Summer Catch Up

Hey there! I want to write about a few things that happened these past couple months. I was gone to Utah the entire month of July, and the whole month of June I was sick as a dog (or should I say a pregnant woman). Yes, for those of you who don't know I am with child! Yeah! Todd and I were very excited. After the first month though I got very sick. This was a new development because I didn't get sick with Gabby. I was throwing up daily, and couldn't keep much down. My poor family. I really wasn't a very good wife or mother during this time. Thank goodness Todd did what he could after his 14 hr days at work. He was a trooper. I did take some meds, but without much success. The day we left for Utah, I went to the doctor. He gave me some additional medicine, and I did much better. The meds made me a bit dizzy, but it was better than throwing up. By about 12 1/2 weeks, I felt much better, and I no longer need the drugs! Yeah!

Anyway, I wanted to post some pics from Utah. We had a great time visiting with my mom. Macie got to spend 2 weeks with her Grandma and Grandpa, and she loved it!



My family loves the 4th of July. It's right up there with Christmas for me. I haven't got to spend it with my "extended" family in 4 years, so this was such a treat! The tradition is we go to the Kaysville parade, then swim at my cousins' home, then head up to Grandpa's for a BBQ and fireworks on the lawn! It was a great day!


4TH OF JULY



Grandpa Palmer is last guy on this truck. They always have him ride with the war veterans.








After the regular parade, there is a WATER parade! All the kids line up at the curb, and the parents run. There is some serious water being shot from those hoses! Below, Tyler is running for cover, and Macie is saying "bring it on!"




Macie...or drowned rat?




Todd and Macie playing lawn games.




Carson ready for his cupcake!








MACIE AND THE HORSE

My mom arranged for Macie to take a riding lesson from this fabulous place called Courage Reins. They provide riding lessons for disabled people. They usually do not allow "1 time" rides, but they agreed to let Macie do it. I was a little apprehensive because sometimes Macie is very stubborn and if she doesn't want to do something, you can't make her do it. I was really hoping she wouldn't be too nervous, and get on the horse.

They started by having her brush the horse.




Then they had her clean out his shoes. I didn't think she would do that, but she did.
They then had her lead the horse into the arena, and stand up on the platform. Here it was... the moment of truth, was she going to get on...........well before I even could worry about it she was on the horse!!



They had her throw balls in the hoops, match up colored stars on the walls, and learn to lean over and grab things from the barrels. It was much more than just riding the horse! She rode that horse for over 45 minutes! She did so great! And to say she had a good time would be an under statement!



Her teachers had a great time with her, and hope we can come back again! Way to go Macie!


Sorry this is turning out much longer than I anticipated........


GABBY'S FIRST HAIRCUT

Gabby's first haircut! We took her to a place called Cookie Cutters in Bountiful. It is a darling place for little kids. I don't really think she cared about the pink car. She basically wanted out!



Trying to be brave....


Doesn't like the blow dryer


"I hate this car, but I can see now!"



PALMER REUNION

Gabby's first Palmer reunion! She loved hanging with Grandpa De, Judy, Bob, and Sue!






GRANDPA DE'S 89TH BIRTHDAY!

We had a nice adult get together to celebrate Grandpa!



Grandpa Dan came to visit us for a couple of hours from St. George. It was great to talk with him and David. Gabby loves her Grandpa!



RANDOM CUTENESS!

Gabby spent a lot of time in Grandma's toy drawer!


Gabby and Jenner loved Judy's little chairs. Those two are so cute. I wish they got to spend
more time together!




Thanks mom for putting up with us for a month! We tried not to be as messy this time. Thanks for the beds, the meals, and fun, but mostly the love. No place is better than your mom's house.

3rd Annual Fishing Trip

I know I'm behind.
This is about our fishing weekend on the first of May.
Todd and I went on our annual fishing trip to Colorado. As most of you know this trip commemorates our first date. Our routine is to get up to Breckenridge on Thursday, and just hang out and relax. Friday Todd goes fishing, and I walk around town and shop. (I love Friday!) Saturday we hook up with one of Todd's friends, who is a guide, and fish the day away! This trip was no exception.


The weather Friday was pretty nice, in the 50's. I walked around town just enjoying my alone time. I don't know if being an only child has anything to do with liking to be alone, but sometimes I do. I loved walking up and down the streets, looking in the stores, and enjoying the scenery and the people. I love not having any place to be, or time limits.


Saturday morning we were up early to catch our fish! We met up with Clint, (our friend and guide) and he told us it would probably be a little cold and rainy where we were going. I knew Todd had many layers for me to put on, so I said let's go! It takes about an hour and a half to get to the river. We were going to float it this year instead of wading, so I was excited. I love being on the boat. The rocking is very peaceful to me. Anyway, we got our life-jackets on, heard the brief 'safety' lecture, and off we were!


We had fished this river before, but always by the shore. You don't get a very good feel for the rapids that way. Going down in a boat was a little eye opening. Below is a picture of the river.



Clint told me that the fishing at first would probably be a little rough. He told me to hang on to my rod and wait it out a while. That was fine with me because I really enjoy watching Todd fish and soaking in the scenery as we go by. Below is a picture of the fishing raft we were on.

Todd was standing up in the front, fishing, Clint was rowing in the middle, and I was just hangin' in the back. I had my camera out, trying to get a good shot of Todd catching a fish. It was a little hard because when he caught them, he released them so fast, usually right in front of him so I couldn't see very well. If you notice on the above pic, the back seat is as far back on that raft as you can get. Well we hit a decent rapid, the back popped up, and Tami.....went into the drink, head first.
I'm no Michael Phelps. I have to plug my nose to go under water, so this was quite a shock. I tried to remember the 'safety' talk Clint gave, and pointed my toes down stream.

Todd saw me go in the water. This was odd because he hadn't looked back at me the whole time. He was fishing forward, so why would he? Anyway, he had a hold of me within a few seconds.

To make a long story a little bit shorter... I made it in the boat, and Todd began stripping off my wet layers immediately. Clint went up the mountain a bit, to give me a little privacy. He was worried about hypothermia, and told Todd to hurry. He took all my layers off, and put most of his on me. We had a few dry jackets in the boat, so I wore those too. I dropped our camera and Clint's fishing rod in the river. (Therefore, all the pictures we had taken are gone, so I used some internet 'stand-ins' so it wouldn't be as boring!)

I hit my head and shoulder on a rock when I fell in. My shoulder hurt quite a bit, so after getting back in the boat I didn't get to fish. I made it through the rest of the trip fine. I was very, very cold by the time we were done, but I sucked it up to make sure Todd got to fish as long as possible. I felt bad that it happened because he had been looking forward to this trip for a while. And once I fell in, he was distracted.

So, I fell in the river...not such a great thing. However, my love for Todd, and I believe his for me, was strengthened. It's a strange thing thinking for even a moment that you might lose the one that you love. I was scared, cold, and hurt, yet I felt safe because he was taking care of me. I have never doubted that he loved me, but watching him in the boat and on the bank of that river just reinforced it.

We left the river, had some dinner and counted these as we went home.



We counted 285. It's kind of a tradition on these trips.

We also got stopped by this: Twice.


Once for a broken tail lights, and once for speeding. Not a banner night for Clint. No tickets however.

Then we ran into this:


We couldn't see anything coming down the mountain. It was a total white out, and very scary. Our 17 hour day was exhausting.

All and all our trip was nice. We loved having a few days to ourselves. Thanks to Sally and Dan who took great care of our girls!

Hangin' with my cousins!

My grandma Sally M. bought me and my cousins, Jenner, Carson and Sage, these sun hats and shades. Sage wasn't there to get hers, but the rest of us tried them out.

I kinda like my hat, I look good in orange. I do not like my glasses. I took them off immediately!

Jenner likes hers though. She looks hot!

I'm wondering... is this a sun hat or a sombrero?

No really...I'm back now!

Finally! I have my camera cord back, so I can blog. Blogging without pictures is no fun for anyone. I would like to thank everyone who commented on my "Feeling Guilty in California" post. I do feel better.

I want to post some random shots and get caught up. Here are some events from the last month.

Gabby and Great-Grandpa De! They became great friends this trip!

Gabby also spent some good time with her Great-Grandma Alta!

The girls and I spent some time with my fabulous friend Stacey at her home. Her dog Abby loved having us! She kept a close eye on Gab. She even cleaned her face a few times, such a caregiver that Abby!

Macie loved it when she hopped on the tramp!

I'm Back!

Hey ya'll! If anyone is still reading, sorry I took such a long break! I didn't really plan to, it just kind of happened like that. We had a great time with our friends and family in Utah. I want to blog about a few things even though they happened a couple weeks ago, I hope you don't mind!

Macie went to visit her Grandma and Grandpa in Price for 2 weeks! She had a great time. She loves their dog Heidi, whom she calls "Heidi Ho". She also got to go swimming with her cousins, go to the museum, see movies and just hang out with the folks. They love having her, and she loves it as well. She had to call me everyday she was gone this time. I think it helped her to know that I was still there to talk to, even though not with her. It was cute.

July 15

I had the opportunity to go the American Idols concert a couple weeks ago. My mom asked me a couple months ago if I wanted to go. I said no. The tickets were pretty pricey, and although I love American Idol, I didn't need to see the concert.

(Some background:

Judy S.- Close family friend

Allen- Judy's son

Abbie- Judy's granddaugher, Allen's neice

We love these people, they are like family)

The day before the concert, Allen said he had backstage passes to meet the Idols from Jeff Archuleta, (David's dad).

I thought that would be fun to see them, so Allen bought me a ticket. I would have to sit alone, but I didn't care about that.

We got there and I left them to find my seat. I was hungry, so I grabbed a rice bowl, a bottle of water and headed down. I got someone to help me find my seat, because I hadn't been to the E-Center before. The guy led me onto the floor and just kept going further, and further up. We stopped on the 1st ROW! I sat down (alone) next to all these "die hard"fans. Here I am with my rice bowl, water, and camera. I looked like an idiot! I quickly took a couple bites and hid my food under my chair. The concert began and here are my shots:

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1

Ok, so I have to admit it was a great show! Even the ones that weren't my favorite on the show, sounded great! Brooke and the Davids were awesome! I had a great time! After the show, Jeff came down with only 2 backstage passes. It was alright though. Abbie and Allen went back. Abbie is auditioning for AI this year, and wanted to get some pointers. All the Idols were great to her and gave her good advice. Here are some shots of her:

Glad she put some clothes on...