Life is Good at the Gardners

Eagle Project

2011-12-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

Ryan again!
Recently I finished my Eagle Scout Project and it was a big success. My project was to create 24 lap quilts for the residents at Sunrise Senior Center. I made the lap quilts big and fluffy and enough for each resident. Almost my whole ward and some other good friends showed up to help so it went by very fast. By the time we really got moving, we could tie a quilt in about 20 minutes. Churning out 24 in a couple of hours became a piece of cake with 6 quilts going at once. We made them all on that one Saturday and I have typed up my project. So all that is left for me is to present it to the Board of Review for them to approve of what I have done. After that I will be able to drive. I passed my permit test but I am not allowed to use it until the project is all complete. We will check it over and once it is approved I will be tearing up the streets. Going the speed limit of course. haha I can't wait to get out there and get some real driving experience.

Volleyball Championship

2011-12-14T18:38:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, it's Ryan here,

Recently I played in a YMCA volleyball season. I was the only boy on a team of girls and had lots of fun. We went undefeated the whole season and when it came down to the Championship we were just as successful. We were missing two people so we were down to playing with 4 people. However, the other team had 4 people as well, so it was pretty even. We won the first game with a score of 25 to 17. Closer than we would have liked but we would take that win any day. The second game came along and mid-way through, the score was 23 to 9, we were losing. We took a timeout and got our heads back in the game. Then out of nowhere we went on a point spree and got the score all the way back up to 23 to 24, we were ahead. We served the ball and got a really good volley going. We got the ball and they set the ball up for me to spike it. I hit the ball but they blocked it and it slowly fell between three of us. That made me really angry so I threw the ball at the ground. The referee apparently didn't like that and gave me a yellow card. If I got another I would've been kicked out of the game and we would lose for sure. I calmed down after that and we ended up winning the last game 15 to 9. It was pretty intense and I had a great time playing. My team was amazing and I can't wait to play in this next season's championship.

Christmas Carol and Spelling Bee

2011-12-13T04:07:00.000-08:00

Bonjour, it is Cameron here. So recently I auditioned for "A Christmas Carol." I made it in. I am a Caroler. My sister and I are both doing it this year and it is Megan's last year to do it. Megan is Robert Marley and as such she plays a boy. Her friend who is also a girl plays a boy too, Jacob Marley. I am surprised I am enjoying it as much as I am. I like to sing and it is fun to do this on stage in front of a lot of people. I also get a lot of attention - which my family will tell you is something I really like. If you get to come see it, I promise you won't be disappointed.

I have also had the opportunity to make it into the school spelling bee. I am not the best speller so I was really nervous on the day of the spelling bee. I made it to the sixth round. I got out on the word *thurbred. I still don't even know how to spell it. :) Perhaps that is why I got kicked out...

State Champs!

2011-12-13T03:57:00.000-08:00

Football is one of America's greatest sports. Well, I didn't always think so, but I have learned. This is Megan. This year, Ryan's and my high school football team had the best season we have ever played. Every year we have the "Tukee Bowl" which is the football game against our arch rivals, Mountain Pointe High School. The night of the game the Desert Vista Choir and the MP Choir came together to sing the National Anthem. It was really special. Even through our diffences we were able to create a beaufiful sound and represent our schools in a classy way. I only stayed about 10 minutes, but this was a crazy game. Pretty much the entire school came out for this game (and that's a lot...). DV started off and we just kept scoring and scoring, but the weather was getting cloudier and rainier. At half-time they made everyone evacuate the stands, then changed their minds, then Mountain Pointe forfeited due to weather, which went down as a win for DV! That was a cool experience.

From there, DV went undefeated, until we played Hamilton High School. At the time, Hamilton had gone 49 games in a row without losing. There were Seniors on that team who had never lost a game. We wanted to win so bad, and we played well, but Hamilton came out superior. Now don't get discouraged, because this is not the end... :)

Except for that minor set back, DV won every other game. And not just won... we STOMPED other teams. In fact we stomped our way to the State Championship game. Again we had to face returning state champs Hamilton High School. They too had kept up their winning streak. By now, they hadn't lost in 54 games. The game would be at the Cardinals Stadium. We went as a family to support our school, but everyone knew we were going to lose. We mostly went just to experience it all. Well, long story short, Desert Vista came out on top. We actually stomped them! The final score was 45-19. No one could really believe it had happened - but it did! It felt like a Disney movie! We ended up killing their 4 year winning streak. The whole school was walking on air all week. I was proud to be a Desert Vista Thunder.

Day of Service

2011-10-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend we participated in the National Day of Service. We got to pick weeds and clean up the desert landscape around the Tovrea Castle near the airport in downtown Phoenix. The work wasn't too treacherous, and it was good for our kids to sweat a little. Cameron did get cactus stuck in her shoe, but lived to tell the tale. Now, if I could just get them to pick weeds at OUR house for 3 hours straight!

Girls Camp 2011

2011-08-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogs and Blogettes! Megan here. About a week ago I attended my sixth and final year of Girls Camp. This year was probably my favorite of any of the six years that I went. From the girls, to the leaders, to the activities - every little moment was so fun. We first started planning for it in January. We met at the Stake camp leaders house and discussed the theme. We decided to make the theme centered on Angels. More specifically "Angels Among Us". We created a town called Angels Landing, where each ward was a different shop around town. We had a "Benevolent Sweet Shop", "Good Works Pet Shop", and the 6th years were the Rescuers of the town. For some reason the leaders thought it was a really good idea to give 13 seniors in high school life guard whistles. That was really fun. On the first day our leaders gave each of us a river rock, and told us to wear it around our necks the entire time we were at camp. We were told to bond with our rocks and let them become apart of us. We were supposed to pay close attention to all the ways they changed.

Every year at camp we do something with the other girls in our age group that we can't necessarily do here in the valley. But in years past, the 6th years have usually gone into town and shopped. This year the leaders decided to shake it up a bit. They told us at our first meeting that we would be trading shopping for hiking. And not just any hike.... We would be hiking the east rim. Eight miles, very steep, very hard. The night before we were supposed to go a couple of us girls were talking about the hike to come. None of us really wanted to go because none of us were that great of hikers. We even kinda joked that maybe the leaders were just kidding and would actually be taking us to town as a surprise. So the next morning we woke up and got into clothes we could hike in, packed our lunches, put on our rock necklaces and met our leaders at the flag pole. After a "Before" picture was taken, we were off. While walking to the trail head, our leader leader pointed up a huge mountain and told us that in 2 hours we would be at the top of that mountain looking down at the entire camp grounds of Camp Lomia. The trail was extremely steep and there were a bunch of loose rocks on the trail that made it extra dangerous. The entire hike up we looked for heart shaped rocks, mostly to keep our minds off of how steep it was. Whenever we stopped to take a break, we looked out over the valley where the camp was, and each time the view got prettier and prettier. It took about two hours to get up there and once we got to the top we had lunch and just admired the view. Before we hiked down we hung a white sheet at the top that we were supposed to be able to see from camp itself. Unfortunately after we hiked all the way back down we couldn't see it. But we know we were up there. We know we did it. And that was good enough for us.

When we got back from the hike, we all fought over who got the first showers. The cooks surprised us and decorated a fancy table with candelabras and a lacy table cloth. It was the most beautiful thing we had ever seen! For the rest of camp we got to go first in line, and sit at the fancy 6th year only table. They even brought us breakfast in bed one morning. Part of the reason was to show the younger girls all the perks you get as 6th years to encourage them to keep coming all 6 years. On the last day of camp we had our final fireside in the Sacred Grove at Lomia. In front of us was a picture of the soon to be Gilbert Temple. The Stake Camp leader spoke about temples and how they are the the ultimate goal for us as young women. She then proceeded to tell us that the rocks that we had kept around our necks, and infused into our lives, had not actually changed. They ones that changed were us. Now as silly as it sounds, that rock really did change me. Especially now that I know that rocks future. Our leaders husband owns the concrete company that is supplying the Gilbert Temple with the concrete for the base of the temple. They asked each of us to cut our rocks out of the wire and place it in a bucket up front. Each of our rocks is now going into the base of the new Gilbert Temple. How incredibly cool is that?

Summer fun!

2011-08-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

Hey guys it Ryan here, and I just wanted to let you know how my summer has been going. Well I have had a great summer from the Caribbean Cruise to my robotics competition to planking all summer (and a couple hiking and water skiing trips in between). The cruise was a week long to the Cayman islands, Jamaica, and Cozumel. We all had a great time, but I forgot to put it on sunscreen on all of my belly. I only put a little on my belly button region, it looked funny afterwards (pictures on Facebook).

About a week before the cruise I took part in this robotics competition at Chandler High School. All year after school we had been working on a robot. It was a square made with aluminum L-brackets. We wanted to originaly put a winch on it and also a claw that opens/closes and turns. Our control system failed and so we ended up just taping a stick onto the front of our bot and using that. Because of some technical issues we had to rebuild our bot during the competition - it took 6 hours until 2:00 am. We ended up winning FIRST PLACE!! I dont know how we did it but we beat out all other competitors for 1st place in a national competion. I know... you're jealous. Hahaha

So if you dont already know what planking is... SHAME ON YOU! Just kidding, but seriously Planking is really fun! Planking is where you lie face down all over the place. Like you can plank on a chair...

Or on a clothes rack...

Its a lot of fun! And all of you should try it! You have to be creative and take a picture when you have it. Post the pics on Facebook so we can all see! Talk to you later! Bye,

- Ryan Gardner

Amazing Summer!

2011-08-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hi, this is Cameron.
The last week of school brought our first week of being an official scuba diver. We are so lucky that we got to wear 7 mil wet suits in a 60 degree lake called Lake Pleasant. I don’t get why they call it Lake “Pleasant”, because it isn’t pleasant at all. It was three feet visibility with cold water. Yeah it wasn’t very exciting but all worth it!!!

Me and Ryan got our dives done before Megan because she had a cold and couldn’t equalize her ears very well. But, after a week of drugs Megan finally felt good enough to dive again and she was successful! We were all very happy to be able to dive in the Caribbean on our very fun Caribbean cruise!!!!!

Our whole family went on a cruise to the Caribbean. It was seven days long and left out of Miami Florida. Our ports were Cozumel, Mexico; Cayman Islands; and Ocho Rios, Jamaica. In Cozumel we snorkeled in a cenote. A cenote is a deep natural hole found in limestone, especially in Yucatán, Mexico. Parts of it were pitch black and we had to snorkel with underwater flash lights. It was very cool. We also went on a Book of Mormon tour of Tulum. Then in Cayman Islands we went Scuba Diving. It was the first "real" dives for the kids (our parents are old pros). We did a two-tank dive with a dive shop called "Living The Dream" divers. It was great - so much better than Lake Pleasant. At the beginning of the first dive we saw a baby sea turtle. Then at the end of the same dive we saw another sea turtle. They both had remora fish clinging to their shells. Then on our second dive we saw a lion fish, but no one had a dive knife so they couldn’t kill it like you are supposed to. We also saw an angel fish that blended in with the sand, it was really cool. At the end of our dive we also saw some shrimp and lots of other cool tropical fish! Then in Jamaica we climbed up a waterfall called Dunns River Falls. We also went tubing down a river in the middle of the jungle. After that we just went souvenir shopping. On the cruise I met this girl named Carmen, I know what a cawinkidink! She is just like me and a great hip hop dancer. I hung out with her during the whole cruise. She lives in Seattle which is sad but not very far. If she was from Florida it would be far, like other people I met on the cruise. I loved our cruise and miss it very much.

You know how annoying sales men on the phone can be? Well, me my dad, Megan, and Ryan are having a contest to see who can keep a telemarketing salesmen on the phone the longest. Megan is winning by twelve minutes, Ryan is in second place with ten minutes, and I am in third with six minutes. My dad hasn’t started yet.

We have had one amazing and fun summer this year. I am sad it is almost over!

Summer Cruisin' in the Caribbean

2011-07-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

Our family took a 7-day Carnival cruise to the Caribbean for vacation this summer. We had a blast. The cruise left from Miami, FL so we arrived on Friday, and spent the night in South Beach before sailing on Saturday. Friday night in South Beach is quite the spectical. We ate Cuban food at "Larios", which is singer Gloria Estevan's restaurant. The kids enjoyed trying Ceviche and Plantains. As the clubs came to life, the people-watching got more and more interesting. We all enjoyed the show. Click on any photo to see it larger, or check out the link at the bottom of this entry for a more complete album of our trip.

We were aboard the Carnival Liberty, which is a relatively new ship. This was the third cruise the kids have been on, and it was the longest, but the time went by quickly.
The first port we visited was Cozumel, Mexico. We took a ferry boat over to the mainland of Playa del Carmen, and took a guided tour of the ruins of Tulum. It was raining, but fascinating. Then we went to snorkle in a cave called Dos Ojos Cenote. http://www.cenotedosojos.com/photos.htm There were stallagtites and stallagmites, and we had to have flashlights because part of the snorkeling was in a bat cave and it was very dark.

Next we stopped at Grand Cayman and took our newly certified scuba divers (Megan, Ryan and Cameron) for their first "real" dive. They certified in Lake Pleasant, which was 60 degrees, wearing 7mm wetsuits, and having 5 ft. visibility. Grand Cayman was 80 degrees in the water, wearing only swim suits, and having 250 feet visibility. It was beautiful. We dove with "Living the Dream Divers." http://www.livingthedreamdivers.com/ They were FABULOUS, and we highly recommend them, especially if you're taking kids. As soon as the kids started to descend, there was a sea turtle cruising by. They saw all kinds of interesting sea life, and the dive masters said they were great little divers. The exact quote was "they must have had really good dive instructors." We agree. They learned at Academy of Scuba, in North Phoenix. http://www.academyofscuba.com/ If you are looking for a great place to get certified, we recommend these guys! It was so much fun to dive as a family. It's something to which Mike and I have been looking forward for 20 years.

Our third stop on the cruise was Jamaica; Ocho Rios. Mike and Trish really enjoy visiting Jamaica, and have been there almost every year for the past 10 years. The people are wonderful, and the place is beautiful. We enjoyed giving the kids a taste of this fun place, by climbing Dunns River Falls, a huge waterfall that is a must-do when visiting Ocho. We then went tubing in the White River. Both, refreshing, fun activities. This might have been the kids' favorite day.

We took our camera along to dinner each night in the dining room, so if you go by the photos, it appears that all we did on that ship was EAT! We even tried some things we never would in Arizona such as deep fried alligator and shark. We did take a pass on the frog legs. And, although we did our share of dining... there were some great shows, and comedians, and the teenagers (and almost teen) loved the teen club activities and made lots of friends.

When we returned to Miami, we had a few hours to spend until we caught our plane, so we went to see some of the sights where they film the USA series "Burn Notice." We saw Michael's loft, and his Mom's house.

If you want to see more photos of the trip, here is a link to a web album.
https://picasaweb.google.com/GardnerPix/CaribbeanCruise2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCNaFnue5yvG-Lw#

Graduation and Soul Food

2011-06-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

For Mike's Birthday, we took him to one of his favorite restaurants, "Lo Lo's Chicken and Waffles." Evidently, Chicken and Waffles is considered to be "Soul Food" and, as you might expect, we were one of only 2 parties of Caucasian folks in the place. We told the kids that it was good practice for Jamaica, because we will be a minority there, too. The food was yummy, though.

Cameron's 5th grade graduation was very cute, and Megan even made the sacrifice to skip school that morning to attend. Pretty wild to think the baby of our family is out of elementary

school!

Add caption

Busy Springtime

2011-06-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Life is busy around here. Cameron just finished 5th grade, and is heading to middle school. Ryan finished his Freshman year, and Megan finished her Junior year. Sometimes I forget to mention some of the fun things we do. Here is a quick recap of our Spring. We ran "Pat's Run" as a family. However, Ryan had a volleyball game that afternoon, and we had to cut the run short to make it to the game. Ryan is the only one of us who made it the whole 4.2 mile run, and into Sun Devil Stadium.

We also went, as a family, to the Kenny Chesney concert. Mike and Trish have seen Kenny several times, but it was a first for the kids. Uncle Kracker was one of the warm-up acts, and so was Billy Currington. A great concert out at the Jobing arena. (click on the pictures to see them larger).

Ryan's Volleyball

2011-05-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! What's happening? Its Ryan here, I haven't talked to you guys in a while so let me fill you in! I have recently been on a YMCA volleyball team. We did alright, lost a couple, won a couple, and had a great time doing it. This last Saturday we had our last game of the season. We won the first game by a lot! The score was like 25 to 8 and I was on fire. The second game came and we were feeling good. I don't know what happened but that second game we just didn't play good at all. We lost around 25 to 12. Our last game we just couldn't return anything and ended up losing. We ended the season 3 wins to 2 losses. We still have a tournement coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping we can get our act together and win the tournament.

Great season. It was a lot of fun!

Scuba Eggs

2011-05-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

Hi this is Cameron your favorite Gardner of all. A few weeks ago for a family home evning I taught about Joesph Smith's first vision. For the activity we made Scuba Eggs. I found the craft online. What we did was dye a third of the egg on the bottom with egg dye. Once it dried we glued a clear bottle cap on it for the mask. Then we glued an about 5 inch bendy straw for the snorkle. Lastly we drew eyes on the mask and posed them for this picture.

(Far left: Cameron; Megan; Ryan; Dad; Mom)

First the eggs, next we will scuba dive for real!

California Girl

2011-04-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am the most spoiled kid on the planet and I love it! Two weeks ago we had our school's spring break, and I got to spend it in Hollywood with my show choir. It was an amazing week full of celebrities and fun! And yes I said celebrities! We saw one celebrity every day but one. On the first day we saw Shannon Cook, a guy from some Canadian show. He was cute!

On the second day we went to Universal Studios, and we did a really cool VIP tour. We saw the prop closet, that wasnt really a closet at all... more like a prop university! It was huge! But on that tour we also saw the CSI LV crew filming and we saw Nick just walking by in costume. On the third day we were at Sony Studios, and we went on the set of Jepordy and Wheel of Fortune. All that color that we see on T.V. is all created by lights actually. The set is gray and silver, but the lighting makes it look awesome and bright. But as we were walking around the rest of the studio, we saw Andrew Garfield puttering around on a golf cart! For those who don't know who he is, first shame on you! But he was in the Social Network and he is the new Spiderman in the upcoming movie. Then we spent the rest of the day at the beach.

On Thursday we didnt see any celebrities, but we did walk past Johnny Depp's apartment! Does that count? On our last full day we went to The Grove, and as we were walking through, a random lady grabbed me and my friends and asked us if we wanted to be on Extra with Mario Lopez. And I mean, how could we refuse?!? She put us right up front! We just had to sit there and act like we were interested in what he was saying. My director said she would pay one of us to make a weird face on camera. None of us were brave enough to! Some other fun things we got to do was go on the set of Central Perk from Friends! They kept it up for tourists to take pics with. And for those that watch the new series, Pretty Little Liars, we saw Spencer, Hannah, Aria, Emily and Toby's house and the school. All the girls in my show choir were freaking out!

Great trip. I think I am destined to be in Hollywood some day! :)

Annie Warbucks

2011-04-05T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hello blogsters! Megan here. And it probably won't surprise anyone, but I just finished another show! Shocking I know! I think that is what the majority of my post's on here have been about... Ha ha! Well anyway, I just finished the show "Annie Warbucks". And no, this isn't your classic, The sun will come out tomorrow show. Oh no... this is the sequal!

This show picks up right where Annie left off, Christmas morning. Annie has just been adopted by Daddy Warbucks and everything is happy and peachy! Right? NO! Enter New York City Commisioner of Child Welfare, Harriet Doyle (Me!). She breaks the news, that becuase Mr. Warbucks is not married, he cannot leagally adopt Annie. So she helps set him up with tons of women, trying to get him married. While all the time she is secretly trying to set him up with her daughter.

Lots of drama and funny jokes happen, all ending in my character getting arrested and Daddy Warbucks marrying Grace Farell. For my character, I had to wear a wig. A brunette wig. I looked so different! And the good part is that it only fell off once in a dress rehearsal! Whoo! This was definetly in the top 10 of my favorite shows. From the cast to the script to the music, every little bit was amazing!

Our Christmas Lights - 2010

2010-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

Here are our outside Christmas lights this year. Just documenting our decorations; click on the photos to see the exceptional detail. One of these years we are really going to show up the neighborhood...

The cat has decided that she likes relaxing on the couch closest to the tree. It hasn't been cold enough for her to grow a winter coat, so she is staying inside most of the time.

The Grinch!

2010-11-28T18:32:00.000-08:00

In an effort to keep the Gardners culturally well-rounded, we went to see the

Broadway musical; "The Grinch who Stole Christmas" at Gammage. It was great! The music was fun, the actors were incredible. The guy who played the Grinch is the actor who was "Robbie Rotten" in the show "Lazy Town." (A TV reference for those of us with young children). Everyone had a great time, and it put us in the mood for Christmas!

Scuba for All !!!!!

2010-11-28T18:13:00.000-08:00

We got a great deal on SCUBA lessons, so we had our kids get certified. They aced the written part (which was the tough part for some of us) and had a great time in the pool. The instructors said Ryan could pretty much be a dive master at this point; it was all very easy for him. Megan had a persistent head cold and couldn't clear her ears properly during the weekend training, and Cameron had some challenges clearing her mask underwater, so the girls went back for extra pool sessions. The bad thing is, now it is too cold to do their checkout dive in Lake Pleasant, so we'll have to do that when it warms up, or take a trip somewhere warmer. Then, we can start planning family dive trips! We are super proud of our kids, especially since we didn't even ask them if they wanted to get scuba certified.... we just told them they were going to do it.

Volleyball!

2010-11-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody! Its Ryan here and I am going to tell you about my recent volleyball tournament. On the 6th of November our YMCA volleyball team, the Attack Pack, went to the semi-finals championship game. Our first game started out kinda scary. We were down 18 to 5 and I was sitting out. We were missing easy points that we should have gotten and I wasn't sure if we were going to win. When I was put back in we got more aggressive. We came back and won that game and the next one, too. YEAH! On to the Finals!

Our game for the championship was one hour after the semis, against a team we hadn't played before. We had some downtime to watch the team we were going to play. They had excellent servers and one kid had a great spike! We were kind of scared but we had a better record than them, so we were kind of confident - maybe too much so. In the first game of the finals we were surprised to see how well they played. We lost a bunch of points in a row to their serving. At the end of that game we lost, the score was 25 to 18. Our confidence fell and we were scared that we would have made it this far but then lose it right at the end.

When we got back to playing our serving took over; one girl on our team would always bounce the ball off of the ground for a really long time before serving. At one point, I looked to the referee and saw him roll his eyes because of her bounces. We got many good volleys and it was quite fun. We won the second game, but just barely. The final score was 25 to 23, too close. For the third game we played to 15 points. It was now or never. We got really pumped and just took over the game. Next thing you know it was 14 to 6, game point for us. I was up to serve and was really nervous that I would mess it up. I got a good serve that barely went over the net. They jumped at it but couldn't return it. We were the champions!! Afterwards we got doughnuts and had a great time. My dad, our coach, thinks this was the greatest comeback in YMCA Volleyball history. We thought about changing our name to the Heart Attack Pack because the games were so close.

A Christmas Story

2010-11-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, in the far away land of Ahawatukee, Megan started a new show. OK so the first part is a little dramatic, but I really am in a new show. Well... not really new. It is "A Christmas Story." This is the classic story of Ralphie Parker and his persuasive techniques to get a new BB gun for Christmas. Its a cast of 10 people, and I play his Mom. I really do get to put soap in his mouth, we really do have a leg lamp, and it really will be amazing. I am the only teenager in the entire show, but it is so much fun! There are three adults, the Dad, the Narrator, and Ralphie's teacher Mrs. Sheilds. Then me. There are also two little girls, who are so cute. They are playing added characters to help keep the show moving nicely. The rest of the cast are four little boys. All energetic. The shows go up on the same weekend as my 17th birthday, December 3, 4, 5. Friday at 7:00, Saturday at 2:00 and 7:00, and Sunday at 2:00. Tickets are $15.00. I can't think of a better way to spend my birthday than doing what I love, performing.

Pavers!

2010-11-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, this is Cameron. So a couple of months ago we got a new car. Our driveway was too small we decided to add more to it. On Veterans Day weekend my whole family dug out all of the dirt and rocks. The next day Megan and Ryan had to go to school (I think they just wanted to get out of some work) so me, my mom, and my dad built the driveway. While my mom and dad were laying the bricks I was “Brick Girl.” I got to unload all of the bricks from two of our cars and bring them to my parents. It was hard because, we had two different size bricks and the cars were far from where I was carrying them. I also carried big bags of sand that weighed 60 pounds a piece. It was quite a workout! We had to go to Home Depot about 6 times. Like my dad always says “you can’t ever complete a project without going to Home Depot more than once.”

Vroom Vroom!

2010-11-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

We dragged the kids out to NASCAR at PIR again. It was supposed to be chilly, but it was really HOT. I think we all got sunburned. Carl Edwards won, so Trish was happy. Here is a little video of the gang at the race.

Sign of the Times

2010-11-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

The family went to watch Cameron at a Gymnastics performance, and while we were waiting for it to start, we realized that each person was busy with their own personal communication device.

Desert Vista High School Football Rocks!

2010-11-05T19:51:00.000-07:00

Gotta love high school football! (And the fact that our kids will still sit with us at a game!)

Nascar in Vegas

2010-10-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Hawaii 2010

2010-07-30T13:12:00.001-07:00

We climbed Diamond head... sometimes it was raining on us.

2010-07-28T17:41:00.001-07:00

Byodyo temple. Mike, Megan and Cameron got shot by an airsoft sniper in the bushes.

2010-07-28T16:25:00.001-07:00

Mike ate his first Loco Moco ever. He said it " broke da mout. "

2010-07-28T15:50:00.001-07:00

All the kids bought new shades at the Swap Meet at the Aloha Stadium; along with a bunch of other priceless souveniers!

Summer Begins

2010-06-11T06:34:00.000-07:00

With Megan and Ryan in Summer School, Cameron has been "bored." She hasn't even had Kreston and Conner to bug, with Kreston's baseball schedule, and Conner being with his Snowflake cousins most of the time so far. So, yesterday we had "Plant Washing Day" at our house. It was an excuse to get out and play in the water, and I got the silk plants dusted.

The Cat enjoyed having the ladder available to climb, and took the opportunity to check out the top of the bookcase. I wonder what I can get Cameron to clean today??

Ryan is on to High School!

2010-05-29T10:20:00.000-07:00

Ryan graduated from 8th grade this week and is on to High School at Desert Vista. He starts next week, taking his first class during summer school. He got to lead the graduation in the pledge of allegiance, and also put together a slide show of artwork his classmates had created for the big finale.

Right after Ryan's graduation, we drove over to Kreston's graduation from 8th grade. It's hard to believe everyone is growing up so quickly. I will attach photos from the exciting evening. As usual, you can click on a photo to see it larger.

Gila Valley Visit

2010-05-14T15:34:00.000-07:00

We finally made it down to Thatcher, to see the new temple for ourselves. It is as lovely as everyone says it is. We got to see my Uncle Kent, who is in the Temple presidency, and also President Crockett, while on our tour. I didn't expect to see very many people we knew, but bumped into so many; folks from Thatcher, Pima, Holbrook, and even from our last ward in Tempe. It was a beautiful day, and Grandma and Grandpa Woods took us out for Casa Manana afterward. (Delicious icing on the cake!)

2010-03-30T18:31:00.001-07:00

Megan at Disney World.

2010-03-29T13:54:00.001-07:00

The sun is getting up earlier these days in our neighborhood.

2010-03-14T11:38:00.001-07:00

Megan is heading to FL with her showchoir. We will miss her!

This message was sent using the Picture and Video Messaging service from Verizon Wireless!

2010-03-13T11:10:00.001-08:00

Aloha! Another fun year at the Arizona Aloha Festival!

2010-03-13T04:47:00.001-08:00

Cameron loves her Zhu Zhu pet...the rest of us don't understand it.

Pinkwood Derby

2010-03-11T16:49:00.001-08:00

While her mom and dad were in Vegas watching the big racecars, Cameron was racing her own car in the Pinkwood Derby. She won a few and lost a few, but had a great time.

Beauty and the Beast

2010-03-11T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ryan played "Cogsworth" the clock in Akimel's production of Beauty and the Beast in February. He was so cute, and did a great job. As always, you can click on the photos to view them larger.

We were so happy that Grandma and Grandpa Woods could come watch the play as well as Susie, Kreston and Conner. Kreston is pretty happy that he's as tall as Trish now, and still growing.

Megan's Showchoir

2010-03-11T16:10:00.000-08:00

Megan is getting ready to go to Florida this weekend with her showchoir. They will be at Disney World, and get to do a workshop with the cast members while there. They had a parent preview show last weekend. I'll post part of a video (the camera quit halfway through) so you can see them in action. Click on the still photos to see Megan up close.

Nascar in Vegas

2010-03-11T13:07:00.001-08:00

Trish got NASCAR tickets for Christmas, so she and Mike went last weekend. It rained and was freezing cold the whole day we were there. You could hardly see the Vegas strip because of the rain. At one point we went and sat in the car and listened to a book on CD, because we had to thaw out. Still, NASCAR is fun! We plan to go when it's in Phoenix in April and take the kids.

Catching up

2010-03-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

Megan did get her drivers license the first week of February. She's turning into a great little driver.

Megan is 16!!!

2009-12-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

Megan is officially 16 years old now! We had a wild "Winter Luau" to celebrate, and about 30 of her friends were able to attend. We decorated outside as well as inside, but even with the fire pit, it was just too cold to stay out for very long. Everyone had lots of fun playing Guitar Hero, Pool, Foosball, "Do You Love Your Neighbor?", and Karaoke!!! Her generous friends brought her presents, and among the cute gifts, she received 8 pair of fuzzy socks, more than a dozen scents of lotion, and a poster of Taylor Lautner, the guy who plays the Werewolf from "New Moon" (causing all of the girls to scream with envy).

Hard to believe she has reached this magical age; but she is such a sweet girl, and she is very loved! Click on the photos to view them larger.

Olivia by Megan

2009-10-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

It is official! I have been in exactly 10 shows. I just finished performing a show called "Olivia". It was written by my fabulous director Michelle Rubino and it is a combination of Oliver and Annie. It is about a little orphan girl named Olivia who gets taken to an orphanage by the character Megan... ;). While Megan starts to love Olivia like a daughter she can't adopt her herself, so she lets other families adopt her. One family is obsessed with animals, but Olivia was allergic. Another family believed that aliens were coming any day so they don't send their kids to school, so Megan takes her back. Finally, Olivia finds her real aunt, Aunt Polly. I played Aunt Polly. Except Aunt Polly abused her children, including Olivia. Yes, I beat children... Ha ha! Me and the little girl who played Olivia became really good friends so she knew that while I was yelling at her and pushing her she knew I still loved her. This was definitely the hardest part I have ever had to do, but also the most fun. My notes during rehearsals were that I needed to be meaner and louder, the exact opposite of me. So I practiced on Ryan and Cameron... JK. Not really. I was really sad on closing day. I got so close to all the little girls in the cast. There was a scene when I was crisp and clean and pretty, and then 2 scenes later I had to look like a slob in curlers and a pink robe. So I would spend an hour curling my hair for the first scene, then I would run backstage flip my hair and all 20 of these little girls would swarm around me messing up my hair and ratting it and making it huge, then wrapping it in curlers. They would then form a line and put some lipstick all over my face. They really enjoyed that. I know that it wasn't my last show, but it was really fun, and I will miss it. :)

Ryan's Latest

2009-10-12T17:06:00.000-07:00

Yola familia! This is Ryan here. I am currently on our school soccer team. We are the Akimel A-al Rattlers, I play stopper (mid-defender). Our record is 1-8 (1 win and 8 losses), we aren't very good. The problem that we keep having is that we get the ball and then we can't pass the ball well, so we have the ball and then we give it up often.

Recently, I also auditioned for our school play,

Beauty and the Beast. I made it. I wanted Lumierre (the magical talking candle) but instead they asked me to play the part of Cogsworth (the magical talking clock). It's all good.

~!POKEY!~

2009-10-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Aloha people I am here to talk about Pokey. Pokey is a tortoise, he is my class pet, so I asked my teacher if I could bring him home for fall break? She said "yes!" so on Thursday me and my mom took Pokey home. Pokey is a weird tortoise. So the other night I was holding pokey and he pooped on my shirt. I was so grossed out. Pokey eats lettuce and tomatoes. He has a tongue it is so cool! My class is so jealous that I got to bring Pokey home. Pokey is cute but not as cute as my older sister she is beautiful! I will be very sad when I have to bring pokey back to school.
-Cameron

First Day of School

2009-08-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Megan: 15 1/2 years old; Sophmore at Desert Vista High School

Ryan: 13 years old; 8th grade at Kyrene Akimel Middle School

Cameron: 9 years old; 4th grade at Kyrene de los Lagos Elementary

Randy and Natalie came for a visit

2009-08-10T15:43:00.000-07:00

The Randy Woods bunch were in town for an Awerkamp wedding, and we got to see them for a little while this weekend. Harry and Cassie joined us for dinner. The cousins had a great time getting reacquainted. As always, you can click on any picture to view it larger.

Cameron sings "Beautiful Things"

2009-08-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

Cameron was asked to sing in Church. We video taped a practice session, and it's so cute we wanted to share. Click the link below to view it. Her hair style is of her own design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SI2McKavoU

David and Demi

2009-07-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

Before our Cruise vacation, and while Ryan was at Scout Camp, Mike and I took Megan and Cameron to the David Archuletta/Demi Lovato concert. Outside the arena, Radio Disney was set up, playing music and having contests. Cameron volunteered for a game and won a Jonas Brother's guitar pick necklace and the Pocahontas DVD. Each of us had a David Archuletta button to wear on our shirt.

This was Cameron's first concert, and she had a great time. She danced and sang all night. It was good practice for when she gets to go see Hannah Montana in September. (She got tickets for her birthday.)

David has come a long way since his start on American Idol. He still seemed pretty humble and star-struck, though. Megan is in love. Demi Lovato can Rock! She is a very talented girl for just being 16 years old.

RYAN!!!

2009-07-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hello! This is Ryan again, I was not fortunate enough to make the all-star baseball team (Awww). But, however I was fortunate enough to go to scout camp again this year. We got the same campsite as last year and I earned two really cool merit badges; Horsemanship and Rifle-Shooting. I really liked riding the horses because they were easy to control. Also the merit badges had simple requirements. I had to name 15 parts of a horse, a saddle, and a bridle. Then I had to show how to control a horse which was easy. The Rifle-Shooting merit badge was great because each day we shot the rifles. We had to have 5 sets of 3 rounds in the size of a quarter, and then 5 sets of 5 rounds in the size of a quarter. It was easy for me because I am just cool like that, but other scouts were still trying to get their shot groupings on the last day.

As you might have heard, my family and I were recently on a cruise. We went to Cabo San Lucas Mexico. While there, we went zip-lining. We repelled down a 180 ft. cliff. Megan and Cameron were hesitant but I was all for it. Another thing that was included with the zip-lining was a tarzan swing thing where they strap you into a harness and spin you around while you zip-along and near the end of the line you hit a stopper on the cable and you are shaken around violently. (It is really cool!!!) If you click on the picture, you can see how high I am.

Summer!

2009-07-19T20:28:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! It's Megan! So like I wrote in my last blog, my summer started off crazy! And I haven't stopped going!!! After I got home from my show choir trip which my Mom wrote about, (2nd out of 23!!!!), I helped Cameron with her play which my Mom also wrote about. That was so much fun being the head grip. Anyway, after the play finished I was chained to our dining room table and a laptop. I had to take Health class online. It was so wierd! Since there was no face to face interaction, they added in tons of details because it wasn't so awkward for them. It was for us, though! A girl in my ward was in the same class and we were both uncomfortable during it. Anyway I had to finish a week early so that I wouldn't have to work on it while on our cruise.

So I took the final and the next day we left for San Diego to get on a cruise ship and sail to beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Saturday and Sunday were sailing days where we really just hung out around the boat. I met a really great group of kids and we all went on a Scavenger Hunt looking for things on the boat. One of the items we needed was something with teeth. So we thought and thought and finally came to the conclusion that children had teeth! So as we were coming back to the club to turn in the stuff we collected we saw a kid and his mom looking at pictures, so we ran up to him and asked the mom if we could borrow her son. She looked at me like I was crazy. I told her he would help us win a Scavanger Hunt and that we would just be down the hall for a second. She said "yes" but the kid looked scared out of his mind! We walk into the club and our director asks us who the kid belongs to and we explain how he is our something with teeth. She starts laughing so hard and we let the kid go back to his mom. He practically ran the whole way.

The next day we docked in Cabo and went Zip Lining! It was so fun and scary at the same time. They made us put on these ugly Doo-Rag type things and then a bulky helmet and a harness. Then we hiked up this mountain and went on about 10 different zip lines across canyons and off huge cliffs. If you looked down you saw pointy rocks and cacti. It was awesome! Then they took us to this really high cliff and told us we are about to repel down it.... 180 ft!!!!!!! It was so scary! I hate heights, and was practically in tears. When I finally reached the bottom I was shaking so bad and had to sit down. It was so crazy. The next day we went parasailing, which is where you are being pulled by a boat in the air with a parachute on your back. When I was up there I looked down on the ocean and saw a school of sting rays! It was so cool, but no one else saw them! I was so mad!

The next and last day was a day at sea while we traveled back to California. I hung out with a girl I met on the boat all day and her siblings. We traveled all over the boat and saw a whale while we were getting ice cream! I can't believe all the wildlife I saw this past week. It was an amazing vacation and gets better, but I have to leave something for Ryan and Cameron to write about!

Cameron at Knott's Berry Farm

2009-07-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hola'. This is Cameron. This summer we went on a great Cruise to Cabo San Lucas. When we got back we went to Knott's Berry Farm which was so fun. I did ALL the rides except the "Rip Tide" and the "Supreme Scream" those looked too scary to go on. I think the best ride was the "Boomerang." The "Boomerang" pulls you up then lets you go really fast and you do two front loops then you do two loops backwards. It was SO fun. The second best was called the "Silver Bullet" in this one it's like you are sitting in a chair and you go upside down and it is awesome. The third best is the "Ghost Rider" it is all made of wood so it wobbles back and forth - it's SO scary. The fourth coolest is called the "Xcelorator" it goes straight up and then straight down. It was really wild - but I rode it with my hands up in the air. I thought it would be crazier that way and I was right. You go from zero to eighty in 2.3 seconds. The fifth best ride is "Montezumas Revenge." You go really fast and then do a full loop upside down and then you do the same loop backwards and really fast.

It was a great trip. I don't think I want to go back to school. Well that's all I have to say for now so see you later bye. (by clicking on the photos we post, you can see any of them larger)

The Latest Goings On

2009-07-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

This is Trish. I have been trying to get the kids to write on our blog this summer, because they are "so bored." However, they have pointed out that I have NEVER done a blog post, so I'm going to do my first-ever entry.

School ended, and summer started with a BANG! Megan was off to Girl's camp and then Branson, MO with her show choir. They ended up taking 2nd place out of 23 choirs from all over the USA.

Next, Cameron had her stage debut in the Kyrene Summer Academy production of "Alice in Wonderland." She was in the ensemble, and got to sing and be a flower, a starfish, a bug, and was very comfortable on the stage. The photo is with the "Queen of Hearts."One performance was on her 9th birthday, which was a fun way to celebrate. We talked her Grandma and Grandpa Woods into coming to see her show, and it was nice to have them there. They are good sports.

Megan can't stay away from the stage, so she volunteered her time each day to help with the production. She helped the kids design and create costumes, scenery, and did any odd-job that Mrs. Miller, the director asked. She had a great time doing it.

Ryan finished up his little league career with his team taking 2nd place. He was not chosen for the All-Star team this year, which freed him up to go to Scout Camp. He's there right now, working on his "Horsemanship" and "Rifle" merit badges. I'm sure he's enjoying every minute, and the cool air above Payson, and not thinking about us here in the 112 degree heat. When we get him home on Friday, we're going to drive to San Diego and get on the Carnival Cruise Ship Elation of the Seas for a little 5-day cruise down to Cabo. The kids are really looking forward to it.

The AZ Legislature has been keeping Mike busy. He pulled off some miraculous accomplishments for his clients, only to have the Governor VETO the whole shebang! Right now they are recessed, so we can go on the cruise, and he can re-work his miracles when we get back.
I took a 45 hour SEI course through EAC at the Gila Pueblo Campus in order to keep my teaching certificate up to date. It actually was very interesting. I didn't even mind the drive to Globe each day. I got an Amazon "Kindle" for Graduation, which is an electronic book reader. I can read books on it, but while I am driving, I can turn on the "text-to-speech" function and have it read to me out loud. It made the drive quick and painless. I am very happy to have a job this next school year in our school library. I can put that Master's Degree in Library Science to some use.

Megan was in a play this Spring called "Honk." It is kind of the musical version of the "Ugly Duckling." I never cease to be amazed and proud of her singing voice, so I'm attaching a scene from the play. Her character is "Dot" a Goose with a British accent (huh?). Wait until you hear her sing!!! I am a proud mom. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39rrZytBPRM

So There! I've done my blog post. Hopefully Megan, Ryan and Cameron will do some entries after their trip to Cabo. There's no telling what adventures they might have.

Girls Camp and Branson

2009-06-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! It's Megan! So my summer just started off with a bang! School ended and the next day I was up at 4 0'clock in the morning to get to go to Girls Camp. All the 4th year girls gathered at our leaaders house where we piled in to two cars to drive all the way to Payson. In Payson we unloaded our stuff and started a 4 mile hike to the top of a mountain with 30 pound packs on our backs. The hike up was not fun at all because it was all uphill. It was terrible! After two hours of hiking we finally arrived at the campsite. It was brutal.

Once we hit the campsite we pitched our tents and then the rain rolled in. It poured and poured and poured. All the girls crammed in our tents and we waited it out. When it eventually stopped we filed outside and all cooked Mexican food on a camp stove. It was pretty random but so much fun!

After dinner it started raining yet again! It rained all through the night and another girls tent flooded! The next day it was so bad that my leader gave us two different options, we could stay in the rain and cold, or we could hike down, go to Pizza Hut, then go to our girls camp, Camp LoMia. Of course we all chose Pizza Hut! Haha. So we took down the tents and packed up our bags and started the hike down. Going back was much more fun! It was all downhill and only slightly raining. It was pretty muddy and I went the whole way not slipping once.... until the very last stretch! I slipped and my whole leg was covered in mud! It was pretty sad.

So we made it to the cars in an hour and a half. It was such a pretty hike! I loved the hike down! After a delicious hot meal at Pizza Hut we went to LoMia. We basically had the run of the camp. All us girls had gotten really close and so it was just one huge party! We spent the night in the cabin and it rained some more!

The next morning me and my friend McKinley felt so gross we wanted to go and take a shower. But they were SO cold! We couldn't just stand in there it was so cold. We had to go one limb at a time! After getting a little cleaner we felt so much better!!!

The rest of the stake girls got there later that day. I was put in charge of directing my wards camp skit so we had rehearsal as soon as they got there. That night was the presentation of all the skits and none were as good as ours (I know - I need to learn humility)! The theme of camp was Superhero's and our ward chose Buzz Lightyear. We had one girl play buzz and the other girls were the little alien dudes. At the end they all danced to Bye Bye Bye by N'Sync. The 4th year girls were the Fantastic 4! How cute right? My idea!

I had to leave camp a day early because I had to catch a flight to Branson, Missouri for show choir. But that is a story for another day. Now, Me and my siblings have a list of chores to do so I better start on those. You know, have to keep dad happy.

Until another time, Adieu.

SUMMER!!!!!

2009-06-10T13:21:00.001-07:00

School is out and summer is in. I am not yet sure how to entertain my self for the entire summer. Although If I make the All-Star Little League team I will have a bunch to do. This baseball season I played Catcher, Shortshtop and I pitched a little bit. I am not sure that I will make the team. I'm not sure because the way people get picked for All-Stars is that other players pick from a list of names; and not really dependent on playing ability.

But if I don't get picked for the team I will go to Scout camp for a week up in northern Arizona. The last time I went to Geronimo it rained a lot and we had a great campsite. We were up on a hill so the view was great, but taking the gear up and down the trail was a tough job.

As you might have known, my birthday was a few days ago. I had a great party with my cousins from Tempe. We went to Fiddlesticks for the whole day. There was hardly anyone there so we got to go on as many rides as we wanted to. We also went mini-golfing; and I won by 3 strokes. My summer started out great and it will stay this way (hopefully) for the rest of the summer.

RyAn GaRdNeR

My first time on stage

2009-06-10T10:49:00.000-07:00

Aloha everyone this is Cameron. This summer I auditioned for a play. I am in a play called "Alice in Wonderland." I am in the ensemble. The ensemble is the extra parts without names. The parts I have so far are a starfish an extra flower and a four person bug.

The first day of auditions was very fun. We sang a couple of songs on the first day. On the second day we read lines. - and we did that again on the third day. Rehearsals are fun but the worst thing about rehearsals is the kid drama. I wish some of these children would act more mature. Rehearsals are fun, too. We started choreographing the song "I'm late". The dancing is really cute. We've now gone through 78 pages of the script in just 8 days. Wow - that's a lot .

The dates of my play are: June 23rd and 24th at 7:00. Come see it if you can.

Pinkwood Derby

2009-03-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Hello this is Cameron - for the past couple weeks me and my dad have been working on a pinkwood derby car. A pinkwood derby is like a pinewood derby for girls.... and all cars have to have pink on them. So my car has black with pink polka dots. I knew my car was fast - I just never knew about my competition. So yesterday I was very excited but nervous, too. When we got to the church we had to do a weigh in then put graphite on my car then do a final weigh in. Then in five minutes it was race time.

At first I thought they forgot about me because my friends were racing but not me. But then they called my name and I got to do my first race. I won all the races. YEAH! I was very excited. I took first place for our ward. My prize was a t-shirt and a certificate. Then, we had to see who's was the fastest in the stake and I came in second. I can't wait for next years pinkwood derby.

Sports

2009-03-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Y'all,

Its Ryan comin' to you from my house!!! I am involved in many sports. I am currently in Baseball, Basketball, and Track & Field. In baseball I am playing Little League and I got drafted by the Diamondbacks. We have had about 3 practices. We have Jay Bell's son on our team and Jay Bell is helping coach us. We arereally lucky. In Basketball I am a guard. It is hard to get shots up because everyone is taller than me. In Track & Field I do the Discus, Long Jump, and the High Jump. I am not the best but it is still fun to compete.

If any one has any advice, I will gladly accept it.

It is going to be a busy spring! Maybe I should quit school :)

Youth Conference

2009-03-01T08:53:00.000-08:00

Hey, its Megan. Every year our Stake does a service project of some kind and all the youth, ages 14 and up go and participate. Well yesterday for the project the youth put on a carnival for special needs kids at my school. It was so fun! Each ward had 2 booths to work and those of us who were not needed at the booth would walk around and spend the day with a kid, being a "Best Buddy." I was a Best Buddy and my partner's name was Michael. He was so funny! He was the first one of the kids to arrive so we got to hit all the games first and several times after that. He was really good at the basketball booth. He never missed a shot! It was so cool. He wanted to vist all the booths...and he would want to run there. I think we lapped the school about 50 times. But it was still so fun. Then after the carnival we had a small dance in the cafeteria with the kids. We had a blast being buddies with the kids!! They loved the music and loved to dance. One girl was a great break dancer.

After the dance the kids went home and the youth went to the church for lunch and games. Hanging out with the other kids from the stake was a lot of fun. We played a game called Mingle. You dance around a room until someone calls out a number and you have to get in a group of that many people. Playing that game with a bunch of overly competitive guys was not necessarily the safest game but it was still fun! Really all the girls had to do was stand there and wait for a guy to grab you and pull you into a group. You always hoped that it was a group of cute guys too! ;)

Then after the games we all went to Skateland. Skateland is just a roller rink that is pretty cool. We were all really tired but somehow we still had enough energy to skate in circles and dance like maniacs. It was really fun but when I got home I was exhausted. I still am! But I really liked hanging out with Michael yesterday.

Pinky Update

2009-01-04T15:22:00.000-08:00

This is Cameron. I am getting really tired of my tired of my hand being in a half cast. The wrap comes off a couple of times a day (maybe that is because I mess with it constantly - I don't know). It is getting kind of annoying.

Last week my mom took me to the doctor to see if I could quit wearing the cast. He took another X-ray. Unfortunately, my pinky is not healing as fast as it should. You can see on the X-ray that there is a small piece of bone that is not attached to the rest of the hand. That is the problem that we are trying to fix.

The bottom line is that I am going to have to continue to wear the cast for another couple of weeks. Oh well - I just wish I had a wrap that is pink!

Treasure Hunting

2009-01-04T12:46:00.000-08:00

For Christmas we got a GPS so we could go GeoCaching. This is a high tech term for 21st century treasure hunting. There is a webpage that lists hundreds of thousands of treasures that have been hidden around the world. You type in your zip code and it will describe hundreds of items that have been hidden in your area. The site gives you lattitude and longitude coordinates. Pop those into the GPS and away you go. The GPS will get you close and then you have to hunt around until you find the treasure.

So far we have found five different cache treasures. Some have been as big as an ammo box. But one was just a small mint tin hidden under some rocks by a coffee shop. A couple were hidden inside light poles. Very tricky!

The larger cache's have trinkets for you to take as long as you leave something for the next guy. The smaller ones only have a log for you to sign.

We are now working on hiding our own cache for others to find. Let us know if you want to go treasure hunting with us sometime. :)

Let It Snow...

2009-01-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

This is Ryan. I think I am tough...but my mom thinks I am nuts. I had a good Christmas with my family. We went up to Holbrook to grandmas house on Christmas day. On the way up there we were disappointed because there was no snow. We stayed at a hotel for the night. On the second and last night we were there we said goodbye to every one and left. On the way back we stopped to play in the snow with our cousin Holli Mennaga. It was 19 degrees outside and after we had a snowball fight I took off my shirt and two jackets. I am so masculine. Do you like my guns??

Bless Us All

2009-01-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

It's Megan here to give an update on what is happening in my world. So as most of you know, because I posted a blog about it earlier, I just did a play called "A Christmas Carol." In the show my favorite song in the whole show was a song called "Bless Us All." This was the song where I had a couple really big solos. But the reason it was my favorite was because of the message the song portrays. In the scene prior to the song Bob Cratchit, my "husband", toasts the Christmas dinner to evil Mr. Scrooge. My character gets really upset because she feels Scrooge is a vile, wicked man. But then little Tiny Tim, who sees the good in everyone, convinces my character that maybe Scrooge doesn't deserve such harsh criticism. That leads into the cutest song ever. We made many of the people in the audience cry every show. It was super fun! The beginning of the song you can't really understand because Tiny Tim is 4 and really quiet so the first lyrics are the following.

"Life is full of sweet surprises, every day's a gift

The sun comes up and I can feel it lift my spirit

Fills me up with laughter

Fills me up with song

I look into the eyes of love and know that I belong"

Here is the link so you can hear the rest of the song. It isn't the best footage because it was filmed by a parent in the audience who didn't have the best seats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCXzIMeGvM8&feature=channel#

ENJOY!

Wrestling

2008-12-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

This is Ryan. I am staying busy. I just finished another school play and I also play in the band. Thank goodness baseball is now over. This happened just in time for me to start my second season of WRESTLING. So far this year I have won both of my matches. I pinned both guys I wrestled and they were both bigger than me.

I was going to upload a clip of the latest Jr. High Band concert - but it was kind of long. I thought you might want to see a video of my last wrestling matches. The video contains both matches...one right after the first. The first one is pretty short because I beat the guy pretty quick. The second match starts at the 1:39 mark of the video and it is a little longer - but if you look quick at the 2:54 mark of the video you can see me try and psych the other guy out with my soon to be famous "bear" maneauver. This is where I raise my hands and aggresively move towards my opponent. I am trying to intimidate the other guy because he is bigger than me.
Follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRFT-5OnDTc

Do you think I scared him? I wonder if I can patent this move.

A Christmas Carol

2008-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! It's Megan yet again and I am here with another fabulous update on the Gardner family. On Friday I had my first performance of "A Christmas Carol." I play Emily Cratchit (Tiny Tim's mom). If I do say so myself we rocked! Ha ha. We started off with a bang. Lots of energy and we were all so excited. I was really nervous, though. All day I felt like huge mutant butterflies moved into my stomach. Fun description I know. The first song went great. But then I am not in the show again until the second act so I don't know how the rest of the first act went because I was backstage.

Then intermission rolled around and then the action began. (at least my part of the play.) We had to change the set and costumes and curl this little girls hair in 10 minutes. It was just hectic. Then when we heard our director yell "places." We were ready and yet still really nervous. I am in the second act a lot with a really big song that makes most of the audience cry. I love looking at the audience and seeing parents and friends crying because of something I am singing. Ha ha - it sounds cruel - but it is a really cute song. After my song there is this scene where I have to cry. And all last week I was freaking out because I couldn't get myself to cry. It killed me! But then my friend Claire told me to just not blink and think of something sad. When I combine both of those things I am able to cry. I feel so accomplished. Ha ha.

My parents said they really liked it and so did Ryan and Cameron. We are doing 10 shows total in just two weeks. It is a lot - but I love it.

Well now I have another show so ta ta lovelies!

Broken Finger

2008-12-13T06:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas - this is Cameron! On Monday, I was at recess and I fell with my pinky finger bent backwards and my friend was on top of me. OUCH! It hurt like crazy. Then I went to lunch and I looked at my pinky and was very confused. It was swelling up so I went to the nurse and she gave me an ice pack for my pinky. After school I went to the doctor and he was smashing my finger and it hurt really bad and he didn't think it was broken but he set up an appointment for a x - ray in 24 hours if it was still swollen. It was so I got an x-ray and the girl couldn't figure out if it was broken either. So the next day they called us and said it was broken. Lucky me. They put a half cast on my arm and that's what I have on right now.

It was tough typing this with only 9 fingers. My dad doesn't think that I will be able to open any presents on Christmas - so he says he is not going to get me anything.

Have a Merry Christmas. I hope you all get something good.

A Christmas Carol

2008-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Yellow dudes and dudette's! Megan here yet again and guess what.... I got another part in another show! The show is "A Christmas Carol," and I'm doing at a local community theatre here in Ahwatukee - the Awhatukee Childrens Theater. The character I play is Emily Cratchit. I'm the mother of Tiny Tim and the other Cratchit family. I'm so excited to be doing this show because its my first show there and I already have a really big part! It's so awesome! My friend Brooklynn has been trying to get me to try out for a show there for a couple years now, but I haven't until now. I was really worried that I would be the only new kid and that I would have a hard time fitting in. But when I got there I saw one of my other really good friends Kylie. It is also her first show at ACT. OOOH! I'm so excited!

I don't know the times of the show or the price of the tickets but as soon as I do you will all be the first to know!

So Friday was the first audition. I had to go in and sing a song for the main director. I was really scared and shaking because it was kind of intimidating just standing in a room alone with her. When I was done with the first verse she stopped me and said I had a great voice and that I got a call-back but that she didn't know for which part yet. I had to wait a whole hour before the list was posted. When I logged on it said that I got called back for 3 really good parts - I was so ecstatic! So the next morning at 9 I went for my second audition where they had me read for all the parts I got called back for. Then when we were all done I went home, and my stomach was infested with huge mutant butterflies! It was 1 when I got home and the list would be posted at 2. I couldn't stop pushing refresh to see if it was posted early. It was getting to the point of my fingers hurting form clicking so much. Then at exactly 2:03, the cast list was up.

My parents were napping so when I saw my name I had to scream into a nearby pillow so I didn't wake them up. But then I had to run upstairs and wake them up anyway and tell them the awesome news and cause I had a rehearsal at 4. At 4 I went and we've already learned our 1st dance and did a whole read through and sing through. I'm sooo excited people! OK well, toodles noodles! Remember, Life Is Good At The Gardner's.

High School Musical 3

2008-10-24T07:32:00.001-07:00

Bonjour bloggers...this is Megan. Last night, at midnight, my dad and I went and saw the very first screening of High School Musical 3. It officially opens on Friday so the theater couldn't show it until 12:01 am on Thursday evening. I have to go to a young womens retreat all weekend and wouldn't get to go see it until next week. I was bummed. So my dad took me to the midnight showing. I had never been to a show at 12:00 midnight before...let alone during the school week. I might sound like a total nerd but it was really good. And Zac Efron was very cute. The theater had about 150 other crazy fans as well (mostly girls - big surprise...not). We all screamed when Zac did something cute on screen...which was often.

Scharpay wore too much make-up. But, I liked how her character developed throughout the show.

I am not going to give too much away. But, if you want more juicy details just text or e-mail me and I will reveal all.

Overall, I give this movie 2 thumbs up!

Baseball

2008-10-05T17:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, this is Ryan. This is only my second post so hopefully it won't stink. OK, I am on a baseball team. We are doing really good. We won 3 times and lost only once. We beat one of our teams by the mercy rule (It means that we can call the game if we get 10 more runs than the other team) We also won by 8 runs in my last game. It felt really good.

If you click on the picture it pops up larger. That way you can see the beautiful face I am making. You can also see the tendons in my arm stretching. COOL!!I am usually playing in centerfield. I like to play short-stop, second base, and centerfield. My coach let me be the catcher the last game. I was really good a while ago so I think that he will let me catch some more. My final position that I am good at is Pitcher. I am only pitching at 45 mph. It seems quite fast, but I have seen people as old as I am pitching at 60 mph. It was amazing. I am only pitching 45 mph. but nobody can seem to get good hits off of me. They usually only get a slow grounder and get thrown out at first. I hope to talk/type to you again.

Sincerely

Ryan

I Love Kevin Jonas

2008-10-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all - this is Cameron again. I just want you to know that I'm engaged with this boy named Kevin Jonas. One problem, he has know idea who I am and that we are going to be married. I wonder what kind of ring he will get me. I hope its giant with lots and lots of diamonds.

volleyball game ;]

2008-09-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Hi its me Cameron again. I am playing volleyball and my daddy is the coach. On the 20th we had our first game. We didn't keep score for the first game. We did for the second. For the first game I honestly have to say that my team won.

There are only two teams so we play the same team every week. My two friends who were in kindergarten with me are on the other team and I love them sooooo much.

For the second game we kept score just for fun and the first game the other team one the first two games and we one the last game. This Saturday we are playing so lets hope we win.

Our team name is the Firecrackers. Go Firecrackers!!
I . I
U

Broken Toe

2008-09-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Aloha people of earth and beyond! Once again it is every ones favorite person Megan here to tell y'all about my awesome life! So a week ago I was so psyched to go to an audition for a school show! The day before I felt that I had rocked the audition so I was pretty confident. So my mom dropped me off in front of the stairs and I saw my friends so I ran to catch up. As I was running up the steps though I slipped forward. Yes I know, I know only I could fall going up a flight of stairs. Anyway at the time I didn't feel anything. Just a bump on my shin. So after I got all my laughter out of my system my friends helped me up and we went into auditions. As I started walking around the room though I noticed my big toe started hurting like crazy! It swelled about 3 sizes too big! And that day the director just had to call me up repeatedly! So I was limping all over the place and by the end of the hour I already had a new nick name. Crippled. Oh well. When my mom picked me up my toe was really red and big. We were going to go to another football game that night but of course i couldn't maneuver the treacherous bleachers with my toe so me and the young ones stayed home while my parents went out. I was a lazy blob on Saturday. My dad picked me up some chick flicks and I just watched those all day. Cam and Ry were my little helper monkeys all day so that was nice. Then I got crutches but those hurt like crazy! I'm still sore. Oh well. That's all for now. We have a busy day of baseball and a barbecue. Never forget, that Life Is Good At The Gardner's!

Amazing

2008-09-14T18:07:00.000-07:00

OK, I am Ryan, it is my first blog so hopefully it will not stink. I am involved in many activities. I am on a Baseball team. I just had my second practice and I think that our team is very good. I am also in the school play; "Legend of Sleepy Hollow". I am farmer Stuyvesant if any of you know him. I am going to the first rehearsal tomorrow Monday, Sept 15. I am also singing in front of the entire Priesthood of the stake tonight. I am singing "Army of Helaman" a great primary song. I am nervous because, when I was playing Charlie in "Willy Wonka" I could move around and laugh, in church I can't and I have to be serious. Well I guess that I will talk to you all again.
Sincerely
Ryan

DV Football

2008-09-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yola, Megan again. So Friday night the Gardner fam piled into the car and went to my first High School football game. We brought Conner along with us to. Anyway, we got there and found some good seats, unfortunately that was the Senior section. It was a block of Seniors and Freshman wannabes all clustered into one group watching the game. So after a few minutes I spotted a bunch of my friends in the Senior cluster so I left my family to go hang with them. We were all a little sugar high at the time so we were getting weird looks the whole time. Then like 10 minutes later I got a text from one of my friends telling me to come to the top of the bleachers with her and our guy friend Mckay. So up there are a bunch of my Mormon friends and we were even crazier than me and my friends before. I kept running into a bunch of my friends and every single one of them has a crush on Mckay. They know nothing about him and yet they think he is really cute. My dad doesn't understand what they see in him. Really neither do I. Anyway we eventually moved down so we were 2 rows down from my family. My parents were very nice and let me and Mary flirt without any interruption. My siblings on the other hand, weren't as nice. Neither of them have ever met Mckay so of course they were all over me trying to meet him. At one point Ryan was trying to be funny and pulled be back, and I almost fell off the bleachers! Luckily Mary grabbed my feet and Mckay grabbed my arm. So all in all it was a fun night. Oh and in case you were wondering, Desert Vista Thunder beat the Mesa Jackrabbits 49-0. I don't really know how cause I wasn't totally paying attention, but I'm glad we won!! (sorry Grandma Woods) And I know, anybody reading this is gonna start commenting on here about Mckay and wanting details so let me sum this up for you... I DON'T LIKE HIM!! I just hung out with Cassie and Holli too much as a kid and now I am a big flirt. But I don't like him!! But when has that ever stopped any of you from teasing me? Never. Oh well. Tata for now muchachos and muchachas!

Primary talent show!

2008-09-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

This is Cameron. On Saturday our Primary had a talent show. I am of a member of a singing group called the Sugar and Spice Singers'. We performed at the talent show. We sang the Broadway tune "I Enjoy Being a Girl", "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music and "Jon Jacob Jingle Himer Schmitt." One of my favorite acts during the show was a little girl named Janie - she wanted to be Superman for the talent show and she was going to fly. Her dad explained that to fly you always need the red cape and the Superman shirt and always you need the perfect curl. NOW KIDS DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME! She says up-up and- away and then her dad lifted her up and carried her high above his head across the room. It looked fun! Then my friend Charlotte she did gymnastics to "Fly on the Wall" by Miley Cyrus and she sang "Our Song" by Taylor Swift.

First Day of School

2008-08-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hey people! Megan here! So for our first blog entry I'm here to tell you all about me and my siblings awesome first day of school!

We'll start with the baby of the family, Cameron for those of you who don't know. Cameron was so excited to start her first day of 3rd grade. She was the first one up with so much energy. How she does it, I have no idea!! She really missed her friends and she was excited to see her new teacher Ms. Sibala. We have a nick name for her teacher at home. Smiley Sibala. Every time we see that woman she is grinning from ear to ear. Sound familiar? :) Heehee. Cam is still loving school, whats wrong with that girl?

Now on to our middle child and manly man Ryan. He started 7th grade at Akimel A-al. First day he really didn't want to go back, he liked hanging out at home with our cousins Kreston and Conner. But unfortunately fate worked against him that day and he had to go. He got a crazy science teacher this year. Seriously the woman has penguin on the brain! Last year she came to school dressed as a penguin! But Ry seems to like her. He sang in church that week and now all the girls love him! It wouldn't be that bad except most of them are some of my best friends, so that makes it kinda creepy. Ryan's just playing the field though! He took notes watching Jared this summer. Thanks a bunch Jared!

Now to the more beautiful child! ME (Megan)! So this year I became one of like 2000 freshmen joining Desert Vista High School. Many of you know how incredibly freaked I have been since like January about high school, but in reality, I don't know what I was so worried about. So even though this kills me, you all were right and I was wrong. Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of my first day was that I made it to all my classes on time and I never once walked in the wrong class! Thank you thank you but applause really isn't necessary! And all my classes are on opposite sides of the campus!

So that's basically our days. Hopefully we will have more fantabulous stories to tell you soon. But until then keep it real! And remember Life Is Good at the Gardners!