She made even US look Good!

 On Sept 11, 2010 

our neighbor and friend Sonja 

took our family pictures.

Wow,  I am so so blessed to have talented people in my life.

 Sofia-        Joy,  She lives in extremes.

 Me -  I finally feel I have found me.

 Noah - Oh, the adventures he has.

 Daddy, You come play with me?

 Kersten -  Yes, Ladies,  he is ALL Mine! 

 Yes, Please!

Can't get much better than this!

Sonja is such a great example to me.  She has so much joy and passion 

and lives in such a way that you want to be better by knowing her.  

Thank you again for sharing your talent with our family.

We're Back

Hey, I know you have missed me!

The last nine days we have been away visiting my best friend Carrie and her husband Lincoln and crowd in Washington.  It was heaven on earth.  We had a fantastic time.  Playing and cruising around Seattle, lounging around her house,  having fantastic conversations,  the kids were totally entertained and  we just loved every minute.  I will update on our trip later.  I have a lot of unpacking to do and a first grader to get ready for school that starts tomorrow.  Craziness. 

Our Independence Day Celebration

(Above my favorite pic of the day, Noah protecting Baby from going into the street)

The last 3 or so years on the 4th of July we have crashed our friends the P* family celebration.

This year we now have an official standing invitation so I feel pretty honored.

Our very dear friends Matt and Mara and their boys were in town from across the world

so we make it a point to see them. There is always tons of yummy food. Good company

fun conversation, birthday parties for and aunt and for Bam Bam who turned 5.

I took Lemon Bars which were requested. Made me feel good and important.

As anyone who know the real me knows food prepartion is not my strongest trait.

All the cousins played a game of kick ball in the cul-de-sac.

Here is Noah running to first base. He came up to me after the game and said

"Mom, this party lots and lots of fun."

He made friends and was included in it all although he was not related.

What nice kids to make sure everyone had fun.

Sofia watched from the sidelines. Playing in dirt, picking up rocks and

tried to steal the other kids toys. All in the day of an 18 month old.

Matt and Kersten now have a tradition of taking off in the the middle of the party.

I think they go hiking or driving up the canyon just to have some guy friend time.

Here is my beautiful friend Mara and I, She always uplifts and inspires.

Mara is one of those friends no matter how long it has been it is like we see each other every day.

I love your genuine spirit and her enthusiasm for life, art and culture.

She is a very talented photographer check her website here

We watched as the men set off firecrackers.

Sofia and Noah both loved it. Even the loud ones did not bother them.

We came home before the big fireworks. Doo was just to tired. Noah is still talking about the party

On Sunday night we drove 45 min south to see my cousins on the E* side

I got to see most of my cousins, 7 of the 9 is not bad.

My cousin Barb who lives in Florida was a highlight and of course

Warren, the 21 yr old traveler living in NY.

The oldest runs a couple firework stands every year to earn $ so that

his brothers and sisters that live far away can fly back at least once a year.

They all help out and the 5th of July have a huge Bonanza of fireworks.

It was super cool. Noah and I just went because Sofia was beyond.

I don't think I have ever seen so many fireworks

and all the different kinds of bottle rockets.

I loved seeing my dear cousins children,

it was a bit uncanny seeing their faces in these little people.

Overall it was a great weekend of fun and great people.

Thanks Carrie!

I just returned from 6 days, 5 nights of pure fun with my dear friend Carrie . We had some serious fun.

It was a much needed break from real life for me. She totally spoiled me. I will list some highlights

• just hanging out
• talked late into the night and continuing on the next morning,
• We watched a ton of movies.
• looked up actors and actresses to see all their stats and other movies.
• went to the General RS Women's meeting,
• had dinner at Red Robin, with only one kid
• went to the outlets



• Made tons of yummy treats and snacks.
  
• Bought lime yogurt at Safeway (this one is for my siblings, I know you are jealous) It gave me a thrill each time I got to shop at Safeway.
• ate Chocolate Chip cookies made by the master cookie maker.
• had salad and breadsticks at the Olive Garden
• looking at high school scrapbooks and laughing hysterically
• Talking and rehashing some of our old memories and experiences.
• Going to Pike's market place- searching for surfer braclets for Kerst, a present for Noah, watching Sofia watch the people and all the fun colors and exciting things.


• Sofia turned 9 months old.  (will post her stats later)
• Sofia got to spend time with her Godmother and get to know her better (they have such a cool name)
• I got to know her 3 boys so much better.  She has the nicest boys

I just loved being there and It was exactly what I needed.  I loved that we did not feel like we had to run all over and drive ourselves mad.  We just enjoyed being together and had a blast.  Thank you so much Carrie for your hospitality and for your friendship.  I love ya

Genius

My friend Mara took these pictures back in July.  I finally have the disks and can I just say she is a genius.  I can't express in words how much I adore these pictures of my kids.  I am so overwhelmed with gratitude I don't know how to thank her enough.  She has brilliant talent and it was so lovely just spending time with her.  I keep browsing through them to find my favorites and I did not want to post billion of pictures on my blog but I could have.  Thanks again Mara.  We love ya

Girls Overnighter

Last year, my friends Kieran, Kiersten and I went on a girls overnighter. This year Kiersten is really pregnant so she was unable to come this year. So it was just me and Kieran and we went up to my family cabin in Midway.  It has been quite awhile since I have been up there and it made me really happy to be surrounded by the memories of it all.  Kieran was nice and indulged me and let me ramble about all the silly things we did there.  
Friday Night we watched like 4 movies , Footloose, Hairspray, Juno and Dan in Real Life.  We had a hard time getting into the groove of scrapbooking.  We needed our tiaras for some creativity.  We talked, laughed and ate a lot.  Which is just as important.  We went to bed around 3 am.  Woke up around 10, finished a couple more pages.  Cleaned the cabin like mad woman and drove home.  We stopped at McDonalds in Park City and Jim graciously gave us some free food.  

It was so completely heavenly to get away.  It just did not seem long enough. I came home refreshed and ready to be a better mom.  Noah ran into my arms he was so happy I was home.  It was a nice welcome.   We went and saw Clone Wars that afternoon when I returned.  So I had a party day.    So grateful to have such a fun friend,  Thanks for being creative with me Kieran.  Love your guts.

Out of Town Visitors

Since the end of June, we have had a ton of fun visitors here from out of town.  We have been busy, happy and having a ton of fun.  I think we are all suffering from a bit of a party hangover but we really would not have had it any other way.  More for me than anyone else I want to document some of the highlighs of what we have done this month.  

*Hung out with Carrie, Lincoln and their boys for the afternoon, talking, playing with paper airplanes and just enjoying being together. (here between moving from Boston to Seattle)

* Double date with Lincoln and Carrie,  went to dinner at Citrus Grill and the went and saw Get Smart at the theater.  We were giddy being out, it felt so good to be out with couple friends, that we love.   

*Going to the Sweet's Candy Factory with my cousins, Mary, Anna and Jenna. We went on the tour and ate yummy taffy.  Noah laughed hysterically that even Sofia had to wear a hairnet.  Sofia loved getting passed around with the girlies.  Noah is their little king and loves playing with them. (here from Dallas Texas)

*Playing at Grandma S* running around the backyard with the girlies.  Talking and enjoying being with my aunt.

*Playing at the park with Stone and Grey,  eating yummy Chinese food with Mara, while the boys ate McDonalds.  Walking along the bridges and talking.  Wishing the boys would just play and being so hot.  

*Going to lunch at Training Table with Kieran for her birthday and playing in the park afterwards.(they live here)

*Taking Noah and Lily to see Wall-E at the theatre.

*Hanging with Mara's family for the 4th of July and eating yummy food and talking with her family.  They are such comfortable people.  Talking books with Mara's mom Diane  and lighting fireworks and watching the joy in Noah's face with the sparklers and the colors of the fireworks.  Luckily the noise did not bother Sofia that much. (here from Vienna, Austria)

*Visiting with Rainer, Moni and Jan and Clemens that first evening.  Noticing the similarities between Kersten and his uncle,  Loving how much joy Moni found from life and loving her laugh. (here from Austria)

*Nodding and smiling while everyone around me spoke German, pretending like I understood a little bit.

*Watching my children making connections with their cousins from Austria.  Noah is used to people not understanding him.  He, Jan (11) and Clemens (9) started playing pretend swords and guns right away and jumped on the mattresses.  It did my heart good to see that they liked each other.

*Treasuring the moments when Jan plays with Sofia.  He laughed at everything she did.  He just marveled at her babyness.  He just loved her.  

*Going to Murray Park with Mara.  While she took pictures of my children.  She is so talented and has a magical way of capturing what my children are like right now. I loved having that afternoon just to be with her.  

*Kersten hiking up Donut Falls with Rainer and the boys

*Having lunch at Cafe Rio with Rainer and the boys with Jason and Verity.

*Noah and Kersten going Miniature golfing at Mulligans with Rainer and the boys.

*Endless hours of playing video games with Josh, Jan and Clemens.

*hanging out with the old gang.  Dinner at Cafe Trang with Matt, Mara,Ryan and Kristine.  Walking around Gateway talking.  The boys going to a Manly Movie while the woman go back to my house and talk late into the night.  

*Kersten and Noah going to Southern California on Vacation with Kersten's family and Rainer's Fam.  They got to hang out in downtown San Diego,  Go to Sea World.  Two days of Disneyland,  and see Wall-E and hanging out.  Lucky them.  Missed them a lot.

*Having a sleepover with my best friend Carrie.   This was so needed.  We had dinner at Hires.  talked late into the night.  Watched Kate and Leopold.  Had muffins for breakfast.  This was the best.  

*Hung out with Alicia and Brady (they live here) for an afternoon.  Watching Brady play and laughing with Lish.

*Christopher B-day party at the park

*Sadly we missed the BBQ with Sharon, Rich and their fam.  Their kids got sick and that was the night that my boys got home.  We are so sad we did not see them.   

*We also missed Polli.  We talked on the phone quite a few times.  The two afternoons I was not home while the boys were gone were when she stopped by.  I still am so sad about this.

*Sofia and I going to see Mamma Mia with Aunt Verity and Aunt Virginia on Pioneer Day.

*Going to my Dad's 60th birthday party on Pioneer Day.

*Visiting Todd at the hospital 

* Seeing the Cannons at Katie's wedding.  It was beautiful Hawaiian orange, so lovely

*Going to Noah's swimming lessons the first two weeks of July and starting them again tomorrow.

We are so lucky to have such good friends.  We love all of you so much.  It was divine getting to know Kersten's family better and seeing our dearest friends again.  So sad we missed some of you.  We love you all

Noah and Lily

Noah and his friend Lily are so cute and fun together. I just love this girl. There are many reasons that we love her. They met at preschool this past year.Lilly is a tomboy through and through. No wonder that Noah and her love to play, they love the same things. Spiderman, Star Wars and super heroes are in their top things to play with. They love to play outside in the water pool and playground. Noah says he kisses her 4 times everytime they see each other. I have never seen evidence of this, nor has his teacher or Lily's mom Annie. But it sure is funny that he says this. One thing that fills my heart with joy and makes me want to keep this girl close forever. Is one day as they were playing, Annie (Lily's mom) could not understand what Noah needed. She said to Noah "Sorry buddy, I just can't figure out what you need" Then Lily goes over to Noah and says "Whisper it in my ear Noah, and I will understand with my heart". Okay, can you just say melt my heart. I wlll keep this girl around forever. I feel like a superstar when any of Lily's fam or friends meet me. For I am Noah's Mom. I sure am lucky.

We signed them up for soccer together. They love being together so it has been fun. But really there has not been a lot of actual soccer being played. There teams name is the Spiderman team, orchestrated by Lily and Noah because of their red jerseys. So they spend most of the game running around the field casting webs about the field. We tried explaining that the net was the web that they needed to kick the ball into. But they just want water and snacks and to play together. It was fun and they have started to get it, a bit more, To bad their last game is tommrow.

Shoes

So in LOVE with these sweet shoes. I should have thrown on the red leg warmers to match. Will do this soon for sure. This is for you Mara. You have impeccible taste and style. I so want to emulate you in this. All pics were fuzzy. Someday I will have a better camera.

Isn't she sweet and squishy. I love how my sister Amy just sat there forever because she was happy. I have great and wonderful friends and people in my life.

Happy Birthday Carrie

I don't even know where to start talking about my best friend. Carrie and I officially met when we were sophmores in high school in orchestra. Before that I knew her from afar, for we took violin from the same teacher. For the record, she is much better at violin than I am. Once we bonded, we were connected at the hip the rest of high school. Kersten told me once that he knew that if he wanted to date me that Carrie was part of the deal. I could not have made it through high school without her. It is so nice to have someone that knows your history and how you have changed and become better. That knows a lot of the mistakes you have made and loves you anyway. I am so grateful our friendship endured through the challenges of growing up and figuring out who we are. She is the most phenomenal mother of three gorgeous boys. Carrie amazes me with her many talents. She always knows just what to say to shed new light on things. She really is a kindred spirit. There really are not many people who get me and know me as well as she does. I love that we can spaz together, be serious, be reverent, be silly, be silent or just be together and it seems like our friendship was meant to be.I looked in my photos from the last year and sadly I have quite a few pics of our kids together but none of us. That will have to be remedied at Christmas. Carrie, I hope your birthday is fabulous and I hope you know I love ya.

Girls Weekend

I am one very spoiled girl. This weekend my friends Kieran, Kiersten and I went up to Park City and had a girls weekend. We have planned this for awhile now. It will be the last time for awhile that it will be able to happen. Kieran is due with her 3rd child in 3 weeks, I am pregnant and due in Jan and Kiersten bless her heart just got braces on this week. We laughed that we would be quite the group of us. Two pregnant ladies and one with braces that can only gum her food.

I have had a Really rough week and am forcing myself to stay as positive as possible. I am tettering on the brink of a severe depression. I even told Kersten that I did not know if I wanted to go. Which took him so totally by surprise, that he could not speak for awhile. I am overwhelmed and had not had the time I wanted to organize my scrapbook project for the weekend. I packed up all my stuff and Kieran picked me up about 2. Noah went to Grandma F* until Kersten came to get him. We drove up to the outlet mall and went maternity clothes shopping. It was a blast. I Need pants so bad it literally hurts or falls off. I found the cutest khaki green capri's and a really cute comfy red striped shirt (above in pic). I was so thrilled. We laughed as we tried on some hilarious things. Right as we were leaving Kieran was searching through the clearance and found an adorable bright blue dress for $8. How could I pass that up. Also very comfortable. I feel a bit more prepared and cute in the clothes area now.

We checked into our hotel and the front desk guy asked us if we were going to party all night and if he should worry, we were giggling so much. Our room was more condo and had a full kitchen with dishes, a huge flat screen in the main area and bedroom. It was so luxury, I felt a bit stunned. We ran to Albertsons for food and reinforcements and then started to Scrapbook and watch girl shows. We watched Music and Lyrics and made pizza for dinner. We laughed and talked and of course giggled.

By now we were quite worried about Kiersten because we had not heard from her. She finally arrived at about 10:30. We waited for her to go swimming and sadly the pool now was closed. Kiersten made bracelets while we scrapbooked and we watched Pride and Prejudice. It was so soothing and theraputic just to talk and laugh with two of my friends. We did not end up going to bed until 4 in the morning. We woke up at 9:30 and rushed to eat breakfast and get ready for check out time. Sadly we did not get to go swimming and Kieran did not get to wear her new pink maternity swimsuit.

We then headed back to the outlet malls and went shopping for our kids. It was crowded, smelly and hot. I started getting really sick and felt like I was ruining the party. We went to McDonalds for lunch and then headed home. I can not tell you how wonderful and fun it was to get away for a bit. I am so grateful to Kersten for helping this happen. Noah and him watched the old Transformer cartoons and had Chocolate milk and popcorn. It was an awesome boys night for them. I am so lucky to have such good friends that accept me for who I am and love me in spite of it. These woman are inspiring and uplifitng and I count myself blessed to call them friends.

The Fourth, Good Friends

Here is Matt, Noah and Kersten, being boys together

This is Me and Mara, the talented photographer

This is sweet Grey, Such a happy little guy

This is Stone, this kid has personality

Our Good Friends, Matt, Mara, Stone and Grey were in town for just a bit. They are moving across the world, Yes, you read right they are moving to Vienna for 3 years. We were so glad that we got to spend the Fourth with them. We just talked and hung out at Mara's parents house. Kersten and Matt disappeared for awhile and it is still a mystery where they went. When they returned they acted like they were 12 hitting each other with these swords asking if it hurt as they hit each other. Matt is one of the few friends Kersten counts as kindred. Good Food, Friends and Conversation. You can't ask for more than that. I don't let Noah watch Power Rangers at my house and they were watching a marathon. He was in heaven. It was fabulous just to talk and hang out together. We will miss them tons and tons. IT is just so comfortable and fun to be with them. Their boys have grown so big and cute, with amazing personalities. Noah and Grey played swords and ran around a lot together. It was fun to see them play and get along. That evening we went to Davis County Fireworks. They were quite fabulous. It felt good to hold Noah as we laid on the ground to watch the sky light up with lights. Noah liked the "Boom". We probably won't see them until they get back. Unless some miracle happens and we fullfill our dream of going to Austria so I can see where Kersten's Mom grew up and see all the sights. We love you guys. Good luck on your adventures

Happy Birthday Kieran

Today is my friend Kieran's birthday. I met Kieran when we both worked at the U of U Accounts Payable. Which we both agree is a terrible place to work. Our friendship has grown and flourished since then. She is one of those friends that it does not matter how long between conversation, it always picks up where your friendship left off. I have been really grateful to her over the last year. She has helped me keep my sanity and been a true friend to me. She is the most creative and talented person that I know. She is the one who taught me how to paint, she calls me her apprentice. She always inspires me and stretches my imagination and abilities. She has 2 adorable children, Heber and Avery and #3 boy on the way in August. I admire how she always finds new ways to teach her children the gospel and is always trying to better their lives and her. This woman can get more done in one day than most people accomplish in three. She has an amazing garden and a beautifully styled house. She inspires me to be better and lifts me up when I need it. Her laugh is my absolute favorite. It is infectious and makes you want to laugh with her. I don't know what I would do without her. I hope her birthday is fabulous. (Picture to be posted later, on our PC,pics on Mac)

Friends Moved

Today was a sad and tragic day at least for Kersten, Noah and I our friends, Ben, Shaunelle and Jaimason moved. We have just in the last few months become really good friends with them. As Kersten and I have learned as we have been married longer, it is rare to find another couple where everyone gets along together. We found that in these guys, Although they are only moving an hour away it seems like it is farther. Kersten and I tease that we inspire people that we love to move away from us. Noah and Jaimason have become really good friends and they ask to play together. They are so opposite sometimes that it makes us laugh. For example while Noah is practicing his lightsaber skills, Jaimason will be playing Dad with the stroller and baby doll. They have rubbed off on each other though. I will catch Noah pretending to take the baby shopping and Jaimason now will play swords. They play so well together. Noah is now the only 3 year old in nursery moving up to Sunbeams next year. For me it takes awhile to feel really comfortable with someone and Shaunelle and I have found our place. I will miss her tremendously. Kersten and Ben understood each others sense of humor and both loved to play X-box. They shared our love of movies and conversation. I am still a bit in denial that they moved. We will miss them tons and will just have to make the effort to get down to see them

Happy Birthday Maralise

My friend Maralise has a birthday today. She is one of the very most talented people I know. She is an amazing photographer and took the most amazing, make a mom cry pictures of my son last fall. She has a photo blog if you want to see some of her talent. Her husband Matt and Kersten used to work together and became really good friends, I did not meet her for awhile but I did get to know Matt quite well. We became fast friends. It was so fun because we got along so well as couples. Mara has impeccible taste. She has a definite sense of style. I admire her drive and desire to better herself. She is ambitious and beautiful. Right now she is getting her Masters degree. Every time I talk to her I know I will be uplifted and inspired in some way. She is the mom of two boys, Stone and Grey. She is an incredible mom and inspires me to be a little bit more patient and enduring every day. She has also taught me how to keep your identity as a woman and not just a mom. Although, they moved far away, she is the type of friend that it does not matter we will be friends for life. Love ya Mara

We met Kaitlyn Kennedy

Hooray, we finally go to meet my cousin Dave and his Wife Polli's new sweet baby, Kaitlyn Kennedy S. They have waited 9 1/2 years for this sweet girl. She was adopted in January. These two have been through a lot to have this girl and I am so thrilled for them. She is such a cute, fun baby. She is so tiny. Her pants were falling off her. Kaite has the sweetest little mouth and big beautiful eyes. Polli is in town for a very short while so on Friday March 23 we ran over to hold the baby and see her fast before she had to leave again.

Noah thought she was cute. He would go over and talk to her and grab her hands. He was so funny. Polli and I were trying to get him to kiss her for a picture. He was to fast for us. He showed her some of the finer points of Star Wars. It was so funny we all laughed. Polli's Dad gave him cookies , so he was a happy camper

I just loved this picture of Kersten and Kaite. It always melts my heart when I see him holding a baby.

This baby LOVES her mom. She is definitely a mama's girl. She would always turn her head so that she could see or hear Polli at all times. This looked good on Polli, She looks so happy and content. I could not be more thrilled for her.

We totally loved seeing Polli and Kaite. We miss them so much. Florida is beautiful and fun but we want them a lot closer
If you want to see more pictures go to

Gatnnos Family