of the different portraits of those history makers. I thought it was amazing that Joseph Smith was right there with Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin and many other historical figures. But of course the most popular spot in the museum was the bathrooms where Stephen Colbert is.

The Arlington National Cemetery was vast and just incredible.

We saw so much... it was my favorite Spring Break vacation so far. The girls were great. They really took interest in the history and culture that DC had to offer! I can't wait to go again... someday.

Happy St. Pats Day!

2008-03-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

No Corned beef, cabbage and green beer for us.... Nope. Every year we have Green Eggs and Ham! Here is our Annual Green Day breakfast or lunch. Have a great one!

Whitney's Haircut, Hannah is 11, and Mia got Nothing!

2008-03-09T15:39:00.000-07:00

It was one of the craziest days that we have had in a long time!

I am going to let Whitney tell you about her special day...

I got my haircut and I donated it to locks of love. I had so much fun I got to be on the radio and got to be in the newspaper and I got to go in a limo! I had soooooooooooooo much fun !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and I cut it 10 in. off.

Hi it's hannah, it's my birthday today but yesterday I had my party and for my birthday I got my ears pierced, and today I have had fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love yal. bye.

So the day started so early it was not even bright! Rich left the house at 5:30 am to get his rounds on patients done so that he could get home with Whitney and Jackson. At 7:30 am Hannah, Mia and I left for downtown St. Louis to volunteer at the big St. Louis Classic Gymnastic Meet.

At 10 am team Whitney left for the "Locks of Love" event. She was pampered. Gift baskets (plural!), tables of food while they got thier hair styled, limo ride and a full press junket (radio and newspaper photos and all)! Team Hannah met team Whitney at the event after we finished at the meet and we all had lunch. We ran home for a quick change of clothes and all the girls left for Hannah's birthday party at the gym. The boys stayed home so they could nap (They joined us later at the party).

At 4 pm, after the party we went home. Rich left again for the hospital to check on a patient. Trish came to visit, check out Whitney's hair and exchange presents with Hannah (it's Trish's Birthday too!).

When Rich got home at about 6 pm we went to the mall to peirce Hannah's ears. She was very brave. Even when she realized that she had a huge audience of mall-goers to watch her.

As we lefty the mall Mia was quite upset. She said "Whitney got her hair cut, Hannah got her ears peirced and I got NOTHING!"

Rich said, "Oh, but Mia remember... Hannah and Whitney also get to go to a birthday party later, too!"

She did not take it very well. Rich promised that he would take her wherever she wanted to go later. Which of course was.... Dairy Queen. HA!

I dropped Hannah and Whitney at their party at 7:30 pm and I ran along to be the chaparone at yet another youth dance. The girls and I made it home at 11pm and went straight to bed. It is never a good thing to have a later than normal night on the night we switch to daylight savings... Oh well!

A Real Snow Day!

2008-03-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

We have lived in St. Louis almost five years now. They cancel school at least twice a year due to inclimate weather... but I am sure that this was the first legite snow day. It snowed for 5 hours straight... I mean real snow (we do not get much of that here. Ice and other crap, sure... but not pretty white snow.)! Here is a view down our road... no plows... just one set of tire tracks. I was sure that Rich was going to get high centered when he tried to pull into the garage... but he made it.

Jackson and Mia helped Rich shovel the driveway... by that I mean they moved the snow from one spot on the driveway to another spot that he had already shoveled.

Hannah just played outside and helped Jackson try to keep his gloves on. He was so excited that he kept shaking his hands and the gloves would just fly off.

Whitney and I just stayed inside. My back hurt and poor Whitney has another ear ache. UGHH!

The next day they called school again... no real reason except there was water on the roads. The kids loved it though and we had a little sledding party in the backyard. Whit was feeling better after getting some antibiotics and even got into a good old snow ball fight against the boys! The sleds did not work because the snow was melting so fast and was too wet. It did not stop them from playing for hours.

The snow is almost gone now, two days later... but it was fun while it lasted. It made me a little less homesick... a little!

There's Something About Jackson

2008-02-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

So this weekend we worked on science projects. It was a riot. Hannah did her project on different liquids and their rusting effect on nails. Whitney did a study on gender bias... what places tend to have more boys and which ones have more girls. Mia did the celery stalk in colored water. We helped with a little but they had to put them together. Mia decided that it was too much work so she didn't turn it in. Hannah did hers all by herself and it was pretty great. Whitney's was fun too!

In the process of gluing down the info, Jackson decided to get into the middle of it all. He found the rubber cement. Rubber cement is great... for some things. I does not, however, come off of the human body easily (note that for future science project subjects). Jackson got it everywhere. His clothes were ruined, and try as we might to get it off his skin... it would not happen. It was particularly interesting on his forehead and hair. It had to be the best hair product ever ... if you want your hair to stand on end (even better than the stuff in "There's Something About Mary").

On his forehead it started out by looking like glossy snot... and then it turned into the best fake wrinkles.... and then looked like a strange skin disease. (Look closely!)It finally has worn off and all is normal. In the future... we may just stick to good old Elmer's school glue.

Mia's poor nose!

2008-02-21T12:59:00.000-08:00

I swear that kids who have dads that are doctors are the ones that are hurt the most. So I guess that that means that all of my kids will have to deal with a lot of pain!

Case in point: The girls were walking to the bus stop Wednesday morning and Hannah and Whitney decided that they should run. Mia, being the competitive child that she is (after all she is a Gardner!), took off first to get a head start on her older, taller sisters. It was going well until she tripped. It had to have been a pretty amazing skid, because she had scratch marks from the top of her forehead, proceeding down to the tip of her nose and didn't stop until it hit her mouth. They came right back home because the scratches were so bad that there was actual blood dripping from the scratches on her nose. I was able to get her cleaned up (keeping in mind that cleaning sensitive "owies" no small feat) and she wanted a band aid. I put one on her nose... but spent the next half hour trying to convince her that it looked worse to have the band aid than not. She finally made it to school and stayed the entire day. Although she did take a few trips to the nurse and kept telling her teachers that it hurt when she would do "this (scrunch up nose and face)".

Here she is one day later. (Photo by Hannah)

It doesn't look as bad as it did yesterday, but Richard is still stressed out that "it might scar". I don't know if that is the worried father, pessimist, perfectionist, or plastic surgeon in him (probably a bit of everything). I am sure she will be fine and racing her sisters just as soon as they offer.

Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today is Valentines day. All of the kids are giving out cards/goody bags to everybody . Everyone is so exited. Mom and dad went on a date. We hade school "partys". We are eating chocolate fondue.

Guess what!? Last night Jackson called 911!The police came and had to look inside. Jackson thought it was pretty funny.

Happy Valentine's day!

Love, Whitney

Our First Family Blog

2008-02-13T16:51:00.000-08:00

This will be a great way for all of us to tell friends and family what we are all doing out here in Missouri! It was Whitney's idea to start a family blog and I think it is a great idea.

We just got all of the class Valentines ready for tomorrow. The girls are taking thier Valentines in pretty pink boxes and bags. They are excited to exchange the Valentines with all of thier friends.

Hannah is making brownies and I am going to make some sugar cookies. We wish you were all here to share with us!

So we will see how this will work... but the girls are excited to post some blogs of thier own. Lots of love! Sonya