Dirty Jobs

I have been waiting to post this for so long. Our computer caught a virus and was out of commission for awhile, but now it's up and running.

For all of you that received a phone call from me saying that Dade, Tayen, and myself met Mike Rowe, you can all now believe me. Working at the Olive Mill, can have its perks after all. I had known for awhile that they were going to filming Dirty Jobs, but couldn't let myself believe it until it was a go. I didn't work that day, but stopped in to see how the filming was going, I was told to come back and they would let all employees in the restaurant after filming was done with.

Around 5:30 we stopped back by on our way to Dade's grade recognition for football. The boys waited in anticipation as the filming crew started coming through the door. Eyes getting bigger, breathing getting faster, and feet bouncing up and down at a record pace. Then all of a sudden, he walked through the door. Yes! It was him, Mike "holy crap" Rowe.

Talk about being star struck. He worked his way around the room and ended up sitting with Dade and Tayen discussing how they got their awesome names and shooting the breeze.

What a fantastic experience! Hopefully there will be more to come.
*If you look close at the pics, you can see how excited Dade was!

Vegas Baby!

The beginning of October we went to Vegas with the parentals and family for our annual trip. What a much needed break from life!

On the way there, we happened to get stuck behind an old, beat up truck doing about 35 mph with a speed limit of 65 in the middle of nowhere. Tay and I found it pretty odd when we saw that he was wearing an old school army helmet. Imagine the thoughts that were going through our head....especially when we passed a man painted with latex green army paint and vinyl jacket.

We slammed on the breaks, waited for him to catch up, stared for a bit, and took a picture! He didn't move, smile, NOTHING! It's like we were invisible. Pulling away, Taylor looked back, gave him a "rock out" hand gesture, and in return the army guy smiled and gave a "thumbs up!"

Knowing that it was too early to dress up for Halloween, to this day, we still wonder where he came from and where he was going...

Halloween

Well, Halloween has come and gone. Miken once again pulled through with some AWESOME costumes for the Fam. Dade and I were the Joker and Mini Joker, Biggles was Two Face and Miken as you can see from the pictures was a perfect Nurse Joker. "I Beleive in Harvey Dent" sticker and all.

The family came to my work and Trick or Treated. We were the hit of the office stopping several times for pictures and for people to stare inches from our faces to find out how exactly we "Got these scars"

Then we made a stop by my Mom's where of course she made a big deal of our costumes and even forced Grandpa out of his "cave" to take some pictures of us.

Then a quick jaunt over to KFC for some over priced Chicken products.

Lastly we came home to do some Trick or Treating in the new neighborhood the boys were less than enthusiastic by this time and right around house #8 they were asking if we could go home. I was having too much fun scaring kids with random Joker quotes from The Dark Knight so we made them stay out a little longer.

All in all it was another sucessful Halloween and we're already planning for next year!

LIfe as I know it!

It has been awhile since my last entry and I am very sorry to all of you that actually look at my blog! Life has been pretty hectic and it catches up to me every now and then. I have started working on the weekends at a small restaurant called The Olive Mill that has introduced me to wonderful recipes and flavors that I am now experimenting with in our home. I work at the boys' school during the day then come home and make candy when I have orders. Dade is still playing football and between the excuses of why he can't go to practice, I have little Taybug asking if he can have something else to eat. Tay is at Walden, and just had a guys rockband night with a few guys he works with. Absolute hillarity! I told him that he must do it again. It was so loud that we had the neighbor kids looking through their windows. I have started making extra every time I cook so that I can freeze the meals for the nights I don't have time to cook and for the busy time of the holidays coming. My website has been doing fantastic. I have a lot of returning customers and 2 boutiques scheduled for October and November. Things are soon going to be pretty crazy at the Gardner house, but we always make room for fun and togetherness. Our family rocks! I couldn't ask for a better hubby and boys! I am truly blessed!

We will be going to Vegas for a week in October for a much needed vacation with Tay's parents and believe me, I am counting down the days. The boys are getting incredible grades and the teacher's have nothing bad to say about them. I miss everyone in Utah very much, but have hope that something we will see them soon. I love Arizona so much and have so many wonderful friends that I can count on, but I forget how nice it was to have family close. Thank goodness Tay's family is here so it makes things a little easier.

9 years and going strong!

On August 28th, Tay and I celebrated our ninth anniversary. Our wonderful friends kept the boys for the following night so that we could have a night out. After stuffing our faces full of awesome food at the Outback, we went Halloween costume hunting. I know, we're gay and we're proud! We searched through the racks at Saver's, had a ton of laughs, then continued to the fabric store to find the perfect Joker coat material. Such a beautiful night until the rain came down and the wind picked up. Absolutely insane! We then came home and watched a movie Tay had sent for called Son of Rambow. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS MOVIE! Completely horrendous! The night continued and all was fabulous. I can't believe nine years has passed. I am still head over heels and each day gets better. Tay continues to make me feel beautiful, appreciated, and loved. He is great and I can't wait til the 10th!

Letting go....

As you can tell, the boys had a hard time letting it go.

Rrrrrribbit

This is one of the reasons why I love Arizona so much! A few Fridays ago, a terrific monsoon swept through our city and brought a fantastic present with it. Our little pet toad, Sandy!
Dade spent the Saturday after at Scout camp, and when we arrived to pick him up, he had found then toad. Being the mom that I am, I was just as excited as he was and immediately came home and made a "habitat" for her. At least Dade said it was a she when he saw no boy parts. ;)
That night we went to a friends house to eat and play games and when we got home, the boys showered, brushed and got in bed. I went to check on Sandy and what do I find, but a larger toad trying to get in the habitat to save Sandy! With much excitement, I ran up the stairs screaming like an idiot for the boys to see what was on our porch. After a little chasing on mine and Tay's part, the toad was captured.
We placed a flashlight in with them to attract the bugs, and when we woke up the next morning, the little one had died, so we held our first funeral.
2 weeks later, we decided to let the bigger toad go, but he is still living in our back yard and visits us each night at our screen door. What a fun pet! We especially like when Wigget finds it during the day and chases it all around. Very comical!