Ode to Jeffrey

Yesterday was my brother Jeffrey's graduation from Cypress High School!! Yay for him! I was so sad that I couldn't be there but I know he was awesome and he walked up in his cap and gown and got that diploma with such grace and elegance. I just know it! Just 2 days after her graduates (that will be tomorrow), he comes up to UTAH to start his next step in life as a College Freshman at BYU!! Oh, I could not be more excited!!!
After Scott graduated and moved out it was just me and Jeffrey at home. We had 3 years where it was just the two of us. I really feel like we became really good friends and I could not ask for a better little brother! We love to hang out whenever I come home and now I can't wait for him to come up to BYU so we can play all the time! I really miss having siblings up here! But no more, because he is coming!! Yay!
For two years, Jeff and I went to the same school, Oxford, and I loved seeing him on campus! It was so fun to tease him as he walked past our table at lunch and my friends just thought he was the most adorable thing ever! (that would be because he is!). We had some great times and here are some pictures of the fun times we had together! (I have so much more but not on my computer, so these will have to suffice!)

Jeff, my mom, and I went to Europe to visit Brian when he lived in London. Jeff is a GREAT travel partner, that is for sure! He is so laid back and is good with whatever comes his way. (Look how little he looks!! haha)
Jeff made many trips up to see me when I was at BYU and he was still at home. One of our favorite things to do was to go snowboarding. (I totally taught him everything he knows!) What a stud!!
Jeff is just a fun guy!! He loves to make funny faces! haha. I think he stole my camera for this one! This is at Brian's wedding. We had fun times in Washington, that is for sure!! Rob's wedding. Again, with the funny faces. I wonder where he gets that from? hehe. We like to have fun together. At the dinner the night before my wedding. He is always there to support his family! What a great guy!! On my wedding day at the temple. This is all the siblings, minus Ryan... (oops). I love all my siblings and am so happy that we are all such good friends! I know I can always count on them for everything!! I am sooo excited for Jeffrey to come to BYU and am so proud of all the hard work he did to get in so he can come play with me all the time! I totally expect him over every other Sunday to have a good home-cooked dinner. (The Sundays in between, I expect him to have Ryan and I over to the Cannon Center! haha). We love you Jeffie!!! See you soon!!

Madison Wisconsin

What do you think of when you hear, "Madison, WI?" Well, if you are anything like me, I thought, "Hmm... middle of nowhere..." But I was wrong. This past weekend I, and 11 other nursing students, attended a conference in Madison, WI. As we were landing, my friend looks out the window and says, "Wow, its actually pretty here," seeing all the trees and such. The lady next to her looks at her and says, "Uh, ya. What did you think?" She was slightly annoyed that we did not know that Madison was actually pretty.

The conference was, well let's just say very interesting and leave it at that. I could go on and on about all the crazies we saw, but hey, that just wouldn't be very nice... But it also would be very funny, too, huh? Ok, maybe just one. We were swimming in the hotel pool, just ready to go back up to our rooms when who walks in the pool doors? A woman who, not even kidding you, has this ashy blue skin. She looked semi-ly like a vampire of some sort. It was the strangest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. Then I remembered at one of the booths selling silver for ingestion to decrease viruses and bacteria, the man said that if you get the wrong kind of silver, it can turn you blue! So, I guess that lady needed to visit that booth too...

Ok, so just one more. Mullet. That is all I really need to say. Oh, wait, Mullet on a Woman... ya, 'nough said.

But even though the people were a bit crazy and some of the stuff was a little odd, I can still say I learned a lot from these people. I learned how to be more caring for my patients and really look at them as a person, and not as a task that needs to be completed. I think I will be a better nurse for having attended.

Anyway, this post was supposed to be about how pretty Madison (actually) was. The city is right by two lakes and has a bunch of fun places to hang out right on the lakes. There are streets with shops and restaraunts all down them and it was just so much fun to explore. We walked everywhere we went and got to see a lot of this fun little city. We walked to the lake one night and found thisThat's right, SIX skiers at one time, each with someone on their back. It was awesome! We weren't exactly sure why they were all doing this: practice for some future competition? Who knows. But it was pretty cool. And to ski with a person on your shoulders? Talent.

We also visited one of the ice cream shops and found this wonderful sign... Thats right if you are going to eat ice cream, you should eat only the best. Enjoy it!!! Madison has got it down!
We headed down to their Farmer's Market which is held all around their Capital Building. It was the biggest Farmer's Market I've ever seen. They had fruits and vegies that were bigger than I've ever seen. Their green onions were very large, even though the picture doesn't do it justice.Wisconsin is also famously known for its cheese and let me tell you I had plenty of cheese to attest to that. We tasted the winner of the best cheese in Wisconsin--Parmasen, which was really good. At the market they had cheese that you grilled! Wow, it was so good! Lynne would have loved it! Every other stand they were selling Cheese Curds, so mom would have loved it too. It was absolutely delish!

It made me think that I could pretty much live anywhere because who would have thought that I would find such a great place in Wisconsin. But then again, we were there during the Spring time. I bet Winter is much more brutal... Ew.

My Husband Rocks Fridays

Ok, so I know it isn't Friday, but I am currently in Wisconsin at a nursing conference and so I ask for your forgiveness and allow me to post--My Husband Rocks Saturday.

On Sunday, we both kinda slept in and kinda relaxed until it was time to go to church. But in the morning Ryan asked me, "What can I do for you today to help you out?" I thought that was the sweetest thing for him to think of me and the help I might have had with dinner or something like that. I am grateful that Ryan is so thoughtful and is always willing to help out. I love you honey!

Spare Time...

I have been having a lot of spare time lately as school is dying down and I still cannot find a job. So, this is what I've been doing.
I have been looking for a place for Ryan and I to live come August 31st when we get kicked out of our current apartment. This house was my absolute favorite! I love that it is yellow and the fabulous porch! Wow. I pretty much fell in love with it! It is in a perfect location for Ryan's work and someday my work (hopefully) at the hospital nearby. We kinda love it... Anyone got $274,900 to spare?

Ryan Threw Away His Lunch?

This morning while Ryan was getting ready for work at 7:30 AM, I was in the kitchen putting together a lunch for him. I gave him the leftovers he wanted, not just put in the oldest thing in the fridge to get rid of it. It was a good lunch too. With chicken, beans, corn, and rice. Then there was an apple and orange, an almond rocha (which Ryan loves), AND the leftover cookies we made from Sunday (his grandma's recipe). After making my hubby's lunch, I realized the trash was getting pretty full. So I thought, "Hey, maybe Ryan can take it out on the way to his car. It is totally on is way out." So I get it all ready for him to take out and put it by the door. So time comes for him to leave and he grabs the trash and grabs his lunch and out the door he walks.

I didn't think much of it from then on until Ryan asks me on gchat, "Did I walk out the door today and leave my lunch again?" Immediately, I knew what had happened...and I was right. I said, "Did you throw your lunch away?" He responded with, "What? Why would I throw my lunch away?" like that was the most absurb thing anyone could do. "Uh... Because you took the trash out this morning and threw them both in." I actually had to explain to him how he threw it away before he realized what he had done. As he was walking out the door and to the trashcan, he just threw everything in and went to work. He didn't even realize what he did until 11:30. Well, it happens folks. Sometimes, your husband throws away his lunch... I guess it wasn't good enough for Ryan Gardner. :) Love ya babe!

My Husband Rocks Fridays

I stumbled across a great post on another blog that talks about operation My Husband Rocks (MHR). Basically, in a world full of failing marriages and a lot of down talking the sacredness and wonderful nature of marriage, I would like to take a stand and tell everyone how much I love being married. Not only being married, but really being married to Ryan James Gardner. I chose him to be with me forever, through all that we go through, and although I know that it is not always easy, it is always worth it!
So how this goes is that every Friday I am going to post an anecdote, thought, story, situation, photo, quote etc. to explain how My Husband Rocks!! I hope that you can all find greatness in your own spouse and always look at them in a positive light!! This will start today, as it is Friday...

So last night I was at my oh-so-boring class up in Salt Lake and Ry was home all by himself. First of all, he is great because every Tuesday or Thursday, while I'm at class, he keeps me company during the hours of rambling teacher-talk on gchat. It has become a life-safer, for real! But in particular, yesterday I got an email from the trail run people, a site I signed up for ages ago, saying they are having a half marathon down the Provo canyon come August. I thought to myself, "Great!!! I can do this!" And immediately went online to tell Ryan that we should run a half marathon. Now all those who know Ryan know how much he really hates to run. He just doesn't enjoy it at all, so of course I was expecting him to say no. But instead his response was:

Ryan: maybe i can handle that

but if my knee breaks it's all your fault ok?

me: really?

you are gonna do it with me?!

Ryan: yes, of course

Ryan: i'm not letting you get several miles away from me that often

i'm keeping you in my sights

I was so happy that he would really do anything for me, even run 13.1 miles, just to be with me! He really does want to be with me in everything we do and that is why My Husband Rocks!!

It Hurts and It's Still Hurting!

Saturday night we met up with Bacob to go to the park and have a mini-BBQ ("grilling out" for those of you in the know...). We made burgers and then we played a little catch. We thought it would be fun to play 3 Flies Up. The game where one person throws the ball in the air and the other people have to try to catch it (normally there is a lot of pushing/shoving/etc. in the game). Well as the saying goes, "It's all fun and games till someone gets hurt." Jacob threw the ball up and Ryan and I both went for the ball and SMACK! the ball hit him right in the head. I heard a thud and Bacob said they saw the whole thing. It didn't look too pleasant.

"They call it Soft Ball. Makes it sound like it's harmless! You ever take a line drive to the face in softball? You don't go, 'Hey, that's downy soft! That was like a big ball of cotton!'"

I think Ryan can attest to the fact that Softballs are definitely not soft! Sorry Ry!

Thankfully someone before us had used an ice chest and had dumped out all their extra ice on the ground so Ryan could ice his head right away. Thanks to those people, he doesn't even have a bump on his head! However, this image had me rolling on the ground laughing (not at him getting hit on the head but, him with his head on a pile of ice on the ground!) It makes me laugh every time I think about it too!

Happy Birthday Love!!!

Tomorrow, May 29, is Ryan's birthday. He will be ** years old... haha! I wish him a very happy birthday and want him to know that I love him very very much!

Thanks for being the best babe!
Here is a picture of us exactly a year ago. We went hiking for Ry's birthday. A lot has happened since his last birthday. Let's see... He took a new job to be with me, I did not go to El Salvador, we got engaged, got married. That's a lot of change, but change that I will gladly accept because it has been a great year!!

Grill Out

Maybe it is because I am a girl and I really don't do a lot of grilling, but I have never heard the term, "grill out." I was sitting in my boring class at 9pm and talking to Ry on gchat at the same time and he says, "Rob wanted to grill out tonight." I seriously laughed. What a funny saying. "Hey, wanna grill out tonight?" Ok, I'm totally gonna put that in my every day vocab! Anyone else ever heard this?

Need a Hair Cut?

A couple of weeks ago Ryan really needed a haircut and said, hey, let's go buy some clipper from target and you can cut my hair. I wasn't quite ready for it so he just went to the barber. But last week, Ryan again said, let's just go get the clippers and you can cut my hair. So, off to Target we went and came home with our own new hair clipper set! I was pretty worried about cutting his hair with no direction, so we waited until we went to California this weekend. So on Saturday, my dad got out his clippers and we had a hair-cutting lesson. I practiced on Jeffrey (don't worry, my dad helped with this one and it looks great!) and then off I went on Ryan's hair. I'll have to say that it was pretty fun. I feel like I did a pretty good job too! I just need more practice, so it's a good thing Ryan's hair grows so fast! Hopefully I'll get better and better so I can be Jeffy's new official barber too when he comes up here! Got any friends? :)

Sorry and Thanks

Sorry there is nothing that exciting happening in our lives right now to post about.
Thanks for checking the blog anyway.

Sorry we live so far away from both of our families (we really are sorry about this... or at least I am)
Thanks for calling and talking to us to let us know you don't forget about us.

Sorry I can't find a job.
Thanks for letting Jeffy come up here so I can just play with him all summer long instead of working!!! WAHOO!!

Sorry Ryan has to go to work all day long.
Thanks for being such a hard worker Ry! Love you!

Sorry for your roomies...
Thanks for venting to ME!! (it was the best!)

Sorry for leaving little Cadie right after she was born.
Thanks for coming right before I left!! (and Thanks that I get to go see her again!!!)

Sorry your mother's day present may be a little late (Sorry Vivian... It's coming!)
Thanks for being such a great mom anyway!

Sorry this post was kinda boring.
Thanks for making it to the end!

Lesssons in Marriage, pt. 1

Somebody once wrote a book called something like, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". Other people say that men and women just don't speak the "same language". My theory is based on my Oral Communications class with Ms. Houska from 10th grade: communication is all about the common field of experience. For instance, I could see a guy with a Bulls hat or a Michigan shirt on and immediately be able to talk to him for hours and hours about sports, because we have that shared field of experience. Whereas Andrea could have an entire conversation with Lynne about the latest shoes at Nordstrom from across a crowded room using only her eyes and head nods, again because of the field of experience.

So naturally, I was absolutely clueless when we were running late for church this morning and Andrea asked me to "get her purse ready". Don't they come pre-sewn? What assembly is required here? She always likes looking at $250 Coach bags or whatever (I say whatever there to pass it off like I don't know thus making me more manly, but sadly I know quite a few of these brands), do they give you a kit and you build it youself? I figure for a couple hundred bucks the purse should come "pre-readied". But I guess "get my purse ready" means I have to get only the useful stuff out of the purse she used yesterday, and put it in today's purse.

Now I know, and knowing is half the battle....(GI Joe)

Primary

So today I was called to be the 1st Counselor in the Primary Presidency. However, in a young married ward, this really means I'm a babysitter in the nursery!! Haha. There are about 10 kids in our ward that come to nursery/primary and they range from about 18 months to 3 years. Today was my first day and because I still don't know a ton of people in the ward, I knew none of the childrens' names but I soon learned them from the other girls in there. Today it pretty much consisted of play time, singing (I really need to study up on those primary song words again...), Sunbeams (where anyone 3 years old gets to go learn a lesson (there are two of them), back to the whole group for snack time, and then play time again. It is funny trying to teach a lesson to the girls in Sunbeam because if you ask them a question they always resopond with "Jesus Loves Me!!" Well, at least they are learning something. I look forward to hanging out with the little kids for the next couple of months!!

It Happened

Both our cars have Utah plates.

Ryan has a "dad" job in Utah

I haven't lived in California for 4 years. Ryan hasn't lived in Illinois for 8 years.

I now have a license in Utah.

Lately

Reading Harry Potter for the first time (starting from book number 1 of course) It really keeps me going at the gym so I think it will be a big success

Taking finals (I've never waited until the last day to take my finals, but hey, there is a first time for everything)

Watching WAY too much Gilmore Girls (not only do I have it on DVD but I now know that it is on tv at 12 pm and 6 pm which makes for fabulous entertainment!)

Got a calling (can't actually post what it is yet, but there will be another post devoted to it when I actually get sustained)

Made Cheesecake. Ate Cheesecake with Steph and Michael (yes, Ryan too)

First time ever making Sunday meatloaf. Who knew it was so easy! Totally making that more often because 1.) it is delish! 2.) It reminds me of home and that is what I LOVE!

Every time I call anyone in my family and ask what they are doing there are three potential responses: 1) We are going to see the baby 2) We are seeing the baby or 3) We just got done seeing the baby. At least bring a picture of me when you go so she knows who I am. Please?

Watching my two best friends graduate (Congrats to Steph and Becca)

And SO much more...