In Honor of our Veterans

My grandfather, Kelly Gardner, whom I was named after was a C-47 pilot and flew 'The Hump' in WWII in 1945. At the time he was deployed he was engaged to be married to my Grandma. While flying one of his mission's his plane went down from a lightning storm in Burma and was MIA for several weeks. Being the pilot of the plane he was the last one to jump, his chute barely opened in time before he hit the ground, but the impact was still severe. He spent time at an Army hospital in Germany and later in Logan Utah. To this day he still battles the pain from those injuries.

He is truly an amazing man.

I am sure there are a million other stories like this of our awesome Veterans. A special thanks goes out to all of them.

Here are a couple pictures that my dad scanned and another that he took of my Grandpa at an air show this year.

Our Little Soybean

Couldn't resist The Office reference...

Here are a couple pics with Bennett's eyes open.
As I take more shots, I will be sure to post the good ones,
but the rest I will upload here.
He's a good little baby.

Happy Halloween

Ava got this whole Halloween thing down last night. She had a great time being a Lady Bug and getting candy from the neighbors. We made an attempt to dress Buster up as a Squirrel and put Bennett in a Pumpkin costume. It was quite a feat to get the pictures I got, but it was a fun night for all of us!

Bennett J. Gardner

Born Oct. 13, 2009. 8lbs 2oz.

Here are some first photos of our little guy. He is sleeping a lot and I just hope he brings that habit home with him. It was pretty funny, when we brought Ava in to see him, I think she thought he was a fake doll or something. We had Bennett 'give' her an Elmo Doll as a little present, she loved it. More pics to come.
Thanks for all the kind texts, e-mails and prayers.

Pumpkins and Fishing

Last weekend we had a Grandparents visit, from my Dad and Robyn. They made the drive up to see Ava (and us) and then Dad and I went fishing on the Lewis River for Salmon. It was a great weekend and Ava had an absolute blast with the added attention. Thanks again for the visit guys. The photographed highlights are here and here with some favorites below.

At the Pumpkin Patch

We had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch tonight. More pics to come.

Nesting

When Jenn told me she is nesting. My first question was "Is it curable?" And after more research on Google/WebMD and observation, I found out that 'nesting' isn't really curable or isn't really even a condition, but a *syndrome* that pregnant women invented as an excuse to redesign parts of the house, get new rugs, bedding, furniture and even con husbands and fathers into finally completing 'to-do' lists that have been getting put-off for months.
Well, despite the headaches involved with acting excited about a new comforter, rugs, pillows, etc. and 'completely redesigned play room' (the old layout just wasn't working out for some reason).
Anyways, it is nice to have finally gotten some things on my list done, and the end result, as you can see in the pictures, turned out nicely. In all fairness, though I guess we all go through these phases, mine are just in the form of fishing trips, bike parts, gadgets and concerts. So, next time I bring home a new phone or computer, I just say I was nesting.