If I Could Turn Back Time- Installment 2

This is a recap of November and December.

In February of 2007 Paul’s parents were called to serve a mission in Hong Kong. They were thrilled with their call. They would be serving as temple workers in the same mission that my father in law, David had served in as a young man.

They had been out about 4-6 months when Nancy hurt her knee getting onto a bus. After much uncertainty of how things would be handled, they came home in early Sept. It was upsetting for them, but it was pretty clear that they were needed back in the states.

They blessed our family with their return and were also able to be home just in time for the baptism of their twin grandchildren. It was a lovely day and the Spirit could be felt very strongly during the baptism.
Not long after the baptism they were able to welcome two new grandsons. I became an aunt to two of the cutest, happiest little boys ever! Their names are John and Calvin.

We were also able to spend the holidays with them which was an unexpected surprise. We spent Thanksgiving at Joi and David’s house where the cousins worked on puzzles together and got to enjoy their grandparents.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was the BYU vs. Utah game. I had been waiting a long time for this. Paul’s dad had left us the tickets for this game when he went on his mission. When they came home early he asked Paul if he could go with him and Paul told him he promised to take me. David made some calls and got a ticket from Dr.Tucker. We ended up swapping tickets with them so they got their 50 yard line seats and we were down on the front row right in the middle of all the action. It was so fun to be right there will all that energy!
After BYU won, Paul took off like a bullet to storm the field. I took off after him but he was long gone. I thought that I had lost him forever. Miraculously we found each other in the huge crowd.
After the game we went to dinner with our friends Karen and Cameron and on the way home got into a small car accident on the freeway. A car was following too close in the traffic and rear ended us. Luckily they drive a huge SUV with a huge tow hitch and we came away without any damage to us or their car.

In early December we had some really good snow pretty early on. I was determined to get a great, classy, elegant family photo for our Christmas card like we had done the year before. I worked hard putting the outfits together, all matchy matchy, but it wasn’t meant to be. Here are some of our outtakes. They include bright blue gum, squinty/closed eyes and wrinkled noses.

Instead this is what we ended up with. One day the kids started playing outside and made this way cute snowman. They did it all by themselves and even used a scarf and hat that I had crocheted for Andrew. When they showed it to me I knew it was too cute to pass up. I hurried and started trying to get clothes for us that would coordinate with Mr. Snowman and we got this shot. I still love it!

In December we went to Gardner Village to see the Elves, Andrew had a Christmas concert, and we decorated, and baked to get into the holiday spirit. On Christmas Eve Santa came with our pajamas and once again, left them without being caught by the kids.

Christmas morning went great. The kids got everything they wanted including Webkinz, Cars cars, Squawkers McCaw and a Wii.

On December 29th the whole Gardner family went to Seattle to meet the two new babies. This was our Christmas gift from David and Nancy and what a great gift it was. We had a very early flight, the first ever for Andrew,but it was so fun to all be on the same plane. There were ten of us all traveling together from Salt Lake. While we were there we got to spend time together as a family, see the Public Market, ride a ferry, and be part of the baby blessings. It was such a special treat to all go as a family.

The Gardner FamilyThe kids fell in love with both boys instantly. This is JohnAnd this is CalvinAll the Gardner cousins together (John, Megan, Matthew, Amanda, Andrew, Emma and Calvin)
We got home pretty late on New Year’s Eve. My parents picked us up at the airport and took us to their house where we barely had time to welcome in the New Year. The night, and year, was over before we knew it.

The Last Few Pictures From Our Trip

When we said it was hot we meant it! Yes, that says 101 degrees. We went to Disneyland one last time with a well planned out agenda. We had everything figured out. Everyone was going to get to do what they wanted to do before we left. The crowds and heat made that impossible. We pretty much turned right around and left. I felt like my feet were melting into Main Street.

so, what do you do with hours before your flight and it is hot as heck? You go to Huntington Beach and watch the surfers from the pier.

It was a lovely 72 degrees by the water. It felt so much better there. The kids wanted to play on the beach but we didn't figure that was a good idea before getting on a plane. There is something so relaxing about watching the waves and hearing the roar of the ocean. You can take the girl out of California but you can't take California out of the girl. I miss my home.

On the Road to Recovery

I hadn’t written about this before because I was too emotional and I didn’t know all the facts. It’s a good thing I waited because the more I find out the better I feel about everything. In fact I feel very lucky.

When I pulled into our garage from the airport, at 9:30 at night,(after our Disneyland trip) I had a weird milky white drop of water hit my front windshield. It was coming from the INSIDE of my garage. My first thought was “what the heck?” but when I opened the car door and smelled the musty, wet, nasty air my next thought was a four letter word. I had locked the door that goes into the house and I was struggling to find the key when Paul walked up the driveway. I said “something is wrong”. “What do you mean something is wrong?” I showed him the water and then ran to the front door. Once inside I noticed that the house was stinky and musty too.

We went searching to find the problem. I was thinking bathrooms but Paul knew it was the swamp cooler. He ran down and shut off the line and then looked into Emma’s room. Her ceiling was bowed with water. There was a steady drip drip drip coming from the ceiling. When we stepped on her carpet the water pooled and puddle around our toes.

I called my dad and asked what to do. He said to take up the carpet and try to pierce the ceiling to see if it would relieve some pressure. We started removing furniture out and just piled everything into our living room. As soon as we could get to the carpet we started ripping it up and removing the pad. There was just sooo much water! We thought at first that it was just in a small area but the more we took up the more water we found.

We ended up taking almost everything out. We left one strip of carpet and her two bookshelves on the far end of the room. We had a fan blowing in her room.We had things under control for the night.

The next morning we called our insurance guy who was NOT happy with us for taking out the carpet. He said “we could have tried to save it.” Um NO! It was not going to be saved. No way, no how. The disaster crew came the next day as well as my fabulous parents. They were there for much needed moral support and also helped clear out the rest of Emma’s belongings.

The crew tried cutting down the ceiling in pieces but pretty much the whole thing came down on them at once. It was loud. I went to see if everything was okay and they were coughing and sputtering. They had to step out to let the dust settle and to clear their throats.

Here it is, wet insulation and wet sheetrock
The hole it left aboveGetting rid of all the debrisAfter they got everything cleaned up and removed they put two blowers in our garage, blowers and a dehumidifier in Emma’s room, and a blower in Andrew’s room. It took from Wed. until Sunday to get us dry.

We were told that we caught it (the swamp cooler line had broken) within hours of it happening because it hadn’t gone up the wall between the kids’ room. The only things we lost were carpet, sheetrock and insulation. There was some very minor water damage to the base of Emma’s furniture.

After we were dry we waited on pins and needles for the insurance adjuster to come. He was so kind. He reassured us that as bad as everything seemed we really came away with the best case scenario. He was more than fair and took great care of us. We were able to have a contractor come out and give us an estimate and Steve and Ian are here right now putting things back together.

What have we learned from this? A lot.

Emma has way to much junk (AKA treasures)
I don’t ever want all of my children’s belongings in my living room again
Be wise with your money, things can come at you unexpectedly
It could have been much worse
The Lord loves us and gives us trials so that we remember Him and turn to Him

We hope that in about a week our life will be back to normal. Emma will have pretty new carpet, new paint and fun flower decals for her walls. We hope she loves it!

Homework

How do you get you 2nd grader to do his 100 math problems in just minutes? You tell him you think he can beat his sister. Said sister then gets defensive and tells you to make a copy of the homework. The next thing you know there is a race happening and math is done in a matter of minutes.

Emma did win, but just barely.

A Bad Day at Disney Beats a Good Day at Work

This morning it rained a little, but it still got nice and toasty as well as very humid later in the afternoon. Here is one yummy way to beat the heat.

I love seeing all the different Mickey's. This one was leading a band. He's so cute!

This was the only evidence of fall. I found a few leaves while waiting for them to get on the Grizzly River ride.
Emma on the carousel in California Adventure.
The kids rode the carousel over and over again while we relaxed on a bench and decided how much more we could handle that day. I noticed that the ride was taking a long time to get started and wondered what was going on. I started to walk closer and all of a sudden it started. I stood there to wave to the kids when it stopped again. That is when I saw my son standing on his fish. I gave him the look of death and the ride operator yelled into her microphone that you must stay seated. We decided that they were not quite old enough to be trusted on their own yet.

Andrew in his Jack ears getting ready to go through the Haunted MansionThe Disney Racers we a hot item this year. The kids loved playing with these while waiting in the lines.

Paul and I relieved to have air conditioning inside the Pirates of the Carribean
We are still celebrating the cool airThe kids getting their names on their hats
Two of my favorite rides together. It just doesn't feel like I'm at Disneyland until I hear that funny little Tea Cups song. I also love hearing the roar of the Snow Monster and the screams from the riders coming out of the Matterhorn.

Nope kids, that door still isn't going to open
Emma showing off her Tink pins

As I look through these pictures I realize that even with the heat, crowds and melt downs it is still a great place to visit and I'm glad that we went.

Disneyland 2008

Friday night we had Emma’s surprise party with her cousins at my mom’s house where she got to play pin the nose on the witch and pop some balloons with candy inside. I think she enjoyed the extra attention and the extra gifts. We ordered pizza and had cake and ice cream. My dad took us to the airport at 7:00 am Saturday morning. I mistook the seating assignment as the gate assignment on my boarding pass so the kids and I got to take a leisurely ride on the moving sidewalk admiring photos of scenic Utah. Once we got to the international area of the airport I realized my mistake. We turned around and got to our gate right before we had to board the plane.

Paul met us at the John Wayne airport and then we got a nourishing breakfast at McDonald's.

We got to the park Saturday morning prepared for crowds but it really wasn’t all that bad. What we weren’t prepared for was the heat. Holy cow it felt like we landed in hell. I have been to Disneyland when it was hot before, but this seemed different. Maybe it was the humidity? I had done my hair so I could wear it down but once it got stuck to my neck, up it went. I didn’t even ask for that many pictures because we looked so….hot and miserable.

After buying ear hats, getting fast passes for Indiana Jones and going through the Haunted Mansion we decided that Splash Mountain would be the perfect ride for a hot day. The ride operator threw a wrench in our perfectly planned ride order. (We always put youngest in the front up to Paul in the back so when they snap out photo you can see all of us. ) He said the front rider must be over 5’ tall. After waiting in line for so long I just hopped up and changed spots with Andrew. I wasn’t worried. You never get that wet on Splash Mountain.

What more can I say? Oh yeah, I got wet, really wet. This trip seemed to have one debacle after another. There were minor injuries, we got stuck on broken down rides and of course there were the heat induced melt downs. We got some fun pictures anyway. Without further ado...

California Adventure at Dusk

Meeting Goofy

Looking great in our 3-D glasses for the new Toy Story rideWe worked very hard for these next photos. We saw Mickey and Minnie leaving so I asked their handler when they would be back. He told us they would be in and out until it was time for the parade. We sat for close to an hour waiting for them to come out. When I saw them I yelled to the kids "this is it!" I grabbed them and off we went running to greet M&M.

I got this shot first (they were having some pictures taken together for publicity in their costumes) and then they split up to meet their friends and we finally got our pictures with them. Paul never left his bench. When I got back to him, my face all aglow, he said "in twelve and a half years of marriage I have never seen you move so fast." Emma in her cute Tink hat and new dangle Tinkerbell earringsThe Happy Family Yummy!Paul getting ready to go down Grizzly River Rapids with the kids. I knew better.The best for last. I GOT TO MEET CAPTAIN JACK!!!!! We were eating lunch and her just strolled by. I couldn't even think or move. Then everything clicked back in my head and I went running after him. He was sexy, even if he wasn't the real one. You could also tell that he loved having all the women drooling over him.

I have a few more pictures that I will add over the next couple of days (or at least I plan to) but tonight I am tired and off to bed I go.