Merry Christmas!!!!!

Instead of mailing Christmas cards this year I decided to make one and send it electronically mostly to save money but also in hopes I would be able to reach more people.
This year has been great for our family. KC kept busy in the summer on the farm and I think both of us our glad it's slowing down for winter. Jocelyn has been the sweetest, most fun little girl to bless our home. She is getting so big and is learning new words every day. Some of my favorite's are "Yep", "Nope" and "Cute". My least favorite is "Mine" (which it took only one week in nursery to learn). I have enjoyed being at home and although there are some rough days I know it has been the best decision I have made yet as a mom. And as most of you know we are so excited to be welcoming Baby Girl #2 in May! We have been so blessed this year with so many friends and family who love us and especially because of our Savior and the gospel in our lives. We hope you all enjoy this great time of year and have a very Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Jocelyn's 18 Months Pictures

Since we just had family pictures done I wasn't going to have Jocelyn's 18 months pictures done but a friend in our ward offered and I am SOOOO happy I did!! I apologize for how many I included in the slide show but there were just way too many to chose from. I love them all! If you're looking for someone with real talent and good prices check out her blog at: momentspausedbyjulie.blogspot.com. Thanks Julie!!

Fall 2009 (Again)

Album Trouble

Is anyone else having trouble viewing my latest album??? Urgh, I am so frustrated and have been updating this blog for like three hours, hence why I never do it!! If it's just me then that's fine but I hope the rest of you can enjoy it!

Gardner Fall Happening's

So like many other's I have been slacking on my blogging and to make up for time have created another album to update everybody. Sorry for all the pictures but hope you enjoy!

August is the Box Elder County Fair which is a big deal for the Gardner family. We were out there almost every night. Jocelyn loved all the animals and of course the tomatoes!

In September we take a trip to St. George with my family over Labor Day. Typically it includes: golf, pedicures, shopping, a night at Tuachan and lot's of good eating. There are a few pictures of swimming on my sister's blog but we were too busy swimming to take any with ours. (Actually Jocelyn still wasn't a big fan of it but I tried my best!)

We also spent a night up at Bear Lake with KC's family. Being September the day we went to the beach was quite cold (notice the hoodie) but Jocelyn had lot's of fun with her second cousin Annika.

Lately I've had the opportunity to visit with some friends I don't get to see very often. My good friend Shawna and her daughter Breanna stopped by. The girls basically spent a lot of the time fighting over toys but being only four months apart it was pretty typical. I also had the opportunity to spend a day with my former mission companions, Sister Jackson and Sister Wilkinson. After lunch Wilki and I took our little girls to the Gateway Children's Museum. Jocelyn had sooo much fun. I wished we lived closer to visit more often. And it was sooo good catch up with some long time friends!

That same weekend Jocelyn and I made time to see my Grammy. We went to Gardner Village on a Friday thinking it would be a good time to go, it was insane! There were car's and children everywhere!! Forgot about parent-teacher conferences. So we stayed about a half hour and then went to lunch. I am just grateful Jocelyn has this time to spend with my Grammy while we can. I know she won't remember all that well but we'll always have the pictures! Sorry for the long post, I'll try to do better!!

Whew! Where Does the Time Fly?

So the idea was that I would break down the summer into parts and blog about each one and so 2 months after my last post there really is too much so I have created 2 albums. The first is a few random pic's with all our summer adventures including a trip to Lava Hot Springs, Family Parties and the 4th of July. The second is our family pic's we recently had done. Hope everyone has had a wonderful summer! I know we have!

Summer Fun: Part One

It has been about a month since I last posted and thought it was time to give an update of all the fun we have been enjoying this summer. It has been anything but dull :)

I had the opportunity to go to girls camp June 15th - June 17th (the girls stayed till the 19th but I could only stay away from Jocelyn for three days while my mom watched her.) This year was stake camp and our stake was invited up to the Heber Valley camp for YW. It was AMAZING! Super nice cabins, warm showers, flushing toilets, grills, a zip line (which I got to do, yea) and a beautiful lake. If your ward or stake has the opportunity to go, GO!

Here is pic of all our girls. You have no idea how long it took to make this picture happen. Hilarious and so frustrating!

I had to post this picture because it gives you some idea of how nice the cabins are. They even had small space heaters back by the leader's bunks. And of course every girls camp involves crafts! We had about one a day. So fun!

Nothing like cooking in the rain. It's sad when I would rather stir sloppy joe meat in the rain then be in a cabin full of Beehives.

On our third day we got to go to the lake. The girls canoed while the leaders had little paddle boats. It was perfect weather this day right up until we had to come in off the lake and then it started to pour. What a blessing. One of the girls took this picture and I LOVE it!

I'm so glad I got to go even it was only for a few days. I really do love my calling in the YW. The girls are so fun and crazy and are amazing examples to me.

Since most of my days consist of playing with Jocelyn I had to put a couple of pic's of her cute face. I put these shorts on her head just to see how long she would leave them on, and it was long enough to get this pic.

I just love this little hat. Can you tell how boring our days are? Really they are sometimes. :)

Summer is also a good time for trips. Not so much for me but a good friend who left Avalon and moved to Oklahoma made a trip home and so I got to have dinner with a bunch of Avalon friends. It was so good to see Karissa AND everyone else who was able to make it. I miss you guys!!

(l-r) Ali, Maya, Jocelyn, Kaylee, Nikki, Michelle, Lindsay, Karissa, and Katie

So that's Summer Fun: Part One . . . stay tuned for Part Two!

Memorial Day Fun and Is This Normal??

Thanks to all those who responded to my plea for help. And I can't say I did anything but the red X's are gone. Yea!
As for an update, we have been enjoying summer a ton and had the opportunity to go down to my parents for Memorial Day for a good ol' fashioned BBQ. Poor KC had to stay back as he was irrigating but Jocelyn and I had a great time!

Jocelyn loved playing with the croquet sticks. She just carried them around ALL day!


We took a trip over to the playground.


I was so excited for Jocelyn to spend some time with my aunt Cindy and her boys. She loved them!


This was taken towards the end of the night. Even when she was too tired to walk around she still had to hold the sticks. (I'm sure there is a correct term for the sticks but I can't remember.)

I just loved this pathetic little face begging for Oreo's. She is so cute in her new swimsuit that her Grandma bought her.

Garden + Water + Jocelyn =

She is constantly eating dirt and mud and I have to wonder, is this normal? She has also eaten like 3 crayons. Urgh! When will this "I have to put EVERYTHING in my mouth" stage be over?!

Help!!

So to help us save money on our "Shawna not working full time" budget we switched internet providers and I'm not sure if this is the reason but now a lot of photo's (not all just randomly) in my blogs and those I visit won't show. They just have a little red x in the top corner. Now, I am not a techie goo roo type of person so if anybody has ANY suggestions or helpful hints as to what I can do to solve this problem I would greatly appreciate it. In addition the pic's not showing up sometimes blogger won't load my pictures properly. Urgh, so I offer my frustrated plea of help to anyone that thinks they know what might be going on! Thanks!

It's Finally Happening

This past weekend Jocelyn is officially walking!! Even though she just barely turned one and it is totally normal it seemed like it took forever. With that being said, it has been so fun to watch her progress every day. From walking along the furniture, then walking to and from people and eventually taking those first steps on her own. And now she is walking all over! I feel like I missed out on so much her first year that I never really got to see the whole process before. I am so grateful I get to be with her so much now. The pictures below have nothing to do with her walking just a little bit of our fun times at home.

Jocelyn sitting in our backyard attempting to pick dandy lions.


Oh what a peaceful picture sitting among the flowers.

Yeah she was totally just playing in the dirt.

Happy First Birthday!!

So this post is about a week late but last Friday Jocelyn turned one and we celebrated it on Saturday. Lucky for us we had great weather and she got tons of fun, cute stuff. Thanks to all for making her day special! This last year has been amazing and we feel so blessed to have such a beautiful, fun lovable little girl! Thank you Jocelyn for making this year one of the best!
(The pictures are totally out of order but you get the idea, tons of fun right!)

This is the swing Grandma and Grandpa Myers gave her. It took her a couple of days for her to realize she really likes it.


She still doesn't really get the whole unwrapping presents thing.


Jocelyn "helping" Grandma Roxy cut the strawberries before the party. If you can't tell her mouth is full of berries.


For those wondering what is on her head, it is a bow not to be confused with any hair. She is still pretty much bald.

The dad's are blowing bubbles for the kids. I think Trevor was trying to show KC how to do it.

First Easter

Technically it's not Jocelyn's first Easter, but it's the first one where she kind of knew what was going on. (Kind of!)

It started out with the local Honeyville hunt at the park. She really just wanted to eat the plastic eggs. It looks like Broxton is wondering what she is doing.


Here are all the kids with their candy. Again, she is eating.


I absolutely love her Easter dress my mom bought her.


This was the closet I got to a smile but you gotta love that face.

Fun Little Visit

This week I decided to take Jocelyn down to my parents for a little visit so that she could get to know my side of the family a little better. I also made time to visit my best friend from high school. We had so much fun! Thanks Grandma for spoiling Jocelyn!

Here we are at lunch with my crazy Grammy. She eat's at this mexican restaurant (Tio's) every week so we had to give it a try.


Jocelyn had so much fun playing with Abby's toys.


She loved playing with her Uncle Ricky.


Grandma Roxy and Jocelyn sharing some Gold Fish.

This is my best friend Sarie and her 3 kids. Jocelyn had so much fun playing with Kilee and Cade.

Here is just a little clip of Jocelyn practicing her walking. She has been doing this for about a week but may have suffered a little set back as Grandma Roxy (and everyone else) had no problem walking her around by two hands EVERY WHERE. Now she won't take two steps without holding onto someones hands. (Both of them!)

Things I've Learned . . .

Now that I have been a stay at home mom for two weeks I thought I would share a few things that I have learned.

1. Jocelyn is a very determined person who knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to get it. (This I already knew but to be around it day in and day out is exhausting!)

2. She apparently learned to go up AND down the stairs but not sure when because KC and I never taught her. The other night I was upstairs getting ready and all of a sudden I heard her voice upstairs. I went to investigate and there she was at the top of the stairs babbling away. I yelled down to KC asking him why he brought her upstairs and left her right at the top. He told me I took her up when I went. I just thought I was going crazy until the next day when I again went upstairs just for a minute and came around the corner and here she was half way up the stairs and as soon as she saw me she smiled and started back down.

3. Jocelyn is a very caring little girl. She loves to give kisses and the other day we were sharing gold fish when she noticed I needed one so she took out the one she was eating, bit it in half and tried to give me the other half. What a cutie!

4. I love, love being a stay at home mom. I have no idea how I was away from Jocelyn so much and can't wait to see her learn and grow. Here are some pic's and a video showing just a few of our adventures.

This was taken on a night we were supposed to be folding laundry. Her idea is throwing the clothes on the floor one at a time. She has way too much fun with it.

We have been experimenting with Jocelyn feeding herself. This was our first attempt with spaghetti.

It's Official

For those who haven't heard yet yesterday was my official last day at Avalon Hills which means I am entering the world of being a stay at home mom and can honestly say I am ecstatic! KC and I have been discussing if for a long time and finally decided to take a giant leap of faith. I'm still not sure how things are going to work out but we know this is where I should be. It was difficult to leave Avalon but will take with me a lot of great experiences and many great friends. I have been so grateful to work among some of the best working moms I have ever known. I hope this will give me the opportunity to be a better mom, wife, do my church callings better and just be able to get things done around the house. Jocelynnie, I love you so much and can't wait to play with you all day every day!

Vegas Baby . . . well more like Henderson

We recently took a trip to Nevada to visit my sister and brother in law. It was sort of a way to celebrate our anniversary, both our birthday's and Valentines day. It was such a relaxing vacation just to get away and eat at a lot of great places! We loved hanging out with family and enjoying the warm weather! Thanks Sister and Bry for letting us come and visit! We love you so much!

Jocelyn did pretty good on the plane rides. She seemed pretty excited on the way down. (That is actually her smile :)


We made sure she went over all the important information. The flight attendents even gave her a pair of wings.


We went to the park a couple of days. She did not enjoy the slide.


This was a regular occurance at meals. Bailey probably gained 5 pounds over the 4 days we were there.



We went to eat at this great buffet in Green Valley Ranch. This was in the lobby while we waited for our table.

My sister has these great mirrors in her master bathroom. It was one of Jocelyn's favorite places to play.

This was her other favorite spot. (Notice the mirror in the corner. I think she may have a vain issue.)

We ate at this really yummy place called Panera Bread with our friend Gabi.

Jocelyn swinging at another park. Now this she loved!

Our little family!