The Insanity Begins!

Definition of insanity= parenting an infant & tour guiding simultaneously full time. Daily I question, "Are we crazy? What made me think we could do this? A tour guide & a mom at the same time? Nuts!" Luckily James & I are in this madness together. We're nearly done with my 3rd week & James' 2nd week. Usually we're based out of Park City, but last week was Aviation week in Provo. James & I had the chance to learn to fly along with all the other people in our group. We're having a great time, but we've had some insane moments like MaryKate's Explosion. Read on only if poop stories don't gross you out:

It was go time! After a long day of flight lessons and rocket construction, James & I were trying to round all 31 participants up for a group picture & then pack them into our vans. It was hot, we were running late, and we still needed to finish cleaning up all the rocket supplies. James had already strapped MaryKate into her seat and set her seat on the floor near the exit. I walked across the hanger to load her in when I noticed her sock was a solid green. I thought, "Is that a huge grass stain?" She was giggling and wiggling in her seat. As I got closer to her I noticed the green on her sock had oozed from her clothes, car-seat, down her legs, onto her feet. She was having a blast moving & playing in it all. It was green and oddly smelled like poopy tuna fish. What should I do? I called for James. He told me there was a shower next to the bathroom for the pilots... Miracle! While James finished cleaning, I went to work cleaning MK. I peeled her clothes off her poop covered body & set her in the shower. I had no clothes for her, no towel, & no time! I grabbed a roll of paper towels & baby wipes & cleaned her car-seat the best I could while she sat on the shower floor rinsing off. Then I wrapped her in paper towels, put a diaper on her, and hurried for the van! Crappy Catastrophe Solved!

Don't worry. She didn't fly with me. But she was frustrated that I wouldn't let her play with all the instruments. I think she wanted to fly!

MaryKate gets sleep anywhere & whenever she can. Here she is at the Ropes Course & it's 9:00pm. Sayonara schedule! She sleeps when she's tired & eats when she's hungry... that's her schedule.

We flew with Cornell Rich Crandall. He's a good friend & the only person who could convince me to fly in a private plane after my uncles plane crash. I trusted him with our lives and he took good care of us.

Summer Fun Has Begun!

Top 10 Things Happening with the Gardners:

#1- Teeth! MaryKate has 2 bottom teeth & more coming in!

#2- We were asked to work as tour guides again this summer in Park City. We take groups on hot-air balloons, trains, rafts, hikes, ropes courses, zip-lines, water park slides, roller-coasters & more. We stay in a resort on the week days with our group. I did 1 week alone, but James finishes his semester this week... so the rest of the summer James, MaryKate, & I will work together as guides! MK will be very informative & helpful I'm sure!

#3- Matt & Kathryn were in town visiting with their cute little Harrison & took us to Market Street Grill for the most delicious dinner. It's so fun to have good friends in town!

#4 - In between classes and homework, James has been doing some photography on the side. We drove to Las Vegas for a wedding and up to Ogden for a family shoot. He really enjoys it and it is fun to see the finished products.

#5- MaryKate is growing like a weed... maybe more like a redwood. She is standing next to Lia, Camille's 3 month old pretty girl. As you can see, 5 months makes a big difference especially if you're in the 97% of all babies.

#6- Crawling is a bore when you can WALK on the floor. MK does not know how to crawl still. She's 8 months & can scoot backward and rotate in a circle on her tummy & roll a lot, but still no crawling... but she LOVES to walk. She holds my fingers and we walk & walk & walk! She may learn to walk on her own before she learns to crawl.

#7- She still loves reading, but now she does it on her own for long periods of time.

#8- We've been on lots of walks & trips to the park. At Liberty Park down the street from us, there is a carousel & Ferris wheel. She seems to like the carousel with James.

#9- James & I finish the 3 month Body 4 Life program this week. I'll spare you the bathing suit before & after shots.:) I lost all the pregnancy weight and officially weigh what I did before I was pregnant with MK. It is so nice to fit back into my old clothes and be lighter, however, I must admit that some things may never go back to exactly how they were before the baby. Flat abs are history but like my sister, Mary says, "Just tuck it in & go!" On the bright side, I am healthier & James loves me gooey abs & all!

#10- Memorial Day came & went so quickly that I didn't have a chance to blog about it. We had to stay in town, but back at home in AZ my family had a very nice memorial for my brother, John. I wish I could have been there. Instead we got together with Ben's family & hiked to Stewart Falls. John once hiked it with me in flip-flops... so in memory of him, I hiked it in flip flops this time too. I still miss him so much & think & dream about him almost daily... but as time passes it seems to be getting easier. MaryKate loved the hike! It was a lot of fun.

(John's kids, Megan & Josh, bringing flags & a picture for his grave)



MaryKate says see ya on the beach!

I Can Do Hard Things

OK... So I've been trying to loose my pregnancy weight and as you can see from my old pants, I've lost a fair amount! :) Honestly, I'm now 5 pounds away from pre-MaryKate weight and HONESTLY there must be a giant in Orem, Utah because I am 5'10 and this man's pants, that James and I found at Savers, goes to my CHIN! I would love to hug the waist of the previous owner of these pants and thank him for making me feel petite. My pregnancy weight was not going away on its own. So I had to do what we all "should" do but usually don't do... Eat healthy & exercise. That is hard for me to do consistently, but I have found a few delightful things in my healthy journey that I want to share with you. I am not getting paid to say any of this. :)

1. Orowheat Sandwich Thins- 100 calories, 19 grams whole grains, 5 grams fiber, and 1 gram fat. I love them for sandwiches, toast, lean hamburgers, etc. At Costco= cheap!

2. WishBone RANCH Salad Spritzers- 2 calories per spray. What I miss most is pouring on the ranch and so you can imagine how I squealed and clicked my heals in the grocery isle when I saw this new flavor of spritzer. It gives just a hint of ranch and moistens your salad. So tasty... $3.50 but lasts forever, unlike regular ranch.

3. Frozen Yogurt- Fat Free, no fructose corn syrup, low calorie & delicious!In Utah this is a huge trend. 4 new serve it yourself yogurt shops have opened near us & we love them. Yes it has sugar, but when I'm desperate for a treat its a much healthier alternative than a brownie oreo sundae.

4. Papa Murphys Delite pizza- 1/2 carbs, 1/2 calories, $3 to 4 cheaper than their regular pizza, twice the flavor! Every once in a while you need to eat pizza and when you do this take & bake pizza is so good. You can get olive oil instead of sauce and chicken and sun dried tomatoes and basil... or whatever you prefer.

5. I Can Do Hard Things Collage- Typically when I try to be healthy I guilt myself into it and I think negative thoughts about myself to motivate me to do it. So, its no surprise that it makes me feel miserable. This time I pondered what I could do instead... the answer came when I woke up one morning & had this phrase come to my mind, "I Can Do Hard Things!" I decided this would be my motto, not just in exercise but in life. This phrase would be my motivation. James and I for Family Home Evening made this collage together. We printed pictures of people or things that reminded us that "We could do hard things" and picked out the paper & designed it to hang above our bed. It helps. It really does and its a good message for our family.

Around the World In 5 Days

This week I babysat my brother's kids: Hannah, Sarah, & Justin while he and his wife went on a cruise. While they traveled from country to country, we traveled to a new place each day without leaving Springville! Here was our week in a nutshell:

HAWAII:
Dinner- Hawaiian Haystacks & Fruit Smoothies
Treat: Candy Leis
Activity: Swimming at the public pool

MEXICO:
Dinner- Carne Asada Tacos & Rice
Activity- Go to the Mexican Market & Pick Treats
Treat- Sarah/Sage-Tres Leches Cake, Hannah-Chocolate Cake, Justin-M&Ms :)

ITALY:
Dinner- Pasta, Garlic Bread, & Salad
Treat- Gelato & Kinder Chocolate at Gloria's Little Italy
Activity- Sculpt, Bake, & Paint Clay Sculptures

U.S.A.
Dinner- Tin Foil Dinners & Hot Dogs
Treat- Smores
Activity- Go to the library, set up tent, read books & camp in tents

GERMANY:
Dinner- Beef Stroganoff & Salad
Treat- Chocolate from Germany
Activity- Make Pinewood Derby Cars & Race them down the driveway

MaryKate was cheering them on as they were racing the cars... so fun!

Sitting By Herself = Happy Girl!

MaryKate has finally mastered sitting up all by herself! (Yes, there are no photoshop tricks in this video removing my arm. It's the real deal!) She still falls over after long periods of time or if her large cranium picks up a little to much momentum in one direction. But we are so happy for her and wanted to share a little bit of her happy sunshine with you... maybe while you watch this you can clap your hands, bounce, fling your arms, and smile because you are able to sit too!