somebody's got a new belt...

Last night Riley got his new belt in Karate. So proud of the little man!

Here he is with Sensei Mike Fike(yeah that's his real name).

Riley- age 5

Alabaster Caverns

This morning we woke up early and drove out to the Alabaster Caverns about 20 miles North of Woodward. We went on a guided tour through the caverns. The camera died after the first picture we took so there aren't too many pictures. We got to touch all the ceilings and walls of the naturl caverns. We saw where the pioneers would camp out and hide inside the caverns. We also saw bats....yuck.

Here the kids are looking a little freaked out by the bats....I was too.

After the tour through the caverns we had a picnic lunch, played soccer, and hiked some trails. AJ and Riley decided to climb to the top of a small canyon.

Here is the trail the boys hiked.

These pictures are zoomed so you can see the boys.

They were so high up.

Tatum and I sat in the car in the air conditioning. I told her to smile and say "cheese." Here she is with her classic cheese face.

It was a beautiful day out. We had so much fun that when we got home we all crashed. More adventures to come. Stay tuned....

-The Gardners-





Free Puppies!

No really they are free puppies. These are half golden retriever and half australian shepard puppies.

Female-all black w/a little white on the neck and chest

Female- blackish gray w/ small patches of white on the chest and feet

Female- black and white

Female- black w/ small patches of white on front feet.

and our personal favorite:

male- gray and tan w/black spots and small white patches on feet

Farm Expo!

Lately we've been finding there are a lot of fun things to do in our area that don't cost any money at all. This past weekend we went to the Farm Expo in Woodward. There were lots of crafts and booths. There was a inflatable obstacle course and bounce houses. You cannot drag Tatum away from a bounce house. Some how we managed to. There was a turkey hunting video game the kids liked playing. Team Riley/Daddy shot about 15 virtual turkeys and Team Tatum/Mommy shot about 8 virtual turkeys. Then Riley got to do some target practice with a paintball gun. I was really surprised he wasn't scared. Later we watched a little bit of the Cowdog Trials.

But their favorite part was the pony rides!

Tatum loved her pony "Smokey." She would say "Come on Smokey!"

We had so much fun at the Farm Expo. Can't wait to do something else this weekend!

Have a great Thursday everyone! 

Will she be a fashion designer or a hairdresser?

One day I was making Tatum a dress and she decided she wanted to make one too. Tatum colored her own fabric in the design of her choice. Then Tatum traced a pattern out. Tatum meticulously and carefully cut out her pattern(with safety scissors of course). Then Tatum draped her pattern pieces on her dress form to ensure a perfect fit.

Now if you are thinking this is pretty advanced for a 2 year old....you are probably correct. Tatum has watched me prepare patterns to sew plenty of times. So if you are thinking she's a prodigy....you are probably NOT correct. This is my shadow....pretending to be mommy. Isn't she sweet?


My precious little girl wanting to be like me, makes my heart smile. Then she reminds me that she is only 2 years old.

I'm thinking, "She's playing so sweetly, so I can get back to making her dress." I go back to what I was doing and I hear her snipping away with her safety scissors. I turn to check on her just as she snips a chunk of her hair out! My fault for not paying attention. Oops.

So here she is with her new hairstyle.

That little stinker!