Gardner Villa: 2009

White Elephant Christmas Party 2009

Tuesday, December 29, 2009 by Diana

Every December for the past three years we've hosted a white elephant Christmas party. It will be a fun memory for our kids to have as they grow older. I wish I could have invited many others, but that would mean sitting four to a lap, and that could get painful for the one on the bottom. But maybe some of you wouldn't mind that so much 8-)

Sascha made this amazing sign which hung out front as people walked in. It says,
"WELCOME TO DE CHRISTMAS PARTY"
at the bottom it says,
"SORRY, THE SIGN CREATORS THOUGHT IT WAS FOR ALL HOLIDAYS."
On the sleigh it says,
"RENT-A-SLEIGH, THIS IS OURS." "BOXING DAY." JUST A REPLICA."
Make note that Sascha drew Christopher Columbus and a pilgrim pulling the sleigh. He's always good for a laugh...

Errol and LaRee:

Kaitlyn and Duncan:

Steve and Brian:

Dianna, Tracy, Cami, Mireya, Sophia and Monica:

Mike and Chris:

Emilee, Sydney, Chase and Lindsay:

Who wants to be first to get their pic taken with Gingy?

The kids had their gift exchange first:

Some of the biggest hits that got stolen...

The pony costume:

The snow cone maker:

and the Highschool Musical stuff:

And then it was the adults gift exchange...

Kaitlyn ended up with a real autographed picture of Daryl Hannah:

Mireya got a hot lips pinata that she would later use for Sophia's bday party (notice that the football game was running in the background. The guys wouldn't stop whining until we turned it on):

Every guy wants a wreath to decorate:

Steve was actually really excited to get the cowboy boots figurine (not sure why, maybe because it had candy in it?), but Duncan ended up stealing it away:

Tristalene helped put a little rudolph into the partay:

Max and Spencer looking so sharp. Maybe they just came straight from a baptism? hmmmm....

Apollo with one of his favorite buddies, Uncle Dunkle:

Thanks everyone for making the evening such a success!
As they say: good food, folks and fun!
Until next year...

Go Gingy, Go Gingy!

Monday, December 28, 2009 by Diana

This year we had a very special guest at our Christmas party...... GINGY! I asked my friend's son, Jayce to play the part and he did just that. He knew just how to pose and didn't speak a peep the whole time. Thanks Jayce!!!

I had my girlfriend LaRee be the photographer because she's got skilz and I was standing by for crowd control and props. I think the pics turned out great. You be the judge:

LaRoo and I
(probably should have grabbed a pic of Gingy without his head on):

LOVE this pic of Kaitlyn and Duncan nibblin' on Gingy:

Cute Apollo smiling with ease after I told him who Gingy really was. Beforehand, he was very resistant (we ate before the photo shoot as you can see below):

Sascha not wanting to act too excited (that would be "uncool."):

Sarah acting a little embarrassed:

Nathan's not afraid to pose:

Glad we could pull a smile out of Tracy:

Baylee always full of smiles:

Same with Ashlyn:

Had a little bit of trouble getting Courtney to pose with Gingy. She didn't want to get too close:

Chase knew where it's at:

Gingy was even good enough to pick up some of his fans:

David knew just what to do:

Sam lookin' super sharp:

Jacob was super excited:

Emilee knew she could turn her back on Gingy:

The cute Morgensen family:

Noah's doing the hizzle to the fizzle:

The Holcomb kids weren't afraid of "their own."

Chloe, Courtney and Sarah wanted a group shot:

Chloe feeling very funny:

Emilee, Sydney and Chase also wanted a group shot:

Oh No! Another Teenager!

Sunday, December 13, 2009 by Diana

We were invited over to the Anderson's pad to help Chase celebrate his rite of passage, turning 13. As with most birthdays lately, I've been known to throw together a bit of this 'n that and whip up a fun t-shirt for that "suspecting" person. I did not disappoint. Chase was anticipating one and he got one.

But first, here's a peek at the card I made, all the while snickering.

This pic was taken at Halloween time when the Anderson's tradition is to smash their faces right into the pumpkin guts. Quoted straight from their blog, "Chase had stipulations this year... My shower cap!! He would only participate in our silly Halloween tradition if his beautiful hair (his words)would not suffer from the pumpkin juices. Almost a teenager, can't you tell?"