Gone Camping!
What a great way to celebrate the end of shool. Going camping. We do one night at a time, thats all Zachary can handle, but it sure is fun. We went to Clints Well near Strawberry, AZ with the Ward family. We have kids the same age and they had a blast together. The boys loved walking around the woods searching for grasshoppers. The grasshoppers spent a fun time being carried around in water bottles.

Max had so much fun with his friends. It was so beautiful up there. We were surrounded by pine trees that seemed to reach the sky.

This was about the only picture Max allowed us to take of him. He was too busy playing.

Michael had fun in his own way. Playing with the boys then playing with his little toy soldiers. He is such a fun boy. And the best part was he was really good for most of the time up there.

Zachary did really well. He only asked to play XBox about 1,000 times. He is only allowed to play on the weekends so he can't let go of the fact that he was supposed to be playing it. In between asking to play he would search for grasshoppers with the boys; all the while being amazed they were like equator (his favorite show). Some kids like cartoons. Zachary likes National Geographic Equator.

Ryanne was in heaven with her friend Madison. They found a huge rock area and made their home there. The dads took the kids hiking and got to find even more treasure in a creek and more bugs. Do you see any pictures of Mom? Nope she was in heaven reading her book in the outdoors with the fresh air.

Then came the adult fun. We went shooting with Jeremy Ward. Corrine stayed at the camp with all the kids. What an amazing friend. I had never shot a gun before. Boy did we have a great selection to choose from. It was really fun. And to do the finale of the fun there was an explosion.

Matt got to share in the fun as well. He loved the shooting.

The rock the girls found.

Is it too much to ask to be able to get one family picture???? Of course it is. Everyone, except mom, decided it would be great to pick their noses. Ummmm.....No thank you

But we did get one good one. Thats all I wanted. No nose picking made a happy mom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Ronald Zachary Garn 8 years old today! Wow how time flies.

I can remember the day he was born. May 23, 2002 7lbs 15oz. He was such a sweet baby. He was mellow and slept through the night starting at around 7 weeks. I think he was giving us a break early because he knew what was coming later.

The day he was blessed was very special. We went to California and blessed him in Lawndale ward. Our old ward in Cali. It was a great weekend of family and friends gathering for his special day.

Zachary was our smallest baby yet he made up for that pretty quick. It was always the fun part for the Dr visit to see how much he weighed. It was funny that he was so big because he would throw up everything he ate. After eating Zach was like a time bomb. 1 oz in and 2 oz out.

Only 15 months apart Zach had a partner in crime early on with Max. They somehow got a muffin of Ryannes off the counter and shared it. It was the funniest thing to see Zach have the 'oh crap I got caught' look and Max refusing to look at you and keep eating.

Then came the hard part. At almost 3 years old Zachary was diagnosed with Autism. It had to be the hardest time we had gone through yet as a family. The behavior, the head banging, no speaking and tantrums. No wonder I am almost bald. This is Zach in therapy. Starting at age 2 Zach had Speech, Physical and Occupational therapy once a week. It's like night and day to see Zachary today and think of how he was then. Then came special needs preschool.

Zachary spent almost 3 years with these amazing ladies. He still has speech therapy with Tina and we are still in contact with Shellie. We had the love part down with Zach. We love him with all our hearts. These amazing ladies helped us learn the being effective and consistant parents to a child with Autism part. Many a day Zach would be dropped off to school with a mommy in tears and Miss Shellie was always there to help me. Even when he started kindergarten she was there on many a night phone call to help us deal with the transition of how to help him adjust. Not only were they teachers and therapists but wonderful teachers and friends to us.

And of course in between the hard days were funny days. How can you get mad at your son who is learning to be a kid and play when he fills the toilet with stuff. A tea pot and trash from the trash can kind of stuff. I won't mention what was in the trash can though. One can only hope that the toilet was flushed before his little playdate with a teapot.

And now comes the amazing part. Watching him grow and progress into a wonderful 8 year old boy. We are so grateful for you Zachary. Heavenly Father has blessed our family so much to send you to us. We love you!

Theres nothing like a weekend vacation to make a family happy. We went to the River with some friends Patty, Dan, Anthony and Emily. It was alot of fun. The kids had a blast making up games, playing driveway baseball and riding scooters.

Matt helped Dan pull weeds in the morning to do a little clean up.

The River trip was a huge hit. Michael loved playing on the sand and would go into the water a little.

Zach loved to float on land. He was in heaven.

Emily and Ryanne. Beautiful girls. They has so much fun playing together. Two girlie girls.

Even Matt had some relax time. I didn't go into the water. I have to say I like my water like a bath. The water was cold. So I took the pictures and stayed on land.

Before we left for home Ryanne really wanted to visit the London Bridge. The kids were amazed that the London Bridge was not in London.