Eww!! Gross!!!!!!!!

As many of you know, I am going to school full-time again this semester. Last semester was an awesome break but it feels good to be back in the swing of things. I am taking a science class and so far it's been really fun. However... we have this life science project where we have to go buy some creepy crawly thing and keep it in our house to observe it throughout the semester. The options were:

madagascar hissing cockroaches

Or crickets

Or Giant Millipedes

Or millworms

We chose millworms. I'm sorry if this upset any of your stomaches... it did the same to me. Just know what I'm going through to teach your children!

STOMP + what a night

Mom came into town a couple days ago and came to devotional (which I was singing in). She also took me to lunch, DI and then came to Women's Chorus! It was such a fun day! She mentioned that she was going to see STOMP with Nathaniel that night and when she told me that, I honestly was a little more than a little disappointed.

I have wanted to watch STOMP since I was 14 years old! I watched this awesome video of them and then when we went to New York, I really wanted to see them there. Alas, when we got there to see if they had another ticket, we found out it was sold out. Huge bummer!! When Mom and I picked up Nathaniel that night, I asked him if he really understood what a privilege it was to see STOMP because if he didn't... I should go. He did understand. I ended up going and putting myself on the waiting list to get a ticket if there were extras. If you don't know how amazing STOMP is... here is a sample:



Ok... so back to the story. I waited for about twenty minutes and during that time, my friend (whom I will call Fred) started texting me. Finally, about 5 minutes before the show started, they had a ticket for me! I was so stoked! I told my friend I was going to watch the show. And then I started looking for my debit card. It was nowhere to be found! Agh!! I hurriedly texted Mom (who was already in the show with Nathaniel). When she didn't reply immediately, I texted again, "I need help!". Right as Mom came outside this other woman came to the counter and handed them two tickets that she wanted to give out for free! I was the next in line so they gave me both tickets!! Well, it was just me there at the show and since I was already texting Fred, I called him and asked if he wanted to come. He did. We went in and watched one of the most incredible shows ever.

After the show, Mom and Nathaniel left and Fred and I talked for a while in my car because we hadn't seen each other for about a month or so. We just caught up on Christmas, and everything else going on in our lives in the last month. This friend and I tend to enjoy backscratches so as we were talking, we gave each other backscratches. Well, around 11:00 Mom pulled up in her car right next to us and here we are 2 hours after the show ended and we're scratching each others' backs in the parking lot of the show. Now... how would you feel about this? It looks really bad to your Mom. It also looks bad to Fred because here is your Mom checking up on you when you're 24 years old. :) Funny huh?

Well, it turns out Mom hadn't read the text that said, "I need help" until she was on the freeway on her way home. She called me and I didn't answer because my phone was still off from the concert. So she called me about ten times and I didn't answer. She texted me several times as well. Each text getting a little more frantic as the night went on. She went to my apartment, she called Nathaniel. Nathaniel called me. Of course I didn't hear his calls either. So he tried to find Fred's number to call him. Mom ended up retracing the road to the show from my apartment and then found my car.

When she finally found us, I called her and asked her what was up. She didn't really communicate her worry... she just asked if I wanted to go get some ice cream with her. Fred and I decided to go and we met her at Baskin Robins. It was there that she told us everything that had happened and how worried she had been.

We all had a good laugh. I felt terrible for all the worry I had caused. But I'm still laughing as I write down this story. Definitely a keeper. :)

Yes sir!

Included in the typical questions asked at the beginning of every semester is "what classes are you taking this semester"? This is a really boring question to which they receive a very boring answer... Science, Social Studies, Math, Literacy, Fundamentals of teaching, 2 practicums, London study abroad prep, Women's Chorus and... MILITARY FITNESS. Boring right? :) Absolutely not! This is going to be an awesome semester. I can already feel it. In every muscle in my body.

Yes. I am choosing to take this class. No. It is not required for elementary music specialists. I got introduced to the idea by Sister Butikofer from Nauvoo. She took it last semester and when I saw her I couldn't believe how awesome she looked! I asked her what she was doing and she said she just went to PT three times a week. I was sold. I signed up for the class and I actually really love it.

I have a squad. I, Emilie Anne Gardner, musician, dancer, and teacher, am in a squad. In the Army. Weird. I have a position in my squad. I am a second first, which means I am in the second squad in the first row. When I have questions I ask my teacher, Sargeant Master Voight. Don't forget that he is Sargeant Master. He's not Sargeant, Lieutenant, General or Master. He is Sargeant Master. I yell a lot. I don't actually know what everyone around me is yelling so I just raise my voice until everyone else is done and then I stop. Hopefully I'll be able to understand the words soon.

I work out. Hard. Three times a week. After the first day my muscles hurt so much I couldn't do my hair. We did as many army pushups as we could in thirty seconds, then as many army situps as we could in thirty seconds. Then we ran laps and did more pushups and more situps and this other exercise for triceps that is from hell. Really it is. My arms hurt more last week than they ever have in my life. The second day of class was the dreaded PT test. Luckily I'm not contracted in the army so I didn't have to necessarily pass anything. They were just going to test me and see how much better I got at the end of the semester. We were supposed to do as many pushups as we could in two minutes. Keep in mind that on Monday my arms were worked out fairly thoroughly... I did 5 army pushups. I did 5 whole army pushups!!! I know it sounds ridiculous, but I am completely proud of my 5 pushups. They were in good form. I was shaking, but I did 5. (Never mind the fact that the numbers all around me were in the 60's and 70's...) We also did as many situps as we could in 2 minutes. I did 15!!! I was so pleased!! We then ran 2 miles as fast as we could. My knee started hurting so I only did a mile and a half. But I did a mile and a half!

This week has started out a little better. :) I ran a couple miles this morning and did more pushups and situps. I am excited to see what this semester brings. Yes sir!

My Gammy - A Tribute to an Amazing Woman

I've been avoiding this simply because I don't want to cry. With that said, here is my attempt at letting the world know how amazing my Gammy is.

When I was growing up my family would go visit Gammy every time we came to Utah which was quite frequently. She was always excited to see us. She gave us wonderful hugs and would ask us individually what was going on in our lives. I remember swinging on the tire swing in her back yard. I think it was under the apple tree. She would take us out to her garden to show us what she was growing. She grew wonderful fruits and vegetables and always sent us home with fresh produce from her garden. I remember her showing us her favorite roses from her rose garden as well.

Gammy was an artist. She would draw her favorite roses in a little sketch book with colored pencils. She actually inspired me to do the same thing when I was younger. My Mom gave me a book of different kinds of flowers and I would find my favorite flowers, do a report and draw a picture like Gammy. Gammy stitched really incredible cross-stitch patterns. We had them hanging up all over our house when I was younger. Now that I am older, I have a picture of the Savior that Gammy cross-stitched for me. It reminds me of her and of her testimony of Christ. I also remember Gammy's dresses she made for Caitie and me when we were little girls. They were the kinds of dresses every little girl wants to have. They had big full skirts, lots of lace and frills, and they made me feel like a princess. She made me a stuffed bunny and clothes for my stuffed bunny. Gammy also painted nativity sets for my family. They are exquisite and will be in our family for generations to come.

Gammy wrote children's books. They are witty and fun. As my Mom and my Aunt were cleaning through her house, they found a huge stack of rejection letters. Gammy persisted though and published 6 children's books. Those books are:

Sneezles and Wheezles

My Tiny Book of Prayer

My Tiny Book of Tithing

My Tiny Book of Family

My Tiny Book of Joseph Smith

My Tiny Book of Christmas

When we visited Gammy she would take out her big book of books in progress and read us her latest story. I remember her voice. I will remember her voice my whole life. And I will read to my children the books my Gammy read to me.

Gammy won awards for her creativity. She won two cars, thousands of dollars, new wardrobes, a trip to Hawaii and others that I don't remember. She came up with jingles and advertising for different companies.

The most important thing I will remember about my Gammy is her fervent testimony. She has a personal relationship with her Savior Jesus Christ and she made sure her children knew it. She and her children were converts to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Before Gammy knew about The Word of Wisdom, she drank 14 cups of coffee a day. When the missionaries told her about The Word of Wisdom, she stopped cold turkey and never drank a cup since then. She lived a hard life so that her children could live better ones.

Gammy has 4 children, 24 grandchildren and 53 great-grandchildren. She is my Gammy.

My last memory of Gammy is from just a little over a week ago. My brother Nathaniel and I took work off and made Gammy a nativity out of clay and took it to her. I held her hand the whole time we talked to her. She was in a lot of pain and we told her how much we love her. She told me I need to get married :) Mom made her promise to help me find my husband. :)

I love my Gammy. I am proud to be a Granddaughter of such an amazing woman.

This is a poem my brother Matt wrote about Gammy.

My Gammy - by Matt
Thank you for giving me The Church

Thank you for giving me my mom

Thank you for believing in me

Thank you for living a hard life to give me a better one

Thank you for your stories

Thank you for your poems

Thank you for the memories

Thank you for giving me my life

Thank you for loving me before you knew me

I will miss you, Gammy

We will all miss you

From your granddaugther, Emilie, I love you Gammy. Thank you for being MY Gammy.