Marshmallow Mania!

Picture this....The Gardiner Gang has just wrapped up a nice Family Home Evening by playing the game "Don't Eat Pete!", (If you've never heard of that game and don't know how to play you must ask because kids love it! You'll notice the chocolate chips stuck in their teeth. We really do brush, I promise!) when Dr. Gardiner, the king of sugar, starts chucking marshmallows
everywhere! The boys run to their positions, behind the counter, and open wide! A few lucky ones end up in their mouths, while most others have to be chased down and picked up! My kids love this and it just cracks me up every time I see it happen.

The master thrower at work! My kids are so lucky to have such a fun dad!

Dallin and Jared look like they're experiencing lock jaw, but are actually preparing for the big catch!

Jenna is usually right there by the boys, but being trapped in her high chair didn't stop her from joining in. Dang my kids have big mouths! They must get that from their father! =)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! We had such a fun weekend! Before I begin, I just want to say that I hope all of you are enjoying your beautiful flowers and green grass! I have finally realized why you dye eggs. It's because of people like us who have to hide the eggs in the snow! But take notice, it was warm enough that the kids didn't wear their coats! Yeah! Saturday we took the kids to a local park for an egg hunt. When we got there they turned us away because there were so many people there already. Our boys were so upset, so we made the best of a bad situation, with the help of our always optimistic dad/husband. (The kids are so lucky to have the dad they do. I would've just told them to deal with it and that we could try again next year!) We decided to have our own Easter egg hunt in our yard! We ran to the store, bought more candy (along with everyone else in Anchorage), called some friends to join in the fun, and filled the eggs. The kids loved eating all of the candy, oh I mean filling all of the eggs. (I got confused between the two. I think they put one candy in each egg for every five they stuffed in their mouths!) Then Brett hid the eggs really well!

I just love this picture! Jared had tripped over something and his eggs spilled. He didn't even get upset. He just picked them up and went searching for more! He said the funniest thing later in the afternoon. "Mom, that was so fun! I didn't just find eggs! I found dog AND moose poop too!" Lovely! I bet all of you are jealous!

For those of you who know Dallin's personality, you can just picture how excited he was for this big event! He loves stuff like this! After the egg hunt, he organized a hunt to look for dinosaurs in the back of the yard.

Jenna loved finding the pink eggs, as you can see! She just wanted to sit right down in the snow and eat her candy. She loves her hat and boots and wears them around the house every day.

Okay, so I just had to get a picture of them in their cute springy Easter clothes. Miracle #1- all three are looking at the camera. Miracle #2- They don't have any chocolate on their clothes. Miracle #3- Jared is smiling! (Hmmm, maybe it was the Peeps-eating bribe that worked!)

"Mom, You're the Best!"

Spring begins in less than a week and as you can see, our flowers are in full bloom and we're experiencing balmy weather here in Alaska. Oh how I wish that were the case! It was a relatively nice day today though, (about 30 degrees) so we decided to get out and walk to Dallin's school.

Isn't this kid so dang handsome?! I was so excited when I saw Dallin hop on the swing, pump his legs and swing without saying, "Mom, will you push me?" Man I love what school teaches our kids!

Pretty in pink... and hand-me-down blue gloves. (Can you believe I let her out of the house like that? I'm kidding!!!) Jenna loves this swing because she just gets to hang out and enjoy the ride!

What a smile! Jared found an "ice pizza" on the ground! So is it calorie free since you can see through it? Mmmm, mmmm good!

There were two older boys at the playground when we were there. They stomped on some ice until it broke and then began splashing around in the freezing water. Dallin was just dying to join the fun, but I think I have been successful (some would view it as unsuccessful =) ) at instilling fear in him when it comes to activities like this. (Hey, don't get me wrong, I love for my kids to have fun but I didn't want him to be freezing on the walk home.) For those of you who know me well, you would have been proud of me! I resisted my control-freakishness (Is that even a word?!) and said, "Go ahead Dallin. You can play in the water." His response, followed by a big hug, was so cute, "Mom, you're the best! Thanks!" He had a great time and within five minutes was soaked from stomping, splashing and rolling in the water. Afterall, that's what polar bears do!

Party at the Gardiner's!

Happy Redneck Birthday to me! I recently returned from a trip to Arizona, so I was gone for my birthday. Brett and the kids surprised me last night with a very fun party full of nasty teeth, princess plates, a heart cake, cards and presents! No worries, Brett will get us into his office ASAP to take care of our teeth. It's a good thing we have immediate access!


Hey, Aunt Natalie! Can you clean our teeth? I think you may need to teach us to floss better too!


For those of you who grew up with me, you'll remember how pathetic I was at blowing my birthday candles out. I was always made fun of and have been scarred for life ever since. For those of you who weren't as fortunate, watch my kids in this clip. I've taught them everything I know!

Only In Alaska!

The past two weekends Anchorage celebrated Fur Rendezvous. Sounds exotic doesn't it?! It's actually a time when all the trappers come together to trade furs, and lots of people gather to watch dog sled pulls (including the famous Iditarod), freeze to death, view the ice sculptures (Dallin enjoyed this ice slide), freeze to death, and ride carnival rides in the freezing cold darkness! Sounds fun huh?! Actually it was a ton of fun and a lot warmer than last year! We really do feel bad for all of you who only get to enjoy a fair type atmosphere during the summer months!

It's so crazy to watch everyone get all dressed up in their winter gear and freeze on the carnival rides! We even got to see fireworks in the dark! (During the summer you can never see them because it's light all the time.) This is just the most insane state I've ever lived in!

Enjoy this Running of the Reindeer video clip! I can't believe I wasn't there in person! Maybe next year!

Jenna's Big Girl Adventures

Okay, so I'm not trying to play favorites by focusing this entry solely on Jenna, but she has just been cracking us up. (I'm sure I'll spotlight Dallin and Jared later on. I would hate for them to feel cheated and have to go to therapy later on in life!)

Jenna discovered Mommy's makeup! She is especially fond of how the mascara just glides over her entire face and hands. She was very good to keep it on her body and off the furniture. Good girl! (She wasn't too thrilled with me taking this incriminating photo!)

Jenna is loving her potty chair! She pushes it around saying, "Poppy, poppy!" Every once in awhile I can get her to try and use it for its intended purpose, but no success yet. I'm quite relieved for now though, because sanitation will be an issue when she does really use it. At this point she thinks it's for stepping in, hiding toys, and her head fits just perfectly in the bowl! Disgusting!

Happy New Year!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to get this blog up and running. Now that a little over 2 weeks has passed since setting my goals, I've given up on a couple of them and now have time for this one! Don't you love it how that works?!

We had fun ringing in the new year with friends, games, puzzles and food. Jenna celebrated around 8:00 p.m. and then went to bed while the rest of us partied until about 2:00 a.m. Brett, my crazy hunk-a-love, stayed up until 8:00 a.m. working on the puzzle. Dallin was so upset with the neighbors for not having fireworks this year. How dare they not spend their hard earned money to entertain us! (It hasn't even entered Dallin's mind that his tightwad parents could buy some. SHHH!!)

Jared, Jenna and Dallin really know how to ring in the new year!