BIG MIKE IS 30?

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL DAVID GARDINEER!

One of the happiest days of our lives was the day Mike joined our family! He is totally a great fit. We are so blessed to have another "son" that we love and admire and feel totally attached to. Mike is fun. He is kind. He is patient (beyond belief!) He is loving. He is hard working. He is positive. He can fall asleep anywhere, easily. (like me) I know the very "best" Mike. I love him! As I write this, I am on my laptop, driving to the Oakland temple. My choice of pictures is limited, but I have a few, so enjoy!






We hope you have a very happy day! We love you!

hidden treasures of sonoma and mendicino counties

the past two weeks we have found some hidden treasures here in sonoma and mendicino county...thanks to some local residents with good information, and some visitors who helped us get out of our rut! :) with megan as our scribe we actually started "a bucket list" (in her words) of 100 things we would like to do before our mission concludes in july, 2012. we need some more advise from long time residents and missionaries who have enjoyed some exploring along the way.

while keri was here (by the way, it was so great to see her!!!) we went to st. helena for the day. it was a nice, curvey, two lane road drive, with beautiful scenery along the way. i think it must be very close to napa, but if you know me very well, you know i am very dislexic when it comes to directions, so let me be very clear, i am not sure! st. helena is a cute small town with some fun shops and lots and lots of great eateries (i guess, we liked the one we tried), and wine drinkers (i felt a little like i was back in carmel). My favorite purchases from the trip (if keri and i are together we will make purchases): a) an inchworm for beau's first birthday. b) some farm animals for beau (i want him to be practicing what sounds they make!) and four deer for lauren (the daddy-buck, the mommy-shelley, the sister-lily and the brother-bambi). c) some drinking glasses made in eureka (a keepsake).


a vineyard on the road to st. helena.


the only workers i have ever seen harvesting the grapes.


my dear friend!


our classic eatery. but look at the line...it is legendary. :)

we also explored armstrong grove. it is a redwood natural reserve that is about twenty minutes from santa rosa. i loved it! others who have seen the redwoods in oregon and washington and probably yosemite, might not be as impressed as i was with armstrong grove, but it was a fun little hike/walk to see the tallest and oldest trees there. we had a fun time! it was a short drive past some vineyards and through some beautiful country.


a beautiful grove of trees. so quiet and peaceful there.


we started out pretty chilly!


isn't she just cute? and happy looking?


sun coming through the trees.


this tree got the nick-name colonel lance armstrong tree. can you tell why?

last weekend while megan was here, we took a longer drive (a little over two hours) to fort bragg. fort bragg is north and west of santa rosa. you get there by driving on a two lane, very, very curvey road (with hair-pin turns), and vineyards, and lots of beautiful scenery along the way. i am very sad! i missed some beautiful shots of the grape leaves turning the most beautiful colors. i thought i would be able to make jon stop on the way back, but then we tried another road going home. sad. sad. now i have to go looking for some to show you! anyway, do i sound like a broken record? beautiful scenery, vineyards...blah, blah, blah. i thought hailey was going to hit me if i said how beautiful the trees and the fall colors were one more time...but that is a post for another day...when i get those pictures of the vineyards. :) fort bragg ended up being worth the stomach turning drive. :) this is a peak at the town.












it was so great to have megan here with us for a few days. i thought she was going to be all rested when she returned to p-town...then i got a tweet today saying she was sleep walking. what? sorry sweetie! hope you can sleep tonight! we love you!

beau michael is one today!

Happy Birthday sweet little man! Can it really have been a year? Every time I look at this little guy, I remember what a miracle God gave us. I am humbled and thankful to have two beautiful miracles from our Heavenly Father. Today though, we celebrate Beau! He is walking I hear! And, he is totally adorable. He is into everything, he loves tasting whatever is in his hands, he is definitely a little more active than his older sister was. All I know is he brings "sunshine" where ever he goes! We love you big boy! Have a happy, happy day!


This was the picture that we received on his birthday invitation. It said, "it's my birthday...let's party!" We're in...only we will do it from Santa Rosa! Here he is over his year...








You are PRECIOUS! We love you!!!

missionary moments

i thought it would be nice to share a couple of great missionary experiences that i have had this week.

first - tuesday we had a senior meeting in willits. at this meeting all of our senior couples reported on the things they had been doing this past month or so. my heart just swelled as i listened to their reports! they are making a difference! i'll share just one that the snow's shared with us. they are serving the ukiah stake. they were given a list of names of endowed members who were currently without a recommend. they weren't given much, if any, information about these people, but as the ward mission leader pointed to one sister's name, he said, "sister snow, if you can get her back, you can go home!" (the snow's have only been out a couple of months) sister snow has been a little homesick from time to time, she thought that sounded good:). as they started visiting these members, and this sister in particular, they first got acquainted, and then on a second visit they brought a treat, and by the third visit, on more than one occasion, the member told them they would be at church sunday! including the sister that was supposed to be the toughest nut to crack.


gordon and sarah snow (roosevelt, ut)

i'm sure the people living in those wards have been trying and working to make a difference for these people. they were obviously thinking about them, because they were on the list of people to contact for the snow's. but the Lord helped the snow's accomplish something, that the others just weren't able to do. they are at church again now, for a few weeks, all of them. the snow's are there to help along the way, with anything they might need. being a missionary with your sweetheart is a great opportunity for you to bless others and at the same time bless your own family and yourself! the biggest adjustment for some is spending 24/7 together:). i have enjoyed spending time with my sweetheart!

second - wednesday evening, two hours after keri arrived we were at the home of frank and louise. when we picked sister bytheway up, she was a little nervous about the lesson. she said she hadn't felt right about several lessons she had prepared earlier in the day, but that she had finally concluded to teach and testify about the book of mormon, it finally felt right. she did great! she had gotten a copy of elder holland's conference talk. i'm pretty sure parts of it went over their heads, but the spirit was so strong, and when sister bytheway shared her testimony everyone could feel it. she then invited louise to follow her Savior, Jesus Christ and be baptized. it was incredible. louise said she would think about it. i think she needs a little more time. but she is golden! what a treat to meet she and her husband frank. they are sweet people. missionary work is the greatest work we can do! it is thrilling. it feels good. you love people unconditionally. the spirit guides you. your own testimony grows. you feel like you can be bold. it is wonderful.

at least for now :).


keri thought it was pretty funny to see me dressed in all my missionary garb! good times!

ten on tuesday

1. i know. i am really writing this on wednesday. but that is such a good title i used it :).

2. last week, my only begotten son, j.t., sent me a gift. i had no idea how great a new iphone could be! it is so fun to be using my phone again. all kinds of cool new things to do with it. video text messaging...who would have thought? woo-hoo! good times! thank you tod!


3. general conference. wasn't it wonderful? i kind of felt a little homesick looking at the salt lake temple and the snow capped mountains. (why? i know that isn't my home!) i had so many favorites, i can't even list them all. at family home evening i had to look at my notes (my memory is a mess!) and i kept saying, "oh, and I liked ________, that so and so said!" i have to admit, i snoozed a couple of times. it is different not being in a dress in the conference center! i will get in a new routine i am sure.



4. hailey went back to dance! yippee! i got a tip from a friend about a studio that was really good at tap (hmmm) and the owner was very fun and a very creative choreographer. hailey wasn't excited to try. she went though, and took a tap class and a jazz class. when i picked her up afterwards she was smiling (a good sign). she said, "the jazz is horrible! you know, like the very worst team you would see at a competition? worse than that!" then she laughed. she said it felt good to dance again. the owner wanted her to be on her competition team. hailey was really struggling about committing to that, but she decided she wanted to go back yesterday. when i went in and explained to the owner that she would not be able to commit to every saturday, she was disappointed. but i found out that what they learn in class is all for recital at the end of the year, and that competition numbers are only taught on saturdays. so, she can be a regular dancer, who goes to class and learns and just has one recital a year, without the added pressure of rehearsals and extra days, and competitions. SHE IS THRILLED!


5. jon spent wednesday, thursday and friday on the road last week. he came home very tired. this week he left tuesday and probably won't be home until thusday night. he is interviewing friday and saturday too. i hope he has the strength. interviewing takes a lot out of him to say the least. then add the long drives and i am concerned about him :)! isn't he a handsome mission president though?



6. lauren informed me last week that she now can jump off the diving board! "i'm not afraid anymore grandma!"
i am still waiting for video footage. i'm afraid i might be waiting for a whole year. :(
she also told me she was going to be a really. scary. ballerina. for halloween. i can't wait to see that one!
what is beau going to be?



7. sunday after the closing prayer in the afternoon session, i looked up and said, "let's go visit grandma!!" wrong thing to say. hailey immediately got sad. finally we went for a drive and she started to come out of it again. poor girl. sundays are the hardest day of the week. too much sitting around! we found a beautiful place, where one of her friends goes to think (or make out with girls), that is on top of a mountain and you can look out over the whole valley. he took her and her friend there at night and she said it looked like las vegas with all the lights. we will have to go back. in the dark. hopefully pedar won't be there :).


8. hailey joined the otters last night. they are a santa rosa swim team. she LOVED it! i was amazed. she has a really fun coach, and she loved the feeling of the work-out. she wants to do everything! "i want to play tennis! i want to play golf! i want to be on the badminton team! i want to play indoor soccer!" she wants to try it all! i love that about her!
I want her to get a driver's license :). just kidding!



9. i am enjoying my life. i find i take it one day at a time. it helps me be happy. yesterday i was asked to explain my responsibilities as the mission president's wife. i'm still not sure exactly how i am supposed to carry out those responsibilities. i know i am supposed to pray about it, and then i will know. :). i am working on it. i think it changes from day to day, and crisis to crisis. most important, i am supposed to keep my husband upright! i am realizing that takes more than food, water, sleep, love and smiles. it is fun learning and trying!

10. keri is coming. in less than seven hours. what more can i say? HALLELUJAH!!!