Vacation Catch-Up

Here it is! The long overdue vacation update. We had a whirlwind May: Forge graduation, Darcie's best friend got married, then we headed off for vacation and Heidi's first airplane ride.

The highlights: Danielle's wedding was beautiful. It was an outdoor wedding at a vineyard, and we all got to go, including all of Heidi's grandparents.

We celebrated Mother's Day the next day at the Dodge's, then on Monday morning we headed to Utah for 4-5 days at a lakehouse there in Park City. (Thanks, Jenny and fam!) It was a beautiful cabin, with an even more beautiful view, and the weather was nice. We had a rough night the first night, as Heidi stayed up all night crying... but after a phone call to Aunt (Nurse) Jodie, a visit to a local clinic, and a little baby Benadryl for a sore throat, the vacation greatly improved. :-)


On Wednesday, we spent the day with Doug, Deborah, Molly & Meredith at the outlet mall and at the cabin. On our way out of town, we stopped by to see their house (much remodeled). They have a great place with a fantastic backyard!

We then headed to Sedona, AZ to visit Heidi's great-grandfather. We spent the weekend visiting with him, and Heidi's great aunt and uncle.


Great Gramps loved showing her off at church and in the community where he lives. It was a real treat to have almost all of the Gardner family together!


We got to take a day off (leaving Heidi with grandparents) and sneak away to visit the Grand Canyon, as Darcie had never seen it before. What a place. How can you describe it?

We were so glad we could make the trip to Arizona to see Gramps and have four generations there together: Father, Daughter, Father, Daughter. What a precious time!

Heidi was a real trooper, and she continues to be a really great traveler. She slept and played on all 3 plane flights, and put up with all the car rides to and from airports, relatives houses and dinner outings. We really are blessed with a very sweet little girl. We can't believe that in about a month, she'll be one year old!

Projects and projects

We still owe an update on the front yard that our Forge students helped lay sod for - they'd be happy to see the result. We'll get pictures up of that soon, along with our long-awaited vacation pics from Utah and Arizona. (there might be a few of Heidi in there for her fans)

Meanwhile, here's what I've been doing in my "spare time" (Darcie) - during naps, with Heidi sitting by watching in the stroller, etc. The laundry room of our rent house needed some love. It's out on the carport so it already felt like it wasn't a real part of the house, but in addition to that, the previous owners had never even finished it out with painted trim or flooring.

I have to admit, I think it looks pretty nice. I love projects like this. And Matt loves it even more when I start and finish something in a one-week period. :-)

More updates coming soon!

Heidi likes it!

Heidi likes being on vacation. :)

The Mother of All Updates

It's been almost a month since we've posted, so we're due for some news and a whole lotta pics. So, hang on to your hats, folks.

Heidi is at a really fun stage where she likes to play, talk (babble) and grab for anything in reach, so there have been lots of fun times with Daddy lately. Matt likes to read her stories - he had a dream that her first word was "theology", so we're starting young and reading some really tough texts like Hop on Pop and a cloth book with zippers and snaps in it. "Theology" is right around the corner, we just know it.

Last week, we took our last trip with the Forge students before their graduation. We went down to Crier Creek near Houston. Matt enjoyed a last hoorah with his students, while Darcie entertained Heidi on the campgrounds and introduced her to her first outdoor water extravaganza at the splash pad. She's perfectly content with a bucket of water in her lap... until she splashes all the water out and wants some more. Careful Heidi, I think your midriff is showing!

Saturday also marked the graduation of our 4th group of Forge students. It was a busy, but fun weekend, honoring the students and sending them off to the next chapter in their lives. Matt also had a great reunion of former Forgies at the graduation. It's really neat how much the Lord impacts students' lives through the Forge, so much so that they want to return each year for graduation to welcome the most recent students into the world of Forge alumni.

And, for those of you who are not satisfied with a blog entry without a video, this one's for you...

Happy Easters

Darcie has way too much time on her hands, doesn't she? But, let's be honest, we're glad she does - and also glad she's a whiz at Photoshop! Aren't these fun?! Hope your Easter holiday was as fun and relaxing as our was!

The Face

My younger brother and I have a term of endearment for one another that we use often and in every circumstance, so seeing that it is his birthday today, and that Heidi just turned 8 months old, I thought it would be appropriate to send some him some birthday wishes from his *favorite* niece.

Happy Birthday, Face!
~from Heidi's Face to Yours

Farewell Israel! We're coming home!

Greetings from Tel Aviv airport! We've just checked our bags and we're only an hour or so from being ready to board our plane to come home! Only one pic today and a short update just to let you know that we're ready to go! We get in to Newark at 5am EST, and I'll update then for those of you who might actually be awake then. :) Meanwhile enjoy our last group picture!

See you soon!!!