November 2023

November

Kenz checked out the new airborn

Kenz loved that her school pictures turned out so amazing... 😏😍😂

TJ hung out at the dental office a lot

Hiked with Kacey and Chase

Tyson went to NXR in Arizona

Duke's baptism

Tyson's first jazz band concert

Lexi stepped on a toothpick

Toured the new Orem Temple open house

Kids funny phrases
Jojo: cow’s pee is milk

TJ: next week I go on a cruise with grandma and grandpa. It’ll be a big white ship.

TJ singing: follow the prophet… don’t go on the roads

TJ to mom: I have a crush on you. Do you have a crush on me?

TJ: if we go up higher, that means we don’t ever get in trouble. But we do get in trouble, yeah… we do get in trouble

Mom: TJ what do you want to be when you grow up?
TJ: I want to be your age!

Talking about not judging others at scriptures time-
Jojo: but if others touch you, then you can touch them
Thayne: what just happened? 

While grandpa was grilling dinner: TJ: “it smells funny out here. Grandpa must need to go potty.”

TJ was so excited to see a school bus, although he was riding in a school bus

Jojo: dad, are you going to do dog work or normal dental work today?

Jojo : what do you think is more similar to a panda bear? a baby duck or an elephant?

Jojo: the reason I am so tired is because you sent me to bed too early!! 


TJ prayer: thank you for robots and airplanes. Please help us to eat more cookies

Jojo: if I have four kids, I am going to call my fourth child snowman if it’s a boy and snowball if it’s a girl or fluffy.

Mom: I love you
TJ: I love you too
Mom: I love you three
TJ: I love you 16
He now also says cute things like I love you to the moon or I love you to the earth

I was teaching TJ to not hit. And Jojo j says “I didn’t understand you when you teach me that.”

TJ: mommies aren’t girls.

TJ calls Winnie the Pooh “Winnie the Poop”

Kenzie: he’s our adopted grandpa (talking about brother Gull)
Jojo: what does that mean?
K: it means we’re not actually related.
J: oh, then he’s not adopted because he’s our real grandpa

Mom: brother Gull had a heart attack
Jojo: oh, we should have done that to him!

(referring to heart attacking his door)

Not kids but…
Thayne: I am the stuff(dentistry) that nightmares are made of

Jojo(whispering in ear): is TJ a child of God?
Me: yes
Jojo: he doesn’t believe me
Me: please don’t argue with a 3 year old


Watching little mermaid at Hales
Jojo: if I was in this play, I’d be awesome!

Mom: if Adam would have been a girl, his name would have been Katrina
Kenzie: errrr…. That’s hard to think of

Mom: it’s so fun that you get to spend the day with me
Jojo: i’d like it better if I got to spend the day with dad

Jo Jo: every day is a crazy hair day at school for me

Dental Humanitarian 2023

We had such a good time on our dental humanitarian trip.

Dental Humanitarian Trip to Francisco Uh May Mexico - October 2023!

Some of our adventures included:

Lost luggage for 5 days

Luggage confiscated by Mexican authorities

Bribe to Mexican authorities to get luggage back

6 hour round trip to get luggage back from Mexican authorities

Giant lizards and cockroaches

Tons of mosquito bites

Snorkeling with turtles, stingrays, and beautiful fish

Mexican police with large guns patrolling hotel grounds at night

Octopus for lunch

Eating fish eye

Running on the beach and getting feet cut up

Chiggers from the sand

One Dentist caught Dengue Fever

Lots of dogs running around wild

Opening a new clinic in Francisco Uh May

Showed up our last morning to a huge line of patients wanting to be seen

556 total patients treated

Even more patients trained on oral hygiene

Wisdom tooth extraction with just local anesthetic (ouch!)

Saw soooo many cavities

Amazing ice cream

Sang a lot of disney songs and righteous brothers to distract the kiddos - no TVs or laughing gas

Dinner as a team each night trying out different restaurants in town. 1 with sand floor and swings as seats

Monkey/anteater/racoon animal

Running in humidity

“Supaaaaa” - we learned super is the same word in many languages. Taught to us by our friend from Germany that came to volunteer

17 total volunteers

8 days total

5 days in clinic

Ice cream for breakfast for the teenagers

Working with people from all ages, walks of life, and different countries

Pinata

Visit to Chichen Itza - one of the 7 wonders of the world

Snorkeling in a cenote

Families that returned with gifts and gratitude

Homemade tostadas from the Mayor’s secretary

Visit from the President of Tulum to thank us for treating his people

Playing hide and go seek in the airport on our long layover home

Sleep deprived but in other ways so fulfilled

Thoughts from Dr. Gardner: “I had a wonderful time helping the kids of Mexico. The children were amazing and so grateful for the service that we provided. I enjoyed teaming up with other volunteers that have big hearts, joined in the common goal of making the world a better place. It was really rewarding to work hard and to see how much we could help a town full of children over the course of a week. There’s so much need out there and it was a privilege to play a part in helping alleviate pain and promoting health around the world. It was a “super” experience and I look forward to doing it again.”

Thoughts from April: “It was such an amazing experience learning from the people in Mexico. I loved watching the sweet families that came to the clinic. They were so grateful for the dental care they were receiving. We worked with wonderful people from all over the US (and beyond) and it was a privilege to see how kind and caring they were with the children. Time away from the clinic was also very fun with these incredible people. I’m very grateful for such a wonderful experience.”

Thoughts from Natalie: “We all had sooo much fun and loved experiencing the culture, food, and especially helping the kids in Mexico. The country was beautiful, the people were warm and kind, and it was a fabulous experience to be able to help make a difference for the people there.”

Thoughts from Tyson (age 15): “We should have ice cream for breakfast every day. I enjoyed working with my dad on the humanitarian portion of the trip. It was fun getting to experience Mexican culture. I should have paid more attention in Spanish class.”

Thoughts from Lexi (age 13): “It was fun to serve together with people we didn’t know. By the time we went home, we felt like we had a family away from home. I loved that we could experience something different from our normal life and that we got to meet lots of new people. I now know what it means when my parents tell me I have a first world problem.”

Grandma is sooooo good to keep the kids again this year.

Day of the dead bread or "dead bread" as we called it.

My view point of Tyson while playing "signs" in the airport