Bryce Canyon Half Marathon

I signed up for the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon in about January. I didn't spend time training for it and wasn't sure I was actually going to run it. A couple of weeks before the race I decided that I should run it because I had paid for it. Therefore I wasn't really prepared to run it. Mike and I needed to find a place to stay and most of the places still open were not very close to the race line. After looking for a while we ended up finding a place called the Grand Staircase Inn. The only room available had two king size beds but we were willing to pay for it so we could be a little closer. We didn't realize the city of Cannonville was so small. When we got there we found out that the end of the race was just a block away. I got up early the next morning and took a bus to the start line. Most of the race was downhill which made it easier to run even though I was not really prepared. To my surprise I did better than I thought I was going to do. I could have done better but with five miles left I had to stop and go to the bathroom. That slowed me down and made it harder get going again. Mike woke up half an hour before the race, got ready and walked over to see me finish. He almost missed me but got there in just the time. After the race and taking a nap we decided to go into the park of Bryce Canyon and see all the really cool rock formations.

Fourth of July Festivities

On the morning of the Fourth of July, I went to see the balloon festival with Megan's family and Peter's family. Mike decided to stay home and sleep in.




















Later in the morning we all went to see the Fourth of July parade.




























In the evening, Mike and I went over to his cousin Stephanie's house for a dinner and then over to Thanksgiving Point to watch the fireworks with my family.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Mike and I attended the open house for the temple at the end of June. It was a great experience and it is so beautiful as all temples are. I love that feeling of being in the temple.

Gardner Family Reunion Continued

On Tuesday evening we decided to have a family talent show. Some of us played instruments, some of the younger ones sang songs, some told jokes, and some did skits. Mike and I decided to change the words to the familiar song Armies of Helaman. We used the names of the family members present and also had a picture of them that they could hold up when they heard their name. We sang the song and I think everyone enjoyed singing it. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the talent show. Our family has a lot of great talent. Afterwards we had smores and took family pictures.

On Wednesday we all decided to drive to Yellowstone National Park and see Old Faithful. We ate our lunch there and then split off to walk around and see the gysiers. Afterwards some decided to drive more around the park looking for bears and others decided to go see a movie about Yellowstone.

Thursday was the day we prepared to leave. On our way home most of us decided to stop just outside of Island Park at Mesa Falls. I am curious why I never did go see the falls when I was going to school at BYU-Idaho.

Gardner Family Reunion Island Park Idaho June 2009

The Gardner side of our family decided to have a family reunion in Island Park Idaho back in June. The park is on the eastern side of Idaho and was about six hours away. We left on a Monday morning and headed home on Thursday. Mike and I decided to drive by ourselves so we could stop at the Idaho Falls temple and the Rexburg Temple. After stopping at the Idaho Falls temple we went over and met up Matt, Mark, Emily, Ned, and Aunt Wendy for lunch. Then we stopped and took a picture of me standing by the street sign Lindsay Blvd. I had planned on taking a picture years ago while going to school at BYU-Idaho but never took the chance. Then Mike and I stopped in Rexburg on our way to see the temple and show Mike some of the places I lived while going to school there.

















Dad and Mom found a large cabin for all of us to stay in for the week. This cabin had lots of bedrooms and plenty of space for all of us to sleep. We were right on the lake and had a dock of our own to enjoy time out on the lake.

Erin and Chad were able to have there little girl Miranda blessed there at the cabin. It was nice to have most of the family there to be a part of it. I say most of the family because on the way up JT developed hives that were all over his body. Wendy and Megan left that night to go to the hospital to get him checked out.




On Tuesday we got up and went for a hike to a fish hatchery about 20 minutes away from the cabin. The water was so clear and we were able to feed the fish. We also saw a muskrat swimming by the fish. We all stopped by the hatchery to eat lunch and then headed back to the cabin.












We spent the rest of the afternoon at the lake swimming, rafting and jet skiing. The water was pretty cold but it was a lot of fun.